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10 Good Things About 2019

Did you know that back in June of 2019, a Dutch automotive company called Lightyear introduced the world's first long-range solar car? They've dubbed the sedan "Lightyear One." Made of light-weight carbon fiber, the car's rooftop solar cells make it a viable, emissions-free alternative form of transportation. Long overdue, we can only hope it will, over time, become affordable enough for every driver.

The National Pollinator Garden Network set themselves the goal of registering a million gardens in 2015. In April last year, they surpassed that goal. With their existence threatened by the use of poisonous pesticides, bees, birds, butterflies, and other bugs will be aided by these gardens in their fight for survival. The gardens comprise roughly 5 million acres, and involve around 8 million people in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

French company Carbios announced in October 2019 it has developed a process for converting PET plastics into a reusable form. The green chemistry corporation uses enzymes to biorecycle multicolored plastics, like the ones used to make food trays and polyester shirts.

The University of the Sunshine Coast, in Brisbane, Australia, began use in September 2019 of a water battery that stores the energy produced by 6,000 solar panels on its campus. Savings of $100 million, coupled with reduction in the school's greenhouse gas emissions, will be enjoyed over the next 25 years as a result of the first-of-its kind system.

A study issued in April 2019 by two German organizations outlines a cost-effective strategy for keeping carbon emissions at a level commensurate with global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius. It is the first study to suggest a global approach to utilizing carbon-capture technology.

An inventive gentleman by the name of Ismael Essome Ebone has been cleaning up the country of Cameroon by building "ecoboats" made of plastic bottles. Thanks to the success of the boats, he launched a nonprofit dedicated to collecting plastic waste. This, in turn, has led to the installation of a plant last year in Cameroon which will collect, sort, and recycle waste materials.

And at the Sierra Energy Company in California, they have been developing the technology to burn non-recyclable garbage that creates clean energy without waste or emissions. In August of 2019, the company announced they are ready to sell their system to municipalities interested in generating renewable energy.

Conservationists are now harvesting trash from the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch for recycling.
The Ocean Cleanup organization announced in October 2019 that their System 001/B vessel had successfully collected debris for recycling.

A study by the University of Washington's School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, published last year, announced the humpback whale population has rebounded to a level of 25,000 whales.

Finally, a study published back in July by the Crowther Lab of ETH Zurich made known the exact locations where trees should be planted in order to clean up the most carbon, and how much carbon those trees would store.



With thanks to the Good News Network.
January 26, 2020

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