Amazon ‘women warriors’ show gender equality, forest conservation go hand in hand
Keeping forests standing is one of the most effective and important ways to keep the world below dangerous levels of warming.
Regenerative ranching is a low-cost, natural climate solution
https://www.earth.com/news/regenerative-ranching-is-a-low-cost-natural-climate-solution/
How green energy can help power greenhouses
The Dutch require greenhouses to be climate neutral from 2020. Here’s how they’re doing that.
California apartment buildings are getting virtual power plants.
This free calculator estimates the electricity cost and carbon footprint for nearly every home in the US
We need a robust circular economy for water, our most useful resource
https://medium.com/circulatenews/the-power-of-water-a23d57853686
Amazon ‘women warriors’ show gender equality, forest conservation go hand in hand
Keeping forests standing is one of the most effective and important ways to keep the world below dangerous levels of warming.
Regenerative ranching is a low-cost, natural climate solution
https://www.earth.com/news/regenerative-ranching-is-a-low-cost-natural-climate-solution/
How green energy can help power greenhouses
The Dutch require greenhouses to be climate neutral from 2020. Here’s how they’re doing that.
California apartment buildings are getting virtual power plants.
This free calculator estimates the electricity cost and carbon footprint for nearly every home in the US
We need a robust circular economy for water, our most useful resource
https://medium.com/circulatenews/the-power-of-water-a23d57853686
Our energy hunger is tethered to our economic past
https://attheu.utah.edu/uncategorized/thermoeconomics/
How organic farming practices lead to a circular economy
https://www.miragenews.com/how-organic-farming-practices-lead-to-a-circular-economy/
Unless we change course, the US agricultural system could collapse
By Tom Philpott
Our food supply comes from an environmentally unsustainable system that is going to unravel
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/26/us-farming-agriculture-food-supply-danger
Perennial Vegetables Are a Solution in the Fight Against Hunger and Climate Change
A new study shows the nutrition and environmental benefits of more than 600 perennial species—from artichokes to chaya—which address climate mitigation, biodiversity, and nutrition.
In this peer-reviewed study, we compared pesticide levels in the bodies of four American families for six days on a non-organic diet and six days on a completely organic diet.
We found that an organic diet rapidly and dramatically reduced exposure to pesticides in just one week.
https://foe.org/organic-for-all/
You have pesticides in your body.
But an organic diet can reduce them by 70%
A new study shows that US families consume cancer-linked glyphosate in their food. The good news: going organic rapidly reduces levels On average, levels across all pesticides dropped by 60.5 percent.
Data omission in key EPA insecticide study shows need for review of industry analysis
https://www.washington.edu/news/2020/08/18/data-omission-in-key-epa-insecticide-study-shows-need-for-review-of-industry-analysis/
New study finds agricultural pesticides can affect prawns and oysters
https://www.scu.edu.au/engage/news/latest-news/2020/new-study-finds-agricultural-pesticides-can-affect-prawns-and-oysters.php
Argonne scientists use artificial intelligence in new way to strengthen power grid resiliency
A new artificial neural network model, created by Argonne scientists, handles both static and dynamic features of a power system with a relatively high degree of accuracy.
https://www.anl.gov/article/argonne-scientists-use-artificial-intelligence-in-new-way-to-strengthen-power-grid-resiliency
Wireless device makes clean fuel from sunlight, CO2 and water
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/wireless-device-makes-clean-fuel-from-sunlight-co2-and-water
Study offers new insights for sun-gathering technologies
https://biodesign.asu.edu/news/study-offers-new-insights-sun-gathering-technologies
The US is in a water crisis far worse than most people imagine
Industrial runoff and lax standards have tainted water across the US. Senators and doctors are calling me, asking what to do
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/aug/24/the-us-is-in-a-water-crisis-far-worse-than-most-people-imagine
The Case for Climate Action
Building A Clean Economy For The American People
https://www.schatz.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SCCC_Climate_Crisis_Report.pdf
Proven: Historical climate changes occurred simultaneously in several parts of the world
A new study published by researchers from the University of Copenhagen and partner institutions has proven that repeated and abrupt climate changes during the last ice age occurred simultaneously in South America, Southeast Asia, Europe and Greenland. Abrupt climate change can be as problematic as gradual change and we should deal with the risks associated with abrupt scenarios, suggests a UCPH researcher.
https://www.science.ku.dk/english/press/news/2020/proven-historical-climate-changes-occurred-simultaneously-in-several-parts-of-the-world/
Extinction Rebellion Activists Launch Ocean-Focused Offshoot Actions With Direct Targeting Luxury Cruise Liner
The group aims to “address cascading collapses in biodiversity due to overfishing, human-caused climate change, deep sea mining, and other marine emergencies.”
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/21/extinction-rebellion-activists-launch-ocean-focused-offshoot-direct-actions
New Guinea is the world’s largest tropical island and its biodiversity has fascinated naturalists for centuries1
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2549-5.epdf
Farming is an Act of Social Justice at Woven Roots Farm
In the Berkshire Mountains, Jen and Pete Salinetti’s regenerative farm practices and commitment to community have them well-positioned for this moment.
https://civileats.com/2020/08/12/farming-is-an-act-of-social-justice-at-woven-roots-farm/
Reusable packaging provides untapped payoffs for business
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/reusable-packaging-provides-untapped-payoffs-business
Earth Overshoot Day comes 3 weeks later this year
https://inhabitat.com/earth-overshoot-day-comes-3-weeks-later-this-year/
Population panic lets rich people off the hook for the climate crisis they are fuelling
Rising consumption by the affluent has a far greater environmental impact than the birth rate in poorer nations
Getting to the root of the problem
Roots play a vital role in crop plants. They take up water and nutrients for the plant and keep it help firmly in the ground. But not all roots are the same.
https://www.agronomy.org/news/science-news/getting-root-problem
Poverty and Petrochemicals Converge as Hurricane Laura’s Devastation Exposes Entire Gulf Coast as ‘Sacrificial Zone’
“The devastation wrought by Hurricane Laura is staggering. Climate denial is not a victimless crime, and it’s time for the fossil fuel industry to be held accountable.”
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/28/poverty-and-petrochemicals-converge-hurricane-lauras-devastation-exposes-entire-gulf
Will Climate Break Through in Big Media’s Elections Coverage?
https://www.coveringclimatenow.org/climate-beat/will-climate-break-through
The New West: This part-time Greater Yellowstonean
is advocating for its wildest inhabitants
Earth Is Warning Us We Must Change. Will We Listen?
https://www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2020/07/30/covid-earth-economy-climate-change/
NormalNOW.com
Electric cars are normal now.
28 Organizations Promoting Indigenous Food Sovereignty
What Indigenous Wisdom Can Teach Us About Economics
https://www.kosmosjournal.org/kj_article/what-indigenous-wisdom-can-teach-us-about-economics/
Indigenous Peoples Hold the Past and Future of Food in Their Hands
https://www.ecowatch.com/indigenous-peoples-food-2646931604.html
Though forests burn, agroforestry advances as trees retake farmland globally
Agroforestry is the intentional combination of woody perennials like trees and shrubs with crops and also livestock to create a resilient “food ecosystem” that benefits farmers, biodiversity and the climate.
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/though-forests-burn-agroforestry-advances-as-trees-retake-farmland-globally/
Restoring degraded tropical forests generates big carbon gains
https://asunow.asu.edu/colleges-and-units/center-global-discovery-and-conservation-science
Biochar: A better start to rain forest restoration
https://prod.wp.cdn.aws.wfu.edu/assets/biochar.html
China issues new sustainability rules for its notorious fishing fleet
As dominant nation in the global fishing industry, yet ranked worst for fishing offenses, China could have a huge positive impact through the new rules — if it enforces them, experts say.
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/china-issues-new-sustainability-rules-for-its-notorious-fishing-fleet/\
Flavonoids’ presence in sorghum roots may lead to frost-resistant crop
https://news.psu.edu/story/627935/2020/08/10/research/flavonoids-presence-sorghum-roots-may-lead-frost-resistant-crop
Boston Lawmaker, Eying A Mayoral Run, Maps Out A Nordic-Style Climate Haven
Progressive city councilwoman Michelle Wu’s Green New Deal envisions fare-free transit, cooperative housing and a local conservation corps.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/boston-climate-michelle-wu_n_5f3715f9c5b6959911e48e07
Regenerative Organic Certification Launches to Prioritize Soil Health and Farmworker Justice in Food Products
https://foodtank.com/news/2020/08/regenerative-organic-certification-launches-to-prioritize-soil-health-and-farmworker-justice-in-food-products/
Embrace carbon-neutral grass-fed beef as a first step in our climate journey
https://www.press-citizen.com/story/opinion/contributors/guest-editorials/2020/08/19/eric-johnson-embrace-carbon-neutral-grass-fed-beef-climate-change/3352033001/
Storing carbon in the prairie grass
Plans would pay landowners to keep the ecosystem in a natural state to fight climate change.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2020/08/19/climate-change-prairie
Mono-material flexible packaging to be worth $71bn
https://plasticsinpackaging.com/online/mono-material-flexible-packaging-to-be-worth-71bn-in-2025/
Science Rules! with Bill Nye interviews Bill McDonough
For decades, Bill McDonough has been leading the movement toward sustainable architecture. His goal is to create a garbage-free society through what he calls “cradle to cradle” design.
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/stitcher/science-rules-with-bill-nye/e/76550199?autoplay=true
LivingPackets is a Berlin-based startup that aims to replace the familiar cardboard box with an alternative that’s smarter, more secure and possibly the building block of a new circular economy.
The primary product created by LivingPackets is called The Box, and it’s just that: a box. But not just any box. This one is reusable, durable, digitally locked and monitored, with a smartphone’s worth of sensors and gadgets that make it trackable and versatile, and an E-Ink screen so its destination or contents can be updated at will.
New framework for ‘natural capital approach’ to transform policy decisions
How governments and the private sector consider the natural environment when constructing policy is being transformed thanks to a new “natural capital” decision-making framework.
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/research/title_811683_en.html
Procter & Gamble Plans To Go 100% Recyclable By 2030
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/08/16/procter-gamble-plans-to-go-100-recyclable-by-2030/
Italy Garbage Dips With Virus Lockdowns, but Plastics Rise
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/08/16/business/bc-eu-virus-outbreak-italy-garbage.html
Amsterdam turns public urination into public service
The city is setting up special urinals that turn the harmful habit into an environmental boon
https://www.themayor.eu/en/amsterdam-turns-public-urination-into-public-service
Paper or Plastic? For CPGs, the Answer Increasingly Is Paperboard
Diageo isn’t the only consumer packaged goods (CPG) company to announce paperboard-based “plastic-free” bottles and packaging. Unilever, PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola are all on board.
https://www.plasticstoday.com/packaging/paper-or-plastic-cpgs-answer-increasingly-paperboard
Sugar cane can yield numerous bio-degradable by-products
https://www.stabroeknews.com/2020/08/15/opinion/letters/sugar-cane-can-yield-numerous-bio-degradable-by-products/
LinkedIn is on a Mission to Reach Zero Waste
https://www.waste360.com/recycling/linkedin%C2%A0%C2%A0-mission%C2%A0%C2%A0reach%C2%A0zero-waste%C2%A0
Covid-19: IKEA and Unilever show the green way forward
A company in Belgium is turning tons of used coffee grounds into mushrooms
https://www.businessinsider.com/permafungi-mushrooms-used-coffee-grounds-recycling-2020-8
Turning Beer Into Energy
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Turning-Beer-Into-Energy.html
150 Attacks on Science and Counting: Trump Administration’s Anti-Science Actions Hurt People and Communities Nationwide
https://blog.ucsusa.org/anita-desikan/150-attacks-on-science-and-counting
Trump’s Toxic Wake: 10 Ways the EPA Has Made Life More Hazardous
Trump administration rolls back Obama-era rule aimed at limiting toxic wastewater from coal plants | Power plant discharge ranks as the largest source of toxic water pollution in the United States
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/08/31/coal-ash-epa-trump/
Tahoe’s State of the Lake Report Released Lake Tahoe’s Annual Health Report Offers Insight Into a Changing Lake
https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/tahoes-state-lake-report-2019
Engineering researchers harness wind data to help meet energy needs in Florida
Thunberg Donates 100,000 Pounds to Criminalize ‘Ecocide’
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/thunberg-donates-100000-pounds-to-criminalize-ecocide
AND
https://theecologist.org/2020/jul/24/greta-gives-prize-money-stop-ecocide
Valuing the Global Mortality Consequences of Climate Change Accounting for Adaptation Costs and Benefits
https://www.nber.org/papers/w27599
The Green Schools Programme brings Environmental Education home to children in lockdown.
http://ibgnews.com/2020/08/04/cses-unique-initiative-brings-environmental-education-home-to-children-in-lockdown/
‘Green’ school buildings can serve as 3D textbooks
Cole added that environmental factors such as increasing indoor air quality or
natural sunlight can have positive impacts on academic learning for young students.
https://www.eschoolnews.com/2020/03/05/green-school-buildings-can-serve-as-3d-textbooks/
In 2019, 64 countries were paying more in debt payments (multilateral, bilateral and private) than they were spending on health.
https://www.newsweek.com/new-world-health-mechanisms-covid-bold-thinking-1521096
Responses to COVID-19 require inputs from every angle of people’s lives
https://theconversation.com/responses-to-covid-19-require-inputs-from-every-angle-of-peoples-lives-143866
U.S. Commercial Rooftops Hold 145 Gigawatts of Untapped Solar Potential
https://e360.yale.edu/digest/u-s-commercial-rooftops-hold-145-gigawatts-of-untapped-solar-potential
Black wind turbine blades can reduce bird deaths by 70%
https://bluedoormedia.co/2020/08/28/black-wind-turbine-blades-can-reduce-bird-deaths-by-70/
Another Intense Summer of Fires in Siberia
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147083/another-intense-summer-of-fires-in-siberia
In Bogotá, communities weave an unlikely wetland success story
- Around 27 years ago, a community on the northwest border of Bogotá launched a concerted campaign to defend the Conejera wetland against a city and business sector that saw it as disposable.
- The success of their efforts launched a long-standing community movement of wetland defenders in an otherwise urbanized city, where 98% of its original wetlands have been wiped out.
- Today the Colombian capital’s 15 official wetlands are home to dozens of endemic species, including 202 species of birds, and take up about 727 hectares (1,800 acres).
https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/in-bogota-communities-weave-an-unlikely-wetland-success-story/
Coral Gardening
Ocean Warming Threatens Coral Reefs and Soon Could Make It Harder to Restore Them
https://theconversation.com/ocean-warming-threatens-coral-reefs-and-soon-could-make-it-harder-to-restore-them-142876
Maldives records highest microplastic pollution
http://news.flinders.edu.au/blog/2020/08/13/maldives-records-highest-micro-plastic-pollution/
‘Critical’ questions over disease risks from ocean plastics
Key knowledge gaps exist in our understanding of
how ocean microplastics transport bacteria and viruses – and whether
this affects the health of humans and animals, researchers say.
https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/homepage/title_809561_en.html
AND
Seafood Study Finds Plastic in 100% of Samples
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.est.0c02337
Could a Solution to Marine Plastic Waste Threaten One of the Ocean’s Most Mysterious Ecosystems?
https://www.ecowatch.com/marine-plastic-waste-2646992655.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1
Amsterdam and their Love for Bicycles Instead of Flashy Cars
Amsterdam has been known to be an epicentre of cycling in the world. The total number of bicycles surpasses the total number of people in the country.
https://www.censored.com.ng/amsterdam/
The Growing Global Movement to End Outdoor Advertising
https://www.globalissues.org/news/2020/08/11/26716
To reduce world hunger, governments need to think beyond making food cheap
HTTPS://THECONVERSATION.COM/TO-REDUCE-WORLD-HUNGER-GOVERNMENTS-NEED-TO-THINK-BEYOND-MAKING-FOOD-CHEAP-142361
Is modern wheat off the hook?
Gluten in wheat: What has changed during 120 years of breeding?
HTTPS://WWW.LEIBNIZ-LSB.DE/EN/PRESS-PUBLIC-RELATIONS/TRANSLATE-TO-ENGLISCH-PRESSEMITTEILUNGEN/TRANSLATE-TO-ENGLISCH-PM-20200811-PRESSEMITTEILUNG-WHEATSCAN/
ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION LAUNCHES NEW CIRCULAR DESIGN TOOLKIT
https://resource.co/article/ellen-macarthur-foundation-launches-new-circular-design-toolkit
Microsoft uses AI to boost its reuse, recycling of server parts
Get ready to hear the term ‘circular’ a lot more in reference to data center gear.
Alphabet issues $5.75bn bond to support environmental initiatives
Google’s parent company will target eight areas, including energy efficiency, clean energy, green buildings, clean transportation and circular economy and design
Study suggests religious belief does not conflict with interest in science, except among Americans
Sustainable products can also be easy on the eye.
Seal-eating killer whales accumulate large amounts of harmful pollutants
Killer whales along the Norwegian coast have long classified as fish-eaters. New research shows that some of them also eat seals – and accumulate large amounts of harmful pollutants.
Satellites provide crucial data on crops during COVID-19
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Satellites_provide_crucial_data_on_crops_during_COVID-19
Backyard Battle: Helping Native Bees Thrive in a Honeybee World
Native bees are at risk across the U.S. “Buzz Kill” — winner of the 2020 Yale Environment 360 Video Contest — depicts the beauty and key ecological role played by these bees and shows how industrialized agriculture and its use of honeybee colonies threatens endemic bee species.
Insect diversity boosted by combination of crop diversity and semi-natural habitats
Kind commits to sourcing almonds from bee-friendly farms
https://www.foodbev.com/news/kind-commits-to-sourcing-almonds-from-bee-friendly-farms/
Impact of climate change on tropical fisheries would create ripples across the world
https://oceans.ubc.ca/2020/08/06/tropicalfisheries/
Why I stand for my tribe’s forest: It gives us food, culture, and life (commentary)
Local Food: Santa Barbara, CA
Researchers examine food supply chain resiliency in the Pacific during the COVID-19 pandemic
https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2020/019989/local-food
Stronger Rains in Warmer Climate Could Lessen Heat Damage to Crops,
Says Study
But Overall Yields Could Still Decline Sharply
https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2020/08/10/stronger-rains-warmer-climate-lessen-heat-damage-crops-says-study/
Anode Material for Safe Batteries with a Long Cycle Life
Lithium lanthanum titanate particles enable high power densities even in micrometer sizes – publication in Nature Communications
Warming Temperatures & Decades of Oil Spills Cause Irreversible Damage to the Persian Gulf
https://www.globalissues.org/news/2020/08/10/26710
Trump EPA Reportedly Moving Forward to Eliminate Key Federal Methane Protections
Move Would Allow 5 Million Metric Tons More Dangerous Methane Pollution Each Year
BP plans to keep it in the ground, sort of
British fossil fuel giant and sixth biggest polluter of all time, BP, is making a move away from continued fossil fuel extraction. BP has announced plans to cut extraction of fossil fuels to 40 per cent below 2019 rates by the year 2030. This, as Oil Change International notes, is the first commitment “from a Big Oil and Gas company to recognize that significant reductions in oil and gas production must occur within this decade.”
https://canadians.org/analysis/bp-plans-keep-it-ground-sort
Drawdown Review 2020: How To Address Global Warming In A Responsible Manner
2020 Drawdown Review: THE Climate Solutions for a New Decade
https://drawdown.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/TheDrawdownReview%E2%80%932020%E2%80%93Download.pdf
Why industrial anaerobic digestion
is not the answer to food waste
https://thespinoff.co.nz/food/23-08-2020/why-industrial-anaerobic-digestion-is-not-the-answer-to-food-waste/
Seventh Generation’s new line gets rid of all its plastic packaging
Get ready to clean differently: For its new zero-plastic line, the natural cleaning supply company has also reinvented its products as powders instead of liquids.
How Corporate America Is Becoming A Powerful Ally For Clean Energy
Why companies are fighting for stricter energy laws.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/corporate-america-ally-clean-energy_n_5f3c3896c5b61551404e5738
Jamie Henn:
Stop adding (fossil) fuels to the fire
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2020/08/22/jamie-henn-stop-adding/
This New Kind of Plastic May Just Be What We Need to Save the Planet
‘Infinitely recyclable’ plastic is developed which can be broken down and remolded for another use after being heated at 212F
- Most plastic weakens significantly when its broken down and remolded
- The new polymer, PBTL, retains its strength and durability after being recycled
- Researchers suggest it could be recycled again and again, possibly indefinitely
- PBTL can’t be recycled with other kinds of plastics and would have to be separated out in recycling bins
WEF Brief Explores Opportunities for Circular Plastics Economy
http://sdg.iisd.org/news/wef-brief-explores-opportunities-for-circular-plastics-economy/
‘Interest surge in local food grown using regenerative methods’
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/interest-surge-in-local-food-grown-using-regenerative-methods/
Lindsay Gramana: Plastics are ugly and unhealthy
The REMADE Institute Announces Up to $35 Million in Funding for Technology Solutions to Accelerate the Transition to the Circular Economy
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/remade-institute-announces-35-million-160000858.html
The Average Person Buys 40 Pounds of Electronics Per Year
https://nerdist.com/article/people-buy-40-pounds-of-electronics-per-year-report/
New Book Explores The Role Of Design In Tackling The Global Waste Crisis
Book Digest:
Calls to action against climate change, air pollution and more
Role of technology to fight off COVID-19 pandemic to inevitability of climate crisis, DTE tracks new, contemporary books on environment and development from leading authors
Carbon accounting should be a basic requirement for banks
Financial institutions and asset managers are impeding progress on climate action for lack of a simple rule
https://www.ft.com/content/fcaa31d2-84a2-4c9e-8532-cbd7e23d22d0