In rich countries, the urban biorefinery is a much sought after goal, albeit difficult to arrive at. Much sought after because we could solve out waste problem by this concept. Difficult to arrive at because our waste is such a … Read more
It isn’t recognized generally yet, but the combination of solar, wind and batteries can supply the whole world with electricity. Writes RethinkX in its latest newsletter. This is happening already in many parts of the world, part of the year. … Read more
People must eat. The vast majority of what we eat originates from agriculture. But this produces roughly one quarter of global greenhouse emissions. Can we avoid that? Produce synthetic food that comes with much less environmental problems? And if so, … Read more
As researchers succeed in tagging oceanic predators, they discover new facts about the deep sea. Many animals dive very deep, even to where light doesn’t penetrate anymore. It’s indescribable, what they unveil. The pressure, the cold and the dark Knowable … Read more
The Conversation informed us about the negotiations on a global pact on plastic. A penultimate round of negotiations recently ended in Ottawa – the last stage will take place later in November in South Korea. Countries agreed that they should … Read more
Alternative proteins receive more attention. Meaning: proteins not from animal origin. Like vegetal products, and fermentation and artificial meat and fish. Much progress is being made. Major growth On change.inc, Hannah van der Korput recounts that in 2023, companies producing … Read more
On this site, we devoted attention several times to seaweed and seaweed products. Developed among others by The Seaweed Company, an enterprise located in Ireland, Morocco, India and the Netherlands. Recently, the company organized Seaposium ’24. A gathering intended to … Read more
This week, World Bio Market Insights ran an interesting article about bioeconomy and circularity. These are both required for building sustainability into value chains; but they are not identical. Both need to be addressed. Biobased and circularity Biobased materials stem … Read more
This month, Genetic Literacy Project contained an article by its editor, Jon Entine, on sustainable agriculture and its relationship to the use of glyphosate. Interesting to read. With a view on new practices to develop. Green revolution 20th century agriculture … Read more
Water scarcity is becoming an urgent problem in more regions of the world. This presses on industrial facilities, for instance. Many of them need to reduce their water consumption – while safeguarding the level of industrial production, of course. Water … Read more
PFAS is a generic term for a large group of fluor containing organic chemicals. They are being used as water repellents, like in non-stick pans, paper and coatings, packing materials for food, dust repellent sprays and coatings, fire extinguishers, surface … Read more
Knowable Magazine ran an interesting article by Nicola Jones on a forthcoming treaty on plastic pollution. This would tackle the vast amounts of plastic waste discharged to the environment. It is intended to be concluded in the fall of 2024. … Read more
Pressure on the electricity grid is rising all the time, because of increasing local production: solar and wind energy. An increasing number of companies needs to wait for a connection. But there is a solution: a local network comprising solar … Read more
Is the Earth entering a new and more dangerous phase in climate change? Where global heating will accelerate instead of slow down? This may be the case, says Jack Marley in The Conversation. For indicators like global heating, sea-level rise, … Read more
Carbon dioxide is a powerful greenhouse gas. But we can put it to good use as well. Putting CO2 to good use may even reduce the burden of preventing its release to the atmosphere. When it comes to useful applications, … Read more
Boards made from agricultural wastes, are they achievable? Often, mdf and chipboard are made from wood. But Ecoboard has a different approach: it uses agricultural wastes. Boards are a wonderful material. For many purposes, they are strong enough. They consist … Read more
This week, the Dutch magazine Sciencelink ran an article written by Marysa van den Berg on an important new development in disease control. The use of bacteriophages, viruses that kill bacteria. A solution for the problem that an increasing number … Read more
The electricity grid is being overburdened fast. Local production, mainly through solar and wind energy, produces an uneven distribution of demand and supply across the grid. Leading to the need to transport major amounts of electricity across large distances. In … Read more
Plastic consumption is still rising. Versatile compounds! But plastic recycling isn’t well organized. Therefore, the mountain of plastic waste is still growing. The world needs to find a solution to that problem, A subject addressed at Wageningen University. Their goal: … Read more
Phosphorus is essential for life on Earth, says Chris Slootweg on his profile page of the University of Amsterdam. It is an essential element in global agriculture. It plays a prominent role in modern science and technology: organophosphorus compounds have … Read more
Recently, the Dutch site change.inc devoted attention to progress in the production of artificial eggs. Consisting of a number of compounds that approach the natural egg. But then of course, of vegetal origin. Eggs without the chicken, can it be … Read more
At the time of writing, COP28 is still underway. There are serious doubts as to whether the conference will be a success. But it has put agriculture on the stage as one of the determining sectors. Yes, we can supply … Read more
In a previous article, we wondered if the world will continue to produce food in sufficient quantities. What would prevent that? Population growth, increasing meat consumption, climate change, water scarcity and a diminishing agricultural workforce. But an article in Nature … Read more
The threat to global food security is back. The COVID pandemic has had a huge impact. The UN estimate that as many as 811 million people were undernourished in 2020 – around one in 10. And present changes are not … Read more
In a recent series on the invaluable site The conversation, Australian scientists raised the question to what extent we will in the future be able to rely on antibiotics. Resistance to antibiotics is on the rise, all over the world. … Read more
Wind turbines have a bad reputation, particularly in respect of their effect on flying creatures like bats and birds. But new research shows that we can overcome this problem, to a large extent. As told by Katarina Zimmer in Knowable … Read more
The World Health Organization says we’re currently losing to the bugs. Because resistance to antibiotics is increasing; and because there are too few new antibiotics in the pipeline. In The Conversation, Allen Cheng reviews the situation. Antibiotics, a wonderful discovery … Read more
We know that fossil and nuclear energy, and mining of resources, can have most unwanted social effects on local communities. Now this appears to be true for solar projects as well. As is testified to by a Chinese plan for … Read more
After many years of unashamed scepticism, the International Energy Agency finally published a positive report about renewable energy; in their World Energy Outlook 2023. But with a warning: we need to step up in order to restrict global warming to … Read more
Insects as food and feed have a low CO2 footprint, grow quickly, and have rapid reproduction cycle. So says Kees Aarts in the volume Our future proteins, A diversity of perspectives. They easily convert low-value materials into high-quality nutrients. Together … Read more
Proteins are essential to feeding the world. Malnutrition from protein shortage is widespread; ca. 10% of the global population suffers from it. Whereas the world produces more than enough proteins for everyone. But they are unevenly distributed. What can we … Read more
In a first article, we looked into the problem of animal welfare and ammonia emissions in modern cow sheds. Where faeces and urine come into contact with each other. Can we solve this manure problem – while maintaining an economically … Read more
Animal husbandry has a major ammonia problem; in the Netherlands, anyway. Cows are held in barns in which urine and faeces are collected together. This is a perfect mix for a hefty ammonia emission. To the detriment of surrounding nature; … Read more
Recently, we argued that we are near ‘peak energy’. Global energy demand has slowed down a lot; it will probably peak within a few years. But solar and wind energy are in the middle of a take-off. What are the … Read more
The growth of solar and wind power has sparked a debate on how much renewable energy the grid can carry. The more solar we add to the grid, the less valuable it becomes. Can we escape from this dilemma and … Read more
Most carbon dioxide emission policies have a weak spot: they forget emissions from embedded carbon, through decay of products made from fossil sources. Often, policy only has an eye on fuel related emissions and does not take into account secondary … Read more
The invaluable Knowable Magazine recently ran an article by Sandy Ong on plastic eating microorganisms. They might be the solution to a problem that looms for long already but hasn’t been solved so far: the growing pile of plastic waste. … Read more
As a human species, we are caught in a permanent struggle with nature. It disturbs our careful agriculture and grows weeds; they adapt to our herbicides: resistance. Moreover, nature reverts to resistance as we develop smart methods to fight illness. … Read more
The release of CO2 to the atmosphere has become a problem. So much so, that a nonsensical idea like direct air capture (DAC) has attained followers. And is even experimented on by companies. Clearly, the world is in distress when … Read more
In a recent report, nova-Institute made a powerful plea for ‘much more political recognition and support for CCU’. For, as they argue, carbon capture and utilization (CCU) will enable the substitution of fossil carbon in sectors where carbon is necessary. … Read more
One of the avenues researched in the quest for the secrets of life, is the creation of a minimalist life form. What is life in its simplest form? Does it evolve? Does it adapt to its environment? And how did … Read more
The World Health Organization WHO expects antimicrobial resistance to become a persistent problem. A growing number of people develops resistance against antibiotics. In 2050, this might cause an additional 10 million people to die. What can we do to prevent … Read more
The 2021 Biennale in Venice introduced a new concept into architecture: the probiotic design. From the 19th century onwards, architects and housewives tried to keep the interior of our buildings as clean and non-biotic as possible. But recent discoveries have … Read more
The sun doesn’t always shine. Sometimes there is not a breath of wind, sometimes it storms. As we move forward towards sustainable sources in the energy transition, we need to balance better supply and demand. Data are a prerequisite for … Read more
Fermentation has been around for a long time. It is the age-old process that lends us bread, yoghurt, vinegar, tofu, beer and wine. A process that for a long-time embellished life. We now also know precision fermentation: producing compounds by … Read more
Wood is going to return as a construction material. It is no longer the former inflammable material – that could set half a Mediaeval town on fire. It now lends itself to modern, performant and sustainable constructions. Timber construction represents … Read more
The Dutch site sciencelink.net recently devoted its attention to cultured meat. Not 100% vegetarian; for the instruction for meat production must be derived from a code derived from animals. But even so: it has great potential to substitute for ‘animal’ … Read more
Last week, the UNESCO building in Paris hosted a conference on putting an end to plastic waste. Long overdue, according to many delegates. Science Magazine proposed to cap global plastics production – and then reduce it step by step, in … Read more
Nature Communications ran an interesting article on the future of our food system; and specifically on the potential of micro-organisms (bacteria, yeasts, moulds) to develop new foods and food ingredients. Our food system grapples with unsustainable practices, land degradation, and … Read more
Optimistic messages on renewable energy abound. According to a major scientific article, ‘a greener, healthier, and safer global energy system is also likely to be cheaper’. Much cheaper. But official policies and official forecasts still stay on the ‘safe side’. … Read more