Climate change reminds me a lot of the Marvel movies where there is a super-sized, evil villain who knocks down buildings, turns the sky to black, and takes an army of good guys to tackle it. They are monstrous forces and can refute any individual effort that threatens to bring it down.
While I have learned a ton from this class and can see the good that humanities can do to address climate change, I am a scientist at heart and believe in the techno-fix. The humanities is used to spread awareness, and it can do a wonderful and absolutely imperative job, but when that big battle does occur, it will be the physical tools and methods humans have developed that will ultimately fight climate change.
I wanted to take a moment to brainstorm some engineering feats that would make a difference. Trees are great, but what if, similar to a vacuum, there was a machine that could suck pollutants out of the water or carbon out of the air and use it to create materials? What if we could replicate the effects of a freezer or refrigerator on a mass scale to halt the temperature increase in the arctic? How long will it take to make corn an effective energy source? Can we adjust cattle feed so that cows release less methane?
When push comes to shove, these are the types of machines and mechanisms we will have to create in order to stop climate change. I have faith in humans to do it; still, all these projects require time and a team. The only question is if we start early enough before it is too late.
