A credit card to offset your individual carbon guilt

Have you ever been offered any kind of rewards when using your credit card?
I'm sure the answer is 'Yes'. Every one has been trapped in some kind of a reward scheme, whether its the cash back promotion, discounted price on some items or some sort of gifts or vouchers.
But have a look at this:

https://sustaingreen.com/credit-card

Sustain:Green came up with the idea to bring the reward system to the next level. Now, every time you use your card, you fight against global climate change.Your carbon footprint (or the carbon footprint of the item you purchased) is reduced with the funding to reforestation projects.
 Sustain:Green hopes to use the rewards systems toward purchasing certified carbon offsets.

The company's CEO Arthur Newman states that there was always a lack of transparency involved in all sorts of fundings like this. people did know where the money are going. Also, some companies do have an option of offset after the purchase but with extra costs, which is ridiculous and does involve some kind of second though after the transaction has been finalised. His goal is to make the offsets free and easy.

The offsets aren’t free for Sustain:Green, but they have gone as far as they can to make purchasing offsets free for its customers.

I think its a very interesting project. People do not have to do anything to make a difference. there are no extra fees involved and no charges. People just live their lives, spend money and offsetting.

There is also a sector of community involvement. The website provides information on more projects by Sustain:green and people can vote for them, discuss and even make their own suggestions.

Another extra sustainable feature is that the card is biodegradable. According to Newman, the amount of credit cards being thrown away each year is highly underestimated - it’s about half a billion credit and debit cards every year.

Gardening in a polluted paradise: Is it safe?

Gardening in the city is today's popular solution to urban greening and biodiversity. But, taking into account the pollution levels we experience living in big cities, is it really safe to grow vegetables in the city?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150515111628.htm

In the article above, it is explained hoe vegetables take up different soil contaminants.

The researchers from Kansas State University grew tomatoes, collard greens and carrots in different type of soils. They also looked soil compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are potentially cancer causing and are believed to be found in urban environment soils.
The research then showed that the amount of compounds in the vegetables was safe. it was only the root vegetable causing concern, because they generally take up higher levels of lead from the soil.

However, the researches stated even with the small amount of this dangerous cancer-causing compound, the vegetables are still absolutely safe to eat. Even though, I found it a little bit disturbing, I would not  be happy to know that the food I'm eating contains potentially dangerous compounds. Surely, I will not be able to consume the amount of vegetables that it takes to actually make the compound dangerous, but the fact that it is there is just a little bit concerning.

Reflecting on those worries, the researches also tested different ways to decrease the chance of consuming the soil particles. the tests showed that while washing the vegetables in the lab with the soap was most successful, simple thorough wash with water would still be enough.

So, even though there are some dangerous compounds in the urban garden soils, it is important to know what are the other benefits and to evaluate risks. The small amount of soil compounds will not harm you, and overall urban gardens  do provide access to fresh fruits and vegetables right while living in the urban jungle.

Re-thinking the cities

The world’s urbanization rate is increasing, with 50% of world’s population living in urban areas. According to UN Department of economic and social affairs the number will increase to 70% by 2050.

That means that more and more people are moving to live in the artificial environment.

It is believed that with the increased density the city becomes more productive and powerful, but in fact, there are particular challenges the city residents are facing.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20121214-greening-the-concrete-jungle

The most important issue of the big city is its sustainability. Urban sector generates 80% of greenhouse gas emissions. Big cities have to re-think their strategies in order to provide adequate natural environment.

 

Unfortunately, the growth of the cities is mostly happening chaotically, without a plan or a developed strategy. However, the solution offered in the above article is to "go higher". The skyscrapers can be viewed as one of the solution to accommodate large amount of people reducing the footprint. The cities are now really competing with each other to go higher and higher. But there has to be more thorough architectural planning involved.

In order to improve the sustainability of skyscrapers, architects need to aim for low-energy innovations. 

 

One good example is the Bank of America Tower in New York, USA.

It is made using recycled materials, it captures rainwater and conserves water in other ways, such as with waterless urinals, filters the exhaust air, Also 2/3 of the energy is generated by the building itself, onsite. 

The office tower has won a slew of awards and been given a highest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating.

Used cigarette butts offer energy storage solution

People are used to the fact that renewable energy sources are capable of providing us with what we need without a bad impact on our environment. Solar, wind, water power is an important part of our lives. It is also essential that we know how to keep the energy for the future use and still make it sustainable. Reflecting on the previous post about the Redox battery and energy storage solutions: scientists came up with the electrolyte cell to keep the energy flow at constant, but what are the other choices we have?

What if there are solutions that we might have not even thought about? Can the sustainable solutions come from something highly unsustainable?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150515144950.htm

Like the one that I've recently stumbled across - using cigarette butts for energy storage.

Everyone knows that the remains of the cigarettes - the filters are non-biodegradable and toxic.

This was always an issue of pollution and waste disposal. But now, South Korean scientist found out that the fibres inside the filters can be transformed by a simple act of burning into high-capacity material. According to the study, the end material has better performance than already available carbon and graphite. There is a possibility of extending its future use into storing extremely large amount of energy.

Renewable energy storage solutions

Our life is based on energy. whatever we do, wherever we go, we always consume energy.
In our century, with the amount of electrical gadgets we use, it is impossible to imagine our lives without power. The power that we use to connect to each other, to learn, to entertain, to work, to do anything we are capable of. That power of course needs to be stored somewhere. That is why the question of energy storage is very important.
How can we achieve better use of power devices to make our life easier, but maximize sustainability. Nowadays, energy is widely generated from renewable sources like solar, water and wind energies. 1/4 of the energy comes from the renewable sources. However the energy has to be stored for the times when there is less wind, or during the night.
The redox batteries developed by scientists to keep the energy levels constantly available.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130318105003.htm

The new battery was presented in April and it was upgraded to store a much greater amount of energy and increase its efficiency by 80%
The way the battery works is pretty simple. Basically, the cell stores energy in the electrolyte solution. The energy is accumulated through a chemical process, when the electrolytes circulate through the cell. they are extremely cost effective and durable.

Artificial Photosynthesis

The basic concept of photosynthesis is familiar to every one of us as the process of energy creation by plants. But according to professor Harry Grey, the idea of artificial photosynthesis, where the sunlight is used to turn the CO2 into other forms of energy is possible in the near future.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20141113-an-energy-revolution-from-the-sun

According to  Gray, artificial photosynthesis will slowly but surely replace all the coal, oil and gas that are used nowadays. The planet could become less dependant on the fossil fuels in the next 100 years. The only problem with the development of the artificial photosynthesis now is the cost of the elements. The devices use such expensive materials as platinum and ruthenium.

Professor has set up a "solar army" full of science students, to come up with the solution to allow artificial photosynthesis using more affordable materials.