Virgin is helping Grove Collaborative go plastic-free by 2025

Good News Notes: “Sir Richard Branson opened his first record shop in London in 1971. Reminiscing at Fast Company‘s Most Innovative Companies Summit, he described it as a hippie’s dream: “Cushions on the floor, headphones, a joint or two in most people’s hands,” he said. “It was those days when you could pick up a Dark Side…

A new tidal turbine generates as much power as 12 solar panels

Good News Notes: “A Canadian renewable energies company dubbed Idenergie has unveiled a new hydrokinetic design turbine that harnesses power from flowing water and converts it to electricity. With countries looking to switch away from fossil fuels, there is a need to develop means to tap into renewableenergy sources. While solar panels and wind turbines have been…

How a biofuel crop can mitigate climate change

Good News Notes: “Newly published Michigan State University research details how switchgrass, a biofuel crop, can mitigate effects of climate change when grown on marginal land—agricultural land of little value. For farmers, it may also provide economic returns in these otherwise unproductive spaces. The research was published in Environmental Research Letters. The team was led by…

Texas has enough solar and wind planned to permanently shut down coal

Good News Notes: “ A research team at Rice University is modeling least-cost paths to a renewable energy future for Texas, a state that burns more coal and emits more sulfur dioxide than any other. The myriad of health and climate-related harms caused by coal do not need to persist any longer, according to the researchers. The…

Refillable groceries to be made available to every UK shopper

Good News Notes: “’Every shopper in the UK’ will have access to refillable groceries in a large supermarket or with a delivery service under plans by some of the country’s biggest grocers. Waitrose, Ocado, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer and the supply-chain company CHEP have joined a refillable grocery partnership and plan to both roll out unpackaged options…

Israeli firm uses air and water to store solar energy for nighttime

Good News Notes: “The southern tip of Israel is a rocky desert where solar panels are abundant and the sun, when shining, is the source of nearly all electricity. Once it sets, however, the grid shifts back to fossil fuels to generate power. Renewable energy from solar and wind powered systems cannot be stored without…

The US finally adopts a national recycling strategy

Good News Notes: “The Environmental Protection Agency announced a new national recycling strategy today, the agency’s first ever such commitment, according to the Washington Post. It’s a roadmap for the US to achieve a goal of recycling at least half of its municipal waste by the end of the decade. That’s a steep rise considering the US’ recycling rate has actually…

A truly circular solution: Turning bioplastic made from plants into nutrients to grow new crops

Good News Notes: “Researchers have developed a technique to turn bioplastics into fertilizer, in a process that tackles the twin problems of plastic waste and emissions-intensive fertilizer production. Unlike regular plastics that are derived from fossil fuels, bioplastics are produced using renewable feedstocks such as corn, wheat, and agricultural waste. From the get-go, these plastics…

In Iceland, CO2 sucked from the air is turned to rock

Good News Notes: “At the foot of an Icelandic volcano, a newly-opened plant is sucking carbon dioxide from the air and turning it to rock, locking away the main culprit behind global warming. Orca, based on the Icelandic word for “energy,” does its cutting-edge work at the Hellisheidi geothermal power plant in southwest Iceland. It…