Elon Musk: A Hero in the Realm of Environmentalism By: Van ja Bodja last year’s global average temperature was 1.2°C above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) level. The consistent increase in energy consumption, which is the leading factor for GHG emissions, has been steadily rising since the industrial period. The graph below created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration exemplifies the rate at where global temperatures are headed towards. As shown by the red trend, continuing our GHG emissions at the rate at which we are speeds temperature increase to reach 4°C by 2100. But as shown by the blue trend, if we completely transitioned away from fossil fuels we could P H OTO B Y ST E VE JURVE T S O N/ F L I C K R slow this increase to only 2°C. Although a 2°C As our lives continue within the midst or 4°C increase doesn’t seem like much, to put of the Covid-19 pandemic, another fear still it into perspective, in the past it only took a carries above us; climate change. Although 1°C - 2°C drop in the world temperature to it may seem that climate change has been send our Earth into a Little Ice Age. an exhausted topic within the media, the urgency of the issue still sustains. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) continue to melt ice caps, raise sea levels, and damage ecosystems, and the increasing environmental damage is growing at a faster pace than countries are able to counter. Although global average temperatures continue to rise alongside GHG emissions, there are solutions available. While political and economical restraints make a DATA P R O C E S S I NG BY JAY H NI LO, C I CS - N C & CM IP 3 global energy transition seem impossible, Elon Musk could argue otherwise. Musk’s Although global warming is inevitable, innovations within solar power technology the most beneficial solution to slow warming could potentially save the world by shifting down would be to invest in a transition towards the global economy. While global warming renewable energy sources. With that said, Elon is inevitably shifting the world in front of us, Musk has been devoting a lot of his life’s work Elon Musk’s intelligence, innovation, and towards altering the view of renewable energy, influence could have the power to slow our specifically solar power. Although it has GHG emissions and help us sustain life on been debated that nuclear power would be solar power. essential in the process of sustaining on solar In an article published by NASA recently, power, there has been a difference of opinion the year 2020 is tied with 2016 for being between which would be best to sustain on. the warmest year on record. As interpreted, While nuclear doesn’t emit greenhouse gases, THE OBSERVER
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