Will AI Fight Climate Change Or Make It Much Worse? Hot Debate On The Topic Now

AI is obviously the Next Big Thing.

Illustration from Appen 

Like it or not, it's invading all aspects of our lives. And of course, AI will have an enormous effect on other Big Things. Like climate change.  

Whether or not AI is good or bad, there was certainly a lot of interest in it at the recently concluded COP30 sessions.

That's the big annual UN shindig where countries from around the world try to come up with agreements on how to fix climate change. 

Usually, including this year, they didn't make much progress. And, the United States sat this one out all because our Glorious Leader says climate change is a hoax. 

But back to AI and climate. 

The Associated Press said they counted at least 24 sessions related to AI during the conference. 

They included using AI to help neighboring cities share energy, and a ceremony for the first AI for Climate Action Award for a project on water scarcity and climate variability in Laos.

All the tech bros at the converse are telling anyone that will listen that AI will solve climate change. Or at least make it less bad.  Or maybe help us deal with it better. They give examples. For instance, it can increase the efficiency of electric grids. 

AI can help farmers more accurately predict whether to save their crops. It can design buildings, roads and other infrastructure to withstand ever-increasing weather extremes. 

AI can also directly fight climate change. It's being used to detect methane leaks. Methane is an even more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. 

As NPR reported back in January, 2024 that methane leaks were seldom found and monitored. Now, scientists and companies use AI daily to find methane emissions by by interpreting enormous amounts of satellite images.   

That data is now used by the United Nations to verify the accuracy of corporation and government reports on methane emissions. 

Forest managers use AI to detect forest fires before they get out of hand. The technology can also ensure conditions are right for controlled burns to prevent future huge forest fires 

These are just some examples of how AI could save the world from a climate catastrophe, goes the theory. Or something like that. 

OR IS AI KILLING US 

It takes a TON of energy to run the data centers that keep AI afloat. So maybe AI will just make climate change even worse.

Per the Associated Press: 

"Climate groups, however, are sounding the alarm about AI's growing environmental impact, with its surging needs for electricity and water for powering searches and data centers They say an AI boom without guardrails will only push the world farther off track from goals set by 2015 Paris Agreement to slow global warming."

We'll probably blow past that 1.5 degree Celsius goal with or without sincere climate action. But AI might make us go far beyond that goal.

AI relies on data centers that use tremendous amounts of electricity, Data centers accounted for 1.5 percent of the world's electricity consumption in 2024. Since 2017, electricity consumption in data centers has grown by 12 percent, more than four times faster than the total rate of electricity consumption. 

Since a pretty big share of electricity is still generated via fossil fuel generation, data centers contribute to climate change. 

According to cornell.edu:

"Cornell researchers have used advanced data analytics - and, naturally, some AI, too - to create a state-by-state look at that environmental impact. The team found that, by 2030, the current rate of AI growth would annually put 24 to 44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the emissions equivalent of adding 5 to 10 million cars to U.S. roadways. 

It would also drain 731 to 1,125 million cubic meters of water per year - equal to the annual household water usage of 6 to 10 million Americans. The cumulative effect would put the AI industry's net-zero emissions targets out of reach."

Sounds really bad. But then again, maybe not that bad?

Says cornell.edu again:

"On the upside, the study also outlines an actionable roadmap that would use smart siting, faster grid decarbonization and operational efficiency to cut these impacts by approximately 73% (carbon dioxide) and 86% (water) compared with worst-case scenarios."

So, the bottom line is AI is maybe one of the biggest new thing of all big new things we've ever had. AI could let us swim or make us sink. 

Only the future will tell us. And the future might come sooner than we think. 

Cold Waves And EVs Don't Mix; Need Better Technology

EVs don't work that great in frigid weather, as many
frustrated Midwesterners saw this week during a cold snap.

Arctic cold blasts and EVs still don't mix.

At least if you want to get somewhere in that Tesla, or whatever EV you prefer. The problem: They don't hold charges very well in frigid temperatures. And it's hard to re-charge them when it's bitterly cold.  

That's a problem for everyone trying to wean us off fossil fuels, which are causing climate change. 

I can see the irony of Arctic cold messing up devices and inventions meant to blunt global warming. I'm sure the climate change deniers are gloating. 

However, climate change does not prevent winter. It can still get damn cold in the winter, especially for those of us in the northern tier of states.  Cold waves are becoming somewhat less frequent, generally not as long lasting and for the most part less intense than they used to be. 

Anyway, back to the EVs. As Axios reports:

"Not only does charging take longer in freezing temperatures, some electric vehicles owners are surprised to find out how much their car's driving range is compromised by winter weather."

So you have EVs that are taking forever to charge, and they have to be charged more frequently because colder than a Karen's glare out there. 

Around Chicago, Tesla supercharging stations were littered with dead cars and people waiting hours to at least attempt to plug in the vehicles. One man quoted by Fox32 Chicago said, "We got a bunch of dead robots out here."

Once car owners waited out the line and finally got their EV to a charger, it took hours to charge in the frigid temperatures. The temperature fluctuated in Chicago between just 3 above zero to 10 below continuously from late Saturday night through 6 a.m. this past Wednesday. Chicago temperatures are forecast to stay below normal until about Monday.

Experts say EV owners should pre-condition their batteries in cold weather, meaning you have to get the battery up to an optimal temperature to accept the right charge.

Good luck with that. Many people don't have garages. And how many heated public parking garages are there for EVs?

There are a lot of reasons that need to be fixed to make EVs better in cold weather. The chemical and physical processes in batteries slow down when it's cold, which is part of the reason why their range doesn't last and it takes longer to charge

Gasoline powered cars also use the heat from the engine to warm the passenger compartment on frigid days.  That engine heat is not available in EVs. Manufacturers are installing heat pumps in some of these vehicles to help, but it's not a cure-all.

It's true that internal combustion cars have their own problems in cold weather. Batteries die in those vehicles, too. Plus belts and such get brittle and can break.  But EVs still have a technological and public relations problem in the winter. 

Clearly, that EV technology has to get better before we can fully embrace EVs. They need a bigger range, there needs to be faster charging, and the problems with cold weather need to be addressed. 

I'm sure people are working on these fixes. I noticed last summer a Chinese company said it had developed materials and technology that would improve charging capacity for EV batteries, especially in frigid weather. We'll see if that helps. 

Plus, there are advantages to EVs in addition to the important work of reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. 

The last longer, are generally cheaper to fix, and there are some pretty good federal tax credits if you buy one. 

But like it or not, the public will not fully embrace EVs unless they become almost as convenient as gasoline powered cars.  Unfortunately, people aren't thinking about climate change when they're late for work. Or freezing in a parking lot with a dead car.