Author: Tom Wright
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Trump administration could be sued over pesticide threat to orca and salmon
Fishing industry and environmentalists mull lawsuits EPA tried to delay report detailing chemicals’ harm to wildlife Commercial fishermen and environmental groups could file lawsuits against the Trump administration, if it fails to follow a recommendation by one of its own agencies to protect salmon, sturgeon, orca and other endangered species in the Pacific north-west. The National…
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Hemp Offers Benefits For The Future
The Polo Hemp Mill in Illinois began operation on November 20, 1943. At that time there were more than 3,200 hemp growers in the state. Educational materials and propaganda videos such as “Victory for Hemp” were sponsored by the U.S. government, assuring cultivation would be backed by our military and economy. Considering this happened 74…
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There is a great future in bioplastics. But businesses and consumers need to change first
In Mike Nichols’s 1967 film, The Graduate, a disillusioned college grad, Ben, played by Dustin Hoffman, is taken aside at a party by a family friend, Mr. McGuire. “I want to say one word to you, just one word,” Mr. McGuire tells him. “Yes, sir.” “Are you listening?” “Yes, I am,” Ben says, nodding. “Plastics.” “Exactly…
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Bleaching hits coral reefs faster
Coral reefs have always lived near the edge. Now, thanks to global warming, life there is five times more precarious. Forty years ago, the world’s coral reefs faced a known risk: every 25 or 30 years, ocean temperatures would rise to intolerable levels. Corals would minimise the risk of death by everting the algae with…
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INSIDE COCA-COLA’S SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY
The Coca-Cola Company in Western Europe and Coca-Cola European Partners have launched a first ever joint Sustainability Action Plan for western Europe, entitled ‘This is Forward’, setting out new commitments on drinks, packaging and society. Developed through a consultation process encompassing 100 stakeholders, governments, NGOs and customers, as well as 12,000 consumers and a thousand…
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A Garden’s Glory brings healthy food to the community
A Garden’s Glory became the first Certified Naturally Grown farm in eastern Florida in November, and they’re gearing up for a season of events and markets this winter. Farmer Ann Nyhuis received certification for her tender microgreens and sustainable growing practices. Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) is a certification program for farmers and beekeepers who use…
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Knives out! UK top food chain Leon announces it will ditch plastic cutlery from its outlets within months
UK High street restaurant chain Leon is to ditch plastic cutlery, it declared yesterday. Throwaway knives, forks and spoons which end up choking the environment will be phased out within months at its 50-plus outlets. The announcement is a victory for the Daily Mail’s campaign to end the scourge of plastics polluting the planet and…
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From Tree-Planting Drones to Shade-Grown Tea: Businesses Are Making Money by Reforesting the Planet
An estimated 15 billion trees are cut down each year—more than 41 million per day. Given this pace of land degradation, it’s hard to imagine how traditional reforestation methods, which rely on the hand-planting of live seedlings, could ever keep up. BioCarbon Engineering offers another way—a device, no more than two feet in height, that has the potential to…
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The Business of Planting Trees: A Growing Investment Opportunity
Planting trees as a business venture The World Resources Institute (WRI) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) analyzed over 140 companies that have made landscape restoration and reforestation their core business model. Out of all those companies, 14 who had reached median sales growth of 100 percent in 2017, were showcased in a new report titled The Business of…
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6 Ways To Reduce Your Exposure To Toxins, Without Driving Yourself Crazy
There are plenty of ways humans can be exposed to toxins like endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), carcinogenic and mutagenic pollutants, and harmful chemicals in personal care products and pharmaceuticals. Regulation is in place to prevent, control, and mitigate the presence and the effects of these pollutants. But the chemical universe is large, and it’s unclear how…