One of the strategies for producing clean energy is to do it the way plants do it. Photosynthesis. Imagine! Not only creating energy without pumping any CO2 into the air, but actually consuming CO2 and getting energy in return. Still, it's hard to imagine getting enough energy out of photosynthesis to fuel, say, a car. Plants are quiet, and slow. They can't even read our thoughts! But they are awfully good at making possible the cycle of life on earth. I have to give them that one.
According to a Science Daily article, that's one of the things scientists are working on right now. Their progress is meager; they've managed to stabilize the process of water oxidation, which is just the beginning of a long task list of problems to figure out.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking, just a little bit. Icebergs are melting, and ecosystems people need and rely on are deteriorating. Long term strategies for reducing carbon output are great, but it's also a good time to be looking into how we're taking care of our water resources. We can't necessarily stop global warming before it can do harm, but we've got a bit more control when it comes to polluting and damming the rivers it puts at risk.
(Image by: Paul)
5 comments:
Closing our water systems and putting a heavy emphasis on filtration and recycling might help.
The Magic Schoolbus had previously led me to believe that we already did that.
The Magic Schoolbus lied
Salvaging water from the sewage system... gross, but helpful. Except that antibiotics and other medications are turning up in the water in greater concentrations and can't be cleaned out in traditional ways...
Haven't they developed a few new methods of filtration in the last five years or so?
...I want to say it's possible but expensive and not really done often. I got to visit a sewage treatment plant two years ago and they were kind of worried about it, so.
Oh, here we go.
Some drugs, including widely used cholesterol fighters, tranquilizers and anti-epileptic medications, resist modern drinking water and wastewater treatment processes. Plus, the EPA says there are no sewage treatment systems specifically engineered to remove pharmaceuticals.
One technology, reverse osmosis, removes virtually all pharmaceutical contaminants but is very expensive for large-scale use and leaves several gallons of polluted water for every one that is made drinkable.
Found here:
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=5993653&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.1.1
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