The nearly seventy-four million children growing up as the next generation want to change. They’re looking for amazing ways green-tech can change the future. Children growing up today have already seen their parents struggle from the “Great Recession”. In fact, they’ve seen how large companies and most importantly Banks can teeter on financial ruin. They’ve witnessed how corruption costs taxpayers dearly and war often plays out on television screens around the globe.
They’re tired of standing by and watching the world destroy their futures…and their children’s future.
Generation Z
Two studies have shown Generation Z is the kind of kid every parent hopes to raise. The first study done by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found overall that the people in this demographic are more conservative. They’re more responsible than Millennials with fewer teen pregnancies, fewer drugs and alcohol problems. Plus they’re more likely to finish high school on time. They are good kids.
This generation has found their voice and wants to be heard. In 2019 the Pew Research Center collected data to find their sentiment and their findings aren’t that surprising. It found seventy percent believe the government must put more effort into solving serious problems facing the world today.
Global Call For Action
The need for government intervention in issues such as climate change, recycling, and pollution has steadily increased through generations. But, this need has reached a fever pitch with the climate crisis we now face today.
In an attempt to get leaders attention schoolchildren have created a group called Friday’s For Futures. By March 2019, 1.6 million kids have taken part in a school strike every Friday in over seven continents. They’re leader Greta Thunberg has asked International Leaders to stop talking about goals and start taking action!
What kind of action are they asking for? The issue of growing greenhouse gas has warmed the atmosphere. Consequently, CO2 has driven temperatures to a breaking point. If it continues on growing this way life will be in peril.
The UN Climate change report states the world has twelve years to change our patterns of consumption!
Batteries
So the world has awakened and have heard their demands are for a real and tangible change.
Inventions are amazing ways Green-Tech can change the future of our children. If we invent we may have a better chance to continue life uninterrupted. But right now, wildfires, droughts, floods, and rising sea levels are disrupting communities and costing billions of dollars.
One of the problems that must be solved is our insatiable need for batteries. In the USA alone, three billion batteries sell annually! Batteries are made up of heavy metals which if not disposed of properly are destined to contaminate the environment. Who throws their batteries away? Yup, I’ve done it!
My son falls into Generation Z he’s 6 years old and can wear out batteries in a matter of hours. We go through over a hundred and fifty dollars each year. Double or triple that number if a household has two or three battery hungry children!
My boy can point out a Toy Store while moving 60 km’s an hour, strapped into a four-point harness. He can barely crane his neck enough to see out the window! Yet, his little internal compass spins if he comes anywhere close to a known toy store.
It would be a very different world if there were no batteries to supply the insatiable hunger for battery operated toys! The nagging appeals for these toys are tiring. It seems to be an unending quest to acquire them and it’s relentless. I’m sure that every parent gives in to the pressure too!
Amazing ways Green-tech can change the future of batteries
One of the most amazing ways Green-tech can change the future is the invention of the supercapacitor. It is a new way to tackle old problems. One person has dedicated her academic life to make the battery industry more efficient and environmentally friendly.
Meghana Bollimpalli is an eighth grader who has invented a solution. She has developed a Supercapacitor using tea leaves and molasses. A supercapacitor is an electronic device. They store massive amounts of electrical energy and also have the potential to give us clean energy!
This invention earned her second place at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair last October. The Science behind the supercapacitor has been around for almost seventy years and is still in its market infancy as it claims only a small niche in comparison to battery sales.
This alternative could see the ability to recharge a single cell up to thirty thousand times without showing signs of aging. This invention is so brilliant for more than one reason!
The demise of batteries
Furthermore, what would happen if one day the raw materials vanish? The supply will begin to dwindle. Consequently, this would cost consumers a fortune to own a single battery!
The Energizer Holding’s Annual Report states,
“Our business is vulnerable to the availability of raw materials.”
The Energizer company relies on only a few raw materials suppliers and sometimes only one.
” There are concerns about supply disruptions due to shortages in critical materials.”
Energizer is the leading brand for Alkaline batteries sales and it’s an industry-wide issue as raw materials are finite.
Moreover, the volatility in production costs, including raw material prices, will inevitably make the cost of batteries rise. As parents, we have to use another approach for the sake of our wallets and also for the environment. Could the Supercapacitator be the answer to the problem?
The Plastic Revolution
Most people that practice waste reduction do it behind closed doors rarely talked about. The low tech solutions people are using to reduce waste may be the most amazing ways Green-Tech can change the future. But overall the past and present haven’t had a huge emphasis on environmental protection. Was it because there was very little education for the consumer… probably.
I remember someone told me that plastic bags were better for the environment because we didn’t cut down trees to make them! Sigh…
I think we can all agree with the fact that plastic is widely accepted… it’s a huge problem! It’s tossed in the air on land and overseas. In fact, 91% of the world’s plastic is actually NOT recycled. A figure that shines a spotlight on how the world’s waste management system is broken!
A byproduct of the food and drug, automobile, and numerous other industries. Once it’s released to be forgotten nature will have its way. The natural process of degradation slowly breaks down plastic. The result? 700 years of microplastics.
Today we’re seeing the deadly effects of microplastics in the bellies of sea birds, whales, and mammals. What makes us think it will stop there? It actually impacts our children every day! Did you know that according to the University of Newcastle we eat a credit card size amount of microplastics each week? That works out to be one full dinner plate a year!
Amazing ways Green-tech can change the future of plastics
The truth is plastic can only be recycled once or twice in its lifetime. Plastic doesn’t react well when it’s melted. Thus reducing the quality and therefore limiting the effectiveness of recycling itself.
But it’s not all lost for good! We can still try and right a wrong. There is no time like the present it’s now time to discover new ways to deal with plastic. Up until now, Chemists haven’t been able to develop new technology to replace recycling. Recently the Chemists from the University of California have come up with a way to recycle plastic differently. These scientists are looking at plastic on a molecular level.
Plastic is made up of chains of carbon when combined in different ways can make different types of plastic. So instead of melting down the plastic, they’re chopping up the carbon strings. They can do this using a process that uses very little heat. Therefore, it won’t release nasty emissions or thick gooey sludge back into the environment.
Susannah Scott wrote about the new research in the academic news website called the conversation. She described the process as a process that depends on a catalyst which contains a metal that removes a little hydrogen from the polymer chain. The catalyst uses this hydrogen to cut the bonds that hold the carbon chain together. thus breaking them into smaller pieces and turning the plastic into liquid.
At this point, the research is in its infancy but it is hoped that wide-scale production can take shape in the next few years! Plastic is set to grow another 4 billion tonnes! By 2050 the world’s environment will contain 12 billion tonnes of plastic. GROSS. Seeing the success of seed projects like this is what could help save the future of the economy!
When times get tough and we have large global issues such as the pandemic. We can see that if enough people put their heads together and enough people dedicate their lives to common causes. These ideas from the Green tech industry can save the future of the economy. In the meantime, while we’re waiting for a miracle we should do our part. After all, we’re all in this together! There are plenty of ways that you can make a difference.
Time for Change
What can the consumer do now before it’s too late? Single-use batteries shouldn’t even exist if there is technology out there that allows one to charge them again. We’re continually buying into the single-use products over and over again!
Let’s kick the habit and start using rechargeable batteries until we can buy supercapacitors. Rechargeable batteries currently have a life span of three to five years.
If every family switched they’ll save hundreds of dollars a year and reduce the pressure on companies to keep up with demand thus maintaining a more sustainable future.
There are also plenty of ways to reduce plastic waste! I have come up with four easy habits you can incorporate into your conscious living lifestyle
Have no fear! This generation is shining brightly. The beacon of light we needed to awake the consciousness in the cause to fight environmental disasters. The student researchers at the University of Central Florida have finally created a supercapacitor battery prototype. People like them and Meghana Bollimpalli together will help facilitate the growth of an industry! An industry we hope will benefit the world for generations to come!
Thank you for your support
This year has been a rollercoaster of emotions and the end of a normal way of life. I’ve found it’s actually hard to concentrate when It comes down to sitting down to write. I have a young son and he’s kept me busy with home school and daily entertainment. This new life has pretty much drained my creative energy! However, someone like me used to routines has found beauty in this new way of life.
Writing doesn’t pay the bills. It is actually just a labor of love and most writing happens when everyone has gone to bed. I summon the creative juice that flows from my head to my fingers. Not really knowing what I’m going to write. But knowing that if I don’t write it could be the very last time I have the chance! Life is short and our time is only a short story. Please take the time to go through my website and support a small business. Supporting the Eco shop not only supports a small business but is the beginning of conscious living.
Thank you
Rachel xoxo
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