💚 Nuclear Fusion Breaks World Record ☢️
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Stay impactful,
Happy Wednesday 👋
Here are the impactful insights that I have for you today:
- Nuclear fusion reactor sets a world record in energy generation ☢️
- A new method of dyeing denim that can reduce the environmental impact of jeans 👖
- A debit card that incentives sustainable purchases 💳💸
- And more… 💚
Did you know that although nuclear fusion has faced negative publicity over the years, experts consider it one of our cleanest and safest sources of energy?
Think about it like this: If I’d ask you whether you’d be in favor of an efficient and clean type of energy (that cannot cause any nuclear accidents), what would you say?
And yes that’s nuclear fusion, where energy is produced when lighter atoms are combined to create larger and heavier atoms.
Researchers have long been pushing to find a way to commercialize this vast energy source…
And with this recent breakthrough, nuclear fusion brings the dream of clean energy yet another step closer to reality!
☢️ How a Nuclear Fusion Experiment Broke the Energy Generation World Record
1️⃣ The big picture: On February 8th there was a significant achievement in nuclear fusion research at the The Joint European Torus (JET) facility, a nuclear fusion laboratory based in the UK. After nearly 40 years of fusion research, JET has set a new world record by producing more energy than ever before in a nuclear fusion experiment. The experiment at JET produced 69 megajoules of energy over five seconds, eclipsing its previous record of 59 megajoules of energy.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: If we can successfully scale it, nuclear fusion has the potential to generate limitless amounts of clean energy without carbon emissions, unlike some renewable sources that are dependent on weather conditions and can be intermittent. The JET facility, funded predominantly by the EU nuclear research program Euratom, has played a crucial role in advancing fusion research over the years.
3️⃣ What’s next: The successor to JET, a facility called ITER, is currently being built in southern France. The ITER tokamak is designed to be much larger and more powerful than any previous tokamak, aiming to produce 10 times more thermal power than the energy injected into the reactor, which marks a significant advancement towards achieving “ignition” — a self-sustained burning of the fusion fuel. Full-scale nuclear fusion experiments are not expected until at least 2035.
Related: If this has sparked your interest in nuclear fusion, check out our article about The History of Nuclear Fusion to see how far the industry has come.
📢 More Good News…
👖🟢 A greener way to dye denim could reduce the environmental impact of jeans:
- Currently, the denim industry uses harmful chemicals which can be hazardous to textile workers’ health and contribute to toxic pollution in wastewater.
- Ditte Hededam Welner and her colleagues at the Technical University of Denmark have developed a new method to dye textiles. They use indican, a precursor to indigo, which is natural, soluble, and negates the need for additional, toxic chemicals.
- This method is helping to accelerate demand for eco-friendly practices in the fashion and textile sectors.
🌍🇪🇺 The European Union criminalizes acts of environmental damage:
- The EU became the first international body to criminalize serious cases of environmental damage and declared them “comparable to ecocide”.
- Habitat loss and illegal logging will now have harsher penalties and prison sentences under the updated directive.
- Countries have two years to put the new directive into national law.
💳💸 Debit card incentivizes sustainable purchases:
- The FutureCard Visa® Debit Card pays you to green, offering 5% cash back on rides, bills, thrifting and more.
- Unlike traditional credit cards which reward non-sustainable practices like gasoline or flying, you can earn rewards with FutureCard by choosing renewable energy, purchasing second hand goods, and making other eco-conscious decisions.
- These features have led to FutureCard being designated one of the best-designed finance products of 2023.
🤝 Three Important Awareness Events For This Week
- This month celebrates the social, political, cultural, and academic achievements of women throughout history.
- The goal is to draw attention to the prevalence of gender bias and eradicate it through education, empowerment events, and fundraisers.
🗽 March 1-7, National Invest in Veterans Week:
- Military veterans deserve support as they pursue business ventures after their service.
- This week honors the entrepreneurial spirit of veterans and encourages people to patronize veteran-owned businesses.
🙅🏼♀️ March 3-9, No More Week:
- In the US alone, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men will experience domestic violence or sexual assault at some point in their lives, and 65% of people who come forward say no one helps them.
- This week highlights the sexual and domestic violence epidemic and rallies support to end it.
Related: You can discover all the 115 most important awareness events (for the month, days, weeks) in our awareness calendar for March 2024!
📜 This Week in History
♀️ March 8, 1911: International Women’s Day – Observed since the early 1900’s, International Women’s Day is a celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Around the world, organizations hold events to honor women and rally for gender equality.
☎️ March 10, 1876: Alexander Graham Bell relayed the world’s first, transmissible speech over a telephone system, which he invented. Bell summoned his assistant from another room by saying, “Mr. Watson, come here; I want you.”
😷 March 11, 2020: National COVID-19 Day – The World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. On this day, the world is encouraged to reflect upon lessons learned, acknowledge our collective grief, and share hope for the future.
💭 Quote of the Week
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to focus.”
– Alexander Graham Bell; inventor of the telephone, scientist, engineer, and teacher
Share the news with your friends to make a bigger positive impact on the world and society!
Stay impactful 💚
Stay impactful,
