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: Microsoft
Microsoft made a wireless mouse out of recycled ocean plastic
Good News Notes: “Alongside a fresh lineup of Surface systems, Microsoft announced a new mouse at its fall hardware event. The name gives away the reason why it’s interesting. It’s called the Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse. The shell is made with 20 percent recycled ocean plastic, which is created from waste that has been recovered from oceans and waterways…
Searching For A Solution: Ecosia Is Taking On Google And Aiding Reforestation Efforts In The Process
Good News Notes: “When many of us have a question, want to find something nearby, or are looking for information, we think, “I’m going to Google that.” Google is the world’s predominant search engine, commanding more than 90% of market share. The company’s name is synonymous with looking something up on the internet. But, like…
Phones from ocean plastic? Samsung aims for 2025
Good News Notes: “What if your future Galaxy phone was made of reclaimed ocean plastic? That’s one possible future Samsung has in mind. The consumer electronics titan became the most recent Big Tech company to embrace a stronger pro-planet pledge, announcing on Wednesday at its Samsung Unpacked launch event that it will eliminate all single-use plastic from…
How the Gates Foundation and Seattle nonprofit PATH are helping get oxygen to India
Good News Notes: “ The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has teamed with two Chicago financial groups to channel $5.5 million into efforts by Seattle-based nonprofit PATH to bring more oxygen to COVID-19 patients in India. “Lack of access to medical oxygen is one of the defining health challenges of our age,” said Chris Elias,…
Bill Gates Wants Us to Eat 100% Synthetic Beef: What Is It?
Good News Notes: “Bill Gates has a big idea to fight climate change. The Microsoft cofounder and chair of the investment fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures recently suggested that ‘all rich countries should move to 100 [percent] synthetic beef’ in an interview with MIT Technology Review. Why is Gates, a direct and indirect investor in brands like…
Dove Launches its First Refillable Deodorant in Effort to Cut Plastic Use
Good News Notes: “Dove has launched its first refillable deodorant in an effort to tackle the global plastic waste crisis. Dove has worked with international campaign group A Plastic Planet to revolutionize its use of materials. Shoppers will now be able to select a Dove stainless steel refillable deodorant case at Target and Walmart stores across America. Shoppers then…
Paul G. Allen Family Foundation’s ‘first of its kind’ housing and homeless services facility opens in Seattle
Good News Notes: “During his lifetime, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s wide-ranging philanthropic initiatives included several programs to alleviate the homelessness crisis in his hometown. Today, a year-and-a-half after his passing, the unique housing development and resource center for families at risk of homelessness that he funded opens its doors. The Gardner House is a community center…
Unilever’s Climate Plan: Emissions From Supply Chain And Consumers Are The Real Challenge
Good News Notes: “Corporations are joining the climate leadership race. Recently, Unilever, the $56 billion consumer goods conglomerate, which owns brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, Vaseline, Dove, and QTips, announced its climate plan. Previously, other leading firms, including BlackRock and Goldman Sachs in the financial sector, Amazon and Microsoft in the tech sector, and BP in the fossil fuel sector,…
Google’s new AI model ‘listens’ to killer whales to help protect the species
Good News Notes: “Google‘s AI team has developed a new model to protect the endangered species of killer whales known as orcas in the Salish Sea. According to the Center for Whale Research, there are only 73 Southern Resident orcas — a subspecies of the killer whale — left in the world. So Google has teamed up…