WATER: Saltwater Intrusion – Rolling into the River

Posted on October 10, 2023October 9, 2023 by Building The World

Saltwater is rolling in on the Mississippi River. Image: “The waves on the water” by graphic artist Elapros, 2011. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Tina Turner famously sang about Proud Mary Rollin’ on the River. But now the mighty Mississippi River is not rolling with cruise boats. A Viking line riverboat recently set sail but was stuck for an entire day on a sandbar. The Mississippi river is suffering from drought, reducing the river’s freshwater flow and allowing salty water from the Gulf of Mexico to enter the river. Affected are plants, wildlife, and people – including those in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

“Skyline of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA” by Michael Maples, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1999. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

With the drought depleting the Mississippi’s freshwater resources, a saltwater wedge is forming that may reach the urban area by the end of October 2023. Why a wedge? The shape is formed by differences in saltwater (more dense) and freshwater: when the two kinds of water come together, they form a wedge.

Salter intrusion can affect the environment. Another concern is the water infrastructure. Image: “Saltwater intrusion” graphic by Sweetian, 2011. Creative commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

As coastal and river communities consume more water, drawing from available aquifers, seawater can encroach. That affects both farming (5% salinity makes water unsuitable for agriculture) and drinking water (2% salinity renders freshwater undrinkable). Rivers are also an important habitat for flora and fauna, estuarial environments, and wildlife: all of these are affected by salinity.

**Salt can corrode. When drinking water distribution systems contain lead in the pipes, results can be disastrous**. Image: “Rusted water pipe” by photographer Geographer, 2008. Creative commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

While salty water is dangerous for a number of environmental reasons, another serious concern is its corrosive effect. Some of pipes in New Orleans’ water distribution system may still have lead. This is the case for many American cities whose pipes are older than 1986, when a law was passed that prohibits using lead in water systems. One million people in southeast Louisiana are on watch and in danger. Flint, Michigan suffered a tragedy when lead from its aging system leached into drinking water: by the time pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha noticed lead poisoning among patients, a generation of children were stricken. Medical treatment was $100 million; fixing and replacing the outdated pipes: $1.5 billion. Even where lead is not present, other dangerous heavy metals can be released. Anti-corrosion products are available, and the New Orleans has called a public works meeting to plan a corrosion monitoring program.

One option? Bottled water. Image: “Lots of bottled water” by photographer Nrbelex, 2006. Creative commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

New Orleans, and the communities in southeast Louisiana, can take action now, before it is too late. But what are the options? Like the people in Flint, families can purchase bottled water. A suburb of Nola, Metaire (whose interchange of I-10/I-610 is subject to flooding) reported sales of 2,000 bottles of water daily. In New Orleans, large institutions needing water, like hospitals, were stockpiling in advance. Maybe it could be a short-term option, but it’s an environmental and health risk – over one million plastic bottles of water are sold globally – every minute! Studies reveal water from plastic bottles leaches microplastics into the human system. And then there’s the reality that very few plastic water bottles are recycled, with most ending up in landfills, river, and oceans. Bottled water is not a long-term answer.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a sill and can improve that structure. Image: “Sill” by graphic artist Meninanatureza, 2021. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

What about macro solution? In July 2023, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers placed a “sill” in the Mississippi River as a kind of barrier to influx of salt water from the Gulf. Now, plans are in process to raise the sill barrier by 25 feet (7.62 meters). But even at the new height, the project will only delay the inevitable by 10 or so days. Another large-scale option is building a pipe to bring fresh water from upstream. It’s like what China did with the Grand Canal – bringing water from the south to the north – but in reverse. Possible, but expensive, and not a guarantee that enough fresh water will be available in the upper river if drought conditions persist.

The MIT desalination device is the size of a suitcase. Image: “Belber Vintage Striped Suitcase,” by photographer Sandrine Z, 2014. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

One further option, especially if saltwater continues to flow from the Gulf of Mexico, is new desalination technology developing at MIT. The Device Research Laboratory’s Lenan Zhang and Yang Zhong, along with Evelyn Wang and team, working with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the National Science Foundation of China, announced development of a system the size of a suitcase that can filter high-salinity water, delivering 1.32 gallons (5 liters) of drinking and cooking water per hour. It can be installed at households, and is free from electricity, running on solar power. The system is new design that solves the formerly-intractable problem of salt buildup that clogs many desalination devices. Overall, the cost of delivering drinking water is cheaper than tap water. In a feat of biomimicry, the device by thermohaline processes – (temperature “thermo” + salinity “haline”) – just like the waves of the ocean. (Chu 2023).

Mangrove leaves can excrete salt. Image: “*Avicenna germinans* – salt excretion” by photographer Ulf Mehlig. Creative commons 2.5. Included with appreciation.

Or where suitable, there is the mangrove. This coastal plant can thrive in salty environments and may even act as a filter; some mangrove leaves are able to excrete salt. Mangrove trees can help to regulate salinity: they thrive in the intertidal zones where salt and fresh water mix. Avicenna officinalis (see above) is one of the salt-secretors; this mangrove tree has evolved salt glands in the tissues that release salt.

There are more than 500 port cities endangered by saltwater intrusions; it is a challenge offering scalable innovation. Image: “Earth-Globespin” by NASA, 2015 Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Will New Orleans serve as a case example? Other salt water wedges can be found in the estuaries of the rivers including the Columbia River of Oregon and Washington states, or the Hudson in New York. And, saltwater intrusions are not restricted to the United States. The Po River in Italy suffered damage in the Po Plain where salt water from the Adriatic entered the freshwater river: drainage from agricultural land worsened the salinization process. In Bangladesh, southwestern coastal regions are also threatened by saltwater intrusions causing soil damage and compromising drinking water: cyclones and storm surges exacerbate the threat. Seawater intrusion is now a major problem worldwide: it even has its own acronym (SWI). Alarmingly, 32% of world coastal cities are threatened by saltwater intrusion: 500 cities are in urgent danger.

“Tina Turner,” by photographer Les Zg, 1990. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

As you consider the Mississippi’s present problems and possible solutions, you might like to reflect upon some of the many songs written about the legendary river. For a sample, including songs about the original and first nation people who live there, explore Mississippi River music, click here. Or, listen to Russell Batiste, Jr., to Johnny Cash’s “Big River,” and Ike and Tina Turner’s version of “Proud Mary.”

Antonellini, Marco, et al., “Salt water intrusion in the coastal aquifer of the south Po Plain, Italy. December 2009. Hydrogeology Journal 16(8): 1541-1556. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226067653_Salt_water_intrusion_in_the_coastal_aquifer_of_the_southern_Po_Plain_Italy

Brewer, Keely “Burgeoning Mississippi riverboat industry grapples with increasing threats.” The Daily Memphian. 10 July 2023. https://www.nola.com/news/environment/flood-drought-threats-for-mississippi-riverboat-industry/article_ab3234a4-1153-11ee-95a8-f7e683994157.html

Brooke, K. Lusk. “Leaking or Lacking?” pages 5 – 14. Renewing the World: Casebook for Leadership in Water. 2023. ISBN: 9798985035933. https://renewingtheworld.com

Chu, Jennifer. “Desalination system could produce freshwater that is cheaper than tap water.” 27 September 2023. MIT News. https://news.mit.edu/2023/desalination-system-could-produce-freshwater-cheaper-0927

Coo, Tianzheng, Dongmei Han, Xianfang Song. “Past, present, and future of global seawater intrusion research: A bibliometric analysis.” 27 August 2021. Journal of Hydrology. Volume 603, Part A, December 2021, 126844. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/articleabs/pii/S0022169421008945

Fortin, Jacey, and Colbi Edmonds. “Battling a Water Crisis: Bottles, Barges, and Maybe a Quarter Billion-Dollar Pipe.” 29 September 2023. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/29/us/new-orleans-saltwater-intrusion.html

Klinkenberg, Dean. “Mississippi River Playlist.” Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/23gl91dNAgksllxBBVSd8s

LaPotin, Alina, et al., “Dual-stage atmospheric water harvesting device for scalable solar-driven water production.” 20 January 2021. Joule. Volume 5, Issue 1, pages 166-182.

New Orleans, City of. “Corrosion Control” Public Works Committee. 27 September 223. VIDEO. https://www.youtube.com/live/DS8X2ijS5LpM?ssi=0P5up0-lemTixu67.

Somssich, Marc. “How a Mangrove Tree Can Help to Improve the Salt Tolerance of Arabidopsis and Rice.” 14 December 2020. Plant Physiology 184(4): 1630-1632. PMID: 33277332. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7723112/

Tulane University, School of Public Health. “5 things to know about the saltwater intrusion of the Mississippi River.” 28 September 2023. https://sph.tulane.edu/5-things-know-about-saltwater-intrusion-mississippi-river

United States, National Park Service. “Songs of the Mississippi River.” https://www.nps.gov/miss/learn/education/songs-of-the-mississippi-river.htm

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

Appreciation to Jason W. Lusk for sharing research.

ENERGY: Climate Conservation Corps

Posted on September 21, 2023 by Building The World

“Many Hands,” by Sharon and Nikki McCutcheon, 2015. Dedicated by the photographers to the public domain. Included with appreciation.

During UN climate week, the U.S. announced creation of an “American Climate Corps” that will combine public service with training for environmentally beneficial professions and technologies. Ali Zaidi, White House point person, may lead the effort to recruit 20,000 young people for the inaugural year. Some Corps areas will also include age-diverse cohorts. Collaborators joining the training and development will feature experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) and AmeriCorps, as well as departments of Agriculture, Energy, Interior, and Labor. If we need an energy revolution, this could be it.

**“CCC camps in Michigan, USA”** circa 1930s. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

There are historic precedents. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt pulled American youth out of Depression-era joblessness by creating the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). While initially aimed at those suffering poverty. CCC expanded, through the creative leadership of Frank P. Davidson, to include Camp William James in Tunbridge, Vermont, welcoming college recruits.

**Without dikes, the Netherlands would be flooded to this extent.** Image by Jan Arksteijn, 2004. Dedicated by the graphic artist to the public domain, CC 0.1. Included with appreciation.

But the earliest organization of service work might be the Dike Armies of the medieval Netherlands. In 1319, this edict described the corps: “Ende alman sal ten menen werke comen op den dijc, daers hem ie Baeiliu, of die Dijcgrave vermaent” – “Everybody shall come to work at the dike on instruction of the bailiff or dike reeve.” It should be noted that today, with social media like Instagram, X, TikTok, calling up volunteer teams to respond to a climate disaster would have instant effectiveness.

**Look at Earth from space. There are no lines on a map showing states or nations. Our planet is land surrounded by water. Climate is regional and global – so must be our response**. “The Blue Marble” by NASA Apollo 17, enhanced by Degir6328. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

The newly planned American Climate Corps might be the beginning of a new era of job and skills development to respond to climate change. But a broader vision could expand the scope. Climate change will not stop at national borders: San Diego in the USA and Tijuana in Mexico share the same coast and the same need for response to sea level rise. Vermont, site of CCC Camp William James, shared smoke from Canada’s recent wildfires. Look at Earth from space; you see not countries and nations, but land and water. Climate change must be addressed by regional, and global, response. The American Climate Corps could become a regional organization inviting Canada, Mexico, and the USA, together with the original Tribes of the Americas, to share language training, technology development, and regional capability to respond to climate change.

The new CCC can build wind turbines, delivering green electricity. It’s a fast-growing industry with great jobs. Image: “Dual Rotor Wind Turbine” by Deas1. Creative commons. Included with appreciation.

Those trained by the new Climate Corps can serve a dual role of training for climate-ready jobs, and also be ready to respond to climate disasters that affect the region. In the last decade, 85% of natural disasters like drought and fires, storms and floods, were attributed to, and intensified by, global warming. Climate change calls us to work together in ways that can strengthen education, technology, and shared vision through climate justice. As Climate Corps members build green energy technology and plant drought-resistant agricultural grains, perhaps they may also sow the seeds of peace.

Can we plant drought-resistant agriculture as a way to sow the seeds of peace? Image: Logo “Plant for the Planet,” 2015. Public Domain Fair Use. Included with appreciation.

Davidson, Frank P. and K. Lusk Brooke. “Protective Dikes and Land Reclamation: The Netherlands,” Volume 1, page 57. Building the World (Greenwood, 2006). ISBN: 0313333734.

Friedman, Lisa. “Wanted: 20,000 Young Americans to Fight Climate Change.” 20 September 2023. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/climate/biden-climate-corps-youth.html

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

ENERGY/WATER – Congratulations! Pause on Deep Seabed Mining

Posted on August 22, 2023 by Building The World

**CONGRATULATIONS and thanks for voicing your support for pausing deep seabed mining**, might be the words of this ‘Dumbo’ Octopus, more formally known as Opisthoteuthis agassizzi. Image: “Dumbo Octopus” by NOAA, 2019. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

If you voted “yes” to pause decisions on deep seabed mining, your voice has been heard. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) agreed to extend discussions on guidelines for deep sea mining, and to develop clearer policy to protect the marine environment, until 2024, or maybe even 2025.

Logo of International Seabed Authority by Anna Elaise, ISA, 2009. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

A proposal by Chile, Costa Rica, France, Palau, and Vanuatu, supported by other member States, overrode the “two-year rule” enacted by Nauru and The Metals Company to begin mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ). The matter will advance to further discussion at the twenty-ninth session of the Assembly in 2024; some say debate could extend to 2025. There is time; you can become better informed and more involved.

**Palau is one of the signatories of the measure to pause deep sea mining advancement until further discussion**. Image: “Palau archipelago” by Lux Tonnerre, 2008. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

ISA revealed the decision in an August 2 report entitled “Just and Equitable Management of the Common Heritage of Humankind.” Part 04 of the report reveals the “Status of Contracts for Exploration in The Area.” These areas are the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), the Indian Ocean, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and the Northwest Pacific Ocean. The areas are the focus for:

19 contracts for mining of polymetallic nodules (PMN)

7 contracts for mining polymetallic sulphides (PMS)

4 contracts for cobalt-rich ferromaganese crusts (CFC)

Source: International Seabed Authority (ISA) 2023

Deep sea bed mining may involve the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. Image: “Location of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone” by United States Geological Survey (USGS), 2008. Creative commons public domain. Included with appreciation.

There are two kinds of ISA contracts: exploration and exploitation. Exploration contracts assess minerals present in the area and may include sampling, as well as testing mining technologies and ways to process mined minerals. Advancing to exploitation contracts would commence deep seabed mining. Contracts are sponsored by member states, and may include private enterprise partners. States currently sponsoring contracts include Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Cook Islands, Cuba, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Jamaica, Japan, Kiribati, Nauru, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovak Republic, and Tonga (ISA Figure 12). While exploration may be carried out by presence and probing, as done by Alexander Dalrymple and James Cook using lead lines and sextants on voyages of the “Endeavor;” since the time of COMSAT, the deep seabed may also be mapped by remote sensors and satellites.

“First voyage of James Cook – HMS Endeavor leaving Whitby Harbour” by Thomas Luny, 1768. It should be noted that Cook’s final voyage resulted in actions that may have been better avoided. Creative commons public domain. Included with appreciation.

Don’t rest on your votive laurels. The deep sea, and its treasures, are shared possessions of all the world and its many inhabitants including fauna and flora of the deep. You help the world decide what will determine the “Just and Equitable Management of the Common Heritage of Humankind.” (ISA 2023) What are your views? What actions can you take this year, and next?

Brooke, K. Lusk. “WATER/ENERGY: Deep Seabed Mining” 13 July 2023. Building the World Blog. https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2023/07/13/water-energy-deep-seabed-mining-part-2/

Greenpeace International. “Petition on Deep Sea Mining.” greenpeace.org/…/act/stop-deep-sea-mining/

International Seabed Authority (ISA). 2 August 2023. “Press Release 2 August 2023.” https://www.isa.org.jm/news/isa-assembly-concludes-twenty-eigth-session-with-participation-of-heads-of-states-and-governments-and-high-level-representatives-and-adoption-of-decisions-on-the-establishment-of-the-interim-director/

International Seabed Authority (ISA). Annual Report 2023 (In English and French). Chapter 4: Status of Contracts for Exploration.” https://www.isa.org/jm/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/ISA_Secretary_General_Annual_Report_2023_Chapter4.pdf

Panayotov, Kristiyan. “Mapping the seafloor with remote sensing and satellite imagery.” 19 June 2018. Hydro-International. https://www.hydro-international.com/content/article/mapping-the-seafloor-with-remote-sensing-and-satellite-imagery

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

WATER: Lahaina – Help and Hope

Posted on August 15, 2023 by Building The World

“Lahaina Beach – West Maui” by D. Howard Hitchcock, 1932. Hawaii State Art Museum. Creative Commons 0: public domain. Included with appreciation.

Hawai’i may often be depicted in colors of blue water and green tropical plants. But now, Lahaina, on Maui, is charred brown. Lahaina lost lives: the total of fatalities in the worst fire in US history is still rising, already surpassing deaths in California’s Camp Fire of 2018 that killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise.

“Fire hydrant flushing,” by photographer Lldar Sagdejev, 2011. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

While heat, drought, and wind created conditions for fire, Lahaina’s municipal systems might have made it worse. Hydrants, placed along city streets for emergency water access, produced little to help firefighters. Lahaina’s water infrastructure draws water from a creek and from wells underground. But when the ravaging fire melted delivery pipes, causing them to burst, losing precious water, those leaks, in turn, affected the pressure of the whole water system, including the delivery of water to hydrants.

Fire damage and lost acreage in the U.S. has tripled in the last three decades. Image: “Wildfires burned in the United States” by Our World In Data, 2020. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

As the climate warms, and droughts increase, wildfires may be more frequent. In 2022, seven countries’ capitals surpassed 40-year high temperatures In South Korea, 42,000 acres burned in a fire in Uljin. In Algeria, a fire in the region of Al Taref consumed 14,000 acres. In Argentina, Corrientes province suffered a fire that charred 2, 223, 948 acres.In the USA, the named McKinney Fire burned 60,000 acres. That same year, in the European Union, over 2 million acres burned.

“Burnout on Mangum Fire” by photographer Mike McMillan/USFS, 2020. Creative Commons public domain. Included with appreciation.

Fire also damages essential infrastructure. Lahaina’s water system suffered damage; that’s not an unusual effect of fire. In Australia, when heat rose to 151 degrees Fahrenheit (66.3 Celsius) and winds gusted to 79 miles per hour (128 kilometers per hour), Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric lost some power when NSW grid links went down; 14,000 people lost electric power. Fire damaging water – the very element needed to quell flames – is not a new phenomenon. In 1633, famous landmark London Bridge suffered a fire that damaged its waterwheels, thereby preventing pumping water to stop the flames. In Lahaina, Hawaiian Electric equipment and infrastructure of Hawaiian Electric, serving 95% of the state’s residents, suffered damage to power lines. With electric and water system affected by the fire, Lahaina’s infrastructure proved to be a factor in the scope of the disaster. An early assessment of the cost of Lahaina fire damage: $6 billion. Lahaina is both a tragedy and a warning.

How can we protect buildings and essential infrastructure? Image: “Fire in Massueville, Quebec, Canada” by photographer Sylvain Pedneault, 2006. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

How can we protect people and property from fires developing from heat, drought, and winds? Here are a few ways:

Assess water systems to protect hydrants and pipes

Climate-proof power grids and essential infrastructure

Limit plants (avoid non-native) and vegetation near buildings

Strengthen regulations for construction materials, emphasizing cement, stone, or stucco

Require tempered glass in windows to reduce window blow-out that fans flames

Test signal systems and err on the side of caution when issuing warnings

It is true that preventive protective measures are costly. But post-fire rebuilding costs are 10 to 50 times suppression costs. Global predictions for climate-related wildfires may reach $50 billion – $100 billion annually by 2050. While the world surely needs to quell warming; meanwhile, directing funds and attention to prevention of future fire damage is important. This will be an area of significant innovation, applicable globally.

“Maui, Hawai’i: seen by Landsat.” Image, public domain. Included with appreciation.

Lahaina’s fire was ultimately stopped by water. Flames expired when they had consumed vegetation (some non-native that burned faster) and buildings, until the blaze reached the ocean. People fleeing burning homes endangered their lives to save them by jumping into the Pacific waters. The water system of Lahaina must now be rebuilt. Can the waters of the Pacific help? Maybe. Seawater contains salt, corroding the very means of its conveyance. Moreover, salt water damages vegetation, buildings, and even fire equipment. In the future, desalination innovations may make it possible for coastal areas to use sea water for many purposes, including fire response.

“A Helping Hand” by photographer Damian Gadal, 2008. Creative commons. Included with appreciation.

HOW TO HELP:

Contact: Hawaii Community Foundation or Maui United Way, Maui Food Bank.

Visit redcross.org or text HAWAII to 90999 to make a donation.

For those who lost pets, Maui Fires Pets Help Group may provide help.

Baker, Mike, Kellen Browning, and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs. “As Inferno Grew, Lahaina’s Water System Collapsed.” 13 August 2023. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/13/us/lahina-water-falure.html

Howard, Peter. “Flammable Planet.” September 2014. https://costofcarbon.org/files/Flammable_Planet_Wildfires_and_Social_Cost_of_carbon.pdf

Kartit, Dina et al .”Wildfires breaking out across the world.” 24 August 2022. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/wildfires-breaking-out-across-world-2022-07-19/

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

CITIES: HEAT – Below

Posted on August 7, 2023August 6, 2023 by Building The World

**As above, so (much more) below! Cities can be 18F/10C hotter (0r as high as 20C) below, creating underground climate change.** Image: “Morning sunrise above Suwon Gwanggyo Lake with City in Background” by photographer Matthew Schwartz, 2016. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

“As above, so below,” goes the saying. Just one look at a large city’s skyscrapers and buildings will hint at the massive infrastructure below. But did you know that climate change, experienced by the occupants of those buildings, is also lurking beneath their urban landscape? Our cities are suffering under heat domes, but it is even hotter below.

**Machinery under buildings is related to “underground climate change,” a growing urban concern.** Image: “Underfall Yard Pumps” by photographer Blythe Varney, 2017. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Problem: The technical term is subsurface heat islands, but it’s easier to think of it as underground climate change. Equipment below skyscrapers generates heat; subways and tunnels create conditions that increase warmth. Pipelines under the ground, even sewers, are sources of subsurface heat. Land around and below large structures changes when heated, triggering slight shifts in topography. Foundations begin to erode; tunnels weaken; train rails warp; retaining walls may show cracks, then collapse.

**Subway systems under major cities are one source of underground climate change.** Image: “Washington, DC – Farragut West Station, 2018” by photographer Tdorante10. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Example: A study by Professor Alessandro F. Rotta Loria of Northwestern University placed sensors under buildings and transport infrastructure in Chicago, Illinois, noting that the ground below was measurably hotter than surface land (a difference of 18F/10C). Professor Rotta Loria studies subsurface urban heat islands, warning that “underground climate change can represent a silent hazard for civil infrastructure…but also an opportunity to reutilize or minimize waste heat in the ground.” (Rotta Loria, 2023).

**Underground climate change can weaken retaining wall**s. Image: “Wallstones Breaking” drawing by Dimitry Borshch, 2008. Creative commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Difficulty: Because it is out of sight, underground climate change is difficult to recognize – until a retaining wall breaks. Think of it as similar to the gradual change in an iceberg below the water: slow, relentless, and then tragic. Or a slow earthquake: not sudden – until it is.

**Chicago’s buildings are hotter underground by as much as 18F/10C.** Image: “Chicago Skyline” by photographer Jesse Collins. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Scale Counts: The bigger the city, the more likely underground climate change is happening. The study cited above was conducted in Chicago: population 2.6 million (2022). The study performed simulations over 100 years: from 1951 when subway tunnels were built under Chicago’s downtown “Loop” to projections until 2051. It is not unique to Chicago. Some of the world’s megacities, with populations over 10 million, could suffer significant damage. Megacities are dense, encouraging high rise construction that may exacerbate underground climate change. Cities that are growing quickly may be particularly vulnerable. For example, the most populous city of Nigeria, and its former capital before the new capital of Abuja was built in 1991, Lagos is among the world’s top ten fastest-growing cities. Another city vulnerable to underground climate change? Tokyo, Japan: population 37 million.

**Dense, populous megacities may be the most vulnerable to underground climate change.** Image: “Oloosa Market in Lagos, Nigeria,” by Omoeko Media, 2018. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Emerging Answers: There are two approaches – prevent waste heat underground, or use it. In the area of prevention: new urban building codes, especially for dense cities, will need to place more emphasis insulation and energy efficient design. But secondly, waste heat could be used as an energy resource. Geothermal innovations that capture waste heat from the subsurface can find a use for that energy. Innovations for use of waste energy will become an area of significant potential.

Above/Below: We tend to focus on mitigating climate change by addressing what we can see and feel. Noticeable effects are mainly above the ground. But there will also be great need – and opportunity for innovation – below. Is your city likely to experience underground climate change? What are some of the ways your city can measure, assess, plan to address, and even harness for beneficial use, underground climate change?

Brooke, K. Lusk. “CITIES and HEAT – Above,” 27 July 2023. https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2023/07/27/cities-heat-above/

Khan, Sarah S. “Rising underground heat causes unbearable MTA commutes.” 24 July 2023. The Ticker. https://theticker.org/11622/opinions/rising-underground-heat-causes-unbearable-mta-commutes/

Prisco, Jacopo. “Underground climate change is deforming the ground beneath buildings, study finds.” 17 July 2023. CNN https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/17/world/underground-climate-change-deforming-ground-scn

Rotta Loria, Alessandro F. “The silent impact of underground climate change on civil infrastructure.” 11 July 2023. Communications Engineering 2, 44 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1038/s44172-023-00092-1

Zhong, Raymond with photographs by Jamie Kelter Davis. “Rising Heat Underground Is Sinking Chicago Ever So Slightly.” 11 (updated 14) July 2023. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/11/climate/chicago-underground-heat.html

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

WATER/ENERGY: Deep Seabed Mining – Part 2

Posted on July 13, 2023 by Building The World

**Deep Sea Mining will affect marine life in the largest continuous marine habitat on Earth. What do you think? Make your voice heard now.** Image: “Fluorescent Coral” by Erin Rod, 2019. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

In July 2023, the Legal and Technical Commission of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) will discuss a possible mining code framework. While autonomous bulldozers would not begin to scrape the deep until 2026, it is not too soon to take steps – before it is too late. Which should we value: energy or water? Part 1 of this discussion focused on energy: minerals like copper, cobalt, lithium, manganese, nickel, platinum, and rare earths are needed for batteries to store renewable energy. These minerals are present, in abundance, in the seabed. Part 2 of this topic brings the focus to the water environment in which these minerals are found. It is the largest continuous marine habitat on Earth. Many feel we should not undertake seabed mining too quickly, if at all. Mining disasters on land are evidence of potential damage: what would happen underwater, where currents could expand the problem?

**Dr. Sylvia Earle**, marine scientist, and founder of “Mission Blue” to preserve ocean life. Image: NOAA, 1970. Public domain. Included with appreciation.

Champions bring issues to life. Enter “Her Deepness”: Sylvia Earle. Earle’ organization Mission Blue has proposed Hope Spots to preserve the ocean environment. Enter Lewis William Gordon Pugh, often called “Sir Edmund Hillary in a Swim Suit,” the first person to swim every ocean including Antarctic waters to promote awareness of the Ross Sea – now largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the world. Enter Rena Lee: leader of the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity, who chaired 36 hours of nonstop negotiation that produced the agreement for the High Seas Treaty to protect 30% of Earth’s water and land by 2030. Marine Protected Areas offer a chance to save enough to sustain the ocean environment. Related to that concept is the campaign of 50 Reefs to protect some of the world’s most sustainable coral reefs with the hope of regenerating neighboring reefs over time.

**Global Marine Protected Areas** (as of November 2022). Image from Marine Protection Atlas, Marine Conservation Institute; graphic by Yo. Russmo. CC 4.0. Included with appreciation.

ISA has initiated a few marine protected areas of their own. They call these “Areas of Particular Environmental Interest” or APEI. Recently, ISA approved four new ones in the CCZ totaling 200,000 square miles (518,000 square kilometers). Just as a comparison, the CCZ is 1.7 million square miles (4.5 million sq km). Next to be determined: how will exploited versus protected areas be compared to track environmental changes if or when mining begins?

**Deep Sea Mining may soon begin in the Pacific between Hawaii and Mexico**. Image: “Polymetallic Nodules Exploration Area in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone” by International Seabed Authority (ISA), 2016. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

ISA “DeepData” began in 2002 as a way to collect and centralize all data on marine mineral resources. Will the APEIs be included? Comparing and measuring an initial mined area with a protected area could monitor effects before opening permits to other projects.

**Some companies, and countries, have called for a moratorium on deep sea mining. Once it begins, there may be consequences we have not anticipated**. Image: “Mid-ocean ridge topography” graphic by United States Geological Survey, 2011. Public domain. Included with appreciation.

Some business users of minerals like cobalt have declared they will not purchase or use any materials obtained by deep sea mining. Some countries have signed a moratorium including Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Federation States of Micronesia, Fiji, France, Germany, New Zealand, Palau, Panama, Samoa, and Spain, among others. More than 700 scientists joined with the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) to warn about potential damage. Sir David Attenborough advised a moratorium and the UK offered a opportunity to sign a petition (if you are a UK citizen or resident). Some experts state we can reduce mineral demand by 58%, thereby avoiding a need for deep sea mining. When all ISA members (the USA is not among them) meet in July 2023, a precautionary pause discussion is on the agenda. But there are states, including Nauru, that want to proceed.

**Climate disasters closer to home take our immediate attention.** The Cerberus heatwave of 2023 may be even hotter than that of 2022, shown here from Copernicus Sentinel satellite data. Image: “Surface Air Temperature Anomaly July 2022” by ESA/Copernicus Sentinel. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Why don’t we hear more about sea bed mining on the news? Present climate disasters are closer to home. The Cerberus heatwave scorching southern Europe made headlines. Copernicus Sentinel satellite data showed land temperatures in Spain’s Extremadura region climbed to 60C (140F) this week. Across the southern United States, a “heat dome” blanketed states from Texas to Florida. Torrential rains (warmer water retains more moisture) engulfed Vermont. New York State closed sections of the Erie Canal due to severe flooding. Japan’s Shinkansen train system came to a halt as the country coped with a once-in-a-millennium rainfall. Environmental disasters where we live understandably deflect focus from what is out of sight, like the deep sea.

**The ocean is the largest continuous marine habitat on Earth.** Image: “Dumbo Octopus, Opisthoteuthis agassizii” by NOAA, 2019. CC 3.0. Included with appreciation.

The issue of deep sea mining is critical to the future. But, importantly, it has not yet begun. Some say it may be inevitable, but it should not be unnoticed, and certainly must be carefully undertaken. There is time for you to become involved, to offer your ideas and your suggestions. You can find out more, and sign a petition to vote on this issue here.

Brooke, K. Lusk. “Nauru and Deep Sea Mining” 30 June 2023. https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2023/06/30/energy-water-deep-seabed-mining-part-1/

Deep Sea Conservation Coalition. “The Race to Defend the Deep Heats Up in Kingston.” 10 July 2023. https://savethehighseas.org/2023/07/10/the-race-to-defend-the-deep-heats-up-in-kingston/

Greenpeace International. “Petition on Deep Sea Mining.” greenpeace.org/…/act/stop-deep-sea-mining/

Greenpeace International. “Governments leave door open to deep sea mining starting this year.” 31 March 2023. https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/59018/governments-leave-door-open-deep-sea-mining/

Heffernan, Olive. “Seabed mining is coming – bringing minerals, riches, and fears of epic extinctions.” 24 July 2019 Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02242-y

Humphreys, John and Robert W.E. Clark. “A Critical History of Marine Protected Areas.” 2020. Marine Protected Areas: Science, Policy, and Management, pp. 1-12. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780081026984000010

International Seabed Authority (ISA). https://www.isa.org.jm

Khan, Yusuf. “Deep-Sea Mining Is Close to Reality Despite Environmental Concerns” 22 August 2022. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/deep-sea-mining-is-close-to-reality-despite-environmental-concerns-11661162400

Mission Blue. VIDEO. Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1wp2MQCsfQ

MIT. “Deep Sea Mining.” https://youtu.be/Lwq1j3nOODA

Rabone, M., et al., “A review of the International Seabed Authority database DeepData from a biological perspective,” 30 March 2023. DATABASE: The Journal of Biological Databases and Curation, Volume 2023. https://doi.org/10.1093/database/baad013

Simas, Moana, Fabian Aponte, Kirsten Wiebe. “The Future is Circular: Circular Economy and Critical Minerals for the Green Transition.” 15 November 2022. Project number 102027433. SINTEF. https://wwfint.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/the_future_is_circular_sintefmineralsfinalreport_nov_2022_1_1_pdf

United Nations. “High Seas Treaty.” https://www.un.org/bbnj/sites/www.un.org.bbnj/files/draft_agreement_advanced_unedited_for_posting_v1.pdf

World Wildlife Fund. “Future mineral demand can be met without deep seabed mining as innovative technology can cut mineral use by 58%.” 28 November 2022. https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?7087466/Future-mineral-demand-can-be-met-without-deep-seabed-mining-as-innovative-technology-can-cut-mineral-use-by-58

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

CITIES: Wildfires, Fireworks, and A New Sky

Posted on July 4, 2023 by Building The World

**Will drones replace fireworks?** Image: Nagaoka Festival 2006 by ZorroIII. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Many cities light up the sky during festive occasions. In the United States, today marks a holiday often celebrated with fireworks. But with drought plaguing some areas, the risk of igniting wildfires is causing an innovation: sky art with drones. Instead of traditional fireworks, the city of Boulder, Colorado will feature a drone show (the Marshall Fire of 2021/22 killed two people and devastated 6000 acres/2,428 hectares). Galveston, Texas will also illumine the holiday with a drone display. California towns of La Jolla and Ocean Beach will flash the night sky with animations. It’s a new idea for La Jolla: the city has forgone any fireworks for five years.

**Drone aerial display during coronation of King Charles III.** Image: Department for Culture, Media and Sport, by SkyMagic Drone Shows, May 2023. Creative Commons 1.0 Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Drones replacing fireworks on this holiday will not be a first. Tokyo used drones during their most recent Olympics; during their first Olympian experience, the city launched the innovation of Shinkansen. And, in 2023, the coronation of King Charles III featured an artistic drone light display.

**Drones are an innovation that has grown to a $1 billion market in the past decade.** Image: Drone Flying Eye, 2011 by Drone Flying Eye. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

For sky art, drones have advantages over fireworks: no smoke, no falling particles, and a quieter display. Drones are an innovation that has grown impressively over the past ten years from almost nothing to a $1 billion market in 2021.

Has your city used drones instead of fireworks? What do you think of this new trend? For a sample of drone light shows, click here.

Hirsch, Lauren and Michael J. de la Merced. “Fireworks Have a New Competitor: Drones.”1 July 2023. The New York Times.

O’Connell, Brian. “7 Best Drone Stocks to Watch in 2023.” U.S. News & World Report. https://money.usnews.com/investing/stock-market-news/slideshows/drone-stocks-to-consider-as-the-technology-soars

Williams, Ashley R. “Some US cities are replacing 4th of July fireworks with environmentally friendly drones.” 2 July 2023. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/02/us/drones-replace-july-fourth-fireworks-trnd

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

ENERGY/WATER: Deep Seabed Mining – Part 1

Posted on June 30, 2023 by Building The World

What kind of treasure is buried in the deep sea, and to whom does it belong? Image: “Brian Aqua by Month,” 2014, from data and images by NASA, public domain. Included with appreciation.

As the quest for clean energy continues, so does the search for battery components like cobalt, and other minerals. On land, mining has been an active industry, but resources are getting harder to access. Because land’s properties, and hidden treasures, are also present in the ocean, mining may be expanding to the seabed. The same thing happened in the energy sector earlier: oil wells were first drilled on land, then offshore.

“UNCLOS Maritime Zones – Exclusive Economic Zone and High Seas” by JK Donehue, 2020. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

The deep sea—and the seabed—are not the property of any single nation. Coastal countries do maintain proprietary rights to their waters to a distance of 200 nautical miles/230 land miles (370 km), known as an exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Within its EEZ, a country controls the rights to living and so-called “non-living” resources, including minerals. That means if a country is coastal, and it happens to have seabed minerals within the allotted reach, those resources are theirs to exploit without any permissions required.

“A schematic of mining of nodules on the deep seabed floor,” by MimiDeep, 2022. Creative Commons 1.0: dedicated to the pubic domain by the designer. Included with appreciation.

Minerals needed to supply the ever- growing demand for electric batteries include cobalt. There are three main types of cobalt deposits found in the seabed:

 polymetallic nodules found in the seabed;
 sulfide deposits found around hydrothermal vents; and
 ferromanganese crusts that line the sides of seamount crests and crusts.These areas contain cobalt, manganese, titanium, nickel, even gold. The relatively good news is that ferromanganese crusts can be found at more shallow depths of 0.25 to 3.0 miles (400 to 5,000 meters) where there is considerable volcanic action. A significant amount of cobalt deposits may lie within the EEZs of specific countries, so they would have access and rights there.

International Seabed Authority logo. Image by Anna Elaise, ISA, 2009. Creative Commons public domain. Included with appreciation.

Resources outside of national boundaries belong to the whole world (even land-locked, non-coastal countries). These rights are regulated by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), established in 1994 as a follow-on to the UN Convention on the Law of Sea. Any country that is a signatory to UNCLOS (the U.S. is not, yet) may apply for an international seabed contract. ISA can grant two kinds of contracts: exploration and exploitation. The first gives permission to map where the desired minerals are and what might be necessary to reach and extract them. The second, exploitation, is mining. So far, all the contracts granted have been for exploration only. But that may soon change.

Nauru, third-smallest country in the world, may change history. “Aerial view of Nauru” by U.S. Department of Energy, 1999. Creative commons public domain. Included with appreciation.

Nauru, third-smallest nation in the world, applied to ISA and was granted an exploration contract for Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. (NORI), a subsidiary company of DeepGreen, a Canadian company. DeepGreen merged with Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corporation, and the new firm was named The Metals Company (TMC), which quickly began working in an area of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) designated as NORI-D. The contract was to develop nickel, and perhaps later other minerals.

Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), located in international waters between Hawaii and Mexico, may contain large deposits of valuable minerals. Image by NOAA, 2011. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Many valuable minerals are contained in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in international waters between Hawaii and Mexico. TMC estimates the CCZ area might contain the largest nickel deposit in the world. The polymetallic nodules there also contain manganese, copper, and cobalt. NORI embarked on 18 expeditions to evaluate resources as well as biodiversity, geochemistry, and the cyclic systems of nutrients. But mining the sea poses problems not yet encountered on land.

Exploration, and exploitation (mining) of the deep sea may pose problems not yet encountered on land. Image: “Deep Sea Exploration” by Dr. Steve Ross, NOAA, 2005. Creative commons, public domain. Included with appreciation.

The Republic of Nauru recently gave notice to the ISA of NORI’s intention to mine the CCZ. Nauru’ s official letter, dated 25 June 2021, invoked the “Two Year Rule,” requiring ISA to complete its decision. There is a provision in the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), found in Section 1(15), that requires ISA to make a decision on a proposed contract within two years. Hence the informal name, “Two-Year Rule.” The rule is on the books as a safeguard to those who are ready to mine, but blocked when the approval process stalls.

Sir David Attenborough at the Great Barrier Reef. Image courtesy of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Many have called for a moratorium, among them Sir David Attenborough as well as a number of marine science experts. But it would seem that mining may commence, soon. In March 2023, at the ISA general meeting, the Legal and Technical Committee began developing terms for exploitation contracts. In April 2023, ISA announced it would invite exploitation applications in July 2023.

**What are the Rights of the Commons?** Image: Wiki Human RIghts graphic by Jasmina El Bouamraoui and Karabo Poppy Moletsane and Wikipedia, 2021. Creative Commons Public Domain CC0. Included with appreciation.

If the international seabed belongs to everyone, how will the value of any minerals mined be shared? Certainly, private companies will need to be in partnership with sponsoring nations, like Nauru. And the costs of operations may be significant. But is there a plan for sharing some portion of the profits with the owners of the deep seabed – the world? Similarly, what is the plan for addressing potential loss and damage, if and when mining accidents or environmental degradation may occur? Will the work of Senator Sherry Rehman of Pakistan apply? If the international ocean and seabed belong to the world, a kind of blue commons, should rights be similar to those defined by the Outer Space Treaty? In our era of deep sea and deep space exploration (and exploitation), should we update our laws and rights concerning that which is shared by all humanity and nature? Might the insights of Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrum help us to determine how to govern the commons of international waters?

“International waters in dark blue; exclusive economic zones in light blue” by graphic artist B1mbo, 2011. Creative commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Finally, will there be a balancing of exploitation with preservation? Establishment of the High Seas Treaty created a legal mechanism for marine protection. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) established an international legal instrument for conserving and sustaining Earth’s ecosystems. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) set goals for 2030 and 2050. In June 2023, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) advanced a draft report on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. Should ISA consider requiring those nations and private enterprise partners who are granted exploitation contracts to contribute to Marine Protected Areas? The ISA has established some, and others are in development. More on that, next post.

How can we balance future seabed mining with the sustainable future of marine biodiversity? Image: “Clupea harengus migrating” video by Uwe Kils, Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

International Seabed Authority (ISA). “ISA Contract for Exploration: Public Information Template – NORI” https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1798562/000121390021020731/fs42021ex10-15_sustainable.htm

ISA. “Draft regulations on exploitation of mineral resources in the Area. Prepared by the Legal and Technical Commission” 2023. https://www.isa.org.jm/documents/isba-25-c-wp-1/

ISA. Overview VIDEO. “International Seabed Authority celebrates 25 Years.” July 2019. https://youtu.be/UUbQ56gbjlY

Shabahat, Elham. “Why Nauru Is Pushing the World Toward Deep-Sea Mining,” 14 July 2021. Hakai Magazine. https://hakaimagazine.com/news/why-nauru-is-pushing-the-world-toward-deep-sea-mining/

Singh, Pradeep A. “The Invocation of the ‘Two-Year’ Rule’ at the International Seabed Authority: Legal Consequences and Implications” 18 July 222, The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law 27 (2022), p. 375-412. https://brill.com/view/journals/estu/article-p375_1.xml?languagej=en

United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.” 15/4, December 2022. https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-15/cop-15-dec-04/en.pdf

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). https://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/closindx.hrm

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

ENERGY: Peridotite – Philosopher’s Stone for Carbon Removal

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Building The World

**Peridotite, found abundantly in Oman, may be the philosopher’s stone of climate change.** Image: “Muscat, capital of Oman” by photographer Safa Daneshuar, 2022. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Humans have long dreamed of magical transformations. Jabir ibn Hayyan, 8th century alchemist, and Albertus Magnus, colleague of fellow Dominican Thomas Aquinas, who wrote of the lapis philosophorum or “philosopher’s stone” that turned base metals into gold, are among those who foresaw what may be natural magic that could help to transform climate change, altering carbon dioxide before it can harm the atmosphere. Can we turn CO2 into a new form of gold?

Alembic: Drawing and Description by Jabir ibn Hayyan, 8th century. **An alembic is an alchemical still.** Image: creative commons, public domain. Included with appreciation.

At Iceland’s Hellisheidi power station, a company called Carbfix captures CO2, pumps it with water, channels it underground into basalt where it soon becomes rock. Basalt contains calcium, magnesium, and iron – elements that bind easily with C02. Basalt is the most common rock type on the planet. In fact, the ancient Romans used a type of volcanic basalt in constructing their legendary roads. More than 90% of all volcanic rock is basalt. It is estimated that the amount of global basalt could store all the CO2 emissions now driving climate change. Carbfix’s motto: “We turn CO2 into Stone.” Sounds promising, but there’s a catch. It takes 25 tons of water to transform one ton of CO2 via basalt. When you realize that human activity emits 35 gigatons (a gigaton is one billion tons) of CO2 per year, that’s a lot of water to drain from an already-thirsty world. Carbfix will have a role to play in carbon removal, and water use may improve through advanced technologies, but basalt is not the only magical stone.

**Carbfix uses basalt to turn carbon dioxide into permanent stone.** The process requires use of water in significant amounts. Image: “Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant, site of Carbfix.” Photograph by Sigrg, 2008. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Basalt is just one option. Another is peridotite. A new company named 44.01, referencing the molecular mass of carbon dioxide, has discovered a way to use peridotite to fuse carbonated fluid into seams of the rock. Co-founded by Talal Hasan and Karan Khimji, 44.01 is located in Oman where one of the world’s largest deposits of peridotite can be found. Oman’s deposit is close to the surface, offering advantageous access.

One of Carbfix’s founders, Juerg M. Matter, professor at the University of Southampton, and also Columbia University’s Climate School and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, is now a team member of 44.01. Another team member is Peter B. Kelemen of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DEES) at Columbia University, and of Columbia Climate School, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, guiding 44.01 on chemical and physical processes of reaction between rocks and fluids.

**Peridotite can, when combined with water, absorb and permanently remove carbon dioxide.** Image: “Classification diagram for peridotite and pyroxenite” adapted from Bodinier and Godard (2004) by Tobias1984, 2013. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

The magic alchemical formula is peridotite (containing olivine and pyroxene) combined with CO2 and water. Peridotite mineralization already occurs in nature: for example, when rainwater lands on peridotite, CO2 is dissolved. But it’s a slow process, taking decades. The team of 44.01 has found a method to accelerate mineralization of CO2, gathered via direct air capture (DAC), in less than one year. In 2022, 44.01 received the Earthshot Prize.

**The Earthshot Prize was awarded to 44.01 in the category of “Fix Our Climate.”** Image: courtesy of The Royal Foundation, 2021. Public Domain Creative Commons. Included with appreciation.

Carbon dioxide emissions are a difficult problem that the world must solve before climate change, caused by CO2 and other greenhouse gases, becomes irreversible. In 2015, the Paris Agreement of COP21 brought pledges to reduce and halt use of fossil fuels. But even when and if those goals are met, we’ll still have carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and some sectors of the economy might still use fossil fuels. That’s why carbon sequestration and carbon storage technologies have begun to increase in importance. Storage is, by nature, either temporary or troubled: the CO2 is stored as CO2, not gone, just hidden. A leak would release it back into the atmosphere. Carbon removal through mineralization is better because it is permanent. No insurance, no monitoring, no escape. The CO2 molecule is gone. Alchemy!

**Where else can we find rock that can absorb and transform CO2?** “Map of World Geologic Provinces,” by USGS. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Peridotite is also found in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. Oman-based research will continue, in part because the peridotite is easily reached due to its surface proximity. Next steps for testing may be in California but peridotite deposits there would still require drilling. Meanwhile, peridot, green gemstone made from peridotite’s olivine component, associated with the month of August, said to reveal magic, could become a jewel that signifies a better climate.

The gemstone Peridot, said to reveal magic, is made from peridotite. Image: “Gem Peridot,” by photographer Michelle Jo, and dedicated to the public domain. Included with appreciation.

Rather than drilling (with its environmental disturbance and potential destruction), carbon removal via mineralization may be explored by using rocks already drilled, in the form of waste tailings from certain kinds of mines. Diamond, nickel, and platinum are mined from rock that has carbon mineralization promise. De Beers, company that coined the phrase “A diamond is forever,” is beginning trials.

**Carbon mineralization could be explored with used rocks left over from diamond mining**. Image: “Computer reconstruction of the Hope Diamond, earlier form in the French Blue or Diamantbleu” by Francoisfarges. Creative commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

A diamond is forever, but diamond mine tailings could help carbon dioxide disappear forever. Other options include basalt, and now peridotite. In myths of ancient times, rock turned into gold was the dream. Now, in the time of climate change, turning carbon dioxide into rock may be the alchemical dream we seek and shall find.

44.01. https://4401.earth/how-it-works/

Albertus Magnus. “De mineralibus” in On the Causes of the Properties of the Elements translated by Irven M. Resnick. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 2010.

CarbFix. https://www.or.is/carbfix

Earthshot Prize. “Fix Our Climate Winner: 44.01” 2022. https://earthshotprize.org/winners-finalists/44-01/

Fountain, Henry. “How Oman’s Rocks Could Help Save the Planet.” 26 April 2018. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/04/26/climate/oman-rocks.html

Harvard Business School. “Karan Khimji, Co-Founder of 44.01” https://www.hbs.edu/environment/blogpost/44.01

Hasan, Talal. “Interview with Earthshot Prize Winner.” VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v-n30_dKvCcLg

International Monetary Fund (IMF), prepared by Jorge Iván Canales Kriljenko. “On the road to carbon neutrality, fishing for energy exchange and carbon absorption” 2022. https://www.elibrary.imf.org/downloadpdf/journals/002/2022/194/article-A002-en.pdf

Kraus, Paul. Essai sur l’histoire des idées scientifiques dans l’Islam/ Mukhtār Rasā’il Jābir b. Hayyān. Paris/Cairo: G.P. Maisonneuve/Maktabat al-Khānjī.

PDIE Group. “Nominating 44.01 for the Earthshot Prize.” https://pdiegroup.com/

Perasso, Valeria. “Turning carbon dioxide into rock – forever.” 18 May 2018. BBC News. www.bbc.com/news/world-43789527/

Planet A Ventures, GmbH. “Permanent Carbon Sequestration: 44.01 – Life Cycle Assessment & Sustainability Potential.” 2022. https://planet-a.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/4401-lca-summary-1.pdf

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

Earth Day 2023: #Invest in Our Planet

Posted on April 22, 2023 by Building The World

Earth Day‘s theme for 2023: INVEST in OUR PLANET. Linking business, finance, and investment to ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) goals and values will be critical to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. IBM’s Institute for Business Value (IBV) surveyed 20,000 consumers, 2,500 executives in 22 industries and 34 countries about the relationship of climate-protection and financial success. Over 70% stated that a company’s ESG values influenced their choice of employment or investment. Morningstar, Russell Investments, S&P, and MSCI recently released ESG rating systems for 8,000 companies. Universities are evaluating endowments for sustainability; student and alumni organizations are mobilizing for climate action include Harvard’s HACE with a topic area of finance. MIT’s Sloan Impact Investing Initiative (Mi3) presented its first ESG and Impact Finance conference in 2023.

Can today’s ESG goals find precedent in earlier agreements like Bretton Woods? Image: “Gold Room where the Bretton Woods Agreements were reached.” by photograph Barry Livingstone, 2014. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Tying social goals to investment may find precedence in Bretton Woods, the 1944 agreement that set up accords for an international monetary system and establishment of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) including the World Bank. During the World Bank presidency of Robert S. McNamara (1968-1981), increased emphasis on funding improvements in infrastructure, healthcare, and essentials including safe water, food security may, in some ways, have prepared the path to our present Sustainable Development Goals (SGD) There are many who might advise the World Bank to refocus on McNamara’s vision. To that end, should the SDGs be more strongly bonded to finance and investment initiatives? Looking to the ancients, could one find early models linking educational and social development to some of the advances initiated by Charlemagne? Another example might be the medieval guilds. What is the human timeline weaving social and economic progress to finance and investment?

Medieval craft guilds linked business to community and social goals. Image: “Stemmi celle Arti fiorentine” from the guilds of Florence, Italy. Public domain, creative commons 1.0. Included with appreciation.

But you don’t have to be a banker or finance professional to invest in our planet. Here are Earth Day’s recommendations for each of us to invest in our shared planet:

Plant Trees – Can you afford $1? That contribution will buy a tree, as part of The Canopy Project.

**INVEST in OUR PLANT – plant trees.** Image: “Earth Day” by Alice Popkorn, GAIA – Germany. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Reduce Plastic Consumption – Think twice before tossing plastic into trash: only 9% is recycled. Look for a recycling container. Even better – avoid plastic when possible. The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) has drafted INC-1, an international legally binding instrument, leading to the Global Plastics Treaty to be completed by 2024. Want to add your support?

INVEST in OUR PLANET – recycle plastic. Image: “Plastic for Recycling” by Si Griffiths, 2005. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Vote Earth – Vote for those who support environmental values. Register on the Vote Earth Hub to get reminders on voting options.

**INVEST in OUR PLANET – vote for leaders who support sustainability.** Image: “Vote” by Tom Arthur, 2008. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Choose Sustainable Fashion – Every day, you wear garments. It’s a global industry worth $2.4 trillion, but less than 1% of clothing is recycled, and textile processing accounts for 20% of global wastewater that can enter streams and aquifers. When you launder them, use a Cora Ball to catch fibers before they enter the water supply. Can clothing fabric be made from natural fibers beyond cotton and wool: for example, algae or seaweed? Look for and buy sustainable clothing. Sign the Fashion Petition here.

**INVEST in OUR PLANET with sustainable fashion**. Image: “The Golden Book Gown – made of recycled pages from children’s golden books” by Ryan Jude Noveilline. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

As you honor Earth Day today, did you ever wonder why is Earth Day celebrated on April 22? Founders Gaylord Nelson, Pete McCloskey, and Denis Hayes chose the date to engage students: it was after spring break and before final exams. Another factor: in some regions of the world, spring comes in April, reminding us of Earth’s systemic renewal. If we support Earth’s natural systems, we can sustain Earth’s natural power of renewal. The first Earth Day in 1970 drew 20 million people; by 1990, Earth Day went global and 200 million people participated. This year, how will you invest in our planet? Pledge your participation, here.

Bretton Woods Agreements Act. 31 July 1944. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS=10334/pdf/COMPS-10334.pdf

Earth Day. https://www.earthday.org

Finpublica. https://www.finpublica.org

Harvard Alumni for Climate and the Environment (HACE). https://www.harvardclimate.com

Hayes, Adam. “MSCI ESG Ratings Definition, Methodology, Example.” 15 October 2022. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/msci-esg-ratings-5111990

IBM Institute for Business Value. Authors Arun Biswas, Elisabeth Goos, and Jacob Dencik. “The ESG Conundrum.” 11 April 2023. https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/report/esg-ultimatum

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) “Mi3.” https://sloangroups.mit.edu/sloanmi3/mit-sloan-esg-impact-finance-conference/

MSCI. “Capital for Climate Action Conference” 16 May 2023. https://www.msci.com/www/events/capital-for-climate-action/03723646558

Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. “Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day.” University of Wisconsin – Madison, Wisconsin Historical Society. https://nelsonearthday.net/index.html

Segal, Mark. “Over 80% of Businesses Plan to Increase Spending on Environmental Sustainability Goals Over Next Year – Honeywell.” 19 April 2023. ESG Today. https://www.esgtoday.com/over-80-of-businesses-plan-to-increase-spending-on-environmental-sustainabiity-goals-over-next-year-honeywell/

Simbiótica Finance. https://simbiotica.finance/tokens/SOT

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U