Technology for a Greener tomorrow

Dear Reader,

Climate change is real and it is happening. Observable effects are seen everywhere- glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner. A 2°C increase could mean more heat waves, a ten-fold increase in Arctic ice-free summers and a complete wipe-out of the world's coral reefs, home to millions of species. More frequent and intense drought, storms, heat waves, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and warming oceans can directly harm animals, destroy the places they live, and wreak havoc on communities and people's livelihoods.

As per NASA, the planet's average surface temperature has risen by about 0.9oC since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere. Companies realize the gravity of the situation and know that the time to act is now. Aiding them in this quest is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other modern technologies like Machine learning.

Google’s UK-based DeepMind laboratory applies its industry-leading knowledge of neural networks and machine learning to apply more efficient data interpretation to energy consumption and energy-grid distributions. These learnings were deployed for efficient energy distributions in wind farms. Prediction models developed there were used in scheduling energy deliveries resulting in a 20% improvement in operational efficiency.   

Climate change has led to teething problems for the global poor and poverty stricken populations leading to poor living environments and onset of diseases and other related ills.  AP-Latam, a project run by Argentina-based Dymaxion Labs, uses AI to analyze high-resolution satellite imagery to detect areas of informal settlement growth in precarious areas that are logistically difficult to analyze on the ground. By understanding and predicting areas of potential slum growth and population movements, governments can make better decisions on how to help affected families mitigate the effects of climate change.

Transportation accounts for 23% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, leaving plenty of room for positive contributions from AI. DHL and IBM have teamed up to use artificial intelligence to improve DHL’s global logistics operations. By predicting demand, risk, supply-side variations and other variables, DHL is curbing emission by optimizing their process.

Earth is the only planet we have to call home and global warming is causing irreversible damage. Global awareness is creating waves of innovation and optimizations to reduce the global warming footprint of corporations and individuals. 

Credits : Akhil Handa,Prithwijit Ghosh