As negotiators meet this week for the fourth round of global plastics treaty talks, scientists warn that both plant-based and petroleum-based plastics are toxic, with both needing tough regulation to protect public health.
The concrete industry is a major carbon emitter and polluter, with severe human health impacts. But circular solutions, including electrifying cement plants, making low-carbon cement, and bio-architecture could offer relief.
While four-wheeled EVs get most of the media attention, electric bicycles are an economical, environmentally friendly mode of transportation being chosen by millions of consumers, commuters and businesses the world over. But barriers exist.
It’s estimated that we drink around 5 billion cups of tea every day. Producing this vast quantity of leaves to quench global thirst for black, green and other varieties is…
Historically, the leather industry has created large amounts of pollution and waste, while using huge amounts of water. But some companies are cleaning up their act, even as synthetic and biobased alternatives multiply.
SYDNEY — As the world struggles to contain plastic pollution, eco-friendly alternatives to plastics have garnered attention in recent years. One example: Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a naturally occurring bio-based polymer, have…
In 2016, Finland became the first country in the world to adopt a national circular economy road map, with the ambition to become a world leader in moving away from…
Ever since tires were invented, they have rolled into our lives and changed the way we live. From cushioning wheels, one of humanity’s greatest inventions, to moving us around safely,…
Scientists have found many plastics are toxic, but activists say two ubiquitous polymers are the worst of all: polystyrene and PVC. Some are calling for not only a national ban on these two, but for a global ban enshrined in a plastics treaty.
As oil and gas production surge, shifting the global economy to a circular model is essential to charting a path away from fossil fuels, petroleum-based nitrogen fertilizers and petrochemicals such as plastics. Part 3 of a three-part miniseries.
La Guajira, COLOMBIA — On Oct. 9, Colombia’s first wind farm, Jepírachi, officially reached its end of life after running for almost two decades in Uribia, in the northeastern region…
The construction industry, with its intensive use of cement, is a climate killer. But an innovator in Mexico has found one solution: combining traditional adobe construction in a state-of-the art solar-powered public building.
What can corporations learn from the mistakes of traditional capitalism? Can profit models place the interests of the environment and the public first? Beth Thoren, the environmental action and initiatives…
From spiderweb-inspired shampoo to a hotel whose architecture is based on the thermal properties of toucan beaks, scientists and companies in Brazil are betting on nature’s intelligence to create innovative solutions that reduce impacts on the planet.
Local forest managers in southeastern Mexico are sounding the alarm that their livelihoods are under threat, as companies press for access to the region’s gold, silver and other minerals. “They…
SINGAPORE — The Philippines goes through more than 200 million pieces of single-use plastic each day, lending a real urgency to government efforts to adopt a consumption model that prioritizes…
