Day: February 8, 2021

Green building, Sustainable communities

Cincinnati Empowers Building Owners to Go Green

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Read the full story from the NRDC.

While some cities focus on combating only one aspect of climate change, Cincinnati is tackling it with a multipronged approach as part of its Green Cincinnati Plan to achieve 100 percent renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions by 2035. Last year, Hamilton County successfully passed Issue 7, which will improve and promote cleaner transit and the City launched the largest municipal solar project in the country. In 2021  Cincinnati is moving right along from transit and renewable energy to its next goal of achieving equitable energy access in residential buildings through a new small-grants initiative to encourage building owners to make energy-efficient upgrades to multifamily buildings, specifically those with low-income tenants.

Music

Climate Change Is Worsening. So the Weather Station Is Singing About It.

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Read the full story in the New York Times.

The 36-year-old Canadian musician Tamara Lindeman’s piercing new album, “Ignorance,” explores the emotional impacts of a global problem.

Circular economy, Food and beverage manufacturing, Packaging

UofL researchers piloting process to make healthy sugar and 3-D printable materials from soy hulls

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Read the full story from the University of Louisville.

Researchers at the University of Louisville Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research and Department of Mechanical Engineering are working to transform soy hulls left over from soybean processing into valuable food and industrial products. The United Soybean Board has awarded $350,000 to UofL to further develop methods for using soy hulls in modified fiber composites for 3-D printing applications and produce the sugar substitute xylose as a value-added product.

This project will pilot a commercially viable process using previous research to convert soybean hull biomass into a low-calorie, diabetic-friendly sugar substitute while simultaneously extracting micro and nanoscale fibers to be used for lightweight fiber composites and thermoplastic packaging products via 3D printing.

Regulation

EPA Finalizes 2021 Multi-Sector General Permit

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Read the full story at JD Supra.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) 2021 Issuance of the Multi-Sector General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Industrial Activity (MSGP).

Several items from the proposed 2020 MSGP were not adopted in the final version, including a coal-tar sealcoat prohibition, expansion beyond the 2015 MSGP provisions for permitted discharges to CERCLA/Superfund sites, automatic delays to new discharger authorization due to enforcement, universal benchmark monitoring for all dischargers (as opposed to sector-specific requirements) and requiring sector-specific control measure fact sheet checklists.

The permit’s effective date is March 1, 2021. Operators with permit coverage under the 2015 MSGP (which has been administratively continued) have until May 30, 2021, to submit a new Notice of Intent (NOI). Eligible new dischargers are required to submit an NOI for permit coverage at least 30 days prior to commencing discharge.

Fashion & beauty products, Green lifestyle

Why I’ve tracked every single piece of clothing I’ve worn for three years

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Read the full story at Reaktor.

Have you ever wondered whether expensive clothes are worth their price? Or had that subtle feeling of guilt when buying something pricey, and then justifying it because you will wear it so many times, even if you have no clue if it’s actually true? If you thought yes, then this is for you.

I took a deep-dive into my closet to find out what my clothes truly cost, and learnt a ton about performance, sustainability, and myself in the process. In this blog post, we go on a journey of data-supported decision making. Even with small data, you can get big insights – and some nice shoes along the way.

Agriculture, Sports, Sustainable design

Colts to use soy-backed turf in new partnership with Indiana Soy Bean Alliance

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Read the full story at Brownfield Ag News.

Soy-based turf will be used by the Indianapolis Colts during 2021 pre-game events and traveling education exercise programs.

The Indiana Soybean Alliance, with support from the United Soybean Board and SYNLawn Indiana, is partnering with the NFL team to highlight the benefits of soybeans and the soy checkoff’s impact on building new markets.

Agriculture

A sustainable soy scheme has been launched in the US

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Read the full story at New Food.

The US soybean industry is launching a campaign to encourage cultivation practices that are best for the planet through a new sustainability mark for soy products.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion

New website to help inspire the next generation of diverse engineers

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Read the full story from EngineeringUK.

Accessing some of the latest thinking and evidence of what works to encourage young people from diverse backgrounds to consider engineering as a future career will be much easier with the launch of the new Tomorrow’s Engineers website developed by EngineeringUK (@_EngineeringUK).

Tomorrow’s Engineers brings together free advice and guidance, curated from across the engineering community, to support practitioners in providing young people with engineering careers inspiration.

The website includes the latest thinking on a range of topics, from how to run virtual events and top tips for ensuring an inclusive approach, to how to survey young people and improve engaging outreach activities.

The aim is to develop, curate and share a range of tips, resources, guidance and evidence to improve practice and the collective impact of the engineering sector as a whole to help inspire more young people from all backgrounds to consider a future in engineering.

Biodiversity, Pollinators, Publications

A quarter of known bee species haven’t appeared in public records since the 1990s

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Read the full story at Phys.org.

Researchers at the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) in Argentina have found that, since the 1990s, up to 25% of reported bee species are no longer being reported in global records, despite a large increase in the number of records available. While this does not mean that these species are all extinct, it might indicate that these species have become rare enough that no one is observing them in nature. The findings appear January 22 in the journal One Earth.

Publications, Wildlife

Litter provides habitat for diverse animal communities in rivers, study finds

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Read the full story from the University of Nottingham.

In a study of local rivers, experts at the University of Nottingham in the UK have discovered more invertebrates – animals without a backbone, such as insects and snails – living on litter than on rocks.

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