Good News Notes: “A startup is developing a carbon removal plant in Hawaii, using an “ocean-assisted” carbon removal process. The plant is able to store CO2 permanently and lower ocean acidification. The plant can sell the acid it removes that is produced in a hydrochloric acid formation. The procedure gives out oxygen and hydrogen, while…
Category: ocean
How Israel used innovation to beat its water crisis
Good News Notes: “How did Israel, a country that is more than half desert, frequently hit with drought, and historically cursed by chronic water shortages, become a nation that now produces 20 percent more water than it needs? Water demand from Israel’s rapidly growing population outpaced the supply and natural replenishment of potable water so…
Sightings of vaquita porpoises kindle hope for endangered species’ rescue
Good News Notes: “A group of scientists sighted at least nine vaquita marina porpoises in the upper Gulf of California in late 2021, leading the chairman of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) to declare that there is still hope for the critically endangered species. During a five-day period in October and November, scientists on…
TikTok influencer featured in beach cleanup campaign
Good News Notes: “Visit St. Pete/Clearwater and Keep Pinellas Beautiful have teamed up with local TikTok influencer Caulin Donaldson for a new campaign aimed at getting visitors to pick up their beach trash. “I feel so incredibly grateful that I am the one that gets to spread this message with the county,” said Donaldson, 25. “That we’re working…
Miami Beach ditches Coke, picks Pepsi as plastic-free drink sponsor
Good News Notes: “The city of Miami Beach is breaking up with Coca-Cola as the city’s exclusive water and soft drink sponsor after Coke wouldn’t reduce the plastic packaging for its products. On Wednesday, the city officially announced its new partner — PepsiCo North America — which is committing to a green new deal with…
Microscopic ocean predator with a taste for carbon capture
Good News Notes: “Scientists at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have discovered a new species that has the potential to sequester carbon naturally, even as oceans warm and become more acidic. The microbe, abundant around the world, photosynthesises and releases a carbon-rich exopolymer that attracts and immobilizes other microbes. It then eats some of…
Could wind turbines help to enliven our warming waters?
Good News Notes: Offshore wind is set to move further and further from shore, as demand for renewable energy grows and new floating turbine technology makes deep-water expansion possible. However, for the first time, large areas of the UK continental shelf now open for development are “seasonally stratified”. David Attenborough has described these seasonal seas as some of the…
Amazon and U.S. Department of Energy team up to cut plastic waste
Good News Notes: “Imagine a new technology that breaks down existing plastic materials to create a new, innovative type of material. This new material could then be broken down more easily when recycled—and even biodegrade in natural environments. That scenario does not have to be imaginary. In fact, the mission of the BOTTLE consortium—a key research initiative…
Can shore-based wave power unlock clean, affordable…
Good News Notes: “Many have tried to harness the ocean’s power to generate electricity, resulting in several embarrassing failures and little tangible success. Startup Eco Wave Power hopes to transcend that tempestuous legacy with a radically simple idea: capture the ocean’s energy closer to shore. This approach sacrifices the greater energy potential of larger offshore waves, but…
Europe’s ocean energy installations surge back to pre-Covid levels
Good News Notes: “European installations of tidal and wave energy capacity jumped in 2021, as the ocean energy sector saw deployments revert to pre-pandemic levels and a substantial increase in investment. In figures released Thursday, Ocean Energy Europe said 2.2 megawatts of tidal stream capacity was installed in Europe last year, compared to just 260…