We’re celebrating Earth Day…and there’s no turning back!
Back in 1970, a U.S. Senator, a U.S. Congressman and a Harvard University professor organized a nationwide demonstration to focus attention on the environment. Oil spills, polluted air, fouled water, and pesticides destroying wildlife were grabbing the attention of private citizens, as the dangers started impacting public health.
Around 20 million people across the country were part of that first Earth Day. Improvements came: the pesticide DDT was banned; laws and regulations for Clean Air and Clean Water were passed; lead-free gasoline, asbestos-free products and biodegradable packaging became the norm. In the nearly 50 years since, many more environmentally beneficial innovations have emerged: hybrid cars, electric cars and renewable energy from solar, wind and now the ocean. For this year’s Earth Day celebration, it’s estimated that over 1 billion people worldwide will take part by planting trees, doing local clean-ups, meeting local representatives and other activities.
We‘ve come a long way, and we should take a second to be proud of that. But we know we have a lot more to do. The good news: we’re already accelerating on the journey. Tapping into imagination, creativity, technology and innovation, individuals and companies are producing amazing things that are benefiting the Earth. True to our spirit of harmonizing product, nature and life, Dassault Systèmes is right in the middle of this, helping support innovation with modeling and simulation solutions. We’re proud to share a few examples with you.
Consider the pollution-treating creation of world-renowned architect Kengo Kuma, whose firm was challenged by Dassault Systèmes to develop a solution for urban air pollution to show at our 2018 Design in the Age of Experience event in Milan, Italy. The resulting creation titled Breath/ng used special pollution-neutralizing fabric in a sculpture of large suspended coils. The event also displayed elements from Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde’s Smog Free Project, including its air filtering tower. Both designers use Dassault Systèmes solutions.
An even broader scale of urban and environmental planning is treated by projects like Virtual Singapore, first announced in 2015. At the World Cities Summit 2018, Dassault Systèmes centered on how cities can embrace the future using the virtual world to develop resilience and resourcefulness in the real world.
Or what about the undulating, electricity-generating membrane created by EEL Energy working with our 3DEXPERIENCE Lab and inspired by bio-mimicry of swimming fish? The solution was just shown at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES2019) last January.
The Ocean Cleanup is an organization designing advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic that comes in by millions of tons. They are developing a passive collection system that moves with the currents – just like the plastic. It concentrates the debris so that it can be easily extracted and brought to shore for recycling. We are proud that they are using SIMULIA’s XFlow CFD solution the efficiency of its system designs.
And then, there’s putting it all together: orchestrating people, equipment and processes to improve manufacturing. Dassault Systèmes has solutions there as well, bringing processes together with digital continuity from design through delivery and service. Not only does this improve a company’s efficiencies, but there are positive outcomes for the Earth: less waste, better resource allocation and lower impacts on the environment.
With the awareness of the world, we will continue to progress on goals to better care for our planet. It may be a small step at a time, and it may not be as fast as we want, but corralling our technology, inventiveness and resilience, we’ll make every Earth Day an even bigger celebration!
