Day: September 23, 2019

Regulation

DOJ Significantly Limits the Use of Supplemental Environmental Projects

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Read the full story at JD Supra.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Environment and Natural Resources Division has announced a major overhaul in the use of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs)—a key penalty mitigation approach commonly used in settlement agreements. In an August 21, 2019 memorandum, DOJ announced that it will no longer allow SEPs as a component of settlements resolving federal claims against state and local governments. The memorandum strongly suggests that this new policy may well extend beyond settlements with states and municipalities, effectively removing what had been an important component of many environmental settlements.

Carbon capture

Carbon Capture Technology Is Critical To The Future Of Coal—And Presents A Massive Opportunity For IP Innovation

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Read the full story at JD Supra.

For the first time in United States history, clean energy sources provided more of the nation’s electricity needs than coal. 23% of the electricity generated in the U.S. in April came from renewable sources like wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal power, according to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The shift toward renewable energy and away from coal has been accelerating for years, but the recent milestone marks an opportunity to revisit what precipitated the shift and look forward to what comes next.

Solar

Live fast, die young: MIT study proposes use of 10-year panels

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Read the full story in PV Magazine.

Research has found even short-lived, 10 to 15-year solar panels could provide enough return for bankable projects. The researchers believe panel costs, coupled with an industry mindset now fixed on the final solar energy price rather than costs per kilowatt installed, may open opportunities for PV products currently snubbed because of a short lifecycle.

Awards & contests, Circular economy

GM and MIT Solve Announce Circular Economy Challenge Winners

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Read the full story at Waste360.

The challenge seeks solutions enabling increased production of renewable and recyclable raw materials for products and packaging.

E-waste, Recycling, Standards

E-Stewards Announces New E-recycling Standard

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Read the full story at Waste360.

The new version is designed to be shorter, simpler and less prescriptive while retaining and improving performance in data security.

Recycling

Mid America Launches Quality Initiative for Paperboard Industry

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Read the full story in Waste360.

The initiative focuses on tracking and increasing the value of the recycling waste streams generated by large commercial printers and paperboard converters.

PFAS

Breaking Down PFAS with NWRA’s Anne Germain

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Read the interview at Waste360.

Episode 25: A conversation with Anne Germain, NWRA’s vice president of technical and regulatory affairs, on the potential impacts of PFAS.

PFAS

Plummeting stock prices show PFAS are bad business

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Read the full story at ChemSec.

Perfluorinated chemicals (PFAS) are not only a huge threat to human health and the environment. They are also a really bad investment for the producers and their investors.

Invasive species, Publications

Look out, invasive species: The robots are coming

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Read the full story from the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

Researchers published the first experiments to gauge whether biomimetic robotic fish can induce fear-related changes in mosquitofish, aiming to discover whether the highly invasive species might be controlled without toxicants or trapping methods harmful to wildlife. Their findings indicate that even brief exposure to a robotic replica of the mosquitofish’s primary predator can provoke meaningful avoidance behaviors and physiological changes associated with the loss of energy reserves, potentially translating into lower rates of reproduction.

Climate change, K-12

A climate change curriculum to empower the climate strike generation

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Read the full story at The Conversation.

It’s too late to protect them from it, so how do teachers tell children about climate change without scaring them? The good news is that young people are already engaged – the students taking part in climate strikes show that young people want action and are willing to skip school to show how serious they are. But while in class, children shouldn’t feel their time is wasted. Primary school teachers have an ethical responsibility to bring climate change into their classrooms and they’re well placed for the task.

Imagining a climate change curriculum is no mean feat. How to cover the range, scale and scope of the climate emergency? From the global effects on Earth’s biodiversity to the human sources of greenhouse gas emissions – climate change will dominate the future of today’s children and reshape every aspect of their lives.

Then there’s the biggest question of all – what are we going to do about it? This seems to animate children more than the adults in power, and the free imaginations we usually attribute to children are needed to remake the world in light of the climate crisis. A key task of educators in the 21st century is to make such abstract concepts tangible.

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