Environment

Getting Water from Air

- Adam Clare

With water wars becoming a concern for nations around the world a small French company has come up with a way to get water out of thin air. Well, humid air, and it’s for more than just providing peace it’s a way for many communities to get off the grid and become when more self-sufficient.

“This technology could enable rural areas to become self-sufficient in terms of water supply,” says Thibault Janin, director of marketing at Eole Water.
“As the design and capabilities develop, the next step will be to create turbines that can provide water for small cities or areas with denser populations,” he adds.
Eole Water is currently displaying a working prototype of the 24 meter tall WMS1000 in the desert near Abu Dhabi that has been able to produce 62 liters of water an hour, says Janin.

Read more at CNN.

Another company, Straus Water, specializes in a counter top water cooler.

Strong Climate Change Law Passes in Mexico

- Adam Clare

Of the three countries in NAFTA, Mexico seems to care the most about the environment. The country just passed a strong law that will product the environment and aim to cut carbon emissions.

The new law contains many sweeping provisions to mitigate climate change, including a mandate to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 30% below business-as-usual levels by 2020, and by 50% below 2000 levels by 2050.

Furthermore, it stipulates that 35% of the country’s electricity should come from renewable sources by 2024, and requires mandatory emissions reporting by the country’s largest polluters. The act also establishes a commission to oversee implementation, and encourages development of a carbon-trading scheme. Although there was initial resistance from Mexico’s steel and cement industries, the bill passed with bipartisan support.

Read more in Nature.

Manila Uses Paint That Cleans the Air

- Adam Clare

This is groovy, a paint is being used on the walls of Manila that cleans the air.

In the Philippine capital Manila, which is one of the most polluted cities in the world, a paint which it is claimed can purify the air is being used.

A local company has come up with the paint and in partnership with the government it is trying to use it to clean up one of the city’s most smog-choked roads.

Watch the video at the BBC.

Windfarms do not Kill Birds

- Adam Clare

There have been allegations that wind turbines kill birds and thus are a negative power system overall. Science to the rescue! Ornithologists have completed a study about migratory birds and how well they fare around wind farms. The answer? Birds are fine.

The study, which is published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, was carried out jointly by four naturalists and ornithologists from the RSPB, Scottish Natural Heritage and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). It goes against widespread allegations by critics of windfarms that clusters of turbines routinely cause serious damage to wild birds, through collision with the revolving blades, noise and visual disturbance.

James Pearce-Higgins, the lead author and principal ecologist with the BTO, said: “It was a bit of a surprise that the impact on windfarms seemed to be happening during construction rather than operation.”

“It means we should look at ways in which these negative impacts can be minimised. The next step will be to find out whether those steps are effective,” he said.

Read more.

Fracking Banned in Quebec

- Adam Clare 2 Comments

People love putting oil in things so much that they’ll cause fracking earthquakes. Quebec has decided there’s no fracking way in their province as the hydraulic fracturing method to get oil out of hard to reach places is too dangerous.

It’s really good to see at least one Canadian province take an educated, knowledge-based, approach to oil.

Quebec issued a temporary ban on hydraulic fracturing pending further study last March, putting a halt to exploration in the province, though companies had expected limited drilling for research purposes. Environ-mental groups, farmers and others in Quebec had spoken out against shale gas development in the province.

The committee will order several more studies with a deadline of next spring, Joly said Tuesday, with the final report targeted for completion some time in 2013. He reported that the committee learned a lot from public hearings held from November 2011 to January 2012 and said there would be further hearings, geared toward specific sectors.

Committee members plan to also travel to Alberta and B.C., and to Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, where there are also shale-gas deposits.

Read more.

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