Interesting stats on EVs and energy use in the US, developments in wind and tidal power, a plastic recycling microfactory, and an "unprecedented collapse" in EU fossil fuel generation.
Cow-less dairy, circular economy examples, climate tech enterprises, car-free living in car-centric cities, plus floatovoltaics: coming soon to a reservoir near you?
“COW-LESS” DAIRY – HERE TO STAY? –Yes, we’re talking about REAL dairy that’s biologically identical to the stuff that comes from cows – but cultured in a lab. Coming soon to an ice cream cone near you, if the company Perfect Day has anything to say about it.
MOVING TOWARD A CIRCULAR ECONOMY– 9 examples of businesses and policy-makers accelerating the transition to a circular economy. Circularity FTW!!
10 CLIMATE TECH SOCIAL ENTERPRISES THAT INSPIRE HOPE – Check out these enterprises working to reduce humanity's impact on the environment. Includes companies that are shortening food supply chains in Africa, mitigating methane emissions from cows, transforming captured carbon into usable products, upcycling landfill waste into hydrogen, and more.
CAR-FREE LIVING TAKES OFF IN CAR-CENTRIC CITIES – In Houston and Charlotte, developers are leveraging micromobility, transit investments and zoning reforms to create walkable projects that omit the parking lot. Imagine being surrounded by parks, trails, hangout places and shops instead of car-congested roads.
MANAGING THE WORLD’S WATER RESOURCES – New review of world water resources provides sustainable management strategies.The study draws on data from satellites, climate models, monitoring networks and almost 200 scientific papers to analyze Earth's water supply, how it's changing in different regions and what's driving these changes. The study's co-authors include almost two dozen water experts from around the world.
NEW CERAMIC CAN REDUCE THE WASTE POWER PLANTS RELEASE – Researchers at West Virginia University have engineered an oxide ceramic material that could help make thermoelectric generators more efficient at creating electricity from heat and lowering emissions that contribute to global warming.
NEW WAY TO RECYCLE HDPE PLASTIC WITHOUT QUALITY LOSS? – Scientists at the DOE/Argonne National Laboratory say they've developed a new method for recycling high-density polyethylene (HDPE) into a fully recyclable and potentially biodegradable material that can be recycled repeatedly *without loss of quality.* Here's hoping it works and is scalable! 🤞 🤞
FLOATOVOLTAICS: COMING SOON TO A RESERVOIR NEAR YOU? – An international team of environmental scientists are advocating for solar panels to be erected on floating platforms atop reservoirs and other bodies of water. They say that if 30% of global reservoirs were covered with floating solar panels, that would generate 9,434 terawatt hours of power each year, enough to power 62,000 cities. That’s double the power used by the entire U.S. annually! AND, due to prevention of evaporation, would save enough water to serve 300 million people every year.
A “ROCKY” WAY TO LOWER EMISSIONS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY – Scientists say they’ve figured out a way to capture 0.05% of all global carbon emissions – by using a new process for crushing rocks used in the construction industry. (That's equivalent to a mature forest the size of Germany!) The researchers say the new process requires almost no additional energy and could play a significant role in helping us meet our net zero goals.
WHAT IF CLIMATE CHANGE MEANT NOT DOOM - BUT ABUNDANCE? – Rebecca Solnit asks: "What if we imagined “wealth” consisting not of the money we stuff into banks or the fossil fuel-derived goods we pile up, but of joy, beauty, friendship, community, closeness to flourishing nature, to good food produced without abuse of labor? What if we were to think of wealth as security in our environments and societies, and as confidence in a viable future?"
Interesting stats on EVs and energy use in the US, developments in wind and tidal power, a plastic recycling microfactory, and an "unprecedented collapse" in EU fossil fuel generation.
