a collaboration for good
Zircons may be best known as a birthstone of December, but they also record time much like tree rings, can tell the origin stories of planets, perhaps discover precious minerals beneath the Earth’s surface, even infer when continents rose from the oceans. Indeed, without zircons we would know very little about the Earth. Keeping time…
A truck is rolling through Tucson these days offering to give native plants to anyone who wants them. The idea is to create more green spaces in areas affected by urban heat, while simultaneously educating people about bird conservation and habitat restoration. This new native plant ‘food truck’ aims to make plants more accessible to…
Nanoplastics, those microscopic plastic particles that result from the breakdown of plastic products, pollute our oceans and waterways and infiltrate our bodies and our brains. No one knows yet what threat that poses, but it’s making many of us uneasy. The good news is that researchers have found a way to eliminate up to 98…
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Rhino poaching in South Africa has long been a problem, but an African Parks initiative is fighting back with plans to rewild 2,000 southern white rhinos into secure, protected areas. It translocated 40 rhinos last May, and just completed the translocation of 120 more. 120 rhinos rewilded to Greater Kruger in historic move https://africageographic.com/stories/120-rhinos-rewilded-to-greater-kruger-in-historic-move …
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When governments protect land from development, such as by establishing a state or national park, does it result in a boon or a bust for people who live nearby? New evidence suggests that it’s possible to both protect the land and grow the local economy. It’s not guaranteed, but it happens more often than not….
South Korea recycles 98 percent of its food waste, converting it into fertilizer, feed for livestock, even a kind of renewable energy. Can other countries do the same? South Korea recycles 98% of its food waste. What can it teach the world? http://archive.is/hKEbU Related Reading
When we think of sustainability and our carbon footprints, it’s natural to focus on our water usage, energy consumption and recycling or waste management habits. However, one area of our modern lives which has a significant impact on the environment is how we use the internet. This can feel like a slightly abstract concept, afterall,…
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Air pollution can be a major problem in inner cities where there are few trees to absorb it and planting trees is not practical. The solution? Syrian scientists have invented “liquid trees”, contraptions they say are 10 to 50 times more effective at binding carbon dioxide than trees. How Liquid Trees Could Help to Clean…
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Japan’s population is rapidly imploding, and one expected result will be a sharp reduction in the number of truck drivers, so sharp that by 2030 some 30 percent of parcels simply won’t make it to market. Japan’s proposed solution? A 310-mile-long automated cargo conveyor connecting Tokyo and Osaka. If built, it will replace 25,000 trucks…
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Scientists have long been searching for a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional lithium-ion batteries, and now they’ve found it: the world’s first Potassium-ion battery. The Texas start-up that developed it says it is suitable for demanding applications and is production ready, so we may see it in action very soon. New potassium-ion battery technology…
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