EC Environmental Policy

It's good we're on our way to accepting bugs as a real option for protein, because our current diet is astonishingly resource-hungry. Livestock production takes more than 30% of the ice-free land of this planet, consumes 8% of our potable water, and is responsible for nearly 15% of the total man-made greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere every year. And demand for meat is projected to grow 60% by 2050. insects offer much more than protein. He thinks they can become bio-processing units working in fully automated, remotely controlled smart factories producing high-quality proteins, fats for the pharmaceutical industry, and biofuels-all using different kinds of waste as raw materials.

Climate change is the biggest threat to our national parks. It's not just a future threat -- we're seeing the impacts right now at national parks and other public lands across the country. We must #ActOnClimate to ensure that current and future generations can enjoy America's most treasured places. If we don't, we will have to say goodbye to these iconic views.

Bees around the world face a real challenge to sustain their populations in the face of threats such as habitat loss and pesticides. Hawaiian yellow-faced bees are no different, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has now moved to protect the insects by placing seven species on the endangered list, a first for any type of bee in the US.

The BIOcultivator is just one of seven nature-inspired food system innovations participating in the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge Accelerator, a program designed to help budding sustainable entrepreneurs bring their biomimicry design solutions from concept to the marketplace. Over the past year, these teams have been working to test and prototype their designs, and this month, at the National Bioneers Conference in CA, will be vying for the $100,000 Ray C. Anderson Foundation Ray of Hope Prize

For years, clean energy advocates have pointed towards hydroelectricity as an important alternative to gas, coal and nuclear power plants. But a new study suggests that the dams and reservoirs commonly associated with this clean energy source are actually pumping a significant amount of carbon emission into the air.

Drone boats will soon hit the famous, rusty bike-filled canals of Amsterdam. The ambitious "ROBOAT" project, a collaboration between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS), will start a five-year trial of the vessels from 2017 to give the multi-purpose boats all sorts of interesting tasks for the busy waterways. The boats will support an array of sensors that can measure water pollution and quality, making assessments about how best to improve the environment. "Water is the bearer of life," says Arjan van Timmeren, professor and scientific director at AMS. "By focusing on the water system of the city, ROBOAT can create opportunities for new environmental sensing methods and climate adaptation."

Geothermal energy has been developing rapidly in the Netherlands and in this guest piece by Niek Willemsen of IF Technology, the reasons for this growth are described.

It's been almost 10 years since the Coca-Cola Company (PDF) vowed to "safely return to communities and nature an amount of water equal to what we use in our finished beverages and their production," with a deadline of 2020 for doing so. To get there, it teamed up with a broad array of NGOs and government aid agencies, who established clear rules for "replenishing" the aquifers and waterways that make up a watershed, and in 2015 the company announced it not only had reached its target five years early, but even surpassed it by putting 15 percent more water into the system than it took out. This tiny pack, however, is dwarfed by a massive herd of corporates that have made similar promises without offering any indication of how they'll deliver or whether they're making progress - and it's not just a water problem.

More than 200 million gallons of contaminated wastewater from a fertilizer plant in central Florida leaked into one of the state's main underground sources of drinking water after a massive sinkhole opened up beneath a storage pond, a phosphate company said Friday. The sinkhole, discovered by a worker on Aug. 27, is believed to reach down to the Floridan aquifer, the company said in a news release.

Levi's Stadium, the home of the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers, features an urban farm that will produce as much as 150 pounds of produce weekly. The garden encompasses 4,000 square feet of the 27,000-square-foot green roof that also has solar panels.

The Environmental Protection Agency's final Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which will curb nitrous oxide emissions from power plants in 22 states, debuted this week. Acting EPA air chief Janet McCabe said the "common-sense actions" will benefit millions of people.

The building industry has become more analytical and data-driven as it has moved toward more sustainable forms of construction. Conventional construction is falling by the wayside in major markets because "people are just realizing that green building makes sense," said Nathan Taft, director of acquisitions for green builder Jonathan Rose Cos.

President Barack Obama officially committed the US to the goals of the Paris climate accord on Saturday. Under the deal, the US has until 2025 to curb its carbon emissions by 26% to 28% below 2005 levels.

Cleantech company Nova Innovation has reportedly built the world's first fully operational, commercial, grid-connected array of underwater turbines that generate power from oceanic tides. The array is located northeast of Scotland in the Shetland Islands.

The Coca-Cola Company has achieved its goal to replenish 100% of the water used in its global sales volume and production by the end of 2020, five years ahead of schedule. The company also made progress against another water-related goal by increasing its water use efficiency by 2.5% from 2014 to 2015.

General Motors announced plans to make engine covers, coats for the homeless, and air filters out of the 2 million discarded water bottles it has collected from Flint, Michigan residents. The project is an extension of its ongoing "Do Your Part" recycling initiative, which converts discarded water bottles into fleece.

PepsiCo achieved a 26% reduction in operational water use per unit of production against a 2006 baseline in 2015, surpassing its 2015 target. The company's water conservation efforts have led to more than $80 million in cost savings since 2011.

U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions from natural gas are expected to exceed CO2 emissions from coal by 10% by the end of 2016, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration report.

The Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN), a project of the nonprofit As You Sow, has launched its newest initiative, YESS: Yarn Ethically & Sustainably Sourced. YESS will work to eradicate modern slavery in cotton harvesting and yarn production by enabling yarn spinners to identify and eliminate cotton produced with forced labor, and be verified for having fair labor practices.

Seventy percent of registered voters have a positive impression of wind development. "Candidates running for office on both sides of the aisle in this important election year should take note: The more wind farms we build, the stronger support from US voters grows," said American Wind Energy Association CEO Tom Kiernan.