Kroger Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation Funding Food Waste Research

Good News Notes: “With an estimated one-third or more of U.S. food waste happening in households, The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation has teamed up with theFoundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) to launch the Food Waste Challenge to develop an original methodology for quantitative measurement of food waste generated in U.S. households. Objective, quantitative measurements…

Giant sinkhole with a forest inside found in China

Good News Notes: “A team of Chinese scientists has discovered a giant new sinkhole with a forest at its bottom.  The sinkhole is 630 feet (192 meters) deep, according to the Xinhua news agency, deep enough to just swallow St. Louis’ Gateway Arch. A team of speleologists and spelunkers rappelled into the sinkhole on Friday (May…

Mooji Meats Nets $3 Million for 3D-Printed Vegan Meat Acceleration

Good News Notes: “Y Combinator alumnus Mooji Meats, which specialises in whole cut plant-based meats, has raised £3 million in a seed funding round. The Good Startup, Collaborative Fund, Lever VC and AgFunder all participated in the round. Mooji says the funding will allow it to move away from the ground and sausage analogues common…

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…

Hero vet braves Ukraine battle zone to rescue animals

Good News Notes: “A veterinarian is being hailed as a hero after he navigated war-torn Ukraine to save animals caught in the crossfire of the rising conflict. Jakub Kotowicz has rescued over 200 cats and 60 dogs from Lviv, across three convoys. The 32-year-old entered the war zone last week as part of a caravan from…

Can shore-based wave power unlock clean, affordable…

Good News Notes: “Many have tried to harness the ocean’s power to generate electricity, resulting in several embarrassing failures and little tangible success. Startup Eco Wave Power hopes to transcend that tempestuous legacy with a radically simple idea: capture the ocean’s energy closer to shore.  This approach sacrifices the greater energy potential of larger offshore waves, but…

Inside Grove Collaborative’s plastic-free push

Good News Notes: “Grove Collaborative—which sells soap concentrates, compostable wet wipes, all-natural pest sprays, reusable sandwich bags, bamboo toilet paper, and more—is building the next-generation consumer packaged goods conglomerate. The eco-products maker and marketplace, which had planned revenue of $385 million in 2021 and has more than 1.5 million customers, was already carbon-neutral. Now Grove…

A sweet breakthrough: Scientists develop recyclable plastics based on sugars

Good News Notes: “Researchers from the University of Birmingham, U.K., and Duke University, U.S., have created a new family of polymers from sustainable sources that retain all of the qualities of common plastics, but are also degradable and mechanically recyclable. The scientists used sugar-based starting materials rather than petrochemical derivatives to make two new polymers,…

Nespresso supports American Forests in reforestation projects across the U.S.

Good News Notes: “In its latest move to support global conservation and environmentally sustainable business practices, Nespresso is partnering with American Forests to support reforestation efforts of three parks across the U.S. Prioritizing parks and forests in California, Texas, and Hawaii, Nespresso has pledged to plant 100,000 seedlings across over 320 acres of land. While…