Tackling environmental challenges is becoming a widely-acknowledged coupling with blockchain. Bitcoin News looked into how the government in the Philippines is tapping this potential to clear one of its most polluted rivers.
The list of novel blockchain innovations is growing. From financial services to the human genome, the technology is penetrating every facet of the modern world, and an emerging popular use is to save the environment.
River clear-up
The Pasig River Rehabilitation Council (PRRC), a state commission in charge of preserving the 27-kilometer long Pasig River, has partnered with CypherOdin, a blockchain startup with an environmental protection focus to save the river.
This is the first proof-of-concept (PoC) from the company, the Pasig River being an ideal candidate as it is one of the most polluted rivers in the Philippines.
In an interview with Cryptovest, CypherOdin and BOTcoin CEO Mariano Jose Diaz Villafuerte IV selected Pasig River after the government shutdown Boracay Island, which was to be its first “showcasing” of blockchain solving real-world problems.
He said, “So we looked at the Pasig River instead as the next most important body of water in the country.”
New technologies in tandem
CypherOdin will install Internet of Things (IoT) devices throughout the river, both above and below water level. Speaking with Bitcoin News, chief technical officer Andrew Margetts went into details of how this would work.
Margetts explained: “IoT Sensors will give us a real-time picture of the river, things such as nitrate levels, water flow speed, bacterial levels, objects in the water, microplastics levels and flora and fauna. This will enable us to have targeted clean-up efforts using the right tools and techniques, it’s a big problem to tackle so the insight makes it manageable.”
The CTO added that machine learning would analyze and categorize data to identify patterns, giving further insight into areas for improvement. The data would also allow for a “drone-based flora reclamation initiative” to run in areas where water had reached acceptable cleanliness levels.
The company will be utilizing drones with Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology to map plastics in the riverbed.
It has more plans in the pipeline for the future of environmental protection in the Philippines. Margetts revealed, “We do have plans to work with both the private and public sector in tackling the waste problem in the Philippines, we already have high-level discussion[s] under way.”
Efforts to protect the planet through blockchain technologies are popping up everywhere. For example, Ben and Jerry’s and the UK city of Liverpool are using the tech to offset carbon emissions in a big way, and there are even eco-friendly projects that reduce the environmental impact of crypto-mining itself.
It appears as though blockchain and perhaps cryptocurrencies themselves are going to be informing the future of our planet. While these technologies are well within their early stages, the pace of progress is astounding, as is the cutting-edge quality of the innovations themselves.
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