Calls for environmental protection are growing every day, and accordingly, there is an increasing demand for various technologies that can practically protect the environment. Sustainable practices and technologies emerged as a critical tool to fight climate change and mitigate the damage. From solar energy and wind power to new materials and green chemistry, there are numerous efforts and innovations that are helping to reduce our impact on the planet.
Solar Energy and Wind Power
If you were asked to talk about eco-friendly technologies that you know, most people, from five-year-olds to older adults, would name solar energy and wind power. Both solar energy and wide power are two of the most major renewable energy sources, which continued for several decades. Solar energy was primarily used in space technology in the beginning. However, in the 1970s, the oil crisis sparked interest in solar energy. From then, the use of technology began to expand, being widely used for domestic and commercial purposes. Today, you can find solar energy facilities anywhere in the world. From residential homes to large scale solar farms, solar energy is used for small-sized domestic consumptions and also for supporting the entire community.
Similarly, wind power has been in use for centuries. Of course, humans acknowledged the power of wind and have been using it since the time humans put sails into the wind. With the first windmills being used for grinding grains, the windmills were used to grind grain, to pump water, or to cut some woods. After some time passed, the oil shortage in 1970 created interest in having alternative energy to generate electricity, and wind energy was one of them along with solar energy. From then, with the incentives provided by governments to use renewable energy, the number of wind power projects increased. Today, wind power generators and other facilities are found in areas with strong wind.
Green Chemistry
Green chemistry is a field of chemistry, which focuses on making the chemical process and product safer to both humans and the environment. It includes minimizing the use of hazardous chemicals, reducing wasted, and looking for better and sustainable alternatives. For example, new materials which can be produced with less energy and fewer harmful byproducts are developed and introduced to replace the existing materials. When we get to picture the major factors of environmental destruction, we may think of something huge and something visible, for example huge factories with smoke, transportations emitting smokes. However, certain chemical processes and chemical products can be really harmful to the environment and that is why there’s an effort for developing ‘green chemistry’ to reduce the environmental impact of chemical production.
No-plastic products
High use of plastic is also known to be a significant environmental issue. To address the problem, lots of technologies are used in different fields to develop ‘less-plastic’ or ‘no-plastic’ products and services. For example, in the telecommunications field, eSIM (embedded subscriber identity module) technology allows mobile devices to connect to cellular networks without a physical SIM card, reducing the need for plastic SIM cards. Modern travelers can travel without consuming another small plastic chip, if they use eSIM service from eSIM service providers such as eSIM Europe. Similarly, there is an effort to develop new material to replace the existing plastics. Bioplastic is one of them. Or, some daily disposable products like straws and plates are made from other materials like paper, bamboo, and even seaweed. All these efforts are to find innovative ways and alternatives reducing the use of traditional plastics.
