Good News Notes: “In recent weeks, a crew of staffers from a company called Charm Industrial have been working on the edge of Kansas corn fields, moving rolled bales of stalks, leaves, husks, and tassels up to a white semi-trailer. Inside, a contraption called a pyrolyzer uses high temperatures in the absence of oxygen to…
Tag: climate change
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…
Facing disastrous floods, they turned to mangrove trees for protection
Good News Notes: “As sea levels rise, eroding embankments and pushing water closer to their doorsteps, the residents of the hundreds of villages in the Sundarbans — an immense network of rivers, tidal flats, small islands and vast mangrove forests straddling India and Bangladesh — have found their lives and livelihoods at risk. In the…
The remote Shetland Islands are a surprising leader in the race to net zero
Good News Notes: “Shetland, a group of islands off the coast of Scotland, is doing what we should all be doing: working with not against nature. It is making the most of being the windiest place in the UK by using this natural resource to create energy. The archipelago will soon have the most productive…
First solar canal project is a win for water, energy, air and climate in California
Good News Notes: “Mounting evidence suggests the western United States is now in its worst megadrought in at least 1,200 years. Groundwater supplies are being overpumped in many places, and the dryness, wildfires and shrinking water supplies are making climate change personal for millions of people. As an engineer, I have been working with colleagues on a way to both protect water supplies and…
Humpback whales removed from Australia’s threatened species list but feeding grounds still at risk
Good News Notes: “Humpback whales have been removed from the threatened species list after a significant increase in numbers in the 60 years since they were first protected, but green groups warn populations could decline again as oceans warm. Global heating is predicted to have a significant impact on krill populations in Antarctica, a major…
20% of Brits Are Eating Less Meat To Actively Fight Climate Change, Survey Finds
Good News Notes: “A Censuswide survey, commissioned by environmental search engine Ecosia, has revealed new plant-based trends. Major takeaways include more than 20 percent of participants reducing meat intake in light of the climate crisis. It was revealed that 32 percent are willing to change their diets to help the environment. More than 50 percent…
The Century-Old Renewable You’ve Never Heard Of
Good News Notes: “Japanese island of Kumejima to work as an English teacher after graduating from a business school in landlocked Arizona. Now he runs a power plant fueled by ocean water. “I don’t have an engineering degree, and I do all the maintenance for our electricity,” he said. “It’s relatively easy.” The plant, which…
Newport Couple Donate $50 Million to Nature Conservancy for Wildlife Preserve in Tehachapi Mountains
Good News Notes: “Frank and Joan Randall of Newport Beach have donated $50 million to the Nature Conservancy for the creation of its largest nature preserve in California, a beautiful 72,000-acre area in the Southern Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi Mountains. According to the Nature Conservancy, the preserve is just over 100 miles north of downtown…
Walmart makes an investment in vertical farming start-up Plenty
Good News Notes: “Walmart said Tuesday that it is investing in vertical farming company Plenty and plans to carry the start-up’s leafy greens in all California stores later this year. The big-box retail giant did not disclose the size of the equity stake or the terms of the commercial deal, but said a Walmart executive will…