Obtain.WS – Environment

The skyscraper in the photo above, which looks like dozens of soapy bubbles stacked one on top of another, got a special mention in the 2010 eVolo Skyscraper competition for designers Design Crew for Architecture.

According to the design brief, “There is only about 1% left of liquid freshwater and the UNO and the World Water Council estimates there might be a crisis affecting half the worldwide population by 2030.” The bubble skyscraper is capable of making freshwater efficiently and sustainably using a series of bubbles filled with water-filtering mangroves.

The freshwater factory is proposed not for the city but for the Almeria province of Spain for its sunny weather and favourable growing conditions; the building would house a freshwater factory filled with mangroves that would convert saltwater into drinking water which could then be used to grow food crops.

In order to facilitate water purification, the tower will be made up of several circular tanks filled with brackish water which will be enclosed in spherical greenhouses. The brackish water will be brought up into the tower using tidal powered pumps and circulate through the mangrove plants, which have the unique ability to thrive on brackish water and perspire freshwater.

The freshwater sweat then evaporates and condensates into dew on wall of the greenhouse and is collected in a freshwater tank. The resulting freshwater can then be distributed to the fields using gravitational flow. One hectare of mangroves should be able to produce 30,000 litres of freshwater a day according to the designers.

Design Crew for Architecture

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed an environmentally friendly public transport system that uses a “recharging road” to power up vehicles. Vehicles suck power magnetically from buried electric strips.

The system towing three buses, went into service at an amusement park in southern Seoul, where the mayor of Seoul and the president of KAIST joined other guests on a 2.2-kilometer (1.4-mile) ride around the zoo at Seoul Grand Park.

Named the Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV), the system requires a battery that is only one-fifth the size of conventional electric vehicles and so major recharging is not required. It also eliminates the use of overhead wires used to power conventional trams or trolley buses. After the success of the prototype, it is now going to be tried out on a bus route in the capital.

Following my previous post about Prem Rawat speaking in Santa Monica, you can now watch the talk on live stream today and tomorrow (March 11th & 12th).

Prem Rawat spoke in Santa Monica, California last Saturday and with less than a week’s notice, the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium was filled with attendees from the local area, TV audiences and people interested in learning more about his message of peace.

To find out more about the Words of Peace Global LiveStream broadcast, please follow this link.

Since the earthquake in Haiti, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has provided food assistance to close to 4 million people in Port-au-Prince and beyond. Here are four women in the capital who each wanted to say thank you to WFP and its donors for the food they have received.

“People often ask: What can be done to defeat hunger? My answer is simple: empower women, because women are the secret weapon to fight hunger.” - World Food Programme Executive Director Josette Sheeran

Some 60 percent of the world’s chronically hungry people are women and girls. This is because women often have unequal access to resources, education and income, and because they participate less in decision-making.

And when hunger and under-nutrition affect women, they also affect their children. More than 19 million children are born annually with low birth weight, often the result of their mothers receiving inadequate nutrition before and during pregnancy.

Today, on the International Women’s Day, you can send your message of solidarity through the World Food Programme by clicking on the banner at the top of this post.