|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Mon, 19th Apr 2021 14:41:00 |
|
The best climate solution you've never heard of |
Around the world, there are teams of people who are working to track down and destroy hidden sources of greenhouse gases - stopping them from harming the planet. Some of the gases, which are used in refrigeration, have many times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
On the outskirts of Guatemala City, Ángel Toledo runs a waste disposal company dealing with metal, plastic and glass.
For the last three years they've also started dealing with refrigerant gases - which contribute to climate change. He siphons the gases from household appliances like fridges into refrigerant recovery machines.
They are then transferred to a huge tank that's taken to be destroyed once it's full.
It's a tangible measure of what Ángel has helped save.
"I feel fulfilled," he says. "I've had this plant for 16 years working with plastic and glass and other waste but I've been working on refrigerants for the last three years.
"I feel it's like a dream, helping the environment. Avoiding these gases from reaching the atmosphere. It's an ecstasy being able to help the planet through this work. It's very important for me."
But not everyone is disposing of refrigerant canisters or fridges in the right way.
"Unfortunately, you see that a lot and one of the biggest challenges we face is having to change the common practice. You see the cylinders on the street," he explains.
"They vent the gases as they're dealing with equipment or the cylinders and it's going to the atmosphere."
Ángel is part of a chain of people working to stop these gases causing damage to the planet. Teams from Tradewater, a company funded through climate offsetting, are working around the world negotiating with governments, private companies and individuals to find ways to find, secure and destroy the gases safely.
Once they get an agreement from the owner and local authorities, they take them somewhere they can be disposed of safely.
These teams are jokingly referred to as "ghostbusters", because of the way their cinematic counterparts gathered up troublesome phantoms and stored them together in large "containment units". They doggedly track, trap and destroy rogue gases before they can escape and cause climate havoc.
They're also sometimes known as "chill hunters".
Almost all fridges and air conditioning units use a gas to transfer the chill or warmth within the unit. This gas is a great insulator - handy in a fridge but not in the atmosphere.
Read original full article
|
| |
|
|
Back to Featured Articles
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Energy News
|
|
| |
| |
