Category Environment

What is green hydrogen?

The government is targeting 5 million tonnes (MT) of green hydrogen production by 2030, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her Budget speech earlier this month. But what is green hydrogen and why are countries keen on promoting its usage? Let's find out.

Clean energy

Hydrogen is an odourless, invisible gas. Highly inflammable at standard temperature and pressure, it is the most abundant chemical element in the universe. However, it is rarely available in pure form. It mostly exists with oxygen to form water (H2O). Hydrogen can be produced from various resources such as natural gas, nuclear power, solar, and wind. But what is green hydrogen? Hydrogen produced, by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, using power from renewable energy sources such as solar or wind is referred to as 'green hydrogen. The hydrogen thus produced can be used as a clean and renewable fuel for transportation, electricity generation, and other purposes. (Incidentally, hydrogen produced using coal is called black hydrogen.)

Cut carbon footprint

The problem of climate change cannot be resolved unless we cut carbon emissions. Considered an alternative fuel, green hydrogen can change our dependency on polluting fossil fuels. It is also called the fuel of the future as it does not emit harmful, polluting gases during production or use. This means there are no carbon emissions, hence it is eco-friendly and sustainable. This fuel alternative can be used in industrial applications and can be easily stored as a gas or liquid. It can be used to power household appliances and carried by tankers to hydrogen filling stations.

Energy security

Countries worldwide are working on building green hydrogen capacity as it can ensure energy security and help cut emissions. Green hydrogen, which is highly expensive to produce, currently accounts for less than 1% of global hydrogen production. With the goal of making the country an energy-independent nation and decarbonising critical sectors, the Indian Government in January approved a Rs 19,744-crore National Green Hydrogen Mission. Set to give a new direction to India, the mission's aim is to encourage commercial production of green hydrogen and facilitate demand creation, utilisation, and export of the fuel. Under the programme, States and regions capable of supporting large scale production or utilisation of hydrogen will be identified and developed as Green Hydrogen Hubs.

Picture Credit : Google 

How does the Great Pacific Garbage Patch affect the environment?

At the great pacific Garbage patch, crabs, anemones, and plenty of other creatures have turned floating plastic debris into their homes, say researchers

The study

A team of researchers revealed that dozens of species of coastal invertebrate organisms have been able to survive and reproduce on plastic garbage that's been floating in the Ocean for years at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The scientists said that the findings suggest plastic pollution in the ocean might be enabling the creation of new floating ecosystems of species that are not normally able to survive in the open ocean.

Unlike organic material that decomposes and sinks within months or, at most n few years, plastic debris en float in the oceans for a much longer time. giving creatures the opportunity to survive and reproduce in the open ocean for years, says the new study published in the Nature Ecology & Evolution journal

"It was surprising to see how frequent the coastal species were They were on 70% of the debris that we found" Linsey Haram, a science fellow at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the study's lead author, said.

Picture credit : Google 

Have you felt guilty about tossing away the disposable cutlery you used into the trash?

We are on the brink of a massive change happening in the culinary industry where edible cutlery will soon replace single-use, disposable cutlery. This is our weapon against plastic cutlery and single-use compostable utensils. Once edible cutlery becomes mainstream, it has immense potential to prevent single-use cutlery from ending up in landfills or oceans.

Have you felt guilty about tossing away the disposable cutlery you used into the trash? Or ever been told that licking the cutlery was bad table etiquette? What if we told you that now you can eat your cutlery as well?

For instance, the spoon that you used to sip the steaming hot broth would have soaked by the end of your meal and you can just nibble on it and eat that as well! Welcome to the world of edible cutlery.

Plastic utensils and single-use compostable utensils figure among one of the major sources of pollution with a large portion of them ending up in landfills where they remain for years without getting degraded.

By now you must be used to paper or wooden cutlery. Even these aren't hundred per cent natural as they are often coated with plastic or wax to make them resistant to liquids.

They are discarded after single-use and disposing of them is a huge challenge. The solution to this problem is simple. It's cutlery that you can eat!

We are on the brink of a revolution in the culinary industry where edible cutlery will soon replace single-use, disposable cutlery. This is our weapon against plastic cutlery and single-use compostable utensils.

Once edible cutlery becomes mainstream, it has immense potential to prevent single-use cutlery from ending up in landfills or oceans.

The edible tableware line is replete with almost every cutlery you can imagine including straws, spoons, knives, forks, bowls, cups, plates, and even chopsticks!

By now you must be wondering what these are made of and if they are safe to eat.

The edible cutlery is made from ingredients such as millets, flours, grains, herbs, pulses, oil, spices and so on. As such they are generally rich in fibre and protein.

There is even vegan-friendly cutlery that is made from rice, wheat and sorghum, Sorghum, an ancient grain that traces its roots to Africa, is widely used as an ingredient as it's tough and doesn't become soggy in liquids.

Now, what does edible cutlery taste like? The flavour that the cutlery comes in entirely depends on the manufacturer. It can be either, sweet, tangy, savoury, spicy and also plain. In any case, they can complement any kind of food.

So what if you do not want to eat the cutlery? Even then it won't just go to waste. They can be thrown outdoors and can degrade easily as they do not have any specific requirements for degradation. They can even be used as a fertilizer!

Picture Credit : Google 

What is Bokashi composting?

Bokashi composting provides an effective method of disposing kitchen waste. How is it done? Read on to find out.

Composting is the process of converting organic waste into fertilizer. Bokashi composting is one of the many techniques employed to achieve this.

Bokashi is Japanese for fermented organic matter. This fermenting process needs to be anaerobic, which means there should be no oxygen present during the fermentation.

Organic waste from the kitchen-leftover food, eggs, vegetable peels, even meat- is kept in an airtight container which has a tap at the bottom. A layer of waste is sprinkled with bokashi bran, a dry mixture containing beneficial microbes, and then covered with a plastic/steel plate. Another layer of waste is laid out over it, sprinkled and sealed. The same process is followed until the container is full.

Then the container’s lid is closed and it is set aside for a few days for the fermentation to take place. The liquid released during fermentation is drained through the tap at the base.

Once the week is up, the contents of the container can be emptied in the garden. But the mixture shouldn’t touch the roots of any plant yet. To become an effective fertilizer, the fermented matter needs to mix well with the soil for a couple of days..

Bokashi composting is popular because it takes up less space and provides an effective method of disposing kitchen waste. Also, during fermentation, the mulch in the container does not give out a bad odour.

Picture Credit : Google 

HOW IS THE SPARROW IMPORTANT IN MAINTAINING A HEALTHY ECOLOGICAL BALANCE?

Sparrow serves the ecosystem of the earth. Sparrows mostly prefer seeds of millet, thistle, weed and sunflower seed. However, they also eat fruits and berries. During this process, sparrows spread seeds to places away from the fruit tree. This is important for germination of the seeds, because if the seeds fall close to the parent plant, they would have to compete for nutrition with the mature plant. This would reduce the chance of germination of the seed as well as growth of the plant once the seed germinated. By spreading seeds, sparrows help the survival of many plants that are the producers in an ecosystem.

Although primarily seed-eaters, sparrows also feed on small insects and worms such as caterpillars, beetles and aphids. Some of these creatures destroy certain plants. Sparrows keep their population in check; otherwise, the insects would have eaten certain plant species to extinction. Here also sparrows play an important role in preserving the ecosystem.

Most birds of prey, such as eagles and falcons, eat other smaller birds. Snakes, which are also secondary consumers, are known to eat sparrows. For example, sharp-shinned hawks prefer sparrows for food.. Hence by providing food for the secondary consumers, sparrows play an important role in their survival and in preserving the ecosystem.

Picture Credit : Google 

CAN IT SNOW IN THE SAHARA?

While snow is present in Africa at very high elevations, snow in the Sahara Desert is a very rare event. 

The Sahara Desert is an extremely hot and arid region.  An area about 3,600,000 square miles (9,200,000 square kilometers), the desert is about the size of the United States and stretches across much of North Africa. 

Winter is the season when any rainfall might fall in this area.  The air above the desert is so dry, that often rain doesn’t reach the ground or arrives in very small quantities. 

There have been three recorded episodes of significant snowfall.  The first was recorded in 1979, the second in December of 2016, and the third in January 7, 2018. 

On January 7, 2018, about 10 to 30 centimeters (4 to 12 inches) of snow covered the desert higher elevations above 1000 meters. The snow lasted for less than a day thanks to warming temperatures.

Credit: GEOGRAPHYREALM

Picture Credit : Google