There’s just no getting away from microplastic contamination

Microplastics may be having a moment in the spotlight, as the public is increasingly aware of their presence in the environment around us. But as more evidence of their presence comes to light, it’s becoming clearer that we don’t yet have a handle on how big or bad the problem is. A huge amount of small plastic particles end up in the sea, but recent research has also found them in lakes and mountain river floodplains, and even as airborne pollution in megacities.

Continue to article...

Brazilian Couple Created 1,502-Acre Forest In 20 Years, Which Houses 500+ Endangered Plant & Animal Species

In the early 1990s, Brazilian photojournalist Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado was stationed in Rwanda to cover the horrific accounts of Rwanda genocide. The on-ground experience left him traumatised. In 1994, he was returning to his home in Minas Gerais, Brazil, with a heavy heart, hoping to find solace in the lap of a lush green forest, where he had grown up. But, instead, he found dusty, barren land for miles and miles, in place of the forest. In only a few years, his beautiful hometown underwent rampant deforestation, leaving it fallow and devoid of all the wildlife. For him, everything was destroyed.

Continue to article...

This robot could make pesticides obsolete

Researchers may have found a way to protect Florida strawberries fields from mildew with ultraviolet light. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences teamed up with the Norway-based startup, Saga Robotics, to test out the autonomous robot, Thorvald. For several months, one night a week, students test drive the robot and document how the ultraviolet light eliminates mildew from strawberry fields on the Wimauma, Fla. Campus.

Continue to article...

China's Electric Buses Save More Diesel Than All Electric Cars Combined

Tesla and other electric cars are great for the environment. However, they pale in comparison to electric buses. According to a report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), electric buses will save an astounding 270,000 barrels of diesel demand in 2019—every single day. The vast majority of electric buses are found in China, where many mega-cities are closing in on 100 percent electric-powered public transport.

Continue to article...

A Swiss billionaire is donating $1 billion in an attempt to save the planet's wild lands and waters from destruction

A Swiss philanthropist's foundation will donate $1 billion to conserve the planet's land and oceans in an effort to expand the availability of clean air and drinking water. Hansjörg Wyss, a billionaire and conservationist, wrote Wednesday in a New York Times op-ed that he will donate the money over the next 10 years through his Wyss Foundation. Lands and waters are best conserved when they become public national parks, wildlife refuges, or marine reserves, Wyss wrote. He aims to help conserve 30% of the Earth in a natural state by 2030.

Continue to article...

Cities and countries aim to slash plastic waste within a decade

If all goes well, 2030 will be quite a special year. Global and local community leaders from more than 170 countries have pledged to “significantly reduce” the amount of single-use plastic products by 2030. Success would result in significantly less plastic pollution entering our oceans, lakes and rivers. Today, societies around the world have a love affair with disposable plastics. Just like some love stories, this one has an unhappy ending that results in plastic bags, straws and takeout containers strewn about the global environment.

Continue to article...

How Los Angeles could create the largest "virtual power plant" in the U.S.

Los Angeles could produce the nation's largest "virtual power plant" by linking homes equipped with solar panels and batteries, solar industry says.

Continue to article...