Good News Notes: “Fossil fuels are driving up consumer energy costs, in part as a result of the industry’s exposure to the very climate disruptions it is continuing to worsen. These rising costs are yet another great reason to invest in clean energy now. Yet in a darkly ironic twist, fuel prices have been used…
Tag: crude oil
Boston University to Divest from Fossil Fuel Industry
Good News Notes: “Boston University will divest from fossil fuels, starting immediately, President Robert A. Brown announced on Thursday, a decision reached amid increasing proof that burning fossil fuels is accelerating the harmful effects of climate change—and after nearly a decade of campus activism and protests. “This has been a long journey within the BU…
Purdue University develops new way to recycle polyolefin plastics
Good News Notes: “Single-use plastic scrap continues to be a growing problem internationally with only 9 percent of the 8.3 billion tons of plastic produced in the last 65 years being recycled. One of the biggest contributors to this issue is polyolefins, such as polypropylene and polyethylene. Researchers at Purdue University are working to solve that problem…
Making Cleaner, Greener, Biodegradable Plastics From Waste Fish Parts
Good News Notes: “Polyurethanes, a type of plastic, are nearly everywhere — in shoes, clothes, refrigerators, and construction materials. But these highly versatile materials can have a major downside. Derived from crude oil, toxic to synthesize, and slow to break down, conventional polyurethanes are not environmentally friendly. Today, researchers discuss devising what they say should…
Coronavirus accelerates global shift to cheaper, more sustainable renewable energy
Good News Notes: “Coal suffered a historic drop in usage last year. Buyers paid producers as much as $37 per barrel of crude oil in April. The price of plastics has fallen by roughly half over the last four years. The fossil fuel economy, which motored happily through one century, is quickly running out of steam. Gas, once considered a…
Microplastics: what is it and how to prevent it
Good News Notes: “All of us are aware of the plastic pollution we pump into the oceans – from carrier bags to plastic bottles, straws and more. But many of us are contributing to another type of pervasive and hidden pollution, often without realising it. They’re called microplastics. Microplastics are tiny particles invisible to the…