The Countdown to Combat Climate Change is Ticking: Time to Spin the Outlook

Madison Kidd - Paper 1 - September 9th, 2024


For the past two years I have walked by the same Climate Clock on my way to my internship in the heart of Union Square, NYC. If you have never seen this clock or have even heard about it, it is a digital clock to the second, that counts down the amount of time we have before climate change becomes irreversible and limit it to 1.5℃ of warming [1]. You can’t miss it. The orange text on the side of an all glass building seen from blocks away provides a chill down your spine that for every second that passes with no action, we inch closer to an environmental catastrophe. I watched the clock pass the 6 year mark. I have watched the clock pass the 5 year mark. How, then, could this not push society to make strides to “reverse” this time? Or is it too close that it deters from growth?

The same drive for change can be related to the drive for new discoveries. What if we are hitting a wall with new discoveries in the world of theoretical physics? Should this create a lack of interest in the field altogether, or should it drive those to push past the boundaries and use the past discoveries to simply apply these theories to create new technologies that help the world. In John Horgan’s article titled “Huge Study Confirms Science Ending! (Sort Of),” he discusses the idea that any “new” discoveries of physics or science today can simply be related back to that of a basic discovery found centuries ago. This implies that all “new” discoveries in recent decades are simply applications of the old theories [2]. Hawking supports this theory in his article titled, “Is the End in Sight for Theoretical Physics?” where everything theoretical physicists have been working towards will culminate into a unified theory in the next few decades, and everything thereafter will not be new. He even goes on to end the article stating, “So maybe the end is in sight for theoretical physicists, if not for theoretical physics” [3]. This bleak perspective does one of two things: (1) Pushes anyone interested in theoretical physics to find another interest, or (2) empowers those to build off of these theories to expand the technology we have today. 

This ideology is one that can either save or kill the Earth, especially when analyzing the effects of global warming. Maybe Hawking is correct in thinking the age of discovery is over, but what about the age of advancement? Having a working theory of theoretical physics can only help the development of renewable energy generation, to create the most efficient systems possible. If we fully understand the movement of particles, gravity, and other forces on systems, it would allow engineers to create more efficient systems that could change the course of climate change. 

Our current understanding of wind generation is by harnessing wind energy through massive propellor-like blades connected to a turbine to spin a generator and thus creates energy [4]. By the study of theoretical physics, we know how wind is created in the first place; it is created by three methods: (1) uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, (2) the surface of the Earth’s irregularities, and (3) the simple rotation of the Earth on its axis [4]. Using this proven theory, it allows engineers to find the most optimal areas and positions of wind turbines to generate the most amount of energy. 

It is amazing how the renewable energy field is growing and the advancements in technology in order to generate more power. One of these advancements includes the harnessing of offshore wind, which is known to be much stronger than wind generated over land. The success of the initial projects of Ocean Wind 1 off of New Jersey and Vineyard Wind off of Massachusetts have catapulted new projects to continue down this path. In a groundbreaking project launched in 2020 called Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW), the project will consist of 176 turbines to generate over 2.6 gigawatts of power, the largest generation of offshore wind by 2026 [5]. 

So yes, maybe a unified or new theories of science have all been discovered, but there is no shortage of the advancements that can be made due to these theories. All the theories do is provide a why and how. We need to expand on these theories to not only fuel new projects, but to adapt to changing conditions. So why not try to change the world? 









Works Cited


[1] “Get Your Clock.” Climate Clock, climateclock.world/clocks#action. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024. 


[2] Horgan, John. “Huge Study Confirms Science Ending! (Sort Of).” John Horgan (The Science Writer), John Horgan (The Science Writer), 18 Apr. 2024, johnhorgan.org/cross-check/yrb9e7uefpeqrlkiasoc6octxtnm5g. 


[3] Hawking, S. (1981). Is the End in Sight for Theoretical Physics? Physics Bulletin, 32(15). 10.1088/0031-9112/32/1/024.


[4] How Do Wind Turbines Work? | Department of Energy, www.energy.gov/eere/wind/how-do-wind-turbines-work. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024. 


[5] “First of Its Kind Project - Coastal Virginia.” International, www.international-pc.com/en/cases/coastal-virginia-wind-farm. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024. 

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