Author: Laura B.

I'm the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center's Sustainability Information Curator, which is a fancy way of saying embedded librarian. I'm also Executive Director of the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable. When not writing for Environmental News Bits, I'm an avid reader. Visit Laura's Reads to see what I'm currently reading.
Energy storage, Publications

A strategy to rejuvenate dead lithium inside batteries

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Read the full story at TechXplore.

Li-ion batteries and other emerging lithium-based battery technologies are currently used to power a wide range of devices, including smartphones, laptops, tablets and cameras. Despite their advantages, batteries containing lithium do not always retain their performance over time.

One of the main reasons for the performance decay observed in some Li-based batteries is that the lithium contained within them sometimes becomes inactive or “dead.” This “dead lithium” can cause capacity decay and thermal runaway, which can ultimately reduce a battery’s lifespan and impair its performance.

Researchers at Zhejiang University of Technology in China and Argonne National Laboratory in the U.S. have recently devised a strategy to restore inactive lithium in Li metal anodes. This strategy, outlined in a paper published in Nature Energy, is based on a chemical reaction known as iodine redox.

Fashion & beauty products

Clean beauty is now a $1 billion business. Just ask Beautycounter

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Read the full story at Fast Company.

There’s a lot of money to be made in nontoxic makeup.

Beautycounter, the startup known for its clean formulations, just hit unicorn status. The startup received an undisclosed investment from the Carlyle Group, raising its valuation to $1 billion. The investment gives the firm a majority stake in Beautycounter and is designed to fuel the company’s growth, including an expansion beyond North America. But it’s also a testament to how mainstream—and lucrative—the clean beauty sector has become.

Corporate sustainability, Food and beverage manufacturing, Supply chain

Pepsi and Mars want to squeeze carbon out of their supply chains

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Read the full story at Canary Media.

Long-overlooked supply chain emissions are getting new focus from the brands that depend on them.

Agriculture, Corporate sustainability, Food and beverage manufacturing

Mondelēz and Olam announce partnership to create ‘world’s largest sustainable cocoa farm’ in Asia

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Read the full story at Confectionery News.

Leading chocolate maker and largest cocoa supplier aim to strengthen sustainable cocoa sourcing in Indonesia with 2,000-hectare cocoa farming model.

Corporate sustainability, Food and beverage manufacturing

Heineken sets out plans to be carbon neutral across value chain by 2040

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Read the full story at Beverage Daily.

Heineken has set targets to decarbonise its own production by 2030 and its full value chain by 2040.

Climate change

Climate Change will reshape Silicon Valley as we know it

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Read the full story in Wired.

High-profile entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, venture capitalists like Peter Thiel and Keith Rabois, and big companies like Oracle and HP Enterprise are all leaving California. During Covid-19, Zoom-enabled tech workers are discovering the benefits of remote work from cheaper, less congested communities elsewhere. Though working from home was intended to be a temporary measure for millions of workers in the early days of the pandemic, there is now no clear end in sight. Almost a year later, workers continue to untether themselves from city centers as companies permanently go remote and rethink how they conduct business.

Is this the end of Silicon Valley as we know it? It is my belief that it is—but the reasons why the Silicon Valley party may soon be over run far deeper than the flight of talent. One of the most compelling is that the greatest opportunities will no longer be found in the overbuilt sector of consumer and business internet applications. Instead, they’ll be found in climate tech.

Environmental health, Plastics, Publications

Thousands of tons of microplastics are swirling around in the atmosphere, study finds

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Read the full story at Live Science.

Millions of tiny pieces of plastic are swirling around in Earth’s atmosphere and traveling across entire continents, according to a new study. This environmental problem is likely to get much worse and could have serious effects on human health, experts say.

Microplastics measure less than 0.2 inches (5 millimeters) long, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). And previous studies had shown that these microscopic particles can be found in the ocean, bottled water and even our poop, but until now, the atmospheric section of this “plastic cycle” had been poorly understood.

The new study revealed thousands of tons of microplastics already in the atmosphere, with roads as the biggest contributor. Computer modeling also revealed how particles get transported vast distances across the globe and showed that nowhere is safe from the pollution.

Corporate sustainability

Cisco commits $100 million to help address climate crisis

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Read the news release.

The Cisco Foundation is committing $100 million over ten years to help reverse the impact of climate change.

Cisco will move the needle on climate action with a focus on technology-based solutions, GHG and carbon reduction, climate resilience, green jobs, and community education and activation.

This new funding is aligned with Cisco’s efforts to reduce emissions, reduce waste and set ambitious goals in our supply chain model and our technology development and production, and is the latest step in our work to power an inclusive – and sustainable – future for all.

Information tools, Plastics

New webpage highlights 52 technologies to fight plastic pollution in our oceans

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Read the full story from Duke University.

Duke University researchers have created a new online resource designed to help local governments, conservation groups, businesses and other stakeholders identify the best technologies to clean up plastic pollution in our oceans or prevent it from getting there in the first place.

The Plastic Pollution Prevention and Collection Technology Inventory includes 52 different technologies, from solar-powered catamarans that use conveyor belts to scoop up floating debris, to underwater bubble tubes that force submerged bits of plastic to the surface where they can more easily be collected.

Consumption, Corporate sustainability, Fashion & beauty products

Levi’s wants you to stop buying so many jeans

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Read the full story at Fast Company.

A new Levi’s ad takes aim at overconsumption in the fashion industry. But can the brand sell less and still be profitable?

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