As you probably know already, today (Thursday, April 22) is Earth Day, which means it’s time to celebrate the achievements of environmental engineers everywhere. So here’s a collection of news items highlighting the efforts of engineers to improve the state of our home planet. For more information about Earth Day events in your area, check the official Earth Day Network site.
For centuries — until about 30 years ago! — sailors tossed their trash overboard into the sea. Now Navy ships focus on protecting the environment as scientists at NAVSEA Carderock in Bethesda, Md., develop and evaluate ways to treat waste.
Every ship is like a small city, with 100 to 5,000 people aboard. They produce refuse ranging from garbage to water waste, sewage to shower water and eventually must dispose of it all. Dishwater, for example, could pollute the ocean if it’s dumped, so the scientists have created methods to treat it onboard so it can be safely discharged overboard. Plastics are another story — they can never go over the side. Instead, they are compressed into large disks and returned to shore, where they may be recycled.
The imaginative building, also called a sub- or sea-scraper, was designed by Sarly Adre bin Sarkum of Malaysia and intended to contrast with the above-ground entries that dominated the competition.
The Scarlet Knight might sound like the name of the next big superhero, but it’s actually the first robotic deep-sea glider to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Without the aid of a propeller, this craft “flew” through the water, all the while communicating with scientists via GPS:
