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Renewable Energy Tariffs ‘Are Now Among Cheapest on the Market’

23.08.2018

Renewable energy tariffs are now among the cheapest on the market.

That’s according to uSwitch, which suggests the ten cheapest eco-tariffs could save homes an average of £273 compared to a big six standard tariff, up from £233 the same time last year.

The cheapest green energy tariff available today comes in at around £859 per year, £278 cheaper than the average big six plan and £354 less than the average price of a big six standard variable tariff.

The price comparison service also shows the number of environmentally-friendly tariffs on the market has shot up to 57, an increase of 21 since last summer.

It says more readily available and affordable renewable electricity and bio-gas has led to green deals becoming more competitively priced and more diverse in what they offer.

A survey conducted by the brand illustrates around 38% of households are now considering switching to a green energy tariff, up a tenth from 2017.

Shona Eyre, Energy Expert at uSwitch.com, says: “With green energy tariffs now featuring heavily in the best-buy tables, planet-friendly deals are no longer an expensive luxury for those who can afford to pay for their principles.

“Whether it’s using less energy around the home or choosing a green energy deal, these are small changes that make a big difference – both environmentally and financially.”

Source: Energy Live News

Ambassador of Denmark, Anders Hougård: The promotion of the green agenda is a never-ending process

22.08.2018

The country of well-being, the oldest monarchy in Europe and the country with the happiest inhabitants, the birthplace of LEGO bricks, “hygge” lifestyle and famous fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen – we can try to find the most picturesque proposition that would summarize the description in a few words but that would still partially reflect the success of his Nordic country. The basic prosperity of Denmark is primarily social balance, high level of trust in the state, strong cooperation between the public and private sector, extremely low level of corruption, as well as free health care and education.

In addition, Denmark is making efforts to create a “green” and sustainable society that will achieve the goal of draining entire energy from renewable energy sources by 2050. According to the Environmental Management Index (EPI) for 2018 this country is in the third place, and its citizens consider that environmental protection is their civilizational obligation. Hence, it does not surprise the fact that the number of bikes in Denmark exceeds the number of inhabitants. In an interview with the Danish ambassador in Serbia, Anders Christian Hougård, we found out which measures have the Danes taken to find themselves in such a high position, and also which projects the Danish Embassy has carried out in Serbia so far and in which areas we could still cooperate in order to ensure a higher rate of economic growth in our country.

EP: According to the EPI ranking for this year Denmark has taken the third place, which is desirable for most countries and a fairly unattainable position. However, if we were to take only fishery and forestry into account, the status of Denmark would be somewhat different. What has your country taken so far to prevent losses in forested areas as well as in fish and shell stocks in the Baltic Sea?

Anders Hougård: Our ranking in the field of the fishery is a consequence of the continuous and rapid decline of fish stocks. This is a matter of great importance to us, especially because the fishery is a very important industry in our country which has a great export value. The Danish Fisheries Agency is in charge of regulating commercial fisheries, and the agency’s ambition is to support growth through a green transition. Funds are provided through the European Fisheries Fund for the development of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and at the same time inspections are performed to ensure that the fish stocks in the Danish sea waters are sustained. In the Baltic Sea, fish stocks and nature are particularly vulnerable, as many different countries are bordering, and risks of pollution and over-fishing are therefore high.

Concerning forest management, the Danish government is planning to cover additional 10.000 hectares with trees and to make a nature reserve of untouched forest. Furthermore, 3.300 hectares will be laid out as protected biodiversity, and when the whole project is completed, the total protected forest and biodiversity in Denmark will be more than doubled compared with today. As such, this will substantially reduce tree cover loss and improve diversity in nature to the benefit of the forest industry, as well as outdoor recreation. Compared to international standards, Danish forestry is overall healthy and sustainable, but over the last many years increased industrialization and the lack of focus on preserving forests and ecosystems have put Danish forests at risk.

EP: Does the Danish government run any campaign on the importance of preserving the environment or it seems redundant now after decades of attentive implementation of conservation and nature policy?

Anders Hougård: The promotion of the green agenda is a never-ending process. It is important to keep the education ongoing and that it involves everyone in the society, from small children to seniors. The current Danish government is putting in a great effort in promoting their green agenda these days. They have proclaimed themselves the greenest government in the history of Denmark. For the big part of the Danish population, a green agenda is at the top of the list, and more people are becoming aware of the crucial necessity of protecting the environment. Additionally, there is a widespread political consensus on the green issues, so even if the parties in the Government change, the overall course will not change. The investments in civil society for sustainable energy transition should reflect on easier negotiations and subsequent completion of relevant EU chapters, and in particular Chapter 27.

EP: Your country provides many good examples of how to protect the natural environment. What is the key approach to keeping the economic growth and the nature safe?

Anders Hougård: The development and execution of policies have been focused on the synergy of nature protection and economic growth for many years now. A major part in it is planning and communicating these policies to the public and with the business sector. We came to an understanding that environmental protection can also create new job opportunities and new innovative companies which contribute to our economic growth.

For example, by implementing policies for wastewater treatments, we have not only contributed to saving the nature and waterways but also created new jobs in construction, operation, and maintenance of such facilities. The decision to protect waters has therefore created jobs and economic growth which go hand in hand. The same principle can be applied to renewable energy, energy efficiency, the introduction of processing industry standards, and soon. However, it has all started with a decision and dialogue to aim for a cleaner and healthier environment.

EP: How did your country achieve harmonious arrangement between nature conservation and keeping the land usable for human purposes?

Anders Hougård: The keyword here is urban and environmental planning. This topic has been high on political agenda for many decades and it is a subject of many ongoing discussions on how to achieve the best balance between, primarily, agriculture and nature conservation. This debate topic was set many years ago, and its purpose is only to find a variety of ways to achieve that goal. It is important to keep an open mind for solutions which have come about during the decades of trying to reach the harmony between nature and the use of land for human needs.

Read the whole interview in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine on SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE, July 2018.

Interview by: Nevena Djukic and Tamara Zjacic

Summer Weather Is Getting ‘Stuck’ Due to Arctic Warming

22.08.2018

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Summer weather patterns are increasingly likely to stall in Europe, North America and parts of Asia, according to a new climate study that explains why Arctic warming is making heatwaves elsewhere more persistent and dangerous.

Rising temperatures in the Arctic have slowed the circulation of the jet stream and other giant planetary winds, says the paper, which means high and low pressure fronts are getting stuck and weather is less able to moderate itself.

The authors of the research, published in Nature Communications on Monday, warn this could lead to “very extreme extremes”, which occur when abnormally high temperatures linger for an unusually prolonged period, turning sunny days into heat waves, tinder-dry conditions into wildfires, and rains into floods.

“This summer was where we saw a very strong intensity of heatwaves. It’ll continue and that’s very worrying, especially in the mid-latitudes: the EU, US, Russia and China,” said one of the coauthors, Dim Coumou from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “Short-term heatwaves are quite pleasant, but longer term they will have an impact on society. It’ll have an affect on agricultural production. Harvests are already down this year for many products. Heatwaves can also have a devastating impact on human health.”

Circulation stalling has long been a concern of climate scientists, though most previous studies have looked at winter patterns. The new paper reviews research on summer trends, where it says there is mounting evidence of planetary wind systems – both low-level storm tracks and higher waves in the troposphere – losing their ability to shift the weather.

One cause is a weakening of the temperature gradient between the Arctic and Equator as a result of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. The far north of the Earth is warming two to four times faster than the global average, says the paper, which means there is a declining temperature gap with the central belt of the planet. As this ramp flattens, winds struggle to build up sufficient energy and speed to push around pressure systems in the area between them.

As a result, there is less relief in the form of mild and wet air from the sea when temperatures accumulate on land, and less relief from the land when storms build up in the ocean. Last year, Hurricane Harvey had a devastating impact on Texas because it was parked an unusually long time on the coast, where it kept drawing up moisture from the sea and dumping it in the form of the greatest deluge ever recorded in the US. Scientists had previously noted that hurricanes are slowing and bringing more rain.

A separate new paper in Scientific Reports indicated that the trapping of planetary airstreams – a phenomenon known as amplified quasi-stationary waves – also contributed to the 2016 wildfires in Alberta, which took two months to extinguish and ended as the costliest disaster in Canadian history with total damages reaching 4.7bn Canadian dollars.

“Clearly, the planetary wave pattern wasn’t the only cause for the fire – yet it was an additional important factor triggering a deplorable disaster,” says lead author Vladimir Petoukhov from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “In fact, our analysis reveals that beyond that single event, actually from the 1980s on, planetary waves were a significant factor for wildfire risks in the region.”

He said wave pattern studies will help forest managers and fire forecasters because changes can be detected ahead of their impacts.

However, scientists are also concerned that slowing circulation could produce “surprises”, by amplifying other climate changes.

“Simple warming is well understood in climate models, but scientists are trying to understand non-linearities, how climate change effects interact with one another and how feedback processes are involved,” said Coumou. “Non-linearities can rapidly change weather conditions in a given region so you get more abrupt changes.”

Scientists unconnected with the paper said it highlighted the risks of disturbing natural weather patterns.

“What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic. By upsetting the energy balance of the planet we are changing the temperature gradient between the equator and the pole. This in turn sets in motion major reorganisations of the flow patterns of the atmosphere and ocean,” said Chris Rapley, professor of climate science at University College London. “The consequences are emerging and they are disruptive, and likely to become even more profoundly so. We are on a journey and the destination doesn’t look good.”

Source: Guardian

Greek Island to Be First in Mediterranean to Power Itself With Only Wind and Solar

22.08.2018

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The Greek island of Tilos is set to be the first in the Mediterranean to power itself entirely with wind and solar power, The Associated Press reported Sunday.

The final tests of a new system that will allow the island to power itself with batteries recharged by a solar park and 800-kilowatt wind turbine are taking place this summer, and the system is expected to go live later this year.

“The innovation of this program and its funding lies in the batteries—the energy storage—that’s what’s innovative,” project manager Spyros Aliferis told The Associated Press. “The energy produced by the wind turbines and the photovoltaics will be stored in batteries, so that this energy can be used for the grid when there is demand.”

The switch is practical as well as sustainable. Tilos is a small island with an outdated, costly power system that is strained when its winter population of 400 expands to 3,000 in the summer.

It currently gets its power from a diesel plant on the island of Kos, which is 69 kilometers (approximately 42.87 miles) away. Tilos is the last of three islands connected to the plant by an underwater cable, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported.

The system is vulnerable to outages, which can last as long as 12 hours, making life difficult for hotel owner Andreas Lardopoulos, since it can lead to spoiled food and appliance failures.

“Hopefully the renewable energy will help us solve these problems and save some money,” Lardopoulos told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Which is not to say that environmental concerns aren’t also part of the island’s motivation.

The island’s late mayor Tassos Aliferis was an environmentalist. In addition to first proposing the idea of going renewable, he also banned hunting and expanded eco-tourism.

His successor, Maria Kamma, also hopes green energy will provide a better future both for the island’s human residents and its rich biodiversity—it boasts more than 150 bird species and around 350 plant varieties.

Kamma told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that the island’s population shrunk to 200 in the 1990s and was only increased due to infrastructure and transportation updates. She said she hoped the green energy initiative would continue this trend and ensure residents “have a very good standard of living.”

The European Commission also hopes Tilos can be a model for other islands with similar power woes, The Associated Press reported. The EU funded the 13.7 million-euro ($15.7 million) project to the tune of 11 million euros ($12.5 million).

The EU’s goal is one shared by Zisimos Mantas, the chief business development officer of the Greek company in charge of the project: Eunice Energy Group.

“We hope that the Tilos project will be replicated in many more islands,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Source: Eco Watch

Study: Children Have Better Nutrition When They Live Near Forests

21.08.2018

human-804759_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Spending time in nature is known to boost mental and emotional health. Now, a new global study has found that children in 27 developing nations tend to have more diverse diets and better nutrition when they live near forests.

The paper, published Wednesday in Science Advances, provides evidence that forest conservation can be an important tool in promoting better nutrition in developing countries, rather than clear-cutting forests for more farmland.

“The data show that forests aren’t just correlated with improvements in people’s diets,” said lead author Ranaivo Rasolofoson, a scientist at the University of Vermont (UVM), in a press release. “We show that forests cause these improvements.”

These kids have access to a variety of forest food products, including animal, plant and mushroom species, which can supply essential micronutrients that contribute significantly to nutrition, the authors wrote in the study.

“Dietary diversity is a good proxy for micronutrient intake and tells us a lot about the overall health of a community,” Brendan Fisher, a professor in UVM’s Environmental Program in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, and a co-author on the new research, explained to ABC News.

For the study, the researchers collected the diet information of children younger than 5 years old from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) diet information database from 2000-2013. The team then analyzed children’s diets from 43,000 households—in Nepal, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Philippines, the Caribbean, South America, sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe—that were both close to and far away from forests.

They found that high exposure to forests causes children to have at least 25 percent greater dietary diversity compared to lack of exposure. These children are also eating more vitamin A– and iron-rich foods by at least 11 and 16 percent points, respectively.

What’s more, the authors write, forests are important shelters for pollinators, which are crucial for the production of fruits and vegetables. Forest-dependent households have access to timber and other forest products that can be used to generate income and be used to buy more diverse foods. This can also mean less time spent collecting fuelwood, leaf fodder and grass for livestock feed.

“We discovered that the positive effect of forests is greater for poor communities,” Rasolofoson said. “But communities need at least some access to roads, markets, and education in order to get the most benefit from their forests.”

The study shows that forest conservation and health can “go hand-in-hand,” as co-author and University of Vermont professor Brendan Fisher in the press release.

Taylor Ricketts, director of UVM’s Gund Institute and senior author of the study, added: “Economic development and forest conservation are typically thought of as trade-offs—that leaders have to prioritize one or the other. This study helps to show that’s just not always, or even usually, true. More often than we think, it’s a false choice.”

Source: Eco Watch

Renewable Energy Could “Effectively Be Free” by 2030, Says UBS Analyst

21.08.2018

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A research analyst at Swiss investment bank UBS believes the cost of energy renewables could be so near to zero by 2030 “it will effectively be free,” according to a projections published on Monday. If renewables could soon be cheaper than all the alternative energy sources, and that this “is great news for the planet, and probably also for the economy.”

The analysis, published in the Financial Times, explains that solar and wind farms are getting bigger, and that the potential of this sort of cheap, green energy is far-reaching and will only get cheaper. “In 2010, using solar power to boil your kettle would have cost you about £0.03,” the analyst writes in FT. “By 2020, according to estimates by our research team at UBS, the cost will have fallen to half a penny.” And just ten years later, the costs will be so minuscule, it will practically be free.

As renewables get cheaper, corporate action in the energy sector may increase, which is good for everyone. When it comes to renewables, the analyst argues: “Currently we count a dozen major European utilities (about half the names in the sector index) which have recently announced — or have been featured in the press — acquisitions, divestments or takeovers that could substantially reshape their business.”

In mid-July, two of the biggest economies in Europe, the United Kingdom and Germany, set new records for clean energy, Quartz reports. It makes sense that companies would want to get ahead of the changes. As one example, last week, the Danish wind energy company Orsted entered into an agreement to acquire Lincoln Clean Energy (LCE), a US firm that develops, owns, and operates wind farms, CNBC reports.

“The fundamental economics of the industry are indeed changing,” the Financial Times article explains. In the past, wind and solar have relied on subsidies. But recently, some wind and solar projects have appeared that don’t need a subsidy or tax break to be viable. That’s changed the energy game.

Now, renewable energy has a better chance of relying on innovation rather than subsidies, and companies are competing to secure the best sites for renewable projects. This race for the best, most cost-efficient energy projects is good for the industry, the economy, and the planet.

Source: Inverse

Canada Moves to Ban Bee-Killing Pesticides

21.08.2018

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Environmentalists scored a victory in Canada on Wednesday, securing restrictions on two pesticides that have been posing threats to bees and aquatic insects. The Canadian government’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), branched under the division ‘Health Canada,’ has agreed to impose constraints on the crop chemicals, slowly phasing out their use over the next three to five years.

Thiamethoxam, produced by Syngenta AG, and Bayer AG’s clothianidin are common farming applicants to protect crops such as corn, soybeans and canola from damage caused by insects. Thiamethoxam and clothianidin fall under a category of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, or neonics. Reports examining the link between honey bees and neonics in North America have been emerging over the past years in an attempt to explain declining bee populations.

A recent review also found bodies of water contaminated with these pesticides can harm aquatic insects. Food chains within the environments are being affected by the infected insects, which are food sources for fish and birds.

“I’m thankful we’re going to see a phase-out,” said Jim Coneybeare, president of the Ontario Beekeepers Association. “I’d like it to happen sooner.” According to the association, the overwhelming use of neonics has been disastrous for bee colonies in Ontario. The survival of bee habitats is already precarious; only a little more than half were able to survive the most recent winter season alone.

Farmers, on the other hand, are given few alternatives to sustain consumer demands and not have their stocks fall to pestilence. Barry Senft, CEO of Grain Farmers of Ontario, said neonics are an “important tool” in farming. Many farmers, and some beekeepers, also worry that the regulation will prompt the use of even harsher chemicals, because the development of successful eco-friendly alternatives has been slow.

A third compound, imidacloprid, also produced by Bayer, will come under scrutiny in Canada by the end of the year. The EU banned the outdoor use of neonics in April, and the pesticides are undergoing scientific review in the U.S. before proposed action opens to public commentary next spring. Ultimately, the pesticide ban in Canada will face a 90-day consultation period, and the verdict will not be finalized until late 2019.

Source: Eco Watch

‘Public Deluded About Amount They Need to Own and How Much They Waste’

20.08.2018

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The majority of people are deluded about the amount of possessions they need and the amount of waste they produce.

That’s according to relocation firm Movinga, which surveyed 18,000 households across 20 countries to compare individuals’ perceptions of their own environmental impacts.

It concluded people are unable to perceive their own part in the global issues they face, in terms of both over-consumption and waste generation.

They poll asked what percentage of clothes haven’t been worn in the last 12 months and what percentage of grocery shopping ends up as waste.

The UK public thought they hadn’t worn 34% of their clothes in the last year – the real figure was actually 73%.

Brits also guessed they wasted 5% of all of the food they bought but the real figure was revealed to be triple that, at 15%.

Belgium has the highest delusion percentage for clothing – they thought they hadn’t worn 26% of their wardrobe in the last year but they actually hadn’t worn 88%.

The report shows the US has the highest levels of food waste with a quarter of their weekly shop ending up in the bin every week.

Finn Age Hänsel, Managing Director at Movinga, said: “With the oceans becoming ever more polluted with plastic and the fast fashion industry bigger than ever, it’s time to start encouraging individuals to reconsider whether they really need more stuff.”

Source: Energy Live News

Australian Wind Farm to Install 25MW Tesla Battery

20.08.2018

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A Tesla grid-scale battery is to be installed at a wind farm in South Australia.

The 278.5MW Lake Bonney wind facility will soon be home to a 25MW energy storage system, which owner Infigen Energy says will play a crucial role in stabilising the surrounding region’s grid with its flexibility services.

The firm has entered into funding agreements with the South Australian government and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to secure a deal worth around AUD$38 million (£21.7m).

Infigen CEO Ross Rolfe said: “With the firming capability of the battery energy storage system, Infigen will be able to expand its supply contracts from the Lake Bonney Wind Farm to additional commercial and industrial customers in South Australia, which is at the heart of our business strategy.”

South Australia is already home to the world’s largest battery – a 100MW system at the Hornsdale wind farm.

Source: Energy Live News

Baby Food Tests Find 68 Percent Contain ‘Worrisome’ Levels of Heavy Metals

20.08.2018

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Testing published by Consumer Reports (CR) Thursday found “concerning levels” of toxic metals in popular U.S. baby and toddler food.

The consumer advocacy group tested 50 nationally-distributed, packaged foods designed for toddlers and babies for mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead.

They found that every product they tested had measurable amounts of cadmium, inorganic arsenic or lead, that 68 percent had “worrisome” levels of at least one heavy metal and that 15 of the foods contained enough to constitute a health risk for a child eating one serving or less a day. Foods containing rice or sweet potatoes were especially impacted and there was no difference between organic and non-organic options.

Heavy metal consumption can have an outsized impact on children’s health cognitive development because they are smaller, their organs are still developing and they absorb more of the metals they consume than adults do. But CR Chief Scientific Officer James Dickerson advised parents not to panic.

“The heavy metal content in baby and toddler foods is a concerning issue but not an imminent threat,” he said. “The risk comes from exposure over time, and the risk can be mitigated. Making changes to your child’s diet now can reduce the chance of negative outcomes in the future.”

Since rice products were the most likely to have worrying amounts of inorganic arsenic, and rice absorbs 10 times the arsenic from contaminated soil compared to other grains, CR advised that parents limit their children’s intake of rice cereals, and swap them out for cereals made of other grains, like oats.

When parents do serve rice, CR recommended white basmati rice from California, India and Pakistan and sushi rice from the U.S. cooked in six to ten parts water per one part rice.

CR also recommended that parents avoid packaged snacks and opt for low-metal foods like apples, applesauce, peaches, strawberries, avocados, bananas, grapes, yogurt, barley with vegetables, beans, cheese and hard-boiled eggs.

While the test was designed to sample the whole market and not single out particular products, CR did publish serving limits for some known products.

For example, it recommended limiting servings of Gerber Chicken & Rice and Gerber Turkey & Rice to less than one per day and servings of Beech-Nut Classics Sweet Potato to less than 0.5 servings a day.

However, not everything should have to fall on parents. The findings also highlight the fact that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not yet regulate and test baby foods more thoroughly than adult foods.

The FDA has proposed limiting inorganic arsenic in baby rice cereal to 100 parts per billion and in apple juice to 10 parts per billion, guidelines they told CR they would have finalized by 2018.

But CR would eventually like to see them move to set and enforce a target of zero heavy metals in infant foods.

“In about a third of the products we tested, the amounts of heavy metals were below our level of concern, and for some of the products, amounts of some metals were not measurable,” CR Director of Food Safety Research and Testing James E. Rogers said. “Every category of food we tested was represented in that lower-risk group. That indicates that there are ways for manufacturers to significantly reduce or eliminate these metals from their products.”

Source: Eco Watch

After Plastic Straws, Are Balloons Next To Go?

19.08.2018

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We get it. Balloons are fun and make great decorations. But we hate to burst your bubble—balloons can be a big problem when they are deliberately released into the environment.

The litter is not only a blight on landscapes, waterways, trees and power lines, but balloons and balloon strings can entangle, choke or kill marine life and other animals. That’s not to mention the wasteful use of helium, a non-renewable resource.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that much like recent efforts to ban plastic straws and plastic bags, balloons could similarly be on the way out as the general public becomes more environmentally conscious.

“The issue of straws has really broadened the marine debris issue,” Emma Tonge of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told the AP.

Recently, South Carolina’s Clemson University decision last month to end its 30-year football gameday tradition of releasing 10,000 balloons into the air. Earlier this year, New Shoreham, an island town in Rhode Island, outright banned the sale, use and distribution of balloons.

Releasing balloons is not just an environmental problem, it could also be illegal. States such as California, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia as well as a number of U.S. cities already have laws that restrict launches.

Balloons are usually made of latex, which is considered biodegradable. However, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) pointed out on a web post that it can take months or years for the rubber to break down, meaning animals have plenty of time to come in contact with the debris.

“There’s an awful lot of confusion over balloons especially what they’re made of and how they break down,” said MCS Pollution Campaigns Officer Emma Cunningham in the post. “Some people believe that because latex is natural balloons made of it are harmless once let go. This just isn’t the case. Latex may last for up to four years in the marine environment.”

Balloons made of other materials such as Mylar can last even longer in the environment because they are made of plastic, which never fully degrades. Not only that, California’s Pacific Gas & Electric reported that metallic balloons caused 203 power outages in the first five months of 2018, up 22 percent from the year prior, according to the AP.

Even the Balloon Council, which represents retailers, distributors and manufacturers, established “Smart Balloon Practices” to educate consumers on the proper handling of balloons and to stress the importance of never releasing helium-filled foil balloons.

In 2015, U.S. Fish and Wildlife posted an article that advocated for alternatives to balloon releases and included photos of balloon litter impacting wildlife, including a bird strangled by a balloon string and a dead sea turtle that ingested a balloon.

“The pictures are hard to look at,” the post states, “but they make clearer than any words why we all should find alternatives to letting a balloon go.”

Source: Eco Watch

Reebok Launches New Sneaker Made From Cotton and Corn

19.08.2018

Adidas has shoes made of ocean plastic. Nike has ones made of recycled leather. Now, Reebok has its first plant-based athletic shoe.

The “NPC U.K. Cotton + Corn” sneaker, which debuted Tuesday, has a top made from 100 percent organic cotton, a sole made from a corn-based rubber substitute and an insole made from castor bean oil. No dyes were used for the chalk-colored kicks and they’ll also come in 100 percent recycled packaging.

To make the sole, Reebok used an ingredient called Susterra propanediol, developed by DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products, that’s described as “a pure, petroleum-free, non-toxic, 100 percent USDA certified bio-based product, derived from field corn.”

The bio-based shoe is just the first phase of Reebok’s “Cotton + Corn” sustainable product line that was first announced last year.

Reebok’s Future Team, which created the shoe, is now developing footwear that’s actually biodegradable. The goal is to create shoes that can decompose in six months, Reebok said in a blog post Tuesday. The company noted that “most stories about sustainable shoes are recycling stories”—meaning they’re either made from recycled materials or up-cycled from old shoes.

“Our issue with recycling is you recycle plastic, it’s still plastic … You’re not getting rid of the problem,” Bill McInnis, vice president of Reebok’s Future Team, recently told CBS News. “The idea is how do you get rubber and plastic out of the process and replace it with natural things that grow like corn.”

Just think, instead of throwing your shoes away for good—adding to the roughly 300 million pairs that end up in U.S. landfills annually—you can compost them or simply bury them in your backyard.

“Typical shoes are made from oil-based plastics that can sit around in landfills for hundreds of years when you’re done with the,” McInnis said on a company web post. “We’re focusing on creating shoes made from things that grow, made from things that bio-compost, made from things that can be replenished.”

The cotton and corn shoes are available online and cost $95.

Source: Eco Watch

A Beer Crisis Is Brewing in Germany as Bottle Recycling Slows Amid Heatwaves

18.08.2018

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With summer still in full swing and heatwaves gripping countries around the world, breweries across Germany have been scrambling to keep up with the beer demand from hot and thirsty customers. The brew masters have enough of the bubbly beverage to go around, but companies are running out of containers to distribute their goods as people continue drinking beer without returning the bottles for reuse fast enough.

While there are approximately 4 billion beer bottles in circulation within Germany, the demand for beer is higher than the return rate of the glass bottles. Germany is very proactive in recycling, having one of the highest recycling rates in the EU at around 50 percent, according to a Eurostat data report. Customers pay a small deposit on bottles when they buy beer from the store, which they get back when they return the empty cases. This small incentive, and a high regard for the environment, encourages customers to reuse and refill the glass bottles up to 30 times.

Greif Brewery recently told its customers to return their empty bottles, or they would have to go without beer. “We’ve had a beer bottle shortage since the middle of May,” said Christian Schuster, employee of Greif Brewery. “We can’t get hold of used ones fast enough, and ordering new ones takes time. I’m having to send my delivery guys out to look for old, empty bottles.”

According to master brewer Thomas Tyrell, who heads up the Berlin plant for California’s Stone Brewing, German attitudes toward aluminum cans are contributing to the problem as much as the heat is. Most Germans believe that cans are not environmentally friendly, so they prefer glass bottles. This is not the case, he pointed out, and the cans hold the same small deposit fees as their glass counterparts. Many Germans also see drinking beer out of a can as being crass and ill-bred, but soon they may not care as many breweries struggle to put fresh beer on the shelves.

Meanwhile, Stone Brewing may have found the only solution to the problem. Stone opened its first brewery in Berlin two years ago — with canned beer. Manners aside, Tyrell added, “We think it’s best for the beer… there is no light ingress and, over time, there are some oxygen permeations through the lid of a bottle, which the can doesn’t have.” Any beer is good beer when there is none to be had, but with crisp and refreshing beer, Stone seems to hold a sustainable recipe for success.

Source: Eco Watch

Thailand to Ban Imports of Plastics and E-Waste

18.08.2018

e-waste-952438_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Thailand has joined Vietnam and Malaysia in cracking down on the world’s trash. Thailand will stop accepting more than 400 types of electronic waste (e-waste), including circuit boards, old TVs and radios, within six months, an environment ministry official told Reuters.

The decision was made Wednesday at a meeting chaired by Surasak Kanchanarat, the environment minister. Imports of plastic waste will also be banned in two years, although specific details of the program are not yet known, Reuters reported.

Southeast Asian countries have been filling a void left by China, which implemented a strict waste import policy earlier this year so it could focus on its own pollution problems. The decision from China—formerly the world’s largest importer of waste—left exporting countries scrambling for solutions for their trash. In some U.S. cities, the pile-up has even resulted in recyclables being directly sent to landfills.

Thailand announced the ban after accepting massive amounts of e-waste from the U.S., the European Union, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, according to DW. While electronic scraps can contain valuable metals such as gold, silver and copper, they can also contain harmful components such as lead, mercury and cadmium.

Surasak admitted to The Nation that the ban will impact the country’s recycling industry and some business operations. However, he noted, “we need to prioritize good environment and health protection for our citizens before industrial development.”

“I have no doubt that the recycling of plastic waste and used electronic parts are profitable businesses at the moment,” he added. “Some business operators may make a lot of profit from the recycling industry, but what will the country gain from their prosperity when our environment becomes polluted and the people suffer?”

Thailand is one of the world’s top five producers of plastic trash, generating two million metric tons of the waste material each year, according to The Nation.

The country’s plastic crisis was underscored this June when a pilot whale washed up dead in southern Thailand after swallowing 17 pounds of mostly plastic bags.

The Thai initiative follows efforts made last month in Vietnam and Malaysia to limit imported trash. Vietnam will no longer issue new licenses for scrap imports, in order to crack down on illegal shipments and increased pollution near processing facilities, Reuters reported in July. The same month, the Malaysian government revoked the import permits of 114 factories that process plastic waste.

Source: Eco Watch

Trees Are Migrating West to Escape Climate Change

17.08.2018

forest-931706_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

An individual tree has roots and, of course, it doesn’t move. But trees, as a species, do move over time. They migrate in response to environmental challenges, especially climate change. Surprisingly, they don’t all go to the Poles, where it is cooler. As it turns out, more of them head west, where it is getting wetter.

Sure, some species, such as evergreens, are heading to the Poles to escape the heat. But others, like certain oaks and maple, are going west in search of rain. For the most part, “tree migrations are moisture related,” said Songlin Fei, associate professor at Purdue’s University’s department of forestry and natural resources, who has studied this phenomenon in recent years. “Precipitation has a stronger near-term impact on species shift than temperature.”

Both trends are a consequence of climate change, which is producing more heat and heavier rainfall, fueling deforestation. This is worrisome, as forests soak up carbon from the atmosphere, and recent evidence suggests that soil is exhaling carbon dioxide faster than trees can take in. The migration of trees may help preserve individual species, but also threatens to destabilize forest ecosystems.

Fei analyzed the movement of 86 tree species from across the Eastern United States between 1980 and 2015 using using field data from obtained from the U.S. Forest Service. He found that 73 percent of tree species shifted to the west, while 62 percent moved poleward.

“The majority of the species move westward are broadleaf species that can better handle flood and drought, and have a large seed mass, which improves the seedling’s ability to survive,” he said. “One example of westward shift species is Scarlet Oak. Miss Scarlett ‘gone with the wind,’ but Scarlet Oak is ‘gone with the rain.'”

Researchers compared the distribution of trees in 1980 and 2015, calculating the distance and direction of the trees’ movement. During the more than three decades covered by the study, the mean annual temperature in the eastern United States, where they collected the data, rose around 0.3 degrees F on average, Fei said. The northern areas of that region saw among the largest temperature increases, he added. Precipitation patterns in the regions also changed during those years, as increasing heat spurred in widespread droughts, another reason for trees to gravitate toward the rain, he said.

The scientists’ initial findings appeared in a study published in the journal Science Advances last year. Fei and his team currently are working to update the earlier results, hoping to publish their new findings soon. The researchers have concluded that changes in rainfall and temperature have put “the resilience and sustainability of various forest ecosystems across eastern United States in question,” Fei said.

To be clear, the study focused only on the eastern half the country, meaning tree species didn’t move to, for example, California, Oregon or Washington. In fact, the transition was gradual. “Species, on average, moved about 10 miles per decade, or about one county during the study period,” Fei said.

The trees have picked up on the trends driven by climate change, moving from regions getting less rainfall than in the past to those that are getting more. Even though the Southeast still gets more rainfall than the Midwest, it’s been receiving less in recent years than its historical average, Fei said. At the same time, rainfall has been increasing in the Midwest. “Reduction of moisture in the Southeast and increase of moisture in the Midwest is one of the major reasons caused the shift of species,” he said.

Fei said it helped that the team could use real-world data for its analysis, and that they did not need to rely on traditional computer modeling. “It is not future predictions,” he said. “Empirical data reveals the impact of climate change is happening on the ground now. It’s in action.”

Source: Eco Watch

Babies in Strollers Breathe Up to 60 Percent More Dangerous Air Pollution Than Adults

17.08.2018

park-2531533_960_720 — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Parents might want to think twice before pushing their babies in strollers alongside busy streets.

A study published Aug. 10 in Environment International by the Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) at the University of Surrey found that babies pushed in strollers can be exposed to up to 60 percent more air pollution than adults.

“We know that infants breathe in higher amounts of airborne particles relative to their lung size and body weight compared to adults. What we have proven here is that the height most children travel at while in a pram increases the likelihood of negative impacts from air pollution when compared to an adult,” study author and GCARE Founding Director Professor Prashant Kumar said in a University of Surrey press release. “When you also consider how vulnerable they are because of their tissues, immune systems and brain development at this early stage of their life, it is extremely worrying that they are being exposed to these dangerous levels of pollution.”

The study found that vehicle exhaust pipes are usually located around 1 meter (approximately 1.09 yards) above ground level, and most babies in strollers are positioned between 0.55 meters (approximately 0.6 yards) and 0.85 meters (approximately 0.93 yards) above ground level.

Infants travelling at that height can be exposed to particulate matter, black carbon, nitrogen oxides and toxic metals.

The study did not compare different stroller types, but Kumar told BBC News that parents could reduce their children’s exposure by using stroller covers and avoiding streets that got lots of car traffic.

The study also recommended a variety of solutions, from building hedges between sidewalks and cars, reducing emissions overall and designing strollers that created a “clean air zone” around the child’s nose and mouth.

But Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Professor Jonathan Grigg, who was not involved with the research, had a more far-reaching solution in mind.

“To help protect children’s health we must promote alternatives to cars fuelled by petrol and diesel,” he told BBC News.

The study comes as concerns about the impact of polluted air on children’s health in the UK have been growing.

In July, newly revealed documents surrounding the death of a nine-year-old girl from asthma in 2013 showed her attacks were associated with spikes in illegal air pollution levels near her London home. While air pollution in the UK is linked to 40,000 premature deaths a year, hers could be the first officially listed as such on her death certificate.

Kumar hoped his research would further discussion of this urgent issue.

“With the multitude of evidence we set out in this review, it is important that everyone across the country begin a full and frank conversation about pollution and the impact it has on our most vulnerable–from parents and community leaders, to government officials and industry,” he said in the university press release.

Source: Eco Watch

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