Category: environment

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Portland, Oregon is About to Generate Electricity from the City’s Water Pipes

The need for modern societies to move beyond fossil fuels and develop renewable energy alternatives is undeniable. Towards those efforts, city planners of the world should keep an eye on what’s happening in Portland, Oregon.

The city has partnered with a company called Lucid Energy to generate clean electricity for the city by utilizing the water already flowing beneath the city.

Photo Credit: Facebook, Lucid Energy

A section of Portland’s water system was replaced by pipes designed by Lucid Energy that contain four 42″ turbines. As the water flows through the pipes under the city’s streets, the turbines spin and provide energy that is put into the city’s electrical grid.

Lucid Energy says this will be “first project in the U.S. to secure a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for renewable energy produced by in-pipe hydropower in a municipal water pipeline.” One big advantage that this type of energy-generating system has is that it isn’t affected by the weather, like solar and wind power are.

The water must be moved by gravity because the energy required to pump water through pipes would make the energy generated by this technology pointless. In other words, cities with an abundance of hills will be the winners with this technology.

Photo Credt: Good Free Photos

When the project is complete it is supposed to generate power to up to 150 homes. While that might not sound like a lot, it is a great start for what is basically a brand new technology.

Take a look at this video to learn more about the project.

Hopefully, city planners and civic leaders around the country are paying attention to what’s going on in Portland.

The post Portland, Oregon is About to Generate Electricity from the City’s Water Pipes appeared first on UberFacts.

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People Everywhere are Picking Up Trash Thanks to the Viral “Trashtag Challenge”

I can’t stand people who litter. It’s absolutely disgusting to me that people can have such little sense of personal responsibility that they would just toss their trash around willy-nilly. I always try to do my part to pick up when I can, but it just gets me so mad that some people see our beautiful world as their own personal trash can.

But wait, here’s some great news! The #trashtag hashtag went viral recently and people from all over the world have been pitching in, picking up trash, and posting the pics on social media to prove it.

The hashtag was actually created back in 2015 by a company called UCO to encourage people to pick up trash in the woods.

Here is just a sampling of the great photos people have been posting. Keep it up, everyone!

1. All the way from India

2. Before and after

3. Cleaning up the roads

4. Look at that!

5. Keep posting these

6. Cleaning up beaches

7. All the way from Nepal

8. I could look at these all day…

9. …And I probably will

10. Look at all that garbage

Now this is a viral trend I can get behind.

Get out there and do your part!

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China Had to Close their Everest Base Camp Because It’s Basically Just a Pile of Garbage

That’s gotta be humiliating!

China recently had to tell tourists that their Mount Everest base camp is closed… because it is too full of trash.

Photo Credit: Twitter/PretoriaRecord

According to Xinhua Net, that not only are tourists prevented from entering the zone, but climbing permits will be limited to only 300 per year. That’s a third fewer than normal.

So, is this China’s fault?

Nope.

This has been a problem that has been happening for YEARS.

According to South China Morning Post, Nepal has implemented a $4,000 trash deposit cost per team due to all the trash that climbers leave behind.

Only problem with that are climbers are usually rich, so they don’t care about the deposit. Only half the climbers in recent years have been bringing down the required amount of garbage.

And that doesn’t even take into account the fecal matter. Because, yes, people go to the bathroom on the mountain. 12,000 lbs. worth every year.

Here’s hoping that China can figure out how to get their camp clean, and then help work on the rest of this mess.

Yuck.

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Seattle Becomes the First U.S. City to Ban Plastic Straws

I have a feeling a lot of other cities (and possibly countries) are going to get on board this train sooner or later. And in the end, it will be better for all of us. Seattle, Washington became the first American city to altogether ban plastic straws on July 1, 2018.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Seattle banned plastic utensils as well on July 1. The plastic straw ban can result in a $250 fine to restaurants. The disastrous effects of plastic straws on our environment have been well documented as of late, and this can only be seen as a step in the right direction.

Photo Credit: Upslash,@jontyson

Customers will still be able to request compostable plastic or paper straws, but both of those items still pose environmental problems. Let’s see how many other U.S. cities follow suit.

Photo Credit: iStock

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California Was the First State to Make Solar Panels Mandatory on Homes

Starting in 2020, all new single-family homes and multi-family buildings that are three stories or less in California must be constructed with solar panels. California was the first state to pass such a law, which is part of a bigger plan to be free of fossil fuels within 20 years.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Even with the solar panel requirement for homes, that doesn’t mean the end of some natural gas-burning. When the sun goes down, especially during hot months, solar energy won’t be enough to power many homes, so additional sources are needed.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

California is also pushing other energy initiatives. The state is planning on getting half of its power from renewable sources like wind power by 2030. The plan is working so well that officials say that goal may be reached 10 years early, by 2020.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

h/t: Mashable

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In Oklahoma there exists a ghost…

In Oklahoma there exists a ghost town so polluted from lead mining that leftover minerals have caused the rivers to turn red. Children who went swimming in the arsenic-filled water thought they were just getting sunburnt – in reality, they were being covered in chemical burns. 00

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Scientists in the Netherlands are developing…

Scientists in the Netherlands are developing an ocean cleaning system which uses the ocean’s currents and a barrier to remove plastic waste. A 100 km long system will be deployed in 2020 to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.