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5 Solutions to Pollution That Are Creating Jobs

Solutions to Pollution
The solution to pollution is not an easy fix and many industrializing countries in the Global South are facing the challenge of mitigating pollution while continuing to sustain economic growth. Because of this, environmental degradation and pollution are common in developing countries, both of which have adverse effects on health and the economy. Environmental degradation is near-inevitable for developing countries, due to industrialization, agricultural herbicides and groundwater dumping. This leaves developing countries with the challenge of finding solutions to all of this pollution. Finding solutions to pollution has brought sustainable industry and trade to developing countries. Here are 5 examples of innovative ideas that are creating jobs and reducing pollution in industrializing countries.

Five Solutions to Pollution and Poverty

  1. Ghana’s Climate Innovation Centre: Ghana’s Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) holds an annual competition that rewards entrepreneurs who develop products that counteract pollution. Since its launch in 2015, GCIC has supported 53 businesses, had 12 partnerships with entrepreneurs, awarded $772,435 in grants and created 117 jobs. The products sponsored by the GCIC are available to 170,000 households. The 2019 recipient of the Launchpad Competition was Sabon Sake, whose team invented soil supplements that will counter mineral erosion from pollution and increase the fertility of the soil.
  2. Alternative Energy Sources in India: Indoor and outdoor air pollution are the largest environmental health risk in the world. In India alone, indoor and outdoor air pollution was responsible for the death of 1.24 million individuals. The World Health Organization is proposing solutions to minimize health problems caused by air pollution. These changes are not large scale economic changes, but rather small changes — the WHO proposed a switch to non-coal stoves, a reduction in diesel transportation and a limitation on the burning of biofuels. Professor Ramanathan stated that such changes have empirically created jobs and increased the number of individuals eligible to work, thus bolstering the economy.
  3. International Trade and Access to Global Markets: When developing countries prioritize environmental protection, developed nations often increase trade in order to encourage sustainable economic growth. The green industry in developing countries not only provides a solution to pollution by decreasing non-renewable energy but also by increasing efficiency. The adoption of greener markets in developing countries created 3.5 million new jobs, increased access for developing countries to global markets and decreased annual energy costs.
  4. Clean Water Drives Growth: Water pollution due to chemical dumping, feces and trash is responsible for the death of 3.2 million children in developing countries annually. Clean water is an investment that affects not only mortality rates but also the economy. UNESCO estimates that investment in cleaning and sanitizing water in Africa — even on a small scale — would increase the GDP of Africa by 5 percent. A 5 percent increase in GDP would create jobs, trading opportunities and create new markets. Additionally, the investment in clean water would increase the number of jobs by opening water treatment facilities.
  5. Solar Market in Tunisia: In 2018, Tunisia began to transition to solar energy through its Plan Solaire Tunisien (PST), which is funded by the National Agency for Energy Management through various global investors, including the German Investment Bank. This project, which has decreased the need for dirty forms of energy, will contribute 10,000 jobs to the Tunisian economy. There has been resistance to the development of solar alternative powers, however, increasing the time-frame of power outage occurrences.

Although the perfect balance between economic development and environmental protection is difficult to achieve, industrializing countries are successfully transitioning their economies to accommodate environmentally friendly business practices. This has increased job availability, prevented deaths and directly benefited the poor in the Global South. Private markets, Foreign Direct Investment and government initiatives have all alleviated pollution in developing countries and successfully created jobs. These solutions to pollution have the ability to drive the Global South to a cleaner and more economically viable model for industrialization while reducing poverty.

– Denise Sprimont
Photo: USAID

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Desalination Technologies for Developing Countries

Desalination TechnologiesToday, 4.5 billion people around the world don’t have access to adequate sanitation. In fact, 2.1 billion lack access to safe drinking water. The majority of these individuals reside in developing countries. With 96.5 percent of the world’s supply of water being seawater and climate change making rainfall levels more unpredictable than ever, it is crucial to innovate desalination technologies for third-world countries.

Status Quo

Currently, only about 1 percent of the world’s drinking water is generated through desalination processes. Most of the saltwater being treated is brackish water. This is saline waters that are less salty than the ocean and have a salt concentration less than 10,000 mg/L. As of 2015, there were about 18,000 desalination plants worldwide. Over half of these were located in North Africa and the Middle East. The greatest challenge facing the adoption of desalination technologies in developing countries is likely its high cost: three dollars per cubic meter. This is about twice the cost of treating wastewater or rainwater.

Current Techniques

Two of the most popular desalination technologies being utilized today are membrane separation and thermal evaporation. Membrane separation involves the process of using a partially permeable composite polyamide membrane that traps salt but allows water to pass through. This process is also known as reverse osmosis. Outside of the Middle East water market, this form of technology has increased in popularity. Through pressurization, the process is able to reverse the transport of the water across the membrane that would otherwise equalize the concentration of the fluids.

On the other hand, technological and business ventures into thermal evaporation have also increased over the past few years. This process is essentially a multi-step process in which saline waters are heated, often through solar power, in a highly compressed environment. This encourages the evaporation of fresh water, which is then captured and harvested

Future Directions

The desalination industry is currently projected to grow by eight percent per year in the Middle East and North Africa regions. The most important objective of desalination technologies today is cost reduction. Luckily, the cost of water desalination is expected to be reduced by up to twenty percent in the next five years. This is being done through technological innovation. Furthermore, it’s expected to be reduced by up to 60 percent in the next 20 years. This makes it more competent in terms of price in comparison to other water treatment methods.

There are no major technologies currently expected from the desalination industry. Incremental, yet important, advancements can still be seen. For instance, the size of the pores in membrane filters has been consistently decreasing for the past decade. This decrease is expected to continue. The amount of energy expended per unit of water is also expected to be lowered over the next few years. Thus, further reducing the price of water desalination.

As the global population continues to grow, the demand for freshwater can only be expected to increase. The only solution to this problem is for the minds of the world to innovate creative ways to meet this demand, one of which is through desalination technologies.

– Linda Yan
Photo: Flickr

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Solving the Water Shortage in Israel and Palestine

Solving the Water Shortage in Israel and Palestine
Less than a decade ago, a serious water shortage in Israel threatened the quality of life and future survival of the Israeli people. Water quality and abundance in Israel have improved in recent years with the help of desalination techniques that turn Mediterranean seawater and wastewater into usable water.

Israel is an arid, Mediterranean country with a history of extreme water shortages. The seven-year drought that began in 2005 depleted Israel’s natural water sources and compromised the quality of the water. The Israeli government established the Water Authority in 2007 to focus the efforts on solving the water shortage in Israel.

One of the government’s methods for fixing the water shortage in Israel was its implementation of desalination plants that produce more than 130 billion gallons of water per year. Some experts say that desalination is becoming a cheap and energy-efficient way to treat water.

Desalination processes make more than 50 percent of water for various sectors of Israel, including homes, agriculture and industry. Water is now more expensive for farmers, but it is at least readily available.

Israel also reuses and recycles wastewater for agricultural purposes by treating 86 percent of domestic wastewater. The nation now leads as the world’s top water recycler.

Despite plentiful water supplies for Israel, the nation shares its mountain aquifer with the West Bank. Israel claims that it gives Palestinians more than what peace accords require it to give, but Palestinians are not satisfied with the amount or cost of the water.

The technology that solved the water shortage in Israel has not helped the Palestinians who rely on Israel’s water sources. The agreements that provided Palestinians with 20 percent of the water from the mountain aquifer have become outdated as the Palestinian population has almost doubled.

According to The Economist, Palestinians get an average of 73 liters of water a day. The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 100 liters of water per day. To make matters worse, the coastal aquifer that Palestinians in Gaza rely on is polluted and could soon become permanently damaged.

Israelis have water thanks to revolutionary water treating techniques. Complex political and social struggles prevent Palestinians from gaining access to the same water. Now that Israel has solved its own water shortage, its actions will largely decide if Palestinians get the water that they need to survive.

– Addie Pazzynski

Photo: Flickr