Read the full story at Treehugger.
While most human occupation harms the landscape, research shows that British Columbia’s coastal First Nations have made the forest thrive.
Day: August 30, 2018
Seeing REDD: a database of forest carbon emissions reduction projects
Read the full story from MongaBay.
A searchable database of 467 forest carbon emissions reduction (REDD+) initiatives in 57 countries is now available through the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).
The ID-RECCO database gathers in one free online tool over 100 different categories of information – including project partners, activities, and funding sources – on these subnational projects aimed at conserving forests, promoting local economies, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation.
The tool makes these data and their sources accessible to anyone, with minimal interpretation: while it does not summarize project results, it provides goals, activities, and links to project websites for the reader to learn more.
The Water Crises Aren’t Coming — They’re Here
Read the full story in Esquire.
For eons, the earth has had the same amount of water—no more, no less. What the ancient Romans used for crops and Nefertiti drank? It’s the same stuff we bathe with. Yet with more than seven billion people on the planet, experts now worry we’re running out of usable water. The symptoms are here: multiyear droughts, large-scale crop failures, a major city—Cape Town—on the verge of going dry, increasing outbreaks of violence, fears of full-scale water wars. The big question: How do we keep the H20 flowing?
Six Americas Super Short Survey (SASSY)
This short survey (just 4 questions) reveals how your views about global warming compare with other Americans.
Minnesota State Fair’s Eco Experience shows off economics of recycling
Read the full story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
At Eco Experience building, state officials make case for recycling as a job creator.
A Dwindling Catch Has Alaskans Uneasy
Read the full story in the New York Times.
Red salmon, a summertime pleasure that feeds residents through the winter, has failed to show up this season in most rivers.
One pound of cheese makes nine pounds of whey. Where does it all go?
Read the full story from the New Food Economy.
America is in the middle of an historic cheese glut. But pound for pound, dairies produce more whey than they do anything else. That means an intractable problem for the industry—and a potential opportunity for entrepreneurs.
Food waste could mean big bucks for manufacturers and retailers
Read the full story in FoodDive.
Innovative firms and researchers are developing new ways to use food waste both as an ingredient and in food packaging, according to Ingredients Network.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates one-third of all food produced globally is lost where it is grown or raised or wasted in retail, manufacturing and consumption.
While preventing food waste is the best strategy, new uses for discarded items are a good way to limit negative economic and environmental impacts, FAO recommended. This includes growing mushrooms with coffee grounds, adding spent brewing grains to bread and pretzels and using tropical fruit waste to make biodegradable packaging.
Exploring the Suitability of a Modelling Approach to Estimate Contaminant Occurrence in Drinking Water Sources
Read the full story from the USGS.
Scientists explored the suitability of the DeFacto Reuse in our Nation’s Consumable Supply (DRINCS) model to estimate the likelihood of contaminants from upstream wastewater discharges to enter drinking water facility intakes.
Research article: Nguyen, T., Westerhoff, P., Furlong, E.T., Kolpin, D.W., Batt, A.L., Mash, H.E., Schenck, K.M., Boone, J.S., Rice, J., and Glassmeyer, S.T., 2018, Modeled de facto reuse and contaminants of emerging concern in drinking water source waters: Journal – American Water Works Association, v. 110, no. 4, p. E2-E18, doi:10.1002/awwa.1052.
Detroit’s Public School District Shuts Off Drinking Water, Citing Lead, Copper Risk
Read the full story from NPR.
Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti has ordered drinking water to be shut off at the district’s roughly 100 schools, after two-thirds of the buildings in an early test were found to have levels of lead and/or copper that were too high.
The initial testing was performed at 24 schools. Vitti says he turned the water off “out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of our students and employees,” while tests are performed at the remaining schools.
Detroit’s schools will begin classes for the new academic year next week. For now, the schools plan to offer water from bottles and coolers.
Environmental News Bits 