How to make corn more like cactus

This past summer, a widespread drought across the United States lowered crop yields by as much as one-third as corn, wheat, barley and other plants suffered from too much heat and too little water. It’s a scenario that will likely … Read more

Plastics recycling

plastics recycling

Plastic pollution is a problem that that begins long before it reaches the environment, and therefore the solution should fulfil the same criterion. Two new European projects develop plastic technologies for that aim. One will produce biodegradable bioplastics; the other … Read more

Against greenwashing

greenwashing

The booming demand for sustainable products is associated with increasing consumer consciousness of environmental problems. As a result, the biobased industry is thriving and companies are now opting for biomass-derived alternatives instead of their petrochemical counterpart to formulate products. Unfortunately, … Read more

Wood conservation

wood

Wood conservation is a necessary and noble art. In itself, wood is an excellent construction material: in ample supply, often locally sourced, easy to process; its production requires little energy. But softwood will quickly deteriorate. It may rot by action … Read more

Against desertification

against desertification

Each year, planet Earth loses 13 million hectares (32 million acres) of forest. Since 1960, more than half of all tropical forests have disappeared. Particularly because of logging in the tropical rain forests of Brazil and Indonesia. Logging also takes … Read more