Plastics to virgin materials
Plastics are wonderful materials; as far as their functionalities in direct use are concerned. But in many cases, they are a headache in the waste phase. For a long time, … Read more
The treeline, witness to climate change
Ben Rawlence’s book The Treeline makes us aware of our dangerous path as mankind. The climate is heating up and therefore the Northern treeline moves towards the North Pole. Ben … Read more
Towards new agricultural practices
George Monbiot published a new book, Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet. He is the much acclaimed and (to some) controversial author who criticizes modern agricultural practices. In … Read more
Difficulties in lignin valorization
Lignin valorization has become a top technological challenge. Lignin is one of the three main components of wood, the ubiquitous and carbon capturing resource. The other two are cellulose and … Read more
Project revisited: towards bionylon
Some projects develop slowly but steadily. One of them is the project towards bionylon. We wrote about this in 2014 already. Genomatica, based in San Diego (USA) was the driving … Read more
Graphene in concrete
Applications of graphene, that wonderful material, multiply all the time. The latest news concerns its application in concrete. Adding graphene to concrete can render it extremely strong and much more … Read more
Plastic eating organisms
How do we get rid of the growing amount of plastic waste in the world? On a macro scale, The Ocean Cleanup tries to accomplish that: by removing plastic from … Read more
The legacy of Charles Darwin
This year marks the 140th anniversary of the death of Charles Darwin. And the 163rd anniversary of the publication of his book The Origin of Species. Darwin is the most … Read more
The continuing struggle to control weeds
An article in Chemical and Engineering News calls our attention to the struggle to control weeds. Will we be able to control weeds in the future? Will the EU, that … Read more
Local optimization, against congestion on the grid
In the Netherlands, Amsterdam suffers from congestion on the grid. As do other locations. Sustainable energy projects are stalled because of it. New business projects suffer the same fate. The … Read more
Vegetable-based fur
Fur is one of the most difficult textiles to imitate. It also meets with a lot of resistance because its production requires killing animals. But Bio Market Insights now reports … Read more
After lithium-ion batteries: sodium-ion batteries
Until quite recently, lithium-ion batteries were supposed to be the pinnacle of battery technology. These devices would allow the electrification of transport, and indeed of much of the entire world. … Read more
Wood conservation
Wood conservation is a necessary and noble art. In itself, wood is an excellent construction material: in ample supply, often locally sourced, easy to process; its production requires little energy. … Read more
Strong climate policy or freedom to consumers?
A recent article in The Conversation shows the undesirable results of a climate policy that lends its ears to public opinion. For consumers are at odds with themselves – in … Read more
Addressing climate change with self-fertilizing crops
MIT in Boston (UsA) is one of the scientific centres developing initiatives to stop climate change. On April 11, it announced five flagship projects in its Climate Grand Challenges. Among … Read more
Thermal batteries that store solar and wind power
Thermal batteries are yet another way to store an excess of solar and wind power. According to the laws of physics, they would seem to incur major energy losses. But … Read more
Iron powder as an energy carrier
The contours of the future energy system haven’t yet been drawn with great precision. Solar and wind energies lie at its foundation. But these come with their problems: at times … Read more
Ten times as much solar energy
There are many reasons for use of more solar energy. Most importantly, the climate. Moreover, the world needs to scale down its use of gas and oil quickly. More solar … Read more
Chemistry vs. bacteria, # 68. Limits to healthcare
An urgent (but often forgotten) issue in our society is that of the limits to healthcare. Its costs have been on the rise for quite some time now – just … Read more
Against desertification
Each year, planet Earth loses 13 million hectares (32 million acres) of forest. Since 1960, more than half of all tropical forests have disappeared. Particularly because of logging in the … Read more
Chemistry vs. bacteria, # 67. Technological development, major changes
The most important factor continuously propelling and changing society is technological development. Karl Marx would have been delighted to see that present-day society is still characterized by the relationship between … Read more
Towards methane mitigation
Methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas. It has 82.5 times more warming potential than CO2 over a 20-year timespan. But fortunately, it lives shortly in the atmosphere: it degrades … Read more
Chemistry vs. bacteria, # 66. The evolutionary arms race
The ‘70s of the past century mark a turning point in the control of toxic microorganisms. Researchers then discover that we will never finally be able to control them. That … Read more
Chemistry vs. bacteria, # 65. Limits to human power
In 64 episodes, we painted a picture of mankind gradually getting the upper hand over infectious diseases with the aid of its chemical knowledge. And of the limits to this … Read more
Seaweed, a versatile crop
Seaweed has many applications. It is processed to food additives and mock meat products. It is used in additives in the food of chickens, pigs, cows, pets and horses. As … Read more
Chemistry vs. bacteria, # 62. Herbal medicine
From times immemorial, mankind has swallowed or applied herbs as medicines. Herbal medicine has now moved into the background, maybe even become obsolete. But problems like resistance revive this branch … Read more
A plant-based diet would have a major impact on climate change
A shift towards a plant-based diet could buy humanity a much needed pause in the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. The plant-based diet and global warming The effects of a … Read more
Are mutation rates constant? Evolution theory still in development
For a long time, biology held that mutation rates are random. Biologists assumed that mutations occur anywhere in the genome, in principle at the same rate everywhere. That some mutations … Read more
Chemistry vs. bacteria, # 60. Herbal antibiotics: garlic
From times immemorial, garlic has not just been looked upon as a food, but as a medicine as well. The well-known clove figures in each old medicinal text, as a … Read more
Low-tech and its benefits for sustainability
Many proponents of sustainability adhere to the idea that the main path to sustainability lies in high-tech solutions. Like electric cars instead of the old ones, that guzzle fossil fuels. … Read more
Market introduction of PHAs
PHAs (polyhydroxy alkanoates) are interesting but difficult plastics. Interesting because they are produced in a natural way. From sustainable or waste resources. By microorganisms and not at high temperatures. PHAs … Read more
Chemistry vs. bacteria, # 56. Bacteriophages, almost forgotten, but….
There are no leaders in the world of microorganisms. All creatures have friends and enemies. Some of them are actual living organisms, others are at the intersection of living and … Read more
Fungi for healthy forests
Reforestation is an important instrument in the fight against climate change. Particularly in Europe, planting more trees would increase rainfall and reverse a drying trend. But do we know enough … Read more
Methane emissions cause concern
Almost three years ago, in 2019, we voiced our concern over increased methane emissions. Although then we saw a bright side to this problem: unlike CO2 emissions, methane (CH4) emissions … Read more
Defy death – will they ever succeed?
A number of powerful people has embarked on a mission to defy death. The most recent among these is Jeff Bezos, former CEO of Amazon and one of the five … Read more
Biological crop protection
Biological crop protection is on the rise. In many respects, biologicals are better than chemicals. Generally, they carry low risk for human health and for the environment. Not necessarily harmless … Read more
Microbes that eat plastic pollution
Plastic pollution is everywhere nowadays. Even in the remotest places on earth. A problem that we need to address urgently. But nature may be working hard to help us solve … Read more
The forest as a source of conflict
This month, Science magazine devoted a long article to the ‘forest fight’ that rages in Germany. The debate on how the nation should manage its trees. Storms and drought played … Read more
Solar parks, opportunities and problems
Solar energy is making a breakthrough. Solar panels become cheaper all the time. Therefore, structural problems, like their diluted electricity production, become less important. Even in a country with little … Read more
The myth of pristine nature
We often assume that ecosystems existed in a pristine state when Western researchers first encountered them. But new research now undermines this concept of pristine nature. Ever since mankind existed, … Read more
RethinkX: the new Organizing System
In comparison to most utopian views, RethinkX devotes a lot of attention to the Organizing System required for the transition. It stresses that we cannot just rely on technological innovations. … Read more
RMI: decarbonize fast and profitably
For decades, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) spread the message ‘that the energy transition will happen faster and be less costly than many people think’; in the words of CEO … Read more
Transport as a Service
Modesty is not one of the obvious virtues of the RethinkX authors. The subtitle of their report Rethinking Transportation 2020-2030 (May 2017) reads: ‘the disruption of transportation and the collapse … Read more
The disruption of the cow
The second domestication of plants and animals, the disruption of the cow, and the collapse of industrial livestock farming. Nothing could better sum up the pretension of the RethinkX report … Read more
RethinkX: the essentials
The RethinkX report doesn’t fool around. It starts with a clarion call: ‘We are on the cusp of the fastest, deepest, most consequential transformation of human civilization in history, a … Read more
The RethinkX project
Over the past few years, the RethinkX project has made the case for yet another revolution to come. Based on major leaps forward in many technologies; in particular in the … Read more
Bt eggplant project in Bangladesh revisited
We discussed the Bt eggplant project in Bangladesh in an article by Hans Tramper, 3 years ago. It seemed to be very successful. Recently, professor Anthony Shelton of Cornell University … Read more
Cooperation in living nature
Under the skin we are still Darwinists. Meaning that all living creatures are in a state of competition with each other. The strong drive out the weak, that’s how progress … Read more
A major loss of variety in food crops
A new book by journalist Don Saladino draws our attention to the unification of eating habits across the world. It carries major dangers for our food crops. The genetic variation … Read more
Integration of PV into the economy
Integration of PV into the economy will become the main task in the years to come. Sustainability in the production chain is becoming more important all the time. The advantage … Read more