writeaboutwarming

April 25, 2019 I thought I knew about recycling plastics, and I guess I know enough to get by. Still, there are some big no-noes, so pay attention. Before we get to the yeses and noes, however, let's make sure we're all on board when it comes to the simple stuff. You know about little numbers inside a triangle on the bottom of your plastic recyclables, right? We all know that. But did you know that number is called a resin identification code? I didn't. If you want to know what should go straight into the recycling bin, look for the numbers 1, 2 and 5. Why? " . . . because we have great markets for them in the U.S.," according to Brent Bell of Waste Management. Items such as water and soda bottles, milk jugs, laundry detergent bottles, yogurt cups and butter tubs can be recycled without a second thought. If you're feeling ambitious, help out by rinsing them and removing labels. On the other hand, items like squeezable bottles, plastic bags, meat trays, s

April 14, 2019 I'd never heard of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) before, but the 160 countries and regional intergovernmental agencies that comprise its membership have released a report entitled Global Energy Transformation: A Roadmap to 2050. I ran across a summary of the report at Think Progress, and I thought I'd share parts of it with you. This is an important report. The members of IRENA base their research on the premise that renewable energy sources, as the most accessible energy on earth, can accelerate conversion to electricity on a global scale while meeting agreed-upon climate objectives. (I should mention that member countries must also belong to the United Nations.) Their report maintains that because prices of key clean energy technologies are dropping, as much as 85% of the world's energy could come from renewable energy sources, primarily solar and wind. Keeping the global temperature increase below two degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees