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Regions close to the Equator will generate
constant solar energy, while the belt of
westerlies in the northern and southern
hemispheres will generate wind energy. With
such a system in operation, power stations
could no longer be required.
In addition, we must phase out petrol-
powered cars. In several European nations it is
now cheaper to have an electric car than a
petrol-powered car, and electric cars are quickly
becoming more popular. But even in the most
climate-conscious nations, electric cars still make
up only a small percentage of total cars, so the
struggle has not been won yet. And we need
technological improvements that can reduce
the pollution of climate-friendly cars even more.
The production of electric car batteries pollutes,
and the solution is either to improve battery
technology or to replace them with fuel cells that
are powered by hydrogen. The latter is probably
the most promising solution, but the technology
is not yet optimal.
The last major source of carbon dioxide
is concrete, the production of which is
responsible for about 8% of the world’s total
emissions, so that the concrete industry
emits three times as much as the aircraftindustry. New types of climate-friendly
concrete will soon hit the market, such as
biocement that is made by means of
micro-organisms. In recent years, engineers
have also experimented with using wood to
replace concrete, while new technologies
have enabled the design of wooden houses
that can tower up to 85 metres or 18 storeys
high. The strategy is promising, because
trees remove carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere and the carbon dioxide is
subsequently stored safely in the walls of
wooden houses. And even if the production
of concrete increases in the decades to
come, it will be possible, according to the
International Energy Agency, to reduce the
concrete industry’s emissions of carbon
dioxide by more than 25% by 2050, collecting
and storing the gases emitted in the course
of the production.Trees reduce temperatures
Technology allowing a dramatic reduction
of our carbon dioxide emissions already
exists, and new ones are constantly being
developed to help us fulfil our ambitious
goals even faster. Still, several studies indi-
cate that we need to add activities thatGM plants
to provide
extra food
High-yielding corn plants and
salt-tolerant rice could ensure
sufficient food for the world.
Scientists have two strategies for
producing enough food in a world ravaged
by flooding and drought. First of all
farmers must grow more food per hectare.
Scientists managed that in 2018, when
they created GM corn which yielded 15%
more corn per plant. Secondly, we need
to grow crops in areas that used to be
impossible to cultivate. Scientists have
already changed the genes of rice so that
the plants can tolerate more salt in the
ground. That is a major advantage when
farmland is often flooded by ocean water,
which ends up in the ground water.
VEGETABLES ON ROOFTOPS
ELIMINATE NOISE AND
POLLUTION
In the Garden Village of Berkeley,
USA, the roofs are linked with
footbridges and equipped with
raised garden beds and green-
houses. According to studies, this
type of vegetation both reduces
noise and removes pollution from
the air. Local food production also
minimises the need to ‘import’ food
from other places, delivering reduced
transport carbon-dioxide emissions.Gene modification could
improve photo-synthesis
in corn by increasing the
plant’s rubisco content.
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