In today’s edition of Squirrel News, we learn about a 1000-year-old irrigation system being revived in Spain as it faces extreme drought, the city of Barcelona’s efforts to limit the negative impacts of rising levels of tourism, and the Palestinian women using fashion to keep their culture alive in sustainable ways.
In the face of drought, Spanish farmers turn to ancient water irrigation system
Acequias was an intricate network of water channels engineered by the Moors in Spain which fell into disuse in the 20th century. A low-cost and efficient system, it is now being revived to counteract severe drought.
Bacteria significantly that limits malaria transmission discovered by chance
Scientists found that colony of mosquitos being used for drug trials weren’t carrying malaria anymore, because they were infected with a bacteria that is present in the natural environment. This can reduce a mosquito’s parasytic load by up to 73%.
The local community has suffered with the increase in tourism fuelled by cheaper travel, so the municipality of Barcelona has implemented policies like limiting the number of hotel beds permitted and capping the size of guided tour groups to limit the negative impacts.
Virtual power plants: sustainable response to new challenges
These “smart” networks of distributed energy resources like solar panels reduce emissions and adapt easily to the unpredictable power needs brought by extreme weather.
Neanderthal antibiotics ressurrected with help from AI
Amid increasing resistance to the currently used antibiotics, researchers used Neanderthal DNA to train an AI model which helped them identify new antibiotic molecules.
Maine raises heat pump target after beating initial goal ahead of time
The New England state, which experiences freezing winters, already beat its goal of installing 100.000 heat pumps by 2025, so now it’s pledging to install 175.000 more by 2027.
Getting a health boost from petting other people’s dogs
Multiple studies have found that petting dogs even for short periods of time can have significant impact on people’s mental wellbeing by reducing cortisol and increasing oxytocin levels.
Native tribes and ecosystem bolstered by dam removal project
4 dams in the US are being dismantled to restore the natural flow of the Klamath river and its surrounding ecosystems, on which local Native American tribes relied on for centuries.
‘Fashion is inherently political’: the woman mixing Palestinian design with sustainable clothing
Yasmeen Mjalli works with women’s collectives to create clothes that use traditional craftwork to tell stories of Palestinian life under Israeli occupation.
Refashioning puffer jackets: replacing goosedown with plant material
A rewetted peatland site in Greater Manchester will be harvesting bulrushes, a plant with similar structure to feathers, in a trial that aims to boost UK biodiversity, cut carbon emissions and provide eco-friendly stuffing for clothes.
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