By Aimee Rawlins, Fast Company Arizona State University and Phoenix hope the the ‘microfactory’ will be offer a new way to think about plastic recycling. PHOENIX—Dozens gathered in an industrial area of the nation’s fifth-largest city in early February to tour a recycling facility billed as a potential solution to …
Earth’s Fountain of Life Is Vanishing Beneath Our Feet
By Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics With each passing year, the world’s groundwater reserves shrink. Groundwater aquifers provide vital freshwater to homes, farms, and industries, but decades of mismanagement and political action are draining this resource around the world. A new study from an international team of scientists concluded that depleted …
‘Every Package Carries a Hidden Cost’: is it Better For the Environment to Shop Online or In-Store?
By Lucianne Tonti, The Guardian When it comes to reducing your clothes shopping’s carbon footprint, it might be tempting to abandon ecommerce for bricks-and-mortar retail. But the solution is not so simple. Packages arrive at my house more than I’d like to admit. Whether they contain cosmetics, swimwear, T-shirts or …
In Wyoming, Sheep May Safely Graze Under Solar Panels in One of the State’s First “Agrivoltaic” Projects
By Jake Bolster, Inside Climate News The elevated photovoltaic panels can actually improve grazing conditions, a novelty that could help make solar projects more land-efficient and accepted in the ranching-heavy state. Converse County is one of the most welcoming areas in Wyoming when it comes to clean energy. For roughly …
Please Don’t Store Nuclear Waste in our Precious Oil Fields, Says Fossil Fuel Industry
By Jon Christian, Futurism Not in my backyard! Spent Fuel In many ways, nuclear power remains a perfectly reasonable stopgap as the world attempts to wean itself off environmentally harmful fossil fuels: it’s pretty safe overall, it generates a steady supply of power around the clock, and it’s well understood. …
How Canada Can Climate-Proof More Than Half a Million Homes
By Gaye Taylor, Corporate Knights A report from Pembina Institute says weak regulations and a skilled labour shortage are creating a retrofit bottleneck. Weak regulations, low demand, and a lack of skilled labour are blocking service providers along Canada’s deep retrofit supply chain from scaling up operations to make homes …
Nine States, Including California and New York, Sign Heat Pump Agreement to Clean Up Air Pollution
By Justine Calma, The Verge Getting heat pumps into homes and buildings can cut down pollution and fight climate change. A heat pump is installed on the first floor among many AC units at the New York City Housing Authority’s Woodside Houses in Queens, New York.Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales …
This Ancient Material is Displacing Plastics and Creating a Billion-Dollar Industry
By Marta Vidal, Washington Post CORUCHE, Portugal — The rhythmic noise of axes whacking trees echoes in the depths of the cork oak forest. But in Coruche, a rural area south of the Tagus River known as Portugal’s “cork capital,” the bang of trees falling to the ground doesn’t follow …
FEMA Will Pay States to Install Solar Panels and Heat Pumps
By Justine Calma, The Verge Deploying solar panels can make communities more resilient to the consequences of climate change. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that it’ll start reimbursing local governments for installing solar panels and more efficient appliances after a disaster strikes. The move can help communities prepare for another calamity …
Cross-Sectoral Approach Could Protect Oceans at Lower Costs, says New Research
By University of Queensland, Phys.Org Protecting the world’s oceans against accelerating damage from human activities could be cheaper and take up less space than previously thought, new research has found. The University of Queensland’s Professor Anthony Richardson collaborated on the study, which looks to halt the rapid decline of marine …