The ‘dystopian future’ that the sci-fi movies have been talking about is here and now. We are in the year 2022, and we have many things to think over. To start with, we must begin approaching technology with a more forgiving attitude and cut down on needs that disturb the ecosystem. For instance, I recently ordered a digital notepad called Newyes for $11.99, and I have stopped using paper to write some quick notes. This notepad came with a stylus and a magnet. The 8.5″ LCD screen is pretty basic and is not backlit. The stylus works perfectly fine, and I have faced no issues in jotting down words in my handwriting.
How to embrace being more eco-friendly this year?
You can erase the entire screen’s contents with the delete button but not individual words or sentences. So one has to be really cautious before choosing their words. The cello tape on the top left of the screen just holds the battery area together. The forgiving attitude has helped me look past this tiny issue and see the eco-friendly nature of this pocket-friendly device.
Planet of the apps
Talking about being forgiving, digital apps need it the most. It does seem like everything happens in the air, but behind every big app lies the big data cooling and computing problems. The physical servers that are bearing the brunt of our data will only increase in numbers if we keep adding endless amounts of data online. Our world is so intertwined right now but united with IoT and global connectivity. Virtual office spaces such as Trello, and Slack, are doing a great job in embracing the work-from-home nature of work. This helps not only for modern project management but supports regular operations and team communication just as much. We just have to be mindful of our deadlines and not crowd the space with content for the sake of content.
Indoor tech
Staying indoors is slowly becoming an “in thing” now. But it does not have to be boring. Since we are getting enough time to spend with family or friends, there are a few interesting apps and devices that will help for group activities to be productive.
For everyone’s health and healthy lungs, AIRY, an air-purifying plant pot, is a great keep. AIRY turns a plant into a natural purifier by absorbing carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, mold, asbestos, and many other indoor air pollutants. Another indoor garden activity that can also engage children is the Estonian Click and Grow’s Smart Gardens. This little device is designed to make gardening fun and essential activity for a healthy indoor experience.
A little out-of-the-box device that costs $2,995.00 but seems like a must-have is Tonal. It is a complete indoor gymming machine that also acts as your workout assistant. It adjusts the weights for weight lifting in real-time based on its user’s requirement. It is sleek, can be mounted on a wall, and is also available for $63.00 per month for 48 months on EMI.
E-micro-mobility
A market estimate predicts the global growth of electric micro-mobility vehicles to be around $500 billion by 2030. As we approach more lockdowns this year and work remotely, we are going to have fewer long-distance traveling needs. Vehicles such as e-bikes, e-scooters, e-shopping-carts, electric skateboards, and electric pedal-assisted (pedelec) bicycles fall under the umbrella of electric micro-mobility vehicles. These vehicles are charged electrically and ease the pressure out on the non-renewable resources.
The most exciting vehicle out of the lot is the e-scooter. You can either rent or own an e-scooter. With the US-based Lime, you can rent an e-moped, e-bike, and an e-scooter. The micro mobiles will be connected via Lime’s app for a hassle-free city experience.
If you want to own one of these e-scooters, you should check out Xiaomi’s Mi Electric Scooter 3, which costs around $600. The e-scooter can run up to a maximum speed of 25km/h and includes an e-ABS regenerative anti-lock braking system. The vehicle is foldable and covers a distance of up to 30km.
Agricultural bots
According to the United Nations, the global population is predicted to be around 9.7 billion by 2050. As there will be more mouths to feed in the future, the pressure on the agriculture industry will rise manifolds. To balance the physical strains borne by the people working in farms, agricultural robots (ag-bots) are offering helping hands. From plowing, seeding to harvesting, the ag-bots are doing it all.
Based in the Netherlands, AgXeed is an agricultural tech (AgTech) startup that provides automated farming solutions to consumers. The company’s AgBot is an automated robotic tractor-like machine that plows and sows the land with a 4.1-liter 4-cylinder 350-liter diesel tank. AgBot consumes 85 liters of diesel per minute and is guided by RTK GPS and LiDAR systems.
A California-based Iron Ox and a Denmark-based Nordic Harvest AgTech companies have greenhouses where the robots grow and harvest chemical-free crops for sale to restaurants and retailers. Iron Ox primarily grows lettuce with the help of their FarmBots in horizontal facilities, while the Nordic Harvest harvests fresh produce in a fourteen-story tall vertical greenhouse. Produce is then packaged in plastics to be sold to the consumers. But the recent ban put by France on the use of plastic for storing fruits and vegetables is a game-changer. If, like in the old times, you can carry a wicker basket or something reusable to these facilities, then you will get fresh produce without a touch of plastic.
For this year, the EU has banned the use of food whitening additive E171, restricted the use of certain carcinogenic chemicals for tattoo inks, and amid the outburst of more and more COVID-19 variants, they also refuse to lift travel bans to many countries for the safety of its citizens. The tide is surely shifting towards building a more sustainable future where our future generations can live, breathe, and eat the good food on this planet.
Embrace your cycle digitally
I want to conclude this list with my period log via my cycle-tracking app. This year, I was extremely cautious about tracking my periods every month, so whenever a gynecologist asks me, “when was your last period?” I’ll have something to say factually. I realized that I did pretty well this year in terms of staying with the normal range of the menstruation cycles. I see this annual log as one small step for women, one giant leap for femininity.
Of course, there are no mandatory exercises here, and all of these points are merely ideas. What is really worth thinking about is whether or not you could do more to support the environment and your community to strive. Technology solves problems but are all solutions sustainable in the long run? As long as you think about your consumption and behavior, you’re already doing a lot better than just being ignorant of what could be. Even small steps are important as long as you move in the right direction.
Photo credit: The feature image has been done by Boxed Water. Every photo in the body of the article has a dedicated credit listed, right beneath the image, for your information.
