How Technology can Help Protect our Forests

Robots in the Trees

High up in the forest canopy, where 90% of the interaction between the atmosphere and the forest occurs a robot aptly named Treebot does its daily rounds. Its job, to monitor the subtle changes in light, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels crucial to detecting environmental change. As the solar powered robot moves along specially designed cables it takes measurements to determine the interaction between the atmosphere and the forest environment.

Treebot, is the first of its kind to combine networked sensors, a wireless net link and a webcam. The data it collects allows scientists to make predictions about how climate change is likely to effect the forest’s future.

This little robot might provide some key answers to the problems caused by environmental change.

Radar Remote Sensing

It is not an easy task monitoring the rate of deforestation. The data provided by conventional satellites is wrought with errors because forest destruction is often hidden by cloud cover typically associated with tropical regions.

This is not good for policymakers who have placed their faith in REDD, a mechanism for rewarding those countries that reduce emissions by cutting back on deforestation.

But then along came radar remote sensing, a radar technology capable of penetrating cloud cover. Accurate measurement of forest degradation should ensure financial compensation reaches the right places. Let’s hope that the incentive for cutting down trees is not greater than leaving them alone.

How Ocean Technology will Help the Environment

The sea covers seven tenths of the globe. It would seem only natural that some of the answers to global warming be found in our oceans.  Here are a couple of ideas that show great promise

The Technology of Underwater Turbines

In the USA it has been estimated that the full scale installation of underwater (mainly rivers) "wind style axial" turbines will generate half the energy currently generated by dams. Imagine how much energy there is waiting to be harnessed in our oceans - the gulf stream comes to mind!

In the UK, a team of engineers have developed a new type of turbine called THAWT (Transverse Horizontal Axis Water Turbine) that is mechanically much simpler than axial flow devices. This is important because the likelihood of barnacles etc preventing operation is significantly reduced. The design of THAWT has resulted in a device that can be extended to exploit the largest possible area of ocean current. It can also be scaled regardless of how deep the water is. Interestingly, the device is capable of handling water flow in both directions making it ideally suited to tidal movement.

If THAWT devices were extended over the same area as axial flow devices they would require less generators, less primary seals and less foundations resulting in a very cost effective solution to our future renewable energy requirements.

Iron In the Sea

Originally pioneered by oceanographer John Martin in the late 80s, iron fertilization of the ocean was surrounded by controversy. The idea of dumping large amounts of iron into the sea to halt the progression of global warming was not received well by environmentalists and policymakers. Today, with the problem of global warming reaching critical levels the concept is receiving growing support. But how does iron fertilization work?

When the ocean is spiked with iron the tiny class of organisms called phytoplankton thrive. Living at the bottom of the food chain, phytoplankton are mostly consumed by other species. What is significant is the fact that these little organisms suck up CO2 and then store it in their tissues - a great way of reducing carbon levels in the atmosphere.

It is interesting to note that the same effect produced by iron fertilization happens naturally. The desert sands of the Sahara are rich in iron. Constant winds and sand storms ensure the Atlantic is regularly provided with its fair share of fertilization.

The Technology of Desert Reclamation

Deserts take up about one third of the earth’s total land surface. It is not hard to see why reclamation of this land could possibly undo some of the damage done by deforestation and other human activities. For instance, the massive tree planting projects designed to stop deserts drifting and stabilize the environment might in their own small way, help with the global warming problem.

The problem with such large projects is of course the amount of water needed for irrigation. A number of technological developments have made it possible to use less water to achieve the same ends - a significant step in the right direction considering the world’s shortage of fresh water!

Controlled use of cloud seeding, a technology where certain chemicals are shot into cloud formations allow rainfall to be targeted at specific regions. If we can direct the rainfall where it’s needed then less water is required from other sources.

The over cultivation of land without nourishment is partly responsible for it turning into desert. Some hi-tech fertilizers have been developed to retain water and stop it escaping into the sand below.

Dripline irrigation technology developed in Israel allows water to be delivered right to where it’s needed. The pressurised system consisting of several main pipes and hundreds of drip lines maintains consistent water pressure and volume no matter the terrain. The city of Korla in China has successfully used the system to grow more than 3,000 hectares of trees with a 75% saving of water.

Home Energy Power Systems

Technological advances have made it increasingly worthwhile to install home based energy systems. DIY Solar and wind power systems have become so cheap that payback can be seen in as little as a year. Even areas where these types of technology were previously inefficient are suitable considering the latest technological developments. A case in point might be Denmark where even though there is little sunshine there has been a large uptake of solar technology.

One technology gaining ground is that of the geothermal heat pump - not least because it doesn’t rely on prevailing weather conditions.  Regardless of the Earth’s surface, the temperature a few hundred feet under ground remains pretty constant at about 60 degrees. That warmer environment is key to providing a renewable source of energy that has little impact on the natural environment. The technology involves drilling deep holes (200 to 300 feet deep) and inserting U-shaped earth-heat exchange tubes which are then connected to a primary heat exchanger inside the property. The system can be used in the winter to heat a property and in the summer for air conditioning.

Another renewable home power source can be found in BIO-fuels. Manufactured and safer for the environment, BIO-fuels can be created for less cost than fossil fuels.

What Will We Do With Our Trash?

Out of all the technologies discussed so far I am most impressed by the technology known as Plasma Gasification.

Inside a sealed container a high voltage current is passed between two electrodes to convert gas into plasma. Current is passed through the plasma creating a field of intense energy not unlike lightning. This energy is so powerful it can reduce trash to its basic molecular structure. It doesn’t combust waste as incinerators do so the environmental impact is minimal. The only by-products are a glass like substance which can be used to make bathroom tiles and a synthesis gas that can be converted into different types of fuel.

One of the most amazing things about this technology is its sustainability. After using power from the grid to get the process started the high temperature synthesis gas is fed into a cooling system where steam is generated to drive turbines. About two thirds of the energy is required to run the system; the rest can be used for local heating or sold back to the grid.

It has been estimated that a city with an average tipping fee can recover the costs of a $250 million system within about 10 years. There may be a day when cities actually make money from garbage.

How Does Science and Technology Harm the Environment?

As with all technological advances there are always some drawbacks. Consider the planting of trees to prevent deserts drifting. If the sand and dust from the Sahara never reached the Atlantic it might effect marine life in unexpected ways. Then there is the idea of cloud seeding. Rainfall targeted at one place might cause a lack of water in another - leading to disputes between neighbouring regions or even countries. Also, the long term effects of iron fertilization are unknown. Not all phytoplankton are gobbled up by other marine life. A huge amount sinks to the bottom of the ocean creating a massive store of CO2. When it is finally released what would be the consequences? The fact is, we just don’t know. Sometimes we just have to make a decision. After all, any decision is better than no decision and at least we learn something in the process!

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The rate at which we are burning fossil fuels means the best we can expect is probably a rise of 4 °C! Even though this is enough to cause huge problems for a large percentage of the world’s population - it is difficult to imagine the consequences of a 6.4 °C rise. In an experiment at South Africa’s Karoo desert it was discovered that a daytime rise of between 4 °C and 6 °C was enough to kill three quarters of plant species. 

Approximately 250 million years ago evidence suggests that temperatures on earth rose about 6 °C. This happened over a period of about 10000 years and nearly wiped out life on earth.

Much of the land turned to desert and the warming oceans which lost oxygen as a consequence turned stagnant and toxic. This may have been enough to trigger the release of methane from the sea bed and poison the atmosphere. It’s a wonder anything survived.

What’s alarming is that similar temperature rises are expected over the next 100 years! Carbon Dioxide pumped into the atmosphere by human activities seems to be happening faster than any natural releases of the past.

The writer Mark Lynas studied past records to examine the potential effects of temperature rises up to 6 °C. Following is a summary of his predictions, giving a good summary to "what are the Effects of Global Warming for each Degree of Temperature Rise?".

A Temperature Rise of 1 °C

Farmland in the USA is turned to dust much of it turning to desert. The Gulf stream could disappear making Europe a very cold place in the winter!

A Temperature Rise of 2 °C

As the oceans turn acidic, plankton is killed off affecting sea life. Europe has intense heat waves in the summer causing wildfires around the Mediterranean. Places like Greenland start to melt and the oceans rise threatening coastal cities.

A Temperature Rise of 3 °C

Deserts in Africa expand driving millions of refugees from their homes. Fires become an increasing hazard in the Amazon, destroying forests and releasing yet more carbon. Food supplies fall short and the availability of water becomes a big problem in places like Australia and India.

A Temperature Rise of 4 °C

Millions of people around the Nile Delta and places like Bangladesh become refugees because of rising waters. The West Antarctic ice sheet breaks up pumping up to 5 metres of water into the oceans of the world. Deserts spread in Spain and Portugal as much of southern europe becomes like the Sahara.

A Temperature Rise of 5 °C

The earth is now hotter than it has been for 55 million years. Deserts spread across Europe, America and Asia leaving most of the world uninhabitable. People migrate to the Poles.

A Temperature Rise of 6 °C

Massive fires sweep the planet as methane hydrate fireballs ignite. Toxic Hydrogen sulphide is released from the sea and life on earth has almost been extinguished. The survival of humans is in serious doubt.

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The real problem in terms of climate change is the net emissions of CO2 over longer periods of time. In a completely natural environment there would be no increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. But when human activity causes CO2 emissions through fossil fuel combustion and deforestation the overall source of CO2 is increased.

What makes the problem worse is that deforestation has the added effect of decreasing the net sink of CO2! Land that has been deforested makes for poor agriculture and does little to help restore the CO2 balance.

In April 1968, the CO2 level in our atmosphere was measured at 325.02 ppm. In June of 2008, it was 387.19. An increase of nearly 20% over 40 years. In study after study scientists have shown a direct correlation between the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere and global warming. It would seem there is little to blame for global warming other than human activity.  Indeed, since the industrial revolution temperatures throughout the world have risen by approximately 1.5 degrees, Farenheit. Most of this increase came in the 20th century. What will we do to make it better in the 21st?

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The majority of us rely on the grid for our energy needs and until recently have taken things for granted. Increasing prices were generally in line with inflation. The only outages were due to industrial action or grid failure and all in all everything seemed pretty much as it should be. Until now that is!

The cost of our energy has risen so much in recent times that it has become more cost effective to re-open old and disused mines than import fossil fuels from abroad. Anything locally sourced is of course always better for our environment but what can we really expect to gain from such action? A few more years of not being entirely dependent on other countries for our energy?

Today, we are in a sticky situation. It’s unfortunate that most of the worlds fossil fuels come from developing yet volatile countries. Places with entirely different viewpoints and political agendas to those in the West. It would not take much to plunge the world into an energy crisis!

It won’t be long before we are seeing outages for reasons other than those given above. In certain parts of the world electricity is cut off for long periods of the day because the resources are simply not available at affordable prices.  If fossil fuel prices keep rising, an inevitable result of global depletion, not only will we be faced with huge bills, we will experience more and more outages.

Is this something we should just accept?

The trouble with big business, the grid and the world in general is a propensity for short term thinking. Nothing is actually done about the enviroment or the depletion of fossil fuel resources while the consumer keeps paying the bills. The short term solution is to tax us even more but the easy solution is not always the best.

The only thing for it is, for individuals to take action themselves and become free of high fossil fuel costs and third party interference!

If enough people were to build their own form of power source we may see big changes in corporate thinking. As with most big changes in the world we need to reach a tipping point before any major action is taken by big business or government. After all, it’s not in their interest for us all to be self sufficient. How would they be able to interfere?

The good thing for the environment is that we are not about to find a coal mine in our back yard. Instead of fossil fuels we can use sustainable resources like solar energy, wind energy or bio-fuels. The old saying ‘Kill two birds with one stone’ comes to mind. We save both money and the environment!

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Forests are in fact a huge carbon storehouse. Trees effectively breath in Carbon Dioxide to produce the carbohydrates, fats and proteins that give them life. When forests are cut down and the trees are either burnt or left to rot they release all their stored up carbon into the atmosphere. It has been estimated that one third of all CO2 released by human activity is due to de-forestation.

What can be done?

A lot of people would tell you absolutely nothing and blame rising populations as the major contributor to rain forest destruction.

However, I would beg to differ.

One statement from An Emergency Call to Action for the Forests and Their Peoples says, "Deforestation is the inevitable result of the current social and economic policies being carried out in the name of development". Reading between the lines it seems that the biggest cause of rain forest destruction is the corporate drive for profit coupled with the inequities of international trade! However, the profits and inequities are only a result of the rest of us buying into the story.

You can hardly blame developing countries clearing land for agriculture, logging and other types of development if they are indebted to richer nations. Neither can you blame the people to want to farm the land once it has been cleared.

Really, it is up to us in the wealthier nations to bring about change by raising awareness of why deforestation happens and by lessening our demands on the poorer nations and helping them restore the resources they once had. Please take some time to look at what the Arbor Day Foundation does to help save our planet.

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Residential energy use accounts for 16 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. So by going solar, not only will you reduce your carbon footprint but you will save a lot of money as well. The power of solar energy is here to stay and with technology improving all the time it has not yet been tapped for its true potential!

A long standing argument against using solar technology has been the overall cost of installation.  This is partly due to the energy intensity of sunlight. Even though the earth is energised by the Sun the amount of Solar energy falling on a square meter of earth is actually quite small - working out to roughly 300Watts per sq meter depending on location. This of course means large solar panels are needed to meet the energy needs of a typical home - generally Solar Panels with a size 10% the entire living area. The size of these panels and subsequently the cost make the decision to buy difficult when you consider how long it would take to see a return on investment.

The good news is that building your own solar power units can be comparatively inexpensive when compared to off the shelf solar products. Also, because it’s not necessary to convert your entire energy needs at once, a gradual switch becomes a lot more affordable - your savings go to pay for the next phase of development.

A big but not often talked about advantage of going solar is a lessening dependence on outside influence. Most of us in the West are entirely dependent on foreign energy resources and subject to rising prices that we can do little about. Imagine never having to worry about rising prices, the possibility of outages or being subject to third party influence. In fact, many people who go solar end up selling energy back to the grid. How about that for turning the tables.

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And it doesn’t just stop there…

Raising livestock also plays a big part in de-forestation, either to supply the increasing demand for meat or to grow crops for feed. What is particularly worrying is that de-forestation is responsible for a quarter of all global man-made CO2 emissions.

According to research published in Animal Science, producing one kilo of beef is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than driving for 3 hours while leaving all the lights on in a house.

So you see, cutting back on the meat and dairy products in our diet can dramatically improve our quality of life. It has been said if the entire western world were to cut out eating meat and dairy products altogether, we could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 7-8%. In one stroke we would be halfway to the targets already set by many governments throughout the world.

I know this isn’t going to happen overnight but considering we eat far more protein than we need it wouldn’t take a lot to reduce our individual carbon footprints. Together, we can cut greenhouse gas emissions and do our bit to prevent global warming.

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Our perception of the global warming problem has in fact become slightly warped by political agenda.

In the Western world we rely on fossil fuels from countries that many people consider insecure and/or instable. There is a big drive to move away from such dependence. And what better way than to emphasize the damage fossil fuels are doing to our environment!

Increasing CO2 levels are mainly the product of fossil fuels and finding alternative sources of energy will only benefit our planet. However, perhaps our priorities are misdirected!

Both Methane and Nitrous Oxide are far more damaging to the environment and yet both are produced from an entirely different source. The source I’m talking about is meat and dairy farming.

With the demand for meat expected to double by the year 2050 we could be in for a very rough ride. One cow can produce up to 500 litres of methane a day and with over a billion cattle on the planet and methane up to 20 times more damaging than CO2, it doesn’t take much imagination to see where our real problems are!

Nitrous oxide is an even bigger contributor to global warming and the majority of that we generate from farming animals.

What is the answer? A green diet. A global drive to eat less meat is not only good for our health but also great for the planet.

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It was time to ask myself some serious questions. However, at the same time I had some serious doubts about what the results were saying about my lifestyle. I couldn’t quite get the idea that I should give up all the things I had become accustomed to lower my Carbon Footprint! My business required that I fly to different countries in order to carry my work out on site. I could hardly car share to a business on short notice nor cycle with a suitcase on my back. The only green thing I was doing was re-using my Hotel towels - the calculator didn’t give me any points for that!

There must be millions of people like myself who for financial reasons can’t give up what they are doing without suffering in the process.  There had to be another way! After all, why should we give up the progress already made?

It is in our nature to move forward - shouldn’t we just find better ways of doing things?

Of course, and it’s up to us individuals to take the initiative. Rely on governments and it really will be all too late.

It’s time for what I like to call a green revolution. A  time when we as individuals assume responsibility for our planet’s condition and take appropriate action to fix the problems we have collectively caused.

That we must halt Global Warming is without doubt paramount. However, living an Eco friendly life is so much more than that. It’s about ending our dependence on conglomerates who hold us to ransom over our basic needs for a quick profit. It’s about reducing pollution and creating a cleaner environment. It’s about living healthy and rewarding lifestyles and preserving our environment so that future generations can enjoy.

Let’s work together to create a greener Eco friendly world.

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