Image

The Grass May Not Be as Green as It Seems

In an article by The Guardian, the United Nations stated that there is a need to rewild and restore an area the size of China to meet the commitments of our climate. In building this elevated society around us, we have also built it for convenience and not sustainability, single-use plastics are one of the cases. Today, the world’s climate has become an even larger concern as human resource consumption is already at 1.6 times more than what nature can provide.

Image

Let’s take a look at our wildlife as an example; between 2015 and 2020, the rate of deforestation has been estimated to be 10 million hectares per year. And though there have been “rewilding” and rehabilitating efforts for the lost trees and land, it is still not enough to bring the world back from biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse. From this perspective, it can be taken as a sign for the world – specifically manufacturers, corporations, and businesses – to create initiatives and be the ones who address this by them creating the incalculable majority of the environmental pollution, and when they do, then we’ll see huge changes in.

On the agriculture side of things, progress is being made with vertical farming technology through leaders in the industry such as AeroFarms. Through their efforts, the company claims that it is easier and more abundant to grow food through vertical farming inside of a soccer net rather than on five soccer fields outdoors. The only caveat is that the lamps AeroFarms uses to grow these crops require a lot of energy, and alternative solutions to gain generate energy are also facing the same issue of it costing a lot more than to produce.

Challenges such as these are conceptually not impossible to overcome and this also serves as a call to action not only to businesses and industry leaders but also to us as individuals. As Kris Tompkins, the co-founder of Patagonia says, “But I know that the great limiting factor in any business or institution is a lack of bravery. Instead of just looking at all the pitfalls that can happen—if it’s controversial, or it may be unpopular—eventually you need to put that to the side and just do it.”.

References: 

-McKinsey & Company, Kris Tompkins on leadership and conservation: “We’re past the moment where inaction is acceptable.”,    <https://www.mckinsey.com/about-us/new-at-mckinsey-blog/kris-tompkins>

-Patrick Greenfield, World must rewild on massive scale to heal nature and climate, says UN, <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/03/rewild-on-massive-scale-to-heal-nature-and-climate-says-un-decade-on-ecosystem-restoration-aoe>

-FAO & UNEP, The State of the World’s Forests 2020: Forests, biodiversity and people, <https://reliefweb.int/report/world/state-world-s-forests-2020-forests-biodiversity-and-people-enarru#:~:text=Between%202015%20and%202020%2C%20the,80%20million%20hectares%20since%201990>

Is This What Driving the Future is Like?

With the rise of EVs (electronic vehicles), a once nuanced commodity has now become the hot new item for making such products: Cobalt. Cobalt is a chemical element that is mainly used for heat-resistant and magnetic alloys. They have been in use for cellular phones and other technologies, but they have now become rather important to the electronic vehicles industry. Cobalt is currently being mined in Africa, and among the mines that source the mineral, it is China which holds 15 out of the many more mines in that area within the Congo. China’s relevance in the mining of this material is primarily for market domination, and because of this China already wants to control the market for Cobalt. What this means is that, even if they are currently holding a lot of the material, this doesn’t mean that they will sell it to the West as is; Basically, China wants consumers and investors to want the products that they make with Cobalt for them to lead the market, and not just be limited to the mineral itself.

Image

What makes this dangerous is not only does it proceed manual, underpaid, and more so dangerous labor to adults and children, but even the environment since Cobalt is a finite resource just like a lot of things in this world. In a way, this now makes electric vehicles seem like a far cry from being this new shiny opportunity to have a cleaner planet due to the damage that the mining does to the land which is then synonymous with the already apparent deforestation and pollution in the water and air.

Though it may be perceived as wishful thinking, there are still solutions to this problem. The first would be to change the type of batteries that we use today. Lithium-Ion batteries are the most common type of batteries used around the world, but their problems range from safety to deterioration over time. The proposal for Lithium-Iron batteries does have the potential for being a more sustainable alternative as not only does it not contain Cobalt, but it outperforms Lithium-Ion batteries significantly. Another would be to reuse minerals found in electronic waste. Cobalt contributes to around 40% of end-of-life recycling from car batteries alongside many other materials. 

Understandably, there are more things to consider based on these solutions, yet with research and initiative from manufacturing companies, the need to mine and continuously damage the environment through it can be mitigated significantly.

References: 

Johnny Harris, The Dark Side of Electric Cars, <https://youtu.be/2_T5DgsO0jc>

Something’s in the Water…

Throughout the years, anyone has probably already heard that we are in a state of global crisis when it comes to the sheer matter that is Pollution. According to the Marine and Ocean pollution Statistics and Facts 2020-2021 from Condor Ferries, 100 million marine animals die each year from plastic alone. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the surface area of Texas wherein it outnumbers sea life by 6 to 1. This garbage patch is a floating pile of rubbish in the ocean that contains roughly 80,000 metric tons of plastic. 

Human Life Harm

If you think we, humans, are not affected. You might need to rethink. When we try to wrap our minds around the destruction we are inflicting on our oceans, it can be overwhelmingly distressing. It is perceivable that man needs a harmonious relationship with our earth’s oceans. The fact that 70%  of the oxygen that we breathe is directly sourced and created by marine plants and 30% of our CO2 emissions are absorbed by our oceans, our waste disposal greatly influences the toxicity of its ecosystem and wildlife, as stated by Condor Ferries. To a greater degree of human life harm– all the waste and garbage thrown can cause varieties of severe health issues for us. This kind of problem may cause damage to our kidneys, hormonal, and reproductive systems. 

Image

Marine life damages

Now, if this marine crisis causes immense damage already to human life, what more to our marine animals and lifeforms in the oceans? 50% of turtles are afflicted by plastics and waste, thus damaging their digestive systems when consumed– thinking as if it were food. 705,000 tons of fishing nets are thrown into the oceans leaving mammals, fish, and other marine animals trapped. These are only a few mentioned out of thousands of damages. We may be extremely affected by marine pollution, but these marine animals are more affected tenfold.  

A rise in Tech Solutions 

Though it may feel like we’re fighting a losing battle, the awareness is growing and the discourse is changing. Take, for example, the power of satellite technology used by NASA to locate concentrations of ocean plastic. This technology was originally used to predict hurricane activity but has since been in use to locate ocean waste alongside it. Another would be the use of currently experimental nanotechnology that utilizes magnetic coils. This technology allows these magnetic coils to break down microplastics without harming marine life. 

Another tech innovation is Plastic Fischer, a German-based company that developed several projects to prevent ocean plastic and increase environmental responsibility. One of their projects called “TrashBoom” developed in 2019 is a swimming barrier that halts a vast majority of floating garbage waste in rivers. There are hundreds of innovative projects similar to the aforementioned above, that aim to reduce plastic and garbage waste that harms our oceans and marine life in every possible way.

Now, with the rise of the tech era, we can develop advanced ways to contemporize old determinations with new ones. There are specific solutions we have applied in restoring our lands and waters, it may not cover half of the wreckage that we have made, but it is more than enough to kick start anew.

References: 

-Condor Ferries, Ultimate Roundup of Marine Pollution Facts: The Causes and Impact on both Marine and Human Life., <https://www.condorferries.co.uk/marine-ocean-pollution-statistics-facts#:~:text=An%20estimated%208%20Million%20tons,15%25%20lands%20on%20our%20beaches>

-We Forum, How Technology can Help us stop Marin Plastic Pollution, <https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/03/how-technology-can-help-us-stop-marine-plastic-pollution/>

-Lewis,  J., Scientific Solutions to Plastic Pollution, <https://earth.org/scientific-solutions-to-plastic-pollution/>

Subscribe to our newsletter

By entering your email address, you will receive promotional updates, relevant content, products and services from Knovo. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. View privacy policy.