Latest news with #EnvironmentProgramme
The Advertiser
4 days ago
- Science
- The Advertiser
Japanese develop plastic that dissolves in seawater
Researchers in Japan have developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours, offering up a potential solution for a modern-day scourge polluting oceans and harming wildlife. While scientists have long experimented with biodegradable plastics, researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and the University of Tokyo say their new material breaks down much more quickly and leaves no residual trace. At a lab in Wako city near Tokyo, the team demonstrated a small piece of plastic vanishing in a container of salt water after it was stirred up for about an hour. While the team has not yet detailed any plans for commercialisation, project lead Takuzo Aida said their research has attracted significant interest, including from those in the packaging sector. Scientists worldwide are racing to develop innovative solutions to the growing plastic waste crisis, an effort championed by awareness campaigns such as World Environment Day on Thursday. Plastic pollution is set to triple by 2040, the UN Environment Programme has predicted, adding 23-37 million metric tonnes of waste into the world's oceans each year. "Children cannot choose the planet they will live on. It is our duty as scientists to ensure that we leave them with best possible environment," Aida said. Aida said the new material is as strong as petroleum-based plastics but breaks down into its original components when exposed to salt. Those components can then be further processed by naturally occurring bacteria, thereby avoiding generating microplastics that can harm aquatic life and enter the food chain. As salt is also present in soil, a piece about five centimetres in size disintegrates on land after over 200 hours. The material can be used like regular plastic when coated, and the team are focusing their current research on the best coating methods, Aida said. The plastic is non-toxic, non-flammable and doesn't emit carbon dioxide. Researchers in Japan have developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours, offering up a potential solution for a modern-day scourge polluting oceans and harming wildlife. While scientists have long experimented with biodegradable plastics, researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and the University of Tokyo say their new material breaks down much more quickly and leaves no residual trace. At a lab in Wako city near Tokyo, the team demonstrated a small piece of plastic vanishing in a container of salt water after it was stirred up for about an hour. While the team has not yet detailed any plans for commercialisation, project lead Takuzo Aida said their research has attracted significant interest, including from those in the packaging sector. Scientists worldwide are racing to develop innovative solutions to the growing plastic waste crisis, an effort championed by awareness campaigns such as World Environment Day on Thursday. Plastic pollution is set to triple by 2040, the UN Environment Programme has predicted, adding 23-37 million metric tonnes of waste into the world's oceans each year. "Children cannot choose the planet they will live on. It is our duty as scientists to ensure that we leave them with best possible environment," Aida said. Aida said the new material is as strong as petroleum-based plastics but breaks down into its original components when exposed to salt. Those components can then be further processed by naturally occurring bacteria, thereby avoiding generating microplastics that can harm aquatic life and enter the food chain. As salt is also present in soil, a piece about five centimetres in size disintegrates on land after over 200 hours. The material can be used like regular plastic when coated, and the team are focusing their current research on the best coating methods, Aida said. The plastic is non-toxic, non-flammable and doesn't emit carbon dioxide. Researchers in Japan have developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours, offering up a potential solution for a modern-day scourge polluting oceans and harming wildlife. While scientists have long experimented with biodegradable plastics, researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and the University of Tokyo say their new material breaks down much more quickly and leaves no residual trace. At a lab in Wako city near Tokyo, the team demonstrated a small piece of plastic vanishing in a container of salt water after it was stirred up for about an hour. While the team has not yet detailed any plans for commercialisation, project lead Takuzo Aida said their research has attracted significant interest, including from those in the packaging sector. Scientists worldwide are racing to develop innovative solutions to the growing plastic waste crisis, an effort championed by awareness campaigns such as World Environment Day on Thursday. Plastic pollution is set to triple by 2040, the UN Environment Programme has predicted, adding 23-37 million metric tonnes of waste into the world's oceans each year. "Children cannot choose the planet they will live on. It is our duty as scientists to ensure that we leave them with best possible environment," Aida said. Aida said the new material is as strong as petroleum-based plastics but breaks down into its original components when exposed to salt. Those components can then be further processed by naturally occurring bacteria, thereby avoiding generating microplastics that can harm aquatic life and enter the food chain. As salt is also present in soil, a piece about five centimetres in size disintegrates on land after over 200 hours. The material can be used like regular plastic when coated, and the team are focusing their current research on the best coating methods, Aida said. The plastic is non-toxic, non-flammable and doesn't emit carbon dioxide. Researchers in Japan have developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours, offering up a potential solution for a modern-day scourge polluting oceans and harming wildlife. While scientists have long experimented with biodegradable plastics, researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and the University of Tokyo say their new material breaks down much more quickly and leaves no residual trace. At a lab in Wako city near Tokyo, the team demonstrated a small piece of plastic vanishing in a container of salt water after it was stirred up for about an hour. While the team has not yet detailed any plans for commercialisation, project lead Takuzo Aida said their research has attracted significant interest, including from those in the packaging sector. Scientists worldwide are racing to develop innovative solutions to the growing plastic waste crisis, an effort championed by awareness campaigns such as World Environment Day on Thursday. Plastic pollution is set to triple by 2040, the UN Environment Programme has predicted, adding 23-37 million metric tonnes of waste into the world's oceans each year. "Children cannot choose the planet they will live on. It is our duty as scientists to ensure that we leave them with best possible environment," Aida said. Aida said the new material is as strong as petroleum-based plastics but breaks down into its original components when exposed to salt. Those components can then be further processed by naturally occurring bacteria, thereby avoiding generating microplastics that can harm aquatic life and enter the food chain. As salt is also present in soil, a piece about five centimetres in size disintegrates on land after over 200 hours. The material can be used like regular plastic when coated, and the team are focusing their current research on the best coating methods, Aida said. The plastic is non-toxic, non-flammable and doesn't emit carbon dioxide.
The Hindu
20-05-2025
- Climate
- The Hindu
Progress should not just be fast but future-proof
India's climate future is not written in the stars — it is written in the rising temperatures, erratic monsoons, and intensifying disasters. The question is: what are we doing about it? The World Bank states that more than 80% of India's population lives in districts at risk of climate-induced disasters. From unrelenting monsoon floods in the north-east to heat-induced crop failures in central India, these events are no longer isolated incidents — they are systemic threats to economic stability, public health, and national security. Yet, despite mounting evidence, India remains vulnerable due to gaps in risk assessment and preparedness. The lack of a comprehensive framework to evaluate and predict climate physical risks (CPRs) means that adaptation strategies are reactive rather than proactive. Growing climate physical risks As climate change accelerates, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe. CPRs extend beyond natural disasters, encompassing acute shocks, such as floods and heatwaves, and chronic stresses, such as shifting monsoon patterns and prolonged droughts. While disaster early warning systems and weather forecasts help mitigate immediate losses, CPRs require a long-term approach. Unlike short-term weather forecasts, climate projections analyse long-term trends, enabling policymakers to prepare for evolving climate hazards. Global climate action is caught between prevention and cure — mitigation, which reduces emissions, and adaptation, which prepares for its inevitable impacts. While adaptation has long been considered a priority for the Global South, wildfires, heatwaves, and cyclones now also test the resilience of the Global North, making it clear that adaptation is a universal necessity. Yet, funding remains skewed towards mitigation, with most resources directed towards renewable energy and decarbonisation over adaptation measures like resilient infrastructure. However, investing in adaptation is not just about survival but also economically prudent. The UN Environment Programme estimates that every $1 invested in adaptation yields a $4 return through reduced economic losses and lower disaster recovery costs. CPRs are not just about extreme weather events but also about how exposed and vulnerable communities, businesses, and infrastructure are to them. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change provides a clear framework: the expected value of CPR is a function of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. Hazards include floods, cyclones, and heatwaves. Exposure determines who and what is at risk. Vulnerability reflects a system's ability to withstand and recover. Together, these define the true scale of climate risk. To safeguard financial stability, regulatory bodies worldwide are shifting from voluntary climate risk disclosures to mandatory reporting. In India, the Reserve Bank of India is integrating climate risks into its regulatory framework, while the IFRS ISSB S2 sets global standards for disclosing CPRs underscoring that assessing these risks is now central to business continuity, not just environmental responsibility. Despite the urgency, India's approach to CPR assessments remains fragmented. While countries such as the U.S., U.K., and New Zealand have national frameworks that directly inform policy and finance, India's efforts are dispersed across government agencies, research institutions, and private platforms, each using different methodologies and hazards of focus. Although India has studies such as flood maps from IIT Gandhinagar, vulnerability atlases from the India Meteorological Department, and disaster frameworks from the National Institute of Disaster Management, there is no unified system to consolidate these insights. Reliable CPR projections are further hindered by the limitations of global climate models such as Representative Concentration Pathways and Shared Socioeconomic Pathways, which fail to capture India's hyper-local climate realities. Without a central repository for standardised climate risk data, businesses and government agencies struggle to make informed decisions. Steps taken to fill the gaps Recognising these gaps, India has initiated steps towards factoring in climate hazards in its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) in line with Article 7 of the Paris Agreement, which mandates all nations to establish NAPs by 2025 and show progress by 2030. To facilitate this, India formulated an Adaptation Communication and submitted its first report in 2023. A more comprehensive NAP report is underway, covering nine thematic sectors with district-level granularity. While this is a great start, India must go further by building a CPR assessment tool that supports both public and private decision-making. This will enable the public sector to design climate-resilient policies, guide infrastructure planning, and allocate resources effectively. It will also play a crucial role for the private sector in assessing risks across value chains, supporting operational and expansion planning, and meeting growing investor expectations. Therefore, a India-specific tool that combines localised climate modelling, granular risk assessment, a centralised climate risk data hub, and transparent, science-based methods with iterative feedback mechanisms is imperative. As India charts its path towards Viksit Bharat, robust climate risk assessments will ensure that progress isn't just fast, but future-proof.
CNBC
01-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
This startup turns trash into designer objects — which have been featured in Vogue
Fine art graduate Charlie Rudkin-Wilson's homewares have been featured in the likes of Vogue magazine and her partners include luxury retailer Fortnum & Mason. But her coasters, rings and soap dishes aren't made from precious metals or stones — Rudkin-Wilson melts down discarded plastic containers such as shampoo bottles, empty pink tubs of Vanish stain remover and bright yellow Nesquik milkshake pots and then re-molds them into objects with a distinctive marbled effect. A blue-toned, zigzag-shaped soap dish named "The Greek," made from grocery store yogurt and porridge pots, is for sale via Rudkin-Wilson's Mü website for £16 (around $21), while black and white single-use plastic cutlery and translucent food containers are the raw materials for pairs of £14 "Take Out" coasters. Rudkin-Wilson, a former sustainability consultant to the TV and movie industry, said she has been "obsessing" over recycling for years and wants to change society's view of plastic as trash. "Part of the whole mission [of Mü is to change the perception of plastic waste and to make it seem like a valuable material," she told CNBC via video call. Rudkin-Wilson wants her designs to be attractive as well as functional, she said. "There's a lot of color alchemy that goes into making sure these products are beautiful — and they work," she said. For Rudkin-Wilson, the current approach to recycling plastic isn't working. Around 36% of all plastic produced globally is used for packaging, and about 85% of that goes to landfills, according to the UN's Environment Programme. WRAP — the Waste and Resources Action Programme — described the U.K. as "reliant" on exporting plastic for recycling, with 47% of plastic from British recycling or exporting businesses going overseas for recycling in 2021, according to its most recent figures. (Data is based on Packaging Waste Export Recycling Notes that firms are obliged to issue.) Rudkin-Wilson launched her business during the coronavirus pandemic, initially as a physical store in London that sold refillable bottles of cosmetic and household products such as shampoo and laundry liquid. She added a recycling hub where she experimented with turning old plastic bottles into household objects, the first being the soap dish, which is now Mü best-selling product. "I wanted something that was beautiful to look at, but that drained properly that your soap didn't stick on," Rudkin-Wilson said. Along with selling direct-to-consumer via the Mü website, Rudkin-Wilson's designs are sold at independent stores and museum shops in the U.K., plus a handful in the U.S. Mü now operates from a studio in Margate, a town on the English coast. As CNBC spoke to her, Rudkin-Wilson sat in front of a stack of large red and purple candy tubs, emptied of their chocolates and donated by members of the public who send Mü plastic they would otherwise throw away. An online platform lets people track their trash's progress, including information on the weight of their donations and the carbon emissions saved. This kind of data has helped Mü attract large brands keen to understand their environmental impact. Mü recycled more than 32 kilograms (70.5 pounds) of plastic waste from toiletries company Lush to make 2,000 hair combs, and Rudkin-Wilson is working with a luxury car brand to recycle plastic bonnet linings into products, after the automaker saw her appear on TV show "Dragon's Den" (the British version of "Shark Tank"). Fortnum and Mason provided Mü with packaging waste such as plastic mesh in the company's distinctive turquoise, which Rudkin-Wilson recycled into products like trays and coasters, while British Vogue called Mü the "revolution of stylish sustainability," according to an Instagram post. "Can you imagine that someone's yogurt pot that they've eaten out of is in Vogue ... just in a different form?" Rudkin-Wilson said. Mü will soon move into a more spacious studio with equipment that can process larger amounts of plastic, and Rudkin-Wilson wants to start building pieces such as furniture out of donated plastic. She's aiming to raise around £250,000 to help fund the expansion, and would also like to have a marketing budget to help acquire new customers. Rudkin-Wilson said she hopes companies start to take responsibility for their plastic waste — both from the manufacturing process and after consumers have finished using their products. "The industry will change and more private innovative businesses will appear, moving the industry away from traditional inefficient kerbside recycling," Rudkin-Wilson told CNBC via email.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Yahoo
Officials apprehend armed poachers in protected reserve — all with the help of high-tech cameras
Wildlife officials in India recently arrested six poachers on the Similipal Tiger Reserve with the help of artificial intelligence cameras, The Times of India reported. The accused poachers were arrested after killing a protected chevrotain, also known as a mouse deer, in the conservation area located in the Indian state of Odisha. The accused poachers were armed with three improvised, unlicensed firearms and a snare trap. They remain in judicial custody after their bail pleas were rejected. According to The Times of India, wildlife officials say high-tech cameras have been key to protecting the reserve's vulnerable animals. This is the fifth instance of the strategically placed cameras assisting in identifying poachers on the reserve. Just two weeks before this incident, reserve authorities arrested five poachers who killed a young black tiger in the protected area. A mouse deer doesn't look like North American deer species you may be used to. The small mammal, which weighs around 6 to 7 pounds, is a rare sight in the wild, as it is highly nocturnal and shy, according to Pugdundee Safaris. While Indian mouse deer aren't considered endangered, animals on the protected reserve are illegal to hunt. Mouse deer are prey of tigers, a highly endangered species. A recent study estimated that there are around 3,682 tigers in India — roughly 75% of the global population. Currently, 27 tigers live on the Similipal Tiger Reserve, ETV Bharat revealed. Stopping poachers is crucial to conservation efforts, even when the illegal hunters target a non-endangered species. Poaching can disrupt entire ecosystems and threaten biodiversity, as many non-endangered species play key roles in their environments. For instance, mouse deer — aside from serving as tiger prey — are essential seed-spreading animals, Pugdundee Safaris explained. When their populations are impacted, it can cause a chain reaction throughout the ecosystem, potentially harming endangered wildlife. Any form of poaching also fuels the illegal wildlife trade, supporting the black market that makes endangered species valuable to poachers. By arresting and prosecuting poachers, wildlife officials can help weaken and discourage this black market. Recent arrests at the Similipal Tiger Reserve highlight the growing role of tech in conservation efforts. AI is often rightly critiqued for using massive amounts of electricity and water to power energy-hungry data centers, as the United Nations Environment Programme explained. But it can also make poaching prevention efforts more successful by helping officials monitor vast conservation areas and respond to threats in real time. While AI can be controversial, its success in safeguarding vulnerable species is becoming increasingly undeniable. Should we be actively working to kill invasive species? Absolutely It depends on the species I don't know No — leave nature alone Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
