These are the world’s first wind turbine blade bridges

Good News Notes: “On a former train track bed connecting the towns of Midleton and Youghal in County Cork, Ireland, workers recently excavated the rusted remains of an old railway bridge and installed a pedestrian one in its place. The bridge would have been an unremarkable milestone in the development of a new pedestrian greenway…

newly launched ‘leandrop’ brand provides sustainable clothing made from hemp and bamboo

Good News Notes: “formed by three young entrepreneurs concerned about climate change, the ‘leandrop’ fashion brand provides sustainable clothing made from hemp and bamboo. founded between the streets of barcelona and amsterdam, the company has a mission of contributing towards a lean world of fashion everyone is valued and respected, and the environment is treated with dignity. the new…

Something old, something new? Fashionistas urge industry to use recycled rejects

Good News Notes: “The high ceiling of clothing designer Doron Ashkenazi’s studio in the Florentin neighborhood in Tel Aviv is hung with racks upon racks of his Mediterranean-styled men’s clothing, a sea of linen shirts, jackets and pants from seasons past. “All that surplus?” said Ashkenazi, pointing toward the ceiling. “It’s lost money. Leftover inventory…

The Farmer Trying to Save Italy’s Ancient Olive Trees

Good News Notes: “In early 2016, Giovanni Melcarne, an agronomist and the owner of an extra virgin olive oil farm in Gagliano del Capo, walked through the southern Italian countryside of Puglia. He was with a fellow olive-oil farmer who had called and told him there was something he had to see. The two approached a…

Here’s a cool green way to upcycle millions of old tires

Good News Notes: “If you’ve ever seen a tire graveyard piled high with trashed rubber, you can easily understand that Israeli company EcoTech Recycling has a green gem of an idea. EcoTech’s nontoxic process produces a unique material, Active Rubber (AR), from end-of-life tires. With1.6 billion tires manufactured annually, and 290 million tires discarded each year in…

EU leaders agree to cut carbon emissions at least 55% by 2030

Good News Notes:  “European Union leaders have agreed to cut net carbon emissions at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030, European Council President Charles Michel announced on Friday. The big picture: The agreement eased concerns among Eastern European countries, including Poland, that rely heavily on coal, while putting the EU on a path toward its goal to…

Major Innovation Brings A New Level Of Sustainability To PET Bottle Recycling

Good News Notes: “Around the world, there is now general agreement that the only possible development model capable of delivering a ‘zero waste’ future to the world is the Circular Economy. Today, however, there are only a few cases of closed-circuit systems that can take a material that has reached the end of its originally-intended…

Hunted to extinction, England’s first wild beavers in 400 years allowed to stay

Good News Notes: “After a 400-year wait, sharp teeth are once again gnawing through trees and building dams on English waterways. Hunted to extinction in the 16th century, wild beavers are making a comeback after a five-year study demonstrated their positive impact on the environment. Local landowners had expressed concern that they could spread disease…

Scientists Discover New Bacteria that Feeds on Plastic

 Good News Notes: “Researchers have identified a new bacterium that feeds on polyurethane, a kind of plastic that is difficult to recycle or destroy. Scientists say the discovery could help reduce a flood of hard-to-recycle plastics that are ending up in the world’s landfills and polluting oceans. A team from the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in…

English-born Scottish wildcat moves north in bid to save species

Good News Notes:  “The eight-month-old male wildcat is one of a litter of four kittens bred at the Wildwood Trust centre in Kent. He underwent thorough health checks ahead of being selected for a new conservation programme that aims to reintroduce the critically endangered animals back into the wild after being declared “functionally extinct”. He…