As fossil-fuel-derived energy systems facilitate the degradation of the planet, researchers have been innovating alternative and sustainable solutions—including the world’s first sand battery from Finnish startup Polar Night Energy. Currently operating in Finland’s Kankaanpää district, the battery relies on a large steel tank full of regular, dry sand with a heat exchanger buried in the middle. When the sand is heated, the tank can store …
How Indigenous People are Reclaiming Water Rights Water is not only a basic necessity; for many Indigenous peoples, it holds spiritual and cultural significance. However, colonialism and extractive industries separated Indigenous people from their waterways, contaminating them while endangering historical and cultural sites. Over the years, Indigenous groups like The Pueblo Action Alliance have found ways to reclaim their water rights. Currently, they are fighting …
Throughout the quest to transition to renewable energy, one problem has proven elusive to researchers: how to store large amounts of clean energy. Typically, clean energy has been dependent on the weather: wind energy needs wind, solar energy requires sun, and the lack of either means a lack of energy. To circumvent this, Oregon’s Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility is combining an array of renewable energy …
