6 Eco-friendly Technologies That Could Change The World in Upcoming Years

With more and more people growing concerned with the climate change, scientists and companies have begun working more and more in technologies that can be applied during the daily life of society. These are some that could change the daily life of everyone soon.

The Internet of Things and Real-Time Monitoring 

The Internet of Things, consists of using devices to exchange data in real time. To put it simple, imagine a house with various sensors. If anything happens, the sensor will report it to the owners so they take action.

Now, at first that might look unrelated to plants, but in reality is pretty useful. If a field doesn’t have enough moisture, the sensor can inform farmers so they can water everything before the heat ruin their crops.

These sensors can also be drilled and set inside the ground to detect if there’s something wrong with it or if there’s some animal or bug that might harm the plants.

In this age, planting new trees is essential to protect the environment not only of forests but cities as well. These devices could make the difference and determine which are better places to plant and measure the health of the trees so they can grow as healthy as possible.

Proof of Stake and Eco-Friendly Cryptocurrencies

No one can deny that cryptos have changed the way everyone perceives money transactions around the world. Even to this day, there are thousands of people checking the live Bitcoin price, awaiting the perfect moment to buy or sell their coins.

However, there’s something that has always concerned experts about these currencies, and that is their energy consumption. During cryptos early days, people could only obtain these coins through “Mining” which consists of using a computer GPU to solve mathematical problems and get the coins as a prize.

When the boom of cryptos started, many people began leaving dozen of computers turned on for days to mine coins, increasing the energy consumption of hundreds of cities. 

Fortunately, crypto platforms seem to have caught on to this and established the Proof of Stake system which doesn’t involve mining but staking the coins that the user has.

Although cryptos still use a lot of energy, the change to the PoS system has opened the road for more eco-friendly payment methods.

Rainwater Harvesting: A Way to Use Water More Effectively

Harvesting rainwater isn’t anything really new. Through hundreds of years, many different cultures have used different methods to gather as much water as possible from the rain and use it for daily activities or farming.

With temperatures rising during the summer, this technology could easily become a game changer not only for farmers but for people in the city as well.

Companies have even started working on automated harvesting systems, so people can now know how much water they have. Some can even be connected to the toilet or laundry systems or programmed to release the water safely in case of massive rains.

That said, rainwater is still full of potential bacteria, so it’s risky to consume it without proper treatment. Those who want water to drink or cook, still need to find better alternatives if they want to deal with drought seasons.

Artificial Intelligence: Databases and Clean Energy

Artificial Intelligence has been the talk of town over the last years, with companies looking for new ways to implement it in almost every area, and the ecosystem is no exception.

Back in 2017, Microsoft announced the “AI for Earth” initiative: a project that aims to create eco-friendly solutions using AI technology. One of the biggest contribution of this project was the Planetary Computer, a multi-petabyte storage with data from each corner of the world. 

AI could also become an ally to save as much energy as possible in different devices and resolve the challenges that alternative energy methods, like nuclear fusion, faces nowadays.

Used in conjunction with IoT communication, AI could also become a solution to automize crop irrigation or use substances and tools to protect the plants at any time, even if there are no humans around.

Carbon Capture and Storage: Removing CO2 From the Atmosphere

Reducing the CO2 emissions is key to healing the planet, there’s no discussion to that. But what happens with gasses already in the atmosphere? Well, CCS plants could become the answer to that issue.

CCS, or Carbon Capture and Storage, is a process that extracts the CO2 from the very air itself, transports it and injects it inside rock formations, very far away from the ozone layer.

These plants have actually been in use since the 70’s. However, due to the recent concerns about climate change, many countries have begun constructing dozens of them as a way to tackle CO2, until they can reduce emissions.

Solar Glasses and Skyscrapers That Produce Energy

Solar energy is great, but harnessing enough energy for cities has limited its usage. However, the introduction of solar glass panels in building could change the scene in the upcoming years.

First made in 2014, these panels can be set as windows in houses and skyscrapers to gather energy continously, which can then be used to power everything inside the building.

Since these panels are made from semi-transparent glass, they can still be used to appreciate the scenery or add warm and natural lighting to any room, making them a very practical solution to gather energy from almost every building. 

Combined with regular solar panels in the rooftops, these special windows could end up becoming an energy solution for cities or at least reduce their CO2 emissions.

Why It’s Important to Learn About These Technologies?

Recycling and using biodegradable items is vital for eco sustainability, there’s no discussing that. But it’s also important to learn which new technologies can be applied to the daily routine to make it a bit more greener.

Many of these technologies often go under the radar, so they don’t get applied in a large scale. That’s why it’s important to understand how they work and spread the word so they can become the norm and help the ecosystem.