Read the full story in e360 Digest.
Scientists have discovered a rare three-species hybrid bird living in Pennsylvania. The bird is the offspring of a hybrid warbler species and a warbler from an entirely different genus — a combination that has never been recorded before, according to a new study in the journal Biology Letters.
Read the full post at the ISTC Blog.
With new funding from Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) researcher John Scott and his team will be able to expand their research to include more environmental contaminants…
The new funds will allow the team to look at adsorption of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on the microplastics.
Read the full story from Phoenix New Times.
Before a natural disaster hits, what do you do? You run to the store and load up on food, water, and batteries, of course.
Something similar is happening in central Arizona with water as a serious drought looms on the horizon.
Read the full story at Waste360.
Food trucks crank out hundreds to a thousand or so meals a day, generating mega volumes of wasted food, utensils, cups and containers. And it’s up to their customers to dispose of their trash in the nearest bin—there is no waitstaff to pick up after them.
North Carolina-based nonprofit Don’t Waste Durham developed a green truck certification program to help vendors reduce their carbon footprint. Businesses are supported in achieving 18 requirements, including using reusable service ware or compostable materials and serving on recyclable supplies when reusable and compostable are not options. And they are to source local food, among requirements.
Read the full story at Cleveland.com.
A state commission declined Thursday morning to designate eight Lake Erie watersheds as distressed, which would have set in motion requirements to protect the water against toxic algae blooms.
The Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Commission instead decided that the rules to protect Lake Erie should be written with input from the agriculture community before the distressed designation will be approved at a Feb. 15 meeting.
The IDNR Coastal Management Program will soon be accepting pre-applications for projects of $1,000 to $100,000 to protect, preserve, and restore Illinois’ Lake Michigan natural and cultural resources.
Funding will be available for projects that:
Eligible applicants include local governments, universities, and non-profits. These are federal pass-through grants and match is required.
Successful pre-applicants will be invited to submit full applications. Grant guidelines, application materials, maps, and other resources will be available after November 19th at http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/cmp/Pages/grants.aspx. The pre-application submission deadline is Friday, January 18, 2019.
We strongly encourage potential applicants to attend a grant information session. CMP will be hosting two sessions in November and December:
Chicago Loop
When: Tuesday, 11/27/18 from 3:30-5pm
Where: 160 N. LaSalle St., N 502, Chicago, IL 60601
Registration: https://goo.gl/forms/6c5S8M2eUFRUAmIX2
Webinar
When: Friday, 12/7/18 from 11am-noon
Registration: https://illinois.webex.com/illinois/onstage/g.php?MTID=e0fc2753264dc8285e9c0ca13a492d7ea
If you cannot attend the grant information session or have additional questions, sign up for an optional grant consultation. Please contact lisa.cotner@illinois.gov for more information.
Tue, Dec 4, 2018 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM CST
Register at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7675522842835839746
A sustainable purchasing policy can be an important foundation for a successful sustainable purchasing program. But developing a sustainable purchasing policy is not a one-size-fits-all process. Join RPN to learn about two very different approaches to creating and securing adoption of a sustainable purchasing policy.
Alicia Culver will summarize key elements of a Sustainable Purchasing Policy Template that RPN created earlier this year in collaboration with several cities that are members of the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN). This model policy complements the USDN-RPN Sustainable Purchasing Playbook for Cities. She will also highlight other resources that can help government agencies, institutions, and businesses to easily develop a new or updated sustainable purchasing policy.
Stacey Foreman will describe how Portland, Oregon, updated its Sustainable Purchasing Policy, which received a major overhaul this year. Portland’s new policy consolidates the City’s numerous sustainable procurement-related policies, includes expanded sections on prioritization and reporting, and is peppered with best practice guidance for City employees. Stacey will also explain how this new policy was developed through an engaged process and how it will enable the City’s Sustainable Purchasing Program to become more strategic in its activities and communications.
Karl Bruskotter will describe Santa Monica’s internal purchasing policy that directs City staff to follow detailed green purchasing guidance outlined in a series of Green Purchasing Easy Guides. Easy Guides are internal publications that describe the environmental and health benefits of specific sustainable products and services, highlight applicable third-party certifications, and include bid specifications, green building credits, and other resources on each topic. RPN helped Santa Monica create Easy Guides on a wide array of sustainable purchasing topics such as cleaning chemicals, furniture, flooring, janitorial paper products, and more.
Read the full story from Science Daily.
In a new article, researchers are calling for a rethink on tropical marine conservation efforts, as people who previously relied on coral reefs for food and income are increasingly looking to alternative habitats which is putting pressure on the animals that inhabit seagrass meadows.
Read the full story at Ask Dr. Vinny.
While some wine bottles are indeed made from recycled glass, it’s true that many are not, and the production of a new glass bottle is responsible for a large part of a bottle of wine’s carbon footprint. The good news is that glass is recyclable, and in the Netherlands, more than 90 percent of glass containers end up being recycled. That’s far more than here in the U.S., where various agencies report that only about a quarter to a third of our glass containers are recycled. America needs to do a better job of going Dutch!
Read the full story at GreenBiz.
One of the larger dilemmas faced by food producers — from farms to meat processors — is how to meet the nutritional protein needs of a growing global population while minimizing the impact of those activities on the fragile soil needed to sustain them.
Novozymes, a Danish biotech company that maps its research and development to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, is pitching one potential solution: a new enzyme that can be added to feed that helps animals absorb more nutrients from what they’re eating.
For now, the product, Balancius, is specifically intended for broiler chickens. It’s already available through more than 40 trials across North America and Latin America, and is licensed for use in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. The product itself is part of a feed additive being sold by Novozymes’ longtime business partner DSM, which often commercializes Novozymes’ innovations, said Susanne Palsten Buchardt, vice president of animal health and nutrition, commercial, at Novozymes.
Environmental News Bits 
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