Thursday, 24 November 2011

The cost of polluting

The Guardian today claims it costins the government €4-11bn a year in health and environmental damage because of air pollution from industrial practices! Wow.  So what is the solution?  Maybe place stricter policies on industrial emissions, or invest in technologies to scrub out the carbon before it enters the atmosphere, or, oh wait no, just tax it!

Litre of light

Probably the least technologically advanced geoengineering technique I've come across so far - the 'Litre of Light' project started in the Philippines and invented by students at MIT.
It's not really aimed at fixing climate but I liked it anyway - basically it just involves filling a plastic bottle with water, cutting a hole in the roof and putting it inside.Then during daylight hours, light refracts through the bottle and lights up the room!  So simple but very effective, as you can see from the video:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14967535

Obviously it's impractical for communities with access to electricity, but a good way to slightly improve conditions in slums and shanty areas, and it's emissions free!  Maybe we should all live underground...



*p.s if anyone can tell me how to embed the video straight onto the blog I'd be grateful, I'm quite computer retarded