Good News Notes: “Each year, 8 million tons of plastic— the equivalent of a garbage truck load every minute — is dumped into the ocean, according to the World Economic Forum. The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit engineering environmental organization based in the Netherlands, is attempting to remove as much of that plastic as is feasible. “Our strategy…
Category: ocean
Microsoft made a wireless mouse out of recycled ocean plastic
Good News Notes: “Alongside a fresh lineup of Surface systems, Microsoft announced a new mouse at its fall hardware event. The name gives away the reason why it’s interesting. It’s called the Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse. The shell is made with 20 percent recycled ocean plastic, which is created from waste that has been recovered from oceans and waterways…
17-YO’s Startup Recycles 10 Tonnes of Plastic Everyday, Turning it into Fabric
Good News Notes: “In 2019, reports estimated that over 3.3 million metric tonnes of plastic wound up in landfills across India. However, to reduce the burden on the environment, Aditya Banger (17) a resident of Bhilwara, Rajasthan has started recycling plastic bottles, wrappers and covers to make fabric. “The process takes one or two days but the…
Switch-to-cold laundry campaign set for launch in Metro Vancouver to fight microplastics pollution
Good News Notes: “Moms and dads can take the fight to save the environment in the laundry room. The Metro Vancouver regional government will launch a campaign to encourage parents to switch to cold water in doing the family laundry. “The campaign targets residents, specifically parents with children under 18, and asks them to reduce…
In Tahiti, women are rocking the boat
Good News Notes: “Put your paddle in deeper and feel the water,” says Hinatea Bernadino, as our outrigger canoe glides effortlessly through the glassy Tahitian lagoon. I can clearly see the bottom six feet below me and the parrotfish darting by us. “You and the canoe are one person.” In an outrigger canoe, called va’a in Tahitian,…
8 rescued after boat sinks on York River
Good News Notes: “Eight people aboard a sinking boat were rescued Tuesday afternoon on the York River. Abingdon Volunteer Fire and Rescue was notified just after 3 p.m. and responded with two rescue boats. A Virginia Marine Police boat was able to reach the sinking boat first and rescue the passengers with no injuries. AFVR’s…
Heimdal pulls CO2 and cement-making materials out of seawater using renewable energy
Good News Notes: “One of the consequences of rising CO2 levels in our atmosphere is that levels also rise proportionately in the ocean, harming wildlife and changing ecosystems. Heimdal is a startup working to pull that CO2 back out at scale using renewable energy and producing carbon-negative industrial materials, including limestone for making concrete, in the process,…
Hundreds of Palm Coast Residents Gather to Clean City’s Waterways
Good News Notes: “The City of Palm Coast held a successful waterway cleanup on Saturday, seeing over 1,600 pounds of trash cleaned up over 250 volunteers. Dressed mostly in the purple volunteer t-shirts handed out by the city, Palm Coast’s good samaritans spent all morning combing the scenic waterways for any and all garbage, and…
Tiny Robots Could Clean Up Microplastic Pollution
Good News Notes: “Microplastics—minuscule, hard-to-degrade fragments of clothing fibers, water bottles and other synthetic items—have made their way into air, water and soil around the world. Now new research published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces shows a way to promote their deterioration, at least in water, with technology on an even smaller scale: microrobots. When added to water along with a bit…
How to fight microplastic pollution with magnets
Good News Notes: “As a child, Fionn Ferreira spent hours exploring the coastline near his hometown of Ballydehob in south-west Ireland. But the more time he spent on the sheltered, shingle-strewn coves nearby, he grew increasingly shocked by the large amounts of plastic litter he found strewn across the beach and in the sea. “It…