We are now facing humanity’s greatest threat, climate change--and we don’t seem to know what to do. But the solutions are out there already, some hidden in the most ordinary household items or everyday activities right in front of us. These are some inventions even 9-year-olds could come up with, we just need someone--whether you’re an engineer, a TV producer, or just bored!--to help bring them to shape:
The Big Black Boulder - RENEWABLE POWER
Paint a boulder black to absorb and store sunlight, as an alternative to solar cells and solution to battery capacity for solar energy by using natural and readily-available resources at almost no cost and environmental impacts, and somehow figure out how to then extract energy from the big black boulder for power consumption
The Gym Generator - CLEAN ENERGY
Harness kinetic energy from motion created in exercise machines and activities (eg. stationary bike, weight-lifting, rowing, treadmill running, battle rope etc.) to generate electricity to power gym and surrounding facilities
Soap Opera about Climate Change - AWARENESS
Use drama show to build interest and create awareness about climate change
Example script: Family faces worst flooding in a century and are stuck at home with no escape. Food and water runs low as protagonist’s mother has beef with her daughter-in-law
Cambridge Analytica for Climate Emergency - CRIME
Infiltrate the internet with information about climate change by analyzing user data and online presence and preference to instill climate knowledge and also create public demand for climate action
Milkbox Origami - EDUCATION / WASTE MANAGEMENT / INNOVATION
Print milk cartons and cereal boxes with dashed lines to create origami, foldable toys or games for kids to play with when they finish eating the product to recycle paper, provoke creativity in children and help parents keep their them from being bored
TV series like “Narcos” for wildlife trafficking
Create TV series like a drug war thriller, except for wildlife trafficking--there is just as much violence, dirty money and politics involved in the illegal wildlife trade as there is in drug trafficking--to build emotional suspense, as well as educate them about the dark world
Graffi-tree
Secretly plant seeds in any vacant space all over the world one night, as a form of civil disobedience for climate action, and wait for them in grow together in a few weeks time to grow a global forest without having to the wait for the government to (because they tend not to)
Solar Panel Billboards
Install the commercial billboards with solar panels, since they’re huge and kind of useless anyway (they just try to sell things people don’t need) so why not put them to good use.
Illustrations by: Saranporn Rarunron
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This blog post is part of What Climate Activist Say <https://th.boell.org/en/what-climate-activists-say> published by Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Southeast Asia - 2020.