Climate change is only getting worse as time goes on. Thankfully, we’ve realized what kind of negative effects we have on our planet and have since been taking steps to reverse our actions. While the healing process is much slower than how the damage was caused, we are slowly healing. Our only hope is to keep healing so that we can eventually make the world a much more sustainable place.
However, we’re still seeing the effects of the damage. There were 772 major weather and disaster events in 2016 triple the number from 1980. By 2100, we’re expecting 50% more species on the planet to start facing extinction. The only way our healing process is going to work is if we make major leaps forward to catch up and put a stop to these disastrous outcomes. Machine learning and artificial intelligence may just be our big leap.
More Efficient Use of Power
One of the biggest resources we utilize in every sector is electricity. The slow switch to renewable energy has already seen success all over the world, but there’s more that machine learning can teach us about power. No matter how we create electricity, we still consume a lot more than we need. Machine learning can help us predict how much we need for a single operation so that we don’t waste precious energy and the resources used to create it.
Similar ways of predicting energy consumption and use have been seen through sensors. With machine learning, companies can reduce time by years to measure energy use at a fraction of the cost. This knowledge helps us perform more efficiently and reduce our waste, effectively reducing our carbon footprint on the globe.
Keep a Closer Eye on Deforestation
Not only does deforestation contribute to about 10% of greenhouse-gas emissions, but it also slowly chips away at our precious supply of oxygen. While we have to make room for ourselves in the world, deforestation doesn’t have to be as widespread as it is today. Keeping track of this problem around the world is a feat that has been difficult to undertake until now.
With our modern machine learning technology, we can take satellite imagery and get real-time environmental data to monitor these emissions. With this real-time information, we can start holding people and companies accountable for pollution, waste and deforestation that shouldn’t be occurring. Using machine learning for real-time data is one of the first ways we can start a massive switch to renewable resources and sustainability.
Impacting Agriculture
Agriculture is one of the biggest industries already working with machine learning and renewable resources to make the sector as sustainable as possible. Just the automation of equipment in the fields cuts down on risks to human health and provides a more efficient way of managing crops. Machine learning can even tell farmers if the soil has low amounts of nitrogen so that they can make the best decisions for their crops.
Nitrogen is hardly the only thing machine learning can tell us about regarding soil. Data from underground sensors can also monitor moisture, composition and the temperature of the crops themselves. With the help of AI, farmers can improve their rate of production while also being more efficient with resources like fertilizer and water.
Technology Saving the Environment
The tables have certainly turned considering the impact of our progress. When technological advances were booming during the Industrial Revolution, we were only just getting started on really polluting the planet. Now, thanks to modern technology like machine learning, we’re discovering ways to advance even further while being kind to the planet. Actually, our focus on ways to help the climate is part of why we’ve been advancing so far over the last few decades.