Environment

The US Department of Energy's efforts to combat climate change are set to receive a massive cash injection, with the Biden administration announcing US$3.5 billion in funding for regional direct air carbon capture hubs to help reach net-zero by 2050.

The latest climate change report from the World Meteorological Organization shines the spotlight on some of the important markers of climate change, detailing a string of alarming new records set across 2021.

Rare coral bleaching brought on by abnormal sea temperatures is rapidly becoming the norm on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, which has just experienced its fourth such event in six years, and the first to ever occur in a La Niña year.

The damage sunscreen can do to corals is tied to a common ingredient called oxybenzone, and Stanford scientists have now shown how corals convert the compound into a potent toxin that brings about their demise.

The sludge that is created through sewage treatment processes is rich in nutrients like phosphorous and nitrogen, making it an excellent source of fertilizer for agriculture. But research has found it also contains significant amounts of microplastics.

Invasive freshwater zebra mussels are a problem in many areas, clogging structures such as water intake and water treatment pipes as they rapidly reproduce. A new technology could help, by getting them to eat "eco-friendly" poison disguised as food.

Nike looks to make shoe recycling simpler with its new ISPA Link, a glue-less sneaker that quickly separates into three pieces to presort itself for recycling. The company hopes to scale the program to make sneaker recycling a more universal concept.

Back in 2020, Open Ocean Engineering launched an autonomous vessel designed to clear plastic waste from local waterways. After partnering with Razer last year for a radical redesign, a sleeker Clearbot has now started patrolling Hong Kong waters.

It can be challenging, trying to selectively kill off an invasive plant that grows in amongst non-target native species. A new initiative is aiming to do just that, however, by introducing a weed-eating mite into the Canadian environment.

Engineers in the US and Mexico have developed a way to use soot from emissions to improve solar thermal devices. The coatings are not only cheaper to produce but more efficient than using materials like graphene, while reducing pollution.

Even though our forests are disappearing at an alarming rate, new wooden structures are typically made of all-new wood. A special computer system could help change that, by facilitating the use of wood reclaimed from existing buildings.

Scientists have leveraged machine learning to engineer an enzyme that degrades some forms of plastic in just 24 hours, with a stability and affordability that makes it well-suited to large-scale adoption.