By Brinda Patel
Staff Writer
Good News Lions is the Nation & World section’s bi-weekly news segment, highlighting positive news in the country and around the world. The theme of this article is good Samaritan recognition and sustainable conversion of methanol.
Bystander saves driver after her car crashes into the Naperville pond
Tino Mora jumped into water to help to save a driver after her car veered into a pond during a traffic accident in Illinois on April 16 while he was working his job as a landscaper, NBC Chicago reported. Firefighters said that Mora held the woman’s head and body afloat above six feet of water, KCAL News posted on Facebook.
The woman struck a Lexus with her Ford Explorer and lost control. Before the car submerged into the body of water, Mora spotted the woman behind the wheel banging on the car window for help, FOX32 Chicago detailed.
“I got to go right now,” Mora told WCJB about his thought process at that moment. “I heard the ambulance far away. I got to do this quickly because I don’t know if they’re going to get here at the right moment…So, when I saw her in the window, I said, ‘Nope, I have to jump.’”
The driver’s husband said that she chose to stay inside her vehicle because she doesn’t know how to swim, WCJB reported. Mora went into the water to help the driver before first responders from the Plainfield Fire Department. He said he opened the driver’s side of the door and grabbed her coat to pull her up to the surface. The woman was rescued safely and declined hospital transport.
“God knew I was there in the right moment for the right person,” Mora told CBS News Chicago. “I hope she’s in good condition”
Additionally, her car was safely towed from the water. CBS News reported her husband said that she is in stable condition but is quite traumatized from the experience. He extended his gratitude to Mora for saving his wife’s life.
Although Mora is being hailed for his rescue, NBC’s Patrick Fazio reported that Mora does not want to be considered a “hero.”
Germany turns sewage into eco-friendly shipping fuel
A wastewater treatment plant in Mannheim, Germany, has begun to take biogas, a renewable energy source, from sewage into sustainable methanol. According to Fuel Cell Works Inc., this fuel can be used as marine fuel and become cleaner for maritime transport.
The climate technology startup Intelligent Carbon Dioxide Solutions, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Mannheim Municipal Treatment Plant have collaborated together to create the “First Facility for Carbon-neutral E-methanol Production in Sewage Plants” called Mannheim 001.
According to The Electricity Hub, the plant first purifies the biogas and separates the carbon molecules. Carbon is then combined with hydrogen to create the climate-neutral fuel.
Methanol is valuable within the chemical industry, however, shipping fuels alone contribute to three percent of environmental pollution. This new method is reported to help cut down global greenhouse emissions. The Methanol Institute says that renewable methanol can reduce carbon emissions by 65% to 95% depending on the conversion process.
“This new facility is a striking demonstration of how research and entrepreneurship can lead to practical solutions for the successful transformation of our economy,” said transfer and international affairs professor Thomas Hirth of Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. “This is an innovative approach that shows how available resources can be used in a smart and climate-friendly way.”
There are approximately 80,000 sewage treatment plants in Europe with the potential to produce carbon-neutral chemical methanol, according to KIT. The university later reported that Intelligent Carbon Dioxide Solutions is currently brainstorming with other sewage plant operators to expand production throughout the country and across Europe.
