PixabayNonprofit AI firm WattTime is releasing tech that will monitor the exact amount of air pollution from every power plant in the world, and they plan to make their findings public.
The move is funded by a $1.7 million (about £1.3 million) grant from Google.org, a branch of Google which aims to ‘extend the reach of nonprofit innovators’.
Data will be analysed from both private and public satellites and uses a range of sensory wavelengths, including infrared heat detection. This information can then be used to track the exact amount of carbon emissions from every power plant in the world, in real time.
WikipediaBy making the information public, WattTime’s findings will be seen by everyone from politicians to the public. This means we’ll be able to see how much pollution is being released into areas that we live in.
The availability of this information will also expose to what extent certain areas have been misreporting their emissions, reports Vox. Emissions data informs pollution laws and international environmental agreements. Independent third party data analysis provides clear and unbiased pollution information that can be viewed by everyone.
Not only is #renewableenergy catching on worldwide, some places are even generating more than they can use. There's an easy way to put that extra #cleanenergy to use (energy storage isn't the only answer). Hint: #smartdevices have more power than you know! https://t.co/r3KPrvaF9s pic.twitter.com/TZM8Qg5eGA
— WattTime (@wattTime) May 17, 2019
WattTime describes itself as offering ‘technology solutions that make it easy for anyone to achieve emissions reductions.’ They’re partnering with independent financial think tank Carbon Tracker for the project, which hopes to change the way air pollution is analysed.
With the use of fossil fuels pumping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere and dangerously heating our planet at an alarming rate, WattPad’s data analysis will allow for a precise understanding of the amount of air pollution we’re dealing with.
Following a number of campaigns to ban single-use plastic, and TV shows exposing the devastating extent of global warming, like David Attenborough’s Our Planet, there has been a renewed public interest in understanding how to prevent and reverse climate change.
The data provided will allow for the public to rally their efforts for protecting the planet against real statistics, and that future laws and policies created to combat change account for the exact amount of emissions.
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Ed Watkinson is a content strategist and editor at UNILAD. Having worked for several large media agencies for over 10 years, he joined LADbible Group in 2017 and has been overseeing organic content performance since then.