Article by: Teresa Pinho | 14ºC The 21st century has a common enemy that has boomed in the last 60 years – Plastic. The truth is that it is a material with numerous benefits. However, and like everything that is too much is an exaggeration, the overproduction of plastic has been having very harmful consequences for the environment. But is plastic itself the culprit? Let's get to know the types of plastics, the advantages and disadvantages and which ones are recyclable and how to use and reuse them more consciously. What is plastic anyway? A plastic is any object that is obtained by chemically modifying polymers, mostly derived from petroleum. It can take various forms such as liquid (resins), molded...
Article by Teresa Pinto | Biologist and Master in Conservation | 14ºC Natural disasters are a topic that accompanies us and that is gaining some visibility and even global reach. As the name implies, they are natural and some cyclical events – usually physico-chemical, meteorological or astronomical – that occur since the beginning of Earth's life and without human intervention. Of course, as with other natural topics (extinction of species, for example), the human hand tends to increase the speed and intensity with which these happen. When a natural event has adverse social effects – fatalities, destruction – it is called a natural disaster. And what are they? LANDSLIPPING / SINK AND COLLAPSE This category includes soil movements, whether...
Article written by ECOX Wash the dishes, wash the clothes, wash the floor, wash objects, clean the windows… Oh, and the car! Have you ever stopped to think what day or days you don't use at least one detergent? It's true, practically every day we use cleaning products and they are present in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in the sunroom or even in the car. If, in a normal situation, cleaning products already have a high use in our routine, the current pandemic moment in which we live has meant that there is even greater care in cleaning and, therefore, there is an increase in the use of detergents. But do you know what happens to the residue of...
Over the last century the term pollution is common and is a concept known to all – a man-made effect that unbalances the environment, having serious consequences for the planet and its inhabitants. In the vast majority, and what is most notorious and visible, the known pollution tends to be defined by the pollution of the atmosphere (greenhouse gases), soil (contaminants from, for example, agriculture), water pollution ( solid and liquid substances in groundwater, oceans, rivers, among others). In addition to these types of pollution, there is radioactive pollution (radioactive contaminants such as uranium and plutonium), visual pollution (excessive visual information on posters, poles, electricity wires) and thermal pollution (due to, for example, , electric or nuclear plants, which heat...
But what exactly is Sustainable Architecture? In general, nowadays, when you think of Sustainable Architecture, you think of buildings powered by renewable energies and highly energy efficient technological solutions. What if I told you that it takes zero technology to make sustainable architecture? First of all, it is important to remember that when we talk about sustainability, we talk about a concept that encompasses much more than ecology. Because to be sustainable, it is not enough to bet on environmentally friendly solutions when economic and social factors are not covered. For example, a building that uses ecological materials, but that does not remunerate its workers with dignity or does not respect the cultural traits in which it is inserted, will...
