Some companies are returning to an old concept, sail-powered cargo ships, to reduce the amount of carbon used to ship goods across the ocean.
From PBS NewsHour: “Eighty percent of all global trade travels by sea, and the ships carrying those goods account for 3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Now, some shipping companies are taking a new tack as they try to navigate the industry to sustainability on the high seas.”
“As the planet gets hotter, more people use air conditioners to keep cool. Running these takes lots of energy, which means emissions that then further speed up global warming. Rethinking our architecture and using more efficient cooling technologies could help us break this vicious circle.”
Humans’ dependency on concrete has a long history, but concrete carbon emissions from its production it in the 21st has negative impacts on the Earth.
It’s an ancient technology. Roman engineers routinely ground up burnt limestone and volcanic ash around the 2nd or 3rd century BCE to make caementum. Caementum is a powder that would start to harden as soon as it was mixed with water. Fast forward 2,000 years and humanity’s thirst for concrete has exploded, particularly over the last century.
Modern concrete is a 19th-century innovation known as Portland cement. It’s made in energy-intensive kilns that generate more than half a ton of carbon dioxide for every ton of product.
In 2021, concrete carbon emissions accounted for 8 per cent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. While there’s no silver bullet for reducing the environmental impact of creating concrete, research and development is underway to find new approaches that could make a significant difference.
Sources: BBC News, Ars Technica
“A wind catcher is never by itself, but always accompanied by at least one other wind tower on the same building. The Wind catcher catches the wind, which is then funnelled down and will flow throughout the building, the cool air will flow underneath the warm air, and the pressure will push the warm air upwards which then rises and flows throughout another wind tower which in turn releases the warmed up air.”
There are interesting comments posted with this video that are worth checking out.