Tag: environment

Yet another way of combating the CO2

This building overlay looks helpful but the article is very optimistic. If this is anything like the green walls used in lobbies, they need regular watering. As droughts or catastrophic flooding rain become more common, how capable is this type of moss-growing concrete of absorbing and withstanding such conditions? To the extent that this replicates … Continue reading Yet another way of combating the CO2 →

Do you wonder what to do with those tiny silica gel packets?

Turns out those silica gel packets can be useful in more ways than I knew about. Read on. https://lifehacker.com/the-best-ways-to-use-your-old-silica-gel-packets-1841391028 The Best Ways to Use Your Old Silica Gel Packets Some hacks don’t withstand the test of time. They become victims of ever-evolving technology or simply fall out of fashion. But when it comes to silica … Continue reading Do you wonder what to do with those tiny silica gel packets? →

Small problems can become large — even alternative energy isn’t trouble-free

Turns out nobody has been talking about the little detail that wind turbine blades don't last forever. Am sure it's come up in conversation, but how many thought about the even smaller detail that the blades are made of composites that can't be recycled? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-02-05/wind-turbine-blades-can-t-be-recycled-so-they-re-piling-up-in-landfills? Wind Turbine Blades Can’t Be Recycled, So They’re Piling Up … Continue reading Small problems can become large — even alternative energy isn’t trouble-free →

Clouds are disappearing, removing a barrier to further warming from solar energyen

Fred Pearce is someone I read whenever available as his analysis is sharp and trustworthy. After reading this analysis, I'm rather sorry I feel that way. https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-clouds-are-the-key-to-new-troubling-projections-on-warming Why Clouds Are the Key to New Troubling Projections on Warming BY FRED PEARCE • FEBRUARY 5, 2020 Recent climate models project that a doubling of atmospheric CO2 above pre-industrial levels could cause temperatures … Continue reading Clouds are disappearing, removing a barrier to further warming from solar energyen →

If dairy milk and almond milk are bad options, what are good substitutes?

If almond milk is deadly for its water consumption and effect on honeybees and dairy milk has well-known drawbacks, what alternatives are good choices? There are lots of articles telling us what's bad. This is the first I've seen that highlights good alternatives. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/28/what-plant-milk-should-i-drink-almond-killing-bees-aoe? Almonds are out. Dairy is a disaster. So what milk should … Continue reading If dairy milk and almond milk are bad options, what are good substitutes? →

Dandelions are not evil — butterflies love them

I spent many an hour in my youth digging dandelions out of our yard (that was before RoundUp's toxicity was the cure to everything). Altho preserving them for wine never appealed, I find this article's emphasis on providing butterfly habitat more more appealing. https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wildlife/countryside/a30746964/dandelions-helping-bees/ Don't pull out dandelions in your garden as they can help … Continue reading Dandelions are not evil — butterflies love them →

Plastic may be more expensive to reuse than other material’s initial cost, but look at the benefits

This is not the first company to use plastic waste to build roads. The precise technique may not yet have been refined, but it IS possible. The initial cost appears to be higher than using the more usual asphalt but plastic-centered road material may last longer. It's time that governments looked more at the long-term … Continue reading Plastic may be more expensive to reuse than other material’s initial cost, but look at the benefits →

More Refillable Bottles, Less Ocean Plastic

The sentence that leaped out to me here is that substitution of only 10% of the virgin plastic bottles with refillable glass would reduce the plastic waste by over 20%. This is something we should be pushing for now More Refillable Bottles, Less Ocean Plastic - Our Daily Planet — Read on http://www.ourdailyplanet.com/story/more-refillable-bottles-less-ocean-plastic/

Coca-Cola Says It Won’t Break Free From Plastic Bottles

I would love to see an article that moved onto the next step of how Coke should supply these fluids instead. Glass bottles? Home soda dispensers from condensed flavors? Ideally Coke should be figuring out alternatives. But, if they don't, we have to offer them. [from publication] Despite its status as the world's No. 1 … Continue reading Coca-Cola Says It Won’t Break Free From Plastic Bottles →

Trump Removes Pollution Controls on Streams and Wetlands – The New York Times

Another environmental disaster from President Trump. [header from NYT] The Trump administration has finished a new rule that rolls back environmental controls on many wetlands and intermittent streams, delivering a win to rural landowners. — Read on http://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/climate/trump-environment-water.html