Talk about a Christmas day miracle! Okay fine, not so much a miracle but really more proof that science has continued to defy all the odds. On December 25, NASA launched its James Webb Space Telescope, all with the mission to study the earliest stars and look back than ever before into the universe’s past. The hope is to also explore our solar system, and other plants that are orbiting other stars, better known as exoplanets.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson shared, “The James Webb Space Telescope represents the ambition that NASA and our partners maintain to propel us forward into the future. The promise of Webb is not what we know we will discover; it’s what we don’t yet understand or can’t yet fathom about our universe. I can’t wait to see what it uncovers!”

Just five minutes after the launch, the ground team already started receiving telemetry data from the telescope.

Attached to the James Webb was the Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket, which did as it was expected by separating from the observatory just 27 minutes into the telescope’s flight. As reported, ‘the observatory was released at an altitude of approximately 870 miles (1,400 kilometers).’ Then around 30 minutes after the launch, the telescope was able to unfold its solar array, after which the mission managers managed to confirm that the solar array was giving power to the observatory.

Associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, located in Washington, explained “Webb’s scientific promise is now closer than it ever has been. We are poised on the edge of a truly exciting time of discovery, of things we’ve never before seen or imagined.”

Notably, this is considered the world’s biggest and most complex space science observatory, it will begin six months of commissioning in space. By the time this is done, it will be able to produce its first images.

The Webb telescope has four incredibly advanced science instruments that have incredibly sensitive infrared detectors of what is said to be unprecedented resolution. This means that the Webb has the ability to study infrared light from celestial objects with a higher clarity than what has been observed before. The telescope’s premiere mission is ‘the scientific successor to NASA’s iconic Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, built to complement and further the scientific discoveries of these and other missions.’

Webb’s program director at NASA headquarters, Gregory L. Robinson, shared “The launch of the Webb Space Telescope is a pivotal moment – this is just the beginning for the Webb mission. Now we will watch Webb’s highly anticipated and critical 29 days on the edge. When the spacecraft unfurls in space, Webb will undergo the most difficult and complex deployment sequence ever attempted in space. Once commissioning is complete, we will see awe-inspiring images that will capture our imagination.”

This modern and radical technology has the ability explore every phase of cosmic history. It will be able to seek out and examine areas within our own solar system, to even further and distant observable galaxies in the early universe. The telescope is expected to discover and reveal surprising new elements and allow scientists to understand the origins of the universe, as well as where people truly stand within it.

Unveiling the Sunshield

Moreover, on January 4, the team also announced a major milestone during the telescope’s preparation for its scientific operations, which was that it had fully deployed the spacecraft’s 70-foot sunshield.

Associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, also from the agency’s headquarters, Thomas Zurbuchen, said, “This is the first time anyone has ever attempted to put a telescope this large into space. Webb required not only careful assembly but also careful deployments. The success of its most challenging deployment – the sunshield – is an incredible testament to the human ingenuity and engineering skill that will enable Webb to accomplish its science goals.”

The sunshield, which has five layers, protects the telescope from the heat and light of the Sun, Earth, and moon. Every plastic sheet is incredibly thin, as thins as a human hair, and it’s coated with reflective metal. It provides protection on the order of more than SPF 1 million. Used all together, these layers lessen the exposure from the sun ‘from over 200 kilowatts of solar energy to a fraction of a watt.’

This type of protection is very crucial as it keeps the Webb’s scientific instruments at temperatures of 40 kelvins, which is under minus 380 degrees Fahrenheit. This is cold enough that it can see the faint infrared light that the Webb is working to observe.

Webb’s program director at NASA Headquarters, Gregory L. Robinson, shared, “Unfolding Webb’s sunshield in space is an incredible milestone, crucial to the success of the mission. Thousands of parts had to work with precision for this marvel of engineering to fully unfurl. The team has accomplished an audacious feat with the complexity of this deployment – one of the boldest undertakings yet for Webb.”

Meanwhile, it will take another 5 and a half months to complete the space science observatory, which will include the ‘deployment of the secondary mirror and primary mirror wings, alignment of the telescope optics, and calibration of the science instruments.’ Once this is all in place, the Webb is expected to finally produce and deliver it’s very first images.

See more about the Webb’s launch in the ‘29 Days on the Edge’ video below.

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A scientist from Australia’s Macquarie University has created new habitat pods to help small animals survive in the wild after the wildfires devastated their homes. After hearing that more animals could possibly die from predator attacks, after managing to survive the massive wildfires, it was enough to push Dr. Alexandra Carthey to design these biodegradable wildlife shelters.

These pods were created to be safe houses for smaller animals, such as possums, bush rates, bandicoots, antechinus, and reptiles, all of whom are usually ground-dwellers and more susceptible to attack since they no longer have their places of hiding.

The pods, which are basically cardboard shelters, are six-sided pyramids that are 24-inches wide on all sides, as well as 24-inches tall, which is approximately 60 cm in size. Before they are put up, they are placed in easy-to-assemble flat packs to allow quick use.

Inside the pod there are three triangles that meet at an axis in the center. This is what creates the honeycomb space in the middle, which is a large enough space for bigger animals, while providing other small spaces for tinnier creatures such as invertebrates like native cockroaches, beetles and even lizards.

The pod has 150 holes all over the structure, which are also meant to allow light in to help the vegetation below to regenerate and hopefully, take over the pod eventually. This will also help the pod structures themselves biodegrade later on. They can also be anchored by sandbags, wooden stakes, or rocks using the “skirt” around the base, which is also made with cardboard.

Long before, Dr. Carthey was already fascinated by the dynamics at play between wild predators and their prey. So when she noticed the exposed wildlife that were vulnerable to the hordes of prey after the 2019 Black Summer bushfires, she felt need to do something which is how she came up with the pods.

Animals Have Been Using the Habitat Pods

While most miniscule-sized creatures tend to die as prey, rather than die due to old age, Dr. Carthey explains, “A lot of their life is about trying not to get eaten.”

She continues, “They are hardwired to seek the safety of cover. And if you provide it, they will find it. After a bushfire, the thick grasses, leafy bushes, dropped bark, and leaf litter that small critters normally hide under have been burnt away. For the predator, it’s like suddenly spotting your prey across a mown grass lawn.”

Moreover, she explains how foxes and cats tend to kill more prey than they can actually eat, saying, “For 10 bandicoots killed, for example, they might eat only one.”

She also talks about the need for cover nothing new. She adds, “Chicken wire tunnels, sawn logs and piles of burnt logs have been used in the past. But most solutions involve dragging heavy things around, damaging fire grounds and preventing bush regeneration.”

“It’s not anticipated that the animals will seek cover and hide until the coast is clear. We suspect the animals will use the pods more as an escape hatch, that they will run in and out the other side and into another pod, using the network of cover to thwart the predator. The pods will be obstacles that block the predator’s line of vision and slows them down – giving the prey a better chance of getting away,” she shares.

In Collaboration With Other Groups 

Since launching the flat-pack project, she is now in collaboration with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

One of the main benefits of the pods is that they are biodegradable, and the fact that they will only be there during the time they are needed, and no longer. During October last year, in the North Head Sanctuary located in Manly, a hazard reduction burn ended up destroying a staggering 62 acres of bushland. So this became the very first location for the pod sanctuary project field trial.

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The Chernobyl accident has made a permanent change in millions of lives. The damage has been felt then and is still seen to this very day. The danger zone has forced people out of their homes, and until now, the area is still considered inhabitable.

Scientists and researchers visit the area to study the soil and the life that are in the area. They have been looking for ways to neutralize the damage as quickly as they can. Because of the high radiation levels, it hasn’t been an easy task for everyone.

Fulfilling the Promise

As they promised to doing last April of this year, during the 35th commemoration of the Chernobyl accident, the Swiss-based company Exlterra has done something and has reported spectacular results after one year of hard work decontaminating a 2.5 acre plot of land (1 hectare). This parcel of land is located in the radioactive exclusion zone around the damaged plant in Ukraine.

Exlterra made an announcement last month that radioactive pollution in the soil decreased by an impressive 47 percent with their method, and in the air above the ground by an average of 37 percent. This was a year after the NSPS technology (Nucleus Separation Passive System) was installed in the affected area. With the said results, they now believe that a total remediation of the area is “seriously conceivable within four years,” and this is done without moving any earth or using any chemicals. Hence, they have taken the natural route.

Exlterra (pronounced excel–terra) is all about sustainability. The company was co-founded in 2013 by Polish-American Andrew Niemczyk. At this point in time, its newest set of technologies are not only able to safely clean radiation-scarred landscapes, that come with promising potential to treat radioactive waste, but also transform hydraulic power as well as boost the nutrition levels of trees.

The NSPS underground technology of the company was installed at Chernobyl between November 2019 and September 2020. This was able to crucially accelerate the decay of radioactive elements with the use of the existing energy in the ground, and it is done so in a sustainable process. This is made possible because the technology uses a series of tubes that are designed in a specified shape. These are also installed with a set length and distance between each other. These tubes allow the radionuclides to naturally decontaminate at a much quicker rate than the 24,000 years that it would require if people allowed the natural processes to take place without human intervention.

Twelve months after NSPS was deployed, the radioactive substances Cs137, Sr90, and Am241, were reduced by an average of 47 percent.

The careful methodology and extensive measurement process were carried out by Ukrainian experts such as Sergiy Kireiev. He has been in charge of caring for the plant since it was barricaded for safety years and years ago. “These results are remarkable,” shared Kireiev. He is the General Director of SSE Ecocentre in Chernobyl. He further said, “It is the first time in 35 years that such any technology has succeeded in reducing the level of radioactivity in the soil and air so significantly. This is a real hope for the whole area.”

“This 12-month reduction in radioactivity will allow us to bring this parcel back to its original radioactivity level over a 5-year period,” explained Frank Muller. He is the co-founder and CEO of Exlterra. “We also want to quickly offer our solution at other problematic sites around the world, including Fukushima in Japan.”

Done by Harnessing Nature’s Own High Velocity Particles

The NSPS technology harnesses scientific concepts of particle physics and nuclear energy in order to address the problem of severe contamination of radiation. It works by leveraging in particular high velocity particles, also known as positrons, to target this naturally occurring force towards radioactive isotopes that are found in the soil. This then breaks the bonds holding these isotopes together. The best part is that this happens safely because it is done under the surface of the soil. Hence, no radioactivity is further released into the ground or above the ground in the air. This was according to what the experts in Exlterra observed. Once the positron comes into contact with the radioactive isotope, it then rejoins an electron and obliterates back to its original matter.

“What seemed impossible is now a reality,” said Exlterra President and CTO Niemczyk in an announcement he made with the company. “NSPS is an innovation that allows positrons to naturally accelerate in a passive system to remove contaminated areas. It harnesses renewable energy sources present in nature to considerably accelerate the natural decomposition process of contaminants in the soil.” He also said, “That’s what makes this invention unique – it uses natural energies to solve an industrial pollution without resorting to chemical substitutes or soil manipulations.”

A New Scientific Revolution that Can be Used for Other Applications

Aside from the treatment of radioactivity, NSPS technology can also be used for other applications such as treating other types of soil contamination, which includes other heavy metals and perfluoroalkyl substances. These substances are known to be highly problematic and extremely dangerous for the environment.

“We are only at the beginning of the virtuous application of such a technology,” says inventor Niemczyk. He then shared, “As with our other successfully commercialized technologies, we have demonstrated that we can use nature’s resources to heal the wounds we inflict on it. The common denominator of our technologies, installed underground, is the use of natural and renewable forces to achieve tangible results.”

This technology comes with other beneficial features. These include being energy-passive and maintenance-free during its use. For a more comprehensive description of the NSPS technology and how it works, the experts at Exlterra have been more than transparent about what their goals are and what they’ve done to reach these.

Niemczyk’s breakthrough NSPS technology has now also been featured in a new book called Grounds for Freedom: Saving Chernobyl. This was written by journalist R.J. King who also set up a website called SavingChernobyl.com for those interested.

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There are several energy sources available for man to use. Others have opted to harness the power of nature while others rely on fuel. While these are sufficient enough, scientists and researchers have one goal: to create a never-ending source for everyone.

While the world is still a long way from finding the perfect endless energy source, we may be a step closer to it with the help of men and women who tirelessly experiment with every possibility imaginable. Nuclear energy might just be the key.

Researchers that work at a lab owned by the U.S. government have reached a crucial milestone in terms of their study as they work their way to an ultimate goal. They have dreamed of creating a method for self-sustaining nuclear fusion.

On Aug. 8, 2021, an experiment was conducted at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). They made a significant step toward ignition and they have managed to achieve an impressive result of more than 1.3 megajoules of power. Researchers behind this said this advancement has gotten them to the cusp of fusion ignition. This is believed to be a sustainable and never-ending powerful energy source that could benefit the world.

The results were made possible when they focused laser light that was the size of three football fields to a target. The target, on the other hand, is the size of a BB and this has the ability to produce a hot-spot the diameter of a human hair. They were able to generate more than 10 quadrillion watts of fusion power for 100 trillionths of a second.

“These extraordinary results advance the science,” explained Jill Hruby. She is the DOE undersecretary for Nuclear Security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Experiments related to pursuit of fusion ignition are always vital especially when it comes to giving out data in an experimental regime. While the process may be challenging and it may also be far from simple, this is still an important gateway to allow access to high fusion yields for the future.

The full scientific interpretation of these results will be revealed through the peer-reviewed journal or conference process. However, the initial analysis made has already shown an 8 times improvement over experiments conducted in spring 2021. They have also seen a 25 times increase over NIF’s 2018 record yield. This experiment was also the very first time a marked output exceeded the energy absorbed by the fuel used to trigger it. This was according to a report made in Science Alert.

“This result is a testament to the innovation, ingenuity, commitment and grit of this team and the many researchers in this field over the decades who have steadfastly pursued this goal,” explained LLNL Director Kim Budil. She also added, “For me it demonstrates one of the most important roles of the national labs – our relentless commitment to tackling the biggest and most important scientific grand challenges and finding solutions where others might be dissuaded by the obstacles.”

The experiment was based on the several advances that they gained from observations and analyses developed over the last several years by the LLNL’s National Ignition Facility team. The findings also included later developments such as new diagnostics, target fabrication improvements in the hohlraum, capsule shell and fill tube, improved laser precision, and design adjustments and changes made to increase the energy that is combined to the implosion and the compression of the said implosion.

“Gaining experimental access to thermonuclear burn in the laboratory is the culmination of decades of scientific and technological work stretching across nearly 50 years,” said Director Thomas Mason of Los Alamos National Laboratory. He stated further, “This enables experiments that will check theory and simulation in the high energy density regime more rigorously than ever possible before and will enable fundamental achievements in applied science and engineering.”

As they look into the research, they say that access to this new experimental model will open up new avenues for them to research. This will also give them more opportunities to create further guidelines and specifications. They have already made plans for experiments again, and the talks are already happening. At this point, it might just take them take several months to execute it, but this is definitely a big step forward.

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Visit the countryside of many areas, and you’ll come across these beautiful hedgerows. They are a sight to behold. They add beauty and dimension to the woodlands and farmlands. However, not too many people think about their benefits other than for aesthetic purposes.

Nature warriors have been trying to save forests for years. They have focused on the trees that have been cut and cleared. Not too many of them focus on hedgerows, but these things are actually 2,000 times more vital for the world’s ecosystems.

The hedgerow is a humble sight that’s been norm to any countryscape. You can find many of them in Europe and certain parts of North America. This is also very common in the UK. As mentioned earlier, not too many people think about their benefits, but some scientists this that they act as ecosystem anchors. These hedgerows host host more than 2,000 different species of plants and animals in just one year.

In fact, one journal that was published recently talked about an English ecologist’s report on an old hedgerow. He observed one that was close to his home and said that throughout the year, the area had more than 2,070 species living in it. He found badgers and hundreds of beneficial insects thriving.

“Hedgerows define our countryside and provide many environmental services, but are also vitally important for wildlife as a refuge, a source of food, and as corridors along which they can move through the landscape,” wrote the National Hedgelaying Society. This is the only charity available that was dedicated to maintaining the traditional skills of hedgelaying. They also encouraged the use of hedgerows especially in terms of preserving wildlife and beautifying the landscape.

There are around 435,000 miles of hedgerows in Britain. These greeneries stretch and travel farther than the entire British road network. These have been placed to keep trespassers out. Some have been placed to keep animals in. Right now, there are around 30 recognized traditional styles of hedgerows. These designs date back to some 800 years before.

Used as a Home, Hotel, and Highway

These hedgerows may appear either like a manicured wood wall or a tangled mess. Whatever the case may be, scientists found that the richness of the species thriving in the hedgerows of Belgium was actually higher than in their forests. Around 30 percent to be exact. Thus, this proves how the hedgerows have become a microcosm of the forest ecosystem. Those high reaching canopy shades that are growing everywhere keep moist in and is able to attract several kinds of fungi and animals. This, in turn, enhances competition and diversity in the area of plants that are fighting for light, pollinators, and several other resources.

The hedgerows were seen to host a diverse environment that brings in pollinators for the spring and summer blossoms that grow. When this happens, bees make their home there and thus, increases adjacent crop yields as an after effect. This environment also attracts insect-devouring birds. These birds are crucial as a study in California showed because people have been able to save as much as $4,000 each year in insecticide costs. A 1,000-foot hedgerow does make a difference. These are able to bring in insects such as wasps and hornets. These creatures devour on aphids and other unwelcome diners oftentimes present in a vegetable garden.

When it comes to countryscapes, hedgerows are also highways. Badgers, hazel dormice, and hedgehogs use the plants as camouflage to help them move around without getting noticed. In agricultural areas, on the other hand, one research discovered how hedgerows have become the best way to connect splintered  stretches of forest or untouched fields. This can be crucial in maintaining health for several populations of animals.

Then, there are the nocturnal creatures such as moths and bats. They make use hedgerows to help them map out flight paths as they safely navigate their way in the countryside. Researchers have also observed how around two-thirds of the moths were sitting on or traveling parallel to a hedgerow as they move around in the dark.

Like all plants in the environment, the growth that thrives in a hedgerow can store carbon. The British government thinks that the since hedgerows can outlive most life, these could be a good method to help absorb greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, they may even be better than planting trees. Of course, there’s more to it than just that. Hedgerows protect the ground from soil erosion. They do this by preventing rains or winds from spreading the soil in a paddock out into streams or streets. There’s also a study that shows how they help lower the spread of disease in livestock that’s present in the area.

Now, there are so many reasons why countries have come together as they try to increase the coverage of their hedgerows. In January, French President Emmanuel Macron promised around €50 million just to plant an impressive 4,300 miles of hedgerows. In Britain, a non-profit action group that represented the government’s official conservation watchdog, has signed a petition. They wanted to increase Britain’s hedgerow network by around 40 percent, or approximately 120,000 miles. They made this decision based on the findings discovered by the country’s Climate Change Committee.

It seems as if how people artificially engineer the land is seen to be detrimental, but right when the modern period came, the farmers have developed a habit of separating their paddocks from the neighbor’s by making a hedgerow. Hence, human touch has actually been good because hedgerows have become a beautiful feature of nature that allowed living creatures to congregate and thrive.

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When it comes to the soil’s health, not too many people consider fungi. These tiny lifeforms give so much to the environment. Hence, experts have come together to map out their homes and to see what needs to be done to protect these.

Mushrooms are more than just food. Many are just are unaware of their other uses as well. Without their precious contribution, the environment could actually collapse. There’s more to these precious fungi than meets the eye.

Right now, the areas contain more than ten thousand fungal samples. These will be collected from a variety of hotspots they have found. Then, the fungi will be properly cataloged and meticulously observed. This is a part of a project that researchers have made in order to map out the large groups of the most-valuable fungal biomass found in the planet.

The fungi consist of trillions of miles of filaments that are able to transfer nutrients, water, and information throughout the different soils and the plant life in the area. Thus, they are a crucial member of the ecosystem because they are able to sustain the plants around them.

SPUN, or otherwise known as the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks, has goals of expanding the people’s understanding of mycorrhizal networks. They aim to put them more in focus of climate science and modern environmental policy that we already have in place.

As fungus collect nutrients, particularly carbon, they build networks of very tiny filaments called mycelium, that make up their vast presence on our planet. The more recognizable mushrooms that mark their comings and goings are a tiny percentage of the organism’s total size.

Research findings that were conducted by biologists, mycologists, and forestry experts have proven how these filaments form vast networks that when observed from under a microscope, look just like information or electricity moving through the cable systems, and when they are viewed as one, look as active as the neuronal networks that are present in the human brain.

The networks that fungi form interconnect trees and other plants. They help with the exchange of information about parasites, nutrient dearth, or density in the environment. They even assist in the trading whereby a fungus, which cannot process and create its own sugars, will take some from a tree. In exchange, they give off a metal-like phosphorous that are vital to the trees as well.

The team is made up of scientists from different countries such as Canada, Holland, the U.K., the U.S., France, and Germany. With their help, SPUN wants to take mycorrhizal samples from 10,000 hotspots that contain a diverse fungal environment. From the samples collected, they hope to gain a better understanding and knowledge of where the largest threats are when it comes to biodiversity.

Ecologies that have thriving mycorrhizal networks have been shown to have more than eight-times as much carbon as depleted ones. “An understanding of underground fungal networks is essential to our efforts to protect the soil, on which life depends, before it is too late,” shared renowned conservationist Jane Goodall, who is also a member of the project.

Right now, around ten hotspots have been pointed out. The first crucial samples will take place in Patagonia in 18 months from now. Other sites discovered are the tundra in Canada, the high altitudes in South America, the Negev and Sahara deserts in Israel and Morocco, the Mexican highlands, the Russian taiga forest, the steppes of Kazakhstan, and the lowlands of Tibet. This will take time but the collection will be rewarding for everyone involved.

“Just below our feet lies an invaluable ally in mitigating climate change: vast hidden fungal network,” said Jeremy Grantham, a billionaire who has backed the experts of SPUN.

He also said, “Billions of tons of carbon dioxide flow annually from plants to fungal networks. Yet these carbon sinks are poorly understood. In working to map and harness this threatened but vital resource for life on earth, SPUN is pioneering a new chapter in global conservation.”

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There’s a small island near the area where the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers join, and it’s filled with birds and tons of turtles. It has managed to be left untouched despite the continuous growth of the suburban city that has risen all around it, all because of the work of one man.

The island, which is known as the Île Ronde, has managed to remain pristine and untouched by urbanization all due to one man named Thor Wikström who refused to sell the land way back in the 1960s. Just recently, Wikström decided to donate it to the Nature Conservancy Canada so that it can remain protected forever.

Thor Wikström was a Swedish immigrant who eventually found his way to Canada, building his first cabin home for his wife and first son, Hans, in a town called Laval, which is located on the shore of Rivière-des-Prairies.

The seven-acre Île Ronde could be seen from the window of his home, and was basically just a stone’s throw away from where he and his family stayed. Wikström decided to ask the previous owner to sell it to him, and it became a special place for him and his family for many years.

Now, at the age of 93, Wikström decided that it was time to donate his cherished piece of land, knowing that it will remain as a forest and marshland, while his little home cabin and all the birdhouses he had built over the years will be protected by the nature conservatory forever.

In an interview with CBC News, he said, “It’s just a good feeling in my heart. I know this will be there forever.”

As for the family, they have actually been involved in environmentalism for years, fighting for the protection of Quebec’s natural resources for decades. Aside from donating the island to the Nature Conservancy, Wikström has also made a number of contributions to the conservatory, while also supporting Ducks Unlimited Canada.

Wikström also shared, “Nature was more important than some stupid money in my pocket. I said, ‘This is something [that’s] got to be preserved,’ and I kept my word.”

Throughout the years, Wikström has received tons of offers to buy the island, all of which he turned down. And in doing so, he has given a much better chance for the northern map turtle – which is a “special concern” species by the Canadian government, since they already lack enough access to their former habitat due to the developments that have risen alongside the river.

Moreover, the Île Ronde is also home to a unique tree species called the shagbark hickory, as well as to a number of migratory birds and other game bird species such as the gadwall, widgeon, and wood ducks.

According to project manager for the Montreal Greenbelt at the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Annie Ferland, “The Wikström family has taken great care of it, and with this very meaningful act we are protecting the natural diversity of this unique habitat for the benefit of the animal and plant species that live there, but also for future generations.”

To see more about this story, take a look at the video below.

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It may sound crazy but while the inception of the Parker Solar Probe took decades, it was yet another three years after it was finally launched before it managed to pass into the solar atmosphere and get close to the sun. Moreover, it is also the first to have come the closest to the massive hot ball of glowing gases that powers our beloved planet Earth.

Although there have been claims that the probe “touched the sun,” they have been misleading at best. But the fact that the probe managed to enter the Sun’s atmosphere is incredible already, considering that no other probe had ever gotten that far. Plus, it managed to give almost immediate data on solar winds and solar magnetism, both of which could have never been taken all the way from Earth.

It was on April 28 when the Parker probe managed to get past the Alfvén critical boundary. Although the sun doesn’t actually have a surface, the rolling material found inside the sun is kept intact via a magnetic field and gravity, yet the pressure and heat also push some of that material further out.

As the material gets pushed out or ejected, it’s then classified as the “solar wind,” which is the ‘highly energetic solar material that leaves the Sun in a zig-zag pattern, and moves so fast that it passes the boundary and arrives at Earth in the form of radiation.’

Before the Parker Solar Probe, scientists had no clue to where the Alfvén critical boundary was. But as the probe continued to orbit the sun, it was on the eighth revolution when it passed a point close to 8.1 million miles from the surface where the particle and magnetic data changed. This is what notified the scientists that the probe had passed through the boundary and managed to come within the Sun’s atmosphere, otherwise known as the corona.

Justin Kasper, who happens to be the lead author on the recent paper that was published in Physical Review Letters that talks about this massive milestone said, “We were fully expecting that, sooner or later, we would encounter the corona for at least a short duration of time.”

Just after the first entry into the sun’s atmosphere, the Parker probe passed in and out many times, verifying that other than having a smooth sphere, it was actually bent and wrinkled depending on the pressures coming off of the sun. Because of this, it allows scientists to better understand how the events on the surface actually impact this so-called boundary in order to comprehend solar wind and the way it actually alters or influences the solar system.

Amazingly, there was one distinct moment while the Parker probe was in orbit to around 6.5 million miles from the sun’s surface where it managed to capture images of a pseudostreamer, which are massive columnar structures that exceed the suns’ surface and make up the impressive tentacle-like shapes that are seen billowing from the sun during a total solar eclipse.

The report also shared how the pseudostreamer acted like a storm system where while the center had mostly quiet conditions, the outer edges were extremely active.

In order to understand this better, take a look at the video below:

Even more impressive, the Parker probe is now considered the fastest thing that was ever built by humans. That’s because in order for it to avoid being completely melted by the massively intense heat of the sun, it had to travel at 320,000 miles per hour. Meanwhile, it’s heat shield – which protects the instruments located inside the machine – managed to withstand or avert heat of up to 2,500°F, or 1,400°C.

Back in 2019 when the Parker first managed to enter the edge of the Alfvén critical boundary environment was when the machine identified the emergence of the zig-zag pattern of the solar wind. But it was on the 6^th orbit of the sun where this zig-zag motion was caught in action and the data was collected by the probe. The zig-sags are actually known as switchbacks, which occur in patches and have a higher percentage of helium which come from the photosphere, or the surface of the sun.

Because of this, the switchbacks’ origins were even better understood after the scientists found that ‘the patches aligned with magnetic funnels that emerge from the photosphere called supergranules.’ This discovery of these supergranules is truly groundbreaking since scientists believe that this could be the actual origins of the solar wind in the first place.In the next few years to come, the Parker will continue to move in and out of the corona as it takes readings, and the hope is that it will eventually reach 3.8 million miles from the surface at one point.

According to division director for the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters, Nicole Fox, “I’m excited to see what Parker finds as it repeatedly passes through the corona in the years to come. The opportunity for new discoveries is boundless.”

You can take a look at the video below to see more.

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In a bid to further populate the Great Barrier Reef, the first coral IVF babies have been born, helping reproduce the next generation. This is the first time for the Great Barrier Reef to establish a breeding population on the reef using in vitro fertilization.

The first Coral IVF trial on the reef was done in 2016, and since then, the researchers have found that 22 large coral colonies were born and have grown to maturity. They ‘were filled with eggs and sperm ready to spawn after the recent full moon mass coral spawning event.’

As reported by Great Barrier Reef Foundation Managing Director, Anna Marsden, “We couldn’t be more excited to see that these coral babies have grown from microscopic larvae to the size of dinner plates, having not only survived a bleaching event but are now reproducing themselves – helping to produce larvae that can restore a degraded reef.”

The larvae was planted five years ago, and since then the coral babies have gone from microscopic sized larvae to the size of a large dinner plate. Although there are numerous dozens of other small colonies that have not yet grown to a big enough size to reproduce, but should be the right size in the following year.

For the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, after they discovered the capacity of this groundbreaking technique, they decided to get their partners and the public together in 2016 in an event near Heron Island “to give nature a helping hand.”

Southern Cross University Distinguished Professor Peter Harrison, who is also the lead researcher, shared, “Coral IVF is the first project of its kind to re-establish coral on damaged reefs by collecting millions of coral eggs and sperm during the spawning season, growing them into baby corals and releasing them directly onto degraded areas of the Reef.”

He added, “This is a thrilling result to see these colonies we settled during the first small-scale pilot study grow over five years and become sexually reproductive. The ultimate aim of this process is to produce new breeding populations of corals in areas of the Reef that no longer have enough live corals present due to being damaged by the effects of climate change.”

Prof. Harrison also said, “The larvae generated from these spawning corals have dispersed within the Heron Island lagoon and may settle on patches of reef nearby, helping to further restore other reef patches that have been impacted by climate change.”

He concluded, “This has given me and the rest of the team renewed enthusiasm as we research additional techniques on Lizard Island, through the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program in collaboration with CSIRO, QUT and with support from Australian Institute of Marine Science, that will enable us to scale up and optimize this technique.”

The Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program happens to be the world’s largest and most ambitious effort ‘to develop, test and deploy at-scale protection, restoration and adaptations interventions’ to make sure that the Great Barrier Reef and other coral reefs all over the planet will be able to resist, adapt, and hopefully recover from the adverse impacts of climate change.

Great Barrier Reef’s Marsden, “Saving the Reef is a huge task. But having proof that this innovative, cutting-edge science works gives us hope.”

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In a bid to see what complete sustainability in building homes could possibly look like one day, a team of architectures from the Italian firm, Mario Cucinella Architects, has produced the first 3D-printed home with zero-emissions clay.

The Italian firm was inspired by the potter wasp, creating a beehive-like structure home using whatever clay is found in the area it was built. What this means is that should anything be knocked down for whatever reason, the only thing that goes to waste is gas, plumbing, and any electrical components added to the home.

For the architectural firm located in Bologna, the company explains that “the idea of the city must be challenged,” sharing that their only contender happens to be the modular-series of clay pods found in the Great Enclosure in Zimbabwe.

Aside from the wall structures, the printer squirts goop created by the international company Mapei that usually makes sealants, adhesives, and other chemical products. As seen in an article by Treehugger, they shared how they “studied the clay materials and identified the key components within the raw earth mixture to create the final highly optimized printable product.” Notably, the goop – which has added rice cultivation waste into the mix – also has some insulating value.

The method that was used to build is called TECLA, which is short for technology and clay. It was co-developed by Cucinella alongside another company named WASP, short for World’s Advanced Saving Project, which happens to specialize in 3D-printing solutions.

Similar to the traditional building methods found in the Moroccan Kasbah, their modular design uses ‘two 3D-printing arms at once in order to create two domed spaces out of 350 layers of undulating clay and rice chaff as insulation.’ The idea behind it is be totally off-grid, while the design of the house and its durability can also be changed or modified, depending on the climate and local challenges of its location.

Although Cucinella supposedly lost the chance to call the his project “circadian cupulas,” the design itself allows tons of natural light to enter through the large circular skylight and door. Then there’s another dome that’s meant to be used at night with smaller, warmer and a more enclosed setting that sits beneath a smaller sized window.

Treehugger also explains that the Cucinella architects created the cupulas to be self-sustaining eco-communities that can be built in the outskirts of urban areas or for other developing countries using WASP’s contribution of what could be considered a kind of “DIY” version to the houses.

The hope is that it can adapt to a variety of environments which will hopefully be suitable for self-production using WASP’s Maker Economy Starter Kit. That way, it can hopefully boost both the local and national economies of where they will be built.

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Scientists from NTU Singapore have made biodegradable batteries that after use, can be buried within the soil.

These paper-thin biodegradable zinc batteries may possibly become the answer to having an environmentally sustainable battery option to power smartphones and flexible wearable electronic devices in the future.

These zinc batteries are made of electrodes that are screen-printed on to both sides of a piece of cellulose paper and reinforced with hydrogel. The electrodes are how the electrical current leaves or enters the battery. Once the battery has run its course, it can then be buried in soil where it will break down completely within the span of one month.

During the proof-of-concept experiment, the NTU team that created the battery demonstrated how a 4cm x 4cm square of printed paper battery has the ability to power a small electric fan for at least 45 minutes. Meanwhile, even bending or twisting the battery didn’t interrupt its ability to supply power either.

They also did another experiment with a 4cm x 4cm battery to power an LED, where the scientists showed that even though they cut part of the paper battery away, the LED stayed lit. This indicated that cutting doesn’t affect the functionality of the battery either.

With this, the scientists believe that their printed battery may possible be integrated into flexible electronics like the already available foldable smart phones that you see on the market, and biomedical sensors used to monitor one’s health.

As for NTU School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Fan Hongjin, who is also the co-lead author of the study, explained, “Traditional batteries come in a variety of models and sizes, and choosing the right type for your device could be a cumbersome process. Through our study, we showed a simpler, cheaper way of manufacturing batteries, by developing a single large piece of battery that can be cut to desired shapes and sizes without loss of efficiency. These features make our paper batteries ideal for integration in the sorts of flexible electronics that are gradually being developed.”

As for NTU School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Assistant Professor, Lee Seok Woo, who is also a study co-lead author explained about their research, “We believe the paper battery we have developed could potentially help with the electronic waste problem, given that our printed paper battery is non-toxic and does not require aluminum or plastic casings to encapsulate the battery components.”

Prof. Woo added, “Avoiding the packaging layers also enables our battery to store a higher amount of energy, and thus power, within a smaller system.”

The study findings can be found in Advanced Science.

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Rock salt has been used for decades to de-ice and cure the roads of all icy patches during the harsh winter seasons, but unfortunately, it looks like it’s reign as the favorite de-icer choice will soon be over. In more recent years, sugar beet products have been slowly making their way onto the market, with a number of North American transportation companies opting to make the change.

Considering salt has done the job for years and years, people haven’t thought to look for another option, until more recent years. But logically, it’s probably not the best idea to throw salt all over the sidewalks and streets without considering the implications it has on the environment.

Most people know that when plants are exposed to too much salt, they usually die, which is why throwing salt all over the place leaves the ground and the soil unfit for plant growth as well. And in that same light, houses and other types of structures that are situated by the sea suffer corrosion and metal rusting due to the salt water spray. Even fish that live in freshwater cannot survive in the oceans.

Because of this, areas such as D.C. and Winnipeg, as well as Michigan, have begun looking into using vegetable alternatives to salt as explained by one study after finding “major changes in the Great Lakes ecosystem.”

Winnipeg communications officer Ken Allen explained, “The benefit from using beet-based melting products is that it reduces the chloride loading on infrastructure and the environment, while producing a good quality melting solution.”

It has been found that when ice-melting chlorides are combined with sugar beet extract is much more effective at reducing ice buildup than salt. But apparently beets aren’t the only type of food products that are being used in North America. According to a report from Bloomberg, cheese brine, pickle-juice, and even leftover beer have been used by a number of transportation departments that are looking to lessen the major budget amounts normally given to the purchasing of salt.

The reason why salt works to melt the ice is because the chemical changes created by salt in water requires a lower temperature to freeze than the normal temp level. And when beet extract is combined with 20% chloride, the temperature drops even more, which means that any residual water will turn into ice overnight when the temperatures are truly frigid.

Almost 15 to 17 million tons of rock salt is used to place on U.S. roadways every single year, which sadly contaminates drinking water and waterways. It also leads to the corrosion of plowing equipment, which leads to more deer collisions since they come out to the roads to lick the salt. Often occurring in Wisconsin, the Badger State actually ‘accounts for 40% of the state’s DoT budget.’

Meanwhile, states such as Illinois rely on their education system to reduce the contamination that comes from over-salting.

As explained on Michigan Radio by stream ecologist and director of Illinois RiverWatch, Danelle Haake, “I often see a cup worth of salt on a single sidewalk square, but one cup of salt should be enough to do an entire driveway… depending on your driveway.” Her suggestion is to dissolve less salt in the water then spray it onto the ice.

She also explained that the road salt hazards aren’t limited to just freshwater ecosystems. Sodium chloride has the tendency to degrade bridges, roadways, and even damage trucks and cars, while affecting human health at the same time.

As explained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a high-salt diet contributes to high blood pressure, heart disease, and strokes. This also means that those that live near roadways where road salt is used have an increased risk of higher chloride levels in the tap water.

Haake shared, “If you’re drinking tap water with a lot of salt, it’s like eating salty fries all day long.”

The hope is that more transportation departments follow suit and begin using safer, vegetable-based de-icers in the future.

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Farm wastes have become a problem. Cow and pig wastes often produce methane gasses that are detrimental to the environment. Farmers have been looking for ways to get rid of the problem. What do they do? What is the best solution for this?

One farmer has come to realize that these gasses can actually be turned to energy. Thus, this will be able to solve the problems of power and pollution. It’s all about careful planning and when done properly, this could change the face of animal farming for the better.

Australian ranchers have looked for the perfect method of allowing the waste of their animals to take care of their own energy usage. Animal byproducts can actually help cut down the expensive electricity costs by converting pig and cow excrement into fuel that can be used for biogas power plants.

These animal farms are oftentimes called “piggeries” in Australia. Sadly, many of them haven’t garnered quite a good reputation, especially when it comes to going green or in terms of cleanliness. However, with the changes recently made, they have become quite environmentally friendly, especially when it comes to climate change. This was thanks to a concerted effort and some investments made by industry organizations and individual ranchers. Their farms have turned pork into the second-lowest GHG producing agricultural source in Australia, and that’s something they can take pride in.

Jock Charles is the operator of Berrybank Piggery. The dream of going green started around 27 years ago. He began to invest his money into waste-to-energy systems on the property he handled. He takes care of a whopping 20,000 pigs at any given time. Back then, the waste that came from pigs was collected and dumped into “effluent ponds.” This was where the manure was treated with anaerobic bacteria to break it further down.

Now, the process has been made even better. Charles built a bio-digester. This is where manure is pumped it into a machine. The said machine works in parallel to a pig’s stomach. Once in the pipes, bacteria breaks waste down into harmless manure. During the process, methane is produced and converted by a turbine into heat. This then has the ability to generates around 90 percent of Berrybank’s electricity needs.

“We are producing about the same as we use, but during the day when we’re running the feed mill and a few other things, we are pulling some power in from the grid, and then in the evening, we export power,” Charles said when he spoke to ABC Australia.

With this new method, Charles has managed to reduce his energy costs by 90 percent. Aside from the money saved, the bio-digester makes the piggery a much more pleasant place to work in because they now have a better and faster disposal option for the 80,000 liters of liquid waste every single day.

“Seventy per cent of odor from piggeries comes out of lagoons or ponds [that are used to store manure], so if you can eliminate the ponds, which we’ve been able to do, then you’re only dealing with 30 per cent [of the smell],” Charles explained.

Being a Good Neighbor

The biogas energy he produces is transforming the Australian pork industry. A study was actually made by the experts in Grattin Institute. Their research showed that now, only 2 percent of all ag-related emissions come from pork. When you consider the numbers, this is even less than vegetable production. Moreover, Australian Pork Limited, a well-respected industry research firm, says that 80 percent of all farm emissions can be lowered when biogas is used. More importantly, 16 percent of all piggeries in the country are now operating bio-digesters when it comes to manure management. They are also doing this for the green energy generation.

The piggeries aren’t the only ones benefiting from this manure-powered movement. Charles, being the good neighbor that he is, had managed to also assist a nearby dairy farm at Bungaree to install their own bio-digester. They also wanted to go green and he was more than happy to extend a helping hand.

Mark Trigg runs a robotic dairy farm in the neighboring farm and this produces tens of thousands of liters of manure. The bio-digester that was recently installed turned the waste into energy and produced enough electricity to cover about half of the dairy’s need.

Trigg and his parent company, Gekko Systems, also runs a gold mine of all things. They were able to take the solids leftover that came from the process and converted these into fertilizer. Charles, on the other hand, is very familiar with the process because has been making fertilizer for years. The bio-digester he made can produce 20 different varieties fertilizers that he currently sells on the market.

Gekko Systems Sandy Gray says how much he loves farming and “ended up in mining by mistake.” He is a firm believer that technology can be used on mining operations in remote locations. He’s also considering the creation of a shipping-container-sized model of the bio-digester and biogas engine for mining purposes. “We’ve got interest from a mining company in human waste, they’ve got communities they’ve got to deal with in remote areas,” he said to ABC Australia.

As they say, one man’s waste is another man’s treasure. In this case, so many have benefitted from simply going green.

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Jaguars are felines that are often native to North America. Of course, these cats are also found in other parts of the globe. Mexico, for one, is home to a number of them. However, the past few decades haven’t been kind. With hunting and deforestation, many of them have disappeared.

Activists are banding together to save these jaguars, and it seems as if their efforts have paid off. Visit the Mexican wildlife and you’ll see that more of these creatures are starting to roam the area. Many take this as a very good sign, and it is with hope that their works continue.

With boots on the ground, earth warriors have seen the rise of the jaguar population in Mexico. The numbers have increased by about 800 animals from 2010 to 2018. This was based on the first two censuses they made on the evasive carnivores. This was also the first ever conducted consensus done in the country. The information gathered shows how the country’s national strategy to protect these felines is very effective. The researchers recently reported this on the journal PLOS One.

“It was incredible to see jaguars in so many places where there weren’t any before,” said ecologist Gerardo Ceballos of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He is also the founder of Mexico’s National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation and lead author of the paper.

The jaguar (Panthera onca) was part of the list made by the IUCN as Near Threatened. The studies made range from northern Mexico through Central America, the Amazon Basin, and into northern Argentina. Years before, ecologists had never properly counted the number of jaguars. Thus, it was difficult for them to design a proper conservation program in the elusive feline’s northernmost ranges. The alliance that was made by Ceballos and his colleagues made use of the results of the first Mexican jaguar census in 2010. Their goal was to create a national strategy that was endorsed by both the government policy and the scientists.

“This is very important,” shared Ronaldo Gonçalves Morato, a jaguar researcher and the head of the National Predator Center at the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade in Brazil. He was part of the study. He also said, “They are connecting science with conservation plans. It can be a good model for researchers—not only working with jaguars, but all the other big cats or other species that are critically endangered.”

Ceballos teamed up with 20 ecologists as they spanned the country and gathered data from photo capture traps. Their goal was to ascertain where jaguars lived and how many of them roamed in each of the country’s protected conservation regions. They designed a plan to tackle the most crucial issues that affected these animals: to preserve wildlife corridors and sanctuaries; to become advocates for helpful laws and public policy; and to resolve and circumvent conflicts with livestock owners.

One great instance, the government paid people living within or near protected areas to not deforest sanctuaries. They made this possible by compensating the residents for cattle losses from jaguar predation. They also helped provide electric fences so that their livestock wouldn’t be harmed from the highly carnivorous cats. From the looks of it, the on-the-ground efforts had served them well.

“Local people have been critical,” Ceballos said to Mongabay. “When they have the funding and incentives to protect the forest, they become the most important ally.”

Ceballos shared that he actually anticipated to see these jaguar populations stay the same or decrease between 2010 and 2018. However, he was surprised by what he found. He saw the estimated numbers rise by 20 percent, from roughly 4,000 to 4,800 jaguars. Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is home to around 2,000 jaguars. The others are spread throughout coastal and inland habitats all across the nation. Right now, Brazil serves as shelter to the largest continuous jaguar habitat. They have an estimated population of more than 10,000 individuals

The National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation plans to hone in on key threats, particularly those involved with human conflicts and with habitat loss. Morato also believes that with these efforts, the other wildlife and ecosystems will also benefit from it.

“The jaguar is an umbrella species,” Morato explained to Mongabay. “They need a large amount of area, so if we need to protect a viable population of jaguars with at least 50 individuals, we are going to have many other species protected [within that area].”

In 2022, the Mexican government and the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation have made plans to further the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in the southern Yucatan Peninsula. Right now, it covers 723,185 hectares of land, and they plan to add more than 1.3 million hectares of it. This will make Calakmul the largest protected tropical forest north of the Orinoco River. All these simply to conserve the jaguar population.

“It’s very unusual that scientists can do all these things: research, outreach, conservation, and public policy,” said Ceballos. “And in Mexico we have been able to do that.”

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The ocean is ridden with trash. While groups of people are out there actively trying to clean out the once pristine waters, they can do very little with microplastics. These pollutants can’t simply be removed with fine nets and hooks. Something more needs to be done.

It’s time to do something to save the creatures that live in oceans and other bodies of water. Scientists have been researching for the perfect way to bring the waters back to its former glory. Many experts say that acoustic waves could be the perfect answer.

While further research has yet to be made, the best way to filter out microplastics from polluted water could be done through acoustic waves. This is the new solution to cleaning up the world’s oceans. New research suggests how effective this method may be.

These dangerous microplastics are released into the environment every single day. These come in different forms such as cosmetics, clothing, industrial processes, and plastic products such as packaging, which eventually break down naturally. While some stay on land, many of the plastic pollutants find their way into rivers and oceans. As a result, they put the marine life in the area in danger.

Many have found ways to filter out and remove these particles from water. While they have achieved a certain level of success in doing so, the task isn’t easy. It also takes time to do it. Hence, the use of acoustic waves may be the perfect solution to this somewhat nearly impossible task.

Dr Dhany Arifianto from the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember in Surabaya, Indonesia, successfully created a filtration prototype that made use of acoustic waves. He then showcased his new method and its data at the Meeting of the 181st Acoustical Society of America in Seattle. The whole event was made to show and exhibit the latest research about the science of sound.

Dr Arifianto and his team of experts had used two speakers to create the acoustic waves. The sound was strong enough to create a force that produced waves that had separated the microplastics from the water. This was made possible by creating pressure on a tube of inflowing water.

The tube designed was split into three channels. The microplastic particles the wave separated are pressed towards the center. The clean water, on the other hand, flowed towards the two outer channels on either side of the tube. They were pleased to see how the prototyped device cleaned a confounding amount of waste. To be more specific, around 150 liters of polluted water per hour. This was used to test how they were able to filter out three different microplastics.

Each plastic on the polluted water was filtered with different efficiencies. The good news is that all were above 56 percent efficient in pure water and a further 59 percent efficient in saltwater. The team then measured the different variables against their efficiency. They saw how acoustic frequency, speaker-to-pipe distance, and water density all made an impact on the amount of force the pipe generated. At this point, the researchers are now looking further into how acoustic waves may have an impact marine life if the wave frequency made was set in the audible range.

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If you visit the Faroe Islands, you might come across pairs of sleek winged machines that float beneath the dark waters of the North Atlantic Sea. These serve a purpose. The people have opted to go green when it comes to the use of electricity.

So, what do you do when you want to save the environment but you have to contend with limited resources? Easy. You simply turn to nature for help. She has so much to offer, and it’s simply time that you think outside the box. This is exactly what the residents of Faroe Island did.

When there’s plenty of sky to look at, but hardly any sun, you can’t really rely on solar power. When you get gusts of wind throughout the day, but no space to build windmills, then you might assume you’re your resources are quite limited. The people of Faroe Islands have searched for better sources of renewable energy, and it looks like they finally found it.

They simply looked to their Viking origins and built the Sea Dragons as an answer to their conundrum, and it has worked to their advantage.

The Sea Dragon is a class of its own as it makes use of a unique form of kinetic energy. They generated power with the help of the movement of the tides. These wonderful inventions are found 40 meters below the surface. In essence, they look like underwater kites or gliders built with an impressive 16-foot wingspan. Once under, they swim in a figure of eight position along with the water’s tide. The movement generates energy large enough to provide power to around 50 to 70 homes.

The Faroe Islands houses around 50,000 people. This may not sound much, but the residents consume enough electricity to make an impact. The place is a self-governing Danish archipelago and it is found between Iceland and Shetland. When you think about it, the area is known to go green and you’d be hard-pressed to believe that the area is an easy place to reach a zero-emissions target. You, however, couldn’t be further from the truth.

Unfortunately, the North Atlantic weather can be quite challenging. Moreover, there’s not too much surface on land to allow them to build wind turbines. For now, hydro-electric power provides more than 40 percent of the island’s energy supplies.

Hence, the Sea Dragon. This was built by Minesto, which is a spin off from the parent company of airplane and (former) car manufacturer Saab. Otherwise known as the “tidal kites,” the Sea Dragon works by make use of the lift force of the tide. This is much like how an airplane works as it uses the force of air passing over its wings to fly.

This wonderful piece of technology comes with onboard control system and rudders. The kite that’s placed on the water is autonomously steered in a pre-determined pattern. The tide in the area pushes it through the sea while making sure that it’s anchored to the seafloor with a tether. The new method allows the turbine to experience a water flow that is much higher than the actual stream speed.

As the turbine moves, it then diffuses power to the generator. Then, electricity is transmitted via a power cable in the tether up to a station that’s found on land. The tidal kites work in conjunction with the marine environment in a predictable way. Moreover, it is extremely low in environmental impact. Because Faroe Islands is considerably a tiny island chain, it uses up no space on land aside from the receiving power station.

“The new kites will have a 12-metre wingspan, and can each generate 1.2 megawatts of power [a megawatt is 1,000 kilowatts],” said Martin Edlund, CEO of Minesto as he explained how the kites work to the BBC. He also said, “We believe an array of these Dragon-class kites will produce enough electricity to power half of the households in the Faroes.”

As the islands shift to winter from an unusually windless summer, the people were forced to import much more diesel than needed. However, since the installation of wind turbines, the tides produced in the area has been quite amazing for them. Minesto, in fact, believes their dragons could provide as much as 600 gigawatts low-impact, low-cost, renewable energy around the world. That is, if the project will be scaled up.

We can only hope that this happens and that everyone on the planet can finally take the alternative energy route that the earth badly needs.

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China is best known for cheap merchandise, quick commerce, and horrible air pollution, and finally, the massive Asian country has recently decided that it’s time to go green as well. In fact, Chinese officials recently launched a new greening campaign that claims it was plant forests the size of Belgium over the next five years.

In addition, they will also expand the country’s national park and forest system, which will include creating new green corridors in order to “reconnect” China’s fragmented population of wildlife, while also putting stronger laws against illegal wildlife trafficking and the use of wildlife products into place.

Vice-chairman of the State Forestry and Grasslands Commission in China, Li Chunliang, recently announced during a press briefing the country’s 5-year plan, also explaining that “By 2035, the quality and stability of national forest, grassland, wetland and desert ecosystems will have been comprehensively upgraded.”

What this means is that at least 14,000-square miles, which is equivalent to 35,000-square kilometers, of brand new forest will be put up every year for at least five years, concentrating mostly on the drought-prone areas of China’s North and West regions.

They have also chosen to detail their strategy, saying that it will be based mostly around “natural reforestation,” which means it will plant trees that are more inclined to survival in the areas they plant them, unlike the mistakes made during the “Green Great Wall” campaign which focused more on stopping desertification near the Gobi Desert. This failed mostly due to monocrop planting, where the billions of trees that were planted ended up dying due to beetle infestations or moisture issues.

Incredibly, these five reforestation plans that are set to be as big as Belgium will manage to only increase the forest coverage in China by less than 2%. But considering countries paradoxical existence – which includes decades of traditions such as folk medicine, Buddhism, and what many would consider a deep reverence for their national animals, which basically opposes the countries expeditious economic growth that takes down anything and everything in its path, the country seems to finally be going in the right direction this time.

Not only will planting these forests in the north mean that the Siberian tiger will be given a larger habitat for survival, those planted more in the west will also give a higher chance of survival to the Gobi bear, which is considered the most endangered species of bear on the planet.

Despite the market research group, comparethemarket.com, explaining that the city of Beijing alone would have to plant over 15 million trees a year to counteract the city’s annual emissions, their plan for these new forests is one step in the right direction.

China isn’t the only one that needs to help neutralize their negative gas emissions on the earth either. Both Hong Kong and Singapore would need to plant over 9 million trees a year to combat theirs, while London would require over 4 million trees if it wants to help itself, as was explained in the same report.

‘Regardless, any type of planting – especially one as big as Belgium – is one way to make the planet better for our future generations.

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If you’ve ever watched the television food competition series Chopped on the Food Network, then seeing contestants working to create dishes using an entire basket of totally random items that you would never think to use together isn’t anything new. But for one nonprofit called 412 Food Rescue, they actually do this on an everyday basis, except they take around 1000 pounds of discarded food to make meals for people in need.

412 Food Rescue, which is located in Pittsburgh, is a nonprofit that has managed to connect with tons of local businesses after they discovered how many pounds of still usable surplus food they donate each and every day. By using their very own app, the company has put up the biggest ‘volunteer-led food transport network’ within one city area.

The only problem was that they didn’t have a kitchen big enough to accommodate all the food donations and gifts that were coming into from a number of different avenues, which they had to make into single-serving meals. But thankfully in 2019, they managed to come with the perfect solution to their woes by opening up their very own kitchen which they aptly named, The Good Food Project. Having to not pay for any food, while making zero waste as well, this kitchen is an incredible model when it comes to be best and most effective form of food distribution and food recovery.

Most people are not aware that around 25% of all material in landfills are actually made from food waste, more than any other source of a single type of waste. And it when it rots, it becomes the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions as well.

What makes The Good Food Project successful is that it manages to use the so-called “food waste” that would normally go into landfills by transforming it into ‘healthy, heat-and-eat meals and shelf-stable items’ that even happen to be packed into compostable containers, adding to sustainability and doing their part to go even greener for the planet. Moreover, these meals are also distributed to nonprofit organizations to help provide food to the needy.

Such food donations tend to come from some food partners like Gordon Food Service. Although their food donations are still considered 100% okay to eat, they can no longer be sold due to the company’s professional aesthetic standards, their transit mishaps, and the lapsed sell-by timelines.

The Person Behind 412 Food Rescue

As for the person behind 412FoodRescue.org, Leah Lizarondo, she began the organization back in 2015 precisely to find ways to redirect food from becoming useless waste into nonprofit companies, shelters, and households. In order to make this happen, she created an app that allows volunteers to pick up from certain locations and deliver to the necessary destinations, making it easy for them to bring surplus food to those that need it.

The post Watch How One Woman Is Dealing With Food Insecurity, Food Waste, And Climate Change All At Once appeared first on True Activist.

A giant, floating and self-sustaining research lab measuring around the size of an island could actually be the answer to collecting, cleaning, and recycling all the trash in the ocean.

Called the 8^th Continent, this huge structural masterpiece won the 2020 Grand Prix prize for architecture and innovation of the sea, and from the photo alone, it’s easy to see why. Incredibly, the structure was designed to be so large that it will allow the operators to live, eat, work, study and sleep there full-time.

Looking like a magnificent alien object, the 8^th Continent marine station looks just like a water lily, except that it’s chained to the bottom of the sea while being designed to float above the ocean currents.

According to the chief designer, it was modeled to be a “living organism that is fully self-sustainable.” It was also created with the intention of being able to host a number of different activities, with the most important being to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a 900,000-square mile area that happens to be characterized by plastic waste – containing trillions of individual pieces of trash, if not more. At the moment, it’s being cleaned using large nets using that use the currents to help it gather up and collect the insurmountable amount of trash that’s floating within the oceans waters.

Senior Designer of the 8^th Continent, Lenka Petráková at Zaha Hadid Architects in London, who happened to win the award shared, “I was looking into marine species, animals as well as plants. And I was studying how they really interact with water environments, how they can harvest energy and how they work with nutrition, for example.”

As for the design of the lab, the three long legs – which look more like fins or tentacles – will have the ability to collect passing plastic waste while converting tidal energy into electricity at the same time. Then sitting on the top of the structure will be three research and education centers, while underneath them will be another three, tall and spiraling greenhouses that will have hydroponic gardens and even a water desalination plant.

Meanwhile, the spine of the facility is where the living and working quarters will be located, as well as where collected waste is sorted then recycled. Then, the underwater draft spire has been designed to hold the viewing platform for observers.

Although the entire idea is yet to be realized, and currently is just a huge dream since it’s still so early in the conceptual stage and the materials have yet to be hypothesized, it didn’t stop the designer Petráková to say she believes Elon Musk is the perfect person to bring her ideas to life. She said in an interview that since Musk has such a penchant for scientific machines, sleepless enthusiasm, and obviously billions to spend, he would probably be the best bet for the 8^th Continent to ever get built in the first place.

Regardless of whether this project ever comes to life – which for the sake of the planet we certainly hope so – the design is so incredible that it seems like nothing else could even come close.

If you’d like to see more about this project, watch the video below.

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Once again, science prevails as a group of researchers from the University of California, Davis have produced a new type of eco-friendly ice cube. This cooling cube could possible revolutionize the way food is kept cold and kept fresh as it’s shipped all over without having to use traditional cooling packs.

Amazingly, these “jelly ice cubes” are plastic-free and they don’t melt, while also being compostable and anti-microbial while preventing cross-contamination at the same time.

Gang Sun, the professor from the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, shared, “When ice melts, it’s not reusable. We thought we could make a so-called solid ice to serve as a cooling medium and be reusable.”

These jelly-like cooling cubes contain more than 90% water and other components that allow them to retain and stabilize their structures. While they are soft to touch, much like the way a gelatin dessert feels, they also change color depending on their temperature.

According to Ph.D. graduate student Jiahan Zou, who has been working on this project for over two years explains that they are also flexible and reusable, which means they can be designed into any type of shape, as well as cut to any type of size or shape required.

Prof. Sun added, “You can use it for 13 hours for cooling, collect it, rinse it with water and put it in the freezer to freeze again for the next use.”

The research group has already filed for a patent for their jelly cubes last July. What they hope to achieve is to eventually make the cubes using recycled agricultural waste or a byproduct as the coolant material in the future.

Associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology, Luxin Wang, said, “We want to make sure this is sustainable.”

How the Idea Came About

The group of researchers began the idea behind their coolant cubes product after Prof. Wang saw how much ice was used in fish-processing plants, noticing that there was cross-contamination that occurred due to meltwater and seeing how this could spread to the other products, as well as go down the drains and contaminate other water sources.

Prof. Wang explained, “The amount of ice used by these fish-processing sites is massive. We need to control the pathogens.”

Moreover, Prof. Sun also shared how more often than not, mold is often found in shipping packages and in the plastic ice packs that are used with school lunches for kids.

Primary tests have also shown how these new types of cubes have the ability to withstand up to 22 pounds without losing their form, while also being able to reuse them over a dozen times or more, all it takes is a quick wash with some water or diluted bleach for reuse. When disposing them, they can be either thrown in the trash or along with the yard waste.

A Great Alternative to Ice

Another positive outcome from these jelly ice cubes is that they offer an eco-friendly alternative to traditional ice, which could possibly lessen water consumption and its adverse effects of the environment. In addition, they provide stable temperatures to reduce possible food spoilage, as well as be a positive for companies during meal prep, for shipping businesses, as well as for food producers that need to keep their food cold.

The eventual application of these jelly cubes could potentially lessen water consumption in the food supply change, as well as reduce food waste by being able to control microbial contaminations.

You can see the research study here, which was published in the American Chemical Society’s Journal, Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

If you’d like to hear more about these eco-friendly, sustainable “ice” jelly cubes, watch the video below.

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