Air pollution is a significant environmental challenge globally that impacts human health and ecosystems, and contributes to climate change. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 99% of the world’s population breathes air that exceeds WHO-safe air guidelines and contains toxic air pollutants. Along with the air humans breathe, the chemicals produced, such as ozone, carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane help to contribute to continuing warming of the atmosphere. However, newly emerging technologies offer fresh solutions to help analyze the current air pollution problem and mitigate air pollution effectively. This article explores two brand-new inventions: carbon-absorbing concrete and the satellite MethaneSAT.
Carbon-absorbing concrete is an invention that hasn’t been widely utilized in major construction industries yet and could potentially be a game changer in fighting global climate change. The first house built with carbon-absorbing concrete has just been built in Karuizawa, a town in the mountains near Nagano, Japan. Its walls are fully made of the world’s first CO2-removing concrete also known as CO2-SUICOM (CO2-Storage and Utilization for Infrastructure by Concrete Materials). This eco-friendly carbon concrete uses a two-step process to be created. First, a concrete mixture is made. Then CO2 has to be removed from the atmosphere using Direct Air Capture technology. The concrete is then placed into a curing chamber which is then filled with CO2 to be absorbed into the concrete. After curing the concrete is ready to be used to build. This effectively lets CO2-SUICOM achieve carbon neutrality and the absorbed CO2 is fixed inside the concrete and will not be released. This means that humans can take CO2 from the atmosphere, slow down climate change, and use the captured CO2 in new building structures without creating more carbon emissions from the building materials.
Spencer Waugh (12), a current AP Environmental Science student, agrees that CO2 absorbing concrete would benefit society.
“I think CO2 absorbing concrete is a swell idea. The ability to make new buildings and take carbon from the atmosphere makes it very beneficial,” Waugh said.
Another new piece of technology to help battle climate change is the satellite MethaneSAT, launched on March 4, 2024, from the Vanderberg Space Force Base, in California, on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare mission. The satellite will monitor and record methane emissions from oil and gas industries, agricultural facilities, and landfills around the world. According to Methanesat.org, the spacecraft will “quantify regional-scale methane emissions from oil and gas operations worldwide down to areas of ~1 km2, detecting methane from thousands of small, diffuse sources.” MethaneSAT is designed by MethaneSAT LLC, a subsidiary of the Environmental Defense Fund, and according to the website the satellites’ purpose is to “catalyze methane reductions by creating unprecedented transparency.” This will be accomplished through the release of MethaneSAT’s data on their website which will allow leaders and operators around the world to be able to find and fix problems faster.
Dr. Rebecca Gentry, AP Environmental Science teacher, thinks that new inventions are a terrific way to decrease the carbon footprint.
“With the increasing urbanization of areas combined with the ever-rising human population, it is time to look into how our building materials can be more helpful than harmful. This could be a great step in helping to decrease the carbon footprint of cities,” Gentry said.
By capturing carbon dioxide emissions and monitoring methane production, these technologies represent essential steps toward a cleaner, healthier environment.
