About "Blue"
Blue Institute
The Blue Institute at Cape Cod Bay is a Registered Nonprofit 501(C)(3) located on Cape Cod in the Harwich Cultural Center, and a second location in planning sharing oceanfront space with the Blue Incubator part of the Blue Institute Labs, PBC a Public Benefit Corporation in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Designed to be an "open access" hub for excellence in water education and research, the Blue Institute is a growing strategic consortium of dedicated “Triple Helix” partners (academia, industry, government) on a mission to create solutions for clean water and climate change issues, and to educate the “NextGen” or next generation of water-thought leaders through hands-on training in the unique fresh and saltwater ecosystem at and surrounding Cape Cod Bay.
What Drives Us
Clean Water Access
830 million people around the world do not have access to safe drinking water. 2.3 billion do not have access to sanitary facilities. For every $1 invested in water and sanitation, an average of at least $4 is returned in increased productivity. (Sanitation returns $5.50 from $1 and water returns $2 from $1). (WHO 2012)
Scarcity and Climate Change
With the existing climate change scenario, by 2030, water scarcity in some arid and semi-arid places will displace between 24 million and 700 million people. (UNCCD).
Increased pressure on water security as well as the opening of Arctic channels are areas of great concern.
Ecosystems & Human Impact
Locally, our coasts are our economy. Innovative technology designs are needed to strengthen existing decentralized wastewater systems or the implementation of centralized sewering.
Globally, 80% of wastewater flows back into the ecosystem without being reated or reused (UNESCO, 2017).
Urbanizations & Coastal Areas
39% of the global population (2.9 billion people) use a safely managed sanitation service. Most of these people (3 out of 5) live in urban areas. (WHO/UNICEF, 2017). It is estimated by 2050 85% of the global population will live in coastal areas.
Demand & Management
Global water demand (in terms of water withdrawals) is projected to increase by 55% by 2050, mainly because of growing demands from manufacturing (400% increase). The opportunities from exploiting wastewater as a resource are enormous. Safely managed wastewater is an affordable and sustainable source of water, energy, nutrients and other recoverable materials. (UNESCO, 2017).
Our Oceans & Microplastics
71% of the earth's surface is water, and only 5% of that is drinkable, the rest is saltwater. Microplastics are small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long which can be harmful to our ocean and aquatic life. Plastic is the most prevalent type of marine debris found in our ocean and Great Lakes.
