New Energy, Green Technology, and Circular Economy

- Overview

"New energy," "green technology," and "circular economy" are all interconnected concepts that focus on sustainability and minimizing environmental impact by efficiently utilizing resources and reducing waste, particularly through the use of renewable energy sources and practices like recycling and reusing materials. 

New Energy refers to alternative energy sources that are not fossil fuels, primarily renewable energy like solar, wind, and geothermal. 

Green Technology (Green Tech) encompasses innovations and systems designed to reduce environmental impact and promote sustainability through environmentally friendly practices. 

The Circular Economy is an economic model focused on closing material and energy loops by designing out waste, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems, often powered by renewable energy sources.

1. Key characteristics about each concept: 

• New Energy: Refers to the use of renewable energy sources like solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower, which are considered cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels.
• Green Technology: Encompasses a broad range of innovations that promote sustainability, including energy efficiency, renewable energy adoption, and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes.
• Circular Economy: A model where resources are kept in use for as long as possible through recycling, reusing, and remanufacturing, minimizing waste and maximizing resource efficiency.

2. How they relate to each other:

- Global Warming and Climate Change

Earth’s temperature is rising, and it isn’t just in the air around us. More than 90 percent of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gas emissions has been absorbed into the oceans that cover two-thirds of the planet’s surface. Their temperature is rising, too, and it tells a story of how humans are changing the planet.

Scientists say the accumulation of heat in the oceans is the strongest evidence of how fast Earth is warming due to heat-trapping gases released by the burning of fossil fuels. Oceans have enormous capacity to hold heat. So ocean temperatures, unlike temperatures on land, are slow to fluctuate from natural forces, such as El Niño/La Niña patterns or volcanic eruptions. Think night and day. 

As night falls on land, so do air temperatures. But in the oceans, temperatures vary little. This makes it easier to tease out the influence of human-caused climate change from other possible causes of surging ocean heat.

As our climate warms, we’re experiencing stronger winds, higher storm surges and record rainfalls during hurricane season -- which is also why these storms are becoming more destructive and costly. Warmer oceans fuel storms. So why do hurricanes bring more rain in a warmer climate?

1. Ocean heat absorption: 

The oceans absorb over 90% of the excess heat caused by greenhouse gas emissions, making them a key indicator of climate change.

Evaporation intensifies as temperatures rise, and so does the transfer of heat from the oceans to the air. As the storms travel across warm oceans, they pull in more water vapor and heat. That means stronger wind, heavier rainfall and more flooding when the storms hit land. 

2. Impact on hurricanes: 

Warmer oceans provide more energy for storms, leading to stronger winds, heavier rainfall, and more severe storm surges.

Hurricanes are stronger, intensify faster. Stronger hurricanes are becoming more common in a warmer climate. Researchers suggest that the most damaging U.S. hurricanes are three times more frequent than 100 years ago, and that the proportion of major hurricanes (Category 3 or above) in the Atlantic Ocean has doubled since 1980. 

How fast hurricanes intensify has also increased in the Atlantic since the 1980s, due to climate change. At the same time, hurricanes are moving more slowly, making more damage possible. 

Scientists are still debating exactly how this drop in speed is linked to climate change, but here’s the leading theory: The winds that steer hurricanes move more slowly in a warmer climate.

 The damage we've seen from catastrophic hurricanes in recent years shows we need science more than ever to help us prepare for -- and act on -- climate change.  

3. Sea level rise: 

Rising ocean temperatures contribute to sea level rise due to thermal expansion of water and melting ice, further exacerbating storm surge impacts.

Sea level rise makes storm surges worse. Storm surge happens when waters rise above their normal levels and are pushed inland by wind. This phenomenon is made worse by sea level rise, which is triggered by human-caused global warming as warmer ocean water expands and land ice melts. 

The average global sea level has already risen by half a foot since 1900 -- nearly four of those inches since 1970 -- as countries have developed and populations have grown. Higher sea level can push more water inland during hurricane-related storm surges.

-  Stability of Ocean Temperatures 

Compared to land, ocean temperatures change slower, making it easier to identify the impact of human activity on their warming. 

The ocean's stability makes it a far better long-term climate change indicator than land, but the slower rate of change can make it harder to detect short-term signals. 

The stability of ocean temperatures makes them an exceptionally reliable measure of the planet's overall warming trend over the long term. But due to their slower response time, short-term temperature changes are less dramatic than on land, which experiences more rapid and pronounced temperature swings.

1. Why oceans warm more slowly than land: 

The primary reason for the ocean's thermal stability is its high heat capacity compared to land.

• High specific heat: Water requires much more energy to raise its temperature than land materials like soil and rock.
• Heat absorption across depth: Sunlight penetrates many meters into the ocean, distributing heat through a massive volume of water. On land, solar radiation only heats the top few inches of the surface.
• Circulation and mixing: Ocean currents continuously mix surface water with deeper, colder water, further distributing and buffering temperature changes.
• Evaporative cooling: A significant amount of solar energy absorbed by the ocean is used to evaporate water, a process that removes heat from the surface.

2. The ocean as a climate change indicator: 

Despite the slower rate of change, the ocean is a crucial indicator of climate change because it provides a more stable and reliable long-term signal of global warming.

• Greater heat storage: The ocean has absorbed over 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases since 1971. While atmospheric temperatures fluctuate significantly year to year, ocean heat content provides a clearer, less noisy record of the overall energy imbalance of the planet.
• Reduced variability: Because of its immense heat capacity and continuous mixing, the ocean has fewer extreme temperature swings than land, where temperatures can change drastically from day to night and season to season. This makes it easier to spot the long-term, human-caused warming trend against the backdrop of natural variability.

3. The faster warming of land: 

In contrast, land areas have warmed significantly faster than the oceans. Since 1970, global land regions have warmed about 70% faster than the oceans and 40% faster than the global average. 

• "Terrestrial amplification": This phenomenon, where land warms more quickly than the sea, has significant implications for human populations, which are concentrated on land.
• Implications for human impact: The large temperature swings and rapid warming on land can make it more challenging to isolate the specific impact of human activity versus natural factors like El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, which can temporarily add or remove heat from the atmosphere.

- Green Tech vs. Clean Tech vs. Climate Tech

Green Tech, Clean Tech, and Climate Tech are related but distinct terms for technology that addresses environmental issues. Green Tech is the broadest category, while Clean Tech and Climate Tech have more specific focuses on pollution reduction and climate change, respectively.

Green tech or environmental tech refers to the use of science and technology to protect the world's natural resources and reduce the negative impact of human activities on the environment.

Clean tech is a broad category that includes solutions that increase production performance and efficiency while reducing any type of negative environmental impact. Thus, clean technology includes innovations in clean energy, wastewater treatment, waste management, etc.

Climate tech, meanwhile, addresses issues related to human-caused climate change—basically, any technology focused on mitigating the effects of greenhouse gas emissions. For example, although water treatment and waste management are considered clean technologies, they do not qualify as climate technologies.

Green tech is a broad umbrella term encompassing any environmentally friendly technology, while Clean Tech specifically focuses on increasing efficiency and reducing environmental damage from pollution and waste, and Climate Tech is a narrower subset of Clean Tech that addresses the impacts of climate change and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. 

Examples include Green Tech (the largest category), Clean Tech (like wastewater treatment or energy efficiency), and Climate Tech (such as carbon capture or renewable energy technologies).  

1. Green Tech (Environmental Technology):

• Definition: The broadest category, using science and technology to protect natural resources and minimize human impact on the environment.
• Focus: Sustainability and environmental protection across various industries.
• Includes: Innovations in areas like clean energy, waste management, sustainable agriculture, and water treatment.

2. Clean Tech:

• Definition: Solutions that improve production performance and efficiency while reducing any type of negative environmental impact.
• Focus: Reducing overall pollution and waste.
• Includes: Technologies related to clean energy, energy efficiency, water purification, and sustainable waste management.

3. Climate Tech: 

• Definition: A specific focus within the Clean Tech sector, targeting issues related to climate change and human-caused global warming.
• Focus: Mitigating the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Includes: Carbon capture technologies, renewable energy, sustainable transportation, and innovations that reduce energy consumption in buildings.

- From A Linear To A Circular Economy

A shift from a linear to a circular economy is crucial to address the challenges of a growing population and environmental concerns by minimizing waste, reusing resources, and ensuring sustainable production, where products are designed to be reused and recycled throughout their lifecycle, thereby reducing the need for new raw materials and minimizing impact on the natural environment. 

1. Key characteristics about the transition to a circular economy: 

• Waste prevention: Focus on designing products that minimize waste generation by using less material, choosing durable materials, and making products easier to repair or re-use.
• Reusing materials: Instead of discarding used products, find ways to reuse them in new products, creating closed-loop systems where materials are kept within the economy for as long as possible.
• Recycling: While important, recycling should be considered a last resort in a circular economy, as it is less efficient than reusing and preventing waste in the first place.
• Sustainable resource extraction: When new raw materials are needed, they should be sourced sustainably to minimize environmental damage and ensure equitable access to resources.
• Collaboration across industries: A circular economy requires collaboration between different sectors, including manufacturers, consumers, and policymakers, to develop and implement sustainable practices.

2. Benefits of a circular economy:

• Reduced environmental impact: Less waste means less pollution, reduced resource depletion, and a smaller carbon footprint.
• Economic benefits: Circular economy can create new jobs, stimulate innovation, and save money by reducing the cost of raw materials.
• Resource security: By minimizing reliance on virgin materials, a circular economy can help secure access to essential resources for future generations.

[More to come ...]