innovations

Top Tweets
coal plant
Computer screen with  line graphs monitoring stock market activity.
Helicopter dropping water onto active fire.
Oil pump jack with the sunset in the background
Newsletter
Innovative concrete mix combats urban floods using seashell waste

Innovative concrete mix combats urban floods using seashell waste

A new type of permeable concrete made from discarded shellfish is helping to reduce flooding in Blackpool, England, by absorbing excess water in urban areas.

Ayurella Horn-Muller reports for Grist.

In short:

  • The concrete, created by researchers at the University of Central Lancashire, uses crushed seashells to enhance water absorption and reduce stormwater runoff.
  • It’s being tested in gardens and cycling paths, providing both flood protection and a sustainable use for shellfish waste.
  • This approach addresses both climate-related flooding and the environmental impact of food and construction waste.

Key quote:

“They’re not so obvious at first… but as you walk on it, the shells become more apparent as you go, and little flecks of white start coming out.”

— Helen Jones, operations director at LeftCoast

Why this matters:

As climate change increases flood risks, innovative materials like shellfish concrete offer a sustainable solution that also reduces waste in construction and food industries.

Related EHN coverage:

Keep reading...Show less
software engineers climate economy

Layoffs at big tech a boon for climate change firms

Many software engineers, programmers and data scientists are out of work, mulling what comes next. But climate technology firms have a tantalizing message: Come work for us.

carbon capture technology

There’s a carbon-capture gold rush. Some warn better solutions exist

Billionaires, politicians and philanthropists say sucking carbon out of the air and storing it underground could stem climate change. Critics fiercely disagree.
All this money pouring into infrastructure should be a boon for high-speed rail, right? Not so fast

All this money pouring into infrastructure should be a boon for high-speed rail, right? Not so fast

The transit innovation’s time may come. It just will be a bumpy road to get there.
climate impacts wind farms
www.haaretz.com

Cannibal wind farms, beating Earth’s orbit and other climate change briefs

On preindustrial fires, mosquitoes and the oops factor: When factoring in melt in the Arctic, one needs to know what the snow is doing now, not way back when.

climate impacts biodiversity
www.haaretz.com

4,300-year-old bat poo pile may tell tale of climatic changes

How are we going to adapt to climate change? That remains to be seen, but meanwhile a groundbreaking analysis of a 4,300-year-old accumulation of bat guano in a cave in Jamaica shows how they may have coped throughout that time.

red sea corals climate impacts
www.haaretz.com

Red Sea corals laugh off global warming – but suffer in the cold

Climate change is causing extreme weather: The Red Sea coral is resilient to heat but ironically, it bleaches in the cold.

ORIGINAL REPORTING
MOST POPULAR
CLIMATE