University of Michigan: New study shows social media content opens new frontiers for sustainability science researchers. “With more than half of the world’s population active on social media networks, user-generated data has proved to be fertile ground for social scientists who study attitudes about the environment and sustainability.”
PR Newswire: Apparel Impact Institute Opens First Call for Applications for the Climate Solutions Portfolio – A New Tool to Deploy Grants from the $250M Fashion Climate Fund (PRESS RELEASE). “Today, nonprofit organization Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) opens its first call for applications for the Climate Solutions Portfolio, a soon-to-launch registry of proven carbon reduction solutions for the fashion industry.”
University of Copenhagen: Nuggets mined from thousands of tweets can persuade us to eat more climate-friendly. “University of Copenhagen researchers demonstrate that natural language algorithms make it possible to identify people’s attitudes on social media towards sustainable food. It’s a step forward that can enlighten politicians and public agencies with regards to how to nudge society in the right direction.”
TechXplore: Disguising solar panels as ancient Roman tiles in Pompeii. “Technically called ‘traditional PV tiles’, the invisible solar panels used in Pompeii come from Camisano Vicentino, a little Italian town with slightly more than 10 000 inhabitants, halfway between Padua and Vicenza…. The traditional PV tiles are made from a polymer compound, which allows the sun’s rays to filter through. The photovoltaic cells are then integrated into it by hand and covered with a layer of the polymer compound.”
New York Times: Clean Energy Quest Pits Google Against Utilities. “At the heart of their campaign, Google and its tech giant allies want to dismantle a decades-old regulatory system in the Southeast that allows a handful of utilities to generate and sell the region’s electricity — and replace it with a market in which many companies can compete to do so.”
Mirage News: New tool to help maximise nation’s solar and wind potential. “A new tool developed by researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) shows the best locations around Australia that could be used to build new wind or solar farms.”
DCist: New Website Helps D.C. Residents Reuse, Rather Than Toss Out. “Remember the three Rs? Not reading, writing and arithmetic — but reduce, reuse and recycle. D.C. has a goal to start doing a lot more of these three things: the city aims to go ‘zero waste’ by 2032, keeping 80% of waste out of landfills and incinerators. The District has just launched a new website to aid residents with R #2. It’s called Reuse DC, and includes an interactive map of places in the region where you can repair, donate, or shop for second-hand items.”
National Center for Appropriate Technology: National Sustainable Agriculture Program Launches New Interactive Website For Farmers. “Since 1987, ATTRA has been a key resource for sustainable and organic farmers and ranchers. The new website is at ATTRA.NCAT.ORG…. The new ATTRA website features nearly 400 practical digital publications on everything from growing organic tomatoes to becoming an agrotourism destination. Each publication is free, and most now include the ability to listen to a publication in a variety of languages. The site makes available archived episodes of ATTRA’s weekly podcast series, Voices from the Field, and hundreds of how-to videos.”
EU Science Hub: A tourism dashboard for greener, digitally savvy and resilient EU destinations. “The Commission launches today the EU Tourism Dashboard, a new tool to help policy makers at country and regional level to steer policies and strategies in the tourism ecosystem. The aim of this tool is to improve access to statistics and policy-relevant indicators for tourism, supporting destinations and public authorities in tracking their progress in the green and digital transition.”
ScienceDaily: Database tracks agricultural phosphorus use world-wide. “Researchers have released a study quantifying cropland phosphorus budgets around the world, which will help in identifying nutrient management gaps in different regions in food production and consumption systems. This new database will help countries and regions to evaluate their performances in addressing phosphorus pollution and scarcity challenges, and guide actions towards a more sustainable future.”
De Montfort University: Researcher working with environmental TV network to make archive available digitally. “A researcher from De Montfort University, Leicester (DMU) is set to digitise decades of environmental journalism and films to bring them to a wider audience. Dr Hiu Man Chan, Lecturer in Creative and Cultural Industries at DMU, is working with charity Television for the Environment (tve) to help make its archive available as a teaching and learning resource for a new generation of sustainable activists.”
Rice University: See nature like (and with) a biologist in new online courses. “Solomon’s Introduction to Biology is the latest offering from Rice’s Wiess School of Natural Sciences through Rice Online and Coursera. The three-course series allows learners to see nature the way a biologist does, with virtual field trips to help understand and appreciate the incredible diversity of life on Earth.” The class is free to audit but if you want a certificate you’ll have to pay a fee.
TechCrunch: Google rolls out a new set of search tools for eco-conscious travelers. “In recent months, Google has been steadily adding new tools to help consumers choose more sustainable options when using its services like Google Maps, Google Flights and hotel search. On Tuesday, the company announced it’s expanding these efforts with the addition of a handful of new features that allow travelers to better filter their searches to make sustainable choices when booking flights or hotels as well as improved options for trains.”
CNET: Google Adds Hotel Sustainability Info to Search Results. “Googling your next potential hotel stay? The search giant will now serve up information on a hotel’s sustainability and health and safety programs right there in the search results.”
TechCrunch: Google Maps is expanding its eco-friendly navigation feature to Europe. “Google announced today it is expanding its options for eco-friendly routing on Google Maps to 40 more countries across Europe. Eco-friendly routes, first introduced to U.S-based users last year, offer to show more fuel-efficient routes instead of the fastest ones. Users can see the eco-friendly route marked with a leaf label.”
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