Green Tech
Green Tech — is a technology that is safe for the environment and involves the utilization of eco-friendly production or supply. It is an abbreviation for green technology. The main goal of green tech is to reduce the human influence on nature and protect the species from extinction related to human activities. Investment in green tech has become widespread in developed countries.
What is Green Tech
Green tech is a term that includes various types of technologies involving the utilization of renewable sources of energy. The problem of consumption and lack of natural resources becomes quite serious, so the governments and businesses try to restructure the inner processes considering these factors. The correspondence with the ESC (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria becomes an important factor for companies and investors.
The key factor of green technologies is sustainability. Sustainability is a process of economic and social change in which natural resources, the direction of investment, and the orientation of scientific and technological development are aligned with each other and strengthen the current and future capacity to meet human needs and aspirations. Sustainability is necessary to increase the quality of human life.
The major goal of green tech is to create a system with zero waste where every bypass product will be utilized and recycled into the source of energy or at least have a low impact on nature. To achieve this goal companies use various technologies, sort the garbage or promote the sharing economy.
Main types of green tech:
Alternative energy. The transition from nonrenewable resources to renewable ones becomes widespread. The reserves of fossil minerals are limited, and their extraction has a negative environmental impact. Utilization of natural resources such as the energy of the sun, water, wind, or geothermal sources is seen as a safe alternative. Geothermal energy can be used to heat homes. Solar batteries can convert solar energy into an electric current.
Electric transport. The negative impact of carbon dioxide emissions has been discussed for a long time. Replacing gasoline-powered cars with electric vehicles is seen as a way to reduce these emissions into the atmosphere and avoid the greenhouse effect. To speed up the transition to electric transport many governments have begun to adopt the green levies. Nowadays, electric vehicles are developed by many companies, for example, Tesla, Rivian, or NIO.
Sustainable agriculture. Traditional agriculture involves the intensive exploitation of soil and leads to its impoverishment. Usage of pesticides disrupts the balance in the natural food chains. To protect the agricultural lands the scientists offer to apply the methods of organic farming and reduce the utilization of pesticides. Sustainable agriculture involves the utilization of humus, mulching, and cover crops. The mineral fertilizers can be replaced by compost from organic wastes.
Recycling. It is waste management aimed to produce a new product or source of energy from it. Recycling involves the preliminary collection and sorting of the waste for different classes (organic waste, plastic, glass, tin, and paper). Every type of waste has a specific way of recycling. After this, the new material appears (secondary plastic, batting, fiberglass), and it can be used again. The products of recycling are utilized in various spheres.
Carbon capture. Carbon capture is a process that involves the separation of CO2 from industrial and energy sources, its transportation to a storage site, and long-term isolation from the atmosphere. Typically, CO2 is captured at a large source of gas emissions, such as a cement plant or a biomass power plant, and trapped in the appropriate geological formations. The main purpose of carbon capture and storage is to combat global warming, as well as environmental pollution.
Problems of Green Tech
The sector of green tech is quite promising but has several issues related to its development. Most of them arise because society and businesses aren’t ready to implement the principles of sustainability.
Main issues of green tech:
Lack of infrastructure. To adopt a certain green technology the city’s infrastructure should be prepared for it. For example, the administration should place the containers for various types of garbage, so the people can sort it and place different wastes in appropriate containers.
Ill-preparedness of population. Many individuals understand that it is important to protect the environment, but few know how they can do it. It is necessary to educate people on how to decrease the negative influence of humans on nature.
High cost. The equipment for the green economy is technology-intensive and expensive, that’s why the companies related to green tech have significant tax exemptions. Such a business needs more time to pay off.
Lack of professionals. The industry of green tech is new, and there aren’t enough qualified employees that could work there. The system of professional training for such personnel is only starting to emerge.
