Promising technologies for the "Post Carbon" Economy

Dec 1, 2023  #dwdocumentary #documentary    Mankind is facing the greatest upheaval since industrialization. To stop climate change, the energy system must be transformed worldwide and fossil fuels must be completely replaced. But is this even possible?

Time is running out. If climate targets are still to be met and the survival of future generations is to be ensured, virtually all fossil energy sources worldwide will have to be replaced by renewables by 2050. That leaves us with almost exactly one generation from today to make this massive change. So what needs to happen for the global energy transition to succeed?

Part 1 of this two-part documentary looks at the question of whether it’s even possible to provide enough green energy for the whole world. How can the oil economy be replaced? The film travels to places that could one day become the Saudi Arabia of renewable energies. For example, gigantic offshore wind farms in the North Sea, or the most modern solar fields in Spain. One day, these regions will supply all of Europe with electricity.

However, the globally increasing demand for energy must be met in ways that are both sustainable and affordable. Researchers at the Technical University of Ilmenau in Thuringia are working with a team from the California Institute of Technology on high-tech materials that will make renewable energies more efficient and less expensive than their fossil fuel predecessors.

12-1-23  We are facing the greatest upheaval since industrialization. To stop climate change, the energy system must be transformed worldwide. Very little time remains to accomplish this. But there are places where this renewable future has already arrived.

The documentary explores the question of what needs to happen in terms of politics, policies, and society to implement what is technically possible, when it comes to renewable energy. To do this, the film visits two completely different places. One is in the US and the other, in Bavaria. These localities have two things in common: Both have completely converted their energy supply to renewables and as a result, both now have more money in their coffers today than before.

The documentary provides a global overview of the solutions that already exist for a worldwide energy transition. And it asks what challenges still need to be overcome -- not only in the laboratories and power plants, but also among the movers and shakers who must drive the change today. 

6-13-23  Can high-tech solutions help protect the climate? What would be the side effects of further human intervention in nature?

Attempts are being made to reduce the CO2 in the atmosphere with technical solutions. For example, new carbon capture technology that can extract CO2 from air and water, even if the amount currently captured is minimal and not enough to prevent the climate crisis and its consequences. 

Still, there is no shortage of ideas. Adding basalt rock dust to agricultural fields not only binds carbon dioxide but keeps the soil fertile. Biochar, made from organic waste, has a similar effect. 

Some ideas are bolder: A protective screen of particles in the upper layers of the atmosphere could filter sunlight, as seen with the eruption of the Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines in 1991. The millions of tons of sulfur dioxide spewed into the stratosphere cooled the earth significantly. 

Theoretically, aircraft could be used to deliver the particles. But experts warn that the consequences for humans and the weather would be felt worldwide and could never be fully controlled.