Water scarcity is a huge global issue. More than 2 billion people lack access...

CNN Climate 1 month ago

Water scarcity is a huge global issue. More than 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, a situation set to worsen due to climate change, which fuels longer and more severe drought. As reservoirs shrink, groundwater dries up and rainy seasons become more erratic, some believe one answer to this crisis lies in the reservoirs of moisture in our skies. Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology created a water harvesting device that is a window-sized panel made with absorbent material called "hydrogel," which has been infused with salt, folded up like origami and enclosed in glass. The material, which looks like black bubble wrap, absorbs water vapor directly from the air, swelling up as it does so, then shrinking again as the water evaporates. The water condenses on the glass and flows down a tube to emerge as fresh, drinkable water. No power is needed, just heat from the sun. The device doesn't produce a huge amount of water from the bone-dry air — around two-thirds of a cup a day — but the ultimate aim is to supply a household with drinking water even in arid deserts, said Xuanhe Zhao, a mechanical engineering professor at MIT. Read more at the link in our bio. 📸: MIT

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 2 hours ago



A surge of innovation is redefining sustainable construction, with projects across the UK demonstrating how environmental sustainability in construction can merge with design excellence and performance resilience. At the forefront is the shortlisted “upcycled skyscraper”, a striking case of circular economy in construction where existing structures are adapted rather than demolished. The project exemplifies low carbon design by reusing steel and concrete frames to reduce embodied carbon in materials and limit the carbon footprint of construction. Through a robust whole life carbon assessment, the scheme proves that sustainable building design can embody elegance and cost-efficiency while advancing the goal of net zero whole life carbon in urban regeneration.

The Medworth Energy from Waste Combined Heat and Power facility in Wisbech represents a parallel movement toward decarbonising the built environment. By transforming residual waste into usable energy, the £500 million investment underscores how sustainable building practices contribute to green infrastructure and long-term resource efficiency in construction. Designed to power more than 80,000 homes with low-carbon electricity, the facility highlights how lifecycle assessment and low carbon construction materials factor into environmental product declarations (EPDs) and end-of-life reuse in construction plans. It demonstrates that whole life carbon reduction can be achieved when energy generation is woven into the broader framework of sustainable urban development.

Heritage buildings are equally central to this transition. G F Tomlinson’s retrofit of Barnsley College’s University Centre into the South Yorkshire Institute of Technology embodies life cycle thinking in construction and shows how low-impact construction methods can rejuvenate older assets. The project integrates renewable building materials and green building products while preserving the structure’s Art Deco façade. It stands as an archetype of eco-friendly construction and sustainable material specification, proving that a low carbon building can bridge history and high performance without undermining architectural integrity.

Industry analysis reveals that the private sector is expanding its commitment to net zero carbon buildings, embedding BREEAM and emerging frameworks like BREEAM v7 into procurement and reporting systems. Corporations are prioritising life cycle cost evaluations and circular construction strategies to ensure that every design stage addresses embodied carbon and operational efficiency. In shifting toward carbon neutral construction, these firms are retooling supply chains and adopting low embodied carbon materials tailored to each project’s environmental impact of construction metrics. The movement marks a clear pivot from voluntary green construction efforts toward measurable and verifiable sustainability outcomes.

Prince William’s advocacy for scalable sustainable design through initiatives such as the Earthshot Prize captures a global mood: carbon footprint reduction must be inherent to every phase of eco-design for buildings, from concept development to building lifecycle performance analysis. The momentum now depends on how effectively policymakers and developers align lifecycle assessment methodologies with on-site practice. With the integration of circular economy strategies and net zero carbon benchmarks, sustainable construction is emerging not as an alternative niche but as the foundation of future-ready, low carbon, energy-efficient buildings. The shift signals a systemic commitment to transforming the environmental sustainability of construction into a central metric of progress, setting a new global standard for how we build, adapt and sustain the built environment.

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