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Why is a ton of trash washing up on beaches in Hong Kong? It’s a mystery!

by charitys21 Posted on July 5, 2016

life’s a beach

Why is a ton of trash washing up on beaches in Hong Kong? It’s a mystery!

By on Jul 5, 2016 7:10 pmShare

Listen up, beach-goers who delight in swimming amongst plastic bags, deflated balloons, and lonely flip flops! We found the perfect place for you: the shores of Hong Kong, where unsightly piles of debris have recently washed up and taken up residence.

Plastic pollution is not a new problem for Hong Kong’s waterfront. But during the past two weeks, Quartz reports, the garbage influx has reached unprecedented levels.

Facebook/Ocean Recovery AllianceFacebook/Ocean Recovery Alliance

No one knows precisely where the trash is coming from, but we’re guessing it has something to do with humans — you know, those creatures that like to buy food in individually wrapped plastic packages and, incidentally, have thrown 10 to 30 billion pounds of plastic debris into the ocean. Right now, it looks like Hong Kong’s shores are bearing the brunt of it.

Just a few years ago, Hong Kong set up a fake, blue-sky backdrop in front of its smoggy city skyline for tourist-photo purposes. If only we had a beautiful backdrop to remember the island’s clean beaches by …

Ah, there we go. That’s better.

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Why is a ton of trash washing up on beaches in Hong Kong? It’s a mystery!

Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, GE, LAI, ONA, PUR, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Why is a ton of trash washing up on beaches in Hong Kong? It’s a mystery!

Oil and gas are a bad bet, warns Canadian government group

by JeraldMarko Posted on May 31, 2016

Oil and gas are a bad bet, warns Canadian government group

By on May 31, 2016 5:40 pmShare

One of the world’s largest fossil fuel producers is on the verge of cleaning up its act.

In coming years, Canada can expect a switch from oil and gas to renewables, according to a draft policy report from a government group. Even more importantly, the report notes, Canada should expect some of its oil to likely “remain in the ground.”

Sound familiar? That phrase just so happens to mimic the rallying cry of the U.S. environmental movement.

The dose of reality for Canada’s tar sands industry comes from Policy Horizons Canada, which provides advice to the federal government on emerging policy issues. CBC News obtained the report via an access to information request.

“It is increasingly plausible to foresee a future in which cheap renewable electricity becomes the world’s primary power source and fossil fuels are relegated to a minority status,” the report reads. It urges against investment in new oil and gas infrastructure projects, calling them “high risk” for becoming unprofitable. Electric cars like Tesla even made an appearance in the report, with forecasts showing that cars that use lithium-ion batteries would become affordable sooner than previously expected.

If the report’s takeaways stand, it means a big turnaround for a country that was until recently all-in on fossil fuels. Canada is the world’s fifth largest producer of oil, providing an estimated 6 percent of global energy supplies.

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Oil and gas are a bad bet, warns Canadian government group

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This herb could be the secret to curbing cows’ climate-changing burps

by BennieEsparza Posted on May 13, 2016

This herb could be the secret to curbing cows’ climate-changing burps

By on May 13, 2016 3:50 pmShare

Oregano may seem like an unlikely ingredient in the fight against climate change. But this modest herb could make cows’ methane-heavy belches — a big contributor to the warming of our planet — a little less potent.

Oregano’s essential oil contains carvacrol, an antimicrobial that kills off some of the methane-producing bacteria in the cow’s rumen. Danish researchers who are investigating oregano’s methane-suppressing abilities hope that it could reduce cows’ methane emissions by a quarter. Nearly 15 percent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to livestock, and 65 percent of that total comes from raising beef and dairy cattle.

NPR points out that oregano oil isn’t the only solution to cutting down cows’ ballooning emissions. Scientists have explored unpronounceable alternatives like 3-nitrooxypopanal, a methane-inhibiting chemical. But those may not be compatible with organic guidelines, and many of the people who care about cows’ methane emissions are the same ones who buy organic milk.

We could just eat less dairy and beef. But while some Americans are starting to shift away from meat, that change may not happen soon enough. It might behoove us to get our cows chewing oregano cud, since that could be one small solution we could implement fast.

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This herb could be the secret to curbing cows’ climate-changing burps

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