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06 March 2020
The Impact:
Ever Since we started using couriers to convey our messages from one place to another, whether it was through telegram or the newspaper on the street, telling about the current events of the world. We have used paper as our base and built an ignorant culture of taking down natural resources to develop all the paper we need, to use in all places we do. Now in the light of an event where we may as well be running out of wood and other natural resources that we not only need for continued production of paper but for our survival in the very sense of the word, we find ourselves concerned and observant of what we did wrong that landed us in such a critical situation.
A solution proposed to the “paper problem” was that we use our technological advances to process our data in lines of binary code and not “ink on sheet”, which till the early 20th century, was the prime mode of data storage of all sorts. So, from then on, we developed complex machines that helped us do all sorts of manipulation in the field of data processing, making it more “convenient” in terms of storing colossal amounts of data. Now the only problem was adding “efficiency” since we noted that the “Digital Upgrade” across the globe did however reduce our footprint on nature in terms of cutting down forests, but we were now using more “mechanical or electrical power” to sustain our digital machines and their energy needs. This, on the wider canvas is called “Slipping a shoulder into another”.
Which basically means solving one problem with another new problem. In our case it was the increased power needs rather than cutting down trees. So, from then on, we have focused on a collaborative resolution not only to decrease our carbon footprint on the environment, but also develop better ways to run our countries for longer without harming our baseplate.
The Clap back:
Although the situation was aggravating but it’s not been all downhill since we realized what it is, we need to do in order to make this work in the long run. The conclusion came out to be towards make it all “sustainable”. Google defines the word as “able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.” So that’s our first hint at what was wrong with our concept of mainstreaming paper as our mode of conversation over range. Had we continued to use paper as our primary script base, we would’ve either worked out a “Synthetic strain paper” or we would’ve run our forests into extinction by now. In the past 30-50 years we have seen a long fall in the plantations of Spruce wood, Pine wood, Hemlocks and Fir. All over the United States and Canada the number of Larch Plantations are being restored gradually.
Now about the “Power” problem that going digital presented us, scientists and innovators came to two sets of conclusions.
Diversion of Power: The Idea was to reduce the current surplus power consumption that was being consumed in ways that can be avoided through certain planned steps. Then this “saved” power would be supplied to the data centers we use to process all the Knowledge.
Innovative Power sources: Scientists went all out in brainstorming over 10 years, studying the mannerisms of our planet and how it reacts to stimuli. Based on the patterns, they developed contraptions based on basic mechanical concepts to produce energy using the sun, the wind and steam like Sun Power, LG Energy project, etc.
Through application of both these methods, we have come around a long way from impacting our planet directly for personal growth, harming it along the way. Now we are working on methods to reduce our impact and footprints for the future generations.
