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How to recycle the unrecyclable

Kai Steinecke

February 11, 2022 |

Deutsche Welle (DW) |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Germany

A chemical recycling plant in Germany is taking old tires and turning them back into their original components. From there, those materials can be used in the production of insulation, steel, and oil. The gas that is discharged during the process is also used to power the whole plant. Other plants around the world are also exploring how to take plastic waste and chemically recycle it instead of burning it, so there are less carbon emissions.

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These Americans Are Just Going Around in Circles. It Helps the Climate.

Cara Buckley

November 20, 2021 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Carmel, Indiana

America's capital of the traffic roundabout is Carmel, Indiana, a city of 102,000 people and 140 roundabouts. The city boasts exceptionally low rates of traffic deaths and injury crashes. Studies of roundabout use elsewhere show benefits as well in pedestrian and bicycle safety, and in cutting environmentally harmful emissions because traditional intersections cause much longer idling times. Not all drivers like them, but Carmel long ago overcame initial qualms when the longtime mayor put into practice the traffic idea he admired when he was a university student in England.

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Can Ontario boost EV battery recycling before it's too late?

Nathaniel Basen

April 22, 2021 |

TVO |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Canada, Kingston, Ontario

After lithium-ion batteries from iPhones, laptops, or electric cars are used up, the Ontario-based company LiCycle recycles parts of them to be reused in new batteries or in other products. While the recycling process isn’t completely environmentally friendly, the company is able to recover 95 percent of the raw materials and says their operations produces no carbon emissions, wastewater, or solid waste.

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Using drones to save lives

Garrett Wymer Sam Dick

March 25, 2021 |

WKYT-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Knott County, Kentucky

A drone company and Kentucky Homeplace, a University of Kentucky initiative to address rural health, have used drones to deliver personal protective equipment packages to isolated, rural homes that can become inaccessible by road flooding or other bad weather. The flights, called the Jericho Project, so far have served as tests that the sponsors hope will lead to deliveries of medicine and other necessities during natural disasters or simply to speed delivery in remote areas.

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How to reuse a demolished building

Charlotte Horn

March 23, 2021 |

BBC |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Switzerland, Winterthur

A warehouse in Switzerland is being transformed into new creative workspaces. The catch: It’s being constructed out of reused building materials. About 70 percent of it is being made from old materials like wood floorboards, steel beams, and windows. A network of treasure hunters are on the lookout for used materials that can be used in constructing these buildings. The workspace is nearly complete and it already has tenants for all of the spaces. They were also able to cut the building’s carbon emissions in half.

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‘Our biggest challenge? Lack of imagination': the scientists turning the desert green

Steve Rose

March 20, 2021 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, s’-Hertogenbosch

A Dutch group of engineers known as the Weather Makers has an ambitious plan to regreen the Sinai Peninsula — the stretch of desert connecting Egypt to the rest of Asia. Their efforts would restore forests, wetlands, and even adjust the weather for the region. This form of ecosystems regeneration could help with food security and mitigate the effects of climate change. Their process of changing an entire ecosystem can be controversial, but initial tests have shown how this could work on a large scale.

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The Era of the Wood Skyscraper Is Arriving

Klaus Sieg

March 08, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia

The Brock Commons Tallwood House in Canada was the tallest building made of wood when it opened in 2017. Now, thanks to government policies, scientific research, and hundreds of examples of proof-of-concept, more developers around the world are looking to construct buildings out of timber. Using timber is cheaper than cement, concrete, and steel and can actually store carbon emissions in its supports instead of releasing the greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.

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The Hottest Amenity From Developers? A Power Plant Made of Batteries.

Patrick Sisson

March 03, 2021 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Salt Lake City, Utah

An apartment complex in Utah includes a solar battery in every apartment allowing the resident, power utility, and building developer to save costs for generating electricity. Through a unique partnership, the power systems can provide 12.6 megawatts of power for the building, which translates into residents saving up to 40 percent on the energy bills. This setup might not be easy to scale, but the developer plans to expand the model in other states.

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It looks like the Batmobile, works on solar energy, and could be the future of cars

Sarah Kaplan Aaron Steckelberg Jane Hahn

February 25, 2021 |

The Washington Post |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Diego, California

Aptera Motors, a California-based startup, is poised to roll out the first mass-produced solar vehicle this year: for $25,900. The car is a three-wheel, aerodynamic electric vehicle covered in solar cells that can provide energy to drive about 40 miles. The model is not 100 percent efficient with some energy lost in its electrical current conversion and in its drive system, but the creators say it is four times more effect than an average electric vehicle. Still, when the company started taking preorders, they sold out of its first 330 vehicles in 24 hours.

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Ten years after Fukushima: could new fuels make nuclear power safer?

Michael Allen

February 23, 2021 |

Physics World |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Urbana, Illinois

After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, scientists are looking for ways to ensure the future of nuclear power is safer. One possibility is improving the protective barrier that surrounds the fuel pellets. They coated the fuel road with chromium and in tests, the new coatings performed well. However, modeling suggests that the chromium-coating might not provide enough time to stabilize a power plant during a meltdown. Still, these materials have started to appear in commercial nuclear reactors and could help reduce fuel waste and save money.

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