When scientists want to improve a variety of vegetable, it can take a year or less to see changes—just the length of a reproductive cycle. But breeding improvements into trees can take years—sometimes decades—before changes can be seen.
Now, a process developed by researchers at the University of Georgia may cut that time to a fraction.
We are always encouraged to hear ways that individuals or groups are putting their creative energy towards helping the environment. Here are 5 cools ways humans are using directing their energy to cleaning up one of our greatest gifts: The Oceans:
We hope this encourages you. It doesn’t take much to make a big difference. Find a group of friends, or just start imagining how you can help clean up a river, plant some trees, or even help engineer new ways of creating energy!
Biodegradable plastics are a hot topic in the world of sustainability. Traditional petroleum-based plastics take hundreds of years to break down in the environment, causing a major pollution problem. New innovations in the production of biodegradable plastics are helping to solve this issue by creating plastics that can break down in a relatively short period of time.
One new innovation in biodegradable plastics is the development of bioplastics. Bioplastics are made from renewable materials such as corn starch, sugarcane, or potato starch, and they can break down in the environment much faster than traditional petroleum-based plastics. Bioplastics are also compostable, which means that they can be decomposed by microorganisms into water, carbon dioxide, and other natural compounds. These materials are considered to be more environmentally friendly than traditional plastics and can help to reduce plastic waste in the long term.
Another innovation in biodegradable plastics is the use of new additives that can accelerate the degradation of plastic products. These additives can be added to traditional plastics, and they work by breaking down the chemical bonds in the plastic over time. As a result, the plastic becomes brittle and can be easily crushed into small pieces, which can then be decomposed by microorganisms. The use of these additives has the potential to significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in the environment, as well as reduce the time it takes for plastic waste to break down.
In addition to bioplastics and additives, researchers and companies are also working on developing new technologies that can help to recycle traditional plastics more efficiently. One example is the use of chemical recycling, which uses heat, pressure, and chemical catalysts to break down plastic into its constituent monomers. These monomers can then be used to produce new plastic products, effectively closing the loop on plastic waste. Another example is the use of mechanical recycling, which involves melting down used plastic products and molding them into new products. Both chemical and mechanical recycling can help to reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in the environment, as well as help to conserve resources by using waste plastic as a feedstock for new plastic products.
Plant-based materials are also being utilized as a replacement for petroleum-based materials. Companies are experimenting with materials such as corn starch, potato starch, and cellulose to create biodegradable plastics that are both sustainable and environmentally friendly. These materials are not only biodegradable, but they are also renewable, as they can be regrown every year, making them a more sustainable option than traditional petroleum-based plastics.
Lastly, the use of new materials that can mimic the properties of plastic, but are biodegradable and compostable. Examples of these materials include cellulose-based films and biodegradable composites. These materials have the potential to replace traditional plastics in many applications, such as food packaging, and can help to reduce plastic waste in the environment.
In conclusion, researchers and companies are working on many different innovations to help create biodegradable plastics and reduce plastic waste in the environment. From bioplastics and additives that can speed up the degradation of plastic products, to new technologies for recycling and new materials that can mimic the properties of plastic, these innovations have the potential to make a significant impact on the environment. By continuing to develop and implement these innovations, we can help to ensure a more sustainable future for our planet.
Driving through Yolo County, you’ll see the expected wide expanses of farmland. That’s nothing unusual for an agricultural area like this one, but Heather Nichols has an eye for one particularly interesting feature that others might miss: Hedgerows.
Plant cellulose microfibrils are increasingly employed to produce functional nanofibers and nanocrystals for biomaterials, but their catalytic formation and conversion mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we characterize length-reduced cellulose nanofibers assembly in situ accounting for the high density of amorphous cellulose regions in the natural rice fragile culm 16 (Osfc16) mutant defective in cellulose biosynthesis using both classic and advanced atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques equipped with a single-molecular recognition system. By employing individual types of cellulases, we observe efficient enzymatic catalysis modes in the mutant, due to amorphous and inner-broken cellulose chains elevated as breakpoints for initiating and completing cellulose hydrolyses into higher-yield fermentable sugars. Furthermore, effective chemical catalysis mode is examined in vitro for cellulose nanofibers conversion into nanocrystals with reduced dimensions. Our study addresses how plant cellulose substrates are digestible and convertible, revealing a strategy for precise engineering of cellulose substrates toward cost-effective biofuels and high-quality bioproducts.
SEMPORNA, Sabah: The coastal town of Semporna, on the northeastern tip of Sabah, has been dubbed the “gateway to scuba diving paradise” by local media.
The islands near the town are blessed with white beaches and crystal-clear water. One of them is Sipadan, a world-famous and limited-access diving haven teeming with marine life.
Researchers in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences received a $2.4 million USDA grant to create affordable bioplastics and reduce plastic waste remaining both on land and in the sea.
Using biomass for energy has positive and negative effects
Biomass and biofuels made from biomass are alternative energy sources to fossil fuels—coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Burning either fossil fuels or biomass releases carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas. However, the plants that are the source of biomass for energy capture almost the same amount of CO2 through photosynthesis while growing as is released when biomass is burned, which can make biomass a carbon-neutral energy source.1
TVA’s power portfolio is dynamic and adaptable in the face of changing demands and regulations. Our emphasis has moved away from traditional coal-based production and toward cleaner forms of power generation, and today the power we deliver is nearly 60 percent carbon-free.
So that we remain responsive to the Valley's electricity demand on hot summer and cold winter days, we're adding more cleaner-burning natural gas units. To generate more carbon-free power, we’ve added the 21st century’s first new nuclear unit. As always, we generate clean, renewable power with our 29 hydroelectric dams. We have plans underway to build TVA's first utility-scale solar site and have contracted for more than a thousand megawatts of solar to help customers meet their renewable goals.
Sunlight shining down from 93 million miles away. Wind blowing across a grassy plain. Methane gas seeping from decaying matter. These sources of abundant, fossil-free energy form a small but growing part of the power mix as TVA embraces renewables as a part of its vision to provide low-cost, cleaner energy for the future.
