Ecuador is going through one of the most challenging times in its history due to the lack of rainfall in the hydroelectric plants caused by an unexpected climate change. In the Sierra, there is a common saying, «Abril aguas mil,» which refers to the amount of rain expected in one of the year’s wettest months. Still, it has been the exception this time because the average precipitation has been absent.
Solar energy and bioelectricity
The opposite of the cities happens at Sani, where solar panels allow us to generate up to 50% of all the energy needed daily when the lodge is at total capacity. It would be spectacular to have bio-electricity just like one of the inhabitants of our lagoon, the electric eel.
Eels or fish?
Amazon Eels are named for their resemblance to marine species, but they are fish belonging to the Gymnotidae family. This family is characterized by an elongated, knife-shaped body with a lack of both dorsal or pectoral fins and a very long anal one which is used for motion. Their adaptation is spectacular, firstly because they do not electrocute themselves. Secondly, they have electrolytes, specialized cells in the form of electrical discs lined up along the body, similar to an electric battery.
Amazonian eels, through the Hut organ, can discharge 600 volts and 1 amp, paralyzing their prey’s muscles in 3 milliseconds to feed on them. They have two organs that emit only 10 volts, considered by scientists to be the sixth sense, as the low-voltage discharges cause muscle spasms in nearby fish whose movement allows them to locate their prey.
Bioluminescence in the forest
Fireflies have particular light organs located in the abdomen in which a chemical oxidation process occurs where the enzyme luciferase acts on the protein luciferin in the presence of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to obtain the cellular energy that allows them to produce that emission of cold light that helps them to find possible mates when they fly while the larvae emit a warning to their predators at night.
Fungi
Walking in the forest at night, you can see rays of light emanating from the forest litter and even from tree trunks. Fungi perform this magic to attract insects and spiders, which help to spread their spores throughout the forest.
Applied bioelectricity
In ancient Egypt, the bioelectricity of eels was used to treat epilepsy. At the same time, in our days, several researchers have developed a system of hydrogels that mimic fish cells and whose application would make it possible to generate energy in human implants such as pacemakers.
Nature provides us with everything we need for a better life, but we insist on destroying it through unsustainable practices.
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