Category: Environment

Many are enchanted by the Seine’s romantic charm in France, but the river now hides discarded wastes of city dwellers. A young Parisian, Rafael Marinho, takes action against this pollution. Every Saturday, he and his father use a powerful magnet on the riverbanks to extract metal debris.

Initially done for fun, Rafael turned this into a regular effort, viewing it as a necessary task neglected by adults. Over two years, they’ve removed almost 20 tons of discarded metal, including 50 bicycles. Rafael displays his favorite finds in a pop-up museum by the river, each accompanied by an imagined story.

Items like a safe, revolver, and motorbike suggest tales of a fleeing gangster. With over 20,000 Instagram followers, Rafael aims to inspire others. Even President Emmanuel Macron has praised his river-cleaning initiative.

The International Energy Agency’s latest Electricity Market Report 2023 brings news of a significant change in the global energy landscape. Projections indicate that 90% of the new upcoming demand for electricity, from now until 2025, will be met by clean energy sources like wind, solar, and nuclear power.

This shift is also expected to make renewables the dominant global electricity source within the next three years, accounting for 35% of the world’s electricity and surpassing coal. The report highlights the desire for increasing sustainable energy solutions. The future seems geared towards renewables taking a leading role in meeting the world’s growing electricity needs.

In Aqaba on Jordan’s Red Sea coast, the Sahara Forest Project practices innovative farming amid extreme water scarcity. Despite Jordan importing 98% of its food this farm found a way to plant crops like cucumbers, peppers, and passion fruit.

This sustainable farm relies on solar power and seawater, using evaporative systems and salt-tolerant plants. The project aims to reverse land degradation by enriching soil through waste recycling. With a successful track record, the project is expanding, replacing seawater trucks with a pipeline and aiming to absorb more carbon than it emits. It has created good jobs in the area and provides training of sustainable farming methods, offering a model for sustainable agriculture amid the challenging arid climate.

A major nuclear waste treatment facility at the Hanford cleanup site in Washington which was built through a public-private partnership with Bechtel National— is set to start operations soon.

The facility transforms liquid and solid nuclear waste into non-radioactive glass bricks, which can be safely stored underground. This initiative aims to address the environmental and health concerns associated with nuclear power plants, particularly the legacy of radioactive plutonium from Cold War-era nuclear warheads.

The Hanford site recently advanced its plans after completing a successful test that produced 30,000 pounds of vitrified glass. The first of the two 300-ton melters is expected to be operational next year, marking a significant step in the risk reduction for the Hanford environmental cleanup mission.

Out of the over 100 tanks of radioactive plutonium waste stored underground at the site, 20 of these have some sort of leak. This new waste treatment will be a great solution for addressing this problem.