We are now three decades into political and research efforts to stop climate change. But we are still in the era of rapid global emissions growth. Since 1990, we emitted … Read more
Al last, the need to work towards zero-emission construction seems to dawn on the construction trade. Not an easy task, as the volume of building projects around the world is … Read more
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 … Read more
What policy categories would be most suited for stimulation of sustainable innovation? Innovation subsidies? Taxation of heavily polluting activities? Strict environmental regulation? Empirical evidence shows: strict environmental regulation works best. … Read more
So far, many analysts expected high-renewable energy scenarios to be beneficial to the global climate; but maybe a bit expensive as well. A recent study argues that this too pessimistic. … Read more
Solid state batteries are going to provide a new boost to electric driving. They are in full development; but solid state battery-equipped cars will probably not hit the market before … Read more
Profit is important but not our only driving force, says Michiel Vos. He is founder of CocoPallet, a company that produces pallets from the husks of coconuts. We already interviewed … Read more
Urban waste is a serious threat to the sustainability of our cities. Essentially, our economic model, as far as private consumption is concerned, is still once-through. Consumers don’t care very … Read more
Plastics are wonderful materials; as far as their functionalities in direct use are concerned. But in many cases, they are a headache in the waste phase. For a long time, … Read more
Ben Rawlence’s book The Treeline makes us aware of our dangerous path as mankind. The climate is heating up and therefore the Northern treeline moves towards the North Pole. Ben … Read more
George Monbiot published a new book, Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet. He is the much acclaimed and (to some) controversial author who criticizes modern agricultural practices. In … Read more
Lignin valorization has become a top technological challenge. Lignin is one of the three main components of wood, the ubiquitous and carbon capturing resource. The other two are cellulose and … Read more
Some projects develop slowly but steadily. One of them is the project towards bionylon. We wrote about this in 2014 already. Genomatica, based in San Diego (USA) was the driving … Read more
Applications of graphene, that wonderful material, multiply all the time. The latest news concerns its application in concrete. Adding graphene to concrete can render it extremely strong and much more … Read more
How do we get rid of the growing amount of plastic waste in the world? On a macro scale, The Ocean Cleanup tries to accomplish that: by removing plastic from … Read more
This year marks the 140th anniversary of the death of Charles Darwin. And the 163rd anniversary of the publication of his book The Origin of Species. Darwin is the most … Read more
An article in Chemical and Engineering News calls our attention to the struggle to control weeds. Will we be able to control weeds in the future? Will the EU, that … Read more
In the Netherlands, Amsterdam suffers from congestion on the grid. As do other locations. Sustainable energy projects are stalled because of it. New business projects suffer the same fate. The … Read more
Fur is one of the most difficult textiles to imitate. It also meets with a lot of resistance because its production requires killing animals. But Bio Market Insights now reports … Read more
Until quite recently, lithium-ion batteries were supposed to be the pinnacle of battery technology. These devices would allow the electrification of transport, and indeed of much of the entire world. … Read more
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. … Read more
A recent article in The Conversation shows the undesirable results of a climate policy that lends its ears to public opinion. For consumers are at odds with themselves – in … Read more
MIT in Boston (UsA) is one of the scientific centres developing initiatives to stop climate change. On April 11, it announced five flagship projects in its Climate Grand Challenges. Among … Read more
Thermal batteries are yet another way to store an excess of solar and wind power. According to the laws of physics, they would seem to incur major energy losses. But … Read more
The contours of the future energy system haven’t yet been drawn with great precision. Solar and wind energies lie at its foundation. But these come with their problems: at times … Read more
There are many reasons for use of more solar energy. Most importantly, the climate. Moreover, the world needs to scale down its use of gas and oil quickly. More solar … Read more
An urgent (but often forgotten) issue in our society is that of the limits to healthcare. Its costs have been on the rise for quite some time now – just … Read more
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 … Read more
The most important factor continuously propelling and changing society is technological development. Karl Marx would have been delighted to see that present-day society is still characterized by the relationship between … Read more
Methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas. It has 82.5 times more warming potential than CO2 over a 20-year timespan. But fortunately, it lives shortly in the atmosphere: it degrades … Read more
The ‘70s of the past century mark a turning point in the control of toxic microorganisms. Researchers then discover that we will never finally be able to control them. That … Read more
In 64 episodes, we painted a picture of mankind gradually getting the upper hand over infectious diseases with the aid of its chemical knowledge. And of the limits to this … Read more
Seaweed has many applications. It is processed to food additives and mock meat products. It is used in additives in the food of chickens, pigs, cows, pets and horses. As … Read more
From times immemorial, mankind has swallowed or applied herbs as medicines. Herbal medicine has now moved into the background, maybe even become obsolete. But problems like resistance revive this branch … Read more
A shift towards a plant-based diet could buy humanity a much needed pause in the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. The plant-based diet and global warming The effects of a … Read more
For a long time, biology held that mutation rates are random. Biologists assumed that mutations occur anywhere in the genome, in principle at the same rate everywhere. That some mutations … Read more
From times immemorial, garlic has not just been looked upon as a food, but as a medicine as well. The well-known clove figures in each old medicinal text, as a … Read more
Many proponents of sustainability adhere to the idea that the main path to sustainability lies in high-tech solutions. Like electric cars instead of the old ones, that guzzle fossil fuels. … Read more
PHAs (polyhydroxy alkanoates) are interesting but difficult plastics. Interesting because they are produced in a natural way. From sustainable or waste resources. By microorganisms and not at high temperatures. PHAs … Read more
There are no leaders in the world of microorganisms. All creatures have friends and enemies. Some of them are actual living organisms, others are at the intersection of living and … Read more
Reforestation is an important instrument in the fight against climate change. Particularly in Europe, planting more trees would increase rainfall and reverse a drying trend. But do we know enough … Read more
Almost three years ago, in 2019, we voiced our concern over increased methane emissions. Although then we saw a bright side to this problem: unlike CO2 emissions, methane (CH4) emissions … Read more
A number of powerful people has embarked on a mission to defy death. The most recent among these is Jeff Bezos, former CEO of Amazon and one of the five … Read more
Biological crop protection is on the rise. In many respects, biologicals are better than chemicals. Generally, they carry low risk for human health and for the environment. Not necessarily harmless … Read more
Plastic pollution is everywhere nowadays. Even in the remotest places on earth. A problem that we need to address urgently. But nature may be working hard to help us solve … Read more
This month, Science magazine devoted a long article to the ‘forest fight’ that rages in Germany. The debate on how the nation should manage its trees. Storms and drought played … Read more
Solar energy is making a breakthrough. Solar panels become cheaper all the time. Therefore, structural problems, like their diluted electricity production, become less important. Even in a country with little … Read more
We often assume that ecosystems existed in a pristine state when Western researchers first encountered them. But new research now undermines this concept of pristine nature. Ever since mankind existed, … Read more
In comparison to most utopian views, RethinkX devotes a lot of attention to the Organizing System required for the transition. It stresses that we cannot just rely on technological innovations. … Read more
For decades, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) spread the message ‘that the energy transition will happen faster and be less costly than many people think’; in the words of CEO … Read more