Day: February 7, 2022

Webinar: Direct Air Capture Facility Development in the United States

Feb 15, 2022, noon-1 pm CST
Register here.

Please join the Environmental Policy & Culture Program at Northwestern University and the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy for this webinar on direct air capture facility development in the United States.

As the United States explores the potential for large-scale carbon dioxide removal and utilization, some of the most important developments are taking place in America’s heartland. With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (ISTC) is leading a team to develop the designs and feasibility assessment for the first commercial-scale direct air capture and storage system for carbon removal in the United States. This webinar features Kevin C. OBrien, Director of the ISTC and the project’s principal investigator. Dr. OBrien will discuss developments related to this project, as well as projects in Illinois that may help to advance the development of carbon removal and use.

Moderator: Wil Burns, Environmental Policy and Culture Program at Northwestern

Panelist: Kevin C. OBrien, Director, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center & Director, Illinois State Water Survey University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

A catalyst for more efficient green hydrogen production

Read the full story from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Researchers have developed a new water-splitting process and material that maximize the efficiency of producing green hydrogen, making it an affordable and accessible option for industrial partners that want to convert to green hydrogen for renewable energy storage instead of conventional, carbon-emitting hydrogen production from natural gas.

They look just like new, but Levi’s 501s are now made from liquified fibers of old jeans

Read the full story at Fast Company.

Sweden’s Renewcell invented a process to dissolve used denim into a new fabric; Levi’s is now using the material in its most iconic style.

Study: Most business executives struggling to embed sustainability into core operations

Read the full story at Environment + Energy Leader.

A new study reveals that global C-level business leaders (or CxOs) are increasingly concerned about climate change and see the world at a tipping point to act. Eighty-nine percent of CxOs agree there’s a climate crisis and 63% say their organizations are very concerned. Yet, they are struggling to fully embed sustainability into their core business strategies, operations, and cultures.

Released today, Deloitte’s 2022 CxO Sustainability Report: The Disconnect Between Ambition and Impact, engaged more than 2,000 CxOs across 21 countries to examine business leaders’ and companies’ concerns and actions related to climate change and sustainability. The report also explores the disconnect between company ambition and impact, as well as steps CxOs can take to start to bridge the gap.

Illinois could host proposed pipeline to offset biorefinery carbon emissions

Read the full story in the Effingham Daily News.

The same Midwest land that grows corn for ethanol could also serve as a storage site for carbon emitted by biorefineries.

That production and sequestration cycle is at the heart of a pipeline project proposed across 13 Illinois counties and parts of four other states.

Texas-based Navigator CO2 Ventures has put forward a plan to capture and transport 10 to 15 million metric tons of liquified carbon dioxide per year through a 1,300-mile pipeline across Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois to a pair of permanent sequestration sites in central Illinois.

The liquified carbon emissions would enter the system from industrial customers like ethanol plants, move through the pipeline and be injected more than a mile below the ground for permanent storage.

What is climate gentrification and why is it different?

Read the full post at the Green Law blog.

Climate Gentrification can occur when a neighborhood lacking climate resiliency is made uninhabitable or less attractive to current and potential residents and developers. For example, in Miami, Florida, as the sea level rises and the risk of floods increases, developers are purchasing property at higher elevation locations, which are often lower-income neighborhoods. Thus, climate change is resulting in increased property values drawing in more affluent residents and the businesses that serve them. As a result, communities like Liberty City, which are more climate-resistant than current high-income areas, are experiencing gentrification and displacement.

Climate Gentrification is unique. Instead of residents being attracted to low-income communities by lower housing costs and recent improvements, like new parks or improved transportation, climate change can drive residents out of neighborhoods they would otherwise have stayed in. The high-income residents are pushed into nearby low-income neighborhoods that have better natural or planned climate resiliency. For example, Miami is facing serious issues due to sea-level rise and Liberty Center is on some of Miami-Dade’s highest grounds, making it naturally more climate resilient than coastal communities.

Climate change is a housing issue, too. Here’s how one Kansas City group offers help

Read the full story in the Kansas City Star.

On the bulletin board in Gloria Ortiz-Fisher’s office hangs a letter from a single mother of three children that serves as a reminder of the challenges that those living in poverty face.

“The updates and remodeling that have been made to our building are more than a hard working mother could ever ask for,” the woman wrote in the letter. “Now that my unit is more energy efficient I can for the first time in my adult life afford rent and utilities on my own.” The letter is an inspiration — one of empowerment where a mother no longer needs to rely on her parents to help her every month to pay her bills, Ortiz-Fisher said.

It also serves as a reminder of the importance of her work as the executive director of Westside Housing Organization, a 48-year-old community development corporation that creates affordable housing on Kansas City’s West Side, Midtown and Historic Northeast communities.

The organization helps build or rehab homes as well as do minor repairs, up to $10,000, including roofing, painting, and replacing or recaulking windows. Westside Housing is also remodeling a building east of downtown and adding solar panels on the roof to provide the energy for apartments. The goal is to have tenants’ energy to be included in the rent.

Reynolds says state should invest in carbon capture research

Read the full story at Radio Iowa.

Governor Kim Reynolds says carbon pipelines are private sector projects and she does not support direct state investment in any of the pipelines that are proposed.

During her Condition of the State address last week, Reynolds called for investment in “carbon capture solutions sustain and build on our leadership in renewable energy.”

During an interview with Radio Iowa, Reynolds indicated she’s talking about state money for Iowa State University research focused on how Iowa farmers could secure carbon credits for planting crops.

Make water conservation a part of your business

Read the full story at Food Engineering.

The United Nations estimates that the global demand for water will increase 20% to 30% by 2050 to meet the food needs of a projected population of 9.8 billion. Food and beverage companies combined with agricultural inputs use the lion’s share of water globally, and non-profit organization Ceres suggests in a recent study, “Feeding Ourselves Thirsty,” that most food companies are not taking the necessary action to reduce their demands and impacts on freshwater resources.

Study: Safety of raw milk could be impacted by climate change

Read the full story in Food Safety Magazine.

A new study posits that climate change occurring in Europe could impact the microbiological quality of raw milk. 

The study used a probabilistic model to quantify the concentration of Escherichia coli in raw milk and used that data to predict what might happen to raw milk supplies in France under climate change conditions. It included four modules: initial contamination, packaging, retailing, and consumer refrigeration.