Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) recently emerged as one of the upper chamber's biggest environmental stalwarts after grilling both Rick Perry and Ryan Zinke over their climate denial during hearings.
But Franken—who is dipping into his comedic roots in a hilarious new web series about climate change—isn't the only U.S. senator who consistently champions environmental safeguards.
Citing data from the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), Business Insider recently featured 10 senators with the best voting records on environmental legislation.
Unsurprisingly, every senator on the list is a Democrat. Meanwhile, we could probably count with two hands the number of Republicans in Congress who think climate change is even real.
"The stakes for protecting the environment and public health have never been higher and the threats have never been greater," the LCV said earlier this year. "We must do more than ever to work with our allies in Congress—and mobilize the public—to fight the Trump administration and the extreme Congressional leadership who want to roll back our bedrock environmental laws and President Obama's incredible progress."
Here are the 10 best senators for the environment:
Sen. Jeff Merkley, Democrat from Oregon. Lifetime score: 99%
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat from Massachusetts. Lifetime score: 98%
Sen. Cory Booker, Democrat from New Jersey. Lifetime score: 98%
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat from Rhode Island. Lifetime score: 98%
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Democrat from Wisconsin. Lifetime score: 97%
Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrat from Connecticut. Lifetime score: 96%
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Democrat from Connecticut. Lifetime score: 96%
Sen. Al Franken, Democrat from Minnesota. Lifetime score: 96%
Sen. Tom Udall, Democrat from New Mexico. Lifetime score: 96%
Sen. Jack Reed, Democrat from Rhode Island. Lifetime score: 96%
You might be scratching your head wondering why Sen. Bernie Sanders isn't on this list. Well, you might remember that last year he was very busy "running his historic presidential campaign," as Josh Fox pointed out in this blog post, and missed some critical environmental votes.
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U.S. President Joe Biden sits in the Oval Office as he signs a series of orders at the White House in Washington, D.C. on January 20, 2021. Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images
President Joe Biden officially took office Wednesday, and immediately set to work reversing some of former President Donald Trump's environmental policies.
<p><br>As he did on his campaign and transition website, Biden emphasized the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> as one of the major challenges facing his administration, along with the coronavirus pandemic and systemic racism.</p><p>"A cry for survival comes from the planet itself," Biden said in his <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/01/20/inaugural-address-by-president-joseph-r-biden-jr/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">inaugural address</a>. "A cry that can't be any more desperate or any more clear."</p><p>Hours after his inauguration, Biden signed a total of 17 executive orders, memorandums and proclamations, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/us/biden-executive-orders.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. Some of these orders had important implications for the climate and environment.</p>
<h3><br>1. Rejoining the Paris Agreement</h3><p>Biden honored a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/paris-climate-agreement-biden-2648649350.html" target="_self">campaign promise</a> by <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/paris-climate-agreement/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rejoining</a> the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_self">Paris Agreement</a> on his first day in office.</p><p>The agreement recommits the U.S. to reducing greenhouse gas emissions enough to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Under Trump, the U.S. officially exited in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/paris-agreement-us-withdrawal-2648618695.html">November 2020</a>.</p><p>Biden's reversal means the U.S. will now rejoin the agreement 30 days from Jan. 20.</p><h3>2. Cancelling the Keystone XL Pipeline</h3><p>Biden also signed a massive order titled "<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-protecting-public-health-and-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-climate-crisis/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis</a>." This order included revoking Trump's 2019 permit for the controversial <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/keystone-xl" target="_self">Keystone XL</a> pipeline.</p><p>The 1,700-mile pipeline would have carried around 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta, Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-alberta-2fbcce48372f5c29c3ae6f6f93907a6d" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Associated Press reported</a>. The Obama administration <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/breaking-president-obama-rejects-keystone-xl-pipeline-1882117930.html" target="_self">revoked the permit in 2015</a>, but the Trump administration <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-dakota-access-pipeline-2211697835.html" target="_self">reversed course</a>.</p><p>Construction on the controversial project halted Wednesday in light of Biden's action, The Associated Press reported.</p>
<h3><br>3. Reversing Trump's Rollbacks</h3><p>The same executive order also empowered agencies to review Trump's many environmental rollbacks. It established commitments to listen to science, protect public health and the environment and conserve sites of national interest. Additionally, the order asked federal agencies to review any Trump regulations that violated these commitments.</p><p>The order specifically highlighted four rollbacks to be halted, altered or revoked: <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-methane-emissions-regulations-2646947182.html" target="_self">methane emissions</a> in the oil and gas sector, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-fuel-efficiency-proposal-2592345279.html" target="_self">fuel efficiency standards</a> for cars and light trucks, energy efficiency standards for appliances and buildings, and air pollution controls linked to the decision to limit <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-secret-science-rule-health-2649767248.html" target="_self">certain scientific studies</a> for setting public health policies.</p><p>Further, Biden called for a review of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/shrinking-bears-ears-grand-staircase-escalante-2645172719.html" target="_self">shrinking</a> of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments and the opening the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-commercial-fishing-2646161692.html" target="_blank">commercial fishing.</a> Biden also paused <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/anwr-oil-lease-fail-2649791991.html" target="_self">oil and gas leasing</a> in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.</p>
<h3>4. Stopping Border Wall Construction</h3><p>Biden also signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/proclamation-termination-of-emergency-with-respect-to-southern-border-of-united-states-and-redirection-of-funds-diverted-to-border-wall-construction/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">executive order</a> stopping construction of the wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.</p><p>While the order did not mention the environment, several conservation groups have <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-border-wall-endangered-species-2410320620.html" target="_self">opposed the wall</a> for its <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/border-wall-bulldozer-arizona-organ-pipe-2640888439.html" target="_blank">impacts</a> on wildlife and ecosystems. One <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/border-wall-endangered-species-2642927676.html" target="_self">study</a> found that wall construction could threaten eight species with extinction. It also imperils the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/border-wall-national-butterfly-center-2638893129.html" target="_self">National Butterfly Center in Texas</a>, home to important pollinators.</p><p>Biden's initial actions prompted excitement from world leaders and environmental groups.</p><p>"Welcome back to the Paris Agreement!" French President Emmanuel Macron <a href="https://twitter.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1351955511814615042" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweeted</a>.</p><p>However, everyone, including Biden, acknowledged that more work remained.</p>
<p>"They are just executive actions. They are important but we're going to need legislation for a lot of the things we're going to do," Biden said according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>Biden's climate plan calls for a zero-emissions electricity sector by 2035, and zero emissions across the board by 2050. The plan will likely require approval from Congress, and some Republicans are already fighting Biden's actions. Montana Senator Steve Daines said he would introduce legislation requiring the president to get Senate approval for rejoining the Paris agreement. Daines also plans to introduce legislation that would approve the Keystone XL pipeline.</p><p>Meanwhile, Indigenous groups praised Biden's action on Keystone XL but called for him to revoke the permits of other pipelines, including Line 3 and TransMountain.</p><p>"It is imperative that we keep the pressure on President Biden to put an end to ALL fossil fuel infrastructure and projects, making the ones that are near or on Indigenous territories of top priority, Tasina Sapa Win Smith, co-founder of Cheyenne River Grassroots Collective, said in a <a href="https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1414959334" target="_blank">statement</a> from the Indigenous Environmental Network.</p>
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Erik McGregor / LightRocket / Getty Images
In many schools, the study of climate change is limited to the science. But at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, students in one class also learn how to take climate action.
<p>"You need to know how to communicate it to people. You need to know how to organize if we're going to get anything done," said Jessica Gutknecht in the Department of Soil, Water and Climate.</p>
<p>Each spring, she co-teaches a class called "<a target="_blank" href="https://onestop2.umn.edu/pcas/viewCatalogCourse.do?courseId=815340" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Global Climate Challenge: Creating an Empowered Movement for Change</a>."</p><p>Gutknecht walks students through the science. Teddie Potter from the School of Nursing encourages them to look at climate change from a health perspective. And Julia Nerbonne of the nonprofit Interfaith Power and Light teaches them how to lead grassroots change.</p><p>"We also have them do these community action projects where they are out pounding the pavement trying to get things done," Gutknecht said.</p><p>In the past, that's included starting community gardens, convincing businesses to do energy audits, and engaging sororities and fraternities in climate action.</p><p>"Every student needs to know that they have voice and that they can be actors in this wicked problem of climate change," Gutknecht said. "And so every step of the way, whatever we're teaching them, we are empowering them. And we're teaching them that they have something valuable to bring to the table, whatever their passions are."</p>
Listen:
<iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/17278520/height/45/theme/standard/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/" height="45" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe><p><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/01/college-course-teaches-students-how-to-be-climate-leaders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>
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By Daniel Raichel
Industry would have us believe that pesticides help sustain food production — a necessary chemical trade-off for keeping harmful bugs at bay and ensuring we have enough to eat. But the data often tell a different story—particularly in the case of neonicotinoid pesticides, also known as neonics.
<p>Despite being the most widely used family of pesticides in the United States, research has shown that the largest uses of these neurotoxic chemicals do little to nothing to help crop yields or farmers' bottom lines.</p><p>If we look closer, it's easy to see why: The vast majority of neonics are applied as coatings on seeds for crops like corn, soybean, and wheat — where they are most often used indiscriminately, rather than in response to specific pest problems. For many conventional seed varieties, farmers have no choice but to buy neonics-treated seeds, thanks to the near monopolies enjoyed by agrochemical giants, which manufacture both the seeds and the pesticides.</p>
<p>The result? Tens to hundreds of millions of acres are needlessly sown with bee-toxic seeds. And while these wasteful practices may spell good news for the profit margins of chemical manufacturers — to the tune of more than <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/37/22609#ref-3" target="_blank">$3 billion per year</a> — they are catastrophic news for the surrounding ecosystems.</p><p>That's because neonics are pervasive ecosystem contaminants. When coated on seeds, they're absorbed "systemically" as plants grow — up through the roots and into the nectar, pollen, and fruit itself — which then get eaten by other wildlife. What doesn't make it into the plant (usually more than 95 percent of the toxic seed coating) leaches out into the soil, where it can travel long distances, carried by rain and agricultural runoff into new soil, plants, and water supplies. Once in the ground, neonics are long-lived — building up in the soil over time and continuing to harm or kill bugs and other wildlife for years after application.</p><p>Unsurprisingly, our agricultural system is now <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0220029" target="_blank">48 times more harmful</a> to insect life than it was just two decades ago, with neonics accounting for more than 90 percent of that increase. That's why it's also no surprise that neonics have been recognized as a <a href="http://www.bulletinofinsectology.org/pdfarticles/vol67-2014-125-130lu.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">primary cause</a> of the massive losses of U.S. honey bee colonies every year — the unfortunate new normal. Neonics are also linked to mass die-offs of <a href="https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/rpbb/FAQsProposedListing.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">native bees</a>, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/09/widely-used-pesticide-makes-birds-lose-weight/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">birds</a>, <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6465/620" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fish</a>, and harm to other important insects and earthworms, which keep our soil healthy and nutrient-dense.</p>
<p>This contamination poses a clear ecological crisis but it's also a crisis for how we eat.</p><p>In <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.0922" target="_blank">a recent study out of Rutgers University</a>, researchers looked at seven different crops in 131 commercially managed fields across North America to see how many crops were "pollinator-limited" — i.e., crops whose yields would be higher were there more pollinators.</p><p>Distressingly, five out of every seven crops they analyzed were pollinator-limited — including favorites like apples, cherries, and blueberries. "Honeybee colonies are weaker than they used to be and wild bees are declining, probably by a lot," <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/29/bees-food-crops-shortage-study" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said the paper's senior author, Rachael Winfree</a>. "Fewer bees, in turn, mean less food, and more pressure on struggling honeybee populations to replace pollination from native bees."</p><p>As Winfree notes, this reliance on a single species is risky, "setting us up for food security problems." Worse yet, the study shows the likely impact of neonics on our food supply isn't decades away; it's already happening right now.</p><p>For the present, industries can use stopgap solutions—like breeding and shipping out more honeybees to make up for lost colonies — but these strategies may ultimately fail if we don't address the source of the vast and wasteful neonic contamination.</p><p>Looking into the future, low yields may mean that some of our favorite foods become far pricier or unavailable entirely — an outcome with high human and economic costs.</p><p>In the United States, the production of crops that rely on pollination is valued at more than <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.0922" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$50 billion annually</a>. Indeed, one in every three bites of food is reliant on pollinators. Food workers — an umbrella term for a behemoth industry that includes everyone from farm workers to restaurant cooks and servers to grocery store clerks — could experience increased job disruptions, too, should the markets for these foods become upended.</p><p>Recently, <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/letter_from_new_york_chefs_on_neonics_01202021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a group of local New York chefs</a> — recognizing their reliance on bees and an abundant and diverse food supply to keep restaurants open, workers employed, and their food healthy and delicious—asked state legislators to rein in wasteful neonic use statewide.</p><p>Faced with rising food costs, more families may also struggle to put food on the table. Already, more than <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">10.5 percent of all U.S. families</a> — or more than 35 million Americans — experienced food insecurity at some point in 2019. During the COVID-19 crisis, that <a href="https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/54-million-people-america-face-food-insecurity-during-pandemic-it-could-have-dire-consequences-their" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">number has ballooned</a>. For those unsure where their next meal may come from, even moderate increases in food costs are felt acutely. Potentially significant changes to food costs or availability — particularly for our most nutrient-dense produce — would likely <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23946342/#affiliation-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hit low-income families hardest</a>.</p><p>The stakes are high, but the solution is simple: We must rein in needless neonic use that threatens our food supply and contaminates our land and water on a vast scale.</p><p>In the same turn, we must also support <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/resources/regenerative-agriculture" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">regenerative agriculture</a> practices, which eliminate the need for synthetic pesticides like neonics. A more just and sustainable food system that protects workers, consumers, and the wild world also protects our food security — it's what we need and <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/arohi-sharma/regenerative-agriculture-part-1-philosophy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">it's within reach</a>.</p><p><em><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/daniel-raichel" target="_blank">Daniel Raichel</a> is a staff attorney and a member of the Lands & Wildlife program, focusing on protecting our nation's bee populations from the ever-growing threats to their health and existence—in particular, the use of bee-toxic pesticides. Before joining the Wildlife team, Raichel was codirector of NRDC's Community Fracking Defense Project and an advocate for the cleanup of industrial pollution in the New York region. Prior to that, he was a member of the Columbia Environmental Law Clinic. Raichel holds a bachelor's degree in English from Cornell University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. He works out of the Chicago office. </em></p>
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A Fridays for Future activist on Oct. 9, 2020 in Turin, Italy. Stefano Guidi / Getty Images
By Andrea Germanos
Fed up with "empty promises" from world leaders, a dozen youth activists on Wednesday demanded newly sworn-in President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris take swift and bold climate action — even more far-reaching than promised on the campaign trail — stating that their "present and future depend on the actions your government takes within the next four years."
<p>"Are you going to do what science is asking you to do to fight the climate crisis?" the youth, including Disha A. Ravi of Fridays for Future India and Sofía Gutiérrez of Fridays for Future Colombia, asked in <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20210120104010-143ir" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an open letter</a>.</p>
<div id="3ae41" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cf5e7a8d2c8c286fc9788a79a4103e04"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1351879237255499777" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Dear @JoeBiden @KamalaHarris,
The time for actions to speak louder than words is now.
Are you going to listen t… https://t.co/icrDqUFjAg</div> — Nakabuye Hilda F. (@Nakabuye Hilda F.)<a href="https://twitter.com/NakabuyeHildaF/statuses/1351879237255499777">1611148101.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The letter from the global activists was released on Biden's <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/20/democracys-day-joe-biden-sworn-46th-president-united-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">inauguration day</a> as he <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/20/after-incredible-first-steps-kxl-and-paris-biden-urged-go-further-climate" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">won praise</a> from climate organizations for a number of expected climate-related, "day one" executive actions including <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/18/indigenous-led-movement-credited-huge-victory-biden-plans-rescind-keystone-xl-permit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">revoking</a> the presidential permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/04/us-officially-quits-paris-accord-amid-election-uncertainty-progressives-say-make" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rejoining</a> the Paris agreement.</p><p>Referencing the accord's goal for a global temperature increase threshold, the youth wrote: "The next four years will decide whether we can limit temperature rise to 1.5°C. Your place in history makes you the last administration able to act in time."</p><p>Urgent action is especially important in light of the past four years, during which former President Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda and <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/attacks-on-science" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">war on science</a> <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/01/15/impeached-twice-trumps-presidency-was-climate-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fanned</a> the flames of the climate and <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/esa_attacks/trumptable.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ecological</a> crises. Merely going above that low bar is insufficient, according to the youth.</p><p>"Being better than Trump isn't enough," they wrote. "But also simply continuing where the Obama administration ended is far from sufficient."</p>
<p>According to the young activists, Biden's stated <a href="https://joebiden.com/climate-plan/" target="_blank">goal</a> of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 is simply too late. "Be braver," they wrote.</p><p>The letter also singled out fracking for criticism, decrying the practice's impacts on Indigenous and ecosystems. "The world cannot afford for the United States to begin any more of these dangerous drilling and fracking projects."</p><p>Impacts of the climate crisis — which is "racist, sexist, and elitist" — are already being felt, the letter stressed. "Current levels of warming of 1.2°C are already hell for millions of people."</p><p>"People are burning, drowning, and dying. Enough," the youth wrote.</p>
<p>In order to live up to his promise of being a climate champion, the letter said Biden must lead an administration "unlike any of the previous administrations that have done nothing but spew out empty promises."</p><p>"Will you challenge the systems that started the climate crisis?" the youth asked.</p><p>"Our eyes are on you," they said. "The time for lies is over."</p><p>The group concluded their message with the hashtag #NoMoreEmptyPromises — a phrase Fridays for Future used in <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/13/demanding-immediate-action-over-empty-promises-youth-climate-movement-announces-next" target="_blank">announcing</a> the global climate strike <a href="https://fridaysforfuture.org/march19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">set</a> for March 19, 2021.</p><p>"If we don't act now, we won't even have the chance to deliver on those 2030, 2050 targets that world leaders keep on talking about," Mitzi Jonelle Tan of Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines and one of the new letter's signatories said in a statement earlier this month.</p><p>"What we need now are not empty promises," she said, "but annual binding carbon targets and immediate cuts in emissions in all sectors of our economy."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/01/20/last-administration-able-act-time-youth-climate-leaders-say-global-future-depends" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Several innovative companies have begun brainstorming better ways to repurpose old wind turbine blades. xu wu / Getty Images
When wind turbine blades reach the end of their usefulness, most are sawed into transportable pieces and hauled to landfills, where they never break down. Because of the resources and energy that go into producing these blades, this type of disposal is inefficient and wasteful. Recently, several innovative companies have begun brainstorming better ways to repurpose this green technology after it goes offline.
<p>According to <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-wind-turbine-blades-could-be-recycled-instead-of-landfilled/" target="_blank">Scientific American</a>, wind turbines are built to last an industry standard of 30 years. As installed <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/wind-power-capacity-2645577863.html" target="_self">wind energy capacity continues to increase globally</a>, it is becoming increasingly important to think about the next phase in a wind turbine's lifecycle: the end. Some existing turbines have already been taken out of service and decommissioned at the end of their lifecycle, or during "repowering," a process where companies replace smaller turbines with bigger ones capable of producing more energy.</p><p>While roughly 85 percent of turbine component materials — including steel, copper wide, electronics and gearing — can be recycled or reused, old blades are harder to salvage, Scientific American reported. Since blades are comprised of fiberglass, a lightweight and durable composite material ideal for withstanding storms, separating the plastic and glass fibers for recycling is difficult, the article found. The process also requires powerful diamond-encrusted industrial saws and a lot of effort. Due to this, tens of thousands of aging blades are being removed and have nowhere to go but landfills, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-02-05/wind-turbine-blades-can-t-be-recycled-so-they-re-piling-up-in-landfills" target="_blank">Bloomberg Green</a>.</p><p>The article estimated that 8,000 blades will be decommissioned each year until 2024, and Europe will see about 3,800 coming down each year through at least 2022.</p><p>To combat what <a href="https://grist.org/energy/todays-wind-turbine-blades-could-become-tomorrows-bridges/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Grist</a> called the impending "wind turbine blade waste crisis," scientists around the world are focused on finding ways to recycle, upcycle and redesign blades for the future.</p>
<p>Washington-based Global Fiberglass Solutions (GFS) believes itself to be the first U.S.-based company to commercially recycle fiberglass wind turbine blades, a 2019 <a href="https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2019/03/27/company-expands-wind-turbine-recycling-operation/" target="_blank">Plastics Recycling Update</a> report noted. According to a GFS <a href="http://blog.global-fiberglass.com/blog/global-fiberglass-solutions-becomes-the-first-us-based-company-to-commercially-recycle-wind-turbine-blades-into-viable-products" target="_blank">press release</a>, the company grinds up discarded blades, which are then used for decking materials, pallets and piping, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/10/759376113/unfurling-the-waste-problem-caused-by-wind-energy" target="_blank">NPR</a> reported.</p><p>Wind energy giant G.E. similarly announced a wind turbine blade recycling program in the U.S., where the majority of old blades from onshore turbines would be shredded and used to replace raw materials in cement manufacturing, <a href="https://www.utilitydive.com/news/ge-announces-first-us-wind-turbine-blade-recycling-program-with-veolia/591869/" target="_blank">Utility Dive</a> reported late last year.</p><p>The process should make wind turbines fully recyclable while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions from cement production by a net 27 percent, Utility Dive found. Because concrete is the most widely used human-made material in existence, the production of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/cement" target="_self">cement</a>, one of its composite materials, accounts for approximately eight percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, reported <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46455844#:~:text=Cement%20is%20the%20source%20of,behind%20China%20and%20the%20US." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BBC</a> in 2018. Veolia, the company that will process GE's old blades for recycling, hopes to use this co-processing technology to create a greener cement, Bob Cappadona, executive vice president for Veolia North America's environmental solutions and services, told Utility Dive.</p><p>"Last summer we completed a trial using a GE blade, and we were very happy with the results. This fall we have processed more than 100 blades so far, and our customers have been very pleased with the product," said Cappadona.</p>
<p>Upcycling might be a stronger solution for the planet because old blades' strength and durability aren't wasted by shredding them. In Ireland, an experimental blades-to-bridges program run by Re-Wind is reimagining decommissioned blades into bicycle and pedestrian bridges, transmission towers and other civil engineering structures, the <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/james-gignac/wind-turbine-blades-recycling" target="_blank">Union of Concerned Scientists</a> reported. The blade pieces are strong enough to replace steel girders in construction because the technology is built to withstand intense pressure and wind speeds, Grist added.</p><p>Re-Wind is brainstorming other novel uses for the scrap blades, from serving as artificial reefs to highway noise barriers. The company is also considering cutting up the durable material to create affordable housing that can withstand extreme weather, Grist reported.</p><p>"If you are talking about a sustainable, renewable fuel source, it's not appropriate to then pollute the environment with materials that are decommissioned," Re-Wind team lead Larry Bank told Grist.</p><p>A final innovation hopes to add a third option to the recycle-or-discard dilemma surrounding wind turbines. Scientists at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are changing turbine material in hopes of making them cheaper and recyclable. Last November, Scientific American reported on the new turbine blades, which use a thermoplastic resin instead of epoxy thermoset resin to set the fiberglass into shape. Critically, the new material can be reclaimed at the end of a blade's life by melting and reusing it in new blades.</p><p>While years of additional testing may be required, Daniel Laird, the director of NREL's wind technology center, was hopeful. He told Scientific American, "I think that a lot of progress is going to be made on the recyclability of blades in the next year or two."</p>
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