Environment

For another class, I had to pick one of the greatest engineering challenges of the 21st century and write an essay about why I thought it was the most crucial to solve. Due to impending climate change, I chose the engineering challenge of developing carbon sequestration. For those unfamiliar, carbon sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or at the source (power plants, etc.) and storing it so that it does not contribute to global warming or the greenhouse effect. The solution is relatively simple and easy to implement, although it would have a cost associated with it, but it is certainly worth it. This somewhat relates to the article “Capitalism Is What’s Burning the Planet, Not Average People,” the author highlights the Paris Agreement’s goal of a global average increase in temperature of less than 1.5 C. This 1.5 C limit is the point at which the effects of global warming become “unsafe.” According to the article, there will be dire consequences that come with not achieving this goal, such as “sea level rises of between two and three meters. Instances of extreme heat will be around four times more likely. Heavy rainfall will be around 10 percent wetter and 1.5 times more likely to occur.” We are predicted to reach this level by the year 2040. With that said, why don’t we see carbon sequestration being implemented? I think political divisiveness is one issue. There is a large divide in politics, and that is extended to issues such as climate change. Conservatives have very low trust in climate scientists. For example, 18% of conservatives say that climate scientists have an understanding of why climate change is occurring, and 15% of conservatives believe that climate scientists can be trusted to give accurate information on climate change (Pew Research Center, 2020). Many liberals mirror these views, at the opposite extreme. However, this belief that climate change is not happening or poses no threat to humanity is an extremely harmful one.