Sustainable development

Mixed material clothes hard to recycle

If you want to be environmentally friendly, you should in particular avoid buying clothes made of mixed material textiles. The worst offender being the all too common blend of cotton and polyester.

Because while both textiles made out of cotton and the synthetic, plastic fibre polyester are technically recyclable today, the mix of the two in one textile product makes it nigh impossible to recycle.

In addition to the recycling problem, there is also the environmental impact from microplastic – microscopic plastic pieces are continuously shed from the polyester fibres during wear and washing of the clothes – that end up in nature and are virtually undegradable.

In short, there are a multitude of reasons for avoiding clothes that consist of or includes polyester.

Source: BBC Future Planet

Portugal builds hydro battery

As a part of the strive for renewable energy production, Portugal is constructing a new hydro plant that in effect will work as a giant battery.

By utilizing renewable energy from wind, sun, wave and hydro power to pump water up to a giant reservoir during periods of low electricity demand – such as during night time or on weekends – the hydro plant’s water reserve is “reloaded” with water that later can be used in the usual way to produce hydro electricity when needed.

In this way the hydro plant works as a giant battery, storing energy for later use. The technique is not entirely new – similar setups already exist – but for Portugal the new construction will bring the country further on its way to get 80 percent of their energy needs from renewable sources.

Source: ARD Tagesschau

Polish companies eyes small nuclear plants

Two companies controlled by two of Poland’s richest persons are eyeing the possibilities to construct small-scale nuclear reactors (SMRs) as the country continues its plans to use nuclear energy production in order to lower their dependency on coal and gas.

It is the energy company ZE Pak and the chemical company Synthos that are looking into constructing between four and six SMRs at the current coal power plant in Pątnów in central Poland.

Source: Ny Teknik

Berlin’s Tempelhof to remain free

Tempelhof Airport in 2012. Photo: A. Savin

It seems like Berlin’s classic and iconic old airport Tempelhof will remain an oasis in the heart of the German capital after that the people’s movement who wanted to preserve the old airfield area as an open space for the impromptu mixed uses which have developed after the closure of the airport. Among the many activities people now enjoy there are ecological gardening, biking on the abandoned runways and flying kites over the vast open space.

Switzerland investing in solar power

The electricity provider EKZ in the canton of Zürich will build the largest photovoltaic solar power plant in Swetzerland with a projected 9 MW output.

Source: NZZ.ch

The problems with nuclear power

As if the earthquake and the following tsunami were not enough, Japan got into another nightmare with its damaged and apparently out-of-control Fukushima nuclear power plant.

It can of course be argued over the logic in the reasoning to construct nuclear plants in a region that is on the absolute top of the list when it comes to earthquake risks. Japan have naturally not been unaware of the risks involved, but have apparently deemed that in order to provide the electrical energy needed to power the world’s second largest economy the risks were worth taking. It now seems that the safeguards even in such a hightech country have not been sufficient.

It is not the first time the safety of Japan’s nuclear programme has been questioned, or even the first time incidents have cast a shadow on the policies. But this is by far the worst such incident.

The unspeakable population problem?

John Feeney has written on BBC World about the population problem, a problem that is just a little too hot for being a central part in the debates regarding a sustainable development in the future. In reality, the topic is the same as in the days of Thomas Malthus, but maybe the subject is more volatile today than it was back then?

Source: BBC World