Earth Wise
Scrubbers to clean up shipping
Cargo ships are significant sources of global air pollution because of their fuel oil. Most ships burn heavy fuel oil that is loaded with sulfur, so when it is burned it produces noxious gases and fine particles that can harm human health and the environment. The International Maritime Organization enacted a mandatory cap of 0.5% [âŚ]
Redefining the perfect beach
The iconic image of the âperfectâ tropical beach is fine white sand, a few coconut palm trees, a gently sloping beach, and unobstructed views of the blue sea. This image came about to a great extent from fascination with Polynesian scenery at the time of World War II.  And because of this imagery, beach resorts [âŚ]
Repurposing used tires
Every year, millions of tires from cars and trucks end up in landfills. Just in the U.S., more than 270 million tires were scrapped in 2021 and more than 50 million of them ended up in landfills. Discarded tires take up huge amounts of space but, more importantly, create environmental hazards. They leach chemicals into [âŚ]
The human impact on biodiversity
Biodiversity is under threat. More and more plant and animal species are disappearing and humans are to blame. Humans cause biodiversity loss through habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution, direct exploitation, and climate change, all of which are significantly influenced by human activities. But until now, drawing broad conclusions about human impacts on biodiversity has been [âŚ]
Transparent wood
Plastics are pretty much everywhere in the modern world including places we want them to be and places where we donât. Conventional plastics are not biodegradable and instead cause increasing problems wherever they end up after their useful life. As a result, there are global efforts to find environmentally friendly replacements for petroleum-based plastics. An [âŚ]
Renewables dominate new global power
The current administration in the United States is adversarial towards renewable energy and highly supportive of the use of fossil fuels. Unquestionably, this will create rough waters for the clean energy industry and, unfortunately, will throw a monkey wrench into the worldâs efforts to mitigate climate change. But it cannot stop what has become a [âŚ]
Removing microplastics from water
Microplastics come from the breakdown of larger plastics in the environment as well as from direct use in various products such as certain cosmetics. They are found everywhere, from oceans and mountain peaks to the air and water, and alarmingly, in our bodies. They are ingested by all sorts of organisms, from tiny plankton to [âŚ]
Almost a dire wolf
Researchers around the world are working on what some call the âde-extinctionâ of iconic animals of the past such as the wooly mammoth, the dodo, and the Tasmanian tiger. The idea is to decipher the genome from DNA of preserved specimens and, using the tools of modern genetic engineering and cloning technology, alter the DNA [âŚ]
The dangers of deep sea mining
The White House is considering an executive order that would fast-track permitting for deep-sea mining in international waters and allow mining companies to bypass a United Nations-backed review process. Deep sea mining is the extraction of minerals from the seabed in the deep ocean. Most of the interest is in what are known as polymetallic [âŚ]
A new way to recycle plastic
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a new method for recycling plastic that is safer, cleaner, cheaper, and more sustainable than those currently in use. The U.S. is the worldâs largest plastic polluter per capita, and we only recycle 5% of our plastics. There is a pressing need for better technologies for processing different types [âŚ]
