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- www.opb.org US Forest Service proposes protections for old-growth trees, without an outright logging ban
The proposal, presented in a draft environmental analysis on Friday, outlines ways national forests should prioritize preserving old-growth trees. It adds onto similar regulations for Pacific Northwest forests.
- www.bbc.com Hawaii fire: Maps and before and after images reveal Maui devastation
Satellite images and before-and-after pictures show extent of damage to town of Lahaina on Maui.
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Open-Source Water Purification, Structures, and Sanitation (Off-Grid Communities) 📖💧🏠🚾🌱
www.eco-libre.org 2023 Annual Report - Eco-LibreIn 2023, we added 4 new open-source hardware projects to address community's human rights, including access to safe water, shelter, and sanitation
Happy 2024! The Eco-Libre project published our 2023 Annual Report for last year.
[!Eco-Libre 2023 Annual Report](https://www.eco-libre.org/2023-annual-report/)
Eco-Libre is a volunteer-run project that designs libre hardware for sustainable communities.
> Eco-Libre's mission is to research, develop, document, teach, build, and distribute open-source hardware and software that sustainably enfranchises communities' human rights. > > - Eco-Libre's mission statement
We aim to provide clear documentation to build low-cost machines, tools, and infrastructure for people all over the world who wish to live in sustainable communities with others.
Executive Summary
- Eco-Libre was founded June 24, 2023
- Begun searching for land in Ecuador
- Four projects created on GitHub
- Currently 2 active contributors
- 2024 priority is finding land and R&D on Life-Line
Michael Altfield registered the domain-name eco-libre.org on June 24th, 2023, a few weeks after arriving to Ecuador.
Over the next 6 months, Eco-Libre committed research and designs to our GitHub org for four projects (licensed CC BY-SA) which address some of the essential requirements for a new community's basic human needs: clean water, shelter, electricity, and ecological processing of waste. By releasing these designs under a libre license, it allows for other communities to build their own infrastructure with minimal effort, and it encourages collaboration on standardized design concepts.
As Eco-Libre's projects mature, we will build experimental prototypes in our own community. To that end, Michael is currently traveling around Ecuador by bicycle in-search of land to found Eco-Libre's first physical site.
In December, Eco-Libre was joined by Jack Nugent, who has since committed contributions to the Eco-Libre Life-Line project.
The priority focus for Michael in 2024 is to determine the best region in Ecuador to buy land where Eco-Libre can physically iterate on projects.
The priority focus for Jack in 2024 is to finish the research, design, and documentation of the Eco-Libre Life-Line project.
Projects
Eco-Libre was founded this year (in 2023). In our first 6 months, we've begun work on four libre hardware projects. All of them are currently in the early research stages.
Eco-Libre Launch-Nest
The Eco-Libre Launch-Nest was our first project. The concept is to build a small-footprint, high-occupancy structure for sustainable living of 30-people.
| [!CAD screenshot of a 6-story masonry structure with a large array of solar panels and three large parabolic solar dishes on the roof](https://www.eco-libre.org/2023-annual-report/#launch-nest) | |:--:| | Eco-Libre Launch-Nest 2023.09 |
The rooftop has sufficient space for 72 solar panels (2 meter x 1 meter) and 3 parabolic solar concentrators (16 square meter).
The structure is six-stories above-ground, which is the recommended maximum height of a confined masonry structure in an earthquake zone. It also has a basement.
The building is designed with external, enclosed, firewalled staircases on either end. These are symmetrical and designed such that the building design can be rotated around a center courtyard to have four Eco-Libre Launch-Nest structures that share the same stairwells.
Currently only basic, incomplete architectural design-work has been done in CAD. Before a structural analysis can be assessed (eg to determine the location of columns), further work needs to be done on finishing the placement of windows, doors, and dividing walls.
Eco-Libre Life-Line
The Eco-Libre Life-Line project is a series of components making up an infrastructure to deliver a clean water pipeline to a community. This includes:
| [!Photo of a small weir funneling watter into a 200L barrel with an expanded metal grate covering its opening](https://www.eco-libre.org/2023-annual-report/#life-line) | |:--:| | Eco-Libre Life-Line 2023.12 |
- Collection of raw surface water (eg from a stream)
- Removal of large organic debris & sediments
- Removal of small particles
- Removal of harmful bacteria & parasites
- Clean water storage
Michael started the Life-Line project after visiting a number of communities who had constant issues with their water systems breaking or failing to provide clean water. The goal is to design a low-cost, self-cleaning pipeline of systems that require minimal human intervention (max routine maintenance twice per year).
This year we have half-finished the "intake" component in CAD, which consists of building a weir in a stream that funnels turbulent water onto a downward-sloped HDPE barrel with a fine-mesh screen atop it. This design exploits the energy in falling turbulent water to clean the intake screen, and it prevents the intake from being clogged by organic debris during heavy rainfall.
Special thanks to Jack Nugent, who joined Eco-Libre in 2023 and has contributed to research, design, and documentation of the Eco-Libre Life-Line project.
The goal in 2024 is to finish the "intake" component in CAD and also to design the "settling tank", "pre-filter", and "sand filter" components in CAD.
Eco-Libre Genesis-Booth
How do you sustainably begin to build a community on land without electricity and without any structures?
The Eco-Libre Genesis-Booth is a simple storage shed with >1 kW of PV solar panels on the roof. This is the first structure to be built when jumpstarting a new off-grid community. It provides the power, storage, and outdoor workshop space needed to build-out the community.
| [!Photo of a small structure with 4 solar panels on its roof](https://www.eco-libre.org/2023-annual-report/#genesis-booth) | |:--:| | Eco-Libre Genesis-Booth 2023.06 |
This year we've made a simple footprint for the Genesis-Booth in CAD that's 4 meters x 2 meters -- just large enough to fit 4 solar panels (2 meters x 1 meter each). Further work is needed in CAD, but this year we also delved into making a framework for our documentation.
The Eco-Libre documentation is written in reST, generated by Sphinx, and (currently) hosted by GitHub. This is an exceptionally flexible continuous documentation solution that allows for versioned documentation matching versioned releases, works well with git, can be exported to many different flexible formats, and can be extended with custom directives written in python.
The highest priority for the Genesis-Booth is to finish this documentation as a template for other projects. Ideally this should be designed in such a way that information about Eco-Libre in general is seamlessly added to all project's documentations in a reusable way.
Eco-LIbre Treasure Tower
The Eco-Libre Treasure-Tower project is a 7 meter x 6 meter structure for storing and processing a community's waste, most importantly their food & fecal compost.
| [!Photo of a tall 6-story structure with a wrap-around ramp and several doors on each floor](https://www.eco-libre.org/2023-annual-report/#treasure-tower) | |:--:| | Eco-Libre Treasure-Tower 2023.07 |
This structure is 6-stories high and barrier-free, with a wrap-around ramp. All but the top-floor have three doors:
- Access door for maintenance
- Deposit Closet
- Deposit Closet
Each deposit closet contains facilities for the collection of human urine and feces and is slightly staggered in elevation so the user's deposits fall by gravity into their designated collection areas for processing.
Separately from compost, this structure also serves as a storage area for recyclable waste materials, such as metal.
This year a first-draft design of the structure has been designed in CAD, but it's very premature.
Next, a second design prototype (where the two deposit closet entrances are on the same side) should be drafted in CAD and compared to the existing design.
Contribute to Eco-Libre
If you'd like to help Eco-Libre reach our mission to enfranchise sustainable communities' human rights with libre hardware, please contact us to get involved :)
Cheers, The Eco-Libre Team https://www.eco-libre.org/
- www.theguardian.com Killer kitties: cats are eating 2,000 species, including hundreds that are at risk
The first study to quantify what our felines eat on a global scale finds they have a significant impact on wildlife
- phys.org Africa's dangerous air pollution levels are a global problem, says new research
A new report in Nature Geoscience has brought to light the challenge of air pollution levels in Africa and why international action is needed to combat it.
- www.technologyreview.com Think that your plastic is being recycled? Think again.
Plastic is cheap to make and shockingly profitable. It’s everywhere. And we’re all paying the price.
- news.mongabay.com The Cloud vs. drought: Water hog data centers threaten Latin America, critics say
Protests are arising in South American communities as Google, Microsoft and other tech giants build water-hungry computer data centers in increasingly drought-besieged nations, including Uruguay and Chile.
- www.reuters.com Warm weather keeps migratory cranes in Hungary longer
The plains of eastern Hungary have seen a record number of cranes staying over in unusually warm weather this autumn, with more than 194,000 roosting in the shallow marshes at a time, with no inclination to leave for Africa.
- news.mongabay.com Poisoned for decades by a Peruvian mine, communities say they feel forgotten
CERRO DE PASCO, Peru — The open-cast crater seems ready to swallow the city whole. Mud-brick houses with corrugated iron roofs teeter on the edge of the massive Raúl Rojas mining pit, now lined with razor wire, which stretches nearly 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) across and is 300 meters, or more than a ...
- www.reuters.com China's smog-covered north on highest pollution alert as visibility drops
Authorities issued their highest warnings for fog and haze on Tuesday as smog enveloped major cities in northern China, warning the public that visibility could drop to less than 50 metres (164 feet).
- www.euronews.com Windfall taxes on European energy firms 'weakened' by lobbying: NGOs
Fossil fuel businesses across Europe have managed to weaken and delay windfall taxes imposed on them during the recent energy crisis, according to a new report by a coalition of environmental associations. #EuropeNews
- www.nature.com Scientists call out rogue emissions from China at global ozone summit
Researchers confirm a powerful greenhouse gas being emitted from eastern China despite reports to the contrary.
- www.theguardian.com UK farmers warn of rotting crops after Storm Babet flooding
National union members urge government to create water strategy to prevent such losses
- phys.org Recycling used wood can make a big contribution to net zero, but needs much better coordination
As global demand for wood is forecast to increase by up to 170% by 2050, a new study published in Nature Communications demonstrates the importance of achieving net zero targets through the better use of waste wood and proposes solutions for how this could be achieved.
- apnews.com Refrigeration chemicals are a nightmare for the climate. Experts say alternatives must spread fast
Refrigerants are chemical fluids that have made air conditioning and refrigeration possible, but they are hundreds or even thousands of times more powerful at warming the planet than carbon dioxide, the most notorious greenhouse gas.
- www.euronews.com Transition to clean energy is now ‘unstoppable’, IEA says
Fossil fuel demand could peak by the end of the decade but the world needs to get behind the clean energy transition to keep climate goals in sight.
- www.sciencealert.com West Antarctic Ice Sheet Collapse May Now Be Unavoidable, Scientists Warn
The melting of West Antarctica's ice shelves is likely to substantially accelerate in coming decades even if the world meets ambitions to limit global warming, according to research published Monday, warning it would drive rising sea levels.
- finance.yahoo.com Germany Fires Up Extra Coal Unit to Help in Cold Snap
(Bloomberg) -- Germany has fired up a refurbished coal unit to help meet energy needs as the region’s first cold spell takes hold.Most Read from BloombergIsrael Latest: Blinken Works on Gaza Aid as Biden Set to VisitYour Guide to Understanding the Roots of the Israel-Hamas WarPutin Arrives in China ...
- www.vox.com This land isn’t for you or me. It’s for the meat industry.
Almost half of the continental US is used for meat production. There’s something better we could do with it.
- news.mongabay.com As companies buy ‘plastic credits,’ are they reducing waste or greenwashing?
With plastic pollution littering the planet, certification organizations are popping up to sell “plastic credits” to companies, allowing them to offset the plastic they make and use with equivalent plastic waste collected and reused. Critics are skeptical.
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Electrifying your home is about to get a lot cheaper.
grist.org Electrifying your home is about to get a lot cheaperRebates from the IRA could help low- and middle-income households save thousands on heat pumps, weatherstripping, and other efficiency improvements.
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'Eco-friendly' straws contain potentially toxic chemicals – posing a threat to people and wildlife.
theconversation.com 'Eco-friendly' straws contain potentially toxic chemicals – posing a threat to people and wildlifePaper and bamboo straws contain ‘forever chemicals’ – maybe threatening the health of people and wildlife.
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Heatwave and Wildfires Ravage Europe, Prompting Evacuations and Health Warnings.
newsnotfound.com Heatwave and Wildfires Ravage Europe, Prompting Evacuations and Health WarningsA heatwave sweeping across Europe has caused wildfires, health warnings, and disruptions in several countries, including Greece, Turkey, France, Italy, Spain, and Tenerife. Evacuations, loss of life, and closure of shipping lanes have been reported, and measures are being taken to combat the challen...
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Long-lost Greenland ice core suggests potential for disastrous sea level rise
edition.cnn.com Long-lost Greenland ice core suggests potential for disastrous sea level rise | CNNA recently-discovered ice core taken from beneath Greenland’s ice sheet decades ago reveals that much of the country was ice-free around 400,000 years ago – an alarming finding that could have disastrous implications for sea level rise.
- undark.org Discovered in Collections, Many New Species are Already Gone
Scientists are increasingly seeing evidence of “dark extinction” in museums and botanical garden collections.
Species discoveries can be joyous occasions, but not in this case. Eastern African forests have nearly disappeared in the past century, and neither bee species has been spotted in surveys conducted in the area since the 1990s, noted coauthor and entomologist Michael Engel, who recently moved from a position at the University of Kansas to the American Museum of Natural History.
Given that these social bees are usually abundant, it’s unlikely that the people looking for insects had simply missed them. Sometime in the last 50 to 60 years, Engel suspects, the bees vanished along with their habitat.
“It seems trivial on a planet with millions of species to sit back and go, ‘Okay, well, you documented two stingless bees that were lost,’” Engel said. “But it’s really far more troubling than that,” he added, because scientists increasingly recognize that extinction is “a very common phenomenon.”
The stingless bees are part of an overlooked but growing trend of species that are already deemed extinct by the time they’re discovered. Scientists have identified new species of bats, birds, beetles, fish, frogs, snails, orchids, lichen, marsh plants, and wildflowers by studying old museum specimens, only to find that they are at risk of vanishing or may not exist in the wild anymore.
Such discoveries illustrate how little is still known about Earth’s biodiversity and the mounting scale of extinctions. They also hint at the silent extinctions among species that haven’t yet been described — what scientists call dark extinctions.
It’s critical to identify undescribed species and the threats they face, said Martin Cheek, a botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the United Kingdom, because if experts and policymakers don’t know an endangered species exists, they can’t take action to preserve it.
- www.ecowatch.com More Than 90% of Global Aquatic Food Supplies at Risk From Climate Change, Study Says - EcoWatch
The vast majority of global marine food supplies are threatened by climate change, according to a new study.
- www.euronews.com Humans impairing the communication of sea fauna
The deep blue is alive with sound but human acoustic interference is disrupting this vibrant ecosystem. Euronews spoke with some of the scientists aiming to address noise pollution in our waters. #Ocean
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China has now installed twice as much solar as coal - SolarPACES
www.solarpaces.org China's solar increased 33.7% in the 1st quarter of 2023, while coal increased 1.8%China's solar power (PV and CSP) increased 33.7% in the first quarter to 430 GW, while new coal power increased only 1.8% to 1,130 GW
- www.theguardian.com Destruction of world’s pristine rainforests soared in 2022 despite Cop26 pledge
An area of primary rainforest the size of Switzerland was felled last year suggesting world leaders’ commitment to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030 is failing
- www.bbc.com Climate change: Deforestation surges despite pledges
Data shows that cutting down tropical forests increased by 10% in 2022, despite promises made at COP26.
- www.euronews.com Climate activism: Where in Europe hands out the harshest punishments?
Climate protestors could face fines of up to €60,000 for damaging monuments or cultural sites in Italy.
- www.euronews.com Hundreds of birds washed up dead in Mexico. El Niño likely killed them
Hot ocean currents caused by El Niño, not avian flu, were behind the deaths of pelicans, seagulls and other wild birds, tests suggest.
- edition.cnn.com Climate activist faces 10 years in jail for a fake letter 'canceling' an oil industry conference | CNN
A climate activist in New Zealand faces 10 years in jail after a court found her guilty of forgery for sending a fake letter to the speakers at an oil industry conference, telling them it had been postponed due to the climate crisis.
- edition.cnn.com Four alarming charts that show just how extreme the climate is right now | CNN
Soaring temperatures. Unusually hot oceans. Record high levels of carbon pollution in the atmosphere and record low Antarctic ice. We’re only halfway through 2023 and so many climate records are being broken.