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☆ Opinion | Why I Don’t Worry About Nuclear Waste
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Madison Hilly | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

On a visit to the site of the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown in Japan in February, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York did something refreshing: She discussed radiation exposure and nuclear waste without fanning fear. So it’s no surprise that many Americans believe nuclear waste poses an enormous and terrifying threat. We must stop seeing nuclear waste as a dangerous problem and instead recognize it as a safe byproduct of carbon-free power. The countries that have cleaned up their electricity production the fastest have generally done so with hydroelectric power, nuclear, or a combination of the two. The International Energy Agency believes it’s so crucial that global nuclear capacity must double by 2050 to reach net-zero emissions targets.

☆ An Urban Farmer and TV Host on Why She Recycles Almost Everything
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jamila Norman has a few houseplants, for the record, all thriving, at her home in the West End neighborhood of Atlanta. But although she has room out back, there is no garden. “My friends shame me for it,” Ms. Norman said. “They shame me for it all the time.”Is she ashamed? She has brought her knowledge and can-do spirit to full flower as the host of the Magnolia Network series “Homegrown.” On each episode, Ms. Norman, also known as Farmer J, helps someone transform an often wild-and-woolly outdoor space into a beautiful, functional backyard farm.

☆ This Detroit couple bought a $6,500 house destined for the wrecking ball, then picked over old basketball courts, science labs, and churches to renovate it into a beauty. See inside.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Kyle Dubay and Bo Shepherd own Woodward Throwbacks, a store that recycles building materials. In 2019, they purchased a run-down home for $6,500 from the Detroit Land Bank Authority. See how the couple used salvaged materials to renovate and furnish the home. In 2019, Dubay and Shepherd purchased the North End home from the DBLA for $6,500. See how the couple transformed the old decaying home into a luxurious property by using recycled materials like old basketball court floorboards and science lab countertops.

☆ Biden's budget recycles tax hikes that failed to pass when Democrats controlled Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration's 2024 budget relies almost entirely on additional revenue created by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans and corporations and by letting the Trump-era tax cuts expire. The top individual income tax bracket would rise to 39.6%, and a new global minimum tax would seek to collect levies on income earned overseas. The budget would also close what the White House calls "Medicare tax loopholes" in order to make the Medicare Trust Fund solvent for more than two decades. But it was unclear Thursday whether any of Biden's tax proposals might win enough Democrats and Republicans to become law. Biden's 2024 reelection campaign, which could be announced in the coming weeks, looms large over the 2024 budget tax proposals — many of which were popular with Democratic voters when he ran in 2020.

☆ How one company in Pakistan recycles over a million pairs of jeans every year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Ryan Bieber | Grant Tyler | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

We make over 1 billion pairs of jeans every year, and nearly all of them end up in landfills. One company in Pakistan is recycling old denim into new pants using laser technology and recycled dye. 1 importer of used clothing, and the second-largest exporter of denim. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyWe make more than a billion pairs of jeans every year. In Pakistan, which imports more used clothing than any other nation, one company has figured out a way to recycle old denim, saving water and energy.

☆ UK scientists found a way to slash nearly 90% of carbon emissions from the country's steel industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Now, researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a process to clean up the most carbon-intensive part of the steelmaking process: blast furnaces. Currently, coking coal and iron ore are fed into furnaces and heated to sky-high temperatures to create liquid iron, which is then refined into steel. About 70% of steel used around the world for buildings, cars, and household appliances is made this way. For every metric ton of steel produced, nearly two metric tons of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, according to the World Steel Organization. Kildahl described it as a "closed-loop" system that captures and recycles carbon dioxide to trigger the chemical reactions that convert iron ore into steel.

☆ What is 'cotton candy' plastic, and how can it help keep refugee shelters warm?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Lilian Manansala | Emily Newman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Four friends spent more than a decade designing a machine that recycles plastic waste. The Polyfloss machine spins plastic into thin fibers that can be used for insulation. The company plans on deploying the machine globally to reduce trash and help keep shelters warm. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest on the culture & business of sustainability — delivered weekly to your inbox. They plan on deploying their product around the world to reduce trash and help keep even the most basic shelters warm.

LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Asset Management, the fund arm of Goldman Sachs (GS.N), said on Tuesday it had raised $1.6 billion for its first private equity fund focused on investing in companies providing climate and environmental solutions. The final close of GSAM's Horizon Environment & Climate Solutions I comes as investors increasingly turn their attention to companies that can help in the world's fight against global warming. The fund, launched in 2021, provides so-called "growth capital" to companies further along in developing solutions in clean energy, sustainable transport, waste and materials, sustainable food and agriculture and ecosystem services. While investors have long invested in real assets such as wind and solar, or in early stage venture capital, the demand for the fund showed they were increasingly willing to back bigger companies, Pontarelli said. In December private equity firm General Atlantic launched a $3.5 billion climate fund while a month earlier Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched a $1 billion private equity strategy to invest in companies that will help reduce 1 gigatonne of carbon dioxide emissions.

☆ Human hair recycled in Belgium to protect the environment
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Jakob Van Calster | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Coiffeurs across Belgium are sweeping up and bagging hair clipped from their customers, and then handing it over to an NGO that recycles it to protect the environment. The Hair Recycle project feeds locks and tresses into a machine that turns them into matted squares that can be used to absorb oil and other hydrocarbons polluting the environment, or made into bio-composite bags. [1/5] Patrick Janssen, co-founder of the organisation Dung Dung, shows a tile made from recycled human hair that is used to absorb polluting chemical substances in water, in Waremme, Belgium December 8, 2022. Isabelle Voulkidis, manager of the Helyode salon in Brussels, is one of dozens of hairdresser across the country that pay a small fee to the project to collect their hair cuttings. Additional reporting by Clement Rossignol; Writing by John Chalmers; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ East-West battleground will shift from fossil fuels to metals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MILAN, Dec 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The global trade war will shift from fossil fuels to metals and raw materials. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlighted the risk of relying on autocratic states for energy. Europe needs to cumulatively spend $5.3 trillion on clean energy projects by 2050. That requires a sixfold increase in the global production of copper, lithium, graphite, nickel and some rare earths by 2040, International Energy Agency estimates show. It refines 58% of lithium produced globally, 65% of cobalt and over one-third of nickel and copper.

☆ East-West battleground will shift to metals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MILAN, Dec 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The global trade war will shift from fossil fuels to metals and raw materials. Europe needs to cumulatively spend $5.3 trillion on clean energy projects by 2050. That requires a sixfold increase in the global production of copper, lithium, graphite, nickel and some rare earths by 2040, International Energy Agency estimates show. It refines 58% of lithium produced globally, 65% of cobalt and over one-third of nickel and copper. That’s why Western nations’ best option is ultimately to recycle metals from used appliances.

☆ Fast-Fashion Brands Like Zara, Shein Create Mountains of Waste From Holiday Shopping, Returns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Gad Allon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

A report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation found that, globally, less than 1% of used clothing is actually recycled into new clothes. Recycling clothes is expensive, and the existing technology isn't adequate to handle the volume needed to make a difference for the planet. While recycling clothing can be expensive, there are some companies that have figured out a way to limit waste by recycling. Time to be honestIn order to fix fast fashion, companies need to start being more transparent about their sustainability practices. It also ensures that the waste companies produce is out in the open.

☆ Elon Musk's former right-hand man is taking the next big step in his plan to make EVs cheaper by recycling old batteries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The EV battery recycling giant just announced a new plant in South Carolina. The plant will help carmakers get the materials they need to make EV batteries. With more and more demand for the materials to make these things, taking advantage of recycling can ease a supply crunch and eventually drive down costs. "The goal is to make the most sustainable battery materials," said Jackson Switzer, Redwood senior director of business development and one of Insider's 100 People Transforming Business. "To make the most sustainable battery materials, we need to get as much recycled nickel, cobalt, and lithium as we can into the front end of the system.

☆ Fact Check-Viral video promotes baseless vaccine depopulation theory
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +14 min

However, there is no evidence that mortality rates have surged or that stillbirths have increased as a result of COVID-19 vaccines. News reports about cardiac arrests and unexpected deaths are then shown on screen and are baselessly attributed to COVID-19 vaccines. There have been 55 deaths involving COVID-19 vaccines causing adverse effects in England between March 2020 and October 2022. While stillbirth rates remain constant, global birth or fertility rates, including in the U.S., have been declining for decades (here, here, here, here). The film does not provide evidence that the global elite are depopulating the world through COVID-19 vaccines.

☆ Redwood Materials to supply cathode material to Panasonic U.S. battery plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Paul Lienert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 15 (Reuters) - Panasonic Corp (6752.T) will buy remanufactured battery cathode material from Redwood Materials, beginning in 2025, for the Japanese battery maker’s new Kansas plant, the companies said on Tuesday. Those targets are a focus of U.S. President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to build up a battery materials supply base in North America. “The IRA just accelerated this entire transition” of the battery supply chain, Redwood Materials Chief Executive J.B. Straubel said in an interview. He expects the company to be the first to produce cathode material at volume in North America. Redwood recycles Panasonic scrap materials from that factory, and has an agreement to supply Panasonic at the Nevada plant with remanufactured anode copper foil.

A donor is eligible for an immediate tax deduction when contributing cash, securities, or other assets to a DAF. watch nowThis strategy addresses the fact that charitable contributions are only tax-deductible for those who itemize their deductions. Since the gifted assets are "frozen" at today's lower values, they use up less of the federal lifetime gift tax exemption. At current levels, a married couple with an estate above $24.12 million, or $10.98 million after 2025, may be hit with federal estate tax. That means an investor can gift each person $16,000 this year gift tax-free.

☆ Battery-recycling startup Ascend Elements just pulled in $800 million in funding. Here's why investors are betting on it to beat out rivals like Redwood Materials.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ascend Elements wants to lead in the crucial EV-battery-recycling space. The burgeoning battery-recycling startup Ascend Elements is sitting on a fresh $800 million — and its CEO plans to spend it on beating out rivals like Redwood Materials. Redwood Materials, arguably the most-known player in the industry, saw a whopping $700 million Series C last year. Correction: October 26, 2022 — An earlier version of this story misstated the breakdown of Ascend Element's funding. The $50 million strategic investment from SK is part of the $200 million in equity funding, not in addition to it.

☆ Trump's yearslong crusade against Ukraine has finally come home to roost as Republicans call for abandoning Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( John Haltiwanger | Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

US aid to Ukraine could be in jeopardy if Republicans win the House in the midterms. Several GOP lawmakers and candidates have signaled they would support reducing or cutting off Ukraine aid. In April, 10 House Republicans voted against a bill allowing the Biden administration to more easily lend military equipment to Ukraine. The following month, 57 House Republicans voted "no" on a nearly $40 billion aid package for Ukraine. Some GOP opposition to continuing aid to Ukraine is tied to Trump's "America First" policy vis-a-vis foreign affairs.

☆ The 'last man' selling floppy-disks says airlines continue to make orders for the ancient storage technology
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

He says in a new book that the airline industry is one of his biggest customers. "These are people who use floppy disks as a way to get information in and out of a machine. He also said that the medical sector still uses floppy disks. And then there's "hobbyists," who want to "buy ten, 20, or maybe 50 floppy disks." Floppy disks made news recently when Japan's digital minister, Taro Kano, declared "a war" on the devices, tweeting earlier this month that Japan's digital agency would change regulations requiring businesses to use floppy disks and CDs, instead shifting to online services.

☆ Parents struggling with inflation: 'I left that $25 backpack for my preschooler at the checkout.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-04 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | Cnn Business | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York (CNN Business) As Sarah Longmore finished her back-to-school shopping, the mother of five looked at a $25 backpack for her preschooler. Like Longmore, many parents — regardless of income — are finding their back-to-school dollars aren't going as far as they once did. Just 36% of parents said they would be able to pay for everything their kids need this school year, according to Morning Consult's annual back-to-school shopping report . JUST WATCHED Online shopping prices are starting to ease. Here's why that's significant Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Online shopping prices are starting to ease.

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