Sustainability Weekly
Fridays are for…
Geoengineering, Rare Earth Metals, Desalinization Breakthroughs, and more!
by Alli DiGiacomo
Happy Friday! As the year is coming to an end, Sustainability Magazine released their Top 10 Trends in Sustainability for 2024. Not surprisingly, it is led by AI in the U.S., specifically in smart energy grids, predictive analytics for climate modelling, efficient waste management, autonomous vehicles, and more.
Happening this weekend in NYC on Sunday is the annual Christmas Bird Count, the longest-running community science bird project in the country. This event is an opportunity to contribute to bird conservation efforts while enjoying nature and the beauty of one of New York City's most iconic locations like Central Park. Data collected by participants over the years help ornithologists and conservation biologists study long-term bird populations and decide what conservation action is required to protect birds and the places they need.
Keep reading for more of this week’s sustainability news…
T H I S W E E K ’ S T O P S T O R I E S
THE US IS BUILDING AN EARLY WARNING SYSTEM TO DETECT GEOENGINEERING
In Boulder, Colorado, U.S. government scientists are developing a global alarm system to detect attempts at solar geoengineering, a controversial strategy to combat climate change by releasing aerosols into the stratosphere to reflect sunlight. While solar radiation modification (SRM) could rapidly cool the planet, it carries risks such as disruptions to weather patterns, harm to agriculture, and increased geopolitical tensions. To address these concerns, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) leads an effort to monitor atmospheric aerosols, launching high-altitude balloons globally from locations such as Alaska, Hawaii, New Zealand, and Africa’s Reunion Island. These balloons carry instruments that measure aerosol concentrations at altitudes up to 90,000 feet, establishing a baseline for normal aerosol levels to detect anomalies.
If unusual aerosol levels are identified, NOAA can deploy a highly sensitive sulfur dioxide detector aboard NASA’s WB-57 aircraft to confirm the presence of geoengineering-related particles. An algorithm has been developed to trace aerosol plumes to their source, as well as model the potential climatic impacts of aerosol injections, such as shifts in temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture.
While the system is still new and operates on a small budget of under $1 million annually, it positions the United States at the forefront of geoengineering detection. The initiative will be more successful with more global collaboration, and shows the government’s recognition of the risks of unregulated or unilateral geoengineering efforts.
SCIENTISTS FIND HUGE TROVE OF RARE METALS NEEDED FOR CLEAN ENERGY HIDDEN INSIDE TOXIC COAL WASTE
Scientists have discovered a vast potential source of rare earth elements (REEs) hidden in coal ash, the toxic waste produced by coal-fired power plants. According to research led by the University of Texas at Austin, the U.S. coal ash contains up to 11 million tons of REEs, worth approximately $8.4 billion. This amount is nearly eight times our current domestic reserves, so there is a significant opportunity to meet the surging demand for these metals, which are essential for clean energy technologies like electric vehicles, solar panels, and wind turbines.
Coal ash, stored in landfills and ponds across the U.S., has historically been viewed as an environmental hazard due to its ability to leach contaminants like mercury, arsenic, and lead into waterways and soil. About 70 million tons are generated annually in the U.S., with over 2 billion tons already stockpiled. Now, some researchers see it as a "trash-to-treasure" solution, using a domestic supply of REEs without the need for new mining operations. The U.S. currently imports over 95% of its REEs, primarily from China.
In April 2024, the Biden administration announced $17.5 million in funding to develop methods for extracting REEs from coal and its byproducts, emphasizing the potential for this initiative to strengthen national security, revitalize energy and mining communities, and reduce reliance on foreign REE supplies.
NEW DESALINATION TECHNOLOGY BREAKTHROUGH WILL PROVIDE FRESHWATER TO BILLIONS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE
A groundbreaking advancement in desalination technology promises to provide clean freshwater to billions of people worldwide, addressing a growing global crisis. Published in Advanced Materials, Researchers have developed a method that enables seawater to evaporate faster than freshwater, which was a significant limitation in existing desalination techniques. This was done by incorporating inexpensive clay minerals into a floating photothermal hydrogel evaporator. The team achieved an 18.8% higher evaporation rate for seawater compared to pure water—far surpassing the typical 8% lower rate associated with seawater evaporation. This process is spontaneous during solar evaporation, making it both cost-effective and highly energy-efficient alternative to traditional desalination systems, which are notorious for their high energy consumption and large carbon footprints. The new system is also durable, maintaining performance even after prolonged exposure to seawater, and can be easily integrated into existing desalination infrastructure. With nearly 36% of the world’s population currently experiencing severe freshwater shortages for at least four months annually—a figure projected to rise to 75% by 2050—this technology could transform access to clean water.
MORE IN SUSTAINABILITY NEWS
Are there alternatives to plastics?
“Excessive heat” was the second-highest ranking news topic to be Googled worldwide in 2024. “Hurricane Milton” ranked fourth.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is proposing that the iconic monarch butterfly be listed as a “threatened” species under the Endangered Species Act so that it may be better protected. Monarch numbers have declined 80%-95% in recent decades due to climate change, habitat loss, and insecticide exposure.
Tiktok’s annual carbon footprint is estimated to be about 50 million metric tons of CO2, which, for context, is more than Greece emits in a year.
NOAA’s 2024 Arctic Report Card concluded that the Arctic tundra is now emitting more CO2 than it is absorbing thanks to thawing permafrost and wildfires. This means the tundra is no longer a carbon sink, as it has been for thousands of years, but a carbon source.
Flood protection by mangroves saves $855 billion globally, a report by the World Bank finds.
1,000 endangered turtles saved in historic mission in Bangladesh: 'All the rescued turtles were alive'.
Saudi Arabia is turning arid desert sand into lush blooming soil from compost derived from chicken manure.
President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday rocked the energy world when he promised “fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals” for “Any person or company investing ONE BILLION DOLLARS, OR MORE, in the United States of America,” in a post on Truth Social.
Terradot, a carbon removal startup backed by Google and Microsoft, launched with $60 million in funding. Terradot utilizes enhanced rock weathering (by spreading crushed rock over farmland) to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
Climate art at Miami Art Week