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Showing posts with the label Emvironment

How infrastructure projects are critically hurting the Maasai Mara Ecosystem

The Maasai Mara is one of Africa’s most iconic wildlife areas. But roads, fences, lodges and other developments are putting serious pressure on it.  How Maasai Mara ecosystem has been encroached 1. Habitat Fragmentation and Blocking of the Wildlife Migration Routes - New roadsand tarmac: The Narok-Sekenani and other roads cut through migration routes. Animals get hit by vehicles and night driving disrupts movement. - Fences and private conservancies: While some conservancies help conservation, too many fences break up the open landscape. Wildebeest, elephants and lions need to move freely between the Mara, Serengeti, Loita Hills, and community lands. - Result: Animals get trapped in smaller areas leading to overgrazing, human-wildlife conflict and less genetic diversity. 2. Overdevelopment of Lodges and Tourism Infrastructure - Too many beds in small area: The Mara Triangle and some conservancies have lodge density limits, but outside them there’s rapid growth. Septic tanks, boreho...

How UK Hills Could Function as ‘Energy Batteries’

Quite a number of hills in the UK could be used to harness renewable energy “batteries.” The landmark hydropower system would be entrenched underground as engineers adapt to the old-fashioned form of storing energy. According to Engineers, as quoted by BBC World News, they are seeking to use slopes rather than mountains or steep slopes. They argue that the technique would be cheaper to develop in comparison to the traditional hydropower dams. They also claimed that the project would have less negative impact to the environment. The modeled version of the plant would emulate UK’s traditional hydropower industries by using the excess electric power to pump water upslope, which would later be released downslope via turbines to produce electricity. RehEnergise, the firm behind the project, will deploy dense fluid, which is more than two and a half times the density of water, up the hill during low electricity demand. The water would then be stored in an underground storage tank...