{"id":18662,"date":"2020-03-29T11:00:07","date_gmt":"2020-03-29T05:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/?p=18662"},"modified":"2020-03-30T19:20:53","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T13:50:53","slug":"how-blockchain-can-save-our-planet-from-mass-extinction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/blockchain-technology\/how-blockchain-can-save-our-planet-from-mass-extinction\/","title":{"rendered":"How Blockchain can Save our Planet From Mass Extinction?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>What is Blockchain<\/h4>\n<p>Blockchain, We can say a mixture of Block and chain. Blockchain is a rising list of records. That is linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the past block, a timestamp, and transaction data. By design, a blockchain is obstructive to the modification of the data.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>\u201cDo you know that around 800 million people are currently vulnerable to many life-threatening risks like floods, droughts, hurricanes, heat waves, sea-level rise, and extreme weather events?\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All of these issues put our planet at great risk. Many species are going extinct. The land and oceans are suffocating. And the lives around us are at great stake, all because of our actions like deforestation, excessive carbon emissions, pollution, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the same time, we also see the convergence of our technological, physical, and biological realms. Technologies like the Internet of Things, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/artificial-intelligence\/future-of-artificial-intelligence-for-2020\/\">artificial intelligence<\/a>, blockchain, virtual reality, and <\/span>mobile app development<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are redefining our economies, lifestyles, values, and opportunities for the planet dwellers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, it\u2019s high time to harness these technologies to address environmental issues and remodel the way we manage our shared global environment. In this article, we are focusing on the potential of blockchain to mitigate many existing and emerging environmental challenges.<\/span><br \/>\n<!-- Home page 728x90 --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 728px; height: 90px;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-9864771813712812\" data-ad-slot=\"3152971286\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Blockchain For A Better Planet<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before we dive into the main topic, let\u2019s see some of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/blockchain-technology\/5-upcoming-trends-of-blockchain-in-2020\/\">defining qualities of blockchain<\/a> and how they can impact environmental sustainability.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Decentralization<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Peer to peer system with no intermediate channel to manage the data<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Immutable records<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; The data stored in a blockchain is unalterable<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Traceability<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; All public records are entirely traceable from inception to expiry.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Equity<\/b> &#8211; Equal treatments in regulations, requirements, and distributions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These qualities of blockchain come in handy in multiple ways in sustainable development. They help reduce fraud and tampering, reinforce democracy and transparency, and encourage people to adopt environmentally friendly practices.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently, six environmental challenges need imminent proactive action. They are climate change, biodiversity loss, natural disasters, ocean-health deterioration, air pollution, and water scarcity. So, let\u2019s see how blockchain can mitigate these challenges<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3>Sustainable Supply Chains<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have you ever wondered if the products we buy from stores are produced in environmentally friendly ways?. Even if you did, it\u2019s impractical to get and verify such information. The products go through many hands before they reach us. So who knows how they are made and processed?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ey.com\/Publication\/vwLUAssets\/ey-blockchain-and-the-supply-chain-three\/$FILE\/ey-blockchain-and-the-supply-chain-three.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">blockchain-based supply chain system<\/a> provides complete traceability of products from source to store with immutable records. For example, let\u2019s say we are buying organic food. So this system allows us to check if it\u2019s produced organically and ethically, check where they dump the waste, monitor its complete life cycle and movements, and many more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does this help us make better-informed decisions, but this transparency can also put an end to many illegal and unethical practices in supply chain management such as illegal fishing, illicit deposition of waste, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h4>Saving Energy And Water<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>\u201cAround 1.5 billion people on earth have no access to clean water and electricity.\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s disturbing to even think about such a scenario, right? Well, it\u2019s our reality.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This adversity is partly due to inefficiencies in the current resource distribution system. Many factors such as transportation loss, the disparity in distributions, and illegal extraction contribute to this inefficiency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Decentralized resource management is the ultimate solution to this. It connects the users directly to the source, without the need for intermediaries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A decentralized energy grid can direct the energy from where it\u2019s produced to where it\u2019s needed with no tampering and leakage along the way. Similarly, a decentralized water distribution system enables us to check if the water is distributed as scheduled, check its quantity and quality, reinforce water conservation, and detect illegal extraction or water tampering.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3>Reducing Carbon And Greenhouse Gases<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>\u201cToday\u2019s greenhouse gas levels may be the highest in 3 million years.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carbon and greenhouse gases are the main culprits behind current environmental challenges such as climate change, chemical pollution, and ozone depletion, and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although there are many rules and regulations to control these emissions, few people follow it strictly. So, companies can lie about their allowed rate of emissions and cause to aggravate many environmental risks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blockchain can eliminate all these discrepancies by bolstering traceable and immutable records of carbon credit transactions such as carbon footprint and carbon tax. All of these will also encourage companies to restructure their business model to meet sustainability demands.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3>Protecting Biodiversity<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>\u201cOne in five species on earth is on the verge of extinction.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Earth\u2019s biological assets are facing unprecedented threats due to the violation of many planetary conditions. Besides many species, we also lost nearly 1 million hectares of coastal ecosystems over the past years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/builtin.com\/blockchain\/blockchain-applications\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Blockchain\u2019s applications<\/a> can minimize these risks to a great extent. For instance, we can reinforce many environmental laws such as forestry laws, fishing laws, hunting regulations, and pollution control laws and ensure that they are strictly followed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can also monitor the pillars of an ecosystem such as lands, oceans, forests, resources, and species living in these habitats in a geospatial digital ledger. This way, we can spot and eliminate any illegal activities that can affect the healthy conservation of diverse species and habitats.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3>Controlling Pollution<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>\u201cAround 7 million people die annually from exposure to air pollution.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Estimates predict that by 2050, there will be a more plastic waste in the ocean than fish. Blockchain can encourage people and organizations to practice the right way of valuing and treating the materials and natural resources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, we can transfer cryptocurrency credits to individuals and companies as a reward for following sustainable practices such as collecting plastic from land and oceans, recycling materials, controlling smoke emissions, and saving water. Plastic Bank and RecycleToCoin are some platforms that do precisely that.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3>Proactive Disaster Management<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>\u201cIn 2018, the number of natural disasters was three times more than it was in 1980.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The scale and frequency of natural disasters are increasing day by day, partly due to climate change. Natural disasters are often unpreventable. The only thing we can do is prepare for foreseeable natural disasters and manage real-time responses to repair their consequences.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blockchain can be very handy in these situations. For example, financing and co-ordinating immediate support and supplies to people in need in the affected areas. By connecting the suppliers and those who deliver the supplies with blockchain, we can track the movement of supplies to ensure that they are delivered at scheduled times in specific locations.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"seethis_lik\"><span>Also read:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/finance\/apps-like-quadpay\/\">50+ Trending Alternatives To Quadpay | A List of Apps Similar To Quadpay - No Credit Check\/Bills and Payment<\/a><\/span>\n<h2><b>Final Thoughts<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a great deal of incentive for sustainability initiatives in the technology world. IBM\u2019s \u201ccall for code\u201d initiative and Amazonia third way initiative called \u201cEarth bank of codes\u201d are a few examples of that. <\/span>Mobile app development<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> also has a commendable role in popularizing environmental practices. Blockchain-powered mobile apps like foodtrax, RecycleToCoin, EcoChain, SolarCoin are helping people embrace environmental practices. So, Let\u2019s just hope that these opportunities will encourage individuals, organizations, policymakers, and government frameworks to contribute to a better planet for future generations.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is Blockchain Blockchain, We can say a mixture of Block and chain. Blockchain is a rising list of records.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":874,"featured_media":18853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[135],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18662"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/874"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18662"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18970,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18662\/revisions\/18970"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/18853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the-next-tech.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}