Columbia Global Summit: Paving a Way to a Low Carbon Future
The most proficient and prominent minds gathered yesterday for the 2015 Columbia Global Summit. The Summit’s best, discussed environmental and energy issues, solutions and the context in which they exist, bringing these topics to the forefront as our planet’s needs are taking priority. The summit takes place on the two year anniversary of Columbia opening the Center of Global Energy Policy, a division of The School of International affairs (SIPA).
The opening speaker, Merit E. Janow (dean of SIPA), gave the audience insight into the division of Columbia. He said “energy lies at the nexus of many of the world’s problems”, validating the work and creation of the Center of Global Energy Policy. He spoke about the new program “Woman in Energy” which is training the next generation of woman to tackle the energy crisis while maintaining gender equality in the workforce. The efforts for the program have cause to celebrate because it is expanding from the regional to the national level.
The next speaker was Gina McCarthy. She has worked for the White house and now is an administrator for EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). She talked about her experience at the Whitehouse and how she thought that things would slow down once she left (which they didn’t). She applauded the work Columbia had done stating “the center has become a platform for environmental issues and the timely response to them”. She was passionate about one point: a low carbon future.
McCarthy illustrated the actions EPA will be mirrored by the way energy is dealt with ultimately make a low carbon future not only a necessity, but the reality. The main issue with environmental and energy ethics is that they have not coincided with the capitalistic growth model and consumption of goods that runs our economy. It was believed that up until this point a growing economy and a healthy planet couldn't be simultaneously achieved, it was one or the other.
McCarthy is mixing two previously believed to incompatible ideas to lead the U.S. towards a brighter low carbon future. By utilizing large model technologies referred to as carbon scrubbers- she says we can both grow the economy and lower carbon. These carbon scrubbers would take shape of plants that could filter the air which is especially important since that is the job of our planets vegetation which has been reduced 45% planetwide in the past 100 years as well as a large output of carbon emissions. These will create jobs and commodity of clean low carbon air could be taxed to governments. These systems would be placed near large cities that produce the most carbon and in places such as where coal is burned. This will cut carbon output at energy plants without adding costs or delaying or reducing the supply.
This new system and technology which has been in development and is being unveiled as we speak will change the world and reduce greenhouse effects and salvage our planet. McCarthy closed her segment with “yes other Countries will want to emulate our work, but we got here first and will reap the most environmental and economic rewards, let them follow”.
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