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: San Francisco
Businesses to donate unused food under Gainesville’s ‘zero waste’ rule
Good News Notes: “Restaurants and grocery stores will be required to donate food they don’t use to food pantries or turn it into compost instead of throwing it in the dumpster under one of several of Gainesville’s new sweeping zero waste ordinances. Those requirements are among one of three proposed laws approved by the Gainesville City Commission on Thursday….
Musk, Bezos Agree on a Solution to San Francisco Homeless Crisis
Good News Notes: “Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are the two richest people in the world. They are tech-savvy and entrepreneurs who have both disrupted legacy industries. Automotive with Tesla (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc Report for Musk and trade and distribution with Amazon (AMZN) – Get Amazon.com, Inc. Report for Bezos. They have not finished transforming the world given the…
California Now Requires You to Compost Food Waste to Reduce Potent Greenhouse Gas
Good News Notes: “California has set an ambitious goal: reduce scraps and yard waste that go to landfills by 75% by 2025. The new state composting regulation means waste haulers will handle a lot more moldy leftovers. Some are ready, because they’ve been collecting and processing organic waste for years. Others will need to invest in…
Rediscovered in a basement, his prewar opera heads to Germany
Good News Notes: “Later this month, Jan Agee will leave her Davis home, get on a plane, and fly 6,000 miles to Germany just to attend an opera. And she isn’t even an opera fan. But she is a fan of this one. “Grete Minde” is a three-act opera composed by her grandfather, Eugen Engel,…
Walmart makes an investment in vertical farming start-up Plenty
Good News Notes: “Walmart said Tuesday that it is investing in vertical farming company Plenty and plans to carry the start-up’s leafy greens in all California stores later this year. The big-box retail giant did not disclose the size of the equity stake or the terms of the commercial deal, but said a Walmart executive will…
Out with the meat, in with the plants as world’s top chefs offer vegan menus
Good News Notes: “Alexis Gauthier used to sell 20kg of foie gras a week. Now the chef, whose London-based restaurant became entirely vegan in 2021, only sells a plant-based version. Since becoming vegan, he admits, Gauthier Soho has “lost a lot of customers, sadly”. But he says he has gained even more new diners, all looking…
New York City is banning natural gas hookups for new buildings to fight climate change
Good News Notes: “The New York City Council on Wednesday voted to pass legislation banning the use of natural gas in most new construction, a move that will substantially slash climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions from the country’s most populous city. The bill now goes to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s desk for signature. Once signed, the…
Project Vesta: Cutting-edge technology battles climate change by using olivine sand to pull carbon dioxide from atmosphere
Good News Notes: “In the battle against climate change, a San Francisco nonprofit has developed a cutting-edge technology that uses olivine sand to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide emissions of all human activity around the world has surpassed 40 billion tons per year. Governments are now encouraging, and in some cases, requiring…
Hydroponic farming startup Just Vertical cultivates growth at home
Good News Notes: “The indoor growing industry is starting to scale. Farms that utilize hydroponics (grow produce without soil, usually in large warehouses) and traditional greenhouses have started to become integral parts of our food supply chain, mainly for leafy greens like lettuce, spinach and arugula. Vertical hydroponic farming is often seen as a sustainable…