Hannah Ritchie
Why Dirty Cigarette Butts Could Become a Clean Energy Storage Solution
Chemistry, Materials & Packaging / A team of South Korean scientists has converted cigarette butts into a valuable material that they say could be used as an energy storage device in computers, electrical vehicles, wind turbines and various handheld devices.As reported by the Institute of Physics (IOP), and published in their journal Nanotechnology, the researchers demonstrated that the material proved superior to commercially used alternatives such as carbon, graphene and carbon nanotubes. The breakthrough could represent a win-win — acting as an electrical storage device while providing a solution to the increasing environmental burden caused by used cigarette filters. - 8 years ago
GOL Airlines Makes First Commercial Flight Fueled by Sugarcane-Derived Biofuel
Collaboration / Brazilian airline GOL has become the first in the aviation industry to fly a commercial flight with farnesane, a recently approved aviation biofuel. On July 31, the GOL 7725 flight made the first international connection from Orlando, Florida to Sao Paulo, Brazil.The Brazilian airline partnered with Amyris, a biotechnology company dedicated to producing renewable alternatives to petroleum-based fuels, to take the first step in developing a more sustainable aviation industry. Earlier in the month, GOL committed to flying its Boeing 737 fleet with a 10 percent blend of farnesane, a sugarcane-derived biofuel. - 8 years ago
Massachusetts Imposes Ambitious Law to Eliminate Commercial Food Waste
Waste Not / In a world where there is a glaring equality gap in the provision of food and adequate nutrition, plus increasing strain on the global food system from a growing population, food waste is becoming a much-discussed issue. - 8 years ago
Nestlé, Tata Setting the Bar for 100% Sustainable Sourcing
Supply Chain / Nestlé UK & Ireland and Tata Global Beverages have both announced they are committed to achieving 100 percent sustainable sourcing for their products as part of their overall sustainability strategies.For Nestlé, which has aimed to achieve 100 percent sustainable sourcing of its cocoa by the end of 2015, this would be a milestone event — making it the first major confectionery company to do so in the UK and Ireland.The confectioner works with both UTZ Certified and the Fairtrade Foundation as part of the Nestlé Cocoa Plan, where currently 60 percent of the chocolate purchased in the UK and Ireland is sourced from certified farms. - 8 years ago
Should Fruit and Vegetables Be Marketed in the Same Way as Pharmaceuticals?
Behavior Change / If the health benefits of fruit and vegetables were marketed more like pharmaceutical drugs, it could potentially develop into a multimillion-dollar boon for the pharmaceutical industry, claims one of the UK’s leading dieticians.Catherine Collins, principal dietician at St George’s Hospital in London, was reported by Food Manufacture to have made this claim recently in response to a new study. The study, which measures the effects of eating five fruit and vegetable portions a day, involved over 800,000 consumers — done on such a large scale as to be referred to as a “granddaddy of a study” by Collins. - 8 years ago
Participant Media's 'TakePart World' Highlights Sustainability Progress in Developing World
Marketing and Comms / Participant Media, with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this week launched a new multi-platform series, TakePart World, which investigates the myths and misconceptions people across the globe have about the developing world. The year-long series spotlights the faces and voices of those driving progress towards a sustainable future for the world’s poorest. - 8 years ago