Farmers in India cut their carbon footprint with trees and solar power

Good News Notes: “In 2007, 22-year-old P. Ramesh’s groundnut farm was losing money. As was the norm in most of India (and still is), Ramesh was using a cocktail of pesticides and fertilizers across his 2.4 hectares in the Anantapur district of southern India. In this desert-like area, which gets less than 600 millimeters of…

New Zealand Embraces Electric Cars EVs, Hydrogen to Cut Emissions, Fossil Fuels

Good News Notes: “New Zealand will accelerate its adoption of electric vehicles and investigate hydrogen as an alternative energy source as it seeks to phase out fossil fuels and play its role in mitigating global warming. Announcing its first emissions reduction plan Monday in Wellington, the government said it will initially allocate NZ$2.9 billion ($1.8…

Believe or not, this new vegan meat is made from air

Good News Notes: “Air Protein is an entirely unique approach to making meat substitutes. It literally turns air into protein, without methane gas release and other harmful effects from agriculture. Meat substitutes offer a plethora of benefits to the environmentas a food source without deforestation, factory farming or carbon emissions. According to their website, Air Protein is…

Meat Alternatives Made From Fungi Could Cut Deforestation by 50%

Good News Notes: “Researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) have found that substituting just 20% of beef with a fungi-based meat alternative could decrease deforestation by 50% by 2050. According to the researchers, microbial protein, as the fungi-based “meat” is called, can replicate the taste and texture of real beef. But microbial proteins require far…

How Israel used innovation to beat its water crisis

Good News Notes: “How did Israel, a country that is more than half desert, frequently hit with drought, and historically cursed by chronic water shortages, become a nation that now produces 20 percent more water than it needs? Water demand from Israel’s rapidly growing population outpaced the supply and natural replenishment of potable water so…

‘Lost’ Bat Rediscovered After 40 Years

Good News Notes: “A bat previously believed extinct is now back from the dead.  Researchers announced March 8 that they had spotted Hill’s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hilli) for the first time in 40 years.  “Rediscovering Hill’s horseshoe bat was incredible – it’s astonishing to think that we’re the first people to see this bat in so long,” Bat Conservation…

The urine revolution: how recycling pee could help to save the world

Good News Notes: “On Gotland, the largest island in Sweden, fresh water is scarce. At the same time, residents are battling dangerous amounts of pollution from agriculture and sewer systems that causes harmful algal blooms in the surrounding Baltic Sea. These can kill fish and make people ill. To help solve this set of environmental…

Xampla launch trial for plastic-free seed coating

Good News Notes: “Today (1 February), Xampla has announced a partnership with chemical company Croda International to begin trials into plastic-free seed coating. The project, supported by the UK Government and the National Institute of Agricultural Botany, will see a £640,000 investment into the company’s biodegradable coating. Used throughout agriculture, coatings protect seeds from pests,…