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| Dr. Steven Chu: In-depth basic research and development of new energy saving and carbon reduction technologies are key to mitigating the issue of climate refugees |
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In the recent years, the carbon dioxide content in Earth’s atmosphere has increased dramatically, resulting in global warming and rising sea levels. With the growing threat of climate change, we all face an uncertain future and may become “climate refugees.” What are scientists doing to respond to this impending crisis? And how to they plan to reverse the current predicament?
In February 2018, Academia Sinica had the honor of inviting the 1997 Nobel Laureate in Physics and former U.S. Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu, to deliver a special lecture entitled, “Climate Change Risks and Technical Paths to a Sustainable Future.” In his speech, Dr. Chu spoke about the looming crisis of climate refugees as climate migration is fast becoming commonplace across the globe.
Facing this impending threat, Dr. Chu said that scientists are blazing paths to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions through raising energy efficiency, developing renewable energy sources, and improving energy storage technologies. They are also taking advantage of carbon capture technology to directly utilize the carbon in the atmosphere to produce fuels and chemicals.
In his special lecture, Dr. Steven Chu first offered statistics and data to illustrate the severity of the problem we presently face. He showed that the amount of carbon dioxide emitted on Earth in the last 65 years is three times the amount of emissions accumulated over the past several thousand years. Through the ratio of carbon-14 and carbon-12, Dr. Chu further demonstrated that the majority of carbon dioxide emitted is from the combustion of fossil fuels. Even if some of the carbon dioxide emitted is absorbed by the earth, oceans, and plants, 55 percent of emissions still remain in the atmosphere and become the main cause of global warming.
Moreover, the rise of sea levels is also a direct result of global warming. Every 1 degree Celsius increase in temperature will increase the global sea level by 6 to 9 meters. This type of drastic and severe change in the environment will impact agriculture everywhere. And in the very near future, people will be forced to leave their home regions due to sudden or long-term changes to their local environment—becoming what we now term as “climate refugees.” In light of this imminent global crisis, Dr. Chu called for urgent action among scientists.
In renewable energy, the progress of related technologies and their applications have exceeded expectations. Besides the rapid decline in the cost of solar power, the cost of wind power has also steadily declined year after year. Wind power is even expected to be cheaper than natural gas in the near future. Offshore wind power also has the potential to become the next most powerful source of renewable energy by 2040.
Dr. Steven Chu said that the next challenge we must tackle is how to build a sound energy network and properly distribute various renewable energy sources. By taking advantage of artificial intelligence (AI), the power grid can be programmed with the capacity to learn how to manage the transmission of power autonomously. At the same time, artificial intelligence will also make it possible to forecast the use of energy.
In terms of energy storage technology, Dr. Chu said that the development of highly energy efficient lithium batteries and the gradual decline and flattening of its price have greatly aided the development of electric vehicles.
However, the popularity and widespread use of electric vehicles depends on two fundamental factors: The first factor is convenience. Without technology that allows these vehicles to be charged quickly, electric cars will still remain impractical. In an attempt to resolve this impediment, Dr. Chu said that Stanford University has developed a new fast charging technology. With just five minutes of charging, this technology can provide the vehicle with enough power to drive up to 250 kilometers. This type of battery performance has been able to meet the needs of most automotive users.
The second key factor in promoting electric cars lies in educating the public: The public must fully understand the limitations and drawbacks of traditional conventional vehicles. Take New York at the end of the 19th century as an example. The main reason why New Yorkers decided to give up the horse and buggy was because horse dung, especially large amounts of it, is a headache and very difficult to clean up. “Environmental issues are the main reason why people decide to change,” Dr. Chu remarked.
In this day and age, not only automobiles, but also agriculture, construction, industry, and manufacturing have all contributed to creating the contemporary environmental problems that we currently face. In addition to global warming, there is also the issue of fine aerosol particles (PM2.5) which are harmful to the human body. The development of clean energy is one of the countermeasures proposed by scientists. One of Dr. Chu’s current research projects at the Stanford University involves the development of high-efficiency hydrogen production devices. His research simulates the way in which the alveoli in human lungs exchange gas in order to collect hydrogen and oxygen produced by electrolyzed water.
The fact of the matter is, considering our current predicament, we not only need to reduce the amount of carbon emitted. We also must actively capture the extraneous carbon in the atmosphere. While there are many hurdles to overcome in terms of combating global warming, looking at the current environment and future developments, Dr. Chu holds a positive outlook. He is not only involved in projects that promote reforestation and the preservation of forests, Dr. Chu is also currently working on an endeavor that aims to alter and change the structure of chemical compounds to innovate a more efficient and economic carbon capture technology.
Another idea that Dr. Chu has is to chemically reduce carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide through the use of hydrogen and subsequently synthesize liquid hydrocarbons. He sees liquid hydrocarbons are a way of the future. It can be transported to anywhere in the world through low-cost shipping by sea and become a common source of energy in the era to come.
Discussing his view on nuclear power, Dr. Chu remarked that even in the United States, a country relatively more accepting of the use nuclear power, the funds for constructing nuclear power plants and follow-up maintenance are extremely burdensome and taxing. Nuclear reactors must be repaired once every six to seven years. When faced with this kind of steep price tag, even the United States acknowledges that running nuclear power plants is simply a vast financial black hole.
In closing, Dr. Steven Chu stressed that moving towards a more sustainable society requires cooperation across various fields. As a scientist, he pledged that he will do his best to “treat the earth well” because "it [the Earth] was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children.”
Dr. Steven Chu is an internationally renowned physicist. He currently serves as the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Physics and Professor of Molecular & Cellular Physiology at the Stanford University. In 1997, he was a co-awardee of the Nobel Prize in physics with his colleagues Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and William Daniel Phillips for his contributions to laser cooling and atom trapping. Besides his work in the field of physics, Dr. Chu’s research interests also span across a range of fields from nuclear energy to biology to energy technology. Throughout his remarkable scientific career, Dr. Chu has published over 280 academic papers; he currently holds 14 patents and has an additional 6 patent filings pending.
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