The novelties in the field of science and technology that are currently reaching the market share a very important ethical component: the awareness of environmental sustainability by their creators as a basis for innovation. This is an essential change in our way of facing technological progress, given the climate emergency we are experiencing.
The new generations of leaders who are carrying out this change are no longer satisfied with succeeding both professionally and personally, but rather seek to improve the current living conditions of society as a whole. In this sense and from many different fields, these innovators have embraced with their commitment a new philosophy for future generations that somehow puts sustainability at the center. Thanks to this trend that combines technology and ecological commitment, the future no longer seems so grey. Let’s review some of these ‘technological revolutions’ of the current era:
Techie world and networking, the key to success
Mark Zuckerberg dreamed of the idea of a ‘global village’ where borders were not a barrier to communication. Since he was a child, he was interested in science and classical studies, but it was not until he arrived at Harvard University where he began to develop computer programs related to social interaction such as «CourseMatch» or «Facemash», with the aim of creating a virtual directory of the students of the university campus, the base on which Facebook is based, an invention that would change the way of understanding interpersonal relationships. 2004 saw the launch of the social network, whose enormous success encouraged Zuckerberg to take a sabbatical from his studies to dedicate himself entirely to the network, which at that time already had one million users. Today, Facebook has more than 2.4 billion users worldwide, making it the social network with the largest number of followers, and its creator, Zuckerberg, the youngest CEO in the world to join the exclusive list in 2013. To his success as a businessman we should add his philanthropic character, since since 2010, Zuckerberg has collaborated with various humanitarian causes such as education, the fight against Ebola or multiple environmental initiatives.
Drew Houston was in 2006 a recent graduate in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who had the bad luck to leave his USB flash drive with all his files at home and with it, the possibility of being able to advance his work in a long bus ride. From this inconvenience an innovative idea arose that has revolutionized the digital world in our era: Dropbox, one of the largest multiplatform file hosting services in the cloud. Together with his partner Arash Ferdowsi, an MIT computer engineering student who dropped out of classes to build the project with him, Houston launched Dropbox in 2008. The platform today has 500 million registered users and means the removal of physical barriers to access to information, thus contributing to the decrease in pollution caused by commuting to workplaces.
Technology to clean oceans and atmosphere
Every year more than 13 million plastic waste is dumped into the ocean in the world. To counteract this silent pollution, The Ocean Cleanup initiative emerged, a foundation led by Boyan Slat that develops technology to extract plastic waste and prevent it from continuing to sink into the ocean waters. Through a stabilized floating system, solid waste from the sea is trapped and collected for subsequent recycling. Thanks to this initiative, which he launched when he was only 18 years old, Slat has obtained numerous awards, including the highest environmental award from the UN or the Award for Young Entrepreneur in the Maritime Industry received from King Harald of Norway.
For Professor of Applied Physics David Keith, an expert in climate science, solar energy and public policy, climate change led him to become involved in the search for solutions to environmental pollution. Thanks to the launch of his company Carbon Engineering, whose technology is capable of capturing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere, he was recognized by Time magazine as one of the Heroes of the Environment in 2009.
The food technology of ‘cultivated meat’
And of course, together with these already consolidated initiatives, we cannot forget about BioTech Foods and the environmental progress that the arrival of cultured meat on the food market will mean. Mercedes Vila and her dream of creating sustainable meat obtained without animal sacrifice will soon allow us to combat climate change from our shopping cart, with a product that consumes far fewer resources than traditional livestock. Once the technology is developed and already in the scaling phase, investments for the production of meat grown in the laboratory have doubled every year since 2017, so the ‘cultivated meat’ revolution will be a reality sooner than expected. Once again, technological progress committed to sustainability is making its way.
