Auteur: Ap Verheggen

Water solutions in ancient times

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To support the Wetskills initiative, I visited last week the rapidly growing mega-city Ahmedabad, West India (7.2 million inhabitants) and visited the Adalaj Stepwall. 
When the city was founded, the climate was arid as nowadays, so people decided to build water storages underground to collect rain water during seasonal monsoons. Dependent on which period, people had to climb more or less stairs to reach the water. In wet periods the whole building, all floors, were filled with water. My walk down was an Indiana Jones experience!
 
 
 
 
Besides a miracle of contruction, all walls and columns are decorated with beautiful ornaments. Art and Engineering, hand in hand.
 
A continued dry spell in the current monsoon season has driven Gujarat to the brink of drought, while the capital Ahmedabad grows yearly with 350.000 people. 
 
People in Gujarat have to design new stairs to cope with their increasing water demand – same like they did in ancient times.

The SunGlacier V01 Protoype – we started!

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The SunGlacier V01 Protoype – we started!

This is it! This week we have started building a unique Art Project with potential applications for off-grid water resources in a changing climate. The SunGlacier project aims to offer solutions built within an intriguing design as it inspires more creative innovations for adaptation.

Since the start of the SunGlacier project I have been surrounded by a great team of friends who have given their time, effort and support, with a belief in building this prototype. Without their enthusiasm and determination to continue, the project may have stopped a long time ago.

Although additional financial support for this leap into a hydro-artistic future is certainly welcome, it’s about much more than money. The SunGlacier prototype is taking off with its own financial resources. It’s about our commitment to being the first to offer real solar-powered water production that can be optimized and put into use, beginning with an artistic presentation to grab public attention.

The studio where we are testing the components and building the SunGlacier version V01 is located in The Hague, the Netherlands. In the V01 we are using off-the-shelf technology to demonstrate that this laboratory-tested concept works. Later versions will feature custom technology, and the SunGlacier team is looking forward to how this first step will provide new insights and methods on how to maximize the water-production system.

Keep a check on this blog and the SunGlacier Facebook page during the building phase of the project (www.facebook.com/sunglacier). When it is complete, we hope for the working SunGlacier prototype sculpture to be invited for a trip around the world. A road show like this can increase engagement of others in our project and in other solutions for man living on a changing planet. Global media has already been reporting on our designs/concepts and we are looking out for more positive publicity as the prototype becomes a reality before the end of 2015.

Stay tuned; stay positive!

The SunGlacier Team

Project Management: Ap Verheggen, Frank van der Heijden,
Jan Alkemade, Matt Luna
Ralph The, Marcel in ’t Veen, Sander van Gent, Terry Cutts, Petra Reulings
Film and Photography: Taco Zwaanswijk, Svebor Kranjc. Boudewijn Knuistingh Neven (BKN), Davina Lamberts (BKN), Hessel Waalewijn

Let’s start plan B

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Let’s start plan B

We began project SunGlacier with the intention of sending a positive and optimistic signal to all in the climate debate. It has since evolved into a project focused on ways to apply climate changes for our own benefit.

If temperatures rise, the air contains more water. For instance: A dry and hot desert can contain up to 5 times more water in the air compared to after a spring rain in NYC. Normally, higher temperatures also mean more sunshine. So, why not focus on harvesting water out of the air, powered only by renewable solar energy? In this way drinking water and water for agriculture become available in most dry parts of the planet.

SunGlacier has devised a way to grow a tree in the desert, only using sunshine – as our engineering team proved with tests in a laboratory which simulated extreme desert conditions. And wait, this was only the very beginning! During the last 5 years we didn’t relax in hopes that somebody would help us to get our solution on track, but instead we worked constantly to maximize, improve and surpass initial outcomes. We are now working with a water machine concept that is inexpensive, simple to produce and low maintenance.



The SunGlacier team and I are proud to announce this promising success, but we are still in the process of refining the physical principles of this new idea. Sometimes, for myself it is actually a greater miracle that my team is still working so tirelessly – along with other commitments – to contribute to a solution for an urgent problem. This could be a contribution to the prosperity of the next generations of people like all of us.


Mr. Ban Ki Moon taught us: “There is no Plan B, because we do not have a Planet B,” which sounds like the battle is already lost. I have learned from experience with several governments and international organisations including the UN, that support for an initiative like ours, a solution, is nearly impossible to acquire because of the absence of an attached economic model. Our “business” is in fact bringing creative innovation to produce the one most critical resource: water.

I only could find one reason for inaction by potential supporting governments/organizations: A renewable energy water project somehow doesn’t fit in common visions of “plan A.”
Much has changed since we started SunGlacier in 2010 when there was already widespread discussion of global warming and climate change. The areas with drought are now spreading with unprecedented speed, climate extremes are smashing record after record everywhere…also in world leaders’ own backyards. In some areas the military has been mobilized to control of water-crisis situations. Food and water shortages are growing, and sparking local water-related conflicts that quickly spread across borders to topple fragile governments.
I watched a documentary last week about water shortages, when the man on screen looked in the camera and said: “Who will help us? Nobody cares.”
That is the reason why we continue to work to get Plan B on track.

They simply forgot that they live in a desert

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They simply forgot that they live in a desert

My journey through California.
By Ap Verheggen

The sky was clear when we flew in to Los Angeles. Even from my bird’s eye perspective, the dimension of the deserts that we crossed overwhelmed me. I asked myself how somebody could survive in this harsh landscape. But when the plane descended on its path to LAX, the landscape turned suddenly from desert into a web of streets, buildings, gardens and deep blue spots: swimming pools.

Later in a bar (every visitor in a bar or restaurant in California is offered a huge glass of water, filled with ice, as a welcome gesture) we talked with a friend, who lives in a prestigious neighbourhood in the hills of LA about the water crises.

He told us that his area has plans to recycle wastewater into a kind of grey water that could be used by the households, as a measure of relief for the overstressed water supply to his neighbourhood. It sounded like an ambitious plan, but even he questioned how many neighbours would stay if they have to use their own sewage…. “I’m not sure how many of my neighbours would agree to drink their pee,” he told us.


Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California are mostly fed by water that comes from Lake Mead, where the water from the mighty Colorado River bounces against the famous Hoover Dam. Driving to Lake Mead from LA, the landscape changes from green into desert in a matter of seconds. Beautiful!
After a couple of hours we arrived in Las Vegas. We entered our 35 dollar-a-night room and noticed that the tap in the shower was leaking like a river. Luckily for us there was not drip-drip kind of leak (that would have kept us awake). During our stay of two nights the hotel did not bother to fix it, which can only mean that repairing a simple leak is still more expensive then the leaking itself. Potable water in Las Vegas must be free, otherwise for sure it would be fixed in a day, like everywhere else.

Arriving at the Lake Mead Park, we started our investigation at the visitors centre. The lady behind the desk showed us on a map of what remained of Lake Mead. She told us that only 36 percent of the water still remained in the reservoir, because of the drought. More worryingly, she told us that Lake Mead would never be full again. The demand for water is simply more than the supply. When the water inlets that lead to pipes dry up,  they simply dig a new inlet to buy a bit of time. It’s a critical situation that we certainly didn’t expect.

Standing on the mighty Hoover Dam and looking down to the water gives rise conflicting impressions: A grey line on the rocks marks how high the water once reached, but the amount of water still there seems impressive, especially seen from a bird’s eye view.

We followed a road that promised to lead us to the lake, away from the dam and into the valley. At one point the gravel trail changed into smooth concrete and then back again. We continued to drive for another kilometre to arrive at shore of Lake Mead. Only then did we really appreciate how much lower the current water level is from that grey line that indicated the old “normal” surface level: From where we stood, a car parked above us by the rocks close to that line had the dimensions of a housefly. We realized the concrete patch in the road, way above, was once a boat launch. Now we could also explain the ladders high up against the rocks: they were ladders that people used to climb out of the water. It was like looking at the old Lake Mead from the fish’s eye view.


Continuing our tour, we found a sign – in the middle of the desert — that explained the Vegas Wash –Wetlands-. A decade ago the wetlands would have started just by the sign, but of course, we couldn’t find water at all.


The real shock came when we left the park and after just a few kilometres and some curves, we saw a huge green golf course, kept lush by sprinklers. Bizarrely, there were no golfers to be found – the desert heat was too much for them. We actually stopped the car to take in this strange scene – certainly it ranks among the weirdest things I had ever seen.


On our way back to LA I talked with a teacher who lives in Las Vegas and asked her about the water situation. She told me that she was concerned about the quality of the drinking water because she believed that pollutants sink to the bottom of the lake and she was afraid that soon the government would not be able to guarantee the quality of the water anymore. It was a worry that she came up with herself, but it helped her make the decision to leave and sell her house before others come up with the same idea and her property was worthless.

Arriving in LA, we were welcomed by again sprinkler installations, whose purpose was to water public grass next to the highway. The City of Angels appeared changed, because I was now experiencing it from my new fish eye perspective. The amount of water that is used by an average Californian household is only a small drop compared to what agriculture and industry use. People know this, and the virtual circle of no escape is created.
California is famous for its sustainability and for being the hub of the globe’s most innovative companies, it seems to have lost its perspective when it comes to own water. Even now, as the minute hand is inching toward midnight, the solutions generally proposed are founded on the idea of conservation and mitigation – which while important comes too late given the State’s state of affairs.
Instead of waiting for rain, we should all invest in revolutionary ideas and out-of-box thinking to help us raise water levels. There is always a solution, it just needs investments and time, and that’s what is also drying up. California is touching the tipping point.

Update: more drinking water than expected!

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Update: more drinking water than expected!
Yesterday in our laboratory tests, drinking water production increased to such an extent that we were completely overwhelmed by the results. Even at this stage of the testing I already can announce: Yes! We have found a new method that can contribute to one of world’s toughest challenges. There remain expected variables in application circumstances, but overall the outcome is far beyond “promising;” It’s spectacular!

Our new testing results demonstrated that our project: a synergy between an artist’s mind and the expertise of some open-minded and creative engineers, has opened a new door in the search for climate adaptation solutions.

My heart beats twice as fast when I think about the impact of this project on future applications.

Stay tuned as we continue…
Ap

New tests can start in the next weeks

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New tests can start in the next weeks
The inspection of the Desert Laboratory at Cofely Refrigeration

In a couple of weeks we start testing some new ideas how to generate water and ice out of thin air in desert conditions. We built a desert laboratory that copies world’s most extreme desert conditions and yesterday we inspected the installations.

The Cofely Refrigeration Desert Team
Ir. Tom Lubbinge, Ir. Frank van der Heijden, Ir. Erik-Jan Hoogendoorn 

 

The Climate Balloon Theory

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A balloon helps explain our climate
 
As an artist I don’t feel as confined by boundaries of science when considering natural phenomena, because it’s more my purpose to see things in a certain way, rather than to offer concrete explanations and/or solutions.  But with my long-time interest in nature and the radical changes in the Arctic regions, I’ve worked up a simple conclusion:  Earth’s climate laws are comparable to a balloon.
The climate change subject has been thrown into an arena with multiple contestants struggling to advance their own theories. Nobody yet has a 100 percent certain answer if the entire earth is heating up or cooling down, but all participants are sending a similar message: our climate is changing.

The Climate Balloon Theory
“If you press a balloon in one place, consequences are felt elsewhere. A closed system”
 
The Climate Balloon Model (in complete balance)


Temperatures

One good example of a climate consensus is that the Arctic is heating up, but it is difficult to find a unanimous statement on global changes. In the climate change balloon, if the Arctic is heating up, as a consequence, another part in the world must be cooling down. 

Consider seasons and daylight: as one side of the Earth receives light and heat from the daytime sun, the other side of the planet is cooling down in its night shadow. If the Northern Hemisphere is shivering in winter, the South of our planet is bathing in summer. 

Water

The Earth’s surface is covered with 75% water, but water makes up only 0.02% of the total mass of the planet. Because earth has an atmosphere (like the skin of a balloon) water cannot escape into space. Therefore, we come to this artist’s conclusion that the amount of water on earth will never increase or decrease, regardless of if the earth’s system is in balance or not. Water is the only real constant factor.

 

A common prediction is that as some parts of the world become dryer, other parts will become wetter. This perfectly fits my climate change balloon model.

Wind and currents (the equalizers)

In the climate change balloon we can learn that if we have great changes in temperature and water balance, there will be a noticeable effect on winds and ocean currents. The air and oceans are the players who control the system: the climate equalizers. Wind and water currents function as the motor of the system’s balance. In the Climate Balloon Theory, these forces are responsible for changes. A change in an ocean’s current has a larger but slower overall impact than its weaker counterpart, air.

Declining sea levels?

Sea levels rise because of some easily-explained factors: 1) increased water temperature = increased water volume 2) the melting of glaciers 3) wind pushes water to the side, or other way around. In my balloon model, the same effects also can occur because of a current that pushes water to or from a continent.

While we know that sea levels are rising in many areas, some data on the NOAA world map caught my attention. I saw dramatic sea level decreases indicated in the Baltic Sea, and it became apparent that water is getting sucked out of those areas. When I consult my balloon model, I see the main streams in the Atlantic Ocean and North Sea becoming more powerful so that they are indeed stealing water straight out of the Baltic Sea!

It makes sense that if sea level rise was only a result of melting glaciers, it would be impossible to explain why some areas are having decreasing sea levels. General consensus essentially states that sea levels worldwide are increasing because of melting glaciers, BUT…..

On some Northern and Southern stations, a sea level decrease is evident. (Alaska and Spitsbergen)

Following my balloon theory and the possibility of greater currents redirecting water flow, other places with few or without stations: Antarctica, Greenland, and many other parts of the Arctic Ocean will experience decreasing sea levels.

But perhaps it’s too ambitious for an artist to create a new theory that sea level rise is mainly driven by the power of changing of currents instead of melting ice caps.

More information on sea levels: http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/

http://www.psmsl.org/products/trends/

The Climate Balloon is never in balance

In a perfectly balanced climate system, every same calendar day over years would have exactly the same temperature. This, as far as I’ve seen, has never happened. Our climate is changing from year to year. Many factors play an important role:  the sun, planets, the moon, etc. I believe there are more factors involved than we are all are of…

Newton’s third law: “When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to that of the first body.” (OK, so if a balloon is squeezed in one place to become smaller, another part of the balloon will react by becoming larger).

To maintain a balance, there must be a dynamic system. It’s a quite complicated process that I think nobody completely understands, and it’s anybody’s guess what long-term climate effects will be.

Our weather is essentially like a slot machine. Too many factors are playing their roles. Looking back into trends of recorded history to hypothesise what the weather/climate will be is like observing patterns of slot machine’s previous results and then pulling the lever armed with only a small probability of knowing the outcome – jackpot.

Somebody squeezed the Balloon: Climate Change!

Climate science is relatively new, and in relation to the earth’s age, we are just recovering from an ice age. Our equalizers helped create a balance, but now signs are pointing to a new era: Climate Change. I see the situation as climate changing at unprecedented (and yet unknown) speed and intensity.  A result is more extreme climate conditions.

I have seen the Arctic with melting glaciers around me, and I have also seen temperatures in the same area at 40C above average. The local Inuit said the changes started in the 1970’s, and every year is becoming more extreme. And likewise, locals in Coast Rica told me that they can’t rely anymore on the rain season: forests are dying from a delicate balance that was disturbed by natural forces that are also at play in the balloon.

And by the way, the message below was posted on the site where I tried to do further research on sea ice: http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/
 
Maybe I should give them a call to tell them more about my Climate Balloon Theory!

Please feel free to repond: apverheggen@gmail.com

SunGlacier to Poland, IceBerg Riders on VPRO.

Ap Verheggen art, News

Saturday, September 7th, project SunGlacier will be presented in Warsaw, Poland, as a contribution to the PRZE MIANY FESTIWAL. (more information on: http://www.przemianyfestiwal.pl/en/e/short-films-big-ideas/?subpage=lectures)

At 4:00 pm the film ‘IceBerg Riders’ – the start of the SunGlacier Project – will be shown, followed by a complete presentation of the SunGlacier Project.

On Dutch TV channel HollandDoc 24 the film ‘IceBerg Riders’ will be broadcasted from Saturday September 7th, 10:05 PM and on other days that same week.

Development sponsor of project SunGlacier is

Unbelievably Positive at TEDx

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For anyone wanting to believe the unbelievable, yes, that was me on stage in the video presenting at a TEDx event in Amsterdam earlier this month!

“Extreme weather needs extreme solutions” was my central theme when I had the pleasure of explaining my projects and sharing excerpts from my films. In short, my cool(E)motion project promoted climate awareness, and SunGlacier encourages innovative responses.

It was stimulating to interact and share inspirations with people at the event. The positive atmosphere there was encouraging, and I hope that more people can see the impact of our planet’s changes in an urgent AND positive way.

TEDx nicely introduced my philosophy on their website: “Verheggen is an artist who likes to make the impossible possible in a very practical but almost inconceivable way.” That is one of my main goals, as simply an artist working to help inspire real people to believe in the unbelievable when searching for real ways to adapt to climate extremes. 

Have a look at the video to join me on a voyage of extreme thinking in the Arctic and the hot desert — Ap

“Responsible” Now!

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The predictability of climate change patterns is like a slot machine. We can only guess exactly what will happen when, where and to what extent.  But one certainty is that everyone will be affected by changes in some way.

(Illustration by Ap)

Scientists can’t yet determine the outcome of our planet’s climate, so we only can respond to what we see now to help us and future generations survive. Adaptation to climate change is about making responsible adjustments to changes around us: rising tides, droughts, fires, floods and so on.

Nature is like our mother in charge, and we are the children. Our planet’s weather is undergoing some kind of extreme mutation, and it’s a bit naïve to think we can “push a few buttons” or pass regulations to change conditions back to earlier “normal” times. It’s like trying to hit – Control –  Alt – Delete – to put Earth in reset mode!
A number of think tanks are looking for this “reset” button to stabilize long-term climate conditions. But we urgently need more thinkers who are focused on damage control and adaptation to worst-case scenarios that are already hitting the worst-possible places. With some innovative approaches, maybe we can even find ways to benefit from these changes already taking place.
It’s only a matter of standing by until nature strikes again, and then moving into response mode, like with Hurricanes Katrina & Sandy, the Europe floods of 2013, and counting. Responsible investments in adapting human engineering before the storms are less costly than the damage afterward. For example, more aggressive reinforcement of dikes after previous flooding in Germany could have prevented some of the present billions of euros in flood damage.
When facing the great climate change slot machine, we need to focus on more fresh, responsible approaches to benefit our next generations. “Sustainable” programs are welcome initiatives by businesses, governments and NGOs to help make a difference, and let’s take it a step further by ensuring we are taking proactive“Responsible” action that will have a positive impact now and when the next storm comes.     

Why Are We Freezing in the Desert?

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When working on a project as challenging and unusual as building a glacier in the desert, it’s important to be able to answer core questions: Why we are doing this? What can be gained?

We are not concerned with debating why the Earth’s climate is changing; for SunGlacier it’s important to focus on the fact that our climate is changing and that man needs to adapt. A recent report stated that all 12 years so far of the 21st century rank among the 14 warmest of 133 years on record. And more frequent extreme and erratic weather events are getting the attention of even the skeptics. Australia is on a roller coaster of droughts, floods and fires. Hurricane Sandy left a new kind of footprint on New York. Record temperatures are baking, and then freezing populations in a number of regions. The list goes on and wraps itself around the world. Environmentalist Al Gore made his best comment yet last month on NBC, “These storms – it’s like a nature hike through the Book of Revelation on the news every day now. People are connecting the dots.”

 

So, what is the answer to why we are here?  We want to put human faces on change, adaptation and a positive continuation of life – instead of using cuddly animals (a kind of “Bambification”) to tell the story. Yes, seals in Greenland are becoming thinner and losing their hair, but hunters and fishermen there are adjusting their methods of survival to adapt to changing ice conditions, sea temperatures and tides. Art projects like SunGlacier can help bring more attention to how people are adapting their most basic ways of supporting life, and hopefully inspire thinking outside of comfort zones to inspire solutions that can carry us more than 100 years into the future. Changes in the Arctic may seem far away until they creep – as they are doing already – into backyards, farms and forests of Europe and the Americas.

 

SunGlacier aims to challenge people to look beyond the scientific data, beyond the debate about greenhouse gases and carbon footprints, and beyond the politics of what countries practice “effective” environmental standards. These issues of course need to be addressed to mitigate future effects, but our immediate concern is on adaptation. Let’s move away from the naming, blaming and shaming about climate change, but rather find ways how we as people can continue to thrive on our planet – as we have always done in the past. Barack Obama said at his inauguration that failure to respond to climate change “would betray our children and future generations.”
 


Building a glacier in the desert is a relatively small thing compared to the new kinds of thought that can be inspired as a result. Scientists, artists, government leaders and all corners of the general public need to spend more time and resources on finding collective ways to bring benefits from what is already upon us. In other words, embrace the enemy when possible instead of spilling energy fighting against it. It’s not a far stretch to see where we stand in the title of a classic rock song “Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day.”

It’s fascinating, art as a medium to reach people and draw them into an important exchange of ideas.

 

Let’s keep it going.