The Chopra Well
Category: sustainability – Page 4
Global plastics production is concentrated in oil-producing countries with advanced petrochemical industries, while plastics disposal has shifted from landfill to incineration, with recycling consistently low, according to a global trade-linked material flow analysis of plastics for the year 2022.
In seawater, boron exists as electrically neutral boric acid, so it passes through reverse osmosis membranes that typically remove salt by repelling electrically charged atoms and molecules called ions. To get around this problem, desalination plants normally add a base to their treated water, which causes boric acid to become negatively charged. Another stage of reverse osmosis removes the newly charged boron, and the base is neutralized afterward by adding acid. Those extra treatment steps can be costly.
“Our device reduces the chemical and energy demands of seawater desalination, significantly enhancing environmental sustainability and cutting costs by up to 15 percent, or around 20 cents per cubic meter of treated water,” said Weiyi Pan, a postdoctoral researcher at Rice University and a study co-first author.
The manufacturing and deployment of hybrid and electric vehicles is on the rise, contributing to ongoing efforts to decarbonize the transport industry. While cars and smaller vehicles can be powered using lithium batteries, electrifying heavy-duty vehicles, such as trucks and large buses, has so far proved much more challenging.
Fuel cells, devices that generate electricity via chemical reactions, are promising solutions for powering heavy-duty vehicles. Most of the fuel cells employed so far are so-called proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), cells that generate electricity via the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen, conducting protons from their anode to their cathode utilizing a solid polymer membrane.
Despite their potential, many existing fuel cells have limited lifetimes and efficiencies. These limitations have so far hindered their widespread adoption in the manufacturing of electric or hybrid trucks, buses and other heavy-truck vehicles.
A novel paper led by Dr. Ulrich Brose of the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena is widening the understanding of how species interact within ecosystems via the so-called “Internet of Nature.”
Published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, the paper reveals that species not only exchange matter and energy but also share vital information that influences behavior, interactions, and ecosystem dynamics—revealing previously hidden characteristics of natural ecosystems.
Traditionally, ecological studies have concentrated on material interactions, such as feeding, pollination, and seed dispersal. However, this new paper shines a light on the essential role of information exchange between species.
Technology for converting solar energy into thermal energy is ever evolving and has numerous applications. A breakthrough in the laboratory of Professor My Ali El Khakani at Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) has made a significant contribution to the field.
Professor El Khakani specializes in plasma-laser processes for the development of nanostructured materials. He and his team at the Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Center have developed a new photothermal material that converts sunlight into heat with unmatched efficiency. The results of their work were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
For several decades, stoichiometric titanium oxides have been known for their exceptional photocatalytic properties. A sub-stoichiometric form of this material, characterized by a slight deficiency in oxygen atoms, is referred to as “Magnéli phases,” with specific compositions exhibiting distinct properties.
The current prototype impressively produces 200 milliliters of hydrogen per hour with a promising 12.6% energy efficiency.
“Water and energy are both critically needed for our everyday life, but typically, if you want to produce more energy, you have to consume more water,” said Lenan Zhang, assistant professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in Cornell Engineering, who led the project.
Zhang added: “On the other hand, we need drinking water, because two-thirds of the global population are facing water scarcity. So there is a bottleneck in green hydrogen production, and that is reflected in the cost.”
A team of biomaterial engineers, environmental resource specialists and industrial design researchers affiliated with a host of institutions across Japan has developed a biodegradable material that is clear and can hold boiling water—and it degrades in less than a year after settling on the ocean floor. Their work is published in the journal Science Advances.
Prior research has shown that millions of tons of plastics are piling up in the environment, including on the ocean floor. Because of this, scientists have been looking for better, biodegradable replacements. In this new effort, the research team has developed a paper-based, clear, biodegradable material that can stand up to liquids for several hours, even those that have been heated, allowing them to replace plastic cups, straws, and other everyday objects.
The research team made the material by starting with a standard cellulose hydrogel. After drying, the material was treated with an aqueous lithium bromide solution which forced the cellulose to solidify into desired shapes. The researchers note that end-products could be as thin as plastic cup walls, or as thick as desired. They describe the material as tPB, a transparent 3D material made solely of cellulose.
What are the potential health risks from airborne dust pollution, especially in the growing threat of climate change? This is what a recent study published | Earth And The Environment
Reports of extraterrestrial beings, particularly the iconic “grey aliens,” have permeated modern folklore and ufology since the mid-20th century. These beings — typically described as small-statured humanoids with large, black almond-shaped eyes, diminutive noses and mouths, and grey skin — have become embedded in our cultural consciousness (Sagan, 1995). But what if these entities are not visitors from distant stars, but rather glimpses of our own evolutionary future? This essay explores a compelling hypothesis: that the grey aliens reported in countless encounters might be evolved or bio-engineered humans from our future, adapted specifically for subterranean existence following a global catastrophe.
Humanity stands at a crossroads of existential risk. Climate change, nuclear proliferation, biological warfare capabilities, and ecological collapse represent just a few of the potential calamities that could force a dramatic reshaping of human civilization (Bostrom, 2013). If surface conditions on Earth became inhospitable — whether through nuclear winter, extreme solar radiation following ozone depletion, or uninhabitable surface temperatures — surviving populations might be driven underground, initiating a profound evolutionary divergence.
“When faced with extinction-level threats, species often undergo rapid adaptation to secure their survival,” notes evolutionary biologist Dr. Elena Rodriguez (2022, p. 87). “Humans, with their capacity for technological intervention in their own biology, could potentially accelerate this process by orders of magnitude.”