Good News Notes: “In recent weeks, a crew of staffers from a company called Charm Industrial have been working on the edge of Kansas corn fields, moving rolled bales of stalks, leaves, husks, and tassels up to a white semi-trailer. Inside, a contraption called a pyrolyzer uses high temperatures in the absence of oxygen to…
Tag: greenhouse gas
Ingredient upcycling – finding the value in unused food
Good News Notes: “The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) assessment of global food losses and waste estimated that each year, one-third of all food produced in the world for human consumption never reached the consumer’s table. This not only means a missed opportunity for the economy and food security, but also a waste of…
Alternative cement with low carbon footprint developed
Good News Notes: “Researchers at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in Germany and the Brazilian University of Pará have developed a climate-friendly alternative to conventional cement. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions can be reduced during production by up to two thirds when a previously unused overburden from bauxite mining is used as a raw material….
Microorganisms Used to Convert CO2 into Plastic and Polymers
Good News Notes: “They employed greenhouse gas as a raw material for producing plastics. To perform this, they initially produced formic acid and methanol from CO2, which were later converted into building blocks for polymers and similar materials through microorganisms. When fossil-based raw materials are burned, CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere. Until now, CO2 concentration in…
This start-up has developed a way for businesses to quickly compost food waste
Good News Notes: “When food waste goes to landfill it releases methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide. One way to make sure your leftovers aren’t left to rot like this is to put them to use by turning them into compost. Properly composting food waste can significantlyreduce the amount of methane it…
We found methane-eating bacteria living in a common Australian tree. It could be a game changer for curbing greenhouse gases
Good News Notes: “Trees are the Earth’s lungs – it’s well understood they drawdown and lock up vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But emerging research is showing trees can also emit methane, and it’s currently unknown just how much. This could be a major problem, given methane is a greenhouse gas about…
New catalyst converts methane into methanol at room temperature
Good News Notes: “Methanol has wide-ranging potential as a cleaner fuel for powering advanced automobiles or producing plastic materials or other chemicals, and recently we’re seeing how the production side of things could prove a boon for the environment, too. Scientists at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) have now found a catalyst that allows the methane in natural…
And So It Begins: World’s 11th-Biggest Economy Pitches Renewable Energy For COVID-19 Recovery
Good News Notes: “One key state is New York State, which by some measures would be the world’s 11th-largest economy if it was an independent country. On Friday, April 3, New York announced the passage of enabling legislation for its new clean power plans. If that date rings a bell, April 3 is the same…
Here’s How Lisa Dyson’s Startup Is Reducing World Hunger AND Combating Climate Change
Good News Notes: “Lisa Dyson combined her discovery of microbes that convert CO2 into nutrients with space-age technology developed by NASA during the 1960’s. The result is Air Protein, which mimics nature’s conversion of carbon dioxide into food sources. If you’re thinking gooey, unappetizing compounds served in foil packets, think again. Lisa’s technology might be based on…
Healthy Plate, Healthy Planet
Good News Notes: “Frank Hu and Kentucky Fried Chicken arrived in Beijing around the same time. Hu, a recent graduate of Tongji Medical University, in Wuhan, had never seen a restaurant like it. Three-floored, gleaming, and distinctly Western in atmosphere, KFC proved irresistible to a country unfamiliar with the greasy efficiency of American fast food….