🌳 Forests absorbing CO2, Recycle solid-state batteries, and Artificial reefs in Yemen

Welcome back to the twelfth edition of Sustainability, a weekly newsletter by Interesting Engineering.

Last week, scientists internationally collaborated to develop a model that simulates the depletion of the ozone layer. Despite efforts to heal the ozone layer in the last decade, experts continued to face challenges. After observing the data from the 2019/20 Australian wildfires, they discovered that wildfire-induced aerosols facilitated heterogeneous chemical reactions in the stratosphere, which paradoxically led to both ozone depletion and ozone increase at different atmospheric layers.

This week, a Nature study examined 30 years of data analyzing the role of forests in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They found that forests globally have captured and stored 100 billion tonnes of CO2 in the last three decades. However, deforestation has led to disturbances in the carbon sequestration process, weakening forests' ability to absorb CO2. This prompts the need for action, including better land management and reforestation.

In other developments, scientists continue to hone batteries that leave a more sustainable mark on the environment. For instance, researchers at Penn State University (PSU) revealed a practical and efficient way to recycle solid-state batteries via polymer layers. Meanwhile, in another war-torn part of the world, fish harvesters in Yemen used a DIY approach to devise artificial reefs by sinking scrap materials and tires and placing them into the Red Sea. The DIY reefs attract marine life, encouraging them to form habitats there.

With that, I, Shubhangi Dua, your author for Sustainability, welcome you to the twelfth edition.

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NEWS BULLETIN

• 🔋 Complete recycle of solid-state batteries possible, thanks to polymer layers The recycled battery retained over 92 percent of the original coin cell battery’s discharge capacity.

• 🪸 How Yemenis catch fish with ‘scrap’ reefs using plastic and tires To address the marine life decline along the Red Sea coast in Yemen, fisherpeople have been designing artificial reefs using scrap materials and tires.

• 🐎 Horsepower to poop power: Horse manure better at generating electricity, heat Horses make more poop than cattle and it also energy dense due to higher quality feed uses in horse farms.

• 🌎 61-million-year-old continent found buried beneath Greenland’s ice The proto-microcontinent is located offshore in the western waters of Greenland, specifically in the Davis Strait, which connects the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay.

• 🏘️ Mycoblocks: Mushroom-made homes to fight Namibia’s housing crisis MycoHab has developed mycoblocks – large, solid brown slabs grown from oyster mushroom waste.

• ♨️ World’s 1st cold fusion tech for clean energy generation unveiled in India The heat amplification ratio of 1.5 has been the product’s defining feature during the development process.

• ☀️ World’s 1st dual-tower solar plant unveiled, will make 1.8 billion kWh yearly The 200-meter dual towers have 30,000 mirrors to cover an 800,000-square-meter light-collecting area.

MUST READ

🌳 Forests absorbed 100 billion tonnes of carbon from air in 30 years

In a new Nature study, scientists from across the globe collaborated to investigate the role of forests in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the last 30 years. They found that forests worldwide absorbed roughly 3.5 to 3.6 billion tonnes of carbon yearly. This equated to over 100 billion tonnes of CO2 in the last three decades.

The authors noted that while the overall ability of global forests to sink carbon remained relatively stable in the past 30 years, some major regional differences were observed. Temperate and tropical regrowth forests increased their carbon absorption by 30 percent and 29 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, boreal and tropical intact forests saw 36 percent and 31 percent declines due to disturbances like wildfires and deforestation, respectively.

Now, the scientific community is worried that considerable factors could weaken the forest sink in the future, especially with regard to aging forests. The study noted that older forests' absorption abilities would decrease over time. The reduction in carbon sequestration is likely due to decreased growth rate, higher vulnerability to diseases, pests, environmental stressors, and changes in forest dynamics.

The ongoing deforestation also significantly disturbs the carbon sequestration process, as removing trees ultimately reduces carbon capture and storage capacity. Additionally, deforestation can degrade soil and reduce forest area, further diminishing the carbon sink capacity. Despite the overall stability, tropical deforestation has diminished two-thirds of the potential benefit from forest carbon absorption. The authors noted that better forest protection and management are essential to maintain this crucial carbon sink.

Professor Oliver Phillips, leader of RAINFOR – an Amazon Forest Inventory Network, said in a statement that the carbon sink's extraordinary persistence shows nature's great resilience change so far. "Right now, deforestation, fire, and logging are damaging forests everywhere, but drought is less so. Helping Earth's forests resist climate change means keeping them as intact, healthy, and vibrant ecosystems."

Professor Simon Lewis, leader of the African Tropical Rainforest Observation Network, alluded to undisturbed African tropical forests, such as the vast forests of the Congo Basin, saying they "are making a remarkable contribution to slowing climate change by absorbing carbon from the atmosphere."

Lewis added that formal collective land rights for local people who have a long-term stake in the survival of their forests are needed alongside financial mechanisms to make forests worth more alive than dead." The study was published in the journal - Nature last week [July 17, 2024].

OTHER IMPORTANT UPDATES

• 🐟 Sea creature with human-like hands could be one of world’s most endangered fish

• ✈️ Long-range electric planes, cars could be made of new stable metal batteries

• 🔋 Charge less, power more: Zinc-bromine battery tech hits record 10,000 charge cycles

• ⛽️ Trump’s mate, JD Vance, favors subsidizing gas cars over EVs in policy push

• 🌬️ China installs world’s 1st dual-headed wind turbine to harness hurricane power

• 🌅 Aussie sun to power Singapore: 2671-mile undersea cable, world’s longest, approved

• 🥵 US West prepares for more days of record-breaking heat

• ⏳ Climate change is messing with time more than previously thought, scientists find

🥑 Act to shrink your carbon footprint

Vegan society, a UK-based charity described veganism as a way “a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude – as far as is possible and practicable – all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment.”

Why veganism?

Experts have found the benefits of vegan diet particularly can substantially reduce carbon emissions positively impacting our planet. Last year, a UCLA study ascertained that vegan diets have a smaller carbon footprint in contrast to diets that include red meat and processed foods. The United Nations (UN) Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) also noted that meat and dairy production accounts for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2020. While non profit – Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) reported that a global shift to a plant-based diet could reduce food production-related greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2050.

However, as someone who follows a vegan lifestyle, transparency is one of the most important factors I seek when purchasing products, whether they are food, clothing, or skincare. It can be very taxing and time-consuming to thoroughly research a company before making a purchase. This includes tracking their financial contributions to companies that support sustainable practices and observing their actions to ensure that my money is not being used to harm any living creatures.

So, how do we find sustainable alternatives that ensure ethical standards are met?

Check Certifications

Look for certifications like from organisations such as The Vegan Society, Fairtrade and Soil Association. These are often mentioned on product labels. While complete assurance is difficult to guarantee, these labels do strive to ensure that sourcing and production meet the necessary ethical standards from the ground up.

Using Ethical Vegan & Vegetarian Ratings Table

The Good Shopping Guide also suggests employing there Ethical Vegan & Vegetarian Ratings Table at the beginning especially, This helps an individual attain meticulous insights of a brand’s performance in the areas of – Environment, Animals and People. Additionally, the organisation recommends checking a brand’s independent third-party credentials and awards when looking for proof of ethical claims.

Palm-oil free

Especially when purchasing food productucts, scan the packaging’s ingredients section and ensure that the item is void of palm oil. This is because palm oil plantations are a major driver of deforestation, the rate of which has also elevated recently, leading to climate change, affecting local communities, and biodiversity. Ethical Conusmer, a British not-for-profit publisher, research, political, and campaign organisation noted that around 50 percent of packaged supermarket items contain palm oil.

More to come in the forthcoming edition of Sustainability.