This is our team's progress and beliefs on the project as of 10/27. We go over the goals of our documentary and some key information we plan to implement and progress up to this point.
In a world where technological advancements have been rapidly increasing and the globalization of human existence continues to have various effects, the issue of climate change seems interminable. While it may seem difficult for humans to care much about their carbon footprint in the fast-paced societies of today, technology is overlooked but is a powerful tool to subdue the harmful effects and challenges our Earth is facing. Human-driven contributions feed into the problem every single day due to burning fossil fuels causing global warming to proliferate. For instance, many may not realize that traveling to work in cars that utilize gas, planes, and trucks are just a few examples that pollute our planet intensely. Barbaric enough, the cars humans drive emit 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Now, when you add up all of the other sources, and the amount of pollution our world faces every single day, it's no question that our planet is overheated. These issues can sound frightening because we as humans have a part in this issue, but there are actions we can and should be taking, committing to, and encouraging others to partake in to bring climate change under control and live a more sustainable and healthy lifestyle.
Our group is eager to discuss the effects of climate change and how we can make a positive impact because we understand that we are the future and create a healthy environment for the better of ourselves and the world around us. The consequences it is having are impacting people and their homes. There is nothing we can do to stop natural disasters from occurring, such as hurricanes and flooding, but the warm climate is what is making them much more severe. For instance, during Hurricane Idalia in Horseshoe Beach Florida, dozens of homes were destroyed and residences were in floods of water. The safety of people is one concern, but in addition, animals are being harmed, the health of humans is being negatively affected, and the disruptions to our coasts and our economies are just to name a few. We want to bring awareness to these arising issues to be able to start innovating and arriving at solutions and technology is a leading factor in making these solutions possible. From making the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy and electric energy, we have already seen positive effects come to the forefront and we can only keep becoming better from here.
Our portfolio and our documentary will focus on one key point that we are looking to prove. This point is that Climate Change will drastically impact how we as a society can live and function. As weather patterns change, infrastructure deteriorates, and people are forced to move out of their homes, society is faced with a slew of new challenges. We already discussed some of these challenges above, but it is important to mention that those are just a few examples of what society will face.
We will also investigate how future technologies will affect these lifestyle changes. Whether this technology is with us today or out on the fringe, we will look at this issue from all angles to investigate the potential changes in how we view the world. Whether that’s in the way new cities are planned and built out or how the everyday person utilizes new technologies, Climate Change will affect our day-to-day environment.
This will also be impacted by innovations in the energy sector. As new forms of energy come to the forefront such as the well-known renewables, homes will be built to support a new type of home. Even as new energy alternatives are introduced to the American consumer such as fusion energy, we could see a new way of living for all nations.
The other key theme we will focus on is how technology will help mitigate the impacts of climate change. It is not simply enough to adapt to the problems climate change gives us, we need to find ways to prevent more issues in the future. We will investigate how future technologies could be implemented to not only adapt to climate change but to mitigate any further impacts.
We must tell this three-part story to give ourselves a holistic view of the topic. If we identify the current situation, discuss potential futures, and understand what affects those outcomes, we will tell a compelling and important story for anyone to understand.
The Potential “Signals” that will affect the market of Climate and Energy are not definitive but in our current trajectory, there are many that may take effect shortly. Electric Vehicles are a prominent player already. Although there are many Electric Vehicles on the roads today, it is estimated by the year 2040 that EVS will account for the entirety of car sales. Vehicles running on electricity and not fossil fuels such as Gas will prove to be a disruptive technology, as by eliminating the use of stranded gas-fueled cars it will lead to a cleaner environment and less demand for importing and exporting oil. This will in turn cause the major oil business to expedite their focus elsewhere. Artificial Intelligence will also cause a major shift in the market as it will change the way energy is consumed and distributed. Tools such as machine learning algorithms will lead to the optimization of energy with little to no waste. Artificial intelligence will enhance the accuracy of renewable energy production forecasts. This will in turn make it easier for utilities and grid operators to efficiently manage variable energy sources and integrate them into the grid. Energy Independence more specifically decentralized systems will prove to change how energy systems operate around the world. As the population rises in densely populated countries, the technology and notion of isolating a community of people from traditional energy distributions to locally powered energy systems. A good example of this would be the rise of local energy grids, instead of getting energy from a big power plant. The benefits of this technology would be energy consumption would decrease as local towns and communities could cater to the specific amount concerning their population size.
Our group has made a great amount of progress so far in this project. First, we have all made level 1 and level 2 artifacts. Each member of the group made a separate level 1 artifact. First, Aidan made a LinkedIn post. In his post, Aidan states what our project is, and that we are looking for experts in the fields of renewable energy, climate science, and sustainability to provide insights, interviews, or research input. Aidan's post received a great amount of feedback, with a few students reaching out to him and asking how they could assist in the production of our documentary. Jasmine made a mood board using a couple of platforms for designing. This mood board helped portray how the energy we use through gas and other industrial activity is affecting us and our future. Sourin made an infographic that discussed various stakeholders in the climate and energy sector. He discussed electric vehicles and solar companies, along with potential issues that could be faced due to climate change and their solutions. For his level 1 artifact, David also made an infographic. His infographic is about climate change and renewable energy. The intended audience of his infographic is those who lack knowledge of climate change and why/how we should make the switch to renewable energy. He designed his infographic on Adobe Express, using one of their pre-made templates. For level 2 artifacts, David and Aidan worked together. They made a short video that talks about electric vehicles and why people should consider switching to them compared to normal gas-powered cars. The video talks about the pros and cons of electric vehicles and gives some statistics about EVs. To make this video, Aiden and David made a script together. Then Aidan did a voice recording and David edited the recording and put stock video/images to make the video visually appealing. Jasmine made a B Roll collection for her level 2 artifact. Her intention for this artifact was to find specific videos, images, and audio that would correlate to the final documentary. For his level 2 artifact, Sourin was tasked with designing and implementing various pieces of cover art for each aspect of our project. He designed three unique items which all highlight the different aspects of the project. Last week, Aiden emailed Professor Weger who is a Professor here at Seton Hall and is very knowledgeable on climate change. We believe that his invaluable insights would greatly enrich the documentary and contribute to raising awareness on this pressing issue. He responded to the email stating that he would love to assist us, but we still need to set up a time to meet with him. In the coming weeks, we plan on starting to film our documentary, along with interviewing Professor Wegner. Overall, our group is in a very good place, and we are excited to start filming.
