Technology and dementia

InTech Publishing, 2012

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 2016

Journal of Cosmology, 2010

We may have already surpassed prudent limits for atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, and have exceeded (or are near) safe limits for a number of other Earth system processes. If fossil fuels maintain their present share, bringing the expected year 2050 world population up to US primary energy levels would involve a 6-fold rise in energy consumption, with a similar rise in CO2 emissions. We argue that even a combination of the various conventional approaches for climate mitigation will prove to be ‘too little too late’. If use of geoengineering to delay some of the consequences of climate change is judged too risky, we conclude the only remaining approach for meeting the needs of all humans while staying within the Earth’s bio-capacity is to abandon our current growth-oriented economies. Even this strategy could face difficulties if population does not peak soon.

Our dear planet is being destroyed by means of climate change, fortunately there are developments and policy proposals that can dynamically combat this effect. With the increase in atmospheric CO2 in the atmosphere scientists are putting forth several ideas and innovations towards mitigating this climate change. These designs include mechanisms of cutting CO2 emission, green/environmental technology and geoengineering__ these can be looked at as the potential saviors from climate change. To each mechanism there are given advantages as each are aimed at reducing the effects of climate change; however, as with all else there are drawbacks to the use of each individually. If these methods should jointly implemented then it would yield superior results.

As far as sustainability is concerned, the role of technology has always been contested. With regard to environmental degradation, technology is either perceived to be part of the problem or part of the solution. To combat the complex issues of the present time, technological solutions are expected to play a key role towards mitigating and adapting to the negative impacts of climate change. The paper also discusses the role of the 2009 Copenhagen Conference towards addressing climate change. Although the Copenhagen Accord is not a legally binding agreement, it is seen as a necessary first step towards a protocol that will effectively address the issue of climate change.

We do not necessarily need new technologies to avert the climate crisis. Instead, historical and contemporary examples suggest that changes to individual behavior can do much to lower greenhouse gas emissions and respond to climate change. On September 16, 1991, a small group of scientists sealed themselves inside Biosphere II, a glittering 3.2 acre glass and metal dome in Oracle, Arizona, built by some of the world's finest engineers. Two years later, when this radical attempt to replicate Earth's ecosystems through technology ended, the engineered environment was dying and Biosphere II failed to generate breathable air, drinkable water, and adequate food for just eight people.[1] The lessons from this experience are numerous and possibly prophetic. Biosphere II underscores that even our best technology cannot yet provide many of the ecosystem services which human beings need to survive. It suggests that we do not understand the natural systems that we depend upon well enough to replicate them. And it implies that trying to provide things like a stable climate or clean water with technology is expensive: the eight researchers inside Biosphere needed $200 million worth of high-tech equipment to produce only air, water, and food. Put in the context of the climate crisis, the warning is dire: we may not be able to design our way out of the problem. A far simpler and certain option would be to substantially reduce the activities that emit greenhouse gases and damage the planet. To advance this argument, this essay begins by drawing from three historical examples to show how optimism in technology and human ingenuity can be misplaced. It then explains how a pernicious web of social, cultural, political, and economic barriers prevent us from using greenhouse gas-reducing technologies that would often benefit us. Lastly, it focuses on what individuals can do, merely by changing their behavior and using existing technology, to significantly reduce their carbon footprints.

Abstract We may have already surpassed prudent limits for atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, and have exceeded (or are near) safe limits for a number of other Earth system processes. If fossil fuels maintain their present share, bringing the expected year 2050 world population up to US primary energy levels would involve a 6-fold rise in energy consumption, with a similar rise in CO2 emissions. We argue that even a combination of the various conventional approaches for climate mitigation will prove to be 'too little too late'.

The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report showed that to limit global temperature rise since the industrial revolution to 2 ºC (thought by the European Union to represent a prudent limit to avoid dangerous climatic change) CO2 emissions may have to be cut by the year 2050 to as little as 15 % of the year 2000 value, with the peak emission year in 2000-2015. Since about 77 % of the climatic radiative forcing of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions from all sources comes from carbon dioxide, (with most of this in turn coming from fossil fuel use) this chapter mainly considers these emissions. Geoengineering is the only mitigation approach that does not require emission reductions, but carries serious risks—in attempting to solve one problem it creates others. Mitigating climate change will thus require that large emission reductions be made rapidly. The three most commonly discussed measures, carbon sequestration, use of non-carbon fuels and energy efficiency, can do little to reduce emissions in the time frame required, a point tacitly acknowledged by the IPCC and other authorities. Heavy emphasis will therefore need to be placed on a very different approach. Particularly in countries with high-energy per capita use, we argue emission cuts will also require reductions in the use of energy-using devices—including cars, airplanes and domestic appliances. Although this approach can be implemented quickly, it evidently requires profound changes in the global economy.

Review of Policy Research, 2009

Abstract The idea of geoengineering, or the intentional modification of the Earth's atmosphere to reverse the global warming trend, has entered a working theory stage, finding expression in a variety of proposed projects, such as launching reflective materials into the Earth's atmosphere, positioning sunshades over the planet's surface, depositing iron filings into the oceans to encourage phytoplankton blooms, and planting more trees, to name only a few.

2009