Time to Finetune AI to Keep Animals Safe

07.11.2018

sam-mcghee-151898-unsplash — Photo: Unsplash

As AI-powered drones and self-driving cars slowly come to occupy our cities, a question arises: how will they behave towards the living beings they encounter on the way? While research on human safety has been proliferating, much less attention has been given to the animal kingdom. A new paper in Paladyn Journal of Behavioral Robots explores the issue and suggests some promising ways forward.

The picture of rare drone appearances in public spaces may change drastically within a matter of years as they become providers of numerous delivery services: hot pizzas, emergency medicines, holiday presents or simply anything else below 12-20kg that wants to be transported over short urban distances. But what about birds in the way, say?

Earlier cautionary tales of birds killed by wind turbines have been met with skepticism by many environmentalists, emphasizing the lives saved over the lost ones: clean energy kills many less birds than climate change. Fair enough, yet will this utilitarian maxim prove further useful as AI-powered machines increasingly populate our public air corridors? Will we further challenge animal welfare for more human convenience?

Oliver Bendel, a researcher from the University of Applied Science and Arts in Switzerland working in the field of machine ethics, highlights an urgent need for animal-friendly machines since the ones currently on the market can easily harm, injure and kill animals without any real need to do so. Decisions AI-powered machines make are based on logical trees imbued with moral reasoning of “yes – no” questions for most situations. Currently those decisions are often limited to whether the object is human or not, as well as to protection of the drone itself.

For a different system to emerge, Bendel suggests that decision trees need to accommodate animals and other living beings as well.

Three general examples he describes are self-driving cars that break when witnessing an animal, vacuum-cleaners that avoid bugs (also think of agricultural and forest harvesters) and camera-drones considering the type of animal to avoid disturbing it. Easier said than done, however, because obstacles are many. For example, researchers have for a while been struggling about decisions regarding passenger vs. pedestrian safety in extreme situations, and when it comes to animals vs. humans our moral reasoning won’t be in their favour.

Complexity also arises out of the changing seasons, shifts between day and night, geographical peculiarities and many other factors that may be impossible to predict due to the ever-evolving nature of the living world, which would require “self-learning systems capable of adjusting to the behavior of animals, and correcting and optimizing their behavior to fit the situation”, says Bendel.

While decision-trees for such uses may actually prove quite simple, developing necessary databases and software may prove costly. When no legislation pushes tech companies to behave ethically towards animals, they might not mind avoiding extra costs on a highly competitive market.

With the increasing automation of human lives and manifold applications of AI for environmental monitoring the amount of interactions between technical and natural worlds shall rise dramatically. Thus, the task of protecting animal lives becomes increasingly pertinent and now is the time for tech companies to take actions in the right direction.

Source: Suistanability Times

M&S Launches New ‘Eco Bag’ to Reduce Plastic Waste

06.11.2018

social-plastic-bag-3-_resize — Photo: M&S

Marks & Spencer (M&S) has launched a new eco-shopping bag that helps prevent waste and reduce poverty among people living in Haiti and the Philippines.

Launching in stores on 6th November, the re-usable bag is made from 75% Social Plastic©, which is plastic waste that has been collected and recycled by Plastic Bank, a social enterprise seeking to stop ocean plastic pollution.

Plastic Bank incentivises people in Haiti and the Philippines – two areas highly polluted with plastic – to collect waste and take it to one of 36 recycling centres in return for a wage. Collectors can alternatively exchange waste plastic for blockchain digital tokens that can be used to buy essential goods such as food, water, cook stoves and fuel.

With its mission to create environmental and social impact by monetising waste, Plastic Bank prevents plastic from getting into the oceans while helping to improve people’s lives. Support from companies like M&S enables Plastic Bank to roll-out the initiative to more regions, more quickly.

David Katz, CEO of Plastic Bank, commented: “M&S has powerfully responded to customer demand for sustainable products and created an immediate impact on the lives of our collectors.

“The M&S team has been incredibly committed to our partnership and thanks to their support, Plastic Bank is empowered to stop more ocean plastic, help more people out of poverty and make responsible production the standard for businesses everywhere. We couldn’t be more pleased to start our journey together.”

Recycling centres in Manila sort the plastic by type and colour and shred it to create flakes, which are exported to Vietnam where the M&S bag is made. Plastic Bank has recycled the equivalent of over 100 million plastic bottles since opening its first centre in Haiti in 2014.

The bag has been launched as part of M&S’s Plastics Plan, which includes removing 1,000 tonnes of plastic packaging in less than a year and replacing the 75 million pieces of plastic cutlery given out in its stores each year with FSC certified wood alternatives.

Natalie Tate, Product Developer at Marks & Spencer said: “With more plastic than fish predicted to be in the ocean by 2050, it’s vital that we all take action to minimise plastic waste. We’re reducing the amount of plastic we use as a business and developing smart ways to help our customers reduce the amount of plastic they use.

“This is a strong, sturdy, practical bag to help our customers with their shop, but with the added benefit of reducing poverty and preventing more plastic getting into our seas by turning waste plastic into a tangible and re-usable item.”

The bag costs £1.30 and will be available across UK stores.

Source: M&S

Ozone Layer Finally Healing After Damage Caused by Aerosols, UN Says

06.11.2018

sun-sky-clouds-ozone — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

The ozone layer is showing signs of continuing recovery from man-made damage and is likely to heal fully by 2060, new evidence shows.

The measures taken to repair the damage will also have an important beneficial effect on climate change, as some of the gases that caused the ozone layer to thin and in places disappear also contribute to warming the atmosphere. Phasing them out could avoid as much as 0.5C (0.9F) of warming this century.

Recovery from the holes and thinning caused by aerosol chemicals has progressed at a rate of about 1% to 3% a decade since 2000, meaning the ozone layer over the northern hemisphere and mid-latitudes should heal completely by the 2030s, if current rates are sustained.

Over the southern hemisphere and in the more problematic polar regions, recovery will take longer, until the middle of this century in the former and about 2060 in the latter case.

The results, presented on Monday in a four-year assessment of the health of the ozone layer, represent a rare instance of global environmental damage being repaired, and a victory for concerted global action by governments. Scientific evidence of the depletion of the ozone layer over the Antarctic was first presented in 1985, and in 1987 the Montreal protocol was signed, binding world governments to reduce and phase out the harmful chemicals identified as causing the problem.

Ozone in the upper layers of the atmosphere protects the earth’s surface from most of the harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. Without it, skin and eye damage can occur, and evidence suggests a rise in skin cancers associated with the thinning of the ozone layer.

“The Montreal protocol is one of the most successful multilateral agreements in history for a reason,” said Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment. “The careful mix of authoritative science and collaborative action that has defined the protocol for more than 30 years and was set to heal our ozone layer is precisely why the Kigali amendment holds such promise for climate action in future.”

The Kigali amendment to the Montreal protocol, coming into effect at the start of next year, will help reduce future climate change, by targeting HFC gases, mostly used in refrigeration, which have a warming effect tens of thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide.

Durwood Zaelke, president of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, said: “Over the last three decades, the Montreal protocol has fulfilled its original objective to heal the ozone layer. But it didn’t stop there. Because CFCs and related gases are also super climate pollutants, phasing them out has reduced the climate problem by an amount that would have equalled the contribution of carbon dioxide today – more than half of all warming – with the Kigali amendment adding even more climate protection.”

Until recently, most major sources of ozone-harming gases were thought to have been closed down, until studies showed sites in China where gases were still emerging. The Chinese government has pledged to find and close down these sites.

Source: Guardian

The Oceans Absorb Even More Heat Than We’ve Thought and That’s Bad News

05.11.2018

ocean-sunset — Photo-illustration: Unsplash

Two thirds of the planet is covered in water and so no surprisingly oceans have an inordinate effect on the Earth’s climate. They absorb vast amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere and regulate global temperatures.

But here comes bad news, courtesy of scientists in the United States who have just published their findings in the journal Nature. The oceans have been absorbing far more heat than previously thought. And by quite a large margin too: their estimate is that the actual degree is more than 60% than the figure cited in the most recent assessment by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

“If we think the ocean is warming more than we thought, it means the Earth is warming more than we thought, and that means the Earth is more sensitive to our emissions,” explains the study’s lead author Laure Resplandy, an assistant professor of geosciences at Princeton University.

According to the scientists, this stronger than expected ocean warming indicates that the planet is even more sensitive to the effects of excessive fossil-fuel emissions than has been assumed. For each of the past 25 years, they explain, the planet’s oceans have absorbed an amount of heat energy that is 150 times the energy produced annually by humans.

“Imagine if the ocean was only 30 feet deep,” Resplandy said. “Our data shows that it would have warmed by 6.5℃ (11.7℉) every decade since 1991. In comparison, the estimate of the last IPCC assessment report would correspond to a warming of only 4℃ (7.2℉) every decade.”

The planet’s oceans has long been known to absorb around 90% of all the excess energy produced as the Earth warms so by knowing the actual amount of energy thus absorbed scientists can calculate the real degree of surface warming. “The result significantly increases the confidence we can place in estimates of ocean warming and therefore helps reduce uncertainty about climate sensitivity,” said the study’s co-author Ralph Keeling, a geophysicist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego.

The researchers say their findings suggest that greenhouse gas production through human activities will need to be reduced by another 25% beyond previous estimates. This means that decarbonization efforts will have to be even more drastic and fast-paced in coming years if we are to keep climate change within manageable limits.

Source: Sustainability Times

Glasgow Unveils Plans to Become Scotland’s First Circular City

05.11.2018

Glasgow City Council has announced its ambitious plan become the first circular city in Scotland.

Its Circular Economy Route Map will focus on cutting food waste and engage with universities and colleges to embed circular design principles in textile design courses to reduce and reuse waste.

It has also set an ambitious target for 15% of homes to be powered by renewable energy by 2030 and will develop a community of practice around circular construction techniques in the built environment.

The city hopes to publish a strategy and action plan on addressing plastic waste by next spring while working with partners to reduce, recycle and repurpose plastic waste in the city.

Cllr Susan Aitken said: “The first minister has announced that the opportunity for Scotland in embracing the circular economy runs into the billions of pounds. I want Glasgow to be at the forefront of seizing that opportunity.”

“Our Route Map will point a way to building better homes and communities, reducing food insecurity and playing our part in dealing with the world’s addiction to single use plastic. Increasing the number of homes powered by renewable or circular energy to 15% by 2030 is an ambitious target but we will need to be ambitious in the coming years.”

Source: Energy Live News

Europe’s Largest Tidal Energy Project to Make a Splash in 2021

02.11.2018

A new joint venture has been created to deliver the project off the coast of France.

Europe’s largest planned tidal energy project will start to be built in France by 2021.

Tidal developer SIMEC Atlantis Energy is forming a joint venture with Development Agency for Normandy and investment fund Normandie Participations to create the renewable facility in Raz Blanchard, Normandie.

The joint venture will be called Normandie Hydrolienne – it will harness up to 2GW of power from waters in the Alderney Race, as well as more than 1GW from other water flows.

In combination, this is expected to provide more power than Hinkley Point C at a lower cost.

The project team will also investigate the feasibility of a multi-hundred-megawatt tidal energy facility. determine if it can be acheived more cheaply then offshore wind, prepare an application for consent to build the device and build a demonstration array.

The companies plan to have a full multi-hundred-megawatt array online by 2024.

Tim Cornelius, CEO of SIMEC Atlantis, said: “Raz Blanchard is sitting on a huge amount of renewable, predictable energy and we wish to bring our project development, financing and power production expertise to help the region of Normandie create jobs and attract a substantial amount of investment into the region.”

Source: Energy Live News

With Only 74 Left, New Protections Announced for Iconic Killer Whales

02.11.2018

With only 74 remaining in the wild, time is running out to save southern resident killer whales, especially after two died this summer.

This week, the Canadian government announced a slew of measures to save the critically endangered species. The $61.5 million (US$50 million) initiative will address three key threats to the orcas: a lack of chinook salmon, the whales’ favored prey; contaminants in the water; and vessel traffic and noise that interferes with their hunting abilities, according to a news release from the Fisheries and Oceans department.

The Canadian government is also looking to create new areas of critical habitat off the west coast of Vancouver Island for the killer whales, fisheries minister Jonathan Wilkinson told The Canadian Press on Wednesday. The Swiftsure in the Juan de Fuca Strait between Vancouver Island and Washington state, and La Perouse Bank off Tofino will be areas that the marine animals can call home, he said.

“We are in the process of consulting on those new critical habitat areas and expect to be able to move forward on them in the next couple of months,” Wilkinson explained. “We are also talking about creation of killer whale sanctuaries, which essentially are within the areas of critical habitat … which means that we can prohibit a range of different activities, not simply fisheries, where you can regulate that ships cannot go.”

These efforts are part of a previously announced $167.4 million Whales Initiative to save the southern residents, whose population has dipped to only 74 individuals, down from 98 in 1995.

Their plight was underscored this summer when a mother whale Tahlequah, or J35, carried her dead calf for at least seventeen days and 1,000 miles in her heartbreaking “tour of grief” this August, according to the Center for Whale Research.

The next month, the ailing J50, another member of Tahlequah’s pod, was declared missing and presumed dead after a three-day search in the waters between Washington state and Canada.

Governments in Canada and the U.S. have made efforts to revive the iconic species. Earlier this year, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed an executive order to aid their recovery and the Chinook salmon they eat.

But will these efforts be enough to save the imperiled orcas? The majority of 74 southern residents left in the wild are not reproducing, meaning the opportunity to have more births than deaths is dwindling, Seattle’s King 5 reported in September. Only two males are fathering all of the calves and only a few females are reproducing.

“There’s only about four females having babies in the last decade,” Center for Whale Research founder Ken Balcomb told the news station.

What’s more, 75 percent of newborns in the recent two have not survived, and 100 percent of the pregnancies in the past three years have failed to produce viable offspring, the center notes.

“Without reproduction, there is no chance of survival,” Balcomb said. “This is what extinction looks like in slow motion.”

Source: Eco Watch

Australia Unleashes Higher EV Speed Limits

02.11.2018

electric car-electric vehicle-car — Photo-illustration: Unsplash

Australia has announced electric cars will be able to keep travelling at maximum motorway speed limits, even when other vehicles have to slow down to reduce their emissions.

The legal exception will allow electric vehicles (EVs) to keep driving at 80mph, compared to petrol and diesel cars having to drop to 62mph during IG-L warning periods, which is when air pollution is so bad the speed limit is cut to reduce emissions.

The Australian Government announced two other incentives for EV adoption – to open bus lanes to EVs and start promoting free parking for electric cars.

Federal Minister Elisabeth Köstinger said: “The exception for electric vehicles in the IG-L-Hundred is an advantage that we want to give owners of e-vehicles to internal combustion engines.”

“In the future, you can drive with an electric vehicle in an IG-L-Hundred zone at 130 km/h. This applies to a distance of 440 kilometers in total.”

Source: Energy Live News

Five Countries Hold 70% of World’s Last Wildernesses, Map Reveals

02.11.2018

banter-snaps-121940-unsplash — Photo-illustration: Unsplash

Just five countries hold 70% of the world’s remaining untouched wilderness areas and urgent international action is needed to protect them, according to new research.

Researchers from the University of Queensland (UQ) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have for the first time produced a global map that sets out which countries are responsible for nature that is devoid of heavy industrial activity.

It comes ahead of the conference of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Egypt in November where signatory nations are working towards a plan for the protection of biodiversity beyond 2020.

Conservationists are calling for a mandated target for wilderness conservation that will preserve the planet’s vulnerable ecosystems.

The UQ and WCS study, published in the journal Nature, identifies Australia, the US, Brazil, Russia and Canada as the five countries that hold the vast majority of the world’s remaining wilderness.

The data excludes untouched wilderness in Antarctica and on the high seas that is not contained within national borders.

The paper comes after the team of scientists produced data in 2016 that charted the planet’s remaining terrestrial wilderness and in 2018 examined which parts of the world’s oceans remained free from the damaging impacts of human activity.

They found that more than 77% of land – excluding Antarctica – and 87% of oceans had been modified by human intervention.

“Two years ago we did the first analysis of wilderness on land,” lead author James Watson said.

“In this new analysis we’ve created a global map and intersected it with national borders to ask: who is responsible?”

The researchers say that the planet’s remaining wilderness can be protected “only if it is recognised within international policy frameworks”.

They’re calling for an international target that protects 100% of all remaining intact ecosystems.

“It’s achievable to have a target of 100%,” Watson said. “All nations need to do is stop industry from going into those places.”

He said the five countries responsible for most of the world’s remaining wilderness had to provide leadership and could act to protect these areas through legislation or by offering incentives to businesses that do not erode nature.

John Robinson, the executive vice-president for global conservation at WCS, said wilderness would only be secured globally “if these nations take a leadership role”.

“Already we have lost so much. We must grasp these opportunities to secure the wilderness before it disappears forever,” he said.

Source: Guardian

Energy-Hungry Bitcoin Would Be a Climate Disaster, Study Finds

01.11.2018

technology-3126814_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

When new technologies like electricity or the dishwasher took off in the 20th century, most of the people racing to adapt them had no idea what trading candles for light bulbs would do to the Earth’s climate.

Researchers at the University of Hawaii have set out to make sure that doesn’t happen again when it comes to a 21st century technology that has some people very excited: Bitcoin.

In a study published Monday in Nature Climate Change, they calculated that if Bitcoin were adapted at the rate of other modern technologies, it would generate enough carbon dioxide emissions to push global temperatures two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in less than 30 years.

“If this takes off it will be something that we will not be able to control,” study lead author and University of Hawaii Associate Prof. Camilo Mora told Bloomberg.

This is because Bitcoin requires a massive amount of energy. Bitcoin is a digital currency that is only exchanged computer-to-computer. New Bitcoin enters the system through an energy-intensive process called mining that requires computers to solve difficult mathematical problems. Last year, the use of Bitcoin generated 69 million tons of carbon dioxide, equal to the emissions of Austria, USA Today reported.

The researchers found that if Bitcoin is incorporated into widespread use at the slowest rate of other new technologies, the planet would warm two degrees Celsius in 22 years; if it is incorporated at an average rate, we would pass that marker in 16 years.

“Currently, the emissions from transportation, housing and food are considered as the main contributions to ongoing climate change,” paper co-author and University of Hawaii student Katie Taladay told USA Today. “In our paper, we show that bitcoin should now be put in the list of additional concerns.”

Bloomberg, however, reasoned that Bitcoin is unlikely to catch on in the same way as the consumer technologies used as comparisons by the researchers.

“It would be unfair to compare potential bitcoin adoption with previous consumer-technology according to Michael Wilshire, head of strategy at Bloomberg NEF. Consumer products tend to take off when there’s high unmet demand for a product or service, prices are low enough for widespread affordability and growing adoption makes the product more useful. Given the circumstances, Bitcoin is “a long way from being a universally accepted currency,” Wilshire said.

In the U.S., 60 percent of transactions under $10 still use cash, and there are many other cryptocurrencies vying to replace it, including options like Ethereum that are looking to forgo the energy-wasting mining process.

But the study is an important model for how we must consider new technologies in the age of climate change.

“This type of analysis should be performed when any new technology is under development,” study author and University of Hawaii PhD student Randi Rollins told Bloomberg. “Being aware of the consequences of future technology development could go a long way in reducing emissions and preventing further damage to the environment.”

Source: Eco Watch

Tidal Energy Firm Makes Waves with Tesla Battery Storage

01.11.2018

Solarni paneli — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

Nova Innovation claims it has developed the world’s first grid-connected baseload tidal power station.

Scottish cleantech firm Nova Innovation is using Tesla batteries with its tidal energy technology to deliver what it claims is the world’s first grid-connected baseload tidal power station.

Since October, the company’s Tidal Energy Storage System (TESS) demonstrator is helping to improve energy security, reduce carbon emissions and balance supply and demand.

It says the predictability of the tide and the six-hour generation cycle times of its equipment means it is well-suited to being integrated with energy storage.

Nova Innovation predicts as the technology is scaled up in coming years, baseload tidal powercould have the ability to displace nuclear and coal generation.

CEO Simon Forrest said: “By storing the clean energy generated by the natural ebb and flow of the tide, we can control the supply of electricity to the grid to match demand. This creates a consistent source of completely predictable power from a clean, sustainable resource.

“Nova Innovation’s expertise in smart grid control, renewable generation and energy storage has delivered this game-changing innovation. We now look forward to expanding our services to other markets and renewable projects.”

Source: Energy Live News

Fruitful Cooperation between the Local Self-government and the Civil Sector in Paracin

31.10.2018

At the end of the 1980s in Paracin, the local Ecological Movement and the Young Researchers division were established thanks to liberal ideas of the youth organisation of that time. These were the first steps towards the initiation of the environmental protection conception in Pomoravlje region. Apart from the local topics regarding the conservation of nature, the same group of enthusiasts copied and printed the first environmentally friendly poster. They also organised the national Antinuclear Caricature Competition as part of the moratorium campaign against the construction of nuclear power plants in former Yugoslavia. Among these fighters for the protection of the natural environment was Vladimir Jankovic, the advocate for sustainable development and the founder of the civil society organisation (CSO) UNECOOP, who is now trying to ensure that as many citizens as possible learn about the importance of sustainable management of natural resources.

**Vladimir Jankovic**, the founder of the civil society organisation (CSO) **UNECOOP** Foto: private archive

There are four centres within UNECOOP: alternative energy and energy efficiency centre, green building centre, rural development centre and waste management centre. Starting from the UNECOOP engagement in promoting new standards and best practices, Vladimir says that they are also trying to support locally the introduction of measures to improve energy management and energy efficiency. “We actively participate in the preparation of action documents, training and project implementation. Bearing in mind the limited capacities of the local administration, we think that it is possible to raise the partnership level which would result in the assignment of certain tasks to the public sector. It is known that CSOs in many countries act as service providers for the public sector. In this way, it would improve the quality of work the local government provides and it would make the foundation for the institutional sustainability of the CSOs, “Vladimir says.

Achieving the ecological balance at the local and national level is a very demanding and long-term process. The situation in Pomoravlje reflects the general situation in the country where high unemployment rate and poor economic situation make it a priority to open new commercial facilities and bring about employment which often conceals the negative impacts of the newly opened plants on environmental and health safety of citizens and sustainable management of natural resources. It is necessary to work on raising awareness of the citizens of the need for environmental protection, although Vladimir believes that we can talk about this only to some extent if we as individuals equate this topic with problems of endangering the health and healthy lifestyles. “A small number of people approaches this subject as the obligation of the civilisation to preserve the Earth itself and the life on it.”

The focus of UNECOOP is not the local community only, because they have been more involved in creating public policies at the national level and participating in activities related to the chapter 27 negotiation in recent years. Considering that many pilot activities are carried out in the Municipality of Paracin, the local self-government recognised the importance of such initiatives which brought about numerous partnerships.

Given the importance and complexity of the activities in negotiations chapter 27, Vladimir believes that the civil sector should replace the apparent lack of capacity of the public sector through constructive cooperation. “This partnership should not be the obstacle for the negotiation team towards the objective correctional factor, to minimise resolutions that would have negative consequences. UNECOOP is directly involved in these activities through participation in several working groups of the National Convention regarding the EU. Due to the CSOnnect program that is implemented by REC with the financial assistance of the Swedish Development Agency SIDA, CSO activities are lately gaining momentum and quality,” Vladimir explains.

You can read the whole article in the eleventh issue of the Energy Portal Magazine SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE, in July 2018.

Prepared by: Tamara Zjacic

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