Estuaries, where rivers pour freshwater into the ocean, could become giant power plants with the help of a newly made membrane.
LWM/NASA/LANDSAT/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
BOSTON—Green energy advocates may soon be turning blue. A new membrane could unlock the potential of “blue energy,” which uses chemical differences between fresh- and saltwater to generate electricity. If researchers can scale up the postage stamp–size membrane in an affordable fashion, it could provide carbon-free power to millions of people in coastal nations where freshwater rivers meet the sea.
“It’s impressive,” says Hyung Gyu Park, a mechanical engineer at Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea who wasn’t involved with the work. “Our field has waited for this success for many years.”
Blue energy’s promise stems from its scale: Rivers dump some 37,000 cubic kilometers of freshwater into the oceans every year. This intersection between fresh- and saltwater…
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Exposing the Big Game 
Here’s a thought. Is it safe for the creatures who make the rivers their homes, and the microscopic life that might be affected by humans playing around with this and that? I didn’t see one word about that, and it is something very, very few ever consider. Enough!
Just cut back on energy usage, stop coming up with more ways to continue an unsustainable way of living for the future.
It’s like reading about Jeff Bezos’ climate change plan, and then reading that his home has 25 bathrooms.
What was that article that said we don’t have to be so worried about deforestation because we’ve got the oceans?:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50690995