Day: October 30, 2020

Q&A: Liesl Clark Director, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy

Read the full story at MiBiz.

On Sept. 23, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a target for Michigan to be carbon neutral by 2050. While that’s certainly a lofty goal, questions remain over what hitting the target will actually mean in practice. Over the next year, the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) will submit a MI Healthy Climate Plan to Whitmer that essentially acts as a roadmap. It will begin to detail ways the state and private sector — including utilities and industrial and commercial entities — can start chipping away at the carbon reduction goal while also outlining strategies for offsetting carbon emissions. Whitmer’s announcement made Michigan the fifth state with a long-term carbon neutral target, and the first in the Midwest. EGLE Director Liesl Clark recently spoke with MiBiz to discuss the climate goal and the pandemic’s effect on the clean energy sector.

Emissions of Nitrous Oxide, a Climate Super-Pollutant, Are Rising Fast on a Worst-Case Trajectory

Read the full story at Inside Climate News.

Fertilizer is a leading culprit in nitrous oxide emissions, which are nearly 300 times more potent at warming the planet than carbon dioxide and deplete ozone.

Anti-climate ads are flourishing on Facebook, report says

Read the full story in Grist.

Things you might see in a Facebook ad include custom-fitted boxer briefs, a new HBO sitcom, and … climate denial.

A new analysis from the nonprofit think tank InfluenceMap finds that climate denial is alive and flourishing on the world’s largest social network. According to the group’s report, Facebook has allowed lobbying groups with opaque funding sources to use the platform’s marketing tools to spread doubt about the science of climate change.

EPA installing monitors to investigate city’s tainted water plume

Read the full story in the Kokomo Tribune.

The Environmental Protection Agency is set to install six groundwater monitoring wells to investigate the contaminated water plume beneath much of Kokomo, marking the first major development since it was named one of the federal government’s top cleanup priorities.

The 294-acre groundwater plume was placed on the EPA’s Superfund national program list in 2015 after tests revealed it was contaminated with arsenic and vinyl chloride, a manufactured chemical used in the production of plastic products and packaging materials. The plume also contains chlorinated solvents, which are chemicals widely used for dry cleaning and to clean machinery and electronic parts.

Study finds more human than animal waste in Southwest Wisconsin wells

Read the full story in the Wisconsin State Journal.

A study of contaminated wells in three southwestern Wisconsin counties has found human waste is more often the cause than animal manure.

Researchers with the Southwest Wisconsin Groundwater and Geology Study — or SWIGG — recently completed a fourth round of tests on private wells in Grant, Iowa and Lafayette counties that had shown previous signs of contamination.

How Ferrero uses data to streamline its supply chain and reduce food waste

Read the full story at Food Dive.

The confectionery giant is working with software company Alloy to improve the efficiency of its operations by cutting down on overstock and out-of-stock items.

Nestlé will support farmers to achieve net-zero carbon by 2050, supply chain chief says

Read the full story at Supply Chain Dive.

The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy formally debuted the Net Zero Initiative Monday, an industry effort to help dairy farms implement new technologies and more sustainable practices to work toward a goal of carbon neutrality and improved water usage by 2050.

The center also announced a commitment of as much as $10 million and a multi-year partnership with food giant Nestlé to help toward carbon neutrality by scaling access to sustainable resources and practices on U.S. farms. 

Nestlé, which makes brands with dairy like Carnation, Stouffer’s and DiGiorno, is the first major partner for the initiative, the center said in the release. Nestlé’s involvement could push other big companies to join the Net Zero Initiative and contribute funding. 

Environmental, health groups call for mandatory PFAS testing in water systems

Read the full story in the Kenosha News.

Nearly three dozen public health and environmental organizations are calling on state officials to require thousands of public water systems in Wisconsin to test for hazardous chemicals known as PFAS.

“The people of Wisconsin have a right to know if their drinking water is contaminated with toxic chemicals, and the only way to obtain that information is through widespread, comprehensive testing,” the groups wrote in a letter to the Department of Natural Resources.

$5 trillion investor group sets tougher portfolio carbon targets

Read the full story from Reuters.

Thirty of the world’s largest investors managing a combined $5 trillion said on Tuesday they plan to set targets to lower their portfolio carbon emissions by as much as 29% over the next five years.