Tag Archives: ecology

9 January 2023
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buy, smoke, poison

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“The earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs but not every man’s greed” -Mahatma Gandhi

Today I want to mention a serious problem with you with I find mind-blowing and totally illogical for me, namely- single use vapes. 

Vapes was available for use since 2003 but they gained popularity almost seven years later in 2010 when this business exploded. At first they were made with idea of an alternative for normal cigarettes, but it wasn’t long before teens just started buying it because of the cool taste and mostly for fun. We still haven’t discovered all bad consequences of vapes but for sure we know that almost 2.5 million underaged people hit it every day, and that is only in United States. 

Over £350m worth of lithium from disposable vapes and e-cigarettes discarded each year.
https://images.app.goo.gl/iGbNPLKKfcwtWU998

We as people are becoming more aware of climate change or more climate catastrophe. We are reducing our carbon footprint, we buy eco-friendly products or  use products more than once…oh exactly. In 2010 when vape business grower rapidly they were build from a rechargeable battery, liquid container, heating device and plastic cover. When someone emptied the liquid, he could simply buy another bottle so it made it quite reusable. So what has gone wrong? As always -money. When someone bought just a device, it last for as long as electric devices inside allowed it ,so similar as phone. Apparently the income was too small for producers so they made most illogical decision (of course in ecological sense) they switched to single use vapes that costs 1/3 of a normal pod price but they lasts for 1-2 days of use. Perfect for a party yeah? Not so much witch its results. 

Single use vapes are built from battery and heating device which can be extremely dangerous and toxic if it’s not rightly disposed or returned to a store…and believe me they are not. Inside of this tasty little sticks there is dangerous particles such as lithium, nickel, manganese or cobalt. On the landfills exposed to rain they can easily poison water and soil or even cause a fire due to self-ignition. 

It is speculated that we throw away 10 tones of lithium a year only from disposable vapes which is sum of 1,200 Tesla car batteries. 

Personally, I think that every battery should be used a lot more than once as it is not renewable and toxic power source. We should endeavour to throw away less and make it circular as much as we can, so getting rid of a plastic stick with a battery after one day of ,,pleasure” with a funny taste is total nonsense. 

My advice to you is to think before buying anything cause it really matters, there is a statement that with every purchase you are shaping the world you live in, so to shape it well we should be aware of what we choose and how it impact our surroundings. 

The Cons of Disposable Vape Kits – Original C E-liquids
https://images.app.goo.gl/TKkyMER6rQZz32pG8

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/e-cigarette

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-63037553

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impacts_of_lithium-ion_batteries

https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/youth-and-tobacco/results-annual-national-youth-tobacco-survey

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20 June 2022
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Processor powered by algae

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Recently, scientists developed a processor powered by photosynthesis from algae. The creators of the small system are scientists from the University of Cambridge, and their processor has been working continuously for over a year. Their research gives hope for creating a stable, renewable power source for small devices.

The size of the entire system is comparable to the small AA batteries. It consists of algae, a small aluminum electrode and a microprocessor. Everything is made of cheap, widely available and mostly recyclable materials. The creators of the system say that it will be most useful in places where there is no access to energy networks, and where small amounts of energy are needed, like power sensors.

Our system does not have the problem of running out of energy because sunlight is used to produce it, he adds. During the experiment that is currently underway, algae are used to power the Arm Cortex M0 + processor. Powered by algae, the processor worked both indoors and outdoors. It was exposed to natural changes in light and temperature. We were impressed with the continuity of his work.

Algae do not need any special nutrition as they provide themselves and the processor with energy through photosynthesis. And although light is required to carry it out, the processor was powered even during periods of darkness. The algae were still carrying out metabolic processes.

The creators of the system point out that it would be impractical to power billions of the Internet of Things with currently used lithium-ion batteries. This would require more lithium than we currently produce. And traditional photovoltaic cells are manufactured with the use of environmentally hazardous materials. Hence the need to develop new, stable and environmentally friendly energy sources.

If you want to take a closer look at the solution, I recommend visiting the creators’ article: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/EE/D2EE00233G

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25 May 2022
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A big smart eco move by Coca-Cola

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Recycling has been one of the top topics nowadays, with a great number of solutions and advanced inventions, but the one i focus on in this article, considering its simplicity is one of those that should be implemented worldwide.

According to Coca-Cola, all their bottles including caps, are completely recyclable. The problem, however, is that not all packaging is subjected to it. Caps are often not thrown away by consumers and litter the world while they could be recycled.

The main idea standing behind Coca-Cola has decided to change the caps in the bottles of its drinks. The caps will be attached to the bottles to reduce waste and ease bottle recycling. The company hopes that the new design, in which the cap remains attached to the bottle after opening, will reduce the risk of littering the caps.

The solution is another idea of ​​Coca-Cola, which tries to be more environmentally friendly. The company focuses on the plan of the world without waste, which is why it consistently aims in this direction. Previously, the manufacturing process was changed to only use recycled plastic excluding caps and labels. This makes it possible to save about 29.000 tons of plastic per year.

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30 January 2022
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The world’s first farm of mechanical CO2 absorbing trees will start operating in April

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The world’s first farm of mechanical CO2 absorbing trees will start operating in April

In a recent interview with Inverse, University of Arizona professor Klaus Luckner talked about how mechanical trees, he has developed, will capture CO2 from the air.

According to the professor, they are columns consisting of disks with a diameter of more than one and a half meters, covered with a special resin. The distance between the disks is about 5 cm. At the moment the air passes through this structure, the disks absorb atmospheric CO2. It takes approximately 20 minutes for the disks to fill with carbon dioxide, after which they are immersed in a container below, where water and steam move CO2 into a closed chamber.

Last July, Luckner received a $2.5 million grant from the US Department of Energy to work on his trapping devices. The scientist plans to create three farms capable of absorbing up to 1000 tons of CO2 per day. The first farm will start operating in April.

In his interview, Luckner recalled that the current CO2 capture technologies are very imperfect, and therefore cannot significantly reduce the effect of global warming. In contrast, “mechanical trees” will consume a minimum amount of energy.

However, according to the professor, the key problem is the preservation of the collected CO2, because if it “runs away” back into the atmosphere, then our grandchildren will have to “catch” it again.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climatechange-carboncapture-idUSKCN1S52CG

https://www.inverse.com/innovation/mechanical-trees-co2-climate-change

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25 January 2022
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Business

Is polish start-up going to solve the problem of drinking water scarcity?

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Billions of people around the world are continuing to suffer from poor access to water, sanitation and hygiene, according to a new report by UNICEF and the World Health Organization. 1 in 3 people globally do not have access to safe drinking water! What is worse, because of climate change, the problem will develop.

Unsafe water is one of the world’s largest health and environmental problems – particularly for the poorest in the world. Lack of access to safe water sources is a leading risk factor for infectious diseases, including cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio It also exacerbates malnutrition, and in particular, childhood stunting.

What is Nanoseen?

Nanoseen is a polish start-up, where engineers and scientists set a goal to solve the global problem of drinking water scarcity and plastic pollution. They developed the world’s first technology for desalination and water purification without energy.

What if we could solve the water crisis and give all people unlimited access to clean water?

NanoseenX is an innovative, modern and breakthrough patented nanotechnology for desalination and/or water purification, which is based on flat and thin nanomembranes through which water flows, is purified and desalinated using the force of gravity – therefore no energy or pressure supply is needed.

  • Currently NanoseenX nanomembranes can be regenerated 10 times using: pure water (or solar energy or compressed air.)
  • The cost of each nanomembrane is $0.5 for 60 cm and $0,08 for 12 cm;
  • Nanoseen creates nanomembranes and its own desalination and / or water treatment systems, including mobile installations.
  • NanoseenX nanomembranes are 100% scalable and can be adapted to various forms of unlimited size.
  • The technology is environmentally friendly, does not emit CO2 – it is made of materials of natural origin (carbon compounds).
  • Used nanomembranes are recycled;

In conclusion, I think the start-up’s idea is going to be something huge! The drinking water scarcity has always been a problem and with upcoming climate crisis, it’s only going to get worse. Every idea that may help people, even a bit, is at premium these days. I hope we’ll come up with more solutions like this one.

Sources:

nanoseen.com

https://ourworldindata.org/water-access

instagram @eko.paulinagorska

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27 October 2020
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Data science usage in managing water sources – water analytics software Ketos

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Ketos provides industrial and agricultural enterprises, commercial businesses, and institutions with a patented sensors and machine-learning analytics platform.

The world faces many ecological problems  – lack of water and its contamination among them. Today, over 2.5 billion people don’t have access to clean water, and 5 million die annually due to water-borne diseases in developing countries.

Ketos offers monitoring of quality and logistic of water using original hardware and unmanned software. Its technology allows to manage risks, predict safety hazards and other issues, create water management network and save water and money resources. The actionable data necessary to measure and manage water usage, consumption metrics and pollution levels is now available without manual intervention.

Company’s  goal is to improve healthcare on global scale by providing accessible solution. This aspiration finds support in modern health-conscious world. Big investors from Citi Bank and Silicon Valley Bank recently came as new backers into Ketos, already subsided by Ajax Strategies, Better Ventures and some others. Discovery of outbreaks of covid-19 virus in wastewater streams with Ketos technologies caused new wave of attention to project.

Usage of data science technologies to control and analyse distribution and quality of water is a big step forward to taking control over nonrenewable resources consumption. if broaden the application of this kind of technologies to worldwide extent, it can come a possible modern solution to ecological  problems of planet.

Sources:

https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/26/water-quality-and-distribution-monitoring-software-ketos-raises-18-million/?tpcc=ECTW2020

https://ketos.co

Ketos Inc

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