Could your poo power the future? 💩
eco-nnect TALKS about rewillding
Good Morning Humans💩,
Amidst the growing crisis in Ukraine we offer you a wonderful newsletter to stay up-to-date on the most pressing political issues: International Intrigue. Meanwhile our latest eco-nnect TALKS episode is out—on rewilding🐺.
We also dive into Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta’s Biodiversity Review and….reveal how another Professor in Korea is transforming students’ faeces into energy whilst paying them in crypto.
eco-nnect TALKS about Rewilding to Laurien Holtjer
Europe isn’t wild. We’ve lost touch with nature and barely encounter wildlife anymore. So listen in for an insightful talk with Laurien Holtjer about Rewilding projects, the importance of leaving nature alone and how to join a European Safari.
The Economics of Biodiversity
There are several problems with the way our current economic system is structured.
Just some are…
It assumes that infinite growth is possible on a finite planet
It measures countries' level of competitive “success” by only one metric: GDP
It doesn’t value what is actually important for life on Earth: Natural Capital. Our most precious assets are depleted for free without accountability.
It is destroying life on the planet and the very ecosystems our species depends on.
Yet, no economist had actually spelled out these issues along with solutions until last year. Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta published 'The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review’ in January 2021.
Commissioned by the UK Treasury, the review perhaps doesn’t say exactly what the status quo hoped to read. Instead it calls for a complete overhaul of the Global Economy, placing natural capital as the missing piece we need to value in order to stop destruction and avoid catastrophe.
The review also rebukes the absurd expectation of constant economic growth represented in the GDP metric, and offers an alternative economic measure: Inclusive Wealth.
Professor Dasgupta also discusses the idea of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES). A concept that would enable conservation and restoration of vital biodiversity.
How could a global PES work?
Imagine if the use of a common good like the oceans were taxed: eg. Say you want to cross the Pacific or go fishing in the high seas, then a global entity would tax for every use and that revenue would end up in a global fund. In turn that fund would pay Brazil, Indonesia and Congo to conserve their rainforests (a global good). The high seas tax would also discourage overfishing as the amount of fish taken out (another global good) would be directly proportional to the tax.
You can read the abridged version here. Or stay tuned for our exclusive interview on eco-nnect TALKS.
The Beevi Toilet:
Korean Professor Turns Human Faeces Into Energy and Crypto
“If we think [outside] the box, faeces has precious value to make energy and manure. I have put this value into ecological circulation.”— Professor Cho Jae-weon
A clever university Professor in South Korea designed BeeVi. The toilet that transforms your poo into biogas used as energy for the building.
So how does it work?
The BeeVi toilet is attached to a vacuum pump that sends the waste to an underground tank where microorganisms break it down into methane. The methane is then used as an energy source in the building—powering a hot-water boiler, a stove and solid oxide fuel cell. What is left after the bacteria have finished is turned into fertiliser.
Each person defecates, on average, around 500g of material a day. This can be converted into 50 litres of methane gas—enough to produce 0.5kWh of power, or to drive a car for around 1.2 km.
Ggool Coin
To incentivize students Professor Cho Jae-weon created a cryptocurrency called Ggool (‘honey’). Students using the toilet can earn up to 10 Ggool a day, these can be exchanged for coffee or books by scanning a QR code at a campus shop.
“I had only ever thought that feces are dirty, but now it’s a treasure of great value to me. I even talk about feces during mealtimes to think about buying any book I want.”—student at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, SK
International Intrigue
Confused by jargon-filled articles about geopolitics? Curious about how international organisations actually work, but can’t bear to slog through another dry, boring analysis of ‘the global multilateral architecture’? Yeah, us too.
Enter International Intrigue - the 5 min daily newsletter designed by former diplomats to help you enjoy understanding your world again. International Intrigue helps you see the whole world by covering a different region each day, including extra sections on climate, tech, and business.
Feel confident walking into the boardroom, the classroom or, most importantly, your next dinner party because International Intrigue has got you covered.