Fighting Environmental Despair

hey! I found this and I thought it was really cool :)

https://www.optimistdaily.com/2022/04/new-chemical-treatment-makes-plastic-waste-absorb-co2/

Thanks for sharing this!

New chemical treatment makes plastic waste absorb CO2 | The Optimist Daily

A lab with Rice University has discovered a chemical which treats plastic waste and turns it into a cost and energy efficient method of carb

The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News |

Scientists at Rice University found that treating plastic waste with potassium acetate while heating it to particular temperatures created microscopic pores that are just the right size to trap carbon dioxide.

“Point sources of CO2 emissions like power plant exhaust stacks can be fitted with this waste-plastic-derived material to remove enormous amounts of CO2 that would normally fill the atmosphere. It is a great way to have one problem, plastic waste, address another problem, CO2 emissions.”

plastic plastic waste climate change carbon dioxide good news hope ask submission technology

ted.com

The future will be shaped by optimists

"Every great and difficult thing has required a strong sense of optimism," says editor and author Kevin Kelly, who believes that we have a moral obligation to be optimistic. Tracing humanity's progress throughout history, he's observed that a positive outlook helps us solve problems and empowers us to forge a path forward. In this illuminating talk, he shares three reasons for optimism during challenging times, explaining how it can help us become better ancestors and create the world we want to see for ourselves and future generations.

Kevin Kelly

“We have a choice about optimism[…] No matter what your temperament is you can still choose to be optimistic. And gigantic problems require gigantic optimism. We have a moral obligation to be optimistic because when we are optimistic we can shape the future, we can become better ancestors, we can expand our reach, create things bigger than ourselves, and we can be a realist in aligning ourselves with the long arc of history in embracing problems as opportunities.”

optimism hope climate change mental health inspiration environment ecoanxiety environmental despair global warming

youtube.com

Human Hair Mats Clean Oil Spills. Why Don't Big Companies Use Them? | World Wide Waste

Most big oil spills are cleaned using chemicals or mats made with petroleum. One nonprofit uses human hair, which can soak up around five times its weight in...

Thanks to the anonymous person who sent this in!

A really great example of regular people finding one problem they were passionate about and focusing on helping to solve it–then building a whole community of people willing to help solve that problem.

Although the hair-mat option didn’t see as widespread use as petroleum-based mats, they still contributed to the solution and gave local people an option to help protect their shorelines from oil spills.

oil spills environment oil sustainability environmental cleanup oil spill cleanup good news submission human hair tw hair tw

ecowatch.com

Coors Light to Become Largest U.S. Beer Brand to Ditch Plastic Rings - EcoWatch

Coors Light is making an effort to lighten the load it places on the environment. Parent-company Molson Coors announced that six-packs of its Coors Light brand would no longer come in the infamous plastic rings that trap marine life. Instead, starting later this year, the beer will come in a recyclable, sustainable cardboard alternative. Coors said it was the largest U.S. beer brand to make the change.

By the end of 2025, Coors six packs will be packaged in a cardboard alternative to six pack rings.

The company also aims to complete five other environmental goals by 2025, including reducing greenhouse gas production by 50%, brewing beer and growing barely with less water, 100% renewable and recyclable packaging, and restoring water to local watersheds.

plastic single use plastic sustainability good news climate change environment microplastics alcohol tw

youtube.com

We WILL Fix Climate Change!

Visit https://brilliant.org/nutshell/ to get started learning STEM for free, and the first 200 people will get 20% off their annual premium subscription.Sour...

Highly, highly recommend this new video from Kurzegesagt.

Their videos are very well researched and they have done a great job here of laying out the progress we have made so far (it’s more than a lot of people think!) and where we need to go now.

There is lots to be hopeful for and, crucially, believing in a better future is necessary to creating that future.

Thanks to @beyond-a-name for sending this in!

climate change climate anxiety environment environment anxiety environmental grief ecophobia exoanxiety environmental despair good news hope optimism climate hope climate optimism ecohope submission

beyond-a-name asked:

The youtube channel Kurzegesagt just released a really good video offering hope for the environment and showcasing a lot of positive trends lately. It's called "We WILL Fight Climate Change" and it seemed right up your alley

Thank you so much for sharing this! I hadn’t seen their new video yet and you are right that it fits the message of this blog perfectly.

I got several asks about Kurzegesagt’s previous climate change video–some felt galvanized by the video and others thought it made the situation seem hopeless. So I’m really glad they made another video clarifying that there is lots to be hopeful about and that we have made a lot more progress in the last decade than many people (especially young people) realize.

ask

Anonymous asked:

Do you know if plastivores end up having plastic residues in their bodies? I ask since on the surface it would be a cool idea to raise superworms/mealworms because they're a common food for insectivorous animals like lizards. But I wouldn't want it to be unsafe for the lizard.

While this is an area that probably needs further research to confirm, the answer appears to be “no”. Mealworms fed plastic are as healthy as mealworms fed on a regular diet, and they have even been found to break down toxic plastic additives without it harming them or building up in their tissues.

Which is all excellent news!

That said, I would not recommend feeding insects fed on plastic to reptiles–feeder insects need to be fed a special diet in order to provide the proper balance of nutrients.

plastic microplastic insect mention feeder insect mention reptile mention animal death implication ask anonymous

eurekalert.org

Caribou herd rebounds as Indigenous stewards lead conservation efforts

Despite recovery efforts from federal and provincial governments, caribou populations across Canada continue to decline, largely due to human activity. But as a new UBC Okanagan study finds, in central British Columbia there is one herd of mountain caribou, the Klinse-Za, whose numbers are going in the opposite direction—all thanks to a collaborative recovery effort led by West Moberly First Nations and Saulteau First Nations.

The Klinse-Za caribou herd is rebounding towards healthy population numbers, even as Canadian caribou populations overall trend downwards. The herd has increased from 38 to over 100 animals in under a decade.

This incredible increase is due to stewardship by the West Moberly First Nations and Saulteau First Nations and sets a precedent for methods that could be used to bolster caribou numbers throughout Canada.

“This is truly an unprecedented success and signals the critical role that Indigenous Peoples can play in conservation. I hope this success opens doors to collaborative stewardship among other communities and agencies.”

caribou conservation biodiversity animal conservation indigenous conservation indigenous stewardship good news environment

interestingengineering.com

A massive Airbus A380 flew using 100% sustainable fuel made from cooking oil

The world's largest passenger airliner is being used as a testbed for sustainable aviation fuels.

Airbus brand planes are currently able to fly using as much as 50% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) made from cooking oil. The company has more recently been running additional sustainable fuel tests, including an Airbus A380 making a 3 hour flight powered by 100% SAF. They also aim to test a hydrogen engine on an A380 in the near future.

Airbus wants to achieve 100% SAF certification by 2030, and is making great strides to meet the industry goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Thanks to @just-a-lonelypenguin for the tag!

aviation sustainable fuel environment climate change good news technology air travel climate anxiety

toebeanz

typhlonectes:
“ We’re proud to share an historic announcement - the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) have assumed full management of the Bison Range!“Formerly known as the National Bison Range, the land was restored to the Tribes by the...

conservation biodiversity bison ungulate conservation good news indigenous conservation environment