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A recycling lottery

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Getting people to recycle isn’t always easy.  The bottled beverages we buy at the supermarket often require a small deposit that we can get back by recycling the bottle, but often, we just don’t.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia tested the idea of giving people returning bottles a small chance of winning a big cash prize instead of a 10-cent deposit return.  The result was that people recycled 47% more bottles.

Changing how we reward recycling made a big difference.  When given a choice between a guaranteed return and a possible large reward, many chose the lottery option.  When people were randomly assigned to one type of reward or the other, those in the lottery group brought in almost three bottles for every two returned by the other group.

This isn’t a new idea.  Norway has a recycling lottery, and their bottle return rate is close to 100 percent.  The way it works there is there are reverse vending machines in grocery stores all over the country.  The revenues generated by the machines is split in four ways:  34.5% of the gross revenue goes to the Red Cross; 35% goes to the people who bring in their bottles in the form of winnings in the lottery; 9.75% goes to the stores for managing the machines and the lottery; and 10.75% goes to the operating company of the Recycling Lottery.

The Canadian experiments demonstrate that a recycling lottery could be effective in more places than Norway.  However, it shouldn’t completely replace the guaranteed refund option, since some people depend on it for income.

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How lottery-style bottle returns could transform recycling

Photo, posted July 9, 2011, courtesy of Mr.TinMD via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Advantages of vertical farming

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Vertical farming has been increasingly used for leafy greens like lettuce and kale, as well as for herbs and a few fruits like strawberries and tomatoes.  A recent study by the Technical University of Munich has investigated the use of vertical farming for a much broader range of foods.  The study looked at the positive effects of vertical farming on both yield and environmental impact.

Traditional agriculture can reach its limits as a result of extreme weather events or in areas of high population density and resultant high demand.   With vertical farming, food can be grown close to consumers independent of weather and can make very efficient use of space.

The Proteins4Singapore study investigated the potential of a 10-layer vertical farming system cultivating crops, algae, mushrooms, insects, fish, and cultivated meat.  Many of these things are not currently part of many people’s diets.  But these foods can increase the protein yield per cultivation area nearly three hundredfold for crops and 6,000-fold for mushrooms and insects. 

Mushrooms and insects are examples of foods that require little light and cultivating them reduces energy consumption and, therefore, associated costs.

The biggest challenges for controlled environment agriculture – which is what vertical farming is – are the high energy demands for cultivation and the social acceptance.  Some of the foods that are especially well-suited to vertical farming – such as algae and insects – are not generally accepted by many consumers.  Controlled environment agriculture can revolutionize food production, but it will take a combination of technological advances, policy initiatives, and public engagement.

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Vertical Farming to increase yields and reduce environmental impact

Photo, posted October 21, 2022, courtesy of Fred Miller / University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Building better blackberries

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The Human Genome Project is one of the greatest scientific feats in history.  It was launched in 1990 and completed in 2003.  The international group of researchers wanted to comprehensively study all of the DNA – the genome – from a select set of organisms, foremost of which being that of human beings.  The results accelerated the study of human biology and has led to improvements in the practice of medicine.

Every living thing – animal, plant, fungus, and various single-celled organisms – has a genome – a genetic blueprint.  A recent study by researchers at the University of Florida has done genome sequencing of blackberries with the hope of being able to achieve more efficient and targeted breeding.

Over the past 20 years, consumer demand for blackberries has increased leading to farmers growing more of the fruit in the United States.  The U.S. produces 37 million pounds of processed blackberries and almost 3 million pounds of fresh berries each year.

The Florida researchers made use of a large collection of DNA sequences to computationally piece together the entire genome of the blackberry variety in the study.  The genome study uncovered the secrets behind key traits that could lead to growing blackberry plants with no thorns and increasing the production of anthocyanin, which affects the color and health benefits of the fruit. 

For Florida, the southeastern United States and regions with similar climates, the genetic research holds the promise of accelerating the process to create blackberry varieties that are better suited to local growing conditions, enhancing both the yield and the quality of the increasingly popular fruit.

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Decoding blackberry DNA: UF study paves way for enhanced breeding strategies

Photo, posted September 18, 2016, courtesy of Theo Crazzolara via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Grid reliability and grid-edge resources

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A new study by MIT researchers looked at the potential for grid-edge resources to enhance the ability of the electric grid to respond to unforeseen power outages.  Grid-edge resources are devices found close to consumers rather than located near central power plants, substations, or transmission lines.  These include residential solar panels, storage batteries, electric vehicles, heat pumps, smart thermostats and smart water heaters.

These grid-edge devices can independently generate, store, or tune their consumption of power and increasingly, they are online internet-of-things devices.  The MIT study outlined a blueprint for how such devices could reinforce the power grid through a local electricity market.  Owners of grid-edge devices could subscribe to such a market and essentially loan out their device as part of a microgrid or local network as on-call energy resources.

Electric vehicles could provide power rather than consuming it when necessary.  Storage batteries could do the same.  Devices like smart dishwashers and thermostats would reduce their power demands when necessary.

In the event that the main power grid is compromised, an algorithm would determine which grid-edge devices were available and trustworthy and would either use them to pump power into the grid or reduce the power they are drawing from it in order to help mitigate the power failure. 

The MIT researchers illustrated this grid resilience strategy through a number of grid attack scenarios including failures from cyber-attacks and natural disasters.   Their analysis showed that various networks of grid-edge devices are capable of defeating various types of grid failures.

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Rooftop panels, EV chargers, and smart thermostats could chip in to boost power grid resilience

Photo, posted October 10, 2019, courtesy of Noya Fields via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Halloween pumpkins

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According to the National Retail Federation, spending on Halloween festivities this year by the 72% of Americans who plan to celebrate is expected to total $11.6 billion – or about $104 per person.  The annual consumer survey also found that 67% of Americans plan to pass out candy this year, and nearly 50% of Americans plan to carve a pumpkin.

To produce enough pumpkins for Halloween, farmers grow lots of them every year.  In fact, more than two billion were grown in 2020 alone.  But the vast majority of pumpkins are never eaten; instead, most are carved and placed on porches across the country.  This means Americans spend hundreds of millions of dollars on pumpkins annually just to toss them in the trash when Halloween ends. 

When pumpkins are placed in landfills, they produce methane gas.  Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that affects climate change by contributing to increased warming. 

Instead of throwing pumpkins into the landfill, there are several responsible ways to dispose of them. 

If the pumpkin is still in good shape, use the outer, meaty part of the pumpkin to make pumpkin puree.  The pumpkin seeds can also be scooped out, rinsed, seasoned, and then baked in the oven, resulting in a delicious snack.

Pumpkins also have the potential to turn into great soil through composting. Pumpkins can help naturally add moisture to compost piles that need to be damp in order to effectively decompose food waste.   

If eating or composting the pumpkins isn’t an option, consider donating them to a local farm.  Farmers will often collect pumpkins as treats for their pigs, goats, and other animals. 

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Halloween Retail Holiday and Seasonal Trends

Ready to toss out your pumpkins? Here’s how to keep them out of the landfill

US grows over 2 billion pumpkins yearly

Photo, posted November 8, 2014, courtesy of Martin Brigden via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Mercury in tuna

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Mercury is found throughout the ocean, and there is at least some of it in any fish one might eat. It is an element found naturally in the environment, but it is also a byproduct of manmade pollution. Generally speaking, bigger fish tend to have higher mercury levels than smaller ones, because they are higher up in the food chain. The more small fish those big fish eat, the more mercury builds up in their bodies.  Tuna aren’t the biggest fish in the ocean, but they are very common in many people’s diets.

Increased mercury levels are a result of human activities like burning coal and mining which release methylmercury into the air.  It then finds its way into the oceans in rainwater.  Methylmercury is a particularly toxic chemical that affects the nervous system.  Environmental protection policies in recent decades have helped to reduce mercury pollution.

However, a recent study by French researchers looked at the mercury levels in tuna over the past 50 years.  They found that the levels have basically not changed since 1971.  As a result, they are calling for more restrictive environmental policies to further lower mercury pollution levels.

The researchers explained that the lowering of mercury airborne levels to date has not necessarily been ineffective.  They theorized that the static levels in tuna may be caused by the upward mixing of “legacy” mercury from deeper ocean water into the shallower depths where tropical tuna swim and feed.  It could very well take decades to dramatically reduce ocean mercury levels. 

Meanwhile, mercury content in tuna varies considerably by tuna type and source and there are both better and worse choices out there.  Consumers should learn the facts.

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Mercury levels in tuna remain nearly unchanged since 1971, study says

Photo, posted November 7, 2015, courtesy of Mussi Katz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The slow decline of coal

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Despite the fact that coal is the dirtiest and most climate-harmful energy source we have, the global demand for it hit a record high in 2023. The demand for coal grew by 1.4% worldwide, according to an analysis by the International Energy Agency.

Coal use grew by 5% in China and 8% in India.  The two countries are the world’s largest producers and consumers of coal.  Meanwhile, coal use in the U.S. and the European Union fell by 20%.

Despite this discouraging news, the IEA forecasts that coal use will decline over the next two years.  There have been declines in coal demand a few times before, but they were driven by unusual events such as the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Covid-19 crisis.  But the IEA says that the forthcoming decline is different.  It will be driven by the formidable and sustained expansion of clean energy technologies.

According to the IEA, global coal demand will fall by 2.3% by 2026 even in the absence of new policies to curb coal use.  Forces at play will be increased hydropower in China as it recovers from drought and puts new wind and solar projects online.  China is responsible for more than half of global coal demand, but it is also responsible for more than half of the planned renewable power projects coming online over the next three years.  Experts believe that with these forthcoming projects, Chinese emissions may have peaked in 2023.

The projected drop in coal demand is still far short of what is required for the world to avoid catastrophic warming.  Much greater efforts are needed to meet international climate targets.

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After a Record 2023, Coal Headed for Decline, Analysts Say

Photo, posted August 25, 2015, courtesy of Jeremy Buckingham via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

How to reduce pollution from food production

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Present in animal manure and synthetic fertilizers, nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth and is a critical input to enhance agricultural productivity on farms around the world.  But excessive and inefficient use of this nutrient is widespread.  In fact, up to 80% of it leaks into the environment, mostly in various polluting forms of nitrogen: ammonia and nitrogen oxides (which are harmful air pollutants), nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas), and nitrate (which affects water quality).

A new report prepared for the United Nations has put forth some solutions to greatly reduce nitrogen pollution from agriculture in Europe.  A group of researchers coordinated by the U.K. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the European Commission, the Copenhagen Business School, and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment of The Netherlands produced the report.

In it, the research team puts forth its recipe to reduce nitrogen pollution in Europe.  The report’s ingredients include:

  • Reducing by 50% the average European meat and dairy consumption
  • More efficient fertilizer application and manure storage
  • Reducing food production demand by reducing food waste by retailers and consumers
  • Better wastewater treatment to capture nitrogen from sewage
  • Adopting policies addressing food production and consumption to transition them towards more sustainable systems

Taking action to reduce nitrogen pollution will require a holistic approach involving farmers, policymakers, retailers, water companies, and individuals. 

Do Europeans have an appetite for change?

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Scientists provide recipe to halve pollution from food production

Photo, posted March 10, 2022, courtesy of USDA NRCS Montana via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Does vertically-grown food taste different?

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Vertical farming is a method of producing crops in vertically stacked layers or surfaces typically in a skyscraper, used warehouse, or shipping container.  Modern vertical farming uses indoor farming techniques and controlled-environment agriculture technology. 

Vertical farming has the potential to be one of the solutions to food insecurity in parts of the world where crop production is limited by climate change or other environmental factors.  Vertical farming reduces water and land use, reduces nutrient emissions, and could eliminate the need for pesticides.  It also allows more food to be grown locally and with higher yields.

But some critics of vertically-grown veggies say they look pale, artificial, and taste bland.  In the first study of its kind, a research team led by scientists from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark sought to investigate whether these consumer prejudices hold true.

The research team asked 190 participants to blind taste test arugula, baby spinach, pea shoots, basil, and parsley grown in vertical farming and compare the taste and appearance to those same leafy greens grown organically in soil. 

Overall, the organic greens grown traditionally narrowly beat out the vertically-grown ones in the study, but it was very close.  For example, when asked to rate arugula on a scale of 1-9 with 9 being best, the participants gave both types a 6.6.  There was no clear winner between basil, baby spinach, and pea shoots.  The only clear winner was organically-grown parsley. 

The study debunks some myths about vertically-grown food and should help pave the way for more widespread adoption of this efficient method to grow tasty and nutritious food. 

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A delicious surprise: Vertically farmed greens taste as good as organic ones

Photo, posted May 11, 2009, courtesy of Cliff Johnson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Food and the climate crisis

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Agriculture is a major part of the climate problem and remains one of the hardest human activities to decarbonize.  It’s responsible for approximately 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions. 

Many experts contend that alternative food sources – like insect farming and seaweed aquaculture – are part of the solution.  Additionally, expanding production of climate resilient food crops, including quinoa, kernza, amaranth, and millet, likely also have a role to play. 

But according to a new study led by researchers from the University of California – Irvine, another solution to this problem may be to eliminate farms altogether.  In the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Sustainability, the research team explored the potential for wide scale synthetic production of dietary fats through chemical and biological processes.  The materials needed for this method are the same as those used naturally by plants: hydrogen (in water) and carbon dioxide (in the air).   

The research team highlighted some of the potential benefits of farm-free food, including reduced water use, less pollution, localized food production, and less risk to food production from weather. 

Cookies, crackers, chips, and many other grocery products are made with palm oil, a dietary fat that continues to be a major driver of deforestation around the world.  However, it remains to be seen how consumers would react if the oil used to bake their cookies came from a food refinery up the road instead of a palm plantation in Indonesia.     

According to the researchers, depending on food refineries instead of tropical plantations for dietary fats could mitigate lots of climate-warming emissions while also protecting land and biodiversity.

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UC Irvine-led science team shows how to eat our way out of the climate crisis

Photo, posted July 15, 2008, courtesy of Quinn Dombrowski via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The Spooky Reality | Earth Wise

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According to the National Retail Federation, American consumers will spend a whopping $12.2 billion on Halloween this year, exceeding last year’s record of $10.6 billion.  A record number of people – 73% of Americans – will also participate in Halloween-related activities this year, up from 69% in 2022.  But it’s not just our wallets that take a beating. 

Halloween generates a frightening amount of waste.  Picture all those flimsy and often single-use costumes, polyester cobwebs, plastic-wrapped candy, mass-produced decorations, and so forth. Scary stuff!  Here are some simple tricks to make the holiday more sustainable this year. 

Invest in quality costumes.  Those mass-produced costumes leave the largest carbon footprint from Halloween.  They are often made from non-recyclable plastic and most end up in landfills by mid-November.   By renting, thrifting, swapping, or making your own costumes, many of the negative impacts of dressing up for the holiday can be avoided.

Find environmentally-friendly decorations and supplies.  For example, carve local pumpkins and either save the seeds and flesh to eat later, compost it, or feed it to animals.  Make your own spooky decorations.  If you do buy decorations, ensure that they are durable and reusable.  And use wicker baskets, old bags, or pillowcases when trick-or-treating.

Finally, purchase organic and fair trade candy if you’re able to do so.  Some of the largest candy manufacturers are major drivers of deforestation and species extinction around the globe due to their demand for sugar, palm oil, and cocoa beans.

Together, we can “green” Halloween.  

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Halloween Data Center

Photo, posted November 13, 2019, courtesy of Christian Collins via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Electric Cars And Apartments | Earth Wise

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The transition to electric cars is underway.  People are increasingly buying them, carmakers are switching over to making them, and governments are providing incentives as well as legislating the changeover.  More and more consumers want to lower their carbon footprints and stop burning fossil fuels.  But one very large group of consumers faces an uphill battle in switching to electric cars:  people who rent their dwellings.

About one third of our country lives in rented apartments or houses.  These nearly 110 million Americans are more likely to be in the bottom half of income and net worth and are more likely to be people of color.  These people are less likely to have the spare cash to make upgrades to their property such as car chargers and may not be able to get permission from their landlords to do it anyway.

Renters face what is known as the “split-incentive problem” or the “landlord-tenant problem.”  Three-quarters of tenants in the US pay their own utility bills, so they have a strong incentive to conserve electricity, water, and gas.  Their landlords, on the other hand, have little incentive to upgrade appliances and systems to be more environmentally responsible.  Studies have shown that on average renters use 3% more energy than homeowners for this reason.

There are some landlords who are being proactive and installing facilities for charging cars on their properties.   This will undoubtedly become an increasingly sought-after feature for renters.  But in the meantime, millions of them have a more difficult time driving electric cars.  They can charge at public chargers or perhaps at work.  But at the moment, homeowners are three times more likely than renters to own an electric car.

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The coming battle between Americans who want to go electric and their landlords

Photo, posted July 22, 2022, courtesy of Chris Yarzab via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Chocolate And Deforestation | Earth Wise

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The world consumes 7.5 million tons of chocolate a year.   Americans spend an average of $145 a year per capita on chocolate.  And we are not even the world leaders.  The Swiss eat an average of 22 pounds per person and the overall European chocolate market is the world’s largest.

A market valued over $100 billion a year is bound to have its issues for the environment, human rights, and other social issues, and chocolate is no exception.  The global cacao industry grapples with problems with child labor, poverty, deforestation, sustainability and other environmental issues.  The response of companies across the industry varies greatly. A website called chocolatescorecard.com keeps track of how many in the industry are doing.

Recently, lawmakers in the European Union have been putting together a landmark legislative package that addresses deforestation risks in the supply chains of a number of commodities including cattle, timber, rubber, soy, palm oil, and cacao. The proposed law restricts companies that import cacao and sell chocolate to import only what doesn’t destroy or degrade forests. 

Voluntary promises by big chocolate makers to save forests in major cacao-producing countries (like Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia, and Nigeria) are difficult to keep.  Farmers sell to brokers who sell to trading companies that then sell to chocolate makers.  Tracing the origins of chocolate is difficult.  Ultimately, fairly compensating farmers is the only way they are likely comply with deforestation regulations and there are unfortunately many pockets to fill before that is likely to happen.

It is up to consumers to encourage companies to do the right thing by making their buying choices appropriately.

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The Forest in Your Chocolate

The Chocolate Scorecard

Photo, posted January 12, 2010, courtesy of Lee McCoy via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Food Waste And The Environment | Earth Wise

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It is tragic that 31% of the world’s food production goes uneaten.  About 14% isn’t distributed after it is harvested.  Another 17% ends up wasted in retail or by consumers.  Worldwide, the amount of food that is wasted is enough to feed more than a billion people while at least 828 million people continue to be affected by hunger.  To make matters worse, food waste accounts for 8 to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is at least double that of aviation.  Food waste, rotting away in landfills, produces methane gas, a major source of global warming.

Around the world, there are efforts being launched to try to improve the situation.  California now has a law that requires grocery stores to donate edible food that would otherwise be disposed of or they face fines.  The state’s cities and counties are required to reduce the amount of organic waste going into landfills by 75% by 2025 and compost it instead.

In London, grocers no longer put date labels on fruits and vegetables because the labels were leading people to trash perfectly good food.  France now requires supermarkets and large caterers to donate food that is still safe to eat.

South Korea has little space for landfills.  So, the country has been campaigning against throwing away food for 20 years.  Nearly all organic waste in the country is turned into animal feed, compost, or biogas.  Koreans even have to pay for throwing out food waste.  There are now trash bins equipped with electronic sensors that weigh food waste.

All of these things can help.  There is no single magic bullet for reducing food waste, but it is essential to do for so many reasons.

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Inside the Global Effort to Keep Perfectly Good Food Out of the Dump

Photo, posted November 30, 2020, courtesy of Marco Verch via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Better Way To Recycle Plastics | Earth Wise

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The global accumulation of plastic waste is an ever-growing problem.  At least five billion tons of the stuff has accumulated on land and sea and is even showing up in the bodies of animals and humans.  Recycling plastic instead of making even more of it seems like an essential thing to do but it has proven to be extremely challenging.

The main problem is that plastics come in many different varieties and the ways of breaking them down into a form that can be reused are very specific to each type of plastic.  Sorting plastic waste by plastic type is extremely impractical at large scale.  Certainly, most consumers can’t do it themselves.  As a result, most plastic gathered in recycling programs ends up in landfills.

New research at MIT has developed a chemical process using a catalyst based on cobalt that is very effective at breaking down a variety of plastics, including polyethylene and polypropylene, which are the two most widely produced plastics.   The MIT process breaks plastics down into propane.  Propane can be used as a fuel or as a feedstock for making many different products, including new plastics.

Plastics are hard to recycle because their long-chain molecules are very stable and difficult to break apart.  Most chemical methods for breaking their chemical bonds produce a random mix of different molecules which would somehow have to be sorted out in order to be useful for anything.

The new process uses a catalyst called a zeolite that contains cobalt nanoparticles.  The catalyst selectively breaks down various plastic polymer molecules and turns more than 80% of them into propane.

The researchers are still studying the economics and logistics of the method, but it looks quite promising.

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New process could enable more efficient plastics recycling

Photo, posted April 25, 2016, courtesy of NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Banning Gas-Powered Cars | Earth Wise

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In June, the European Union voted to ban the sale of new gas- and diesel-powered vehicles starting in 2035.   The EU joined Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, and several other countries in imposing future gas car bans.

Here in the U.S., on August 25th, California adopted rules banning the sales of new gas-powered cars and light trucks by 2035.  New York passed a similar law last year and its ban will also cover heavy trucks by 2045.

California’s action is particularly significant because there are other states that have trigger laws that impose their own bans based on what California does.  Washington state, Massachusetts, and Virginia are in this category, although the governor of Virginia has said he plans to try to repeal the law.

An additional 12 states have policies tied to California’s and are likely to adopt their own versions of the 2035 ban.  These are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

When these regulatory actions are coupled with the major investments in electric vehicles being made by virtually all automakers, the transition to electric vehicles appears to be inevitable.

As far as people who love their gas-powered cars are concerned, the new rules only apply to new car sales.  So, consumers can still buy and own used cars that run on gasoline.  If there are states that never impose bans on new gas-powered vehicles, then consumers can go to those states and buy one, assuming there are any being made at that point.   It seems likely that gas-powered cars will end up being made for hobbyists and aficionados only. 

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California Just Banned Gas-Powered Cars. Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Photo, posted May 20, 2018, courtesy of James Loesch via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Law To Tackle Climate Change | Earth Wise

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The Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in mid-August is the most comprehensive U.S. legislation addressing climate change ever enacted.   It contains $369 billion in funding for clean energy and electric vehicle tax breaks, domestic manufacturing of batteries and solar panels, and pollution reduction.

The legislation for the most part makes use of carrots rather than sticks to coax American consumers and industry away from reliance on fossil fuels.  Rather than establishing more carbon taxes, mandates, and penalties, the law largely makes use of tax credits to provide incentives for the use of clean energy.

The law provides a large mix of tax breaks intended to bring down the costs of solar, wind, batteries, electric cars, heat pumps, and other clean technology.  For example, consumers will get a $7,500 credit for purchasing many new electric car models and about $4,000 for buying a used vehicle.

On the stick side of the ledger, oil and gas companies that emit methane above certain threshold levels will incur fees that escalate over time.  The law also increases the cost to the oil industry for extracting fossil fuels from public lands.

The act provides $60 billion for overall environmental justice priorities, including $15 billion targeted specifically for low-income and disadvantaged communities. There are many other provisions in the law addressing multiple climate-related issues.

According to three separate analyses by economic modelers, the investments from the Inflation Reduction Act are likely to cut pollution by about 40% below 2005 levels by the year 2030.

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The US finally has a law to tackle climate change

Photo, posted December 15, 2021, courtesy of Mario Duran-Ortiz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Who Can Solve The Plastic Waste Problem? | Earth Wise

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Plastic packaging waste is a global problem.  It collects in the oceans, breaks down into microplastics, which are consumed by fish and in turn by people who eat the fish.  Only 14.5% of U.S. plastic waste is recycled.  Most of it ends up in landfills, where is remains undegraded for hundreds of years. 

A new international study explored the global patterns of plastic packaging waste.  The study found that three countries – the U.S., Brazil, and China – are the top suppliers of waste.  In terms of supply, the Americas generate 41% of the world’s production of plastic waste, Europe 24%, and Asia 21%.

That’s the plastics supply.  As far as the consumers actually creating waste are concerned, the Americas represent 36% of the world’s packaging consumption, Asia 26%, and Europe 23%.

Packaging high-protein food such as meat, fish, and dairy is a major contributor to the waste problem.  Plastic for this purpose is hard to replace and international exports exacerbate the problem, accounting for about 25% of plastic packaging waste.

International agreements typically focus on restrictions and fees on production.  But that mostly creates strong incentives to simply relocate polluting activities to developing countries, which is a zero-sum game.  There need to be incentives for consumers to reduce plastic use such as taxes on waste management, refunds on returning bottles, single-use plastic bans, and so on.

Who can solve the plastic waste problem?  Everyone along the supply chain as well as the final consumers have to be part of the solution for reducing plastic waste.

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Producers and consumers must share burden of global plastic packaging waste

Photo, posted March 29, 2022, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Stretchy And Washable Batteries | Earth Wise

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Wearable electronic devices are a big market but there are limitations created by the properties of the batteries that operate them.  The ideal battery for wearable electronics would be soft and comfortable, stretchable, and washable.  Researchers at the University of British Columbia have recently developed just such a battery.  The work has been described in a new paper published in Advanced Energy Materials.

The battery encompasses a number of engineering advances.  Traditional batteries are made from hard materials encased in a rigid external shell.  The UBC battery is stretchable because its key components are ground into small pieces and then embedded in a rubbery polymer.  Ultra-thin layers of these materials are then encased in the same polymer.  This construction creates an airtight, waterproof seal.

The batteries survived 39 cycles in washing machines using both home and commercial-grade appliances.  The batteries came out intact and functional.

The batteries use zinc and manganese dioxide chemistry which is safer than lithium-ion batteries in case they break while being worn.

The materials used are low-cost, so if the technology is commercialized, it will be cheap.  When it is ready for consumers, it is likely to cost no more than existing batteries.  Work is underway to increase the power output of the batteries and their cycle life.  There is already commercial interest in the technology.

There are many potential applications for such batteries.  Apart from watches and medical monitors, they might also be integrated with clothing that can actively change color or temperature.  If the batteries are commercialized, they will make wearable power comfortable, convenient, and resilient.

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Stretchy, washable battery brings wearable devices closer to reality

Photo, posted April 15, 2021, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Eating To Help The Planet | Earth Wise

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Agriculture accounts for more carbon dioxide emissions than transportation.  Producing our food is one of the largest contributors to climate change.   Experts agree that the world cannot achieve net zero emission targets without changing our diets.  Be that as it may, we still have to eat. 

According to experts from Oxford University, there are things we as individuals can do to lower the impact of the food system on the climate.

There are three primary actions that would have the greatest impact: avoiding eating too much, cutting down on food waste, and reducing consumption of meat and dairy.

We all know that overeating is bad for our health, but it is also bad for the environment as it drives excess production and the emissions associated with it.

Food waste occurs across the supply chain but much of it is in the hands of consumers.  Food waste costs us a lot of money and is associated with emissions that are ultimately unnecessary.  The goal of the consumer should be to buy only the food one needs and to eat what one buys.

Meats, particularly from ruminant animals, result in the highest emissions per pound of food compared with vegetables, grains, and such.  Some people have given up animal proteins entirely, but properly managed livestock are an important part of the agricultural ecosystem and provide valuable services including enhancing the carbon sequestering ability of grasslands.  Nevertheless, it is important to reduce the global demand for meat and thereby prevent the need to clear more land for livestock and reduce emissions from meat animals.  So, we should all eat less meat and dairy even if we don’t become vegetarians.

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How can we eat without cooking the planet?

Photo, posted September 17, 2017, courtesy of Ella Olsson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

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