IN SUSTAINABILITY

China’s Coal Pledge Contradicted By Coal Spending

After growing an advanced economy on a coal-burning infrastructure, China suddenly announced that it will eliminate coal-power and achieve a net-zero carbon footprint by 2060, Phys.org reports. This is a green recovery strategy that could help China leap to the forefront of sustainability. Still, many are skeptical that China can make its deadline or that Xi Jinping is earnest in his commitment. The policy may be Xi’s effort to displace the U.S., which will leave the Paris Climate Accord the day after Election Day, as leader of the.... More on Earth911

House Passes Landmark Carbon Removal Legislation

President Trump has already threatened to veto it if the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act passes the Senate, but the bill represents a significant step forward in U.S. policy debates. The bill provides funding for clean energy research and challenging goals for government renewable energy use, and CO2 removal and sequestration. Carbon180‘s Dr. Shuchi Talati writes that the 900-page bill is a “cause for cautious optimism.” The Senate is not likely to take up the bill during the Supreme Court debate, which.... More on Earth911

McKibben: Climate Action Rides On the 2020 Election Outcome

Speaking of a change in the White House, activist and author Bill McKibben writes on EcoWatch (which republished the piece after The Nation first released it) that the environment hangs in the balance on Nov. 3. “Four more years will be enough to cement in place [Trump’s] anti-environmental policies and to make sure it’s too late to really change course,” he wrote. If he is reelected, not only would the U.S. leave the Paris Accord on Nov. 4, but it would also continue to ignore dire signals from the environment for many years after Trump leaves office in 2024. McKibben points out that the Paris goals are not sufficient to turn back disastrous climate impacts, but he says the U.S. still has time to.... More on Earth911

Trump Administration To Open Pristine Forests To Logging, Relax Air Regulations

The Trump Administration’s assault on environmental regulations and protections continues to run-in high gear. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Agriculture have announced support for removing limits on roads in the entire Tongass National Forest in Alaska. The New York Times explains the environmental consequences for “one of the world’s largest carbon sinks,” accounting for 8% of total CO2 stored in the forests in the contiguous U.S. But the bad news does not stop there. The EPA is preparing to roll back protections by revising the Clean Air Act, introducing an “Air Toxics Loophole” that.... More on Earth911

David Attenborough’s One Change: Don’t Waste Anything

Mashable features a short video excerpt of Sir David Attenborough being a simple question: “If there’s one choice to make today, what choice would you like people to make?” His answer: “Don’t waste anything. Don’t waste electricity, don’t waste food, don’t waste power. Just treat the natural world as though it’s precious, which it is. And don’t squander those bits of it that we have control of.” Watch.... More on Earth911

South Korean Government Is The First To Declare A Climate Emergency

The South Korean National Assembly passed the planet’s first declaration of a climate emergency on Sept. 24, Business Green reports. The package includes funding to drive a 336% increase in renewable energy generation by 2025 and subsidies to consumers for electric and hydrogen fuel cell cards, along with hydrogen fueling.... More on Earth911

Consumer Reports: EV Maintenance Cost Half of Internal Combustion Expenses

Electric Vehicles cost 50% less than internal combustion vehicles to paint and repair, Consumer Reports announced this week. The organization argues that these savings “go a long way to offset the upfront costs for consumers.” It details the findings in a downloadable report. Lower maintenance and repair costs.... More on Earth911

Walking To Generate Green Electricity Becomes Possible

Science Daily reports on an invention by Chinese researchers, a micro-energy generator that runs on a light breeze. A hiker walking 3.6 miles an hour could generate enough electricity to power an LED or small sensor. In high winds, the device can power multiple devices. The nanogenerator, which use two plastic strips to capture the product of the triboelectric effect that you know from rubbing a balloon in your hair, can be placed off-grid to support remote monitoring of the environment and extend clean electric services.... More on Earth911

Retailers Are Key To Halving Food Waste

Sustainable Brands examines the state of food waste and concludes that a 50% reduction in global food waste can only happen with the collaboration of consumers, grocers, and suppliers. Worldwide, a third of the food grown is wasted — in the U.S., we waste more than 40% — and costs $940 billion. The United Nations aims to cut food waste in half by 2030, but progress has been slow. COVID tossed a monkey wrench in the system, too. But there is progress, also. A consortium of business and government leaders, Champions 12.3 (after the UN goal), focuses resources on high-impact changes. Retailers are working with.... More on Earth911

IN BUSINESS

Making Carbon Pledges Count

The highest recycling rates are often the product of low-wage trash pickers collecting materials to eke out a subsistence wage — in China and Brazil, for example, aluminum recovery rates are 88% and 93%, respectively, because trash pickers recover what consumers throw out. The Body Shop is on track to source its 500th ton of plastic collected by trash pickers this year and buy another 600 tons next year, Environmental Leader reports. The company partnered with Plastics For Change, a.... More on Earth911

Business Must Define “Net-Zero” To Achieve Sustainability

The difference between saying something and doing it is measurable because the action happens and can be measured. Too often, businesses claim to be working toward “net-zero” emissions or operations without defining what their goal actually means, GreenBiz contributors Peter Boyd and Casey R. Pickett write. Without concrete, measurable goals, the commitment is meaningless. “[W]e argue for a consistent definition of “net-zero” that enables organizations, companies, cities, and countries to set transparent targets and track their progress,” Boyd and Pickett write. Real goals are “fully-scoped,” “science-based,” “Paris Agreement-compliant,” and “cumulative” (meaning.... More on Earth911

An Industry Redefined: Solar Installations Impacted By COVID-19

Home and small business solar installations have stayed steady in 2020 despite a 25% decline in the first quarter due to COVID-19, GreentechMedia reports. Solar companies are offering free installation and low-cost financing to lure homeowners to sign contracts, and several are providing no payment plans for the first six or 12 months of an agreement. In 2019, 2.8 gigawatts of generation capacity was installed, and after a flat 2020, the industry expects 7% growth. Although homeowners have invested heavily in feathering their nest.... More on Earth911

Johnson & Johnson Announced Aggressive Carbon Reduction Goals

Paulette Frank, Worldwide Vice President of Environmental Health, Safety & Sustainability at Johnson & Johnson, writes about the company’s new climate goals on LinkedIn. It will source 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025, a decade earlier than many firms. It will be carbon neutral across its operations by 2030 by switching to a green fleet, embracing energy-efficient technology, and replacing refrigeration coolants. The scope of its operational improvements will be limited, as J&J is committing to reduce its supply chain emissions by.... More on Earth911

IN RECYCLING

Northwest States Considering Extended Producer Responsibility Laws

Oregon and Washington are looking at extended producer responsibility regulations to fund a reinvention of their recycling systems, Resource Recycling reports. “[E]xperience and history have shown that we cannot rely on voluntary industry commitments,” an Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said. “There is a clear need to obligate packaging producers to make good on their promises to the public.” Deposit systems, truth-in-labeling rules for communicating recyclability.... More on Earth911

China Migrating Away From Aluminum Scrap Recycling

After importing scrap aluminum for several decades, China is starting to buy aluminum alloys from other countries. Its imports of aluminum rose 810% in August compared to a year earlier, while its scrap aluminum imports fell by 22.2%. Copper imports are also on the rise, Recycling Today reports. The 2018 National Sword policy, which cut off the importation of most scrap materials, has created a supply shortage for Chinese manufacturers. The Chinese government, which as excised the word “scrap” from its import rules, has responded .... More on Earth911

There Is Expanded Polystyrene (Styrofoam) Recycling Progress

Expanded polystyrene, which many know as “Styrofoam,” has remained stubbornly uneconomical to recycle because it is mostly air. Very few devices that remove the air, called densifiers, are available around the country to process expanded polystyrene. The Foam Recycling Coalition (FRC) is an industry group made up of companies that handle the material. It awards grants to help recyclers purchase densifiers.... More on Earth911

Specialized MRFs Needed To Increase Recycling Success

The U.S. recycling system is a mishmash of conflicting policies about what and how to recycle operating on a collection infrastructure established in the 1950s. The system is not configured to support increased recovery rates of familiar recyclables or to address all the new products and materials that make modern life convenient. Waste Dive reports that materials recovery facilities (MRFs) are actively investing in advanced sensors and sorting equipment to process more recyclables, but the real progress will be made by “boutique MRFs” that specialize in delivering clean, well-sorted materials. “Smaller and boutique MRFs tend to produce cleaner outputs because.... More on Earth911

U.S. Recycling Goals That Will Be Announced In November Lack Measurable Steps

Chaz Miller writes in Waste360 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing a national recycling policy for release at the America Recycles Summit on Nov. 17. But the policy does not offer concrete goals, and some elements are not practical. For instance, Miller doubts the EPA can force materials recovery facilities (MRFs) to publish processing and success data. He also argues that the EPA is fixated on the weight of recyclables recovered instead of the materials’ environmental impact. Recovering smaller amounts of materials.... More on Earth911

California Introduces Plastic Recycled Content Rules

If California were a country, it would be leading the global climate battle. The state enacted the “world’s strongest recycled content standards,” Waste360 writes. Governor Gavin Newsome signed Assembly Bill 793, which requires a minimum amount of recycled materials in certain products and packaging. Plastic bottles, for example, must contain 15% recycled plastic resin by 2022. By 2030, the same plastic bottle will be required to have 50% recycled content. “This can be a model built for other states.... More on Earth911

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE

Support Friends of the Earth’s Ban On Toxic Pesticides

Friends of the Earth (FoE) is raising funds to support a campaign to ban toxic pesticides that kill Monarch butterflies, bees, and moths. The Environmental Defense Fund reported in March that Monarch populations fell 53% since 2019. Add your name to the petition.... More on Earth911

Help Stop Wall Street Support For Climate-Damaging Projects

Stop The Money Pipeline is an activist organization aiming to cut off financial support for climate-damaging activities, from corporate financing of oil drilling to resisting the build-out of oil and gas pipeline. The group also has a strong social justice commitment. Get involved to learn how to take specific actions and learn how to insulate your money from polluters.... More on Earth911

Follow the University of Cambridge Centre for Climate Repair

The Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge is a new cross-disciplinary research organization investigating how to “safeguard our planet from the disastrous consequences of global warming.” Launched just last week, the Centre will work on emissions reductions technology and policy, removal of greenhouse gas from the atmosphere, and restoration of the climate.... More on Earth911

Watch Silicon Mountain To Learn About eWaste Innovation

eWaste is a growing problem and a huge opportunity to reduce the mining of raw ore and rare earths. Explore the story of the Silicon Mountain of waste that is piling up during the Information Age on YouTube. There are surprising lessons to be learned about the right to repair our electronics and how ewaste can be recycled. Silicon Mountain is an excellent way to spend your next half-hour.... More on Earth911