Apr
30
Severe drought threatens to run taps dry in Cape Town
How did Cape Town deal with its “Day Zero” water crisis and what can we learn?
Intense drought in South Africa’s Western Cape Province has led the world-renowned city of Cape Town to the brink of “Day Zero”. Day Zero was the date at which residents would be forced to collect strictly rationed water supplies from shared distribution taps. Read More
Apr
18
MVRDV wins competition for landmark public installation in Den Helder with ‘infinite loop’ design
This stunning Seasaw concrete sea defensewill rock back and forth with the tide along the Dutch seashore. MVRDV recently won a competition to design a unique permanent art installation for the scenic coastal Dutch city of Den Helder.
The design, which will rise on a historic dyke north of Amsterdam, is a curvilinear observation platform that twists into an infinite loop perched several feet over the sea. Read More
Mar
1
Vancouver, Canada sources all its electricity from renewables. And it’s done so without increasing household energy bills.
CDP published a new report concluding how much progress cities are making towards a more renewable future:
Jan
4
this is the storm barrier Oosterschelde, the biggest of the storm surge barriers in the Netherlands
For the first time in the Dutch history, water managers decided to close all storm surge barriers in the country:
Nov
11
Recent experiences in the United States demonstrate that new technologies and systems, including mini-grids and the communication and automation technologies that sync them with traditional power sources, can help prevent energy crises like the one being experienced in Puerto Rico
When we talk about renewable energy sources like solar and wind we need appropriate forecasting as it can affect the grid integrated to the solar or wind system as it can lead to frequency fluctuations, along with appropriate forecasting we need to have data for demand and supply in which area and at what time as demand and supply prediction along with appropriate forecasting will be helpful in making a grid resilient.
But grids need more to be resilient.
Nov
5
This revolutionary wind/solar energy tower is 2,235 ft high and 1,200 ft width.
Mexico is making history with this hybrid solar & wind energy tower. Have you ever seen this?
The simplicity of solar/wind energy’s revolutionary solution lies in its ability to harness the natural power of a downdraft created when water is introduced to hot dry air within the confines of the Company’s patented tower structure.
Oct
23
Are we responsible for the climate change?
Are we surely responsible for the climate change? Why is the increase of carbon dioxide really the main problem?
Hard evidence, including studies that use radioactivity to distinguish industrial emissions from natural emissions, shows that the extra gas is coming from human activity.
Sep
30
Is a vegetarian way of consuming really reducing your footprint? Researchers concluded that a plant-based diet is the most effective way to contribute to the climate issue.
They listed four actions that could result in substantial decreases in an individual’s carbon footprint:
For example, living car-free saves about 2.4 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, while eating a plant-based diet saves 0.8 tonnes of CO2 equivalent a year. Read More
Sep
27
Climate Adaption best practices
The United Nations Global Center of Excellence on Climate Adaptation (GCECA), which is opening in the Netherlands, will be based in Rotterdam and Groningen.
The international knowledge center will advise countries, companies and organizations on how to deal with climate change. Read More
Sep
11
Houston, one of the 4 cities that decreases emissions in order to stop climate change
4 major US cities, New York, Houston, Miami and San Francisco, have all taken steps to mitigate the risks associated with rising sea levels and global temperatures.
With the federal government casting off the task of emissions reduction, initiatives are now on cities and states to make up the shortfall. This is what the cities are doing to stave off the threat of climate change. Read More
Aug
24
Damage of water flood in Alexandria after heavy rainfall
A new approach, the Anticipatory Flood Management (AFMA), will be used to make the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria better prepared for severe flooding.
Dutch-based educational institute IHE Delft will lead a project.
The project will serve as an example for many other cities in the Arab region to make the switch from responding to anticipating to a disastrous flood. Read More
Aug
3
In 2015, a heat wave killed thousands of people in Pakistan
If the global warming continues, heat waves will make parts of South Asia in a hell by the end of this century.
A combination of extreme heat and high humidity will take dangerous forms for residents in dense populations in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
This is predicted by American scientists in the scientific magazine Science Advances. Read More
Jun
22
Tiny holes called nanopores, is specially designed to let high volumes of water through but keep salt and other contaminates out
MoS2 Nanopores, developed by the University of Illinois, seems to be an energy-efficient technique for removing salt from seawater. The material, a nanometer-thick sheet of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) riddled with tiny holes called nanopores, is specially designed to let high volumes of water through but keep salt and other contaminates out, a process called desalination. Read More
Mar
16
We install LED lights in our house and then we step with a clear conscience in the aircraft for a holiday in Thailand.
Our brains and hearts are the biggest obstacles towards more sustainability. Technology is not the issue.
That concludes Scientias in an interview with the Norwegian psychologist Per Espen Stoknes. Read More
Mar
15
According to climate researchers, more rain than snow will fall in the Arctic. Moreover, oceans are getting hotter, and they’re also losing oxygen
According to climate researchers in the Netherlands, at the end of this century more rain than snow will fall in the Arctic. It was already known that, due to global warming, up to 60% more precipitation would fall in the Arctic.
The researchers now argue that it mainly involves rain, while scientists always presuppose the precipitation would be snow. Read More
Feb
28
In 1989, the organization changed the design of a drilling platform in order to take account of extreme weather and rising sea levels.
Shell produced a report on global warming called ‘Climate of Concern’ in 1986. In 1991 they made the video documentary for the public. It warned that trends in global temperatures raised serious risks of famines, floods and climate refugees.
But in the quarter century since, Shell has continued to invest heavily in fossil fuels.
Already in the eighties, Shell understood that climate change would affect its own operations. In 1989, the organization changed the design of a drilling platform in order to take account of extreme weather and rising sea levels.
Feb
10
Between the years 1986 and 2006, Toronto experienced not one but eight storms of the magnitude that had been predicted to occur no more than once in a quarter-century. The Finch Avenue Washout was the capper, a one-in-100-years storm for which the city’s infrastructure was woefully under-designed.
The Netherlands is to host a new Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaption (GCEA), set up by the Dutch and Japanese governments in collaboration with the UN environment programme (UNEP).
The centre will advise countries, businesses and organizations on how to adapt their practices to comply with the Paris climate change agreement, which comprises measures designed to keep the global temperature increase below 2 degrees.
Last year it was ratified by 193 countries.
Jan
24
Please mail us your score.
Do you understand global warming? This quiz from the Guardian is a real challenge. What do you know about climate change?
According to a new analysis, which country has the most ambitious pledge at COP21? In this Quiz, you will find the answers. Please share in your network. Read More
Jan
10
Working of the capacity down pipe (1, empty; 2, filling-up; 3, over-flowing; 4; full; 5, drained)
A case study in Manchester with different solutions for water infiltration and retention systems, showed that soak-aways and infiltration trenches are generally less preferred than capacity down pipes, ponds and filter strips.
And this wateringpipe – the capacity downpipe (CDP) – works even better.
It has a very low footprint, can be integrated in water storage systems and retention. And … it is inexpensive. Read More
Jan
6
With Hyperloop One, we will create a new means of transportation, keeping our region at the forefront of transportation technology and innovation
Hyperloop One has signed an agreement with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority that could see the firm’s technology applied in the UAE in a new feasibility study.
The Hyperloop concept is based on the idea of people traveling in autonomous pods from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in just 12 minutes (typically a ~2 hour drive). Read More
Jan
5
Oil Search Yemen Field Flare
Flared gas is a bigger problem than thought. Contrary to what has been agreed with the oil industry, worldwide the industry flared not less, but more gas.
In 2015, about 147 billion cubic meters which is a CO2 footprint of around 350 million tonnes!
The world bank published the figures in a report. Globally, over 16,000 oil wells are flaring gas.
The amount of wasted gas corresponds to the gas consumption of the UK, Germany and Switzerland together. If the gas was burned in a power plant, it could supply the whole of Africa with electricity. Read More
Dec
15
COP climate pledges global warming
COP 21 report overview
Dec
5
The next few decades will be the most rapid period of urban growth in human history, with 2.6 billion additional urban dwellers expected by 2050 (UNPD, 2011). All pleople will need water, but surprisingly little is known globally about where large cities obtain their water or the implication of this infrastructure for the global hydrologic cycle.
More than 2.5 billion people don’t have access to basic levels of fresh water for at least one month each year – a situation growing ever more critical as urban populations expand rapidly
Traditionally, cities, facing increased demand for water, along with variable supply, have relied on large-scale, supply-side infrastructural projects such as dams and reservoirs.
This is termed ‘supply-side’ management. According to Robert Brears in his blog, this supply-side management is out dated.
Its costly in economic, environmental and political terms. Read More
Nov
25
Smart Grid projects Europe including investments 2014
Investing in renewables is increasingly interesting. The rise of renewable energy seems unstoppable.
In 2015, 50% of all energy was already renewable energy. Worldwide! And figures are growing. investment dollars are starting to move to renewable energy.
Even the Rockefeller family sells out of fossil fuels and invests in clean energy. Read More
Nov
24
Trump may disrupt the transition towards renewables, but he can not reverse it. The revolution to clean energy is irreversible.
With Trump as the new president, the world is worrying about the climate damage, he will cause.
Still we hear an increasingly interviews with relativizations.
Jan Rotmans, professor transition science and international authority in the field of transition and sustainability, gave his reaction. Read More
