IBM California Groundwater Blockchain
IBM is attempting to take the initiative in monitoring California’s groundwater usage by establishing a monitoring blockchain. The data collected on the blockchain will be available to regulators, businesses, and farmers so that they can see the current usage levels of other competing users of California’s severely depreciated groundwater. IBM started this initiative in 2019 with the cooperation of The Freshwater Trust, a Portland-based nonprofit focused on freshwater ecosystem restoration, and the University of Colorado Boulder. Satellite sensors provided by the company SweetSense Inc. measure groundwater levels in California’s Joaquin River Delta, which then transmit information to IBM’s blockchain via Internet of Things technology. There are plans in the future to integrate smart water contracts into this blockchain, so as to ensure that parties extract the agreed-upon amount of water. The goal of the blockchain isn’t just more responsible management, but also to avoid the far-reaching economic damage that accompanies large droughts, which are incredibly common in California. But, a common method for companies wanting to offset or distract from their own environmental impact is to start environmental initiatives that link to a popular environmental issue. While environmental stewardship is to be commended, it should not cover for or compensate for environmental damage caused by IBM, such as their impact in areas such as e-waste.
Categories
Blockchain, Data, Regulation
More Ideas
Air Pollution Robot
The dangers of air pollution to human health are well documented, though the traditional methodology of collecting and reporting on sample lags behind the need to keep abreast and regulate air pollution in a meaningful amount of time. The use of drones and robots have been identified by researchers as resources that can be tweaked […]
Artificial Life, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Industry/Natural Commodities, Lifestyle, Monitoring
Telematic Rivers
Erica Kermani’s artwork seeks to answer a central question: if rivers were seeing an equal, living entity, would humans take issues like climate change threatening them more seriously? In his year-long art exhibition in 2017, Kermani, in collaboration with Diana Salcedo & Jeana Chesnik, created a new forum of interaction between humans and rivers to […]
Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Lifestyle, Monitoring, Pollution, Visual Technologies
Co-occupied Boundaries
Art is easily found in nature but rarely is what considered art today inherently natural. The concept of co-occupied mediums that serve to be both functional for nature and aesthetically pleasing to people is being actively explored by Asya Ilgun and Phil Ayres, from the CITAstudio at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. In […]
Climate Change, Ecological Monitoring, Lifestyle, Monitoring, Pollution, Visual Technologies