Inside Charm Industrial’s big bet on corn stalks for carbon removal

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…

Ingredient upcycling – finding the value in unused food

Good News Notes:  “The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) assessment of global food losses and waste estimated that each year, one-third of all food produced in the world for human consumption never reached the consumer’s table. This not only means a missed opportunity for the economy and food security, but also a waste of…

Alternative cement with low carbon footprint developed

Good News Notes: “Researchers at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in Germany and the Brazilian University of Pará have developed a climate-friendly alternative to conventional cement. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions can be reduced during production by up to two thirds when a previously unused overburden from bauxite mining is used as a raw material….

Microorganisms Used to Convert CO2 into Plastic and Polymers

Good News Notes: “They employed greenhouse gas as a raw material for producing plastics. To perform this, they initially produced formic acid and methanol from CO2, which were later converted into building blocks for polymers and similar materials through microorganisms. When fossil-based raw materials are burned, CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere. Until now, CO2 concentration in…

New catalyst converts methane into methanol at room temperature

Good News Notes: “Methanol has wide-ranging potential as a cleaner fuel for powering advanced automobiles or producing plastic materials or other chemicals, and recently we’re seeing how the production side of things could prove a boon for the environment, too. Scientists at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) have now found a catalyst that allows the methane in natural…

Here’s How Lisa Dyson’s Startup Is Reducing World Hunger AND Combating Climate Change

Good News Notes: “Lisa Dyson combined her discovery of microbes that convert CO2 into nutrients with space-age technology developed by NASA during the 1960’s. The result is  Air Protein, which mimics nature’s conversion of carbon dioxide into food sources. If you’re thinking gooey, unappetizing compounds served in foil packets, think again. Lisa’s technology might be based on…

Healthy Plate, Healthy Planet

Good News Notes: “Frank Hu and Kentucky Fried Chicken arrived in Beijing around the same time. Hu, a recent graduate of Tongji Medical University, in Wuhan, had never seen a restaurant like it. Three-floored, gleaming, and distinctly Western in atmosphere, KFC proved irresistible to a country unfamiliar with the greasy efficiency of American fast food….