Sometimes, new products get invented by accident. Potato chips, for example. The microwave, the ink jet printer, and the implantable pacemaker are on the list. My personal favorite involves scientists searching for a powerful new adhesive that could be used to glue airplanes together. They failed miserably and created one of the weakest adhesives ever
The coastline of Kenya has been a hotspot for tourism and fishing activities for a quite a while now — with the region also being home to fair numbers of sea turtles. Recent years, though, have made the region home to significant quantities of plastic trash and debris — much of which eventually washes into
Micro plastics are now present in large quantity in essentially all of the world’s water. As a result, they are also present in a fast-growing proportion of the world’s drinking water and food as well. To quantify that to some degree — previous studies have found micro plastic pollution in mussels (a type of shellfish)
The Danish startup POND has found a way to replace traditional resin in different materials with biodegradable resin. They are at least 95 % biobased and fully degradable in nature. They are suitable to bind all natural fibers such as flax, hemp, pineapple, palm leaves, and cotton resulting in making fully biodegradable products. (Image credit: pond.global)
Plastics are everywhere. It’s gotten to the point where pretty much anywhere you go, anything you do, you’re life is notably influenced by plastic — micro plastic is in the soil you’re standing on, the water you drink, and the food you eat. And, it’ll still be there long after your gone. So what effect
Nearly 60% of all seabird species have plastic in their guts, according to new research findings published in the journal PNAS. The research, which utilized a number of published studies dating back to the early 60s, found a broad trend of rapid increase in seabird exposure to plastic pollution — in 1960 plastic was found
Originally published on InspiredEconomist.com The world’s oceans are vast, floating dumps for plastic pollution. Without a serious plan for cleaning up the world’s oceans, this situation is dire and becoming worse every day. With a goal of retrieving and recycling 400,000 flip flops a year from the coast of Kenya, one small start-up in Nairobi
Some good news for the world’s forests: assurance that along the entire supply chain, products from Tetra Pak, the world’s leading food processing and packaging company, support forest management with environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable practices. The company produces tetrahedron-shaped paper cartons coated with plastic. Last October, the Swedish corporation launched what’s believed to be the
Where did that octopus emerge from? (Gallo TED talk) Having recently visited Fabien Cousteau’s Mission 31 under the sea and a water creature from long ago (Lyrarapax unguispinus), we thought it might interest you to revisit what’s hiding deep in the oceans today. For this, we turn to a classic video from oceanographer David Gallo: “Underwater
Underwater habitat at Aquarius Reef Base (photo provided to Flickr courtesy of Stephen Frink, www.stephenfrink.com/) On July 2, 2014, ocean scientists who have spent the last 31 days living in an ocean-floor habitat 63 feet underwater will decompress and return to the surface. They’ve been down there on “Mission 31” intensively studying ocean acidification and climate
Fabien Cousteau, ocean explorer and grandson of famed Jacques-Yves Cousteau, began a historic subsea mission on Sunday. He’s studying ocean impacts of climate change (especially acidification, which occurs as the sea absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide), effects of plastic and other pollution on marine life, and overfishing of marine resources, which diminishes the ocean’s biodiversity. You
Building on yesterday’s post from GatesNotes (Bill’s official blog) about killer mosquitoes, and our previous stories about deadly sharks and deadlier humans, here’s a visual statement about Earth’s real #1 predator—plastic. This predator is not living now, but it used to be, and it’s multiplying. Thanks to The Unbounded Spirit via the Sierra Club on
In this day and age, it is important to recycle as much as you can. With the entire environment being affected by mass pollution, we need to do all that we can to save our planet. Plastic has not been around very long. But it’s already causing huge problems in our oceans and on land.
More on Plastic Bags Plastic Bag Ban Community Page – Changing The World Together, One Bag at a Time What are the Pros and Cons of Banning Plastic Bags? Life Cycle of Plastic Bag (Infographic) Our ‘Toxic’ Love-Hate Relationship With Plastics Joe’s cartoon archive, twitter ramblings and StumbleUpon page…
Here’s an interesting infographic that a friend of the site passed along. As the title indicates it’s on the life cycle of a plastic bag: Source: Factor Direct Promos
Companies are consistently trying to churn out new, green materials to help us save the world (or stop destroying it). However, one material that has been around for ages is already super green — burlap — and it seems to be coming back into fashion a bit. Burlap is 100% biodegradable and comes from
It is certainly both odd as well as obvious to claim that plastic bags do not have deep inner thoughts. They do not cherish, yearn, regret, or hope. They have no mothers, friends, or soul mates, and they certainly do not have existential crises. Despite all of this, the SnagFilms documentary Plastic Bag highlights
Where does trash really go? A common misconception is that if we simply throw something away, then it will magically go to a place where we can forget about it forever. However, acting out of convenience and without consideration for the bigger environmental picture (and for our future), we have contributed to a throwaway
We’ve written about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the past on a few occasions. However, it seems it’s a hot topic right now (perhaps getting some national TV news coverage tonight?), so I thought I’d revisit it and drop in some updated information on the huge garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean. First of
I had the idea to do this cartoon last October after reading this article on EcoSnobberySucks. But when I read in the latest issue of Mother Jones Magazine that Komen has long denied the toxic impact of bpa on human health, and after the recent Planned Parenthood debacle, I had to pile on,… I mean, finally
NEW YORK — Eighty-five percent of consumers think that bio-based/renewable also means biodegradable — Steve Mojo, executive director of the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) said this during a recent Bioplastek conference. He added that another 60 percent, meanwhile, think biodegradable products “magically disappear when you throw them away.” Consumers often think terms such as
Plastic — it is everywhere and, while it has helped humanity in some ways, it is also wreaking havoc on ecosystems and organisms around the world (including humans). Here is an interesting infographic with some stunning and disturbing information on how much plastic we use, what problems it’s linked to, plastic in the ocean, BPA, and plastic’s ridiculously long lifespan. The most interesting line of the infographic, in my opinion, is this one: “every piece of plastic made still exists today.” But, really, there’s a ton of interesting info here:
BPA is all around us, in low levels at least, but there are ways to reduce the unnecessary BPA exposures to your baby when it counts the most.
We’ve got another chance for you to win a great new book here on Planetsave, but it’s not only a book you could win. The “plastic-free prize pack” (see the image below) includes a starter kit for living green, a tote bag, food containers, a water bottle and more (see the full list, 10 items in total, and how to enter at the bottom of the page).
Becky Striepe of our sister site Ecoscraps recently shared a pretty amazing photo of the plastic contents of a juvenile green sea turtle’s stomach (shown above).
Seventh Generation liquid laundry detergent will soon have a new look. They are introducing a new bottle made of recycled cardboard and newspaper and 66% less plastic.
Some of the top green living, activism, and clean energy stories from the past day or so: Activism Greenpeace Gives Facebook “Unfriend Coal” Deadline Greenpeace has been pushing Facebook to “unfriend coal” and go the route of clean energy for awhile. Facebook, for the most part, hasn’t listened. Greenpeace is now telling Facebook it should
Some of the top clean energy, clean transport, and green living stories of the last day or so: Clean Energy China’s Green Economy Leadership “China sees green as the future engine of its economy. Although currently the world’s leading greenhouse gas emitter, China is serious about slowing greenhouse gas emissions and using renewable energy.” Green Jobs, Good
Unsurprisingly, not every statistic you read or hear of in the media correct. According to assistant professor of oceanography at Oregon State University, Angelicque “Angel” White, one such statistic you should definitely think twice about is anything referring to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a gyre of marine litter
74% of recyclable water bottles end up clogging landfills, polluting the oceans, or littering our natural environments. Well, from what I’ve heard, one company is unveiling the world’s first biodegradable and recyclable water bottle in January to help address this issue. Canada-based redleaf Water will be introducing these “Bio Bottles” in Canada and some stores
On America Recycles Day (Nov. 15), green rewards program RecycleBank pledged to educate consumers about recycling right. Now, RecycleBank is using its “Learn & Earn” digital platform to educate consumers on recycling polyethylene terephthalate (or PET) bottles. Don’t get offended if you are a super greeny and already know all about recycling, because you must know
Awesome video. A must see. From Green Sangha, performed by activists AshEl Eldridge and Jenni Perez.
Mexico City joins the growing number of cities worldwide who are banning plastic bags. I recently wrote about the largest state in India banning plastic bags, and about bag monsters in California pushing for a California-wide plastic bag ban, and I just mentioned that the richest Hindu temple in the world has completely banned plastic
Here’s our latest roundup of green living, green activism, and clean energy news. Enjoy these great stories from around the internet.
San Francisco activists are trying to catch up to India, where plastic bags have been banned in its largest state and several other places. How? By covering themselves in plastic bags (i.e. dressing up as “Bag Monsters.”) You have to love these pics. I can’t wait to see the ones from the event, and wish
India’s largest state, Rajasthan, has become the latest place to completely ban plastic bags. The ban has been put in place due to “both the short-term and long-term environmental hazards” of plastic bags.
[social_buttons] Green Cities California (GCC) announced today the release of its Master Environmental Assessment (MEA) on Single Use and Reusable Bags. The MEA, commissioned by GCC and developed by ICF International’s Sacramento office, summarizes existing studies on the environmental impacts of single use plastic, paper, compostable and reusable bags, as well as the impacts of
A group of intrepid activists are making a bid to be the first to undertake a clean-up mission to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also know as the Plastic Vortex. [social_buttons] Project Kaisei will sail to out of San Francisco to attempt to remove 40 tons of plastic waste from the 4 million tons believed
It’s summer, and you are sitting outside on the Great Lawn of Central Park, listening to a concert in New York City. You are surrounded by friends, you are enjoying a delicious picnic, and the music is great. The only way to improve this event would be to devise a smarter way for you and the thousands of
