Climate change issues are interconnected.
Today, environmental degradation can be likened to the Lernaean Hydra, the multi-headed monster of antiquity, feared by many, fought by few. Global warming, deforestation, plastic pollution, species extinction, wildfires, and many more are not just separate entities to address individually, but are interlinked and connected. While it might seem like it requires a Herculean effort to combat each and every issue, the solution(s) can be rather simple and obvious.
What problems are we addressing?
The key environmental concerns targeted in our work are global warming and plastic pollution. The increase in atmospheric CO2—from about 280 to more than 410 parts per million (ppm) over the last 250 years—is a known cause of global warming. Potential adverse impacts include sea-level rise; increased frequency and intensity of wildfires, floods, droughts, and tropical storms; changes in the amount, timing, and distribution of rain, snow, and runoff; and disturbance of coastal marine and other ecosystems. Excess levels of CO2 increase the absorption of CO2 by seawater, making the ocean more acidic.
Plastic pollution is another severe issue. Only 9% of single-use plastics are recycled. The rest finds its way into natural ecosystems or is incinerated, either way posing threats to the health of various species (Walker, 2023). It is estimated that there are roughly 38 Olympic size pools worth of plastic entering the ocean each year (Ocean Conservancy). That plastic ends up in human diets and impacting marine species. It is essential to introduce reusable alternaties to plastics. Microalgae happens to be one of the cheapest feedstocks for producing biodegradables. There is a rising demand for biodegradable plastics, with various companies producing lines of their products that are sustainable in response to the fact that the public is more educated these days.
Algae can clean air while creating biodegradable plastics, leading an entire new plastic economy that does not pollute and kill. However current methods of algae cultivation require huge amounts of land , water and considerable amount of maintenance. While the solutions are here implementation at mass scale doesnt happen. We created a system that integrates algae in urban fabric seamlessly.
A render of our “Biofacade Systems” concept.