How Innovation Protects our Planet

The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 50 percent above pre-industrial levels. This not only impacts the environment with global warming and ocean acidification, but we humans directly face the consequences through more extreme weather events, lower food security, and an increased range for disease. And these are just some of the effects of something that is part of the overall threat of climate change. Engineers have spent years designing innovations to combat climate change. In this post, we will analyze renewable energy systems, primarily solar panels. We will also go over carbon capture technology and its scope when dealing with climate change.

Solar Panels

With rising popularity, solar panels have become a sleek and climate-friendly way to provide energy to infrastructure. Solar panels convert sunlight into electricity using photovoltaic cells. The current comes from electrons, which are produced when the materials in a solar panel are exposed to light. A solar panel is made with silicon, metal, and glass. In the 1950s, Bell Labs engineered silicon solar cells, which are used today. Engineers had to think carefully about which materials to use to make the device work effectively.

When it comes to solar panels, engineers need to think carefully about their design. A sleek look not only makes rooftops look good but also gives homeowners pride in their possession. This design aspect is crucial because it helps engineers understand what users want and how they will use the panels. If solar panels were too bulky or heavy, many people might hesitate to put them on their roofs. Concerns about safety and how they look could stop homeowners from switching to solar energy. So, it's important that solar panels are designed to fit well with a home's style, making sure they are both useful and visually appealing. This is a common thought in the design process of any product.

Solar panels help cut down greenhouse gases and use land better, making it very impactful for humans and the environment. However, the new "One Big Beautiful Bill" has limited tax credits for clean energy, making solar less accessible and slowing its growth. Even though renewable energy is promising, it faces challenges like funding and tax problems that are out of our hands.

Carbon Capture Technology

Carbon capture technology essentially works how it sounds--it captures carbon dioxide from the environment (it could be a factory as well), separates it from other gases, and stores it to then ship to a long-term storage location (away from the atmosphere). It is mainly used for oil extraction to extract more oil.

There are three different systems for various carbon sources, including pre and post combustion chambers, suited for factories, and direct air capture. Engineers had to think deeply about the various components to effectively capture the gas, compress it, and transport it without leakage.

While this innovation seems impactful, its impact on climate change is somewhat limited. Although there were talks about using it as a tool against global warming, these discussions rarely materialized due to the high cost of implementing the system for widespread use. Instead, renewable energy systems, which have a similar impact but are more cost-effective, have been more frequently adopted. Carbon capture technology could play a crucial role in addressing the environmental crisis, which is why researchers are exploring ways to reduce its costs, such as through improving materials or increasing energy efficiency. This is ultimately the goal of engineering any product—to constantly make it more efficient through testing.

Final Thoughts

Engineering Solutions for Climate Change

Climate change is a big challenge we face today. In this post, we looked at how engineering helps create technologies to tackle environmental issues. Throughout this post, we gave hints on the engineering design process, especially the steps of understanding what users need and testing ideas. This process starts with figuring out what people need (empathizing), coming up with ideas based on those needs, picking a few good ones, making a prototype, testing it, and then improving it until it works well. Perhaps with your engineering skills and commitment to solving global problems, you might one day design a system to help address, or even resolve, global warming.