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Environment

Can plastic-eating bacteria help cut down on pollution?

by Stephen Beard
Oct 26, 2020
British and American researchers have developed a “super-enzyme” to reduce the cost and improve the efficiency of recycling of plastic waste.
Municipal workers clear plastic from a canal in Bangkok in June.
Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP via Getty Images
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Artist turns thousands of plastic bags into Times Square public art project

by Marisa Mazria Katz
Oct 26, 2020
The pop-up "store" is filled with handcrafted items made from single-use plastic bags.
Artist Robin Frohardt stands outside her Times Square immersive art exhibit, "The Plastic Bag Store."
Maria Baranova/Courtesy of Times Square Arts
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"Flaring" is an environmental problem. What will stop oil companies from doing it?

by Andy Uhler
Aug 24, 2020
It's often cheaper to burn off the natural gas than it is to sell it.
When oil producers deliberately burn natural gas, the process is called flaring. It can be a money-saving technique but has consequences for the Earth's climate.
Emiliano Lasalvia/AFP via Getty Images
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These academics want to lead the way to flying less

by Emma Jacobs
Jan 1, 2020
Now they want their institutions to lend some support.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images
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Would you miss tiny bottles of shampoo in hotel bathrooms?

by Nova Safo
Nov 25, 2019
Major hotel brands are promising to get rid of one of the most recognizable elements of the hotel experience: tiny bottles of shampoo.
Small plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body lotion sit in a bathroom at a SpringHill Suites, a hotel operated by Marriott, in August in New Orleans.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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Trump's visit to Shell plant highlights natural gas challenges

by Scott Tong
Aug 13, 2019
Pennsylvania's natural gas industry hopes the plant can bring a lifeline to a sector beleaguered by overproduction.
Plastic bottles and other trash washed up on the shores of Scotland.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
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Amid concerns over health, dry cleaners look to "wet" alternative

by Eilís O'Neill
Jun 7, 2019
In Seattle, grants have been offered to dry cleaning companies who will trade a potentially dangerous chemical for safer alternatives.
Hyen Sook Kang and Tae Park have owned Sun Dry Cleaners since 1985.
Eilís O'Neill
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What makes a grid "smart"?

by Lynne Peskoe-Yang
Apr 5, 2019
Advocates say the environmental benefit are compelling.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Company wins court battle over exploratory oil drilling in Florida Everglades

by Maria Bakkalapulo
Mar 20, 2019
After years of legal battles, a Miami-based company won the right to carry out exploratory oil drilling in the Florida Everglades.
After years of legal battles, a Miami-based company won the right to carry out exploratory oil drilling in the Florida Everglades.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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Can a lake have legal rights? Voters in Toledo, Ohio, will decide

by Adrian Ma
Feb 22, 2019
Ballot measure supporters want to stop pollution in Lake Erie. Opponents say the measure could unleash a torrent of frivolous lawsuits.
Members of a grassroots group called Toledoans for Safe Water set up a sign on a highway overpass urging people to vote for the Lake Erie Bill of Rights.
Adrian Ma/ideastream
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