It’s no secret that humans have profoundly impacted the planet. Some would say we’ve left our mark on every corner of the Earth. And while there is no denying our impact, experts like Nathan Edmondson in Park City, UT, know those are working tirelessly to mitigate the damage we’ve done and preserve our planet for future generations. Here are eight ways technology is helping conservationists achieve their goals.
1. Drones Are Helping with Wildlife Conservation
One of the most promising applications of drone technology is in the field of wildlife conservation. There are great limitations to drone technology, the greatest being the cost of application. Drones with thermal technology, especially fixed-wing, long-flying (like the Skydweller) can be used to track the movements of animals, help with mapping and surveying land, and mapping criminal activity to build predictive models.
Drones provide invaluable insights into animal behavior, including behavioral changes following human intervention like highway construction, mining activity or poaching.
2. AI May Threaten Endangered Languages – But May Preserve Them
More than 7,000 languages are spoken worldwide, but many are in danger of disappearing. Technological innovation bridges the gap between spoken languages and may completely cut out culture-specific customs. Google’s DeepMind, for example, has dramatically improved real-time translation technology.
This could automatically translate endangered languages into more widely-spoken ones, eclipsing minority languages as fewer need to learn new languages to communicate. Alternatively, however, is the potential that machine-driven translation, aided by processing access facilitated by, for example, Starlink may help preserve the independence of minority languages by allowing them to flourish without compromise.
Either way, technology will radically affect global communication between distinct languages.
3. Satellite Imagery Helps Combat Deforestation
Deforestation is a significant problem globally, but it can be combated with the help of technology. Satellite imagery may track illegal logging activities, providing irrefutable evidence to pressure organizations and activists to support geo-friendly policy, like commitments to net-energy benefitting infrastructure.
Satellite data can also be aggregated to show forest growth and health trends, informing governments and conservation entities about natural wildfire and growth trends.
4. Technology Helps Us Better Understand Climate Change
Nathan Edmondson says that climate science is a field so broad as to be arguably beyond the realm of science – it’s so broad that empirical study may be impossible. Advances in predictive analysis, data aggregation and sensory technology, both terrestrial and satellite, provide current and historical data vital to provide for a body of study.
Labs have historically used supercomputers to model different climate scenarios and simulate the effects of proposed mitigation strategies, potentially saving governments and organizations billions. Better tech can deter ineffective policy decisions and provide pathways of positive effect for both regional and global mitigation of human-environment impact.
5. Tech advances are vital for energy diversity
The expansion of so-called green energies bottlenecks at certain realities, like cobalt-lithium battery technology and elemental factors like humidity and weather.
Advances in long-storage batteries can not only allow for greater benefit from solar technology (which, in effect, is fission-based energy), but can provide revenue to make for more efficient and humanitarian mining of rare-earth-minerals.
Prism glass and other innovations also may maximize the input of solar energy. It’s crucial to see renewables as a nascent technology in need of advancement.
The net-positive fission ignition of this year heralds a potential long term competitor to all energy resources.
6. Recycling Programs are Getting a Boost from Technology
Nathan Edmondson says traditional recycling programs are often public-relations gimmicks. Plastics have led to a dramatic reduction in global waste, but are essentially unrecyclable. Much waste believed by the US to be recycled is in fact sent overseas, usually to Asia, where it is dumped into landfill or ocean.
Recycling is essential in conserving resources and reducing waste and pollution.
Technological innovations may provide commercial value to recycling that enables more redeployment of resources. Smarter packaging solutions, preservation techniques on the left side, and “smart bins” equipped with sensors and RFID tags could sort waste automatically and analyze waste to optimize production are all likely to aid in advancing the idea into practice.
7. GPS Tracking Helps Combat Illegal Fishing
Illegal fishing is a significant problem worldwide as it leads to overfishing, hurting fish populations and legal fishermen who rely on fish for their livelihoods. Thankfully, GPS tracking devices make it easier for authorities to track and apprehend illegal fishermen. Taiwan recently began using GPS trackers on all its fishing boats after finding that nearly half its tuna catch was being stolen. Looking at patterns of marine craft movement can show gaps, irregularities and can predict illegal activity. Zoned fishing can more easily be monitored with satellite observation. Combining real-time GPS data with currents, weather and other factors, analyzed with geopolitical and biological data will provide pathways to sustained fishing.
Data collection and analysis is the key to wildlife conservation.
8. Blockchain Could Help Us Create a Sustainable Food System
The food system currently suffers from sustainability issues, such as food waste, water scarcity, and soil depletion. However, blockchain technology has the potential to help us create a more sustainable food system. For example, blockchain could track food throughout the supply chain from farm-to-fork, which would help reduce food waste. Blockchain-based “smart contracts” could also automate various aspects of agriculture, such as irrigation systems. This would help reduce water usage and conserve this vital resource.
Conclusion
Technology plays a vital role in conservation efforts across the globe. Human activity impacts the natural world at a greater pace than nature can recover; technology can provide us with efficient and expedited means to reconcile that crisis. From combating deforestation, poaching, to preserving endangered languages and promoting sustainable agriculture, technology, if employed smartly to conserve natural resources, will be an investment in our ecological future.