The time has come to phase out the use of toxic materials, such as mercury and phosphorus, in order to protect human health and the environment from their harmful effects. In the European Union, the use of mercury in products has been phased out gradually since 2006, and it is restricted by the RoHS Directive →
Carmakers must achieve a 100% cut in CO2 emissions by 2035. The European Union struck a deal on Thursday on a law to effectively ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars (and vans) from 2035 in the 27-country bloc. The deal also included a 55% cut in CO2 emissions for new cars sold →
CIRCULAR ECONOMY SUCCESS: FINLAND’S RECYCLING PROGRAMME KEEPS BOTTLES AND CANS OFF THE STREETS https://finland.fi/life-society/circular-economy-success-finlands-recycling-programme-keeps-bottles-and-cans-off-the-streets/ We see how Finland’s deposit system for bottles and cans achieves a recycling rate of more than 90 percent, and how city administrators and event organisers supplement the system with their own resourceful programmes. Finland’s system for returning beverage containers started →
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/climate-change-self-defeating-alarmism-by-bjorn-lomborg-2018-12 The truth about climate change is nuanced: it is real, and in the long term it will be a problem, but its impact is less than we might believe. And yet we are too eager to believe the problem is far worse than science shows. Climate change seems to freeze our capacity for critical →
https://www.iflscience.com/environment/landmark-un-climate-change-report-act-now-to-avoid-climate-catastrophe/ The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has unleashed their Special Report on the impact of global warming reaching 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. “This IPCC report is set to outline a rescue plan for humanity,” “1.5°C is the new 2°C,” If we stick to Paris Climate Agreement commitments, we could still see a global →
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4803 For the first time, scientists have produced a photovoltaic (PV) cell with a conversion efficiency of 40.7 percent, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reported. The breakthrough cell was developed using a structure called a “multi-junction solar cell.” The technology may allow for lower PV system installation costs ($3 per watt) and lower electricity →
https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/who_finland_has_the_worlds_cleanest_air/10188554 Finland’s air quality is better than that of any other country on earth, according to statistics from the World Health Organisation published by the Finnish Meteorological Institute. Monitoring stations suggest that there are some 6 microgrammes of small particles per cubic metre of air in Finland, the lowest figure recorded worldwide. →
http://www.iflscience.com/environment/over-95-percent-of-the-world-is-breathing-unsafe-air/ Seven billion people, over 95 percent of the world’s population, are breathing air that contains unhealthy levels of pollution. 60 percent of the world is living in areas that don’t even meet the most basic standards of air quality. The findings come from the State of Global Air 2018 (PDF), an annual assessment by →
https://www.pv-tech.org/editors-blog/five-key-considerations-for-east-west-solar-design Around the world solar developers are turning array designs on their head and choosing to go east-west instead of south- or north-facing like their traditional cousins. While east-west solar arrays may have a reduced total output, the value of the electricity they produce is inherently higher in most markets – They are generating more →
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/mar/02/first-sustainable-lego-pieces-to-go-on-sale The first Lego pieces made from plant-based plastic sourced go on sale this year, the company has announced. Production has begun on a range of Lego botanical elements or pieces such as leaves, bushes and trees, made entirely from polyethylene (made with ethanol extracted from sugar cane material). They will start appearing in Lego →