The Good Future is entirely possible – we just need to make the right decisions today!
A water battery capable of storing electricity equivalent to 400,000 electric car batteries will begin operating in Switzerland next week.
The pumped storage power plant was built into a subterranean cavern in the Swiss canton of Valais. With the ability to store and generate vast quantities of hydroelectric energy, the battery will play an important role in stabilising power supplies in Switzerland and Europe.
Traditional weather forecasts tell us what is likely to happen within the next 24 hours and up to two weeks ahead, whereas climate prediction tells us what will likely happen in the coming seasons, years and decades. Both weather and climate forecasts are very important to develop adaption and mitigation strategies to maximise returns from agriculture and improve livelihoods.
Food security is a global challenge and it’s only getting more critical, says Irving Fain, founder and CEO of Bowery, the vertical farming company using hydroponics and digital agriculture to reimagine the future of produce. “The problem we’re solving at Bowery is a problem that’s not only relevant to the cities we’re in today or to cities in the U.S., but it’s relevant to cities around the world.”
California is home to about 4,000 miles of canals. For decades these complex networks have delivered more than 600 million gallons of water per day to agricultural areas and to residents throughout the state. At the same time, California’s water supply has dwindled. Rising temperatures, groundwater depletion, and decreased precipitation have resulted in an unprecedented, years-long drought, bringing the state’s reservoir levels down to the lowest they’ve been in a century. This has prompted legislators, researchers, and environmental activists to seek out ways to protect California’s water supply.
Gramitherm chose grass as a raw material as it is a highly efficient thermal insulator with an estimated lifetime of at least 50 years. The panels are also an efficient means of storing the carbon dioxide captured by the grass during its lifetime. In fact, Gramitherm’s insulation captures 1.5 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogramme of product.
This article is available at https://theconversation.com/southern-african-countries-can-do-better-at-infrastructure-what-the-choices-might-look-like-186516 Countries in southern Africa are under a crushing burden brought about by a confluence of factors. These include the unprecedented growth in the number of young people, the remarkable speed of urbanisation and the rise of informal settlements in urban centres. The physical infrastructure needed to meet these challenges […]
