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‘Vampiric’ overconsumption of water could lead to global crisis, UN warns

The world is "blindly travelling a dangerous path" of "vampiric overconsumption and overdevelopment", which could lead to a global water crisis, a new United Nations report has found. By 2050, the number of people lacking access to safe drinking water in cities around the world is expected to double, with billions of people facing water shortages in the coming decades due to climate change, population growth and shifting agricultural practices, the organisation said. Published by the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ), the report has been published on World Water Day and ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference, the first major UN water summit since 1977. The report warned that water scarcity is "becoming endemic" because of overconsumption and pollution. Moreover…

E+T Magazine in Water Supply
Water firms sacrificing environment for bumper profits, Lords say

The Industry and Regulators Committee (IRC) has been investigating the regulation of the water industry by Ofwat, including the investment and approach needed to prevent storm overflow overuse and the steps that must be taken to secure future water supply. It blamed “insufficient government strategy” and inadequate co-ordination resulting in a failure to “treat water with the care and importance it deserves”. In particular, it was found that Ofwat had not ensured that companies were investing sufficiently in water infrastructure in an effort to keep bills low at the expense of badly needed investment. In 2021, a review conducted by the Environment Agency found that firms in the sector had hit their lowest ever level with regards to environmental protection while most companies’ performance…

E+T Magazine in Ethical Aspects
Vast majority of car owners don’t want MOT rules eased

Around 67 per cent of respondents to a poll commissioned by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) opposed extending the time before new cars, motorbikes and vans need their first MOT, due to safety concerns. A Department for Transport (DfT) consultation on its proposal for new vehicles to require an MOT after four years rather than three closes at 11.45pm today, Wednesday 22 March. More than 300,000 vehicles a year fail their first MOT. The MOT test checks a number of essential parts on a vehicle, such as lights, seatbelts, tyres and brakes to ensure they meet legal standards. DfT figures show that 26 people were killed in crashes on Britain’s roads in 2021 when vehicle defects were a contributory factor. Nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of respondents to the SMMT…

E+T Magazine in Road transport systems
AI-powered drones could help save lives on the battlefield

Project ATRACT - aka 'A Trustworthy Robotic Autonomous system to support Casualty Triage' - aims to utilise novel technologies to help increase soldiers' survival chances after the battle. The researchers aim to develop new sensors, AI systems and an ethical framework to create a fully autonomous system powered by drones that can aid first responders in making critical decisions in the “platinum ten minutes” after a trauma. The project is being developed as a response to modern forms of warfare and technological advances, including new and cheap shoulder-mounted rocket launchers that make traditional evacuation by helicopter impossible. “In the Vietnam War, American evacuation helicopters transformed soldier survivability with the emergence of the ‘Golden Hour,’ using superior air power…

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
Daylight-saving time found to cut energy usage in office buildings

While DST opponents often argue that the time change impacts our health, for instance through sleep disturbances, proponents make the case that electricity can be saved because of longer days, which means that less artificial light is needed. “That was the original intention behind the introduction of daylight saving. From our point of view, however, it makes sense to look not only at the impact on electricity savings in lighting, but on the overall energy consumption of a building,” explained Sven Eggimann from Swiss research organisation Empa. During DST, employees start their work an hour earlier in summer due to the time change, and thus leave the office earlier in the afternoon. Since most of the cooling happens later in the afternoon, this can save energy. The assumption behind…

E+T Magazine in Climate Change
View from India: ITU presence heralds mobile advances

A confluence of factors have probably made India an ideal destination for the ITU office. With affordable smartphones and data, the country has more than a hundred crore mobile connections, making India the world’s most-connected democracy. The country’s digital inclusion brings a few aspects to mind. India has transferred more than 28 lakh crore rupees to the bank accounts of its citizens via Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs). Modi has said that more than 800 crore digital payments are made every month in India through UPI (Unified Payment Interface). Over seven crore e-authentications take place in India every day and over 220 crore vaccine doses were administered using the Co-Win platform in India. “Telecom technology for India is not a mode of power, but a mission to empower,” said Modi…

E+T Magazine in Telecommunications
Antarctica has lost over 3000 billion tonnes of ice since 1996

University of Leeds scientists have found that West Antarctica lost 3,331 billion tonnes of ice between 1996 and 2021, contributing over nine millimetres to global sea levels.   Changes in ocean temperature and currents are thought to have been the most important factors driving the loss of ice.  In order to estimate the calculated the amount of ice lost in the region, the researchers calculated the 'mass balance' of the Amundsen Sea Embayment, using climate models that show how air currents move around the world. The region hosts 20 major glaciers and is considered the fastest-changing Antarctic region. The researchers calculated the balance between the mass of snow and ice gain due to snowfall and mass lost through calving, where icebergs form at the end of a glacier and drift out…

E+T Magazine in Climate Change
Young people consider fewer children as climate change concern mounts

Carried out by YouGov on behalf of the Woodland Trust, the poll found that 33 per cent of 16-24-year-olds admitted to being “scared” by the prospect of a changing climate, with 28 per cent saying they felt “overwhelmed”. Almost one-in-four (24 per cent) said that fears over the climate crisis mean they are willing to consider having fewer children than they would otherwise like. Woodland Trust chief executive Dr Darren Moorcroft said that, with access to woodland declining and tree cover in the UK one of the lowest in Europe, the results were “alarming”. “Young people are experiencing an epidemic of climate anxiety and are increasingly worried about the health of the planet,” he said. “This new data shows that climate change is jeopardising more than just the environment, with people…

E+T Magazine in Climate Change
Derby chosen as location for Great British Railways HQ

The official home of GBR will be located in Derby, the government has announced. The Midlands city has been chosen from a shortlist of six that also included Birmingham, Crewe, Doncaster, Newcastle and York. The new public body will own the rail infrastructure, procure passenger services and set most fares and timetables, the government has said. "Derby will become the heart of Great Britain's rail industry, bringing together track and train, as well as revenue and cost," said transport secretary Mark Harper. "This means we will finally treat the railway as the whole system it should be rather than a web of disparate interests that it's become." The city was chosen through a " rigorous assessment process", as well as a public vote. Derby's application was said to have demonstrated …

E+T Magazine in Railways
Government borrowing soars amid rising energy bills

The UK government borrowed £16.7bn in February, reaching the highest level for the month since records began in 1993, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figure marked a year-on-year increase of £9.7bn. The rise in public borrowing was said to be caused by spending on energy support schemes that aimed to help households and businesses cope with soaring energy bills. The cost of these schemes has totalled an estimated £34bn s ince they were first introduced in October. Nonetheless, the ONS has stressed that the interest paid on government debt was £6.9bn in February - £1.3bn less than a year earlier - due to changes in inflation rates. “Borrowing is still high because we’re determined to support households and businesses with rising prices and are spending…

E+T Magazine
Decarbonise public buildings ‘five times faster’ to meet net-zero targets, report says

The 'Public Building Energy Efficiency' report, conducted by network service providers Neos Networks, examined the actual energy usage and efficiency of over 450,000 public buildings in England and Wales. It analysed their display energy certificates (DECs) and ‘operational ratings’ (annual CO 2 emission kg per m 2 ), and highlighted the areas requiring immediate action and major investment in retrofitting public building stock. The report projects that nine out of ten (91 per cent) public buildings will need upgrading in the next seven years if they are to meet stated net-zero targets. CO 2 emissions from public buildings need to be reduced five times faster than they’re currently falling to meet the target of ‘75 per cent reduction in CO 2 emissions by 2037’. The report's analysis of…

E+T Magazine in Sustainable Development
£14bn needed to tackle pothole backlog, report warns

This is the equivalent of £68,000 per mile of local road in England and Wales – and would take an average of 11 years to complete, an annual survey by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) has found. It also showed that local authority highway teams in England and Wales only received around two-thirds of what they needed to stop local roads from further deterioration. Despite a small increase in overall highway maintenance budgets, less is being spent on the carriageway itself and rising costs due to inflationary pressures mean engineers have reported being forced to postpone or cancel road schemes to make savings. The data also showed that in the last year, the gap between what local authorities received and what they said they would have needed to keep roads to their own target conditions…

E+T Magazine in Road transport systems
Disposal of 80 million solar panels creates headache for recyclers

The solar panels will generate around 100,000 tonnes of waste at the end of their life, according to a study led by the University of South Australia. Most solar panels are expected to last around 25 to 30 years before their energy-generation capacity declines significantly. In a new paper, the researchers called for incentives for producers to design solar panels that can be more easily recycled if they are damaged or out of warranty. “Australia has one of the highest uptakes of solar panels in the world, which is outstanding, but little thought has been given to the significant volume of panels ending up in landfill 20 years down the track when they need to be replaced,” said professor Peter Majewski. “There are some simple recycling steps that can be taken to reduce the waste volume…

E+T Magazine in Recycling
US innovative transport projects to receive $94m in funding

The US will support a series of smart mobility projects using the funding from its November 2021 infrastructure law, which pledged to dedicate $500m (£408m) over five years for these types of initiatives. US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg said the grants would "foster innovations that improve people's day-to-day lives, making transportation safer, more reliable, more efficient, and more sustainable". One of the challenges the Transportation department will aim to tackle is road safety. Last year, t raffic deaths jumped 10.5 per cent to 42,915 in 2021, the highest number killed on American roads since 2005. After declining for years, traffic deaths jumped sharply after Covid-19 lockdowns expired in 2020 and more drivers engaged in unsafe behaviour, leading officials to look for…

E+T Magazine in Research and Innovation
Q&A: Chris Hayhurst, MathWorks

What are you looking for when judging innovation award entries? The most impressive and attractive innovations are ones that address some of the world’s biggest challenges. We have seen entries that could have a significant and direct impact on health, sustainable development, energy, and climate change. Increasingly, engineers want to work on problems that can make a difference and it is hugely rewarding and motivating to see the impact of their work. The awards can help those engineers to see that their work is recognised and get feedback that others also see the potential for global impact. One of those innovations was Oxford PV, which has been recognised for scaling up production of Perovskite PV panels to commercial levels, which could have a direct impact on the future of renewable energy…

E+T Magazine
Amazon set to axe a further 9,000 jobs worldwide

Andy Jassy, chief executive of the technology giant, told staff that the move will reduce jobs in its web services, advertising, PXT solutions division and its Twitch livestreaming arm. The cuts come on top of 18,000 job cuts the business had already announced in January. In the same month, Amazon revealed its intention to shut three UK warehouses and seven delivery stations, affecting more than 1,200 further jobs. The company, which employs roughly 1.5 million people worldwide and more than 50,000 in the UK, did not say which locations will be most affected in the latest round of job cuts. In a letter to workers, Jassy said: “As we’ve just concluded the second phase of our operating plan this past week, I’m writing to share that we intend to eliminate about 9,000 more positions in the…

E+T Magazine
Time is running out to prevent climate disaster, say scientists

The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has called for drastic and deep GHG emissions cuts to keep the average global temperature less than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. “There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all,” the report’s authors write. The report has been compiled by 93 authors from research done over the last six years by hundreds of the world's top climate scientists. It shows that human activities have already warmed the Earth by 1.1ºC, resulting in more frequent extreme weather and increased food and water scarcity for millions of people. If no change occurs, current policies set to warm the Earth by a further 2ºC above pre-industrial temperatures by 2100, making the planet's climate…

E+T Magazine in Climate Change
Emissions from waste textiles could be cut with chemical sorting process

The sector currently accounts for around 10 per cent of global carbon emissions and almost 90 per cent of post-consumer fibre waste is disposed of through incineration or in landfills. Among these forms of waste, synthetic fibre has become a major threat to the environment and human health because, like other plastics, it is not biodegradable in nature. Owing to its low cost and durability, polyester is the most widely used synthetic fibre on the planet, accounting for more than half of all fabrics annually produced. Now, a research team from the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) has developed a “chemical sorting” process that separates polyester from waste textiles that are disposed of in a mixed and contaminated form. In the process, a unique chemical compound…

E+T Magazine in Recycling
Energy firms face ‘tsunami’ of industrial action, union warns

According to Unite, around 1,400 offshore workers across five companies are planning to strike, which could bring platforms and offshore installations to a “standstill”. The latest round of industrial action will hit BP, CNRI, EnQuest, Harbour, Ithaca, Shell and Total. Fossil fuel extractors have enjoyed bumper profits over the last year as the war in Ukraine ramped up pressure on the oil and gas markets. In November, BP reported a massive rise in its global profits , leading to calls for the government to increase windfall taxes to soften the blow of high prices on UK households. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Oil and gas companies have been given free rein to enjoy massive windfall profits in the North Sea; drilling concessions are effectively licences to print money.…

E+T Magazine in Fossil Fuels
UK and Ukraine announce a ‘new era of modern trade’ with new deal

Kemi Badenoch, the UK's business and trade secretary, alongside Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister and minister of economy, virtually signed a new 'Digital Trade Agreement' (DTA) to help Ukraine support its economy through the current crisis. The Department for Business and Trade today hosted a number of Ukrainian ministers, along with 200 UK and international business representatives and officials, to celebrate the signing of the digital trade deal between the two nations. The digital trade agreement is expected to support Ukrainian businesses by cutting red tape and helping them to trade with the UK more efficiently, as well as make it easier for UK companies to work with Ukrainian businesses and support their economic recovery. Under the deal, Ukrainian businesses…

E+T Magazine in Computing
UK must invest in smart and green shipping solutions, MPs tell government

The UK’s maritime sector needs more investment in new technology and cleaner fuels to compete internationally, MPs said. The TSC has published a report on the government’s Maritime 2050 strategy, published in 2019. Although the document was originally praised for its long-term vision, MPs have criticised the lack of a specific action plan to achieve the goals set. The reviewers called for “great clarity” about how the government’s vision for the UK to be a world leader in zero-emission shipping will be achieved. The committee urged the Department for Transport (DfT) to publish the outcome of a consultation on regulating innovative technology so that “momentum” is not lost. This includes a “defined plan" for decarbonising the maritime sector with "clear, measurable targets" for both home…

E+T Magazine
BBC urges staff to delete TikTok from company devices

According to PA, guidance reportedly sent to staff at the broadcaster on Sunday said: “We don’t recommend installing TikTok on a BBC corporate device unless there is a justified business reason. If you do not need TikTok for business reasons, TikTok should be deleted.” The move comes after the social media app, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, was banned on UK government phones amid fears around the potential extraction of sensitive data. A BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC takes the safety and security of our systems, data and people incredibly seriously. We constantly review activity on third-party platforms – including TikTok – and will continue to do so.” However, the BBC will continue to utilise the video-sharing platform to promote its own content, including news stories, but has…

E+T Magazine in Computing
UK manufacturers stave off recession despite inflationary pressures

A report from Make UK shows a marked improvement in the sector compared to the final quarter of 2022. The figures echo gradual improvements seen in other data regarding the state of the UK and European manufacturing sector. The improvement is being driven by strong demand in the electronics and mechanical equipment sectors, with the balance of orders in the electronics sector extremely strong, the Manufacturing Outlook report said. This could be due to several factors, including companies investing in digitalisation and extra capacity to counter labour shortages or, to take advantage of the final period of the super deduction scheme before it ends this month. Demand for electronics goods is especially strong from overseas, in particular the EU. The report also showed that the sector is…

E+T Magazine in Manufacturing
Biodegradable and recyclable glass could help waste crisis

The widespread use of persistent, non-biodegradable glass that cannot be naturally eliminated can cause long-term environmental hazards and social burdens. While glass is widely recycled, and can be recycled indefinitely unlike plastic, much of it still ends up in landfill when recyclers find it too difficult or expensive to separate the material out from other materials. According to Recycle Across America, “More than 28 billion glass bottles and jars end up in landfills every year — that is the equivalent of filling up two Empire State Buildings every three weeks.” To solve this problem, a research group led by professor Yan Xuehai from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a family of eco-friendly glass of biological origin fabricated…

E+T Magazine in Biotechnology

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