A Texas airport is harnessing the wind power of jets at takeoff
The American company JetWind Power uses giant turbines to capture forceful air from planes and transform it into electricity.
Dallas Love Field has served as a testing ground since 2021. Five solar-powered turbine “pods” on the tarmac collect wind, which started powering device-charging stations in the terminal in November. Eight more pods will follow.
Why We Wrote This
In our progress roundup, innovators use humble ingredients to produce energy, including thermal batteries made of sand and electricity made from the wind created by jets at takeoff. And in Japan and Kenya, court rulings bolster human rights.
Patrick Carreno, Dallas’ director of aviation, says the electricity is equivalent to what’s needed in 100 homes annually. JetWind reports strong interest in the technology from several other countries.
Sources: New Mobility, KERA News
Carnival is becoming more sustainable
In Brazil this past February, the Ministry of Tourism expected 53 million participants for the world’s largest Carnival celebration, the beloved festival before the season of Lent that also results in tons of waste.
But recycling efforts are working to change that. In Trinidad, nonprofit Carnicycle has since 2018 collected and recycled costumes that otherwise would have gone to a landfill. It then sells those materials to costume designers and partygoers. Similarly, Sustenta Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro both donates and resells the used, elaborate costumes.
In New Orleans, a growing number of organizations focus on recycling the plastic trinkets and extra glass and aluminum trash from the season. In 2024, the coalition reported collecting 12,697 pounds of Mardi Gras beads and small souvenirs that are thrown from parade floats.
Sources: BBC, The Rio Times, CGTN, New Orleans & Company
Finland is a leader in putting innovative climate solutions to work
The country’s heating methods stand out: Since 2022, a southwestern town has been partly powered by a sand battery, in which low-grade sand in a silo stores heat. A new unit being built will be a larger 1-megawatt battery that can store 100 megawatt-hours of thermal energy.
In Vantaa, the district heating network will draw from the world’s biggest thermal energy storage facility. Three caverns filled with hot water will store enough energy to warm Finland’s fourth-largest city for up to a year.
North of the Helsinki-Vantaa airport in Mäntsälä, a data center 100% powered by renewables will recover waste heat for the community. Other efforts include a financial services provider offering €437 million ($475 million) in loans to small businesses for sustainability measures.
Critics say that Finland should be cautious about the greater dependence on biomass for energy in the center-right government’s plan. But a recent study also ranked Finns as the Europeans most knowledgeable about climate change and how to address it.
Sources: Talking Climate, The Progress Playbook, Climate Change Performance Index
Kenya’s High Court is restoring citizenship to ethnic Somali Kenyans incorrectly registered as refugees
An estimated 40,000 nationals were stuck in digital identity systems and for years denied access to education, jobs, and legal marriage. In Kenya, a national ID is required at age 18. But applications are denied to those whose names persist on lists of refugees, leaving thousands stateless – and unable to even enter government buildings without an ID.
Between 1991 and 2014, the United Nations refugee agency managed registrations for Somalis at new refugee camps in Kenya, personal information that was shared with the country. Registrants included people born in Kenya who were not true refugees but struggled to find food and shelter at a time when aid was only available at the camps.
“The court’s finding that the Kenyan government violated the rights of thousands of Kenyans by denying them citizenship for years is a positive step,” said Yussuf Bashir, executive director of Haki na Sheria (meaning “justice and law” in Swahili), an initiative that defends the rights of marginalized northern communities in Kenya.
Source: Human Rights Watch
A fourth high court in Japan ruled that lack of recognition for same-sex marriage is unconstitutional
The ruling amps up pressure on parliament to legalize the practice. Since 2019, plaintiffs have won nine out of 10 lawsuits against the government for not recognizing same-sex marriages, though such decisions do not alter the law.
Koji Ito/The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP
At the Nagoya High Court, presiding Judge Nobuhiro Katada ruled that Japan’s current laws constitute “legal discrimination based on sexual orientation without rational basis” but stopped short of a monetary redress. Japan’s Supreme Court is expected to rule on the issue later this year.
In a 2020 Pew Research Center survey on whether homosexuality should be accepted by society, 68% of Japanese respondents agreed. Support is higher among younger generations, with 92% of Japanese between 18 and 29 responding yes.
Sources: The Japan Times, The Associated Press, Pew Research Center
