The Knowledge to Decide

The air purifying power of 500 trees Taking green buildings to the next level, an eco-friendly building is now visible in the posh area of West SoHo in Manhattan, New York. The first of its kind luxury building has 25 storeys with air purification mechanisms. The façade is painted with Pureti, a water-based treatment that transforms contaminants in the air into oxidizing agents. This treatment purifies the air like 500 trees, removing the equivalent of 2,000 cars from the roads for an entire year. The technology is soon to be used on buildings across Turkey, Argentina and Spain. Can green technology ensure all buildings ‘breathe’ air in the future? Read here more:https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/the-air-purifying-power-of-500-trees/

Toyota has invented cars powered by human waste. In Fukuoka, Japan, a wastewater treatment plant converts human waste into hydrogen to fuel Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell car – the Mirai. The Fukuoka plant’s current capacity of 300 kg of hydrogen in a day is adequate to run 65 Mirai vehicles. Using wastewater is one of the most eco-friendly methods to make hydrogen, especially for big cities that produce a lot of sewage. In comparison to electric battery cars, hydrogen vehicles may be more effective in convincing consumers to give up their petroleum or gasoline-run vehicles as they function in similar ways. Will tomorrow’s cars run on hydrogen drawn from human waste? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/human-waste-to-power-fuel-cell-cars/

How can Singapore become more eco-friendly? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on 24 April 2017. Perera commented that to increase the public collection of recyclables, there should be better education and more frequent collection from recycling bins in housing estates. Perera also opined that measures should be taken to tackle food waste in Singapore’s hawker centers. The government also needs to work together with business chambers and retailers to encourage the purchase of products which are produced in a sustainable manner. Moreover, businesses need to think whether the supplies they purchase are made in a sustainable manner and not focus solely on reducing expenditure for paper, electricity and other supplies. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/increase-collection-of-recyclables-for-a-greener-singapore/

You can now choose to not change or wash your shirt for days! A US-based company has come up with a shirt which does not require washing or ironing for up to 100 days, and would stay free of odor and wrinkles! This wool science is all about temperature thread dynamics, wicking and cotton comparison. The clothing industry generates USD7 trillion annually. Hence, the introduction of a wrinkle-free fabric with such sturdiness could create a niche for eco-friendly clothing. However, the chemical formaldehyde, also known as embalming fluid, used in the fabric to give it a wrinkle-resistant consistency could cause mild skin rashes. Should health risks become more prominent in the long-run, consumers would switch back to regular shirts without any hesitation. How else would such wrinkle-free fabrics reshape the clothing industry?