Could wind turbines help to enliven our warming waters?

Good News Notes: Offshore wind is set to move further and further from shore, as demand for renewable energy grows and new floating turbine technology makes deep-water expansion possible. However, for the first time, large areas of the UK continental shelf now open for development are “seasonally stratified”. David Attenborough has described these seasonal seas as some of the…

Walmart’s InHome hunts for ways to ditch single-use plastics

Good News Notes: “When Walmart rolled out a new grocery delivery service, it tested a bold premise: customers letting a stranger walk into their homes to deliver milk, eggs and other products directly into the fridge. Now that expanding service, InHome, is testing whether the country’s largest grocer and its shoppers can phase out reliance on single-use plastic bags and…

Bill would require RI to get all electricity from renewables by 2030

Good News Notes:   “Experts say that when it comes to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as required by a landmark climate change measure enacted into law last year, the conversion of Rhode Island’s electric system to a reliance on renewable sources is the logical first step.  For one, it will be easier to green…

East St. Louis empty lot to become renewable energy source

Good News Notes: “Heavy industry has long polluted the air in East St. Louis, but by early next year for the first time in the city’s history, a clean energy facility will also be humming along. Ameren Illinois plans to build a $10.2 million solar field on 17 acres of land across from East St….

Amazon and U.S. Department of Energy team up to cut plastic waste

Good News Notes: “Imagine a new technology that breaks down existing plastic materials to create a new, innovative type of material. This new material could then be broken down more easily when recycled—and even biodegrade in natural environments. That scenario does not have to be imaginary. In fact, the mission of the BOTTLE consortium—a key research initiative…

Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Ehancement Reduces Opioid Misuse and Chronic Pain

Good News Notes: “Guidelines recommend treating individuals living with chronic pain who also have a history of opioid misuse with nonopioid therapies. Mindfulness-based interventions are an option, but the efficacy of these practices haven’t been determined for this population. Investigators decided to address this gap by evaluating the impact of mindfulness-oriented recovery enhancement (MORE) for the reduction…

Credit Suisse To Halve Fossil Fuel Funding

Good News Notes: “Swiss banking major Credit Suisse plans to slash its exposure to the fossil fuel industry by half by 2030. The bank said, as quoted by Reuters, it had already reduced its exposure to the industry by 41 percent between 2020 and 2021, and currently had some $2.6 billion in loans outstanding with oil, gas,…

Can shore-based wave power unlock clean, affordable…

Good News Notes: “Many have tried to harness the ocean’s power to generate electricity, resulting in several embarrassing failures and little tangible success. Startup Eco Wave Power hopes to transcend that tempestuous legacy with a radically simple idea: capture the ocean’s energy closer to shore.  This approach sacrifices the greater energy potential of larger offshore waves, but…

Europe’s ocean energy installations surge back to pre-Covid levels

Good News Notes: “European installations of tidal and wave energy capacity jumped in 2021, as the ocean energy sector saw deployments revert to pre-pandemic levels and a substantial increase in investment. In figures released Thursday, Ocean Energy Europe said 2.2 megawatts of tidal stream capacity was installed in Europe last year, compared to just 260…