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Locally owned networks of air quality sensors 
CategoriesSustainable News

Locally owned networks of air quality sensors 

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: The World Bank estimates that the cost of health damages associated with air pollution exposure worldwide is $8.1 trillion (around €7.7 trillion) – equal to 6.1 per cent of global GDP. Indonesia has some of the world’s most polluted air, a public health challenge that led clean air technology experts Nafas to set up networks of local air sensors to help communities better manage their health.  

The Nafas app is free to use and provides real-time data on the current quality of the air. Users set their preferred locations and can sign up for alerts when conditions change. Using a green, yellow, and orange colour-coding system, Nafas makes it easy for families to decide when to travel or spend time outside. For users interested in more detail, the platform also provides in-depth articles by experts covering the latest air quality news and research.  

Nafas combines its proprietary technology with Airly air sensors to build its network. Airly sensors are designed for outdoor use and are robust enough to withstand high temperatures and significant quantities of rain. Nafas experts calibrate each sensor for its particular location, and the company invites businesses and other organisations to financially support and physically host a sensor.  

From schools and transport to retail and hospitality, all industries are affected by the health of their employees and customers. With more than 180 sensors already installed in Jabodetabek, Nafas is well on its way to providing hyperlocal air quality information for neighbourhoods and families. The company plans to continue expanding its network to increase the density of its coverage and its ability to map changes across some of the country’s most populous cities.  

Air quality has become so poor that innovators are creating cleaning products for every area of life. Examples in Springwise’s database include light-sensitive concrete that cleans the air in road tunnels and a lampshade coating that combines with pollutants to transform them into harmless compounds.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Tackling climate change with forest fungal networks
CategoriesSustainable News

Tackling climate change with forest fungal networks

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Much of the focus on the use of nature to capture carbon has remained above ground – on forests and trees. But ecologist and climate scientist Dr Colin Averill argues that the role of an “entire galaxy” below our feet has been ignored. Soils are made up of millions of species of bacteria and fungi and this microbial biodiversity is essential to healthy plant growth – and efficient carbon capture.  

Dr Averill’s team in the Crowther Lab at ETH Zürich has spent years documenting fungi’s impact on tree growth, finding that restoration of underground fungal communities can significantly accelerate plant growth and carbon capture. To develop this concept further, Dr Averill founded Funga, a startup that plans to restore fungal biodiversity to accelerate carbon sequestration in forests. 

Funga will use DNA sequencing and artificial intelligence (AI) to generate profiles for a healthy fungal microbiome in around 1,000 different forests. This will help it identify the right combination of wild fungi in each location to achieve accelerated tree growth and the highest amount of carbon sequestration. Funga will also establish around 1,000 hectares (about 2,500 acres) of forest and soil fungal communities – creating an ‘ideal’ environment for carbon removal. 

Funga has recently closed a $4 million (around €3.8 million) seed funding round and is working with forest landowners and the foresters to make fungal microbiome restoration a reality. 

A growing number of researchers and innovators are focusing on the role of microbes, and especially fungi, in cutting carbon emissions and moderating climate change. Springwise has spotted the use of fungi as a meat replacement, and the application of biome science to create heat-resistant coral.

Written By: Lisa Magloff 

Reference