Earth Day: 3 Ways IoT is Helping Fight Climate Change
Today, we celebrate Earth Day, a timely reminder to check in with our planet and to evaluate how we can turn the tide on climate change. The past few years have seen the onslaught of record-breaking natural disasters around the world coupled with increasing carbon emissions in many parts of the world, further affecting the rhythm of the seasons.
Back in 2015, 185 countries around the world signed the Paris Climate Accord, which is an agreement between these parties to substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to limit the effects of climate change. The treaty is both a challenge and an opportunity for the world to create the change we need and to innovate sustainably. The Internet of Things (IoT) industry is looking to do just that.
The nature of IoT is about extending connectivity and communication and through the efforts of companies such as RAK in implementing solutions, we see its potential in helping fight climate change especially in industries that currently that are currently the largest sources of carbon emissions in the world –– transport, agriculture, and energy.
Because of IoT’s growing and flexible nature, the ways it can help in this environmental pursuit is endless. Here are just 3 of the ways in which IoT can help us in our fight against climate change:
- Minimize resource usage in agriculture
- Reduced Energy consumption at home, at work, or in the city
- Efficient route management for lower emissions
In the farming and livestock industry, Smart agriculture and precision agriculture may help in minimizing our impact on the world. The technique utilizes algorithms to minimize the use of resources such as water, fertilizer, and pesticides to help improve and increase yield. With the help of IoT technology, all of the monitoring can be done automatically and in turn, not only improve resource management but reduce all kinds of global harms. One RAK tool useful in Smart Agriculture settings is WisBlock, with its modular design, easy and fast deployment, and a new range of modules to help you set up your solution ASAP.
IoT sensors that monitor the usage of appliances and lighting can also play a big role in promoting more sustainable practices. Solutions for the home, office, or the city, can be deployed to help in automating certain functions, including lighting, cooling equipment, and even stoplights. Once the IoT solution is able to monitor the usual behavior of people i.e. when they need certain functions, it can then automate them to turn on when needed. This can help save the amount of energy consumed in various settings, alleviating the demand for power.
Transport is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, single source of carbon emissions in the world. There is an agreement in different parts of the world to significantly reduce this in the next decade. Luckily, IoT can also help make this happen through monitoring and tracking routes, leading drivers with more time and consuming less fuel. This solution can be impactful in industries such as logistics, which rely on trucks to deliver packages all over the world, and even for local garbage collectors to give them an optimum route to take that covers all the stops they need to make, making the trip faster with fewer carbon emissions. Drivers can even have notifications from the system to tell them if they’re using too much fuel. Utilizing IoT for transport is a win-win for everyone, including the planet.
IoT brings a great many possibilities for us to help save the Earth, and when done right, can help us get to our goals from the Paris Accord sooner than we expect.
Happy Earth Day, RAKstars! RAK continues to innovate with IoT for a more sustainable and eco-friendly world.
