Good News Notes: “A Canadian renewable energies company dubbed Idenergie has unveiled a new hydrokinetic design turbine that harnesses power from flowing water and converts it to electricity. With countries looking to switch away from fossil fuels, there is a need to develop means to tap into renewableenergy sources. While solar panels and wind turbines have been…
Tag: ecosystems
First solar canal project is a win for water, energy, air and climate in California
Good News Notes: “Mounting evidence suggests the western United States is now in its worst megadrought in at least 1,200 years. Groundwater supplies are being overpumped in many places, and the dryness, wildfires and shrinking water supplies are making climate change personal for millions of people. As an engineer, I have been working with colleagues on a way to both protect water supplies and…
Fighting Plastic Waste with Edible Food Packaging
Good News Notes: “The use of plastic packaging for food products contributes significantly to plastic waste, of which 14 million tons end up in our oceans each year. By 2050, it is predicted that there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish, which will be a serious threat to our ecosystems and well…
The Important Role of “Swamplands” in the Fight Against Climate Change
Good News Notes: “ Some of the most important habitats in the world are those water-soaked places that ecologists call peatlands. Those who may not appreciate their importance or who even see them in a negative light sometimes call them “swamplands.” In his new book, “Swamplands – Tundra Beavers, Quaking Bogs, and the Improbable World…
Researchers Discover That Reforestation Cools the Planet More Than We Thought
Good News Notes: “Reforestation is an important strategy to combat climate change. Research has shown forests can store the huge amounts of the carbon that is driving global temperatures. Forests also promote biodiversity and support wildlife. Recent research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences even shows that reforestation encourages cloud cover, which in turn…
Jane Fonda pays for Boise students to study climate change
Good News Notes: “Earlier this summer, Shiva Rajbhandari got an unknown call from Georgia. It’s not a call he’d normally pick up, he said, figuring it was spam. But this time he answered. On the other end, Rajbhandari said, a woman introduced herself: “Hi, this is Jane Fonda,” she said. Several weeks earlier, Rajbhandari, a…
Celour paint lets anyone “participate in CO2 removal in their daily lives”
Good News Notes: “Design graduate Kukbong Kim has developed a paint made from demolished concrete that is capable of absorbing 20 per cent of its weight in carbon. Called Celour, the paint can sequester 27 grams of CO2 for every 135 grams of paint used. “That is the same amount of carbon dioxide that a normal tree absorbs per day,” Kim said. The…
OKC Zoo launches Plastic Free EcoChallenge in July
Good News Notes: “The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden is encouraging consumers to shift away from single-use plastic dependency and make a change for the benefit of the world’s ecosystems by participating in the Plastic Free EcoChallenge during July. The premise for the EcoChallege is that disposable plastic items like grocery bags, straws and bottles are…
A Clever Robot Spies on Creatures in the Ocean’s ‘Twilight Zone’
Good News Notes: “THE GRANDEST MIGRATION on Earth isn’t the journey of some herbivore in Africa or a bird in the sky, but the vertical movement of whole ecosystems in the open ocean. All kinds of animals, from fish to crustaceans, hang out in the depths during the day, where the darkness provides protection from predators. At night, they…
Orbital Marine Power of Scotland is pursuing ocean energy technologies.
Good News Notes: “Scotland is the source of many great exports: scotch (of course), Gordon Ramsay, and the Young brothers of iconic rock group AC/DC. Its next gift to the world might be a way to harness renewable energy from the ocean. In April, Scottish-based Orbital Marine Power launched the O2, the world’s most powerful tidal turbine, to…