Good News Notes: “A 35 MW solar power carport with 90,000 solar panels was launched the first week of May in the Netherlands. Biddinghuizen is the solar carport location, which is the same site for the annual Lowlands music festival. The festival receives tens of thousands of visitors each year, so the parking area covers 35…
Tag: Dutch
Coca-Cola Joins The Ocean Cleanup in Tackling Ocean Plastic Pollution
Good News Notes: “As part of the effort to stem the tide of plastic pollution entering the world’s oceans, the Coca-Cola Company is joining with The Ocean Cleanup to expedite the deployment of cleanup systems in fifteen rivers around the world. The partnership is part of the Dutch non-profit foundation’s efforts to stop plastic pollution…
Modern farming: Coronavirus outbreak spurs high-tech greenhouse boom in China
Good News Notes: “At Chongming Island just outside Shanghai, China’s most populous city, workers collect and pack tomatoes and cucumbers at a glass greenhouse operated by Dutch company FoodVentures, which harvested their first batch of produce at the site in May. The facility is one of dozens sprouting up on the outskirts of China’s megacities…
Bees in the Netherlands trained to detect COVID-19 infections
Good News Notes: “Dutch researchers have trained bees, which have an unusually keen sense of smell, to identify samples infected with COVID-19, a finding they said could cut waiting times for test results to just seconds. To train the bees, scientists in the bio-veterinary research laboratory at Wageningen University gave them sugary water as a…
Barcelona installs Spain’s first solar energy pavement
Good News Notes: “Barcelona city council has installed Spain’s first photovoltaic pavement as part of the city’s drive to become carbon neutral by 2050. The 50 sq metres of non-slip solar panels, installed in a small park in the Glòries area of the city, will generate 7,560kW a year, enough to supply three households. …
11 Most Innovative Sustainable Packaging Ideas
Good News Notes: “Sustainable packaging is the development and use of packaging that’s recyclable, reusable, and made from rapidly renewable resources or materials. This practice reduces the environmental impact and ecological footprint of consumer product waste. There’s been a bounty out on packaging ever since Keep America Beautiful released its notorious 1971 “Crying Indian” PSA. The…
These biodegradable facemasks bloom into flowers when planted after use
Good News Notes: “A Dutch designer has created biodegradable facemasks made from rice paper that will transform into flowers when planted. Face masks are now part of our daily lives and are likely to remain so for months, if not years. But while they may be essential in stopping the spread of coronavirus pandemic, they…
20 Plant-Based Foods Coming to Market in 2021
Good News Notes: “The plant-based food boom is heating up. Growth in the segment outpaced all other food categories amid the coronavirus pandemic, with plant-based meat sales up 148 percent in 2020 compared to the year before. Having surpassed the $5 billion mark last year, the overall plant-based food market is set to top $74 billion by 2027. …
Maersk Extends Partnership to Help Cleanup Plastic Pollution at Sea
Good News Notes: “Maersk and the Dutch non-profit The Ocean Cleanup are extending their partnership to rid the world’s ocean of plastic pollution. Founded in 2013, The Ocean Cleanup’s mission is to develop and advance technologies to cleanup plastic pollution at sea and also stop the inflow via rivers. Over the last several years the…
How U.S. Cities Can Learn From Amsterdam in Becoming More Sustainable
Good News Notes: “As the climate crisis comes into sharper focus with ever new urgency, architects have been redefining just what ‘sustainable architecture’ can mean, treating the question as a design challenge itself. For a long while, the building industry got a pass for defining sustainability as a less wasteful alternative than conventional approaches. Now,…