#solar restoration

[cleanroo]

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[cognitivejustice]

Restoring Indigenous aquaculture heals both ecosystems and communities in Hawai‘i

For generations, native Hawaiians have understood that their aquaculture systems, fishponds known as loko i‘a, serve as nurseries that seed fish populations in surrounding waters. For the first time, a team of scientists from the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) have modeled this feat of Indigenous science in a study.

“We are using science to translate ‘ike kupuna, or Indigenous knowledge, into policy,” said study co-author Kawika Winter, an ecologist at HIMB and He‘eia National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR).

“The value of this paper is that it’s one of the first, if not the first, to really show that there are ways to do aquaculture in ways that benefit the system around it.”

In partnership with He‘eia NERR and Paepae o He‘eia, a nonprofit organization dedicated to stewarding the He‘eia loko i‘a, an ancient Hawaiian fishpond enclosing 36 hectares (88 acres) of brackish water, the team simulated different restoration scenarios in Kāne‘ohe Bay on O‘ahu Island based on a simplified food web. The study found that restoring more of the bay into fully functional loko iʻa would grow fish populations not just within the ponds, but across the bay.

“Aquaculture has a really bad reputation for basically destroying areas around it, but those are commercial approaches to aquaculture that aren’t holistic in their thinking or values-based like Indigenous management,” Winter said. “Rather than ensuring the health of the system, commercial aquaculture is concerned with maximizing profits.”

Winter attributed the success of the loko i’a design to Indigenous thought processes: “Indigenous thinking is operating within the opportunities and constraints of this system and figuring out a way to make things abundant within that context, sometimes even increasing abundance beyond natural levels.

Restoring ecosystems and relationships

Since co-founding Paepae o He‘eia in 2001, study co-author Hi‘ilei Kawelo, a sixth-generation Hawaiian from Kāne‘ohe Bay, has witnessed thousands of volunteers transform the He‘eia loko i‘a.

With the ongoing restoration, Paepae o He‘eia has seen both the aquatic environment and participants’ well-being improve with increased access to traditional foods, strengthening their relationship to place, and fortifying their family and community relationships. “For me and for a lot of our employees, this is one of our outlets, if not our primary outlet for exercising aloha ‘āina [love of the land],” Kawelo said.

“‘Āina is so important, because it is a term for a system that has the nature and its people in an inseparable reciprocal relationship,” Winter said. “The concept is core to this work because it’s about getting back into a way of thinking where there is no separation between the lands, the waters and us.”

While the overarching goal of Paepae o He‘eia and other fishponds is to revitalize Hawai‘i’s extensive Indigenous aquaculture system, Kotubetey said he knows the work may take generations.

[rayofmisfortune]

Weewoo new blog banner!

From left to right we have Solare and Wamoon and Restore and Deleted.

Nothing special really... now to just hope and pray it fits 😭

[solarpunkbusiness]

In 2008, the Bangladesh Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK), a non-profit organization, pioneered community-engaged mangrove restoration in the country.

So far, BARCIK has brought mangrove restoration to parts of coastal villages including Kaikhali, Burigoalini, Munshiganj, Gabura, Padmapukur and Atulia of Satkhira’s Shyamnagar subdistrict.

Under the BARCIK program, women collect mangrove seeds floated upriver and preserve them for germination. In the next stage, they, together with the male members of their families, sow the germinated seeds in the selected and fenced muddy berms of embankments along the Kholpetua, Chuna and Malancha rivers.

“So far, we have planted mangroves on around 1,800 hectares (4,447 acres) of land, involving more than 400 women,” said Ram Krishna Joarder, BARCIK’s Satkhira district coordinator.

Teamed up, the women monitor the growth of the saplings and take care of them until their maturity, when they start flowering. From the mature trees, they harvest keora fruits and golpata sap to produce pickles and molasses, respectively, for sale.

One of the entrepreneurs of this business, 42-year-old Shefali Begum from Burigoalini village says that mangrove restoration helps her ensure financial stability in a challenging time.

“Although the production of pickles and molasses is seasonal, I can earn $52 (6,000 taka) monthly on average, which is a crucial backup when my husband and sons cannot earn from fishing in the Sundarbans [due to seasonal fishing bans],” Shefali says.

Once an unemployed and poor housewife, Shefali now leads a 40-member cooperative society.

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - May 8-14

Like these weekly compilations? Support me on Ko-fi! Also, if you tip me on Ko-fi, at the end of the month I'll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn't use each week - almost double the content!

1. Critically endangered fish with red hands and 'sad toad face' returned to the wild in Tasmania

“Conservationists in Australia are celebrating the return of 18 critically endangered red handfish to the sea after they were taken into care at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) in January to protect them from marine heatwaves.”

2. A rare Australian marsupial is being genetically modified to save it from extinction. Here's how

“Scientists are trying to genetically 'edit' the endangered northern quoll to make it resistant to the neurotoxin of the invasive cane toad. […] Now experts in gene-editing […] say they can introduce genetic resistance to the toxin by taking DNA from a species of South American lizard and ‘edit’ that into the cells of a northern quoll. They have already managed to do this with the cells of the closely related dunnart, another endemic marsupial.”

3. More and faster: Electricity from clean sources reaches 30% of global total

“For the first time, 30% of electricity produced worldwide was from clean energy sources as the number of solar and wind farms continued to grow fast. [...] Some of [the past year’s] new demand was for heat pumps, which are an efficient way to both heat and cool buildings, and for electric vehicles. [... Last year was also] the 19th year in a row that solar was the fastest-growing source of electricity generation.”

4. Standards Established To Improve Health Care For Kids With Disabilities

“Developed by a panel of health care experts, adults with disabilities and caregivers, the plan published recently in the journal Pediatrics […] calls for providers to be trained about caring for those with neurodevelopmental disabilities, improved communication with patients and their families and proactive planning in advance of health care encounters to ensure that patients are at ease and provided accommodations.”

5. Working together to better understand Alaska’s beluga whales

“Beluga conservation efforts depend on an accurate count of whales. Indigenous hunters also need to know how many belugas there are so that they [can] decide how many can be safely harvested. That’s why WWF is bringing together Western science and Indigenous knowledge […. U]sing hydrophones to detect belugas in the Yukon River works—and it is an approach that is both cost-effective and non-invasive.”

6. Robotic system feeds people with severe mobility limitations

“Researchers have developed a robotic feeding system that uses computer vision, machine learning and multimodal sensing to safely feed people with severe mobility limitations, including those with spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. […] The robotic system successfully fed 13 individuals with diverse medical conditions in a user study spanning three locations[….] Users of the robot found it to be safe and comfortable, researchers said.”

7. Senate Passage of America’s Conservation Enhancement Act a Win for Wildlife

“The Senate’s reauthorization of the America’s Conservation Enhancement (ACE) Act will benefit America’s wildlife and way of life. Led by Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Shelley Capito (R-W.Va.), the bill invests in wetlands and habitat restoration projects across the country as well as strategies to reduce conflicts between wildlife and livestock. […] The passage of this bill shows us once again that Americans are united on the need to protect wildlife and our outdoor heritage,” said Andrew Wilkins, director of land conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation.”

8. Liberals and conservatives differ on climate change beliefs--but are relatively united in taking action

“The study, led by researchers at New York University, finds that when given the opportunity, liberals and conservatives take action to address climate change at roughly the same levels -- and that this is due to conservatives choosing to take action despite their climate-change beliefs rather than liberals failing to act on theirs.”

9. Democratic state attorneys general are teaming up to protect abortion access

“A group of Democratic attorneys general are working to strengthen state-level protections for abortion, contraception and gender-affirming care. These protections could include expanding the use of so-called “shield laws,” which assert that states where abortion or gender-affirming care are legal won’t cooperate with out-of-state efforts to prosecute anyone who helped provide treatment.”

10. Antwerp gives residents free trees

“The Belgian city of Antwerp has 2,000 trees to give away, and it wants to give them to residents to plant in their gardens [...] with the aim of involving citizens in the greenifying process of the city. [...] What’s more, the city website offers practical advice on how to proceed with planting and caring for the tree so that it will meet the standards set by the municipality. [...] The City makes sure to give dead trees a second life by using their wood in the making of natural kids’ playgrounds.”

May 1-7 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[roseredsnow]

So my car is finally fixed which means I can take bigger stuff over now but wanted to share pictures of the corner I'm on about reviving, I did do a bit while waiting for trains (after pictures were taken).

I'm gonna start with the bricks around trees cause they're covered in moss then the two paths.

I think it was meant to have small stones rather than grass around it but I can't find any pictures from when it was first done to know for definite so my plan is to just scatter some native wildflower seeds and hope.

I dont want to do too much now while insects will still be using leaf cover that's why I'm starting where I am.

[solcarow]

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[rapidflowflex]

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[tangiblesolar]

How to Clean Solar Pathway Lights: A Simple Guide to Brightening Up Your Outdoor Space

To clean the solar pathway lights, wipe the surface with a damp cloth and mild soap. Solar pathway lights are a popular and eco-friendly way to light up outdoor spaces. However, over time, dirt, dust, and debris can accumulate on the surface and reduce their efficiency. Regular cleaning is necessary to maintain their brightness and functionality. We will discuss some simple yet effective methods…

[merchantservices444]

Advantages of Merchant Processing over Direct Carrier Billing in Mobile Commerce

[librarian-computer]

Adding this here :)

Him

Butcher Solar :)

I’ve had something stuck in my for a long time and I’m finally going to do it. Fazbear and the Creator has taken up a lot of this region of the country (whatever area tSaMs takes place). Almost everything is animatronics, and humans are on the bottom of the food chain.

What brought this au on? Listening to music ofc

So every member in the family has spiraled in some way and are all serial killers in their own right and murder any humans they can, whether it’s in sight or they play with the human.

Naming off some ones I have so far:

Nexus. Mad scientist, blatant murderer, uses technological weapons.

Moon. Regular scientist, subtle, poisons victims or uses chloroform and murders them then to make as less of a mess as possible

Sun. Daycare attendant, very subtle, refuses to kill children, will murder adults- but never in front of children- murders in secret

Lunar. Candy shop, executor, will have human sacrifices brought to him for him to electrocute until death.

Earth. Salon, blatant murderer, hair stylist that will listen to you yap but if you annoy her she’ll use her scissors to lodge them into your skull. She gets annoyed easily.

Ruin. Theatre, fruity performer that will have volunteers come up onto the stage for a ‘play’ and murder them in front of the audience. Uses a Kris dagger to murder.

Eclipse. Rogue, he prefers to constantly move and never stays in one place, murders in secret. Drags victims off of the street into secluded alleyways and will murder them there. Will use knives of all kinds.

Jack and Dazzle. Scouts. The only two that will not murder. Jack will if necessary and if necessary only. Jack will use his dagger hands.

Glamrocks. Respective jobs to due with instruments, doesn’t murder often, but Monty has murdered the most out of the four. Murders with teeth and claws.

Sunny, Solar’s Sun. Attraction at a haunted house, won’t kill but will lead victims to Moonrise to be killed.

Moonrise, Solar’s Moon. Attraction at haunted house, blatant murderer, murders anyone lead to him by Sunny. He will murder using his teeth and claws

Solar. Butcher. Blatant murderer+cannibal, will try to feed someone human meat, will jump the counter and chop you to pieces. His basement is filled with hanging meats of all kinds, the freezer empty including human meat. Some fresh, non skinned and diced human carcasses will hang on ropes from the ceiling as well. He will use a chainsaw, butchers knife, or a two tonged pitchfork. Hide your kids, he eats them too.

Killcode. Blatant murderer, he just roams around murdering anyone in the streets. Tall murder machine with big and sharp teeth and Edward scissor hand ahh claws.

Bloodmoon. Blatant murderers, they are hitmen that will murder other humans for humans. But you must wear something red for them to even consider you a client. So if you want to kill someone specifically, wear a red shirt :) they have claws and teeth.

Probably a couple of ocs.

Still working on the structure. But I think I’ve got the basic stuff

Let me know if y’all are interested in seeing something for it :)

[gominisoc]

A lot of extra SPACE, just in time for the eclipse!

[cognitivejustice]

How local heroes reforested Rio’s green heart

Photographs taken years apart show how reforestation has transformed Morro Do Urubu, an area in the north of Rio de Janeiro: left, virtually treeless in 1990; right, abundant tree cover in 2019. Composite: Angela Meurer & Plinio Senna

A restoration project to revitalise the Atlantic forest is making the city a much more liveable place in the face of increasingly frequent heatwaves

Rio de Janeiro’s striking blend of urban infrastructure and tropical jungle, cradled between granite peaks and the sea, earned the city Unesco world heritage status in 2012. Yet few people realise that the verdant forests cloaking Rio’s dramatic hills are largely the result of human intervention.

“None of this was here before. Nothing, zero trees,” says Santos, motioning towards the woods surrounding Tavares Bastos, a small favela clinging to a hill that overlooks Guanabara Bay. The 40-year-old, who uses the name Leleco, planted some of those trees himself as part of a pioneering reforestation project run by the municipal government.

Leleco initially got involved with the project because he needed a job. Twenty years on, he leads three small teams to maintain and enrich restored forests at Tavares Bastos and two other sites. It’s challenging work that involves toiling away in the heat, scrambling up steep slopes with delicate seedlings and constantly weeding invasive non-native species such as bamboo. Still, Leleco couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

“I feel responsible when I look at all this, how it was before and how it is now. I see birds that weren’t here before, animals that have come back into the forest, and I think, boy, I’m a part of all this,” he says, with a hint of pride.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Year - 2023 Edition

Welcome to our special edition newsletter recapping the best news from the past year. I've picked one highlight from each month to give you a snapshot of 2023. No frills, just straightforward news that mattered. Let's relive the good stuff that made our year shine.

January - London: Girl with incurable cancer recovers after pioneering treatment

A girl’s incurable cancer has been cleared from her body after what scientists have described as the most sophisticated cell engineering to date.

2. February - Utah legislature unanimously passes ban on LGBTQ conversion therapy

The Utah State Legislature has unanimously approved a bill that enshrines into law a ban on LGBTQ conversion therapy.

3. March - First vaccine for honeybees could save billions

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the world’s first-ever vaccine intended to address the global decline of honeybees. It will help protect honeybees from American foulbrood, a contagious bacterial disease which can destroy entire colonies.

4. April - Fungi discovered that can eat plastic in just 140 days

Australian scientists have successfully used backyard mould to break down one of the world's most stubborn plastics — a discovery they hope could ease the burden of the global recycling crisis within years. 

5. May - Ocean Cleanup removes 200,000th kilogram of plastic from the Pacific Ocean

The Dutch offshore restoration project, Ocean Cleanup, says it has reached a milestone. The organization's plastic catching efforts have now fished more than 200,000 kilograms of plastic out of the Pacific Ocean, Ocean Cleanup said on Twitter.

6. June - U.S. judge blocks Florida ban on care for trans minors in narrow ruling, says ‘gender identity is real’

A federal judge temporarily blocked portions of a new Florida law that bans transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, ruling Tuesday that the state has no rational basis for denying patients treatment.

7. July - World’s largest Phosphate deposit discovered in Norway

A massive underground deposit of high-grade phosphate rock in Norway, pitched as the world’s largest, is big enough to satisfy world demand for fertilisers, solar panels and electric car batteries over the next 50 years, according to the company exploiting the resource.

8. August - Successful room temperature ambient-pressure magnetic levitation of LK-99

If the claim by Sukbae Lee and Ji-Hoon Kim of South Korea’s Quantum Energy Research Centre holds up, the material could usher in all sorts of technological marvels, such as levitating vehicles and perfectly efficient electrical grids.

9. September - World’s 1st drug to regrow teeth enters clinical trials

The ability to regrow your own teeth could be just around the corner. A team of scientists, led by a Japanese pharmaceutical startup, are getting set to start human trials on a new drug that has successfully grown new teeth in animal test subjects.

10. October - Nobel Prize goes to scientists behind mRNA Covid vaccines

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to a pair of scientists who developed the technology that led to the mRNA Covid vaccines. Professors Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman will share the prize.

11. November - No cases of cancer caused by HPV in Norwegian 25-year olds, the first cohort to be mass vaccinated for HPV.

Last year there were zero cases of cervical cancer in the group that was vaccinated in 2009 against the HPV virus, which can cause the cancer in women.

12. December - President Biden announces he’s pardoning all convictions of federal marijuana possession

President Joe Biden announced Friday he's issuing a federal pardon to every American who has used marijuana in the past, including those who were never arrested or prosecuted.

------

And there you have it – a year's worth of uplifting news! I hope these positive stories brought a bit of joy to your inbox. As I wrap up this special edition, I want to thank all my supporters!

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[janusfranc15]

This is Cool!

Family owned Italian firm invents solar panels that mimic terracotta tiles to restore heritage buildings

In a small workshop near Vicenza, Italy, artisans make traditional-looking roofing tiles with a hidden difference: Each module contains solar photovoltaic cells.

The Invisible Solar Rooftile is made by an unique indivisible piece, with a very high resistance, that hides and protects the photovoltaic cells that are incorporated inside

The family-owned company that makes the tiles, Dyaqua, started developing its “Invisible Solar” products more than a decade ago. Solar panels “were spreading much faster than before, and our first thought was about heritage cities like Vicenza,” says company spokesperson Elisa Quagliato. The city, a World Heritage Site, is covered in a sea of red terra-cotta roofs.

The tiles have been installed at Pompeii (where the director of the archaeological park says they look “exactly like the terra-cotta tiles used by the Romans”) and in the small Italian town of Vicoforte. A larger installation will soon begin in Evora, Portugal, as part of an EU-funded project that aims to help historic cities “become greener, smarter, and more livable while respecting their cultural heritage.”

The same approach can be used to hide solar in other materials that look like stone, concrete, or wood, and incorporated into walls or patios, not just roofs. And it’s a way to potentially add solar where it wouldn’t otherwise be used.

Sources

https://www.fastcompany.com/90836947/these-terracotta-tiles-blend-in-perfectly-with-italian-roofs-but-theyre-really-solar-panels

[watford-herts-london]

Watford's Town Hall and Colosseum Restoration for Future Energy

The Town Hall is undergoing a major restoration project as part of the council’s 10-year Town Hall Quarter programme. The project aims to transform the top of the town centre into a vibrant hub for people and businesses. Elected mayor Peter Taylor views the solar panel installation on the roof of Watford Town hall during its renovation. Photo credit: Simon Jacobs As part of the council’s key…