Microsoft CEO announced recently that not only does the company plan to be carbon negative by 2030, but if it succeeds, the move will effectively cancel out its lifetime CO2 emissions by 2050.
Non-degradable bags will be banned in major cities by the end of 2020 and in all cities and towns by 2022. The restaurant industry will also be banned from using single-use straws by the end of 2020.
Big moves to ban plastic are big news – and I dare say, "radical." It's not easy bucking big oil and the plastic industry, nor is it easy to convince consumers to give up the convenience of disposables.
No list of banned products has been released yet, but it will likely include plastic shopping bags, straws, disposable cutlery, cotton swabs with plastic sticks, drink stirrers, and takeout food containers and cups.
Plastic bricks made via a recycling process developed by a Colombian social enterprise are being used to help tackle a huge shortfall of classrooms in the West African nation of Ivory Coast.
Cement production is one of the world’s leading contributors of CO2 emissions. Now, US researchers have combined sand, a hydrogel, and bacteria into a living material that has similar strength to cement-based mortar.
JetBlue has announced that it will offset carbon dioxide emissions from jet fuel for all domestic flights beginning in July 2020, making it the first major US airline to take the step toward reducing its contribution to global warming.
Beech Street, much of which runs under the Barbican Estate, will now be restricted to zero emission vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians by Spring 2020. The experiment will run for 18 months, during which time the impact on air quality and traffic will be monitored.
2019 was the cleanest year on record for Britain as, for the first time, the amount of zero carbon power surpassed fossil fuel generation for a full twelve months.
Mexico City has joined a growing number of cities in banning single-use plastic bags. Mexico City has had problems with excessive amounts of trash for years now. Plastic only recently became recyclable in the city.
The Pacific nation of Palau has become the first country to ban sun cream that is harmful to corals and sea life. From now sun cream that includes common ingredients, including oxybenzone, is not allowed to be worn or sold in the country.
Superblocks is a radical plan to reclaim the streets from the noise and pollution of traffic, one that could save hundreds of lives that might otherwise be lost because of heavily polluted air. It also hopes to act as a blueprint for other cities.
Kanzas is the first major one in the U.S. to offer no-cost public transportation. Most of the world’s fare-free transit systems are in Europe, including a number of towns in Poland, France and Estonia's capital Tallinn.
The data adds to signs that climate change is fostering a sense of so-called "flying shame" that’s causing some people to avoid one of the most polluting forms of travel. Significantly more people are taking the train on trips within Europe that are less four hours.
The highest court in the Netherlands has upheld a ruling requiring the government to slash greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% of 1990 levels by the end of next year.
