The Norwegian Arctic is home to many animal species, including caribou, narwhals, arctic foxes, polar bears and seals, as well as the fish and plankton on which many of them feed. Recently, disturbingly high levels of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” have been found contaminating ice in the region, which may present a serious problem for […]
Supermarkets Woolworths and Coles have been ordered by the New South Wales (NSW) Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to dispose of more than 5,732 tons of recycled soft plastics currently sitting in more than a dozen warehouses across NSW. The concern is that they’re being dangerously stored since the collapse of recycling organization REDcycle — a […]
Scientists from Osaka Metropolitan University have found a way to synthesize fumaric acid, a raw material using for producing the biodegradable plastic polybutylene succinate, using artificial photosynthesis. The plastic, typically made from petroleum, was synthesized from carbon dioxide, biomass-derived compounds, and solar energy. The study, published in the journal Sustainable Energy & Fuels, documents the […]
As companies race to expand renewable energy and the batteries to store it, finding sufficient amounts of rare earth metals to build the technology is no easy feat. That’s leading mining companies to take a closer look at a largely unexplored frontier – the deep ocean seabed.
A gigantic iceberg nearly the size of Greater London has broken free from the 492-foot-thick Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica. Cracks that had been developing naturally in the ice shelf over the past few years had expanded across the entire shelf, causing the iceberg to finally calve on Sunday, according to a British Antarctic Survey […]
If you are at a sports stadium, you might notice a new logo on recycling bins: that of PureCycle. PureCycle is a U.S.-based company seeking to turn plastic waste into an infinitely recyclable material. Over the last year, the company has partnered with stadiums in Orlando, Cincinnati and Jacksonville on a pilot project to capture […]
Floating solar farms are solar panels that are installed on the surface of bodies of water — such as lakes and reservoirs — to save space on land or provide electricity to remote locations. Now, engineers and scientists are beginning to develop ways to put solar farms on the surface of the ocean to bring […]
In England, the government has announced plans to ban single-use plastic dinnerware, including closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam trays (commonly referred to as the brand name Styrofoam), plastic utensils and plastic plates. The announcement follows similar bans in Scotland and Wales. Scotland’s ban on single-use plastics took effect in August 2022, and Wales recently passed a […]