PL | EN

Hurricanes, droughts and desalination in relation to access to electricity

Power outages have become a daily occurrence in Puerto Rico when storms and hurricanes hit. Residents then suffer even weeks of lack of clean water. The impact of Hurricane Fiona in September 2022 blocked the operation of at least ¾ of the 917 pumping stations and 227 wells. Puerto Ricans were again exposed to illnesses stemming from contaminated water. After Hurricane Fiona, the Department of Health recorded 25 confirmed and 81 probable cases of leptospirosis, a bacterial disease caused by contact with contaminated water and soil.

Thanks to a desalination plant, the people of Agadir, Morocco, are coping with drought in agriculture and daily life. The Moroccan government is planning 12 more such desalination plants as part of a $12bn investment in water projects. However, the development of the seawater desalination programme depends on supporting it with renewable electricity – electricity accounts for 45% of the total cost of desalination. Therefore, Morocco wants to increase the share of renewable energy in total energy production from the current 20 to 52% by 2030.

Almost half of the sub-Saharan region (which has a population of around 600 million) has no access to electricity. African countries would be able to transition to a sustainable and environmentally protective economy if they had access to new green technologies. At the Africa Roundtable meeting in Dakar, policy, business and civil society experts discussed strategies for achieving a just energy transition on the African continent.

Read also
A “tattoo” for your heart made from graphene and “cyborg cells” in medicine
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a graphene “tattoo” that can treat an abnormally low heart rate. It was proved by experiments on rats when such an electronic “tattoo” was glued to their central organ of the circulatory system. The device acts as a pacemaker, delivering electrical signals that keep the heart working properly. Combining […]
Doxing, gaslighting and upskirting as forms of psychological harassment
Is doxing – the public sharing of personally identifiable information about a person or organization, usually via the Internet – the right way for Internet users to do justice? Doxing is aimed at people who, for example, have hurt and persecuted someone. This is, however, an easy way to start a non-stoppable hate that goes […]
Internet “time bank” and IMF activities in Suriname
TimeRepublik is a bartering website described as “the internet age time bank”. Instead of money, you pay with time credits for the work done. The credits can then be used to get the service from another person without financial payments. The idea of this “time bank” was born in Switzerland in 2012, and in recent […]
Green energy in the USA and a way to recycle wind turbine blades
In the Texas region, the cradle of the world’s oil and gas industry, Entergy is building its state-of-the-art power plant. A $1.5 billion project will produce electricity by burning gas and hydrogen. In the latter case, no greenhouse gases are produced due to combustion. Recent US regulations and the stance of the Environmental Protection Agency […]
Abortion in Belgium and France and the vacuum method in the USA
According to Dr Joan Fleischman,  who works in New York, training primary care physicians in a simple abortion method will help increase access to termination of pregnancy in the US, especially after the tightening of abortion laws in some states. Dr Fleischman performs a vacuum aspiration abortion – a medical procedure that involves the manual […]
Previous issues
By clicking "Subscribe", I consent to the sending of the Outriders newsletter by Outriders Sp. not-for-profit Sp. z o.o. and I accept the terms .
Sign up