Farmers in India cut their carbon footprint with trees and solar power

Good News Notes: “In 2007, 22-year-old P. Ramesh’s groundnut farm was losing money. As was the norm in most of India (and still is), Ramesh was using a cocktail of pesticides and fertilizers across his 2.4 hectares in the Anantapur district of southern India. In this desert-like area, which gets less than 600 millimeters of…

Believe or not, this new vegan meat is made from air

Good News Notes: “Air Protein is an entirely unique approach to making meat substitutes. It literally turns air into protein, without methane gas release and other harmful effects from agriculture. Meat substitutes offer a plethora of benefits to the environmentas a food source without deforestation, factory farming or carbon emissions. According to their website, Air Protein is…

Pratt students create compostable Strøm water filters from food waste

Good News Notes: “Pratt Institute graduate students Charlotte Böhning and Mary Lempres have designed a collection of carbon water filters made completely without fossil fuels, using waste from their own kitchens. The four-piece range, called Strøm, includes a sustainable substitute for Brita filter cartridges, purifying sticks that can be added into cups or bottles and a self-cleaning pitcher and carafe. Traditional…

Indoor, vertical farming could feed the world — and space

Good News Notes: “As the global population continues to increase, vertical farming is becoming a more widely recognized and viable solution to our food production problem. Vertical farming is a type of indoor farming where crops are grown in stacked layers, rather than spread out across large plots of land. These futuristic farms aren’t just going to have an…

Israeli researchers find a new bee species, amid worries about declining swarms

Good News Notes: “Researchers studying the effect of eucalyptus trees on ecosystems in Israel have found and identified a new species of bee, amid concern over damage wreaked on wild populations due to habitat destruction and other causes. Little is known yet about the new species, named Lasioglossum dorchini, but researchers plan to study it to…

How to support native bees and enjoy their many benefits

Good News Notes:  “Pollinators are responsible for about 75% of the food we eat. The European honeybee is the most well-known, but our native bees are also critically important. We can help our native bees and gardens by reducing or eliminating the use of pesticides and providing shelter as well as food and water. About 70% of…