Month: November 2019

By Arundhati Shiva

BY 2030, I’D LOVE TO BE CONTRIBUTING TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE USING STEM

One of my goals is to focus on our current lifestyles and work to change our impact on the climate. Our planet has reached a point where climate change is continuing to take centre stage throughout the world via protests and campaigns.

Unfortunately, we have reached the point where by the end of 2020, if no change is made from our current carbon emissions, our actions will be irreversible. As future leaders of this planet, climate change is an issue that needs to be addressed head- on, meaning no delays with realistic goals and commitment.

Australia’s emissions have risen by 16% in the last 10 years. Australia is one of the most carbon-intensive economies in the developed world and our emissions are increasing. At this rate, by the end of 2019, it is estimated that we will have released 545 metric tons of carbon dioxide (Mt CO2).

By 2030, I’d love to be part of tackling this issue by implanting a filtration device within all Australian homes, apartments and buildings that works by decomposing wastes like sewage and rubbish into reusable forms of energy to power electrical appliances such as TV, dishwasher, washing machine etc.

This way, our waste impact reduces, and with these progressive movements, our planet won’t be in as much danger.

13% of the Sahara desert’s solar energy can power the world. Solar energy is a renewable, free source of energy and unlike fossil fuels, will always be around. With this in mind, we can create portable solar panels installed in the deserts all around the world to capture the solar energy.

To absorb the heat as much as possible, further research needs to be conducted in order to understand how current solar technology can be improved in terms of heat retention and absorption. Some pathways worth researching include shapes; if shape has any effect and other materials that could be used in new forms of solar technology.

Another pathway that can be taken, is to research naturally occurring materials and their properties.

Natural stones absorb heat the best as they have a high density and excellent thermal conductivity. Currently, soapstone and marble are known to be the best at this. Given these stones are naturally occurring, they are also renewable.

As part of developing solar technologies, further study needs to be conducted in order to fully understand and maximise their chemical properties.

 

After visiting the Cochlear site and the Holsworthy Barracks, I was inspired by technological innovations I had never imagined before. These new developments reinforced examples of how people are making changes to other lives. This was a real eye-opening experience that showed the type of world we are merging to become. With the newfound technology at Cochlear, many more innovations can be made in the process of addressing climate change. We changes made to the aircraft and how engineering plays a vital role.

It made me realise that to combat climate change, new technology and strategies need to be developed, and those at Cochlear and the Holsworthy Barracks are amongst those that have proven change.

Combating climate change as one nation, needs changes throughout the rest of the world. We must also confront the issue regarding the rich and poor divide across the globe. If the gap can be reduced, this can be evened out by sharing our resources and aiding countries that need an extra push to make similar changes.

I specifically chose this image as it highlights the importance of our decisions. It emphasises that we are in a critical stage; what we choose from here on determines our future of our planet.

With right choices and decisions, the Earth can be restored to its everlasting green. Our choices make or break our planet.

The image weighs out a world as it used to be; humans and nature living jointly so that each can survive.

However, it also shows the other side, a world where we are currently headed for, with dreaded ruins and factories, destroying the planet. It’s for us to choose.

If we don’t act as soon as possible, the future generations will be in trouble.

 

 

 

Credits

News article on Paris emissions targets

 Article about Sahara Desert solar panels/Inspiration

By Afra Kamal

… at the forefront of climate action as an environmental scientist working with non-governmental organisations around the world.

The rate at which climate change is occurring is alarming, and the reality of the situation is that not nearly enough is being done to rectify the situation. With the equivalent of 27 football fields of forests being lost every minute and greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere at its highest level in 2 million years, the future seems bleak for the next generation.

We can perhaps ask ourselves what led us to this emergency, in order to fully understand what can be done to solve this issue. Many will point to the collective action of individuals in being complacent with their everyday choices and not looking into the impact of their lifestyles. The effect of personal choices cannot be disregarded, like the enormous land and water use of agriculture as well as its greenhouse gas emissions, but it can be said with confidence that the majority of fault can be placed on major companies in sectors such as the fossil fuel and mining industries. These corporations have long known of their significant impact on the environment, such as in leaked documents from the 1980s from Shell and Exxon that predicted the damage that would be caused to the natural environment in the years to come as a result of their products.

Decades of non-action and denial have created a crisis that will deeply and inexorably affect the lives of people to come. In fact, we are already seeing the devastating consequences of climate change on many people across the world, none more pressing at this moment than the plight of Indigenous peoples living in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil. As of writing this post, over 2000 fires are currentlyburning in the Amazon Rainforest, threatening more than 400 Indigenous tribes that live in the forest. Striking parallels have been made by many between the situation in the Amazon Rainforest and the fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris earlier this year, and the disturbing difference in media coverage. A study by the nonprofit media watchdog Media Matters for America found that the Notre Dame fire garnered 93% more coverage by the media than the Amazon Rainforest fires, despite having been burning for the past three weeks.

We live such privileged lives in Australia to be able to take for granted the natural environment, when so many other nations and people must pay the price of climate change. The reality is, as an island nation, Australia is not far from also being seriously faced with the effects of climate change. In order to stay less than the 2 degrees Celcius target of warming by 2100 set by the United Nations, global carbon emissions must reach zero by 2030. Beyond this point, the environment would be subject to near-irreversible damage and have deadly impact on the human race, including but not limited to extreme weather events and natural disasters, as well as deadly heat waves and exponentially rising sea levels.

At 26, in the year 2030, I would want to be able to contribute to reaching the UN’s target and be part of the solution to this immense global issue. This task is enormous, given the fact that global emissions continue to increase annually and that we are already at 1 degree Celcius of warming in 2019, but it is with science and activism that we as a generation will be able to solve one of humanity’s greatest challenges. Extraordinary individuals such as Greta Thunberg from Sweden, just ten months older than myself, have already created immense awareness of the issue of climate change amongst youth across the world, and have demanded the attention of governments to implement real legislative action for this crisis.

As an environmental scientist, I will use both my knowledge and understanding of the natural environment and how climate change affects it as well as my passion for nature to change how society views this issue and make a global impact with my research. Alongside my colleagues from various STEM disciplines, I will work with non-government organisations in Australia and overseas to create innovative and sustainable solutions and bring them to areas that are either most affected by climate change, or contribute to it most.

Ultimately, it will be the task of my generation to essentially reverse the damage that has been done to the environment before it is too late. However, it is my firm belief that with more and more people joining the STEM field and activism groups for climate change, we will be able to save our planet. I end with this Cree saying from the Indigenous people of Canada:

“Only when the last tree has died, and the last river has been poisoned, and the last fish has been caught, will we realise we cannot eat money.”

We must protect our breaches, our atmosphere, our creeks, our forests and our oceans.

All photos by Afra Kamal