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The College of Science asked scientists from a variety of disciplines to share their perspectives on how they stay positive in the face of the many challenges of modern science, especially in light of Mental Health Awareness Month.
Future historians will remember this century as the greatest challenge facing humanity. Rapidly worsening environmental and economic consequences caused by a 2°F human-induced global temperature rise ensure that this chapter in our species’ story could be called “The Age of Climate Change.” The beginning of this chapter would describe how in burning fossil fuels, we unwittingly launched the world’s largest uncontrolled scientific experiment and that the resulting erratic climate caused increased global conflict and an alarming loss of biodiversity. The authors would complain that, even though scientists and politicians knew the causes of climate change, and that many promising solutions were offered by scientists and politicians, we failed to act quickly and were sadly naive in our vision, flippantly ignoring the lives of our grandchildren.
Good stories begin with tension and conflict. We have an amazing story that is full of conflict of unprecedented proportions. We’ll decide what to do with the rest. How will this chapter in the human story end?
I am optimistic that “The Age of Climate Change” will end positively. I believe we will transition completely to clean and renewable energy sources. I also believe that fossil fuel combustion is going to be obsolete soon. I believe that we will all become more united as a species if we work together to solve the international problem that affects us all. UNR knows that there are climate change leaders in the making. They are learning, researching and politicking within our classrooms and communities.
There are many reasons to be hopeful, even in the face of climate change. The adoption of renewable and clean energy sources has been much faster than expected. Amazing scientific advances have been made in the field of energy production. The backbone of a climate-change solution is now possible with the efficiency of solar panels and wind turbines. In many parts of the globe, coal is becoming less popular as it is the dirtiest fossil fuel. More than 40 countries have pledged to eliminate coal completely in the next decade, but not the United States, China or India.
Since the Industrial Revolution, our improved quality of life has been inextricably linked to increasing energy consumption. Surprisingly, this trend has reversed in the past fifty years. Global per capita energy use has remained relatively constant over the period despite an increase in the standard of living. This positive development can be attributed to improvements in energy efficiency of lighting, appliances, electronic devices, and buildings infrastructure. Amazing scientific and technological advancements such as the light emitting diode (LED) and the semiconductor revolution are the foundation for energy efficiency improvements.
However, science alone is not enough to stop climate change. To solve such a complex problem, it is essential to implement both economic reform and political reform. The economic motivation for energy efficiency improvements is intrinsic. Nobody likes paying higher electricity rates. It is no coincidence, too, that energy efficiency has increased in tandem with the modern environmental movement of the 1960s & 1970s.
We can overcome this climate crisis together if science, activism, economics, and politics are all three of our drivers. I am thrilled to see a second wave in environmentalism being led by young activists around the globe, who are motivated by climate change. Renewable energy sources are more affordable than fossil fuels in many cases, and will continue to be cheaper as economies of scale develop. Both on the political and economic fronts, there’s much more to do, and UNR has many hardworking people doing that.
As a scientist, it is clear that there are still many key pieces of technology that need to be developed to make the transition to renewable energy complete. We don’t have a reliable and economical way to store intermittent renewable energy on our power grid. The power grid will not be able to handle a greater amount of renewable energy adoption unless this problem is addressed. Another problem is that not all of our most carbon-intensive activities can be electrified at the moment. The most carbon-intensive mode for transportation, air travel, is too heavy to be powered by batteries. Cement, glass, steel, fertilizer production, and other industrial processes are responsible for large amounts of carbon emissions. They cannot be electrified in any simple way.
These renewable energy issues are a great area for research. Using recently developed flow batteries, which can also be thought of as a combination between fuel cells or rechargeable batteries may be able allow us to store large amounts energy on the grid. Many new battery chemistries have theoretical energy density levels that rival jet fuels, making it possible to build electric airplanes. There are new electrochemical methods that can convert room temperature to energy, which could replace high-temperature industrial processes. There are still technological advances that can improve the energy efficiency in our homes and offices, such as dynamic windows that can be electronically switched to transparency. Scientists are also making progress in removing carbon dioxide, the primary global warming gas, from the atmosphere and converting it into fuels or other useful products. These last two projects are being pursued by me and my students in the Department of Chemistry.
All of these reasons make it possible to believe that science will be able to get us to where we need to go in the coming years to prevent the most detrimental societal and ecological effects of climate change. The greatest threat lies not in a lack in scientific output, but in civil discourse. Moving forward, it is important to not undermine the progress we have made by factionalism and diversions, or worse, explicit disinformation campaign. Although conservation is undoubtedly important, we need to carefully assess tradeoffs, and there is no going back to some “pristine” state. We are eight million people and we have irrevocably impacted the planet’s environment through geoengineering. The only way forward is to be optimistic, thoughtful, and rational about how geoengineering it in the future. We decide the ending of the climate change chapter in the human saga.
About Christopher Barile
Christopher Barile is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemistry. He uses electrochemistry, inorganic and materials chemistry to combat climate change. Barile’s invention of smart-window tinted glass technology has attracted national attention because of its energy-saving capabilities. He continues to explore this technology. Potential applications of the dynamic film he used in his smart windows technology. Currently, Barile’s lab is exploring chemical reactions central to renewable energy and environmental technologies and aims to develop processes for Recycle carbon dioxide and nitrogen in your atmosphere.
