By Christopher Thompson More than 65 per cent of British Columbians actively seek non-plastic packaging, the highest in Canada. When Elaine Carter and Jim Leedham walk their dogs, they do double-duty picking up the coffee cups, plastic straws and fast-food cutlery by the side of the road. “It’s ridiculous,” said Carter. “They are filling up […]

By Ryan Johnson With the passage of the state budget, a program making community college debt-free for state residents could soon be coming to Connecticut. Like other states nationwide, Connecticut has seen a steady decline in community college enrollment, raising concerns about access to education and the employability of its citizens. With residents moving out […]

By Christopher Thompson Procter & Gamble’s skin-care brand Olay is testing refillable moisturizers to tackle widespread plastic pollution. The Olay Regenerist Whip package will sell for three months starting in October as part of the company’s broader sustainability effort. P&G joins 25 other companies, including Unilever, Nestle and Coca-Cola, that are rolling out similar efforts […]

By Ryan Johnson In meeting with Prince Charles, Trump blames India, China for climate change Pushed by Prince Charles on the issue of climate change, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday replayed his theme of blaming India, China and Russia for allegedly not doing enough, and insisted the US has one of the ‘cleanest climates’. […]

By Christopher Thompson The consequences of climate change are already well-documented, and yet it appears as if the situation is even bleaker than many people imagine. Perhaps more significantly, these consequences are catching up to humans much more quickly than expected. In fact, there’s a good chance that human society could collapse entirely by 2050 due […]

By Ryan Johnson Navakanta Bhat, a professor at Indian Institute of Science, Bangaluru, has devised gas sensors with ultra-precise detection accuracies necessary for environmental monitoring. As air pollution threatens everyone — from unborn babies to children walking to school, to people cooking over open fires — scientists are employing a wide variety of technologies like […]

By Christopher Thompson Say goodbye to straws, umbrellas and olive picks in your drinks on Carnival. The world’s largest cruise line announced a sustainability initiative on Monday that will make those items a thing of the past by the end of the year. “Over the next few months, you may notice changes to some of […]

By Ryan Johnson Walmart is extending its debt-free college benefits to high schoolers as a way to attract and retain workers in a tight labor market. The nation’s largest private employer said Tuesday it will offer free college SAT and ACT prep for its workers in high school, while offering two to three free general […]

By Christopher Thompson In the context of a circular economy, ocean plastics are a symptom of a larger, complex problem of unsustainable consumption and production. But with roughly 150 million tons of plasticscirculating the world’s oceans and an additional eight tons being added each year, the symptom is getting harder to ignore. I’ve just spent part of the […]

By Ryan Johnson Japan plans to make it mandatory to charge for plastic shopping bags at supermarkets, convenience stores, drugstores and department stores as the country combats marine pollution by plastic waste. Environment Minister Yoshiaki Harada said at a press conference on Monday his ministry plans to introduce a new law banning the practice of […]