The third place, which isn’t bad at all, is for Stockholm.
The new ARCADIS Sustainable Cities Index explores the three demands of social (People), environmental (Planet) and economic (Profit) to develop an indicative ranking of 100 of the world’s major cities. Read More
At present, we don’t have to burn fossils fuels anymore. We have all these renewable energy resources that will supply more than enough energy for current and future energy demands. Read More
The City of Los Angeles took a significant step toward realizing its global leadership potential. Mayor Garcetti released LA’s first-ever urban sustainability plan: the pLAn.
LA City Council members Paul Krekorian and Mike Bonin coauthored legislation for a fast route to 100% renewables for LA. With an appreciative nod from the Sierra Club, the news reported at 11district.comfollows:
“LADWP is on the verge of making significant investments in its infrastructure, and with that 100-year-old power system in need of significant upgrades, the city has an opportunity to re-create its utility in a way that recognizes the potential for a fossil-free future, demonstrates global leadership in its commitment to clean energy, and protects ratepayers from the increasing costs of carbon-based fuels.”
Under the current plan, emissions are expected to drop. Under a new plan, they could drop to zero!
Aquion did come up with a breakthrough saltwater battery. It is environmentally friendly, cost effective and has a life cycle way beyond any other battery: up to 5,000 cycles.
The development of sustainable saltwater batteries enters the next level.
The American company Aquion Energy has received $ 33 million extra finance.
Previously, Bill Gates invested in Aquion Energy.
Saltwater conductor
Aquion developed batteries that can store solar and wind energy to serve as backup for times when there is no wind nor sun. Saltwater batteries are not new, but the batteries from Aquion are special because they are using salt water as a conductor, instead of acids or bases.
Aquion has come up with a clever twist on a 200 year old salt water battery technology using:
Activated carbon (anode)
Manganese oxide (cathode)
And basically a salt water electrolyte
They have come up with a breakthrough solution. It is environmentally friendly, cost effective and has a life cycle way beyond any other battery: up to 5,000 cycles
So what’s Aquion’s energy storage innovation?
The startup — which was backed by Bill Gates and VCs like Kleiner Perkins and Foundation Capital — is making a low cost, modular grid battery made from basic materials like sodium and water.
The battery pairs a carbon anode with a sodium-based cathode, and a water-based electrolyte shuttles ions between the two electrodes during charging and discharging.
The technology was developed out of Carnegie Mellon University by founder and chief technology officer Jay Whitacre.
By using basic materials, Aquion is hoping its product is inexpensive enough to disrupt the current grid battery market.
Aquion’s CEO Scott Pearson:
“When the battery has been manufactured at a commercial scale for awhile, the price point of the battery could be $300 per kilowatt hour. That’s about a third of the cost of some of the more expensive lithium ion battery grid products.”
Advantages
Saltwater batteries are tolerant to wide temperature ranges, partial state of charge cycling, and daily deep cycling with minimal degradation.
In addition to the safety and sustainability advantages of using water as electrolyte, another advantage is the thermal mass of the embodied water means that Aquion products neither heat nor cool rapidly. As such, the products can operate in a very wide operating temperature window because they simply take so long to heat and to cool.
The saltwater battery chemistry relies on charge/discharge mechanisms which are unaffected by partial state of charge – these batteries can sit indefinitely at partial, or even no state of charge, without irreversible capacity loss like lead acid batteries.
In June 2016, Aquion Energy has introduced the Aspen 24S, a 24-volt version of its award-winning Aqueous Hybrid Ion (AHI) battery.
The new product is designed for energy-intensive applications that use solar panels, such as off-grid solar-powered LED lighting, as well as small pumps and motors. It is also an ideal drop-in replacement for existing systems using 24-volt lead-acid batteries.
Baltasar Garzón and Polly Higgins are proclaiming that a fifth international crime should be added to these very serious violations of international law: Ecocide
Should destruction of the earth be recognized as a crime against humanity? Polly Higgins thinks so, and presents herself as a lawyer of the earth.
Polly Higgens leads the global campaign for making Ecocide the 5th Crime Against Peace at the United Nations’ International Criminal Court. Why? It will put eco-criminal CEOs, politicians an investors into jail. That’s big!
Protest Greenpeace ‘Save the Arctic’ with LEGO For the last few years Shell has been using LEGOs brand to clean up its image as an Arctic oil driller. 16 million Shell branded LEGO sets have been sold or given away at petrol stations in 26 countries.
Shell has surprised the world, ceasing the oil exploration in the Chukchi Sea above Alaska.
The decision was announced last Monday at 7 am: the last day of the exploration permit in the Arctic.
The decision has been made by 3 arguments:
very disappointing results of exploratory drilling
low oil prices
‘uncertainties’ from future governments and lawmakers
The last two sound the most convincing. The first argument ain’t. What’s going on?
Committing to the people in Haiti, who are still living in tents feels ah-mazing.
Seldom I have seen people so grateful with a small contribution. I’m honest. Slightly less than 10 dollars. For a lot of StartUps this is normal nowadays. This one not. Class!
The Mobile Factory transforms rubble into Lego building blocks. The blocks allow victims of war or natural disasters to construct their own new, earthquake proof houses, and rebuild the communities they lost.And they need your support. Today! Read More
During the summer periods, this sea is regularly free of ice, but the storm frequency has increased and the wave activity has increased by the melting of the sea ice. Read More
The idea is simple: create a car-free street for two months and let the people decide what to do with the space
For a period of two months, 25 streets in Ghent (Belgium) are transformed to the perfect play ground for kids.
The streets are closed to traffic.
The asphalt is covered with a green carpet. Neighbors made scattered tables and benches with wooden pallets. Street Live is returning, and even the opponents are turning – slowly.
Nowadays the traffic is too dangerous and parents are too afraid to let the children play outside.
In this Living Street, kids can play outside again.
Greenpeace activists also targeted Legoland in Windsor by dressing as Lego figures, while the campaign video, entitled “Everything is not awesome” attracted 5.9m views.
Lego will not renew its marketing contract with Shell after coming under sustained pressure from Greenpeace to end a partnership that dates to the 1960s. Read More
The world we want in 2050: a green, inclusive and regenerative economy
A network of engaged people from all over the word, in all sectors have together formulated some aspirations for what ‘A Safe and Sustainable Future’ may look like.
Here’s a short recap of how we envision the world to look like in 2050.