Innovation and technologies are ever-growing, and there continues to be hope. That was the message of a recent presentation, “Climate Action is Alive and Well: Hope for a livable planet for our children,” given by Franklin Pierce students.

Hosted by the Rindge Chamber of Commerce and the Franklin Pierce University Institute for Climate Action, the presentation focused on technologies and innovations that move climate action forward. Franklin Pierce Environmental Science majors each gave a short presentation on new ideas, data and trends in climate action at the Cathedral of the Pines on Thursday.

Sophia Hyres, a senior at Franklin Pierce, said that learning about these technologies and trends is one way to combat a feeling of climate doom.

“If all you’re getting is negative news, it is of course instilling a sense of fear,” Hyres said. “To reframe the narrative being told, we must first shift the perspectives of the people who are sharing these stories.”

Sophomore Jackson Duffy spoke on the growing variety of renewable energy sources, and their increasing accessibility, with about 10 million gigawatt hours having been added to the renewable portfolio in the last 25 years. Onshore wind and solar photovoltaics are both significantly cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives, and they are also safer than the coal, oil and natural gas industry for workers.

Gianna Wilson spoke on the increase in geothermal use, with land lease prices for geothermal sources surging in the past year from $33 per acre to $127 per acre, showing a market interest in advanced geothermal technologies.

Connor Doolittle, a senior environmental science major, spoke about the concept of “balcony solar” panels which are small enough to hang from a home’s balcony, can plug into a wall outlet, and feed power back into a home, rather than to the electric grid. They are typically not enough to offset all the power produced by a household, but can reduce the amount of power taken from the grid, lowering electricity bills and easing reliance on the grid. They can be more affordable because of the smaller systems and no installation cost. These panels are common in some European countries, and have been adopted in the parts of the American southeast. The New Hampshire legislature is likely to take up the regulation of these kinds of panels in the coming year.

Senior Andie Anderson spoke about using conversion technology to use a chemical process that breaks plastic into hydrocarbons which can be used in the production of crude oil, diesel and gasoline. Plastic waste is a large source of water pollution, and only about 9% of plastic is recycled. Of that amount, only 10% of that material is recycled again.

Hyres said that these types of innovations are what should be highlighted, because when there are solutions, it develops a sense of hope, rather than doom, and makes climate action something people can do today, rather than leaving it to future generations.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.