In the future, your vanilla ice cream may be made from plastic bottles. Scientists have figured out a way to convert plastic waste into vanilla flavoring with genetically engineered bacteria, according to a new study.
Melted plastic trash on beaches can sometimes mix with sediment, basaltic lava fragments and organic debris (such as shells) to produce a new type of rock material, new research shows.
Products have a second life: after their initial use, we must regard them as a valuable resource. Waste should be recycled, not dumped in landfills or otherwise disposed of in nature. In the long term, end-of-life products and unavoidable waste are likely to become the main alternative raw materials for the plastics industry. But in order to make greater use of these sustainable resources, waste management systems must be significantly improved and redesigned.
Green hydrogen fans have lots to cheer about these days as one huge mega-project after another takes shape, but there is also some interesting activity bubbling up on the small end of the scale. With that in mind, let’s check out a new modular, off-grid, above-ground, rainwater harvesting, solar powered hydrogen fuel station over in Australia. Wait, doesn’t the US have one of those, too?
An enormous chunk of ice bigger than Rhode Island has broken off an Antarctic ice shelf, according to the European Space Agency. The floating mass covers more than 1,600 square miles, making it the largest iceberg in the world, agency officials said.
Last year, average fuel economy for light-duty vehicles hit a new high, while the pandemic reduced time on the road, fuel consumption, and emissions. These short-term reductions have spurred efforts to cement even greater long-term fuel efficiency gains and emissions reductions for gasoline-powered vehicles, which are likely to make up the majority of the U.S. automotive market for years to come. At the same time, to meet delivery demands from surges in online ordering by quarantined Americans, freight trucks have regained activity and diesel consumption levels even higher than those seen prior to the pandemic.
Aircraft stand at a turning point in the race to reduce emissions to mitigate climate change. Although the aircraft sector only accounts for a sliver of transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States—at 9%—it is difficult to decarbonize.
With jet fuel demand set to double pre-pandemic levels by 2050 and airlines ramping up pledges to reduce emissions, innovations in fuels, engines, and emerging technologies are critical to closing the gap to net zero.
Biomass may not be electricity fuel king in Georgia, but the state definitely is peachy keen on the resource.
Last year, the state generated 5 million MWh (or 5 GWh) of electricity from biomass, according to a Tuesday report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This is about 10 percent of the nation’s biomass-fired total and more than any other state except California.
Plastic pollution is a recognized global challenge. According to Our World in Data, since 1950, only 9% of the roughly 5.8 billion tons of plastic waste has been recycled. Experts estimate that there will be more plastic than fish by mass in the ocean by 2050.
Renewable energy’s rapid growth is accelerating a national shift to a carbon-free electric power system.
So far 17 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico have adopted laws or executive orders setting goals for reaching 100% clean electricity by 2050 or sooner. And 46 U.S. utilities have pledged to go carbon-free. Now the Biden administration and some members of Congress are proposing to decarbonize the power sector by 2035.
