[Please do no contact the news team of Inspir’Action! We’re not owners nor reseller of Brikawood. See contact details below.] … More
The Plastic Road project in the Netherlands gives new life to plastic waste, while, at the same time, avoiding millions … More
Good news, on the environment, is scarce. For the first time, a group of English and American scientists succeeded in … More
Good news, on the environment, is scarce. For the first time, a group of English and American scientists succeeded in … More
[Please do no contact the news team of Inspir’Action! We’re not owners nor reseller of Brikawood. See contact details below.] … More
The Plastic Road project in the Netherlands gives new life to plastic waste, while, at the same time, avoiding millions … More
Good news, on the environment, is scarce. For the first time, a group of English and American scientists succeeded in … More
[Please do no contact the news team of Inspir’Action! We’re not owners nor reseller of Brikawood. See contact details below.] … More
In collaboration with Parley for the Oceans, an organization that brings together scientists, artists and citizens around projects to clean … More
Good news, on the environment, is scarce. For the first time, a group of English and American scientists succeeded in … More
[Please do no contact the news team of Inspir’Action! We’re not owners nor reseller of Brikawood. See contact details below.] … More
The bottles of Head & Shoulders or Pantene will use more recycled plastic by the end of 2018 in Europe. … More
A cooperative encourages rural development and poverty reduction in India through local initiatives whose goal is to empower women and youth living in rural areas. This broadly the objective of SEWA (Self Employed Women Association) based in the western state of Gujarat. Read more
If we take the trouble to go further than the simple prototype, this is undoubtedly a good news for the planet. An Icelander has presented an invention at a design festival in March 2016. The bottle is completely biodegradable and loses its strength when it is empty. Read more
In one month, President Barack Obama will leave the White House, but with several good deeds under his belt — one of them being the establishment of the first marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean. As reported by National Geographic, “under authority of the Antiquities Act, President Obama set aside 4,900 square miles of the Atlantic for preservation. The monument prohibits fishing and mining, in an effort to protect deep-sea species that reside in the undersea canyons and extinct volcanoes more than 150 miles off the coast of New England, where the continental shelf drops off into the abyss.”
The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument stretches between two distinct areas. The first, running in a strip along the edge of the continental shelf, will protect three canyons and the species that live on their walls: deepwater corals, anemones, and sponges. The second area — south of the continental shelf — will protect four submarine mountains, which are more than 7,000 feet tall. Bear, Physalia, Retriever, and Mytilus are a hundred million years old volcanoes, which were formed by the same hot plumes of magma that created the White Mountains in the state of New Hampshire.
The underwater reserve of New England isn’t only protecting endangered species, such as North Atlantic sperm whales forage, and a unique ecosystem with branching bamboo corals, but as per the White House’s statement and National Geographic’s report, it will also “create natural laboratories for scientists to monitor and explore the impacts of climate change”. As Peter Auster, senior research scientist at the Mystic Aquarium and research professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut, has said:
“They are places that represent how much we have yet to learn about the oceans. They are outstanding repositories of our natural heritage for the future”.
The establishment of the New England monument comes as an addition to President Obama’s underwater protection actions. Only two months ago, he expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the northwestern islands of Hawaii to more than half a million square miles. At the moment, this is the largest protected area on Earth, and Mr Obama is the president who has protected more acreage than any other president, passionately communicating that “there’s no conflict between a healthy economy and a healthy planet”.
In Montreal, Quebec, volunteers are working towards edible streets. Now, residents can consume fruits and vegetables freely that grow almost in front of their doors. Read more
It is stored underneath our steps. Naturally generated and stored within the Earth itself, geothermal energy is an extremely precious resource. The department of Val de Marnes in the region of Ile de France in France has pioneered by capitalizing on it. Today, geothermal energy is providing heat at a cheaper rate to more than 150,000 homes in the area.
Source: www.punjtanenergy.com/
Non-polluting, renewable, reliable and equally sustainable, geothermal energy is proving to be amazingly advantageous. In Ile de France, drawn from the very bowels of Mother Earth, this clean energy is generating 1,373,000 MWh which is being utilized to heat up these homes. It has replaced fuel for heating, which would amount to 130,000 tons for the same task.
If Val de Marnes has gone ahead with this project it is because the Paris Basin which constitutes of the lowlands around Paris and is composed of sedimentary rocks prides itself in ideal geological conditions to support geothermal energy.
It is naturally present in the rocks and fluids underneath the crust of the Earth. Since in itself it is free and available immediately without the need to burn any fossil fuel for its extraction, it is furthermore inexpensive.
Unlike solar or wind energy, it is available 365 days a year…without exception
Even if it is found under our feet, the energy of the Earth is not necessarily exploitable everywhere. Other regions in France equally have the potential for the exploitation of geothermal energy but the geological structures are more complex for easy extraction.
For the region of Ile de France, it is synonymous to a gem- a wondrous asset waiting to be put to use. It is indeed the first renewable energy being taken advantage of in the region.
This energy has been subject to multiple experiments in terms of technical issues before it became an economically attractive heating mode, despite a highly competitive environment, thanks to technical improvements. Ile de France subsequently decided to diversify its resources in terms of energy to provide heat to houses and public buildings. It is extracted from 2,000m from within the Earth.
Today, the department has 36 operational plants with the majority located in Val de Marnes. It amounts to 40% of geothermal energy produced in the whole of France. Its network within the region is expanding like wildfire and it is expected that by 2025, more than 200,000 households will be able to rely on this type of energy.
Geothermal energy is already being utilized in over 20 countries with the United States being the leading producer. The largest cluster of geothermal power plants are located in The Geysers in California. Many American cities have a comprehensive network of pipes under roads and sidewalks with geothermal hot water flowing to melt the snow during winter.
Apart from heating homes and offices, geothermal water from deeper in the Earth are also used for growing plants in greenhouses, like in Auvergne, France. Iceland, for example, uses geothermal heat from underground reservoirs to generate electricity which is not only used to heat buildings but to ensure a cooling system as well.
While the Hornsea One project to equip the UK’s largest ever created wind farm is still in progress, the country of Her Majesty approved the second phase. At the end of the day, some 600 wind turbines will be located off Britain’s coast. The British government may proceed more calmly to the closure of its coal plants by 2025 to make way for clean energy.
Majestic yet terrifying. Powerful yet endangered. The Amur tiger, also known as the Siberian tiger, which has been skimming extinction, sees its future brighten as the Bikin National Park is being set up in the Primorsky Krai in Far East Russia. Spreading over 1,16 million hectares of virgin forests, the park is the Russian Amazon.
The mission is to save the Amur tiger whose population is estimated at 523, with the majority 95% of these rare tigers living in the wild Russian Far East. In end of 2015, the Russian government signed a decree in view of creating the Bikin National Park to ensure the protection of the tiger. The virgin forests of the Bikin River Valley are the native land to approximately 10% of the Amur tigers.
The region is equally home to the Udege people who are the native inhabitants of the Primorsky Krai. They make up around 1,400 people, living on hunting and fishing.
After lengthy negotiations with the inhabitants as well as with operators of elite hunting activities, gold miners and timber merchants, an agreement has finally been made to go ahead with the creation of the immense reserve for environmental protection while balancing the maintenance of the traditional way of life of the Udege people.
Aleksey Kudryatsev has been nominated as the Director of the park. Being established, the Bikin National Park will preserve the unique panoply of extensive varieties of animals and plants. Located on the western slope of the Sihote-Alin Mountain, the Bikin River Valley is also on the tentative list to be designated as a World Heritage site.
This wide region is one of the last untouched by man in the Northern Hemisphere, boasting of infinite cedar trees.
It is in itself a complete analog of pre-glacial deciduous forests. No tree was ever felled here. Apart from its wondrous and rich vegetal assortment, the park is equally home to some 51 species of mammals including the Amur tiger, and 194 species of birds out of which some are rare and figure in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation.
While zoning the Bikin National Park, a large area has been allocated to the indigenous people of the region who will continue to live unperturbed, according to their ancient traditions.
With the setting up of the wildlife reserve, it is expected that poaching will diminish and that the endangered Amur tiger will be safer. Another nearby reserve is the Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve which has been set up in 1935 to protect the native Amur tiger as well as other species such as the sable. Hunting and fishing are totally forbidden. This reserve is presently home to some 30 tigers.
The next tiger census in Russia will be carried out in 2020. The region is covered with snow for several months in winter and makes it easier for specialists responsible for tiger protection and research to make a census by following trails and counting the prints with high accuracy.
They are equipped with GPS to obligatory enter coordinates of each tiger encountered.
“The imagination, give it the least license, dives deeper and soars higher than Nature goes”, rightly wrote the American essayist Henry David Thoreau.
Sergio Gamberini, the CEO of Italy’s Ocean Reef company, is the incarnation of this saying, having propelled imagination beyond limits to create Nemo’s Garden.
Who could imagine that one day we would be growing food crops under water? Sergio Gamberini, an Italian, did. Owner of two diving companies in Italy and California respectively, had the crazy idea to grow plants in the ocean while he was enjoying his holidays in Noli Bay, Italy.
And today, underwater cultivation is already regarded as a sustainable way to meet future food demands, especially in regions regularly stricken by droughts or where land is scarce.
The idea to try underwater cultivation sprouted in Sergio’s Gamberini’s mind as he wished diving to become a more interactive activity. His initial project was to anchor a type of flexible balloon containing a vase inside with a live plant, to the sea bed. To his amazement, the plant did not die and thrived.
The next step was to use the same method with seeds which sprouted in less than 36 hours. That was an incredible revelation to the Italian and urged the latter to carry out bigger projects. Today, as one takes the plunge in blue waters of Noli Bay, he is welcomed by not only bubbles of air, but a cluster of imposing spheres as well at about 10 metres below sea level.
This is Nemo’s Garden. The site, spreading over 15m2, is presently home to seven biospheres about the size of an average room each.
Inside each bubble, about 60 plants are growing, sustained by hydroponics and gravity-fed watering systems. A variety of 26 different types of plants have been thriving in these magical bubbles.
Basil, garlic, radishes, beans, cabbages and strawberries are some examples just to name a few.
Qualified divers tend to the produce that do not have the same requirements as those grown in soil. Sergio Gamberini, on his side, is of view that:
The sea is auto-sustainable, a free charger and warmer
At Noli Bay which is located in the Mediterranean, the water temperature does not fluctuate much, offering stability to the plants in terms of heat.
The sea water acts as a filter on its own, cutting off all unnecessary frequencies of light penetrating the ocean. Consequently, plants grown underwater are healthier and of highest quality. Flavours, smells and taste are more intense than those of plants grown on land.
The biospheres are the ideal greenhouses as no parasite can actually reach there. So, the need for pesticides or other chemical products does not even arise.
Natural evaporation turns into fresh water inside the spheres and systematically irrigates the plants. Experiments carried out have furthermore demonstrated that these plants grow faster than their counterparts on Earth.
Sergio Gamberini has been working with agricultural experts to improve the designs and lifespan of the spheres which have been patented.
His company holds a permit from the Government to operate for five months yearly, that is from May to September. The Italian is more than ready to scale up production.
