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☆ UK government eyes ban on single-use plastic plates and cutlery
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Single-use plastic cutlery, plates and other items are set to be banned by the UK government and replaced by biodegradable items as it seeks to tackle the country’s – and the world’s – growing plastic waste problem. The Financial Times reported that the UK Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey will announce firm plans in the coming weeks. The government said 1.1 billion single-use plates and 4.25 billion items of single-use cutlery are used in England each year, equivalent to 20 plates and 75 pieces of cutlery per person. The European Union banned single-use plastic plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks and cotton buds last summer. In the US, California put in place sweeping new restrictions on single-use plastic in June, requiring all single-use packaging and plastic single-use food serviceware be recyclable or compostable by 2032.

☆ Opinion: It's time for African countries to consider a climate tax on exports
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Adjoa Adjei-Twum | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

I welcome progress here, as African nations are bearing the brunt of climate change. It is now time for African nations to levy a climate export tax on commodities, such as cocoa and rubber, to help pay for climate adaptation. Adaptation is all about building resilience and capacity, and I believe our governments, banks, and businesses must also adapt. Additionally, G20 countries are asking their banks to forecast how risky their loans are due to climate change. It is a wake-up call for African governments, banks, institutions, and companies to unite, step up, and adapt to a new climate reality.

☆ Plant milks or dairy: What's better for you and planet Earth?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The advertisement featuring a pearly white, cow’s milk mustache on a smiling face sends a message often repeated at home: Dairy milk is good for you. Fat, sodium and cholesterol: Compared to dietary cholesterol in whole dairy, most plant milks are good choices — plant foods never have dietary cholesterol, Gardner said. Sodium levels are relatively equal between plant milks and dairy at about 100 milligrams of sodium. “No need to fear the fat of most plant-based milks — unsaturated fats are considered healthful in the modest quantities found in plant-based milks,” Gardner said. Plant milks have no such advantage, and this is where nutrition can stumble, Gardner said.

Representatives from around the world will meet from Nov. 6-18 at the COP27 climate talks in Egypt to try to agree pledges to limit warming to below 2C above pre-industrial levels and ideally to 1.5C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). Policies in place, without strengthening, will likely lead to a 2.8C rise in temperature by the end of the century, 0.1C higher than was estimated last year. Only a root-and-branch transformation of our economies and societies can save us from accelerating climate disaster," UNEP executive director Inger Andersen said. The gap between pledges and limiting warming to 2C is 15 GtCO2e a year and for 1.5C it is 23 GtCO2e a year. read moreOn Wednesday, the World Meteorological Organization said greenhouse gas concentrations climbed at above-average rates to new records last year.

These "conditional" pledges, if implemented fully, could reduce expected warming to a 2.4C rise, while unconditional pledges could lead to a 2.6C rise, the report said. "We still aren't anywhere near enough to cut greenhouse gas emissions (to the levels required)," UNEP executive director Inger Andersen told reporters at a briefing. The gap between pledges and limiting warming to 2C is 15 GtCO2e a year and for 1.5C it is 23 GtCO2e a year. According to a separate U.N. report earlier this week analysing the latest pledges submitted by countries, 2.5C of warming is likely by the end of the century. read moreOn Wednesday, the World Meteorological Organization said greenhouse gas concentrations climbed at above-average rates to records last year.

German company Wasser 3.0, however, thinks it may have found the answer to cleaning up microplastic pollution before it reaches the ocean — using a whirlpool and a specially developed hybrid silica gel. Courtesy Wasser 3.0 gGmbH | Philipp BrüderleThe hybrid silica gel consists of silicone-based chemicals called organosilanes, and is non-toxic, says Schuhen. During a 12-month trial at the Landau site, around 600 pounds of microplastics were removed, says Schuhen. Some scientists have suggested using magnetic fluids to separate microplastics from water or sticky film made of bacteria, but these processes are in their early stages. Schuhen says that Wasser 3.0 is an affordable, scalable and simple solution to the global problem of microplastic pollution.

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