SUSTAINABILITY  

Vertical shrimp

Vertical Oceans, a startup that grows sustainable shrimp in huge 'aqua towers', has raised $3.5 million in funding. These aqua towers can be located inside cities, potentially in facilities that even look like buildings, and can incubate shrimp without chemicals or antibiotics, and out of season. The idea came about as the founder would visit hundreds of shrimp farms as part of his earlier job and became increasingly frustrated by the environmentally unsustainable practices used across the board. To date, Vertical Oceans has had 10 harvests in the last six months from its small proof of concept facility in Singapore to demonstrate that the core biological concept works and can produce a good product. The system is specifically designed to fit “location agnostic” vertical farming in urban locations, including cities with cold winters like Chicago. The company is now expanding into a new facility adjacent to downtown Singapore where it will develop its technologies at full scale.

INNOVATION

Cities & climate

These days, the threats to our cities seem endless - from flash flooding to pollution, overcrowding to the risk of pandemics. To help avert crises, many cities have invested in technology, so sensors measuring crowds, river levels and pollution have gradually become as much a part of our urban infrastructure as lampposts and traffic lights. However, solutions need to join up and work in tandem for them to be successful. For example, many cities have invested in access to hyper-accurate meteorological data that can predict rainfall levels, however they have also invested in laying down concrete and tarmac which worsens flooding. You can read more about unique solutions and how they combine with other ideas to truly solve climate-related urban issues here.

THE LOW DOWN

• Saudi Arabia commits to net zero emissions by 2060
• ‘Climate crisis’ enters the Oxford English Dictionary
• Vodafone switches to recycled plastic SIM cards
• Facebook is planning to rebrand the company with a new name
• Ivory poaching has led to evolution of tuskless elephants, study finds
• USDA invests in cellular agriculture for the first time with $10 million grant

#Showerthoughts

• The thermal shock of turning on a light is allegedly what wears it out, yet the light in the refrigerator seems to require very little replacement.
• Flat-mooners don’t really get that much attention.
• Actors start off in commercials playing someone else, but when they've really made it they return to commercials playing themselves.
• QR codes are the opposite of Captchas. Unreadable to humans but easily interpreted by machines.
• There’s no better biodegradable spoon than a tortilla chip.
  
  r/Showerthoughts

#kwipuzzle

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