Fire up for a hydro-gen economy

There is hydrogen, then there is green hydrogen, grey hydrogen, blue hydrogen, and even turquoise hydrogen! What? Yes, you read it well. All the color coded names mentioned above are the derivatives of artificially produced hydrogen. So how does hydrogen, mostly known as a component of water (H20) suddenly become an element with varied names?

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the human body and universe, and third most abundant element on earth. On earth it actually exists bonded to other atoms such as oxygen (like in water) and carbon. Despite being a naturally occurring element in the universe, and mostly as a gas, hydrogen needs to be produced to reach viable commercial amounts.

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Only one earth. Remember and do better

There is a quote that says ‘leaders need to be optimists. Their vision is beyond the present’ (Rudy Giulani).

The stakeholders who sat at the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment (1972) must have been acting on this words unawares because they spearheaded an event that would encompass one of the biggest challenges the world faces in the 21st Century. To accentuate this, threats against the environment are one of the top 20 topics that worry individuals according to a 2021 Ipsos survey done in 28 countries (Meyers, 2021). Thanks to the foresighted individuals back then, several policies, innovations and international binding agreements aimed at making the earth cleaner, healthier and safer have stemmed from that meeting first held on Swedish soil.

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Let all wetlands remain wet!

The Convention on Wetlands defines wetlands as ‘areas that are saturated or flooded with water, either permanently or seasonally’.  Inland wetlands include marshes, ponds, lakes, fens, rivers, floodplains and swamps. Coastal wetlands include saltwater marshes, estuaries, mangroves, lagoons, and coral reefs. There are also human-made wetlands, and these include fishponds, rice paddies and salt (Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, 2021).  The World Wetlands Day has always been celebrated on February 2nd every year ever since the first Convention of its kind took place in 1971, at Ramsar, Iran.

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Green architecture: a harmonious cooperation of climate and construction

Green architecture is defined as the style and science of design and construction of buildings in accordance with environmentally friendly principles. Green architecture is the design of buildings that maximizes the benefits available from the immediate natural environment, while minimizing environmental pollution, water and energy consumption. To meet this requirements, green buildings use a number of interventions such as passive solar orientation, shadings, green roofs, green spaces and vertical wall planting systems to maximize on heat, water consumption and cooling efficiency.

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To give rivers their rights – let's first undo our wrongs : International Day of Action for Rivers

This Sunday March 14th, will be marked as the international day of action for rivers. This years theme is “rights of rivers”. Yes, rivers have rights per se. Just you and I have rights to life, clean and healthy environment, right to education, right to justice and so on, so do rivers. There is a common saying that goes, “your rights end where mine begin”. If rivers could speak, how many of their rights would they spew out as having been infringed upon? Many, that cannot be simply washed off—no pun intended. But first, a brief history of the international day of action for rivers. 

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