It seems like now more than ever, the news we hear about our climate is. . . not great. Earthday.org lists “deadly heat waves, extreme weather events, and threats to life on earth” along with “Global sea levels are rising. . . Surface temperatures are setting new heat records. . .glaciers are in retreat globally. . .” in the long list of negative effects on our Earth due to human activity.
As individuals, there is only so much we can do ourselves to halt the rising temperatures on Earth. It’s nice to see large corporations, like LEGO, step up to the challenge. According to energymanagertoday.com, the LEGO Group is using a combination of wind and solar energies to power their entire manufacturing facilities. On top of that, energymanagertoday.com notes that LEGO is even three years ahead of schedule. With global temperatures on the rise, it seems like every second counts. If more corporations would follow suit with where they get their energy, maybe the planet would be a better place.
LEGO Achieves its Goal of 100% Renewable Energy Use 3 Years Ahead of Schedule
I think LEGO is making incredible strides towards sustainability and more corporations should follow suit. However, in this current state of the economy, it is a more economically-beneficial choice to pollute and pay the associated fees than to invest in green alternatives. This makes the world’s companies technically incentivized to pollute, which isn’t a great idea when the UN suggests that we only have 11 years left to prevent irreversible and catastrophic damage to the Earth.
Though green innovations in tech will reduce the damage to our Earth by the majority of its inhabitants, the majority of its inhabitants are not doing the most prominent damage. At the moment it is time to shift focus to corporations in tech, petroleum, and food/agriculture. In a study conducted by CDP in 2017, it is stated that only 100 corporations are responsible for 71% of global emissions, many of which are significantly above the legal amount. Though our personal changes can reduce emissions and waste in communities, in order to make the most significant change, corporations have to answer to both the people and the planet. This could be done through implementing policy that forces over-polluting to not be the most economically-friendly choice or by subsidizing adapting green manufacturing technology. Either way, it is in the hands of policymakers, not the people or corporations to make the necessary changes for our environment.
With climate change deniers running for office, I am a little worried that Shanghai will end up underwater, but I can’t help but be optimistic for my generation. We are incredibly aware and active in taking initiatives for green policy, and young activists are making more of an impact than many politicians in office do. I want a planet for my kids and their kids, and I want it to look as beautiful as it was for my childhood.
References:
https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12131.doc.htm
https://b8f65cb373b1b7b15feb-c70d8ead6ced550b4d987d7c03fcdd1d.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/cms/reports/documents/000/002/327/original/Carbon-Majors-Report-2017.pdf?1499691240
With global warming becoming an issue, many large companies are actually trying to be an eco-friendly company. In fact, Patagonia, an outdoor brand, built repair centers all over the world in order to increase the durability of their products and reduce their carbon footprint. Also, according to TOMS, a shoemaker, “all of their shoes(and even the shoeboxes) are made with sustainable, recyclable and vegan materials”. (Deanna) As it is shown above, there are lots of companies who try to contribute themselves for the clean Earth. This can make them contribute to making the better earth, and companies will be raised with their reputations.
However, we are too late to stop global warming with any advanced technology. “Some scientists argue a ‘global disaster’ is already unfolding at the poles of the planet”. (NASA) On the other hand, some scientists are worried that Earth might pass a “tipping point” that we could never come back. This could make the Earth into totally different environments and mankind might not be able to live on the Earth.
It is true that we see abnormal climates more and more frequently these days. Though we could not completely stop this, we at least have to give-it-a-shot to prevent the Earth. Otherwise, we will see the worse condition of the Earth.
Source:
https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/16/is-it-too-late-to-prevent-climate-change/
https://99designs.com/blog/business/eco-friendly-brands/
I think that it is great that LEGO and other companies are starting to find ways to use technology within their businesses to help out the Earth in one way or another. However, I wanted to go off of this and expand into more technologies that are being used today to help out the environment.
Like the blog post said it seems like we are having more problems with our environment than ever before, and that is why developing and using technologies that will help out the Earth are so important in today’s world. One of the biggest and most important advancements we have been using more and more in recent years is renewable energy. In an article I found written by ‘Blue & Green Tomorrow’ it says that the technology is becoming cheaper and that it is also “advancing as well” (Blue & Green 2016). In addition to renewable energy, just by going digital businesses and individuals all over the world are saving paper and it seems like this is becoming the “new normal”. We have “lessened our dependence on the world’s tree population” and because of this have “helped to reduce deforestation” (Blue & Green 2016). Additionally, we have also started to become a “Sharing economy,” which means certain developments we use “reduces our environmental impact by enabling individuals to purchase less and use fewer materials” (Blue & Green 2016). Some examples of this that the article mentions are Uber (less cars driving around), Airbnb (use space that isn’t being used), and Netflix (eliminates need for physical DVD’s and transportation of these items). One more technology I thought I would mention is electric cars. These cars are becoming more and more available and are also overall much more sustainable for the environment than regular cars. Also, they seem to becoming cheaper and “experts predict they’ll be cheaper to own than traditional vehicles by 2022” (Blue & Green 2016).
As you can see, with the development of new technology we will hopefully be able to help combat the problems that are causing a downfall to the environment around us. If we can all put in some effort to reduce our waste there may be a chance to save our Earth.
Source: “Six Ways Tech Is Helping the Environment”
https://blueandgreentomorrow.com/features/six-ways-tech-helping-environment/