Photo: ブルーノ via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Amaterasu Railway is a tiny sightseeing train that takes visitors on a 30-minute ride and showcases some beautiful landmarks in the Miyazaki Prefecture. (A highlight includes Japan's highest train bridge, which stands 344 feet tall.) The train itself, however, has some quirky elements that make it a lovable sight in its own right, from its open roof and pink-colored cars to the fact that the conductors blow bubbles along the ride. Now, it has added an even more interesting feature. It has ditched regular fuel to run on a particular kind of biodiesel made, among other delicacies, from leftover ramen broth. It leaves a delicious aroma in the air and is less damaging to the mountainous landscapes and rice fields that it travels through.

Biodiesel refers to fuel for diesel engines made from vegetable oil or animal fat and offers an alternative to fossil fuels. In regions such as the U.S. and Europe, biodiesel has been produced with vegetable oil from rapeseed, canola, or soybeans, while the Japanese industry avoids competing with food producers for resources and turns to waste cooking oil or even food leftovers.

For the switch, the Amaterasu Railway partnered with Nishida Logistics, a transportation company from the neighboring Fukuoka Prefecture that has pioneered a handful of biodiesel types for its truck fleet. As for the biodiesel that is used by this train, 90% originates from tempura oil and other cooking oils, while 10% is from tonkotsu ramen broth. Its resources come from local restaurants. To transform this fatty broth into biodiesel, the company separates lard from leftover pork bone soup and then refines it using a special method that avoids hardening. The only downside of this biodiesel is that it can only be stored for a couple of months at the most before oxidation begins to tamper its efficiency.

The first test drives took place last July. The biodiesel fuel was able to power the train, which comprised two wagons and the weight of up to 60 passengers, with no issue—even on an uphill stretch. Although regular replacement of the fuel filter is required, the cost is said to be about the same as conventional fuel. Moreover, the delicious smell left by the burnt biodiesel has visitors asking the train conductors if there is a restaurant nearby.

The Amaterasu Railway is a tiny scenic train that has ditched regular fuel to run on a particular kind of biodiesel made, among other delicacies, from leftover ramen broth.

To transform this fatty broth into biodiesel, the company separates lard from leftover pork bone soup and then refines it using a special method that avoids hardening.

h/t: [Spoon Tamago]

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READ: This Japanese Train Ditched Conventional Fuel and Now Runs on Leftover Ramen Broth

Photo: Screenshot from Reddit

Throughout the history of humankind, people have had to make do with their resources as a means of survival. This led to the creation of techniques to maximize food or take care of their health—which now look archaic when compared to contemporary solutions. A good example of this is water filtration. Despite sounding like a modern concept, a Mayan water filtration system from hundreds of years ago was recently uncovered. Now, a viral TikTok video has spotlighted an old filtration technique from the desert regions of the Middle East.

The video was first shared by blogger Muhammad Al Hussainan. The original caption describes the process as water extraction after the rain and sets the stage for the fascinating filtration process that is depicted in the footage.

While a puddle of dirty rainwater in the middle of the desert sounds like a less-than-ideal source of water, one of the men in the video suggests that it can be used to make coffee and proceeds to explain how the soil is a natural filter. He then goes on to pour the water outside of the original puddle and let it flow back in, explaining that it works as having a little cistern. This way, the sediments catch the particles mixed in the water.

Slowly but surely, the man gathers the dirty water using a bottle. As the recycled liquids start coming through again, it appears increasingly clean, ending up with a pool of crystal clear water. “Who would have that this was the dirty water looking like this? Now we can make coffee” reacts the man taking the video. “You can get coffee or make anything else,” replies another.

Although the water seems ready to go, the fact they are making coffee seems to suggest an additional boiling process to get rid of bacteria. However, the fact that plain rainwater can be filtered in the middle of the desert is a resourceful—and life-saving—piece of knowledge. It has likely helped many people over time, especially in one of the warmest regions on the planet, where temperatures of up to 130 º F have been recorded.

A video shared by blogger Muhammad Al Hussainan has spotlighted an old filtration technique from the desert regions of the Middle East.

Photo: Screenshot from Reddit

You can watch the video with English subtitles below.

h/t: [Reddit]

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The Copenhagen International School building in Denmark, features 12,000 blue-hued but transparent solar panels with DSC technology. (Photo: ALEXANDER2323/Depositphotos)

Solar energy is the future. In an ideal world, solar panels line rooftops, and the Sun's energy is stored in advanced replenishing batteries. But what about all that sunlight that comes streaming in through our windows? Modern technology can harvest that too. Grätzel cells, or dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), are a modern wonder. Looking like stained glass, these colorful windows harvest ambient light. This technology has taken a recent leap forward, as announced in Nature, to capture the entire visible light spectrum.

Researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland have set about improving DSC technology. Standard DSC panels feature a photosensitized dye on a semiconductor. A chemical reaction transforms the visible light hitting the panel into energy that can be stored in a battery. DSC technology previously worked with direct sunlight only, but the Swiss researchers were able to create thin film solar panels with transparent photosensitizers. These are molecules that are activated by light and that capture light from the entire visible light spectrum.

“Our findings pave the way for facile access to high-performance DSCs and offer promising prospects for applications as power supply and battery replacement for low-power electronic devices that use ambient light as their energy source,” the authors of the study wrote. In the future, these new DSCs may adorn windows of skyscrapers or even homes as an affordable and versatile solar solution. The SwissTech Convention Center has already had DSC windows since 2012, while the Copenhagen International School in Denmark hosts a whopping 12,000 blue-tinted transparent solar panels. These panels provide half the energy the school needs.

Improving the technology further like the recent discoveries of the researchers will allow further expansion of the technology. Their new molecular design allows 30 percent of ambient solar energy to be harvested. A standard modern solar panel averages 20 percent. The more efficient, the better a solution DSCs will be for a climate-friendly future.

Grätzel cells, or dye-sensitized solar cells, are transparent, often colorful solar panel windows that produce energy.

 

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These new stained glass panels use ambient light to power entire buildings at a low cost.

How a dye-sensitized solar cell works. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

h/t: [EuroNews]

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A kelp forest. (Photo: KGRIFF/Depositphotos)

Seaweed is not just for sushi. While in American grocery stores these oceanic greens are generally relegated to sushi rolls and salted snack packs, seaweed is likely to soon become a more regular feature in our diets. The aquatic plant life—already consumed widely across the world—is a burgeoning industry. Shifting to seaweed agriculture will help combat the climate crisis, fight food insecurity globally, and even uplift communities in need of jobs.

Paul Dobbins, director of seaweed and shellfish farming for WWF U.S., explained, “There is a lack of understanding about how [seaweed] is farmed. How do you create the seed? How do you design and engineer a farm? How do you process it? How do you market it?” The answer will in part depend on the environment, as seaweed can be grown everywhere from the deep cold waters off the coast of New England to warm shallows in Tanzania. Production has been increasing by about eight percent per year. Dobbins notes, “If it continues at that pace seaweed will surpass potato production by around 2051.”

Intensive seaweed farming is already common in Asia, but its expansion elsewhere offers much-needed jobs. Fishermen in the U.S. and Canada who have seen their livelihoods flounder in recent decades can shift their capital and focus to a more sustainable solution. In Zanzibar, Tanzania, 90% of seaweed farmers are women, who make soap and skincare products from the plants. The practice has been a boon to women entrepreneurs facing a shifting climate. While start-up costs and knowledge barriers remain, many organizations across the U.S. are trying to ease entry into this burgeoning field.

Aside from the job opportunities in the industry, seaweed cultivation has incredible potential to stymie climate change. Land-based mass agriculture is brutal on the environment. Fresh water use, methane emissions, and fertilizer run off are all harmful effects of agribusiness. However, seaweed is grown without the need for fresh water. It is also a carbon-negative plant. “Seaweed has all the features required to be classified as a blue carbon habitat and a massive carbon sink,” a recent study announced. One study even found that kelp could sink as much carbon as the Amazon rainforest. While seaweed cannot save the planet on its own, it is a promising step.

Seaweed can also serve as an important food source for those who are or will suffer from food insecurity. Resilient and nutritious, seaweed produces two to 11 times more biomass per unit than corn or wheat. “Seaweed has historically been assigned to the specialty food aisle and, as a result, has remained largely inaccessible to the public” in the United States, says Eliza Harrison, program manager for Ocean Rainforest, which grows seaweed for animal feed, food, and cosmetics. “By exploring alternative applications, such as meat replacement products, seaweed could be incorporated into more familiar foods—thereby increasing consumption within the U.S.”

“We don’t want to make the same mistakes we made in terrestrial farming,” cautions Dobbins. “There’s a lot going for seaweed, but we want to make sure it’s going to be done well.” Increasing access to knowledge and capital, as well as changing Western food habits, may take time. However, seaweed's increasing popularity in recent years should indicate a market ready for new, more sustainable—and arguably delicious—tastes.

Seaweed farming is a growing industry, but it is expected to be even more popular in the future.

Seaweed garden in Zanzibar, Tanzania. (Photo: OLEGDOROSHENKO/Depositphotos)

Seaweed can serve as a carbon sink, is a sustainable food source, and offers jobs for many.

Seaweed farming is an industry that boosts women. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

h/t: [Yahoo Finance]

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In 1955, a six-lane highway in Houston sliced the city's Memorial Park in half—effectively isolating each side of the ecosystem. Now, over 65 years later, that damage will begin to be reversed thanks to a new land bridge designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects. Dozens of species will once again be able to migrate across the nearly 1,500-acre park, which will be the largest urban park in the United States.

The eco-bridge has two massive tunnels that will begin to funnel traffic in February 2023. At that point, the architects will then focus on the surrounding landscape. This includes shaping an appropriate prairie network on the 45 acres that sits on top and surrounds the tunnels. As these types of wildlife bridges have had success around the globe, it's exciting to think of how Houston's land bridge will transform the environment.

The Memorial Park land bridge differs from others in the United States because it not only unites the park but has also been constructed to integrate stormwater management and water quality treatment. The project is an effort that involves many experts aside from the landscape architects. Civil engineers, structural engineers, scientists, fluvial geomorphologists, prairie experts, and urban biologists have all used their expertise to ensure that this infrastructure project will meet the needs of the community while also preserving the environment.

The utmost care was taken in the planning of the bridge, even down to the soil used to cover the tunnels. The soil was harvested from other land projects within Memorial Park, meaning that no earth had to be imported for the bridge. Once the landscape is complete, it will be a thriving Coastal Prairie ecosystem. According to Nelson Byrd Woltz, this ecosystem is one of North America's most endangered.

By selecting soils and deep-rooted Coastal Prairie plants with resiliency and the ability to slow and store stormwater in carefully calibrated channels and wetlands, the bridge and surroundings will provide a healthy environment for wildlife while keeping the area safe.

When the Memorial Park Land Bridge opens in early 2023, it will be the largest land bridge in Texas and begin working its magic to restore this prized urban park's environment.

Houston's soon-to-open Memorial Park Land Bridge will connect two sides of a six-lane highway built in the 1950s.

Experts across multiple disciplines worked to ensure the infrastructure project would also benefit the environment.

The land bridge will not only be a wildlife crossing, but it will allow all park visitors access across the 1,500-acre park.

A Coastal Prairie ecosystem will be cultivated on and around the bridge.

As home to rare species of flora and fauna, Texas' largest land bridge will benefit the community for generations to come.

Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects: Website | Instagram 

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architecture.

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Photo: screenshot from Nant de Drance SA

Solar and wind energy are the future. But both of these renewable, sustainable energy sources are dependent on varying environmental conditions. Where does one store the extra energy produced by solar panels on a summer day or windmills churning as a breeze rips over the ocean? Traditional batteries require minerals that are dangerous and damaging to the Earth. While some researchers are pursuing experimental solutions, the “water battery” is a tried and true method for storing energy. An enormous Swiss water battery project—known as Nant de Drance—is at last operational. It is a glimpse into the future of energy storage.

For the past 14 years, construction crews have been working hard to complete this ambitious project. They began by hollowing out 11 miles of tunnels in the Swiss Alps connecting the reservoirs of Emosson and Vieux Emosson in Valais, Switzerland. Through these tunnels, they dragged building materials to construct an elegant arched dam to retain the upper body of water. Inside, they installed powerful turbines. After years of hard work, the system—Nant de Drance—is now operational. When in use to generate power, the turbines produce 900 MW of power, enough to power 900,000 homes.

So, how does the water battery work? When excess energy needs to be stored, that energy is used to pump water from the lower to the upper reservoir. This is like charging a battery. The water then remains at the top of the system until the energy is needed, where it can store 20 million kWh of energy. The water is then channeled back down, passing through the massive turbines. They spin to “harvest” the stored energy. Simple physics is therefore a powerful solution to the storage problems of renewable energy.

This technology has been used for centuries in Switzerland. You can also find water batteries in other countries, like the U.S. and China. Despite the technological leaps forward in other battery technology, the classic water battery might just be the best—and arguably most beautiful—solution to energy storage problems.

These two reservoirs in the Swiss Alps form a “water battery” which can store 20 million kWh of energy.

Aerial view of the above-ground portions of the “water battery.” (Photo: screenshot from Nant de Drance SA)

The “battery” can store excess energy produced during more active periods of wind and solar harvesting.

Building the dam to create the top reservoir. (Photo: screenshot from Nant de Drance SA)

By releasing water from on high and channeling it through underground turbines, the energy can be released to meet higher demand.

How the water battery stores and releases energy. (Photo: screenshot from Nant de Drance SA)

This project took 14 years to complete and only recently became operational.

However, the technology of water batteries is a well-established one.

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Photo: eyematrix/Depositphotos

Given the toll that fossil fuels, gas, and coal take on the environment, it's inspiring to see the world become increasingly open to clean energy sources, such as wind and solar power. According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), renewable energy will surpass coal as a source of global electricity by 2025. On top of that, the world will increase its renewable power capacity by 75% over the next five years.

Switching to clean energy sources is key to limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, the goal set by the Paris Agreement to substantially reduce the effects of climate change. Although protecting the environment is a top priority, the momentum renewable energy sources are experiencing has more to do with other factors. According to the IEA, the two major drivers for global renewable energy adoption are low prices and security.

“First, high fossil fuel and electricity prices resulting from the global energy crisis have made renewable power technologies much more economically attractive, and second, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused fossil fuel importers, especially in Europe, to increasingly value the energy security benefits of renewable energy,” the IEA notes in its report.

Despite its causes, the things it has spurred paint a positive outlook. By 2027, global renewable capacity would represent an amount equal to the current power capacity of China, according to the report. Thanks to the latest developments and investments made by governments, the growth projections are 30% more than was expected last year.

Solar power has the most potential of it all, and it alone will surpass natural gas by 2026 and coal by 2027. It accounts for over 60% of all forecast renewable capacity expansion, and breaks new records every year. Together, renewable sources are set to account for over 90% of global electricity expansion over the next five years.

“Renewables were already expanding quickly, but the global energy crisis has kicked them into an extraordinary new phase of even faster growth as countries seek to capitalize on their energy security benefits. The world is set to add as much renewable power in the next 5 years as it did in the previous 20 years,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in a statement. “This is a clear example of how the current energy crisis can be a historic turning point towards a cleaner and more secure energy system.”

Renewable energy will surpass coal as a source of global electricity by 2025, according to a report by the International Energy Agency. On top of that, the world will increase its renewable power capacity by 75% over the next five years.

Photo: Goodluz/Depositphotos

Switching to clean energy sources is key to limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, the goal set by the Paris Agreement to substantially reduce the effects of climate change.

Photo: chungking/Depositphotos

International Energy Agency: Website | Instagram | Facebook
h/t: [PV Magazine]

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Photo: fenkieandreas/Depositphotos

In a landmark victory for the planet, over 190 countries agreed to a sweeping agreement to protect 30% of Earth’s land and water by 2030. The historic deal was announced at the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD-COP 15) in Montreal.

The pledge comes after these countries agreed to adopt the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) on the final day of negotiations. This framework includes 23 environmental targets that are intended to curb biodiversity loss, restore ecosystems, reverse nature loss, and protect Indigenous rights.

According to The New York Times, only about 17% of the planet’s land and roughly 8% of its oceans are protected. This includes special measures to restrict industries that can harm the ecosystem, such as fishing, mining, and farming. The 30×30 target, as it's called in the framework, will significantly boost the land and water that is protected globally.

Importantly, the framework specifies that Indigenous people who call these lands home should not be displaced to create protected lands. There has been an unfortunate history of displacement in the name of land protection and watchdog groups will be on high alert to see if the framework, once applied, is as inclusive of Indigenous people as it claims.

Other targets in the framework include cutting global food waste in half, preventing the introduction of alien invasive species, and reducing to near zero the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance.

Photo: UN Biodiversity via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

The only two countries in the world that did not sign the agreement are the United States and the Vatican. While scientists have long urged the U.S. to join the convention, President Biden showed his commitment to the environment by appointing a special biodiversity envoy. And the 30×30 target is part of President Biden's domestic agenda as part of the America the Beautiful initiative.

Negotiations for the framework took the full two weeks of the conference. Part of this was due to part of the proposal that includes an increase in financing for developing countries. Once this sticking point was resolved, things could move forward.

And while there is some skepticism about whether or not global governments will stick to their promises—the previous 10-year agreement did achieve any of its goals globally—this framework includes more checks and balances. For instance, the framework now includes ways to make the target measurable and to monitor how each country is progressing.

Environmentalists and conservationists around the globe are counting the agreement as a victory. “If more people grasped the pace, severity, and long-term implications of biodiversity loss, the eyes of the world might have been focused on Montreal rather than Qatar over these two weeks,” said Andrew Deutz, director of global policy, institutions and conservation finance for The Nature Conservancy. “Against a backdrop of dramatic ecological declines in the face of human-driven pressures, the world badly needed CBD-COP15 to deliver—and, right at the death, it did just that, scoring a win for people and nature.”

h/t: [NYTimes, The Verge]

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Screenshot: YouTube

Solar and wind energy are critical to a clean, climate-friendly future. Many companies and homeowners in recent years have installed solar panels to trap the sun's energy, while wind farms have sprung up on land and sea to harvest powerful gusts. The French startup Unéole has created a unique wind turbine with solar panels to create a silent, innovative, and integrated clean energy system that offers 40% more energy than solar alone.

The cube-like device is made of recycled metal materials and ideally crafted near the building on the roof where it will sit. A row of wind turbines is beneath a platform of solar panels. Working with specialized a designer, ESER, Unéole adapts its turbines to all types of flat roofs of an area of 1,615 square feet or more. Algorithms choose how many turbines and panels will produce optimal energy at a given site.

Currently, a test device is installed above the CD2e LumiWatt site in Loos-en-Gohelle, Pas-de-Calais, France. Unéole will gauge its success and move forward in production accordingly. Intended for city use, the device improves energy production by 40% over solar alone. When the sun is weak, the wind turbines can pick up the slack. (The same goes for during the winter or the evening.) Best of all, the device is certified as silent by CEREMA, a French agency that tested for electromagnetic waves which might cause issues.

While these turbine devices are not yet ready for your rooftop, they offer one more way to shift to a sustainable future.

French startup Unéole has created a wind turbine with solar panels to create a silent, innovative, and integrated clean energy system.

h/t: [designboom]

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“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,” lamented Joni Mitchell in her 1970 hit “Big Yellow Taxi.” An anthem dedicated to appreciating nature before it's gone, the words are as relevant 50 years later as when they were first sung. With much of the world very dependent on cars, parking lots fill landscapes around the world. The dark pavement absorbs the Sun's rays, creating heat islands which trap heat in urban areas. As long as the world has as many cars, we will have parking lots. However, a new French law is aiming to harness these hot spots by mandating large lots have solar panel rooftops.

The law, which just passed the French Senate, is part of President Macron's initiative to vastly expand France's wind and solar energy supply. As of July 1, 2023, lots with between 80 and 400 spaces have five years to add solar panels as “roofs” over the parking spaces. Lots with more than 400 spaces must be covered in solar panels within three years. At least 50% of the surface of these large lots must be covered. The largest parking lots in transit and shopping areas will produce the most energy, while historic areas and lots for tall trucks are exempt from the new initiative.

The parking lot panels are expected to generate up to 11 gigawatts of energy. This is equivalent to the power of 10 nuclear reactors. The government is also considering installing solar panels in other unused or creative spaces. SNCF—the French railroad system—plans to load their stations with panels, too. By 2050, the government plans to implemenet 50 new wind farms to further power the nation. While installing solar panels might be a big task—and many of the details are yet to be hammered out—surely this is a step to make Joni Mitchell and any environmentalist smile.

A new French law will require all parking lots for 80 or more cars to have solar panels above the parking spaces.

Photo: DIMARIK/Depositphotos

h/t: [Electrek]

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