The challenges facing our planet's ecosystem are formidable. After so much damage has been done through the misapplication of industry, many activists have given up on technology as a source of anything but problems for the environment. It may have been true at one time, but the march of progress has brought a cornucopia of technological solutions to ecological problems. Here are just a few ways that advancements in technology are helping to curb threats to the future.

Promoting Human Resilience

The health of the human species as a whole is tied to the health of the environment that everyone shares. Climate change is one of the largest threats to the stability of the environment, being responsible for an increase in violent weather that is taking an immeasurable toll on both people and infrastructure. Artificial intelligence (AI) is proving to be incredibly useful in predicting catastrophic change before it happens. For example, machine learning models make it possible to predict the timeline of natural disasters and to discern their likelihood. Climatic predictions themselves benefit from advancements in data analysis, bringing models closer into line with reality, thus allowing experts to plan more wisely.

Curbing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Probably the most visible impact of green technology has been its use in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Scaling back energy use is important, but global civilization will always require energy to keep going; as such, making smarter energy choices is a crucial step to a cleaner world. The promotion and growth of solar energy as a commercially viable alternative to fossil fuels holds the most promise for lowering everyone's carbon footprint at the present time. The advent of robust electric automobiles is another major step in the right direction, and the two issues dovetail nicely. 

Fuel needs energy to refine. In fact, a single gallon of gasoline requires about 8 kWh to create and transport. Promoting electric vehicles and then making the energy that drives them from renewable sources causes a trickle-down effect of increased efficiency and decreased pollution.

Reversing Human Impact on the Land

Recycling programs are only the beginning. Within the past few decades, large strides have been made in reclaiming contaminated land and reducing garbage deposits. "Rewilding" programs are a new focus in conservation biology. This typically takes the form of re-connecting ecosystems that have been severed by roads and bridges, bringing back key species that have vanished and of course keeping human use of wild space to a minimum. 

Vital to this is keeping contamination from happening in the first place, and new solid waste treatment technologies are providing the way forward. Chemical treatments can neutralize harmful acids and bases, while bioremediation processes cultivate microorganisms that degrade pollutants within damaged soils. Finding brand new uses for discarded items (termed "upcycling") is another skill set being learned by a new generation of environmentally-savvy inventors.

Cleaning Up the Oceans

The oceans that people rely on to sustain life have faced a crisis on multiple levels in recent times, from over-fishing to acid pollution. Trash dumping in the seas has caused grave harm as well. That's a problem currently being solved in a unique way thanks to innovative entrepreneurs who are finding ways to get the scourge of waste out of the ocean. Of course this isn't the only new tech keeping the world's water safe for future generations. Land-based aquaculture is keeping fertilizers and other contaminants out of the ocean entirely. Advancements in green chemistry are crafting biodegradable replacements for widely used materials like plastic that often end up just floating away.

Conclusion

The environmental issues facing the global community are formidable. The solutions lie in leveraging that age-old human ability to bring both talent and tools to bear on a problem. With record numbers of people getting involved in science and technology education, the future is looking surprisingly bright.