A team led by the University of Sussex, in collaboration with Colombian researchers, has created a process that produces electricity using coffee industry waste. Researchers have developed a fuel that can generate a small amount of energy thanks to microbes that can eat the waste matter in the liquid waste of the coffee industry. The process is similar to that of a fuel cell in a hydrogen car, researchers say.
After years of study, researchers at the University of Washington have discovered that vegetation can consistently control weather patterns across huge distances. Plants are able to modify the cycle of water and nutrients and therefore influence also other natural cycles. The destruction or expansion of forests on one continent might boost rainfall or cause a drought halfway around the world.
Three large financial institutions, the European Investment Bank, KfW and Agence Francaise de Developpement, have pledged to give €2 billion to Clean Ocean Initiative (COI), launched on October 12 this year. The five-year project includes financing a number of projects that aim to clean the oceans of plastic.
The World Food Program warns that climate changes will have a devastating effect on agriculture and the ability of people to feed themselves. If global warming is not stopped, the number of people with no access to food will grow by 189 million. And the trend is expected to grow.
A recent research has shown that a quarter of vegetarians and coeliacs have unknowingly eaten meat and gluten due to poor labelling. The survey conducted by Opinium for Ubamarket revealed that 40% of Brits don’t understand what they eat when they read food labels and 30% struggle to manage their diet as a result.
In 2018, California invested $100 million through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). EQIP is a partnership between private landowners and the Federal Agency that includes planning a range of actions to build resiliency into their operations through sound conservation plans and strategic investments. The objective is to adapt to environmental changes and reduce the use of resources such as water and land.
The environment committee is extending the ban to single-use plastics, including take away packaging, bottles and cigarette packets.
The Council of the European Union has confirmed the objective of reducing gas emission by 40%, in view of the UNFCCC meeting in Katowice (2-14 December 2018).
One third of all waste produced by cities in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) is not adequately disposed of or managed, threatening the health of the region's population and polluting air, soil and water.