Thousands of developers of artificial intelligence recently asked for a moratorium on its development for half a year. ‘Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be … Read more
The first assessment of solar and wind power performance over 2022 has been published, by independent climate think tank Ember. Both forms of energy production did very well. Together, they accounted for 12% of global electricity production, as opposed to … Read more
Apparently, there is a major obstacle for the energy transition: cost. We don’t always have solar and wind energy at hand, but there always is demand for electricity. Growing, as well – ongoing, as we will install more electric heating … Read more
You might know them – websites and articles with fantastic health claims. But they endlessly postpone the revelation of their ‘secret’. If you are curious, you will be drawn ever more into the story. And always, the revelation of the … Read more
The newest development in artificial intelligence (AI) is called ChatGPT. GPT is the acronym of generative pre-trained transformer. Meaning: a self-learning program fed with large amounts of texts that generates new texts looking just like original ones. What is the … Read more
A recent blog by Nobel prize winner Jennifer Doudna in Wired Magazine explores the power of CRISPR – the discovery that lent her the Nobel prize. Particularly with regards to CRISPR’s power to feed the world. Major challenges ahead for … Read more
Knowable Magazine ran an interesting article by Bob Holmes on meat consumption. Would we stop climate change if we stopped eating meat? Yes, we might – but then, from an environmental point of view there is no need to stop … Read more
Recycling consumer products gets much attention. The circular economy calls upon us to cut down on waste and energy use and to stimulate recycling. Plastic recycling is in vogue. But rubber recycling is almost non-existent. Like recycling car tyres, which … Read more
The site Nature Communications ran a remarkable article about wax worms that break down polyethylene. We read it through The Guardian and the Dutch site change.inc. But, we asked ourselves: isn’t polyethylene completely inert? At most to be dispersed in … Read more
The effect of bioenergy on the climate has had its ups and downs in publicity. It was hailed as a solution for climate change at the turn of the century. Fast-growing crops were going to supply us with much energy. … Read more
Renewable energy continues to grow spectacularly. Investments grow faster than in almost any other economic sector. Prices comes down all the time. It has such a success that a new problem comes to the fore. How do we going to … Read more
We are now three decades into political and research efforts to stop climate change. But we are still in the era of rapid global emissions growth. Since 1990, we emitted more CO2 into the atmosphere than ever before. What is … Read more
Al last, the need to work towards zero-emission construction seems to dawn on the construction trade. Not an easy task, as the volume of building projects around the world is still growing. But at least, some in the branch have … Read more
Plastic pollution is a problem that that begins long before it reaches the environment, and therefore the solution should fulfil the same criterion. Two new European projects develop plastic technologies for that aim. One will produce biodegradable bioplastics; the other … Read more
What policy categories would be most suited for stimulation of sustainable innovation? Innovation subsidies? Taxation of heavily polluting activities? Strict environmental regulation? Empirical evidence shows: strict environmental regulation works best. Best by far, even. And it costs the least. Important … Read more
So far, many analysts expected high-renewable energy scenarios to be beneficial to the global climate; but maybe a bit expensive as well. A recent study argues that this too pessimistic. The green energy transition will in fact be much cheaper … Read more
Solid state batteries are going to provide a new boost to electric driving. They are in full development; but solid state battery-equipped cars will probably not hit the market before 2025. These batteries will have more capacity than lithium-ion batteries … Read more
Profit is important but not our only driving force, says Michiel Vos. He is founder of CocoPallet, a company that produces pallets from the husks of coconuts. We already interviewed him five years ago. His company still exists, and it … Read more
Urban waste is a serious threat to the sustainability of our cities. Essentially, our economic model, as far as private consumption is concerned, is still once-through. Consumers don’t care very much about the ‘end phase’ of their products; and waste … Read more
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, the waste phase used to be of minor importance to … Read more
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 Rawlence travelled along the entire treeline and reports on it. … Read more
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 Regenesis, he develops a vision on what sustainable agriculture could … Read more
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 hemicellulose. Lignin, accounting for 15-30% of woody biomass, is the … Read more
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 force behind the project then, as it is now. After … Read more
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 versatile. This is important because we will need much less … Read more
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 the oceans. But we will also have to try to … Read more
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 influential biologist in history. But his legacy has seen its … Read more
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 wishes to halve the use of agricultural chemicals, come to … Read more
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 solution, according to grid companies? More capacity on the grid! … Read more
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 that the Dutch company Geneus Biotech has grown mink fur … Read more
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. But they have now got competition from sodium-ion batteries. Not … Read more
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. But softwood will quickly deteriorate. It may rot by action … Read more
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 fact, they are just waiting for governments to take the … Read more
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 these, a project Revolutionizing agriculture with low-emissions, resilient crops. Intended … Read more
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 on the other hand, they might be very cheap and … Read more
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 they produce too much, at times too little energy. We … Read more
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 power? We can do that. Even in a densely populated … Read more
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 a bit, each year, but nevertheless. It will have to … Read more
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 tropical rain forests of Brazil and Indonesia. Logging also takes … Read more
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 base and superstructure as he proposed it, almost a century … Read more
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 in 12 years. Therefore, methane mitigation is a key opportunity … Read more
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 we will always find resistance on our path; and that … Read more
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 process, as we now run into the ‘new’ but very … Read more
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 a seaweed-biostimulant it can reinforce the qualities of soils and … Read more
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 of medicine. For instance, careful research into traditional Chinese medicine … Read more
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 phase-out of a meat-based diet would have a major effect … Read more
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 are more successful than others is because harmful mutations are … Read more
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 cure for many conditions. How does this stand up under … Read more
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. We even wrote a book on this ‘green growth’. But … Read more
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 are biodegradable. They have widely varying properties. In many applications, … Read more