Chasing a Carbon-Zero World

Every Step Matters

Over the years, the health of our climate is declining because of our habits. That causes us to have a pessimistic mindset when it comes to climate change. However, there are a lot of innovations that have made a difference and people who are committing their time to help. All around the world, there have been many implementations of products and devices that have taken harmful materials and reused them to make better ones. Here are some of the most creative innovations that I believe can be our inspiration to create a carbon-zero planet.

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1. Plastic-Free, Edible Flight Meal Trays: Flights accumulate 5.7 million tons of garbage each year. This meal tray created by PreistmanGoode would help save all the garbage that they collect and replace it with a much more environmentally safe tray. Although this tray is only a prototype at the moment, once this becomes a product, it will be a good option for all the airlines and trains.
2. Drainage Pipe Nets: In Australia, they have created these drainage pipe nets that help combat water pollution. This net is placed at drainage pipes that lead into rivers and streams, and they trap plastic before they reach the water. Once they are full, the trash is driven to waste management centers and separated into recyclable and waste. Within the first 3 months, they have already saved 816 pounds of trash from reaching the water. If these nets get spread all around the world, they could really make a difference in our communities.
3. Sneakers/Bracelets Made From Ocean Plastic: Adidas and 4ocean are two companies out of many, that have turned ocean plastic into something useful and enticing for people to use. Adidas has turned ocean plastic into a shoe line called FUTURECRAFT and it's made entirely from ocean waste. Another interesting thing is that once you are done using the shoes you can just return them to Adidas and they will reuse them to make another pair. Since the clothing industry is the second-largest polluter, this could be a huge step toward sustainable fashion. Furthermore, another company which is making a commitment to help remove plastic from the ocean is 4ocean. This company doesn’t only make bracelets, they make a wider variety of products, but they are all made from waste collected from the ocean. To continue their dedication to help water pollution, they have the one pound promise. They have promised that for every product that you purchase, they will pull one pound of trash from the ocean. Since 2017, 4ocean has collected and reused 19,072,503 pounds of plastic from the ocean. These companies need to be our inspiration for other innovators to help us build a more sustainable future.
4. Smog Free Project: This smog vacuum made by Daan Roosegarde is the future of clean air. This smog machine is 23 feet high and can clean 30,000 m³ of air per hour. Another part of his design is that you can wear rings made from the compressed smog and by wearing it you are contributing to their cause to have clean air all over the world. I believe another step towards that goal would be to implement these smog machines in our communities. With the help of local authorities, we can use this great innovation to achieve clean air all around the world.
5. AirCarbon: AirCarbon is made by Newlight and is a product made entirely from carbon. The carbon emissions which would have gone in the air, are now being made into a new material. Furthermore, this product is a certified carbon-zero material, so every time we use AirCarbon we are contributing to a more carbon-free world. This material is the future. We need to make all of our products carbon-zero.

“The climate is like a bathtub that’s slowly filling with water. Even if we slow the flow of the water to a trickle, the tub will eventually fill up and water will come spilling out onto the floor”- Bill Gates

This analogy explains that if don’t make a plan on how to stop climate change, the problem will still be there. Slowing it down doesn’t fix the problem. Although these innovations and many more are great beginnings, these are only solutions that will help slow down the process. The thing we need is a plan, a way to implement these products and ideas into the real world.

Currently, governments all over the world have created a plan on a way to combat climate change in their countries during the COP26. Nonetheless, the only way that plan will be effective is if we achieve it. In 2016, the Paris Agreement was signed by the EU and 191 other countries. However, as of 2021, the outlook of achieving that goal seems very unlikely. Our governments need to put the environment as their first priority, because everything else comes after.

The problem of climate change will affect everything in our life if we don’t find a solution. These ideas and innovations will only be effective if we implement them in more places all around the world. They are all at the beginning of what they are capable of, if we put these innovations everywhere we could have the hope of achieving a carbon-zero world.