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Paper is part of our everyday lives and we should use it wisely. We may not always consider that paper production, distribution, use, and disposal require a large amount of energy and raw materials.

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Electric vehicles are not just the wave of the future, they are saving lives today.

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Ten things to know about electric vehicles, and how you can help make the future electric (even if you're car-free).

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Some ideas...  (Scroll down to the "What can we do?" section)

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Some ideas...  (Scroll down to the "What can we do?" section)

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How Climate Change Is Fueling Extreme Weather

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Carbon pollution is contributing to climate disasters that will only get worse unless we take action.

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Climate Change - We are the PROBLEM & the SOLUTION (Animated Infographic)

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This story by MIT Environmental Solutions Journalism Fellow Elena Bruess was originally published in the Houston Landing, where it appears with additional photos and resources. It is the third in a series of articles examining Houston's mounting trash troubles.
It's been several years since the stench permeated through Shadow Creek Ranch, but Berto Lozano still remembers it like it was yesterday. The smell, from the nearby Blue Ridge Landfill in Fort Bend County, seeped into homes at night, causing respiratory issues and headaches, waking children and alarming families. These days, it's not nearly as frequent or intense, but some mornings, Lozano still smells that telltale mix of trash and rotten eggs.

He moved into Shadow Creek Ranch, a neighborhood of newly built single-family homes south of Houston, over a decade ago. Not too long after that, the landfill began emitting a putrid stench.

"Nearly every day we'd smell it," Lozano said. "So everyone in the neighborhood started coming together. We signed petitions, we complained to the state. It took forever for anyone to listen."

For decades, burying waste in a landfill has been the answer to much of Houston's trash. However, over time, concerns over methane pollution and impact on the community has pushed local governments to consider solutions - both at the landfill and as alternatives to the industry.

In Texas, local officials and communities have little control over privately owned landfills like Blue Ridge. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality regulates everything, from the initial permitting process to emission standards and compliance. Because of this, experts say that once garbage is trucked to a landfill, what happens inside the landfill is ultimately up to the private operators within state and federal environmental guidelines.

However, local governments do still have some say: Counties and cities can push for up-to-date technologies and more stringent emissions standards, such as incorporating methane reduction strategies; they can also advocate for landfill alternatives, like burning trash, a controversial method that saves space and reduces methane emissions.

Methane is an incredibly potent greenhouse gas that effectively traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to global warming. While methane itself is odorless, when it escapes a landfill, it tends to be mixed with other pollutants that emit the same stench Lozano smelled for years.

But, critics of the current system say issues like this could change. As Houston runs out of landfill space, the city is at a crossroads with its trash. Because of this, environmental advocates see now as the time to push for a future with less methane and more sustainable practices.
Finding local control
Already, states like , and have implemented plans to reduce methane emissions from waste and states like Maine have moved to alternatives like waste-to-energy facilities. Texas is the nation's largest emitter of methane, and it's long been on advocates' radar.

"I don't think anyone woke up and decided this is how we want to design our waste system in this country," said Katherine Blauvelt, the circular economy director at the national climate nonprofit Industrious Labs. "It's our responsibility, the responsibility of officials, of the companies, to make things better."

For decades, environmental lawyer Jim Blackburn worked in the business of fighting landfills. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, he represented cities that opposed landfill placement and residents who called for cleaner air.

"To win against a landfill as an opponent, I had to come up with a new concept to win every time," said Blackburn, now a professor of environmental law at Rice University. "To defeat a landfill, you needed to find a unique issue with that landfill that somehow would discriminate it from the rest of the pack."

As arguments emerged, the state would respond to each individual issue with a band-aid solution, said Blackburn. That left him needing to think of a new and never-used-before argument again and again.

This is because, when it comes to landfills, the state's purpose is to approve and issue permits to operators, according to the TCEQ. Unless a city or county prohibits landfills from being placed in certain areas through an ordinance, this process is beyond the control of local officials. Houston and Harris County have no such ordinances.

"It's a conversation between the TCEQ and the landfill," Blackburn said. "Cities and counties are generally overruled by the state."

There have been a few hard-won exceptions.

In the case of Blue Ridge Landfill, after thousands of complaints and public outcry from the City of Pearland, the TCEQ investigated in 2018 and found that the company - Republic Services - failed to properly maintain its operations, causing higher emissions of methane and other gases, according to agency reports.

The TCEQ fined Republic Services and instructed the company to fix the issues.

Since then, the smells have been less intense and less frequent, said Pearland Mayor Kevin Cole. The City of Pearland worked with Shadow Creek Ranch residents to resolve the issues stemming from Blue Ridge Landfill by hosting city council meetings, collaborating directly with Republic Services and working with state representatives.

"The city got involved, at least to exercise our voice," Cole said. "While we didn't really have any power or control as a city, we did have a voice. TCEQ was really slow to respond and we wanted to make sure the residents were being heard."

Cole said he likes to think of the Blue Ridge Landfill fight as a success story for everyone, including the landfill - which is now a better neighbor to the residents, according to Cole.

Blauvelt from Industrious Labs also pointed out that landfill companies, like Republic Services and Waste Management, can implement better practices from the start because they can afford to.

"These are massive companies who are profiting off of putting trash in the ground and it's costing us, the consumer, the cities, to pay them - and also in health impacts," Blauvelt said. "We can do better and that's their responsibility too. It shouldn't just be on residents."

Republic Services had a net profit of $2 billion in 2024 for all its national and international operations and Waste Management had $3.2 billion in profit that same year.

One sustainable practice waste operators have started is implementing their own composting systems. Composting is a process that transforms organic waste, such as decomposing plant and food leftovers or yard and tree trimmings, to enriched soil. It diverts organic waste before it enters the landfill, both saving space and reducing methane emissions.

Republic Services has 12 composting facilities throughout the United States, including a solar-powered composting facility near San Diego, California. Waste Management has four programs in North America that convert food waste into energy.

In Brazoria County, Waste Management's Coastal Plains Landfill has a small compost operation that takes yard waste and green waste. It is the only local example.

In a statement to the Houston Landing, Republic Services said that while the company is continuously evaluating options, there are no immediate plans to add composting to the area.
The business of capturing gas
"What these big companies can do or not do with waste is something cities like Houston can consider going forward," Blauvelt said. "When they ink that new contract, the city can say we want to use 21st-century technologies and operations."

For the past month, the Houston Mayor's Office did not respond to repeated requests for comment, and the city's waste management department refused an interview with the interim waste management director, Larius Hassen, "due to onboarding." This came after the previous director, Mark Wilfalk, resigned from his post in late March.

One modern solution for landfill gas is capturing it before it even enters the atmosphere. In Harris County, 78 percent of the methane emissions came from three privately owned landfills in 2023, including McCarty Road and Atascocita.

To combat this, some landfill operators have been converting the methane produced from waste into energy and natural gas. Rather than releasing the gas into the environment, the gas, which is a mix of carbon dioxide and methane, is collected through a network of pipelines installed in the landfill trash. It is then cleaned and reused.

At the Atascocita Landfill in northern Houston, there are nearly 400 gas collectors throughout the landfill that pump the methane and carbon dioxide to a gas-to-energy facility, which scrubs the gas until it is nearly 100 percent methane then pumps it into the city's natural gas main lines.

Collecting gas from landfills to produce energy first emerged in the mid-to-late 1970s, but it increasingly gained popularity in the 1990s as concerns over the environment and climate change grew. Today, there are nearly 600 landfill gas energy projects operating across the United States, with 29 ongoing in Texas, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

In the Houston area, four of the five landfills have landfill-to-energy facilities.

Converting collected gas into energy is a completely voluntary EPA program. However, current federal regulations require landfills with a capacity exceeding 2.5 million metric tons of trash - the equivalent of nearly 78,000 large dump trucks - to install a gas collection system. But, those landfills are not required to install the system immediately, according to Edwin LaMair, senior attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund.

"Right now, the federal regulations have a long lead time before the landfill needs to actually put in a gas collection system," LaMair said. "A lot of methane escapes before the operator has even installed anything."

At Blue Ridge Landfill, the company specifically failed to properly maintain and operate the gas collection and control system, causing higher levels of emissions of methane and other gases from the landfill, according to TCEQ reports. In response to these failures, Republic Services implemented a plan to keep the current system operating and expand it as the landfill grows.

"The moment they got their operations addressed, the smells went away," Pearland Mayor Cole said.

However, despite these gas collection and gas-to-energy systems, critics have pointed to methane leaks as another serious problem. As federal regulations stand now, the EPA only requires landfill operators to walk the landfill quarterly to check for leaks. This, Blauvelt from Industrious Labs said, is archaic.

"Humans are literally walking the ground to find invisible leaks across acres of land," Blauvelt said. "That system is not working, you know. There are other options."

Most recently, there has been a push from advocates to fly drones over the landfills to spot leaks. In 2016, the California Air Resources Board flew a NASA drone over the Sunrise Canyon Landfill near Santa Clarita to check for methane leaks as part of an effort to lower the state's total methane emissions. The drone found numerous leaks, later confirmed by landfill operators. After the company worked to reduce methane emissions, the number of complaints over odor decreased from around 80 in 2016 to 20 in 2018, according on the project.

In another tracking case, Industrious Labs used satellite data to create a map tracking methane leaks across the United States. An April 2023 satellite image showed 16 plumes of methane at Blue Ridge. Atascocita Landfill had 22 plumes during the same time. A methane plume is a noticeable concentration of methane gas that has been released into the atmosphere.

None of Houston's landfills use drones or satellite imagery. However, in a statement, Republic Services said they have several ongoing pilot programs across North America and are actively assessing and testing aerial technology, such asdrones, satellites and aircraft, as well as ground-based technology likesensors.

As of April 2025, the EPA is assessing whether landfill operators should be required to use drones for landfill methane monitoring. The drones, the agency said, "will increase landfill owners' and operators' accessibility to real-time data that can be used to address onsite issues quickly and efficiently." As part of its assessment, the EPA is accepting public comments until May 23, 2025.
What if we burned all the trash?
If the EPA passes any kind of requirement for landfill drones, the methane monitoring standard could be updated from the current requirement of walking the landfill just once per quarter, Blauvelt said.

"It's up to the EPA to change the rules," Blauvelt said. "It's kind of like with EPA's standards today you are only required to brush your teeth four times a year, but to prevent cavities you have to brush every day."

But even well-maintained landfills still leave Houston with the problem of running out of landfill space. Before he resigned as Houston's director of waste operations in March, Mark Wilfalk considered burning trash as a solution to the city's waste problem. Rather than a trash incinerator, he said he was advocating for a "waste-to-energy system."

"Along with some kind of organic disposal program (like composting), I'd like to see a waste energy plant that doesn't have such high emissions (as a landfill)," he said. "I want to be able to repurpose what we dispose of into energy."

Cities across the United States have been burning trash as a solution to growing population and the amount of waste for over a century. All kinds of municipal trash was placed in a system called a trash incinerator and burned into ash. In the 1900s, Houston officials installed several trash incinerators throughout the city, particularly in Black neighborhoods. However, over time, residents and environmental activists in Houston and other cities with incinerators protested burning trash for its harmful pollutants and health impacts. As a result, Houston has no more trash incinerators.

Waste-to-energy facilities are systems that burn municipal trash, effectively performing the same function as a trash incinerator. However, advocates of these systems say the facilities are far cleaner and more effective than the incinerators in the past - and a better option than a landfill.

The system also uses the heat generated from burning the waste to produce electricity. In the past decade, these plants have grown in popularity across the world, including in Japan, China and Europe. In Sweden, burning trash supplies heat to millions of apartments and electricity to thousands of homes, according to Avfall Sverige , a Swedish waste management association. Less than 1 percent of Sweden's trash ends up in landfills.

Today, there are 75 waste-to-energy facilities in the United States, mainly in the northeast, according to the EPA. In one case, Ecomaine, a facility located in Portland, Maine, processes about 175,000 tons of trash annually to generate 100,000 megawatt-hours of electricity - enough electricity to run 15,000 homes a year.

"In a perfect future, the first thing we need to have is recycling and composting. And the second thing is waste-to-energy incineration," said Desirée Plata, an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Plata is also the director of MIT's methane network, where researchers study how to reduce methane emissions.

Instead of releasing the methane into the atmosphere like a landfill, waste-to-energy plants burn the methane up and release carbon dioxide. However, the proportionate increase of carbon dioxide is trivial compared to methane emissions, according to Plata. And methane is far more potent as a greenhouse gas in the short term.

However, environmental advocates have long fought against waste-to-energy facilities, calling them "greenwashed" trash incinerators. They say waste-to-energy facilities are costly and inefficient. A new plant can cost at least $100 million to construct, and they usually function at about 30 percent efficiency. This means only 30 percent of the total energy input - the process of burning the trash - is converted into useful electrical output - useful power and heat - with the remaining 70 percent being wasted.

In comparison, a natural gas power plant has an efficiency of up to 95 percent.

Critics have also pointed out that incinerators produce particulate matter-tiny pollutants that can cause lung and heart disease,-as well as heavy metals like lead and mercury and other toxic chemicals, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Plata has pushed back on this messaging, emphasizing new pollution controls that limit emissions leaking out into the community.

"There's a lot of good reasons for the concern," Plata said. "But modern incinerators are incredibly clean. They are very efficient in scrubbing pollutants out of the smokestack. Almost certainly some emissions will break through the process but, for the most part, they are quite clean."

But, Plata agreed that the process can be inefficient. Organic waste, such as food scraps, takes longer to burn because of the high water content. To counteract that, she advocates for incinerators with organic systems, in which operators remove organic waste like food scraps, supercharging efficiency and creating compost.

To experts like Plata, landfill solutions and alternatives are far from impossible. City officials across the nation are having very similar conversations to Houston and some are making strides in methane reduction and landfill technologies. However, whatever comes next for the fourth largest city is still uncertain.

But Wilfalk isn't fatalistic. Even with issues in accessibility and affordability, the same system isn't inevitable. In Tampa, where Wilfalk worked before moving to Houston, the city had less space for landfills and relied instead on waste energy plants.

"Houston is big enough that there's just not going to be one silver bullet to fix everything," said Wilfalk. "It's got to be a combination of the most efficient programs to help keep the city clean."

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A sustainable future is possible for Houston-local officials just have little say over it

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This story by MIT Environmental Solutions Journalism Fellow Elena Bruess was originally published in the Houston Landing, where it appears with additional photos and resources. It is the third in a series of articles examining Houston's mounting trash troubles.

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Some ideas.... (Scroll down to the "What can we do?" section)

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Some ideas.... (Scroll down to the "What can we do?" section)

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How Climate Change Is Fueling Extreme Weather

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Carbon pollution is contributing to climate disasters that will only get worse unless we take action.

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Climate Change - We are the PROBLEM & the SOLUTION (Animated Infographic)

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By Conor McCabe

Cattle are special animals that consume foods such as grasses and hays that humans can't digest, taking those pieces of energy and turning them into milk and meat that nourish people. In the process, part of the energy cows eat results in the production of methane that is belched out the front end of the animal. That's a conundrum.

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that does impact our climate, and that is one reason there are groups that do not like beef and dairy production. However, methane is also a short-lived gas, meaning it lasts and warms the atmosphere for about a decade before being broken down into carbon dioxide and water vapor. This carbon is then available to be utilized by plants for photosynthesis to grow and produce oxygen, as part of the stockpile of CO ₂ in the atmosphere.

Methane Emissions Start in the Cattle Stomach

In the process, this digestion pattern produces several free hydrogen (H⁺) and carbon dioxide (CO ₂) molecules. One member of the rumen microbes are the methanogens. Although they account for only 1% of the microbes, they tend to get the most attention. These methane-forming microbes combine the hydrogen and carbon dioxide molecules in the rumen to form enteric methane (CH ₄). Cows and other ruminant animals expel the methane via belching, at which point it enters the atmosphere and begins adding heat.

The challenge with nature's intricate system of ruminant digestion is that multiplying methane formation across all ruminants in the world amounts to a lot of methane - 109 million metric tons as of 2021 (FAOSTAT, 2024). More to the point, it affects global warming, which has implications for our climate. However, promising research shows that it's possible to reduce methane production with minimal impact on animal health and production. The following discussions cover opportunities to reduce methane emissions from the most readily available to those that are the furthest away from incorporation into beef and dairy operations.

Changing cattle diets to reduce methane emissions

There are well-known opportunities for producers to reduce cattle methane by modifying the current diets of their herds, but these strategies aren't enough to achieve the reductions in methane emissions that are needed to meet current climate goals. Not to mention that the majority of the world's cattle are not fed a controlled diet every day, which makes It challenging to use this as a management strategy.

Using Genetic Selection for Lower Methane Emissions

Selective breeding allows livestock breeders to select favorable traits that produce healthier, more productive animals. There is an entire field of animal science that focuses on the heritability of certain traits. In other words, how likely it is that traits will be passed from parents to offspring. Some traits are more heritable than others and can be easily predicted. However, some have a lower predictability; it's more difficult to say whether or not they will be passed to the next generation.

A Small Amount of Feed Additives Can Dramatically Reduce Methane

More recently, we have developed feed additives to interrupt the methane-formation process and thus, reduce methane emissions. There are several methane-reducing feed additives ; two of the most promising are 3-NOP (Bovaer) and bromoform [red seaweed ( Asparagopsis taxiformis ) ]. Each of these feed additives stops the enzymes that form methane.

Reducing methane emissions is of prime importance, but it is far from the only consideration. Animal health and production must also be weighed. Some feed additives check all the boxes, while others need further work before they can be recommended for the entire U.S. dairy or beef herd. Research has come a long way in finding feed additives that work to reduce methane emissions in research settings. However, the next frontier of feed-additive research will evaluate the consistent expected reductions in methane by implementing these feed additives in production settings.

Capturing the Methane Before It Enters the Air

It isn't possible to reduce a cow's enteric methane emissions to absolute zero per day, even with the most powerful of methane-reducing feed additives. But what if we could capture the methane that the cows belch out, and store it or change it into something that doesn't warm the planet as intensely?

There are possibilities for methane reducing vaccines

One of the most exciting potential methods of inhibiting methane production is vaccination. When cattle and humans are vaccinated, their immune systems produce specific antibodies that attack and fight the pathogen of interest. A different vaccination is needed for every target because these antigens are specialized and only work against the target cell/pathogen of interest.

There is No Silver Bullet Against Methane

Cattle naturally produce methane daily due to the special stomachs they have, which allow them to consume high-fiber feeds. As far as global warming is concerned, it's a major consideration. In fact, we won't be able to use one technology or solution to solve an issue as big as enteric methane emissions from cattle production. In an ideal world we want to find solutions that are easy to implement and reduce the greatest amount of methane. Given feed additive's strong methane emission reductions and ease to be added to a farm, it has received the most attention. However, feed additives won't be our end all be all as there are solutions needed across the supply chain to achieve the emission reductions we need to make an Impact for climate.

It's worth researching the effect of concurrent use of multiple technologies (e.g., feed additives, genetic selection, and diet formulation). Would there be a greater reduction or the same impact in reducing methane emissions compared to one of these technologies alone? Animal scientists are confident about how diet can interact with the amount of methane produced, but with products that aren't available outside of a research setting (feed additives/vaccines), the impact on methane emissions in production settings is presently unknown.

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Why Do Cattle Produce Methane, and What Can We Do About it?

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Cattle are special animals that consume foods such as grasses and hays that humans can't digest, taking those pieces of energy and turning them into milk and meat that nourish people. In the process, part of the energy cows eat results in the production of methane that is belched out the front end of the animal.

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Methane: A Dangerous Problem, An Easy Solution

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Our bodies should not be the dumping ground for dirty industries. The technology to dramatically reduce harmful methane pollution is available today, and major polluters should be required to use it.

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Climate Change - We are the PROBLEM & the SOLUTION (Animated Infographic)

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Climate Change - We are the PROBLEM & the SOLUTION (Animated Infographic)

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3 Climate Change Solutions that could actually happen

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3 Climate Change Solutions that could actually happen

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Fast Fashion:  Repair Services...How Do they Work?

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Fast Fashion:  Repair Services...How Do they Work?

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Earlier this month the Australian Fashion Council, in partnership with several organisations and government agencies, announced the final stage of its scheme to reduce the 200,000 tonnes of clothing waste sent to landfill every year in Australia.

The Seamless scheme imposes a four-cent levy on each garment produced by fashion businesses, which will fund research into sustainability for the industry and establish the infrastructure for textile recycling. While the scheme is voluntary - the federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has flagged the industry may face regulation in 12 months' time - it encourages fashion businesses to embrace circularity and take responsibility for the full life cycle of a garment by making rental, resale and repair available for consumers.

This week, we take a look at four global fashion brands that have successfully integrated repair into their business models - and how they have navigated some trickier aspects like monetisation and garment collection.

Patagonia

Patagonia's Worn Wear program has been part of the outdoor brand's DNA since the 1970s. Worn Wear is an umbrella term for a variety of circular initiatives that include personal repair and care tools (including DIY kits and online tutorials), resale and repair services and an upcycled line of vests and bags.

A screengrab of a Patagonia video on how to fix zipper sliders. Photograph: Patagonia

Through the repair-and-resale program, customers can send back eligible items via post or in-store drop-off and receive a voucher for up to 50% of the resale price of the item. The repaired secondhand garments are then sold at a reduced price.

Currently, this scheme is only available in the United States. But when it comes to repairing Patagonia items, the company has 72 repair centres all over the world where items are mended free of charge or for a nominal fee. Corey Simpson, a communications manager for Patagonia, says, "last year we repaired 100,000 items, and we plan to grow that commitment over time".

The largest stand-alone repair centre is in Reno, Nevada, where Simpson says more than 115 full-time employees repair returned Patagonia items.

Nudie Jeans

Inside every Nudie Jeans store is a repair shop for worn and damaged denim from the Swedish label. The in-store repair program began on a "very small scale around 15 years ago" says Kevin Gelsi, Nudie Jeans' circular product manager. Back then, each store had a hemming machine to shorten jean-leg lengths but over time, staff used the machines to repair their own jeans and began offering the service to customers.

This became a "word-of-mouth attraction", says Gelsi, and as the repairs grew in popularity the label decided to make it "an official concept of its own".

A Nudie Jeans store in Gothenburg, Sweden, with an in-store repair service. Photograph: Ullstein Bild/Getty Images

Before long, Nudie Jeans stores also had darning machines to patch up denim; and in 2012 the brand introduced its Reuse take-back program, where customers were offered a 20% discount on a new pair of Nudies in exchange for their old, worn-out pair. The reclaimed jeans were resold, used for patches in repairs, or saved for recycling projects.

Today, the Reuse program has grown to include all Nudie garments, and the discount incentive can be used to purchase secondhand jeans. The numbers point to the program's success - in 2022, Nudie repaired 65,386 pairs of jeans, resold 3,984 pairs and collected 20,722 post-consumer jeans.

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Kathmandu

This year, New Zealand outdoor clothing brand Kathmandu launched Kathman-REDU, a program that takes faulty, returned or unsellable items and cleans, repairs and refurbishes them to sellable condition. The program launched in the Richmond and Galleria Kathmandu stores in Melbourne, with the intention to scale up over time.

Customers can donate their used or faulty Kathmandu items at 24 stores around Melbourne, and a portion of these donations will be repaired and resold. Photograph: Kathmandu

Aleasha McCallion from the Monash Sustainable Development Institute worked with Kathmandu to figure out exactly where along the supply chain there were "pockets of waste" that could instead be redirected to more profitable items. "None of their waste is directly going to landfill, but it's ending up in seconds and not actually being repaired. So, it might be sold at a discount because something's broken," she says. "This was really about taking a look at and maximising all of that potential."

In addition, the brand has a drop-off used clothing scheme in partnership with recycler Upparel. Clothing collection bins have been placed in 24 Kathmandu stores across Melbourne, and customers can donate their old, used or faulty Kathmandu gear. A portion of appropriate items from this initiative will be repaired and returned to retail as a part of the Kathman-REDU scheme.

Asket

In May, Swedish brand Asket opened a bricks-and-mortar retail store in Stockholm dedicated to the sale of reconditioned used garments.

Before committing to a permanent location, cofounders August Bard Bringéus and Jakob Sazon Dworsky ran a twelve-month takeback and repair program - including opening two pop-up retail spaces - to trial the concept. The response was so good they believed a permanent store could be financially viable. So far at the Stockholm store, they have collected some 2,000 worn garments and reconditioned 70% of them.

The Restore in Stockholm is dedicated to the sale of reconditioned used Asket garments. Photograph: Asket

Customers send pre-loved Asket garments through the mail; in exchange, they receive a voucher of up to €25, depending on the garment. The garments are then sent to Fabrikörerna, a partner factory on the west coast of Sweden, to be repaired for resale.

Currently Asket are searching for a solution for garments that are beyond restoration. "We are in discussion with local remake organisations and continue to look for viable recycling options with a focus on garments being used to create new yarn," say Bard Bringéus and Dworsky in a joint email response. "The intended solution would include using fabric scraps to remake into unique items or recycling the fabric."

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If it's broken, they fix it: four fashion brands that give their garments a second life

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From a word-of-mouth mending service to decades-old circular-fashion initiatives, meet four labels extending their garments' lives through repair programs

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Consider: How does it work? How can it help the environment while creating jobs?

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Recycling fashion: The town turning waste into clothes- BBC News

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Climate change 2021: definition, causes & top 10 solutions

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Climate change 2021: definition, causes & top 10 solutions

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Wind energy is a form of renewable energy, typically powered by the movement of wind across enormous fan-shaped structures called wind turbines. Once built, these turbines create no climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions, making this a "carbon-free" energy source that can provide electricity without making climate change worse. Wind energy is the third-largest source of carbon-free electricity in the world (after hydropower and nuclear) ¹ and the second-fastest-growing (after solar). ²

Cheap, clean energy

The major reason for wind energy's success is that it's cheap. In fact, the International Energy Agency estimates that an onshore wind farm built today will make electricity at a lower average cost than any other form of new-built energy. ³

We can thank recent advances in wind turbine technology, and economies of scale from its rapid growth, for this ultra-cheap energy. ⁴ Wind turbines aren't "pushed" like sails catching the wind: they actually work more like airplane wings, with blades shaped so that wind flows unequally fast above and below them. This creates an area of high pressure on one side and low pressure on the other, which "lifts" the blades toward the low-pressure area and makes them turn, powering a generator that makes electricity.

Over the past 40 years, turbine blades have become longer and lighter, letting them turn faster with less wind. Modern turbines also pivot automatically to catch the wind at the best angle. These and other advances have led the price of wind energy to fall almost 95% since 1980. ⁵

Wind energy is also remarkably clean, even compared to other types of carbon-free energy like solar and hydropower. Building new wind turbines does create some greenhouse gas emissions-from making the steel for their towers and fiberglass for their blades, and mining the rarer minerals sometimes used in their generators. But even factoring that in, a wind turbine creates only around a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions of a solar panel for every kilowatt of electricity, and only a little over 1% the greenhouse gas emissions of a coal-fired power plant. ⁶

And future innovations could make wind energy even cheaper and cleaner. Researchers are experimenting with new materials and construction techniques, as well as designs very different from the familiar "horizontal axis turbine" with its three blades rotating like a pinwheel. "Vertical axis turbines" spin instead like a carousel, while "airborne wind energy" looks more like a kite or plane tethered to a generator on the ground.

Wind power in the larger energy system

Wind energy is "variable": how much electricity it produces depends on how much wind is blowing. In any energy system that relies partly on wind, other energy sources have to be ramped up when winds are low. Energy storage (saving some energy for later when wind turbines are over-producing) and long-distance transmission (moving electricity from places with lots of wind to places with lots of demand) can help the energy system rely more heavily on wind power around the clock.

Wind energy also needs wide stretches of open space. The average wind turbine in the U.S. is around 300 feet tall, and its blades span a circle over 400 feet wide-longer than a football field. ⁷ These turbines are spaced far apart, sometimes by half a mile or more, so they won't compete for wind. If you include the entire area of a wind farm in its land footprint, wind farms can take up tens of thousands of acres and make less electricity per acre than any other energy source except bioenergy. ⁸

However, if you only include the land directly affected by the footprint of each turbine, wind power consumes much less land. Wind energy is unique in how easily it can share land with other uses. In the U.S., around 90% of wind turbines are built on cropland or rangeland for grazing animals, most of it actively used. ⁹ In this sense, wind energy "takes up" hardly any land at all.

Wind turbines can also be built offshore, sharing space with fishing and shipping. Offshore wind is more expensive than onshore wind, but it takes advantage of stronger, more consistent wind to provide reliable electricity, and is less visible to people living nearby. ¹⁰ For built-up coastal regions like the northeastern U.S., where energy demand is high and open land is scarce, offshore wind may be the best way to make clean, renewable energy at a large scale.
Published May 22, 2023.

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Wind energy is a form of carbon-free, renewable energy, which today makes electricity at a lower average cost than any other form of new-built energy.

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Jeremiah Mwaura, Research Scientist, MIT Organic and Nanostructured Electronics Laboratory

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Solar energy is a form of carbon-free, renewable energy, in which sunlight is turned into electricity, heat, or other forms of energy we can use.

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How to tackle the global deforestation crisis

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Vital forest is cleared every day, with major climate effects. Satellites have revolutionized measurement of the problem, but what can we do about it?

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Jennifer Morris, Research Scientist in the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change

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Renewable energy is energy from sources, like wind, solar, and hydropower, that we cannot run out of.

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Our 360 Approach to Stopping Rainforest Destruction

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We follow 3 strategies to fight rainforest destruction: boosting rural prosperity, improving supply chains, and influencing policy.

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Working to end deforestation and forest degradation while helping to restore lost forests is our best chance to solve the climate emergency, protect wildlife, and defend the rights of Indigenous Peoples and traditional local communities. That's why we are campaigning for more forests tomorrow than there are today. Greenpeace's forest campaign historically has called for an end to deforestation but our current climate emergency requires a genuine and just restoration of all natural ecosystems, and reduced degradation of the world's most critical landscapes.

The threats to nature vary from region to region. For example, in the tropics, agribusiness clears forests to make space for things like cattle ranching, palm oil, and soy plantations for animal feed. Demand for wood products can threaten forests around the world, whether it is for throw-away paper products or hardwood flooring.

In too many parts of the world, ineffective or corrupt governments make things worse by opening the door to illegal logging and other crimes.

Deforestation and degradation are complex problems. While there are no silver bullet solutions, these approaches can make a big difference to save our forests.

The Power of the Marketplace

If corporations have the power to destroy the world's forests, they also have the ability to help save them.

Companies can make an impact by introducing and implementing "zero deforestation" policies that clean up their supply chains. That means holding their suppliers accountable for producing commodities like timber, beef, soy, palm oil and paper in a way that does not fuel deforestation and has a minimal impact on our climate. Companies not only must make these policies but they must follow through on these promises, maximize the use of their sphere of influence, and collaborate with other like-minded institutions in their sectors, demanding suppliers transform the way our economy works so that nature is protected and human rights are respected.

Companies should set ambitious targets to maximize the use of recycled wood, pulp, paper and fiber in their products. For the non-recycled products they buy, they should ensure that any virgin fiber used has transparent, credible assurances that it was sourced in a legal way that respects principles of environmental and social responsibility. Third-party certification like the Forest Stewardship Council can be a starting point in evaluating sourcing. Greenpeace strongly advises against other weaker forest product certification schemes such as PEFC and SFI.

But these corporations haven't taken action on their own.

That's why we're investigating, exposing and confronting environmental abuse committed by corporations. Thanks to your actions, major companies are changing their ways and building solutions to protect jobs and our forests.

Standing with Indigenous Peoples

Forests around the world have been home to Indigenous Peoples for tens of thousands of years. Evidence shows that when Indigenous Peoples' rights to traditional lands and self-determination are respected, forests stay standing. But too often, corporations and governments overlook or intentionally trample the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

For example, the Waswanipi Cree of Northern Quebec are fighting to keep the last wild forests on their traditional land intact, and the Munduruku people of the Amazon are battling a proposed mega-dam that threatens rainforests, a river, and their way of life.

Promoting Sustainable Choices

You can make a difference in the fight to save forests by making informed daily choices. By consuming less, avoiding single-use packaging, eating sustainable food, and choosing recycled or responsibly-produced wood products, we can all be part of the movement to protect forests.

Make choices for forests, nature, and people - and do so vocally!

Changing the Politics

If we're going to stop deforestation, we need governments to do their part. We need world leaders to embrace ambitious domestic and international forest conservation policies based on the latest science, allowing us to live in a world that avoids severe climate disruption.

In the United States, laws like the Endangered Species Act, the Wilderness Act, the Lacey Act, and the Roadless Rule help protect our forests and stop illegal wood products from entering the U.S. marketplace. We also support global treaties like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Framework Convention on Climate Change that have the potential to protect forests and the wildlife that rely on forest habitats.

Take Action for a Deforestation-Free Future

If you're ready to join the movement to protect Forests, Wildlife, and Our Climate, here's how you can start:

Support efforts to amplify the voices of Indigenous Peoples and traditional forest communities.

Reduce your consumption of single-use products.

Demand that the forest-derived products you purchase are made from 100% post-consumer recycled content materials and when products are made from virgin forest, demand that the sourcing is done in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.

Make informed food choices. There is a myriad of reasons to adopt a plant-based diet or reducing your consumption of animal products including the protection of forests and nature.

Demand that companies commit to reduce deforestation through forest-friendly policies and follow through on those commitments.

Educate your friends, family, and community about how our everyday actions can impact forests around the world.

Demand that your governments only source forest commodities in a way that ensures the protection of nature and respects human rights.

Avoid false solutions like biofuels, biomass, or carbon offsets that rely on wishful thinking, yet in practice release more greenhouse gas emissions.

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Solutions to Deforestation - Greenpeace USA

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Working to end deforestation and forest degradation while helping to restore lost forests is our best chance to solve the climate emergency, protect wildlife, and defend the rights of Indigenous Peoples and traditional local communities. That's why we are campaigning for more forests tomorrow than there are today.

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10 Simple Ways To Help Prevent Deforestation | Eco-Friendly Lifestyle

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We've heard about how we're losing vast tracts of forests each year - for many reasons. We've also learned about the negative effects. Trees are a very important part of our biodiversity. It is vital to life on Earth. So how come we're killing them? How can we stop deforestation?

Tropical rainforests have more than 210 gigatons of carbon stored within its trees. When we cut them now, not only are we reducing our supplier of oxygen, we are releasing all that carbon in our atmosphere.

To date, more than 4.6 million hectares of forests have been cut down or burned - to supply our ever increasing demand for wood and land.

What is the Solution to Deforestation?

Deforestation is one of the most pressing environmental issues we face today, with vast tracts of forests disappearing at an alarming rate. It not only leads to the loss of habitat for countless species but also accelerates climate change due to the significant amounts of carbon dioxide stored in these ecosystems.

However, it's not an unsolvable problem. Each one of us can contribute to the solution. Below we have collected 15 practical ways that you can help stop deforestation and promote a more sustainable relationship with our planet's precious forests.

15 Practical Ways to Stop Deforestation

You can contribute to the efforts against deforestation by doing these easy steps:

1. Plant More Trees
Engage in tree-planting initiatives in your community or through global organizations.

2. Go Paperless
Reduce paper consumption by going digital at home and in the office. When you do need to print, use both sides of the paper.

3. Support Responsible Companies
Choose to support companies that are committed to reducing deforestation and use sustainable practices.

4. Buy Certified Wood Products
Opt for wood or paper products that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or similar organizations.

5. Buy and Use Responsibly
Consider your purchases carefully. Buy only what you need, and prioritize items with less packaging or reusable containers.

6. Avoid Palm Oil
Palm oil production contributes significantly to deforestation. Check labels and avoid products containing palm oil where possible.

7. Recycle and Buy Recycled Products
Support the recycling economy by buying recycled products and recycling them again after use.

8. Educate Others
Raise awareness about deforestation in your social circle and community. The more people know, the more they can help.

9. Support Sustainable Agriculture
Buy from local farmers who practice sustainable agriculture, helping to reduce the demand for deforested land.

10. Advocate for Forest Protection Policies
Support policies and politicians that prioritize forest conservation and responsible land use.

11. Support Indigenous Rights
Support Indigenous communities who often are excellent stewards of the forests they inhabit.

12. Offset Your Carbon Footprint
Consider supporting carbon offset programs that protect existing forests or plant new trees.

13. Reduce Meat Consumption
Livestock farming is a major cause of deforestation. Consider reducing your meat intake or choose products from sustainable farms.

14. Use Renewable Energy
Using renewable energy reduces the need for deforestation caused by mining and drilling.

15. Volunteer or Donate
Consider donating your time or money to organizations that work to prevent deforestation.

Remember, every action counts. By making informed choices, we can contribute to preserving our forests and securing the future of our planet. And remember... every product that is made out of trees is Recyclable. So practice recycling diligently.

Your power as a consumer is vital to stopping deforestation. Just like any business, if there's no demand the supply will be lessened. Fortunately, there are environmentally and forest friendly businesses that are helping to stop deforestation. They need your support. Let's encourage their efforts by patronizing their products.

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Fast Fashion: Demim Recycling in Pakistan 

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Fast Fashion: Demim Recycling in Pakistan 

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Consider: How do these factories work? What are the signs that this is in demand and that the technology is advancing/could be worth investing in?

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How Millions Of Jeans Get Recycled Into New Pairs

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What California’s first-in-the-nation clothing recycling law means for the state

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Senate Bill 707 will require textile and apparel companies to address waste and create options for recycling unwanted items.

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Explore efficient ways to reduce landfill waste, including composting and sustainable consumption, to combat climate change.( scroll to approx. pgs 2-3)

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Every year, an estimated 11.2 billion tonnes of solid waste is collected worldwide. This alone contributes to about 5% of global GHG emissions. -In this article, you will learn about what landfills are, how they have become critical issues in the fight against climate change, and efficient ways to minimise landfill waste.
Why Are Landfills A Problem?

Landfills are a system of trash and garbage disposal in which the waste is buried between layers of earth. They are built in a way that makes it possible for them to hold a wide range of waste, from manufacturing and construction waste to agriculture waste.

Waste that ends up in landfills comes from a myriad of different sources, including households, workplaces, factories, and hospitals. The demand for the production of goods is directly linked to population growth and urbanisation, which in turn increases the need for larger landfills to hold the expanding amount of waste.

What Happens When Landfills Are Full?

Around 11.2 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste are expected to be produced annually worldwide, according to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). That much waste would be enough to fill more than 800,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Countries like the United States are now forced to find alternate methods of disposing of their waste because China , Thailand , Vietnam, and Malaysia - which used to be the dumping ground for foreign nations' trash - have all enacted bans on the import of waste from other countries.

A sizeable fraction of that waste is currently burned. In the process, toxic gases, including nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxides, are released into the atmosphere. The amount of particulate matter in the atmosphere is also increased as a result of this practice. Besides contributing significantly to emissions and thus global warming, these compounds also have the potential to be seriously harmful to the public's health.

How Can We Reduce Landfill Waste?

Instead of purchasing beverages in single-use plastic bottles, choose reusable containers.

Cut back on purchases: the fewer products you buy, the less waste you produce.

Reusing things reduces waste and offers the chance to make financial savings by saving money on supplies and conserving natural resources which can later be used.

Invest in products that use recycled materials to contribute to environmental improvement.

Greener, more natural cleaning agents like vinegar and baking soda reduce waste produced by the countless cleaning product containers and are also better for the environment.

Recycle . By adopting recycling processes the wastes can be minimised, as recycling is connected with pre-loved items and gives them second life.

Compost. Organic wastes, like yard and food waste, make up to 25 to 50% of overall waste. You may not be able to compost all of it but a significant amount can help you with the landfill's waste.

Discuss the advantages of lowering the amount of solid waste created with other residents of your neighbourhood and learn more about the garbage and recycling policies that your community has in place.

Your behaviour ought to be an example for others. People may want to duplicate your accomplishments if they see that you are making a difference.

Conclusion

To solve the landfill's problem, Recycle Technologies Inc . provides the best services by having a mail-in program where you can recycle your waste with complete confidentiality. Recycling is one way to lessen the quantity of waste dumped in landfills, but it is not the only approach that can be used in this regard.
Featured image: EO Photographer Rayham Ahmed. If you want to learn more about ways to reduce your waste, check out this article next: Solution for Plastic Pollution: 6 Policies and Innovations Tackling Plastics
You can also reuse the product you already have like shopping bags, scrap paper, etc. Each scrap paper you produce should also be saved, so you can later compile it into a new notepad. Both printing on both sides of the page and printing on both sides of the sheet are additional options. Try to purchase things that have already been recycled, and compost any leftover food or yard waste that you may have.

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Landfill Waste: What Can We Do to Minimise It? | Earth.Org

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In this article, you will learn about what landfills are, how they have become critical issues in the fight against climate change, and efficient ways to minimise landfill waste.

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Understand how adopting zero waste practices can significantly cut methane emissions from landfills, highlighting the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling.

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Zero Waste Is a Climate Change Solution - Eco-Cycle

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Zero Waste is one of the fastest, easiest, most cost-effective short-term climate solutions.

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Food Waste and Climate Change: A Critical Connection for a Sustainable Future

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Food Waste and Climate Change: A Critical Connection for a Sustainable Future

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Food Waste and Climate Change: A Critical Connection for a Sustainable Future - Population Education

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The United Nations reported that 1 billion tons of the food available to humans worldwide ends up in landfills each... Read more »

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How High School Student, Ella Diamond, Took Action to Reduce Food Waste in Her Community

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How High School Student, Ella Diamond, Took Action to Reduce Food Waste in Her Community

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Read about Ella Diamond, a high school student who initiated a program connecting local restaurants with food rescue organizations, effectively reducing food waste and its associated methane emissions.​

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How High School Student, Ella Diamond, Took Action to Reduce Food Waste in Her Community - Robin Greenfield

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Young activist Ella Diamond organized a community program reallocating food waste from local restaurants to those in need.

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Creating RootPipes: A New Sustainable Landfill Design that Lowers Methane Emissions

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Creating RootPipes: A New Sustainable Landfill Design that Lowers Methane Emissions

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Discover how a student utilized biomimicry, drawing inspiration from mangrove roots, to design "RootPipes." These pipes aim to capture methane gas more effectively in landfills, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.​

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Creating RootPipes: A New Sustainable Landfill Design that Lowers Methane Emissions - Ten Strands

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Greenhouse gas emissions are a leading cause of climate change, and one youth has a solution. Meet Kennesha Garg, a senior at American High School in San Francisco, who developed a system—RootPipes—that uses pipes to more effectively remove gasses from landfills and ultimately create a safer world.

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UK first as bacteria turn Western Isles’ waste into fuel

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UK first as bacteria turn Western Isles’ waste into fuel

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Local council has signed an eight-year deal with a biotech firm to recycle waste from Uist and Barra rather than sending it to landfill

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To get to zero-waste, hundreds of European cities are spurning incineration

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To get to zero-waste, hundreds of European cities are spurning incineration

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Nearly 500 European cities are moving away from incineration towards zero-waste strategies, focusing on waste segregation, recycling, and composting. Cities like Milan have achieved significant reductions in landfill use and greenhouse gas emissions through these efforts.

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To get to zero-waste, hundreds of European cities are spurning incineration

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In 2010, local authorities in Milan were preparing the ground for the city’s second big incinerator, designed to turn waste into energy and deal with the city’s trash problem at the same time. But a change of mayor saw the city take a different course: the authorities listened to campaigners and opted for an organic waste collection service instead.

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Energy Digital: Fuel Alchemy – Plastic to Oil

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Energy Digital: Fuel Alchemy – Plastic to Oil

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This article discusses how thermal depolymerization can convert plastic waste back into oil, which can then be used as fuel. It highlights innovative efforts, such as a Japanese company's initiative to educate children in impoverished nations on utilizing this technology to manage plastic waste and generate energy.

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Written by Heather Rushworth The days of dumping trash into overcrowded landfills may be over. Just as you would not dump gold, diamonds, or hundred…

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How Waste Plastic is Converted into Fuel | Karthi Explains

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How Waste Plastic is Converted into Fuel | Karthi Explains

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This educational video demonstrates the process of converting waste plastic into usable fuel through pyrolysis, a form of thermal depolymerization. It's a visual guide that simplifies the concept for better understanding.​

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How Waste Plastic is Converted into Fuel | Plastic Pyrolysis | Karthi Explains

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Cars, trucks, airplanes, and other kinds of vehicles are responsible for about one-third of the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Smart transportation choices can make a big impact on reducing emissions.

Walk, bike, skateboard, rollerblade, or take a bus to school. Just make sure to stay safe. Ask your school to get involved in the Safe Routes to School program. This program has lots of tips for students and their families, like forming "walking school buses" led by one or two adults.

Give the car a break. Encourage your family to make one big trip to run all their errands at once, instead of making lots of small trips. Consider sharing rides with others, and use public transportation like buses or trains whenever you can.

Use your buying power. When it's time to buy a new car, help your family choose one that's fuel-efficient or electric. You'll use less gas, reduce emissions, and save money. Learn more. (Alternative version)

Clean up the bus. Through EPA's Clean School Bus USA program, schools can replace or upgrade older buses so they are more fuel-efficient or run on cleaner fuels.

Don't be idle. Your school bus idles when the engine is running but the bus isn't moving-for example, when your bus driver is waiting to pick you up after school. Running the engine burns fuel, which not only wastes gasoline, but also produces greenhouse gases and other kinds of air pollution. Learn more. (Alternative version)

How Does Your Car Compare?

You and your family can find out how your car compares with other cars and how many tons of carbon dioxide your car produces each year. Just visit www.fueleconomy.gov and select your car's year and model.

Some of the most fuel-efficient cars on the market are hybrids, which means they run on a combination of gasoline and battery power. Cars that run completely on electricity are also becoming more common.

You Can Help Reduce Idling

1. Talk with school officials and bus drivers about reducing school bus idling.

2. Ask school officials to post "no idling" signs.

3. Remind your family not to idle your own car.

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Cars, trucks, airplanes, and other kinds of vehicles are responsible for about one-third of the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Smart transportation choices can make a big impact on reducing emissions. Walk, bike, skateboard, rollerblade, or take a bus to school. Just make sure to stay safe.

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What You Can Do to Reduce Pollution from Vehicles and Engines

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What You Can Do to Reduce Pollution from Vehicles and Engines

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Drive Less

Fewer miles driven means fewer emissions.

Follow these tips to reduce the time you spend driving:

1. Walk or bike when you can.

2. Use the bike-share programs if your city or town has them.

3. Take public transit when possible.

4. Carpool with friends instead of driving alone.

5. Use ride-sharing services.

6. Plan ahead to make the most of your trips and "trip chain." If your grocery store is near other places you need to visit, do it all at once.

7. Work from home periodically if your job allows it.

Drive Wise

The way we drive can reduce emissions from our vehicles.

Follow these tips to effectively reduce emissions, drive more safely, and save money on fuel costs all at the same time:

1. Drive efficiently - go easy on the gas pedal and brakes.

2. Maintain your car - get regular tune-ups, follow the manufacturer's maintenance schedule, and use the recommended motor oil.

Choose Fuel Efficient Vehicles

When shopping for a new car, look for fuel efficient vehicles with low greenhouse gas emissions. These cars can help the environment while potentially saving you money on fuel costs at the pump. Follow these tips:

1. Use EPA's Green Vehicle Guideto learn about vehicles that are more efficient and less polluting, including:

Electric vehicles;

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles;

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles; and

Cleaner burning gasoline vehicles.

2. Use the EPA's Fuel Economy and Environment Label to compare different vehicle models and find the most fuel efficient and environmentally friendly vehicle that meets your needs. This information is also available on the joint DOE and EPA website fuel economy.gov.

Don't Idle

Unnecessary idling of cars, trucks, and school buses pollutes the air, wastes fuel, and causes excess engine wear. Modern vehicles do not require "warming up" in the winter, so there is no need to turn on the engine until you are ready to drive.

Reducing idling from diesel school buses prevents children from being exposed to diesel exhaust, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and saves money on fuel . EPA's Clean School Bus Program includes information and resources that can help you reduce school bus idling in your community.

Optimize Home Deliveries

When getting home deliveries or shopping online, consider asking to have all your packages sent in one shipment and with minimal packaging. For scheduled home deliveries, try to be flexible by choosing longer time windows so delivery trucks can optimize their routes and avoid extra trips.

Use Efficient Lawn and Gardening Equipment

Gas-powered engines in lawn and garden equipment emit significant amounts of pollutants.

Follow these tips to reduce the impact of your landscaping:

1. Use a manual (reel) mower for small lawns.

2. When shopping for mowers and garden equipment, look for new technologies such as electric and battery-powered machines that are quieter and pollute less than gas-powered ones.

3. Properly maintain lawn and garden equipment - tune mowers and change the oil as needed.

4. If you are purchasing commercial grade landscaping machinery, a number of products are now available with advanced emissions reduction technologies including catalysts and electronic fuel injection that result in significantly less pollution.

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What You Can Do to Reduce Pollution from Vehicles and Engines | US EPA

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Follow these tips to reduce pollution from vehicles and engines.

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Driving to a Stable Climate: The Pathway to Reducing Emissions From Transportation

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Driving to a Stable Climate: The Pathway to Reducing Emissions From Transportation

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Driving to a Stable Climate: The Pathway to Reducing Emissions From Transportation

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The Paris climate targets require greatly reducing US global warming emissions from all sectors of the economy to reach or even surpass net zero emissions. Reducing emissions from transportation is critical to this goal since the United States transportation sector has now become a larger source of

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5 Shifts to Transform Transportation Systems and Meet Climate Goals

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5 Shifts to Transform Transportation Systems and Meet Climate Goals

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5 Shifts to Transform Transportation Systems and Meet Climate Goals

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To achieve global systematic change, there’s an urgent need for modern public transport systems to integrate clean fuel options with infrastructure that promotes safe mobility.

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Planes, Trains and (Big) Automobiles: How Heavy Transport Can Reduce Emissions and Save Money

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Planes, Trains and (Big) Automobiles: How Heavy Transport Can Reduce Emissions and Save Money

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Planes, Trains and (Big) Automobiles: How Heavy Transport Can Reduce Emissions and Save Money

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Climate experts have long considered heavy transportation one of the hardest parts of the economy to clean up. But new research shows that trucking, shipping and aviation can in fact become carbon-neutral, at very low cost.

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Ways to reduce livestock methane emissions

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Ways to reduce livestock methane emissions

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Farmers turn to seaweed in attempt to reduce methane emissions from livestock

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Reducing the impact of livestock through grazing & diet

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Reducing the impact of livestock through grazing & diet

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Hamburgers are hard on the planet. These cattle ranchers are trying to change that | CNN Business

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Scientists have pointed to beef as one major culprit in climate change. But that doesn't mean all burgers are created equal.

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Cattle and seedweed diet studies--the challenges & effectiveness 

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Cattle and seedweed diet studies--the challenges & effectiveness 

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Quick Summary

First-Ever Study To Test Seaweed on Grazing Cattle

Reducing Methane Emissions in Grazing Cattle More Difficult Than Feedlot or Dairy Cows

Nearly 40% Reduction in Methane Emissions Plays Role in Fighting Climate Change

Seaweed is once again showing promise for making cattle farming more sustainable. A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that feeding grazing beef cattle a seaweed supplement in pellet form reduced their methane emissions by almost 40% without affecting their health or weight. The study was published today (Dec. 2) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This is the first study to test seaweed on grazing beef cattle in the world. It follows previous studies that showed seaweed cut methane emissions 82% in feedlot cattle and over 50% in dairy cows.

How much methane do cattle produce?

Livestock account for 12% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with the largest portion coming from methane that cattle release when they burp. Grazing cattle also produce more methane than feedlot cattle or dairy cows because they eat more fiber from grass. In the U.S., there are 9 million dairy cows and over 64 million beef cattle.

"Beef cattle spend only about three months in feedlots and spend most of their lives grazing on pasture and producing methane," said senior author Ermias Kebreab, professor in the Department of Animal Science. "We need to make this seaweed additive or any feed additive more accessible to grazing cattle to make cattle farming more sustainable while meeting the global demand for meat."

Difficulty in reducing methane emissions from cattle

Kebreab said that daily feeding of pasture-based cattle is more difficult than feedlot or dairy cows because they often graze far from ranches for long periods. However, during the winter or when grass is scarce, ranchers often supplement their diet.

For this study, researchers divided 24 beef steers (a mix of Angus and Wagyu breeds) into two groups: one received the seaweed supplement, and the other did not. Researchers conducted the 10-week experiment at a ranch in Dillon, Montana. Since these were grazing cattle, they ate the supplement voluntarily, which still resulted in a nearly 40% cut in emissions.

Most research studies to reduce methane emissions using feed additives have taken place in controlled environments with daily supplements. But Kebreab noted in the study that fewer than half of those methods are effective for grazing cattle.

"This method paves the way to make a seaweed supplement easily available to grazing animals," said Kebreab. "Ranchers could even introduce the seaweed through a lick block for their cattle."

Kebreab said pastoral farming, which includes large grazing systems, supports millions of people around the world, often in areas vulnerable to climate change. This study suggests a way to make cattle grazing better for the environment, while playing a role in fighting climate change.

A related article in the same PNAS issue highlights the need to improve the efficiency of livestock production in low- and middle-income countries using better genetics, feeding and health practices. UC Davis Professor and Cooperative Extension Specialist Alison Van Eenennaam, the article's author, said it is the most promising approach to meet the global demand for meat while limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

Other authors of the seaweed study include UC Davis postdoctoral researchers Paulo de Méo Filho and John-Fredy Ramirez-Agudelo.

The research was supported by Matador Ranch in Dillon, Montana.

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Feeding Grazing Cattle Seaweed Cuts Methane Emissions by Almost 40%

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Scientists find making a seaweed additive more accessible to grazing cattle would make cattle farming more sustainable while meeting global demand for meat.

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Breeding Practices & the possibility of fines

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Breeding Practices & the possibility of fines

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The climate-friendly cows bred to belch less methane

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A Canadian dairy farmer’s calves will be among the first to be bred with a specific environmental goal: burping less methane.

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How a ‘cow fart’ vaccine could help tackle climate change | CNN

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Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and cows are a major source of it. A group of scientists is developing a proof of concept for a vaccine that would curb methane emissions in cattle.

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Single use plastics: Plastic Bag Policies in the US So Far

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Single use plastics: Plastic Bag Policies in the US So Far

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Mapping the Nation's Mixed Bag on Plastic Bans

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To curb plastic pollution, some states have banned plastic bags, while others have outlawed antiplastic legislation. See a U.S. map.

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Single Use Plastics: Returnable food containers? 

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Single Use Plastics: Returnable food containers? 

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Can returnable containers reduce takeout waste in B.C.? | CBC News

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There’s a a growing trend in Vancouver in which businesses offer food and beverage in returnable containers.

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Single Use Plastics: What Washington State is Doing...

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Single Use Plastics: What Washington State is Doing...

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Thirty-five companies were fined a combined total of $416,554 for not complying with Washington's recycled content law. The plastic producers did not include enough recycled material in trash bags and beverage containers covered under the law.

These are the first penalties issued under a 2021 state law aimed at reducing waste and pollution from plastics.

The penalties were based on the amount of plastic each company sold in Washington, and how far from the recycled content requirements they were. Fines ranged from $39 to $67,196.

The Washington Department of Ecology is responsible for implementing the law. It began registering producers and accepting annual fee payments in 2022. Minimum recycled content requirements took effect for several types of products covered under the law in January 2023. Companies that produce plastic trash bags were required to include a minimum of 10% recycled content. Beverage container producers had to include at least 15% recycled content.

Of the 128 companies that were required to meet recycled content requirements, 93 met or exceeded those benchmarks. Ecology registered 310 producers in total, but 182 have low enough revenue or sell a low enough weight of plastic that they are exempt from the requirements.

"Most producers see the value in using recycled content in their products," said Peter Lyon, Ecology's solid waste program manager. "We need to continue working together to improve our recycling system and reduce the pollution and contamination that come from producing new plastic."

More companies will be required to meet these standards in the coming years as the law expands to cover a wider range of products, and as requirements for recycled content increase. By 2036, Washington's law will cover packaging for many types of common consumer products and require a minimum of 50% recycled content for most of them.

Under the 2021 law, plastic packaging producers are required to report the weight of both new and recycled plastic sold in Washington. Producers that fell short of the recycled content requirements were issued penalties.

Two producers that were issued penalties, Admiral Beverage Corporation and Lassonde Pappas, requested and received corrective action plans. Half their fines were suspended in exchange for a plan to achieve future compliance. All producers were offered this option, and five remain eligible: CAB Enterprises, Inc., Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc., Jim Beam Brands, Langer Juice Company, Inc, and Premier Nutrition Company, LLC.

Companies and penalty amounts

Admiral Beverage Corporation - $4,630

Albertsons Companies - $41,954

Angelcare USA - $44

Arcadia Farms, LLC - $1,229

Arizona Beverages USA - $6,391

CAB Enterprises, Inc. (Electrolit USA) - $1,895

Chobani, LLC - $39

Danone US LLC - $6,285

Del Monte Foods, Inc. - $243

good2grow, LLC - $2,953

Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. - $15,525

Herbalife International of America, Inc. - $91

HP Hood, LLC - $6,681

Jim Beam Brands Co. / Suntory Global Spirits, Inc. - $4,220

Johanna Beverage - $63

Kraft Heinz Foods Company - $3,697

KSF Acquisition Corp. - $24,582

Langer Juice Company, Inc. - $11,530

Lassonde Pappas and Company, Inc. - $5,646

Milo's Tea Company, Inc. - $5,644

Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. - $53,568

Premier Nutrition Company, LLC - $2,341

Richardson Bottling Company (Mountain Mist) - $1,658

Sazerac Company, Inc. - $32,758

Soylent Nutrition, Inc. - $505

Talking Rain Beverage Company, Inc. - $59,831

The Clorox Company - $67,196

The Kroger Co. - $9,021

Topco Associates, LLC - $2,098

Trader Joe's - $2,381

Tradin Organic - $3,275

Tree Top, Inc. - $20,333

Uline, Inc. - $14,991

Walgreen Co. - $1,206

Welch Foods, Inc., A Cooperative - $2,050

150 million pounds of plastic

According to data from 2023, more than 150 million pounds of plastic were used in trash bags and beverage containers covered under Washington's plastics law. About 24% of that total - or 36 million pounds - was recycled material. The remaining 76% was virgin plastic.

Pay or appeal fines

Companies must pay their fines within 30 days or appeal them to Washington's Pollution Control Hearings Board. Ecology will then conduct audits to identify additional producers that may have failed to meet registration or reporting requirements.

The agency believes there may be hundreds of plastic producers that fall under this law who have not registered their products. Companies that produce plastic containers are encouraged to review the public producer list, register if necessary, and contact Ecology for more information.

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Ecology fines 35 plastic producers $416,000 for not using enough recycled plastic

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416,000 in penalties handed to plastic producers that did not comply with recycled content law

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Single Use Plastics: Plastic bag bans can backfire if not done right...read about it and see what CA might do next.

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Single Use Plastics: Plastic bag bans can backfire if not done right...read about it and see what CA might do next.

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The idea is simple: Reduce plastic waste by requiring shoppers to bring their own reusable bags.

The reality is messy. Plastic bag bans have spread across the nation, but some data suggests that switching to more durable, multi-use bags creates some new problems - and in some cases means more, not less, plastic being used.

Given how few single-use plastic bags are recycled - just 13% - cutting plastic bag use could have a big environmental impact.

Now the nation is split on what to do: Strengthen bans or oppose them entirely. Some areas are closing loopholes and making rules stricter - Last week legislation was introduced in California to double down on bans. Meanwhile, 20 states have banned the bans.

What prompted plastic bag bans in the first place?

It's all about a fight over plastic pollution, a problem that's grown to epic proportions since the 1950s.

Thin, single-use plastic bags were first developed in the 1960s in Europe. They only appeared in U.S. grocery stores in 1979, edging out paper bags because they were significantly cheaper for grocers. By the 2000s they were everywhere, including in the landscape, harming marine animals when they got in waterways.

Every material has an environmental impact but plastic is especially problematic, said Shelie Miller, professor of sustainable systems at the School for Environment Sustainability at the University of Michigan.

"It doesn't break down in the environment and can cause significant ecological damage," she said.

"When a plastic bag escapes into the environment, animals can see it as a food source and ingest it, it can cause entrapment and entanglement and there's lots of questions about microplastics in the environment," she said.

Concerned about the growing plastic pollution problem, the first non-compostable plastic bag ban went into effect in San Francisco in 2007. A California-wide law followed in 2016.

By 2023, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington all had some form of statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. Colorado and Rhode Island were added to the list this year. About 500 cities and towns also have ordinances.

But there has been a backlash as well. As many as 20 states have passed laws banning any plastic bag bans at all, under the argument that they preempt local control. The conservative American Legislative Exchange Council created a model bill for preemptively banning such bans in 2015.

Bans work, but not perfectly

Where they're in place, the bans typically help but aren't as successful as proponents had hoped, in part because of compromises written into the laws to make them palatable to shoppers and the plastics industry.

Which isn't to say they don't work. Areas with bans can eliminate almost 300 single-use plastic bags per person per year according to a study released last month by Environment America.

According to the report, bans in five states and cities covering 12 million people have cut single-use plastic bag consumption by about 6 billion bags per year.

In the six months after California passed its bag ban, which ended handing out thin plastic bags for free and required grocers to charge for paper and thicker plastic bags, there was an 85% reduction in the number of plastic bags to customers and 61% in paper bags, according to a 2019 report to the legislature on the program.

But the bans haven't entirely dealt with the problem. In some places with bans, the amount of plastic bag waste is actually increasing.

In California for example, this happens because of what politicians are calling a "loophole" in the original bill, which allowed the sale of thicker, reusable plastic bags at the checkout stand.

"The plastics industry has figured out a way of producing and selling bags in places where there are these bans," said Celeste Meiffren-Swango. She is co-author of an Environment America report on plastic bag bans published last month.

What seems to happen is that many consumers simply treat the thicker bags, which were designed to be reused, as just as disposable as the thin film bags that were available before.

A bag that's double the weight "has double the impact, unless it is reused more times or used to carry more goods," a major United Nations environmental report on plastic bags noted.

In New Jersey, a study funded by plastic bag manufacturers found that while the number of single-use plastic bags sold declined by 60% after a bag ban went into effect in 2015, the number of alternative plastic bags, including the stiffer rectangular kind with handles that are often sold at grocery stores at checkout now, increased.

The same thing has happened in California. The year its bag ban was passed, Californians threw away 157,385 tons of plastic bags. In 2022 that had increased to 231,072 tons, according to the report.

A new California law, proposed last week, would eliminate the option of getting the thicker, theoretically renewable, bags at stores. Instead, stores can sell 100% recycled plastic bags or let consumers use reusable bags.

Is that reusable bag good for the planet? Depends on how many times you reuse it.

Research by the United Nations Environment Program shows that simply reusing bags enough times significantly lowers their environmental impact.

It doesn't take a lot. "If a bag is used for shopping twice instead of once, it has only half the environmental impact per shopping round," the UN report said.

"We want customers to buy a set of reusable bags and just use them until they fall apart," said Miller.

Sometimes you don't need a bag at all, said Meiffren-Swango.

"If I stop in at the grocery store and forgot my reusable bags, which I'll admit happens relatively often, and I'm just grabbing a few things, I'll say no bag for me and just carry my groceries to my car," she said. "I've even heard of people who take their grocery cart to their car and put them in the trunk."

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Plastic bag bans have spread across the country. Sometimes they backfire.

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Plastic bag bans have spread across the nation, but data in some area finds that switching to more durable, multi-use bags creates some new problems.

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Single Use Plastics: What Starbucks Does Differently...

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Single Use Plastics: What Starbucks Does Differently...

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Wow!  Making solar projects cheaper and faster!  (With robots...)

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Wow!  Making solar projects cheaper and faster!  (With robots...)

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Making solar projects cheaper and faster with portable factories

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Charge Robotics, founded by MIT alumni, has created a system that automatically assembles and installs completed sections of large solar farms.

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Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power: Sign into Newsela

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Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power: Sign into Newsela

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Newsela | PRO/CON: The world’s getting warmer, can nuclear power help us?

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Using nuclear energy against climate change

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Government Subsidies for Electric Cars - sign into newsela

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Government Subsidies for Electric Cars - sign into newsela

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PRO/CON: Should the electric-car industry get U.S. subsidies?

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Two writers give their own opinions on the matter.

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The Science of the City: Composting, the fertile solution to food waste

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This story by MIT Environmental Solutions Journalism Fellow Paul Ruffins was originally published in Streetcar Suburbs News, where it appears with additional photos. It is the second in a series of articles exploring landfills, food waste, and methane emissions in Prince George’s County and neighboring jurisdictions.

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Offshore wind farms are spreading around the globe. But how much do we know about how they affect the ecosystems beneath them?