Acerca de
Debunked Myths​
1.
Reusing Waste and Going Circular is Always Better Than Using a Synthetic, Higher-Performing, and More Polluting Alternative
"For instance, organic waste matter has a very low nitrogen content (0.3-0.6%), which is significantly lower than synthetic solutions like urea/fertilizer (46%), ammonium nitrate (33%), and liquid solutions (28-32%). The all-in cost of using nitrogen from natural sources or waste may actually outweigh the cost of producing nitrogen synthetically, from a sustainability perspective, and instead we should be focusing on reducing the overall usage of fertilizer. This is a required lens when looking at any other vertical."
- Aakash Shah
2.
Renewable Sources of Energy Can Feasibly Replace Fossil Fuels in the Near Future
"While international agencies have been abundantly optimistic about the promise of these energy sources – some estimating up to 80% of our energy coming from hydro, wind, and solar energy – the production processes underlying the four material pillars of modern civilization (cement, steel, plastic, and ammonia) cannot be adapted so easily. Today, 76% of final energy output comes from fossil fuels and even the IEA’s most ambitious decarbonization scenario has fossil fuels supplying 56% of global primary energy demand by 2040."
- Nikita Manoj
3.
Plant/Plant-Based Foods Always Have Significantly Lower Emissions Than Meat
"The book discusses the emissions released during the production of bread, chicken and tomatoes under certain conditions. While the example comparing greenhouse-grown and trans-continentally shipped tomatoes to the most efficient form of chicken production was somewhat cherry-picked to highlight the difference in emissions, it did effectively communicate the fact that plant agriculture, as it is practised in certain parts of the world, can have a very significant climate impact compared to the much vilified practices of meat production."
- Aadil Chitalwala
4.
Technological Innovations Alone Can Address Climate Change
"In the book, Smil talks about how the techno-optimism of many people, especially from the electronics/software sector is ill-founded for addressing issues related to climate change. Given the scale of the problem, even if groundbreaking technological breakthroughs are achieved, they will face significant challenges related to scaling up. Even if they scale up, many innovations alone will not be enough to address the problem entirely; this will require fundamental attitude and behavioural shifts from people."
- Amay Shah
Under the Radar Methods to Mitigate Climate Change
Utilisation of carbon in GHGs such as CO2 and CH4
"While there is a lot of discussion on CCUS (referring to the multicomponent strategy of capturing generated CO2 from a point source and utilising the captured CO2 to make value added products or storing it long-term to avoid release), the focus is more on storage of the captured CO2 as opposed to the splitting of captured CO2 into solid carbon and oxygen such that the carbon can be utilised in value added products and the oxygen can be released into the atmosphere, improving air quality. Another technology to consider in this regard is methane pyrolysis to produce hydrogen and solid carbon which has the benefit of using methane, which has 28 times the GWP of CO2, to create low emission hydrogen which can be used as a fuel, and solid carbon which can be used in valuable products such as batteries."
- Sarah Bhot
Nuclear Energy
"Nuclear energy could be a game-changer in mitigating climate change given its high energy generation potential, however, it has not been able to realise its full potential due to technology challenges as well as the perception that the technology is unsafe. Unlike fossil fuels, which release significant amounts of carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the atmosphere, nuclear power plants produce energy through nuclear fission or fusion, which emits virtually no carbon, making it a highly efficient and reliable source of clean energy. Furthermore, advancements in nuclear technology, such as small modular reactors (SMRs) and next-generation reactors, promise to enhance safety, reduce waste, and lower costs, making nuclear power more accessible and sustainable."
- Rishi Rathi
Decarbonizing Industry
Modern civilization is highly dependent on fossil fuels for essential materials like cement, steel, plastics, and ammonia. While renewable energy sources can play a role in decarbonizing industry, they alone are not sufficient. New technologies and processes that can reduce the carbon footprint of industrial production are essential. However, decarbonizing industries will be a gradual and expensive process, requiring significant investments and long-term planning. Smil argues that setting unrealistic decarbonization targets based on the assumption of rapid technological progress can be counter-productive, as they may fail to address the practical realities of the energy transition. Instead, he suggests focusing on incremental progress and the gradual adoption of sustainable practices."
- Ahana Advani
Nitrogen in Food
"Almost 70% of the ammonia produced today is used in fertilisers. It is estimated that 40-50% of the world’s population is fed by the synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, making ammonia essential. However, the production of 1 ton of ammonia today releases anywhere between 2.4 to 3.9 tons of CO2. Addressing the significant energy use and emissions from ammonia production requires a fundamental reimagining of nitrogen fixation. Moving beyond the Haber-Bosch process, we must develop ambient-temperature, small-scale ammonia synthesis technologies or even engineer nitrogen-fixing capabilities into non-legume crops. These approaches could revolutionise the agriculture industry and dramatically reduce the 1% of global energy use and 2% of CO2 emissions currently attributed to ammonia production."​
- Maitreyi Menon
Top Statistics / Data Points
Global production of the four indispensable materials (cement, steel, plastic, ammonia) claims about 17% of the world’s primary energy supply and 20% of all CO2 emissions originating in the combustion of fossil fuels.
SUVs are the second highest cause of rising CO2 emissions globally. There are over 250 million SUVs on the road, which on average, produce 25% more emissions than a standard car.
The world loses ~1/2 of all root crops, vegetables & fruits, ~1/3 of all fish, 30% of cereals, and 1/5 of all oilseeds, meat & dairy. 30% of household food waste is inedible, meaning 70% of food waste is edible.
In the last 3 decades, affluent countries like US and countries in the EU reduced emissions by 4%. However, Indian emissions quadrupled over this period and Chinese emissions increased 4.5x.
CO2 (mostly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, with deforestation being another major source) accounts for about 75% of the anthropogenic warming effect, CH4 for about 15%, and the rest is mostly N2O.
Greenhouse tomatoes are among the world’s most heavily fertilized crops: per unit area they receive up to 10x the nitrogen (and also phosphorus) as is used to produce grain corn, America’s leading field crop.