Don’t just reduce emissions, create a circular economy as well
Last month, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation completed a series of reports on climate change with a strong message. Don’t just reduce emissions; restructure the economy as well, from a once-through wasteful economy to a circular economy. Or else, industry and agriculture will continue to emit a lot of greenhouse gases, because of their sheer size
Biobased leather
This month, NNFCC’s newsletter highlighted the launch of two biobased leather products. Isn’t all leather biobased then? Yes, but here we mean leather of vegetable origin. The synthetic leather market amounted to $ 26 billion in 2018 and is still growing substantially. In this growing market, the share of biobased leather increases. The new products
Use more plastics, says Michael Carus, but responsibly
Michael Carus, managing director of the German nova-Institute, has stirred up the plastics debate. While plastic waste is piling up and the seas get filled with plastic soup, Carus makes a plea for the use of more plastics. A better use of plastics, properly speaking. The age of plastic has just begun In an interview
Antibiotics resistance, do ants have the solution?
Most of the time we don’t realise it, but there is an antibiotic crisis going on. Our present families of antibiotics become less effective, and each year many people die from superbugs resistant to all medicines. Research now shows that some ants have developed a strategy to overcome antibiotics resistance. Could we learn from them?
Reductionism and holism in the life sciences
Science rests on reductionism: the reduction of complex issues to digestible bits. From there, researchers try to piece together the bigger picture. But in the life sciences we now see a movement towards holism: the concept that life’s manifestations can only be understood from the whole. How can we reconcile both concepts? This is a
Processed banana leaves, an eco-friendly packaging solution
In Asia, banana leaves were always used for food packaging. But they quickly deteriorate. They have been overtaken by plastics, that now often clog the waterways and pollute the oceans. An young Indian inventor has managed to process banana leaves to a packaging material that keeps it properties for three years. And it is perfectly
High hopes for holism
Reductionism, reducing issues to little fragments, is at the basis of our present wealth. It also has a major influence on our social behaviour and our worldview. This may take us quite a distance, but we may also lose the view on the bigger picture. Therefore, high hopes for holism. This is a shortened passage
on: 6 October 2019