Blake Zimmerman Of Houston Talks About How Oil Companies Are Using Artificial Intelligence To Help Them

Reborn. Nervion Falls, (Alava, Spain) [OC] (2048X2048) - Author: Mr-_-Blue on reddit

outrageandoptimism.org

Climate Change Podcast | Outrage + Optimism

A podcast taking you behind the scenes on the politics, investments and actions meeting the climate crisis head on like no other.

Outrage + Optimism (podcast)

Want to stay in the loop on climate news?

Check out the podcast Outrage + Optimism by Global Optimism, hosted by Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson.

Every episode comes with a transcript which can be found on the podcast's website.

The authors have also written a book on climate change called The Future We Choose.

If you’ve been trying to go plastic free for awhile you’ve probably accumulated quite a few jars some way or another. I often buy in jars and will keep them for upcycling, but sometimes I run out of ideas on how to reuse them. These are some good ways to repurpose those jars. In addition to these some zero waste stores will take cleaned jars for people who don’t have containers but are looking for a refill. While some of these are exclusively for glass, some of these ideas work for plastic containers too! Happy upcycling!

photo credit to zerowastenerd on instagram

Bigfoot. A foggy morning in Urbasa (Navarra, Spain) [OC][1097x1536] - Author: Mr-_-Blue on reddit

Blake Zimmerman of Houston, Texas explains microgrids and the use of them to promote sustainability. https://blakezimmermanhouston.net/

Bugs across globe are evolving to eat plastic, study finds

Surprising discovery shows scale of plastic pollution and reveals enzymes that could boost recycling

The increasing amount of plastic being added to our environments has created intense selection pressure for microbes that can break down plastic for energy.

Looking at environmental DNA samples, researchers have found 30,000 different enzymes capable of digesting different types of plastic. Almost 60% did not fit into any known enzyme types.

While previous plastic-eating microbes had primarily been found in garbage dumps or recycling plants (locations with very high levels of plastic), the enzymes in this study were collected from soil and ocean water throughout the world, meaning this phenomenon is even more widespread than we thought.

The goal is to utilize these enzymes for more efficient recycling–essentially breaking plastic down into its basic building blocks to reduce or even eliminate the need for new virgin plastic. An enzyme created in 2020 is already being used to recycle plastic bottles in only a couple of hours.

Thanks to the anonymous individual who sent this in!

Don't commodify us. Humanize us. When you commodify environmentalists for your Earth Month strategy, you are dehumanizing our culture, values, and work. While we may have heard greenwashing used, Earth Washing focuses on the mass production based on raising awareness for the protection of the planet. Unfortunately, the extraction rate to create products such as Earth Day T-Shirts, posters, or Earth Day collections is not as ethical as we think they are. To me, environmentalism is more like dismantling white supremacy, than it is a tee or a slogan. Many large-scale corporations that sell ideas of planting trees for every purchase you make are still linked to funding private prisons, slave labor, and the further depletion of natural resources in their supply chain. For many BIPOC communities, Earth Month is every day and justice is still not served. Indigenous People's world views, beliefs, and cultural traditions are essential when fighting for environmental justice. Community-based frameworks are crucial. We must elevate the ideas from Indigenous communities and communities of color that have faced high rates of injustice head on. They know firsthand what it's like to live in a world that inflicts violence, pain, and trauma on those who actively protect Earth, and to still protect it anyways. Yes, Earth Month is an opportunity for many environmentalists to get paid and recognized for our work (we're typically not the guest speaker of choice in a market based on overconsumption). While we are NOT going to shame those trying their best to earn funds for their work, we can critically extend ourselves to redistribute the funds to BIPOC activists and organizations that are often left out from media conversations. While we all contribute to forms of Earth Washing, we can always directly help those who continue to fight against environmental injustices.

-queer brown vegan

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