Today, climate change is at the forefront of many people's minds. Sadly, it is a highly politicized topic that has many people split on how to best handle the situation. The planet does not have time to wait around while we figure out our insignificant differences. Since the Industrial Revolution, the climate has undergone the most rapid, exponential change for the worse. Soon, it is entirely possible and even likely that different species of life will no longer be able to survive on this planet due to our actions. The time to commit to making quick and effective change is now. While we won't be able to undo a lot of the harm we have already caused, we can still act to prevent the further destruction of our planet - of our home.
Simply put, our entire existence. Look around - the effects of climate change are already being felt around the globe. Natural disasters are being experienced at unprecedented rates. Famine and food shortages are causing millions to go hungry. The air we breathe is slowly becoming toxic and a danger to us. Humankind has been able to survive and thrive due to the abundance of natural resources and elements of life on Earth. Large urban areas would become unsustainable. Many ways of life would become impossible. Life as we know it would be radically altered if we have to survive in an atmosphere that is not nearly as hospitable as the one we find ourselves in today.
I grew up surrounded by water and in the north. I have experienced firsthand the issues that are growing year after year due to climate change. One that is quite obvious is the rising water levels and the erosion it has caused. Small islands have become completely submerged and the shorelines have receeded several feet on larger islands. The increased amount of water is coming from longer, stronger winters. When we get snowfall has shifted to primarily falling after Christmas which is a sharp contrast from when I was younger. The amount of snow also varies way more than before, with a bulk of it being wet and heavy snow. Eventually, spring starts and the water runoff causes major damage.
It will take a variety of attacks in order to properly fight climate change, but one key area that I think is worthwhile and would benefit from data science is our electric grid. What might seem as simple as getting electricity from point A to point B is actually a spot that could be greatly improved to make our electricity use more efficient, sustainable, and economically feasible. Smart grids are a technology that can be used to revolutionize how we interact with the electricity so many things run off of today. They primarily work by using large amounts of data to control electricity flow, intake, and usage. For example, an artificial intelligence system could be deployed over a smart grid to predict how much electricity an individual house might use and when it needs it. Another example is to prioritize which energy sources are being used (i.e. clean energy like windmills over coal plants) as demand increases.
