We already know what to do
The discussion was about development (tech,economy,infrastructure) mitigating climate change. I took the stance of less development in those areas and more social development. We already have plenty of solutions to help with climate change. Garth took the techno-positivism side. We had a decent discourse but I couldn’t help but notice that Garth was hitting the usual talking points that fit into capitalist rhetoric. So when I said social change should be a focus then the response was that in a perfect world that would work but humans are inherently selfish. Or his other take was that we need technological development to help facilitate social change. When I suggested we tackle the issue of capitalism as that stood in the way of any real social change then he hit back with capitalism is the way things are so we should work within its framework. Also people have tried other ways for example communism in the USSR and that failed so why bother trying anything else. You see the usual talking points all making their way into the debate.
I decided to pivot at this point and asked Garth to give me some examples of future technological developments he would like to see. Here’s the kicker he didn’t have any real ideas. He was waiting for someone with big brains to solve the issue. His example which was poorly selected was Elon “big dweeb” Musk. I was shocked. I had over estimated this situation. I was bringing my knowledge and debating in good faith but Garth was hoping for a sci-fi solution. This from a man doing an environmental policy module in a final year of a degree. I was annoyed and slightly confused so I had to do some research and write about some of the things I found. So lets dive into some current tech we can use and maybe discuss some of the social developments that could benefit us going forward.
“A microgrid is a localised grouping of distributed energy sources, >such as solar,wind, in-stream hydro and biomass, together with energy >storage or backup generation and load management tools. This system can >operate as a stand alone entity or its users can plug into the larger >grid as needed.”
Well isn’t that a cool concept! Microgrids are a lot more resilient and are able to focus on local demands much better than a bigger power grid. Now the odds of your local neighbourhood moving onto a microgrid are slim but they can be hugely beneficial to rural communities or developing nations who don’t have big stable power grids.(Project Drawdown, 2017)
District Heating and Cooling (DHC) systems pump hot or cold water underground to houses in the surrounding area. You still have control over your own personal thermostat but again its not up to the individual household to heat itself. This concept goes back all the way to the Romans! A nice little fact for people who are super duper into Roman history but never seem to bring up this nice collective good. It has also been done in New York, Toronto and more recently Copenhagen. Those Danes are ahead of the curve once more and use heat from coal fired power plants to power their district heating (Project Drawdown, 2017).
Let’s look at something in the social development sector. No technological development can lead to this. This is just something we as a species need to do. Girls in developing nations are less likely to go to school whether that be because of social reason or cultural but according to the Drawdown project there are benefits for both girls and the environment if they do. Educated girls have a better upward mobility in society thus contributing to the economy of the country. They have lower maternal death as well as infant mortality. They are less likely to be forced into marriage at a young age. All this reduces population growth in these countries where there is currently a upward trend in the population. Women are given a choice and when they do have families or plots of land they are then better able to support their families and get higher yields from their plots. This is one of those issues that when you actually look into it is entangled with climate change is many ways. I highly recommend you do some research into it(Project Drawdown, 2017).
With all that said and done the climate change issue is complex. It is the biggest problem we are currently facing in the world today so lets not wait for some tech bro’s to solve our problems. We as individuals should push for social change and I am not just talking about caring about your carbon footprint, which is a scam, but promoting actual green policies. Green infrastructure such as community gardens, green corridors, sustainable drainage systems(Suds) are where I believe we should be focusing our efforts. It’s through these methods that we can start reshaping the way we view nature as well as interact with it.
Sources: Project Drawdown, (2018) ‘Drawdown the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming’ Penguin books