Day: December 22, 2021

What the passage of Article 6 means for carbon markets

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

Getting an agreement on the rules for international trading of carbon credits, a set of negotiations known as Article 6, came down to the wire last month at COP26. But during the last weekend of the conference, the 200 countries finally agreed upon guidelines that will create an international market for carbon credits, including country-to-country exchanges of these instruments. 

For companies that buy offsets and the two big verification organizations, Verra and The Gold Standard, Article 6 is the long-awaited government guidance for creating, accounting and verifying carbon credits that until this point the private sector had been developing largely on an ad hoc basis. 

Who speaks for the trees?

Read the full story in Q Magazine.

Over the span of three years, from 2011 to 2014, I watched the trees on my parkway die from the top down, leaves crumbling, leaving gray, stark branches on the crown. I had seen videos of deforestation in the Amazon and other major forests, but this was happening right outside my bedroom window in Aurora, Ill. Shiny green insects, each no bigger than a penny, had burrowed snaking pathways through the thick trunks, decimating the former beauty of the once-green streets. Only one glorious ash tree remained after the fall of the others of its kind, safe behind my yellow brick house, dripping with vibrant red leaves.

A new ‘litter lotto’ helps keep communities clean

Read the full story at Springwise.

A new, free-to-enter monthly prize draw rewards people for binning litter. Using the free LitterLotto app, participants take a photo of every piece of rubbish they pick up and bin. Each photo equates to an entry into the monthly jackpot draw, along with a range of other, smaller prizes. The monthly jackpot in the UK was recently doubled to £10,000 per month.

ACES alums and IBRL blend their skills to make heirloom corn whiskey

Read the full story from the University of Illinois.

Silver Tree Spirits is working with IBRL – which is eager to welcome back more student workers when the time is right – to distill whiskey from heirloom corn varieties and analyze flavor and other characteristics.

US utility-scale solar, storage prices drop over 12% in past year, but supply chain worries loom: NREL

Read the full story at Utility Dive.

The installed cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage systems continued to drop between 2020 and 2021 in the U.S., with utility-scale solar systems seeing a 12.3% price decline, according to a new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). 

The cost of residential PV fell 3.3% and commercial rooftop PV systems dropped 10.7%, the report found. The calculations rely on a bottom-up model that accounts for all costs during installation, including hardware, sales prices and labor. 

The report found that balance of system costs – encompassing everything except the PV panel – had either increased or remained flat, but an overall 19% reduction in module cost drove the cost declines. A separate NREL report examined various types of PV technology and found potential cost savings for each.

Illinois Farm to Food Bank Project connects specialty growers with food banks

Peaches in a crate getting rinsed. Photo credit: Zach Samaras
Photo credit: Zach Samaras

This fall, the Illinois Farm to Food Bank program wrapped up its pilot project with Rendleman and Flamm Orchards in Union County. Nearly 375,000 pounds of peaches and nectarines were distributed to food banks throughout Illinois.

Michelle Sirles of Rendleman Orchards said, “The Farmer to Food Bank Pilot was a HUGE Success. Every single person we worked with went above and beyond to make this a successful pilot year. It could not have come at a better time with the over abundance of peaches nationwide. It prevents a lot of peach dumping. It recouped farmers costs while providing fresh and healthy food for those in need. As a farmer we felt completely supported by Illinois Farm Bureau, our politicians, our state university, and our food bank partners. I truly feel this could be a shining star program for our state.”

The program also connected Roth Countryside Produce, located in Tazewell County, with a Peoria Area Food Bank agency to purchase $1750 worth of sweet corn, green cabbage, red cabbage, green beans, cantaloupe, bell peppers, green zucchini, golden zucchini, and seedless cucumbers.

Keep up to date with the program through the Farm to Food Bank Feasibility Study newsletter. If you’re a grower who wants to participate in the project, contact ISTC’s Technical Assistance Program.

This post originally appeared on the ISTC Blog. Read the original post.

The distilleries working to reduce the foodprint of spirits

Read the full story in Salon.

While “drink responsibly” is a common phrase, you rarely if ever are told to “drink eco-responsibly.”

Cocktail with a conscience: Understanding sustainability with cocktails

Read the full story at Outlook.

Sustainable cocktails are cocktails that are more in harmony with nature. It’s about minimising natural resources and conserving energy.

11 tips for sustainable cocktails

Read the full story at Smartblend.

Bartenders have actively been looking to reduce bar waste. And with consumers becoming more aware of the environment, if you’re not getting involved with sustainable bartending and zero waste cocktails, you’re going to end up stuck in the past.

Tindo Solar commits to panel recycling deal with Reclaim PV

Read the full story at Renew Economy.

Adelaide-based Australian PV panel manufacturer Tindo Solar has inked a deal with Reclaim PV that will see close to 100 per cent of solar the panels it produces and handles recycled and re-used – starting with the panels it removes from rooftops to replace with its own.