Kenyan Engineer and Entrepreneur Nzambi Matee Invents Bricks Made Out of Recycled Plastic
Tired of waiting for her local government to find a solution for the plastic waste produced by households and factories, Nzambi Matee, a Kenyan materials engineer, invented a process and designed a machine that converts plastic waste into bricks. These bricks are denser and around five to seven times stronger than concrete. Her work has been seen as an important capital resource for Kenya’s economy, as the machine simultaneously solves the issues of plastic waste disposal and a lack of durable housing.
Saudi Arabia Plans New City Entirely Dependent on Clean Energy
The Middle Eastern kingdom of Saudi Arabia owns around 16 percent of the world’s proven petroleum reserves and is the second-largest member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. On Jan. 5, Saudi Arabia announced that it would unilaterally cut 1 million barrels of crude oil production a day starting in February. The decision was made to benefit Saudi Arabia’s economy and that of its partnering countries by increasing oil prices as a response to the weakened global economies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Plant Breeding Adapts Seeds to Current and Future Climate Conditions
Image courtesy of WikiMedia.
By Dnyaneshwari Haware ’23
Staff Writer
The impact of climate change can be seen in everything around us, from the loss of habitats to the migration of animals and plant species — even the crops planted and growing on farms. Climate change has already destroyed many agricultural lands through frequent floods, increased forest fires and intensified droughts. This is made more worrisome by research concluding that crop species are becoming sensitive to the increase in average surface temperatures due to global warming. Wheat, which is considered the foundation of life in much of the world, is predicted to suffer the most from rising temperatures, and countries where it is predominantly grown will be the most impacted and least equipped to cope. Rising temperatures are likely to impact more species upon which life depends. A possible solution that has emerged is modifying plant species to adapt to the climate, a practice known as climate-adapted plant breeding.
Climate-adapted plant breeding uses existing or old varieties of plants to breed new varieties so they will be adapted to current and future climate conditions. Recently, a research team from the Technical University of Munich was able to show that material from gene banks can be used to improve traits in the maize plant using a combination of new molecular and statistical methods. A prerequisite for this is the preservation of old and present species through proper storage and seed handling. Seed banks, or seed vaults, have emerged as a solution that preserves genetic diversity by providing the necessary conditions for the longevity of seeds. Seeds are stored in low temperatures that keep them dormant until they are needed for replanting.
One of the largest seed vaults is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, located on the Spitsbergen island of Norway above the Arctic Circle. It is frequently called the Arctic Doomsday Seed Vault because it contains over a million seed types from all over the world and, should a global catastrophe occur, the vault’s collection would allow for a theoretical restart to world agriculture. In case the regional diversity of wheat, rice or any other food plant is destroyed by war, climate change or natural disaster, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault holds a backup. The facility was made to withstand a nuclear blast, and other structural improvements have been made over the years.
More and more species are continuously added to the vault’s collection. Modifying varieties of organisms to climate change has already been successful, giving some researchers hope that this could be possible in the seed world. For example, modifying coral reefs to withstand higher temperatures and genetically modifying plant species have both been successful projects. In these cases, the change in temperature a species adapts to is limited, but in the case of climate change, rises in temperature are likely to be long-term and continual.
Experimental Coral Reef Preservation Strategies Are Underway
Pictured above: Coral reefs.
By Dnyaneshwari Haware ’23
Staff Writer
Despite being out of the eye of the general population, the destruction of reefs is impacting the livelihoods of approximately 1 billion people globally. These effects are seen through reduced biodiversity, lower fish stocks and a higher rate of coastal erosion. In the past 20 years, 50 percent of coral reefs have been lost, and by 2050, more than 90 percent are expected to die. The causes of this erosion include overfishing, the bleaching of coastlands, an increase in ocean temperature and other exploitative factors that further intensify the damage. In areas of destruction, scientists are attempting new methods of preserving the reefs, such as the relocation of more resilient corals and the new implementation of 3D-printed corals.
The impacts of global warming have caused increasing challenges for reefs and coral. A large number of reefs are temperature sensitive and struggle to survive 1 degree Celsius above the summer maximum of the region. Additionally, the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide also increases the acidity of oceans, further producing challenging living environments.
In efforts to revive coral communities, one solution is moving heat resilient corals, which can cope with temperatures between 6 and 7 degrees Celsius hotter and can survive in acidic waters, to struggling reefs elsewhere. However, there are significant obstacles, such as the need to save the thermally resilient species from extinction due to factors other than global warming like physical damage from construction, development and overfishing. Another concern is the introduction of a new species of corals into an ecosystem, which may significantly change its equilibrium.
Efforts also include more experimental methods, such as integrating 3D printing technology. In 2018, the largest 3D printed coral reef was deployed at a site in Maldives using a technology called the Modular Artificial Reef Structures. These not only substitute real corals for coral farming, which is the cultivation of corals for commercial purposes, but can also create new reef habitats in degraded areas or new locations. However, using artificial structures as restoration tools is expensive and cannot act as a replacement for conservation strategies.
In environmental conservation, finding local organic solutions that could result in long-lasting positive effects on the community is essential for sustainability. One example is a coral reef restoration project off of a 4.3-mile-long island in Kenya led by the women of the community. According to the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Institute, between 60 and 90 percent of coral reefs were destroyed in some surveyed areas.
Local communities that largely depend on fishing and ecotourism have suffered from the loss of these reefs, as the reefs provide breeding grounds for hundreds of species of marine life. In response, the women of Wasini Island have been restoring fish populations by cultivating seagrass, which plays a key role in the overall coral reef ecosystem. The seagrass provides shelter to juvenile fish who then mature and move into the reefs. The project also involves building artificial coral reefs using locally found materials such as rock boulders held together with hydraulic cement. Corals grown in nurseries are then planted on these artificial reefs and have a survival rate of 75 percent after transplant.
All these methods involve constant experimentation, and results vary depending on the ecosystems. Law enforcement, the involvement of government and independent agencies, financial support and the cooperation of local communities have been necessary for the largest movements toward the conservation of coral reefs.
Climate Clock in NYC: The Next Seven Years Could Decide Our Future
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
by Dnyaneshwari Haware ’23
Staff Writer
“The Earth has a deadline” followed by the numeric “7:103:15:40:07” can now be seen flashing a rhythmic countdown on the glass exterior of One Union Square South on 14th Street in New York City. The clock currently reads that there are seven years, 103 days, 15 hours, 40 minutes and seven seconds left to prevent irreversible damage to the environment.
The idea of the end of the world is not restricted to sci-fi books and films anymore, but many refuse to accept this reality. The Metronome, a public art project that has been in existence for more than 20 years, has now been turned into the Climate Clock, a graphic displaying the amount of time remaining for us to take significant action toward saving our planet. The transformation of the 62-foot-wide 15-digit electronic clock into a climate clock was done by artists Andrew Boyd and Gan Golan and commissioned by the Related Companies in collaboration with the Public Art Fund and the Municipal Art Society. The clock shows we only have seven years whereas many corporations, governments and international organizations such as the U.N. have pledged to adapt sustainability and development goals to alter their environment-degrading activities by 2030. y
On a YouTube talk show hosted by comedian Ted Alexandro, Boyd said, “It’s a very harsh timeline to reckon with. There’s different ways to slice the numbers and if we can get to net zero carbon in that amount of time, that gives us a 67 percent chance of staying under the red line that scientists are telling us we really shouldn’t cross of 1.5 degrees centigrade warmer.”
The artists reject the idea that this is a doomsday clock. “It is showing our time window for action,” Goland said. “This is the best period of time we have to really make a difference.”
The installation has been praised but also criticized for its focus on individuals rather than the corporations that are responsible for the majority of environmental degradation causing climate change. Either way, the Metronome clock has been given a new life, one that dismisses any arguments against the existence of climate change and its importance. It is now viewed not only by passersby but people around the world.
Quarantine Continues To Impact the Environment in Unprecedented Ways
by Dnyaneshwari Haware ’24
Staff Writer
In March, when most of the world effectively shut down their industries and economies in response to the global pandemic, there was a sense of panic along with a sense of hope as pollution levels across the globe decreased. Many publications and researchers predicted an improvement in air quality, and videos of aquatic life thriving in the canals of Venice, Italy, went viral, alluding to the presence of cleaner water. However, upon closer observation, these positive environmental effects are more complex than they initially appear.
A modern person’s lifestyle has been designed for consumption. Consumerism has become an integral part of our lifestyles, festivals, celebrations, sorrows and all other displays of emotion. We have personified things to represent factors like class, comfort and luxury. As a species, humans have limited needs. However, under extreme circumstances like the current pandemic, our needs have increased, swallowing some of our previous wants. According to the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, 42 percent of the U.S. labor force was working full-time from home at the end of June, making internet access and other such amenities a necessity. Because of this, the average consumption of electricity has increased. Commercial and industrial sectors were both found to have experienced decreases of 11 percent and 9 percent, respectively. The consumer electronics industry in particular has major environmental implications as electronic waste is often shipped to developing and less developed countries where limited environmental safety regulations are in place for disposal. Although a growth of about 4 percent was predicted from 2019 through 2020, a report found that COVID-19 has hampered the market and slowed consumerism in this sector.
Consumption isn’t just restricted to the final goods we consume, but also includes waste generated in the production process. As a result of the pandemic, most of the goods people use are now being delivered, and takeout-only options have increased waste products. Environmental consciousness has largely been sidelined in the decision-making process as many prioritize safety, convenience and affordability.
Katherine Schmeiser, associate professor of economics at Mount Holyoke, shared her experience of having to choose between the environment and her personal safety. She highlighted that, before the pandemic, many stores had tried to establish a way of reducing waste by placing recycling bins in stores. Now, as in-store populations have drastically reduced, most of them have established delivery services in which they are left with no option but to use more packaging, especially for frozen items. There are still some efforts being made on a small scale in many communities to find effective solutions to this problem. Schmeiser mentioned an organization with local Facebook groups called “Buy Nothing” where people collect leftover packaging as one of the few environmentally friendly options left. Apart from this, a few e-commerce businesses are choosing biodegradable or plant-based packaging, but that makes up a very small percentage of the entire industry.
This increase in the consumption of electricity, protective gear and essential items is further burdening an already sensitive ecosystem. Large corporations partaking in the encouragement and supply of this consumerism — as well as the lack of enforcement when it comes to policies regarding the conservation and preservation of the environment — are also to blame for the changes climate scientists are beginning to observe.