Category Archives: Sustainability

World Economic Forum: Top Stories – Oct 21, 2022

World Economic Forum – Top Stories of the Week:

00:16 Why more people than ever are short-sighted – The trend is worst in children and young adults, and half the world’s population could be short sighted by 2050.

01:37 Six species saved from extinction – Recent ecosystem restorations have rescued some species from the brink of extinction.

03:30 You could soon 3D-print furniture at home – Scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed a new wood-based ink that can be used for making 3d printed furniture

04:48 How Dark Data Affects Your Carbon Footprint -Companies generate 3.5 trillion gigabytes of dark data every day. But what is dark data?

The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

World Economic Forum: Top Stories Of The Week

World Economic Forum ‘Stories of the Week’ for October 14, 2022:

00:15 How a Chinese village eradicated poverty – In 2017, nearly a third of villagers lived below the poverty line. Here’s how one the project saw poverty drop from 28% to zero in just 3 years.

02:28 New mosquito repellent – From 2015 to 2019, dengue fever cases in Southeast Asia rose by 46%. This new repellent may be the answer.

03:35 Australia to end species extinction – More than one in ten species have gone extinct in the past 200 years. The Australian government is now taking steps to prevent further extinctions.

05:12 Firefighters’ AI helmet – The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service trialled the helmet which could help them better locate victims and teammates in firefighting situations.

The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

East Africa Views: Makuzi Beach Eco Lodge, Malawi

Located on the shores of Lake Malawi, Africa’s third largest lake, Makuzi Beach Lodge is secluded, isolated and offers fantastic views of the water. Guests’ meals are cooked with ingredients from the lodge’s huge garden — or from the lake on the doorstep. With concepts like this, eco-friendly and sustainable tourism is being promoted in Africa.

Malawi, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, is defined by its topography of highlands split by the Great Rift Valley and enormous Lake Malawi. The lake’s southern end falls within Lake Malawi National Park – sheltering diverse wildlife from colorful fish to baboons – and its clear waters are popular for diving and boating. Peninsular Cape Maclear is known for its beach resorts.

Drought: How Las Vegas Conserves So Much Water

As severe drought in the West forces states to make drastic water cuts, Las Vegas offers a road map to making the most out of every drop of water. Since 2002, Southern Nevada has cut its Colorado River water use by 26% while its population has grown by 750,000.

Architecture/Design: enki Magazine – November 2022

enki Magazine – Novemver 2022

Treehotel adds Biosphere retreat | Enclosed in 350 birdhouses

Treehotel has revealed its eighth experimental retreat called Biosphere, which is suspended between two trees and wrapped in a façade of 350 birdhouses. 

Designed by BIG in collaboration with Swedish ornithologist Ulf Öhman, the boutique hotel room is designed to immerse guests in nature and to help facilitate the conservation of the local bird population. The 34-square-metre glazed cube is surrounded by a metal grid that supports the timber-made birdhouses of various sizes, and creates its spherical form. 

World Economic Forum: Top Stories (Oct 7, 2022)

World Economic Forum top stories of the week: 0:15 – The World’s First flying 3D printer 01:32 – Your outer circle of friends is more important for your career than you think 02:47 – How high interest rates lower inflation 04:47 – This Swedish start up has developed an electric passenger plane

World Economic Forum: “Top Stories Of The Week”

Top Stories of the Week (September 30, 2022) include:

0.15 – China’s trackless trams 01:39 – Germany and Denmark are building the world’s longest undersea tunnel 03:12 Students in the Netherlands have built an electric car that captures carbon 04:09 This tower turns sunlight and air into clean jet fuel

Urban Planning: Will The Cities Of The Future Float?

A new industry of floating infrastructure is emerging to help adapt to rising sea levels. There are two distinct approaches that are being put forth as possible solutions: retrofitting homes to be amphibious and building floating cities.

Amphibious homes can preserve the accessibility of the house and maintain the congenial front porch culture in places like Louisiana, said Elizabeth English, founder and director of The Buoyant Foundation Project. English’s design places a steel frame beneath a house, and then below that, in the crawl space, buoyancy elements. Her team then recommends adding elements to prevent lateral movement so the home will not float away while on the surface of floodwaters.

She estimated that a contractor could do such a retrofit for about $20 to $30 per square foot, but cautioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency currently discourages this type of building practice. Modern floating cities are the brainchild of architect Bjarke Ingels. He told CNBC he hopes his Oceanix City, which is currently slated to be built in the harbor near Busan,

South Korea, will be “a city that is the most resilient city you can imagine, but at the same time, the most enjoyable city that you can imagine.” “We really hope that it will be a successful project and we would like to replicate it in other parts of the world,” Maimunah Mohd Sharif, executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, told CNBC of the Oceanix development.

She said the world must look more into adaptation and hopes that the project can help mitigate or even solve the problem of sea-level rise. Would you live in a floating city or retrofit your home so it floats during floods? Watch the video above to learn more about what life could be like in these innovative climate change adaptations.

World Economic Forum: ‘Top Stories Of The Week’

Top stories of the week of September 23, 2022 from the World Economic Forum:

Video timeline: 0:15 Could These Solar Panel Windows Be The Future Of Green Energy? – If deployed on a large scale, Ubiquitous Energy says the windows could transform solar capacity worldwide. 01:33 What Would A Post-Economic Growth World Look Like? – ‘What is the type of growth that the world needs? And what is the type of de-growth we need?’ asks Tariq Al-Olaimy, Social Entrepreneur and Global Shapers Alumni. 04:41 Clean energy jobs boom – Green energy jobs in wind and solar are more available than fossil fuel jobs for the first time 05:57 Is your smartphone making you less smart? – Not according to scientists

Droughts: Fixing Water Waste On American Farms

The western U.S. is experience a megadrought so severe, it is the driest two decades in at least 1,200 years. And no sector has felt the impact more than agriculture, which takes up about 70% of the world’s freshwater. With water resources becoming more scarce, several companies are working to improve irrigation efficiency and help sustain food production in a future where extreme climate may be more common.

Chapters: Ch. 1: 2:08 The West’s drought Ch. 2 4:48 Water in agriculture Ch. 3 8:02 Smarter irrigation Ch. 4 11:08 Indoor farming Ch. 5 13:11 Future technologies