Successfully reported this slideshow. Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX Eric Berger. Related Books Free with a 30 day trial from Scribd. Reusable Rockets SpaceX, another Musk company, has been trying to revamp the space exploration game and fuel our "Star Trek" fantasies with reusable rockets, green technology essay. copy citation. Driven: The Race to Green technology essay the Autonomous Car Alex Davies.
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In an era of drought, climate change and food shortages, environmental pioneers have joined forces to help tackle some of the world's most pressing issues through technological advancement, green technology essay. Here are 10 burgeoning technologies that have the potential to help revolutionize our planet of consumerism. Some are currently in development and green technology essay are trying to gain a greater foothold in society, green technology essay, but all are promising solutions to some very real threats the world is facing. Vertical Farming The future of modern agriculture could very well be found indoors. Vertical farms grow plants hydroponically without soil in large, green technology essay, multistory buildings under artificial light.
Crops can be stacked on top of each other and grown far more quickly than with traditional farming methods. Some advocates argue this new technology could become the norm as soon as green technology essay, while crop land grows scarce and a booming population demands more food. In the short term, green technology essay, vertical farms can be up to times more productive green technology essay fields, and all produce is grown organically because of the nature of the contained environment. Green Burial Sure, you can be as green as you like green technology essay you're alive, but what about your environmental impact after you're dead? A new market for sustainable burials has blossomed to help counter the carbon-intensive and chemical-filled methods currently employed.
You can now be buried in everything from a " mushroom death suit " to a biodegradable casketsans embalming. Another, more creative approach takes your ashes and puts them into " reef balls " that can help restore damaged coral ecosystems. The under world is your oyster. Better Lighting Lighting has come a long way in the past few years. The U. government banned many energy-guzzling incandescent light bulbs at the beginning of in favor of compact fluorescents and LEDs. But it's the application of these new lighting technologies that's so exciting.
LEDs have been named as a potential weapon against the mega-deadly plight of malaria in developing regions of Africa. And next-generation LED green technology essay has helped vertical farming, mentioned above, take root. Widespread Composting Americans are awful about throwing things away, green technology essay. The average person in the U. produces about 4, green technology essay. But the Environmental Protection Agency estimates at least 75 percent of all trash could be diverted to recycling and compost facilities if people were a little less liberal with what they toss in garbage bins. Several cities have instituted far-reaching composting and recycling programs to help cut back on waste and keep food scraps out of landfills.
Early this year, in an effort green technology essay increase composting, Seattle made it illegal to throw food and food waste into the trash. Batteries Batteries are due for an upgrade. Elon Musk's Tesla has said it plans to build a massive factory sometime in that would supply lithium-ion batteries for electric cars -- up toa year. The company also announced a new line of rechargeable batteries that would store solar energy and power homes and businesses, green technology essay. They have been called the "iPad of stationary storage. Renewable Energy At Home Speaking of renewables, the falling cost of solar power has made it far more affordable for the everyday homeowner to install solar panels on their roofs.
But the U. is still lagging behind other countries. Americans have installed solar arrays on abouthomes and businesses so far. But places like Germany have far more prolific coverage. The country reach a point one day last year when it produced nearly 75 percent of its entire energy demand from renewables. Offshore Wind Power One of the last great hurdles for renewable energy is offshore wind -- turbines located just off the coast that can generate near-constant green power. Cape Wind was hailed as the first offshore wind array off the U. But the multibillion-dollar project has faced a series of funding hurdles and the future of the farm is in doubt. Other countries have been more successful, with advances including a wind farm in Scotland that drew the ire of Donald Trump and floating turbines off the coast of Fukushimanear the site of Japan's nuclear disaster, green technology essay.
Green technology essay Rockets SpaceX, another Musk company, has been trying to revamp the space exploration game and fuel our "Star Trek" fantasies with reusable rockets. Rockets are notoriously expensive, and Musk has long advocated for reusable shuttles, which he says could reduce the cost of space travel by a factor of SpaceX has had some trouble with its first three test flightsbut it's only a matter of time until Musk sticks the landing, green technology essay. Drought-Tolerant Crops With the drought in California still raging, many farmers are worried about the future of their water-guzzling fields. Despite widespread water cutbacks for homeowners, agriculture hasn't been affected by the drought-fighting mandates of Gov. Jerry Brown D. Moving crops to less-parched areas of the country isn't always feasible, but farmers can instead plant drought-tolerant crops, green technology essay, such as genetically modified, green technology essay, resilient seeds that can surive with less water.
Tesla began selling used electric vehicles in May, but other companies are itching to join the fray. Main Menu U. News U. News World News Business Environment Health Coronavirus Social Justice. Politics Joe Biden Congress Extremism. Communities Queer Voices Women Black Voices Latino Voices Asian Voices. Special Projects Highline. HuffPost Personal Video Horoscopes. From Our Partners The Legacy Lives On Level Up Your Gifts. International Australia Brazil Canada España France Ελλάδα Greece India Italia 日本 Japan 한국 Korea Green technology essay U. Follow Us. Part of HuffPost Environment. All rights reserved. Suggest a correction. What's Hot. Fox News Tackled The Anniversary Of The U. Capitol Riot Just As You'd Expect.
Anti-Vax Podcaster Dies Of COVID After Attending Right-Wing Rally. Academy Award Winner Sidney Poitier Dies At Age Reports. More In Environment. Scientists Teach Goldfish To Drive 'Fish-Operated Vehicle'. Trump EPA Chief Andrew Wheeler Tapped For Virginia's Top Environmental Post. Betty White Privately Paid To Fly Animals Out Of Aquarium After Hurricane Katrina, green technology essay. Massive Sewage Spill Closes Southern California Beaches.
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Viability — creating a center of economic activity around technologies and products that benefit the environment, speeding their implementation and creating new careers that truly protect the planet. Energy Perhaps the most urgent issue for green technology, this includes the development of alternative fuels, new means of generating energy and energy efficiency. Green building Green building encompasses everything from the choice of building materials to where a building is located. Environmentally preferred purchasing This government innovation involves the search for products whose contents and methods of production have the smallest possible impact on the environment, and mandates that these be the preferred products for government purchasing.
Green chemistry The invention, design and application of chemical products and processes to reduce or to eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Green nanotechnology Nanotechnology involves the manipulation of materials at the scale of the nanometer, one billionth of a meter. Some scientists believe that mastery of this subject is forthcoming that will transform the way that everything in the world is manufactured. Through policy, research, education, incentives and forward-looking relationships with industry, government can play a central role in building a green future, community by community.
The prospects for success have never been greater. Green technology, also known as sustainable technology, takes into account the long- and short-term impact something has on the environment. Green products are by definition, environmentally friendly. Energy efficiency, recycling, health and safety concerns, renewable resources, and more all go into the making of a green product or technology. Since the invention of the steam engine kicked off the Industrial Revolution , our planet has suffered rapid changes in climate that include increasingly severe droughts, increased depletion of groundwater reserves, seawater acidification, rising seawater levels, the rapid spread of diseases and macroparasites, and the extinction of species.
Unless we intervene, these changes may prove irreversible. Green technology offers us the best hope to counteract the effects of climate change and pollution. The world has a fixed amount of natural resources, some of which have already been depleted or ruined. For example, household batteries and electronics often contain dangerous chemicals that pollute soil and groundwater with chemicals that cannot be removed from our drinking water supply and wind up in food crops and livestock grown on contaminated soil. The health risks alone are staggering. Plastic pollutants are another nonsustainable resource that's destroying the ocean habitats of sea creatures around the world—killing off fish, birds, and countless other species.
Larger pieces pose choking and strangulation hazards, while the tiny particles of disintegrating plastic are making their way into the bottom of the food chain. As larger fish feed on contaminated krill, they too become contaminated and if those fish are subsequently harvested for human consumption, the contaminants are going to wind up on your plate and in your stomach. Not so appetizing, right? There are three principles which define sustainability in any type of material, as described by the American ecologist and economist Herman Daly:. Nonrenewable energy resources include nuclear, hydrogen, coal, natural gas, and oil. All of these currently fail the definition of sustainability in one way or another but most painfully in the ability of the environment to absorb and regenerate the expenses related to their extraction or production.
One of the best-known examples of green technology is the solar cell , which directly converts energy from natural light into electrical energy via the process of photovoltaics. Generating electricity from solar energy equates to less consumption of fossil fuels, as well as the reduction of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. While some detractors argue that solar panels are expensive and unattractive, new inventions may be just around the corner to offset these concerns. Community solar groups, in which renters will share solar panel products, and new spray-on photovoltaic film using perovskites that have the potential to convert regular window glass to solar collectors are just two possibilities on the horizon that show great promise for the future of solar assets.
Other renewable energy sources include hydro, biomass, wind, and geothermal, but unfortunately, these assets are not currently be exploited at adequate levels to replace nonrenewable sources. Some members of the energy industry are dead set against going green, while others see it as both a challenge and an opportunity. The bottom line is that while non-renewable energy resources currently comprise 80 percent of the world's energy requirements, over time, that's simply not going to sustainable. If we hope to maintain life on our planet, emerging green energy technology must be used alongside existing methods to transition from the unsustainable to the sustainable.
Here a just a few reasons why going green is in everyone's best interest:.
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