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Welcome to World Ocean Radio…
I’m Peter Neill, Director of the World Ocean Observatory.
We live in a time of bright ideas: how did it go, a thousand points of light, in the cacophonous darkness? I read somewhere that at this moment we have more start-ups that ever. Many of these are best described as short-cuts, applications that shorten or accelerate time and distance, to make something easy, then easier, for which we will pay a purchase price, or a subscription fee, that will add up to billions, thereby to enable for some a hateful retirement and withdrawal from the dark to a gilded glow.
Sometimes, though, I come across an idea that seems both bright and implicative of a useful change, not a short-cut, but a new cut through that might just make a difference. Today, on World Ocean Radio, let me offer two for your consideration.
The first is called Water Cube, manufactured by Genesis Systems, a sustainability machine that pulls water vapor from the air, down to 10% humidity, and condenses it into liquid form in useable volume, up to 120 gallons a day, 48 gallons in the tank, with an output of 1 gallon per minute, UV filtered and purified, suitable for a house, disaster relief, or an emergency drought situation, or the constantly reported depletion of wells, water-table, and reservoirs no longer capable of keeping up with the double threat of over-consumption and diminishing supply. Thus, the machine addresses both a new water source—from the air—and an old water problem of failing supply—from the ground. Couple it to a local solar or wind installation for power and you have a formula for sustainability at a most critical time. The problem of the moment is that the Water Cube costs $20,000; but, you may recall that was a similar price for the Tesla home battery some years ago; the Powerwall now retails at $1,500. Genesis is taking orders, and you can contribute to the lowering of the unit cost by ordering two.
A second bright idea is Sway, a farmed seaweed application designed to create home compostable packaging, a substitute for plastic, that can be mixed with organic vegetable waste or disposed in the trash as biodegradable and chemical free. Traditional plastics have been around for more than a century, during which time they’ve become perfectly optimized and heavily subsidized. This industry is primarily fueled by petroleum-based pellets that are melted and formed into finished products through global manufacturing. Sway has developed an entirely new, patented category of biopolymer resin that is based 100% on seaweed, a regenerative ocean crop that replenishes ecosystems as it grows. Sway products today include a wrapping film, bags, pouches, boxes with a see-through film window, and customized design for client products. Thirty-five million tons of seaweed are cultivated around the world each year, and that number is steadily growing. Sway sources seaweed from a global network of vetted ocean farms, and works closely with these partners to contribute new research around biodiversity, water quality, carbon sequestration, and social impact. One such partner farm is just down the coast where I live in Maine, [Atlantic Sea Farms] one of several such example of a new industry, based on new values, provided by the next generation of entrepreneurs.
I wish Water Cube and Sway great success.
Last night, I lay awake awhile, examining the night sky. I saw trans-oceanic flights. I saw planets and stars in inspiring arrangement. Sometimes I see meteors, the death of stars. Sometimes I see a vibration that might be the birth of stars. It is a cosmic metaphor for bright ideas, each one unique, each one part of a natural whole. No one really knows where they come from; everyone knows the world is a better place for their knowing.
We will discuss the issues, and more, in future editions of World Ocean Radio.
World Ocean Radio is distributed by the Public Radio Exchange and the Pacifica Network for use by college and community radio stations worldwide. Find us wherever you listen to podcasts, and at world ocean observatory dot org where the full catalog of more than 750 episodes is searchable by theme.
Thanks for listening.
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