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Abandoned oil wells should be an agenda item in climate talks April 28, 2021, 10:17 PM IST
Now the climate change talks are in the news. This has become a routine game for the countries. Developed economies want the developing economies to cut CO2 emissions, control methane emissions (reduce agricultural activity) and promote renewable energy technology (only solar is permitted since it is money spinner). In my earlier blog I explained why solar is not economical and it is not environmentally friendly. Why all the countries are harping on coal-based power plants while a silent killer is causing more damage compared to CO2. Though methane is in the atmosphere for a shorter period its global warming potential is 34 times greater. As a result, methane emissions contributed to about one-third of today’s anthropogenic GHG warming. 24 % of methane contribution to the atmosphere comes from oil and gas wells while agriculture contributes only 3%. Let us examine how coun
The Microplastics And PFAS Connection
By Cayla Cook and Eva Steinle-Darling
Microplastics, small plastic particles with sizes ranging from 5 millimeters to 1 nanometer with various morphologies such as microfibers, fragments, pellets (nurdles), or microbeads, have received increasing attention, including upcoming statewide monitoring in California.
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are a group of unique chemically stable compounds and, as a result, have made them highly valuable across a wide range of industrial, commercial, and military uses. However, this feature concomitantly makes them recalcitrant and persistent in nature thus coined “forever” chemicals (Lindstrom et al. 2011, Buck et al. 2011). Recent developments in toxicology, coupled with significant political pressure, have put PFAS on the fast-track for regulation in drinking water and wastewater. While co-occurrence is well-known for a variety of contaminants like triclosan and triclocarban, the connecti
Reviews for the real world.
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Real Talk
Illustration: Yann Bastard
Published April 22, 2021
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A couple of days before I started reporting this story, I ordered a cat scratcher from Amazon. When it arrived, I immediately felt guilty. The scratcher was made entirely of cardboard. It came inside its own cardboard mailing box. And
that box had been stuck inside another, much larger cardboard box and surrounded by bubble wrap. All of that, just to deliver intact something whose sole purpose is to be destroyed. I had to wonder: Did the way I acquired it help destroy the planet, too?
Reviews for the real world.
Wirecutter is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Learn more
Real Talk
Illustration: Yann Bastard
Published April 21, 2021
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My happy place is that chaotic zone of salt and spray where the beach meets the sea, a place of coming and going, flux and exchange. I love to dig my toes into the suctioning sand and feel the swirl of a receding wave. Though often my feet find sharp things in the soft sand not just gravel and pebbles but also, increasingly and overwhelmingly, plastic. I try to collect the shards, the bits of aquas, whites, and teals, but soon I give up, angry and defeated. There is too much. So much of it is too tiny to hold or even see.