Every few years, the tires on your car wear thin and need to be replaced. But where does that lost tire material go? The answer, unfortunately, is often waterways, where the tiny microplastic particles from the tires’ synthetic rubber carry several chemicals that can transfer into fish, crabs and perhaps even the people who eat…
New research finds an estimated 27 million tons of nanoplastics in the North Atlantic, raising concerns for marine ecosystems and human health. Plastic pollution in the ocean has long been a visible crisis, with images of bags, bottles, and nets entangling marine life. But new research reveals that the most widespread form of plastic pollution…
NICE, France, Jun 11 2025 (IPS) – As the sun peeked through the French Riviera clouds and a dozen reporters sipped orange juice aboard the WWF Panda Boat docked at Port Lympia, Frankie Orona, a Native American rights advocate from the Society of Native Nations in San Antonio, Texas, stunned the room into a moment…
Civil society groups responded to the declaration by stressing that the statement must be a “floor, not a ceiling” going into the next round of global plastics treaty talks. Nearly 100 countries at the United Nations Ocean Conference on Tuesday issued a joint declaration demanding a bold global plastics treaty ahead of the next round…
New research finds agricultural land holds 23 times more microplastics than oceans, with toxic particles infiltrating crops, ecosystems, and human bodies while global regulation lags behind. Agricultural soil is now the most polluted plastic sink on the planet, surpassing even the oceans in concentration of microplastic particles. According to a comprehensive study published in Environmental…
Strengthening Supply Chains and Manufacturing with American Agriculture Industrial hemp isn’t just a crop—it’s an emerging cornerstone in the shift toward bio-based manufacturing. With its versatile applications and growing market potential, hemp is proving to be a valuable input in the production of bioplastics that are stronger, cleaner, and better aligned with the goals of…
From The Strategist… Jungmaven’s a brand that’s been repeatedly recommended to me in my reporting on wardrobe basics. Its tanks and tees are praised partly because they’re made with hemp, a more sustainable and durable natural fiber than cotton. While the brand offers options with different variations of hemp-and-cotton mixtures, Avila says her favorite has…
American farmers are promised a new cash crop with an annual value of several hundred million dollars, all because a machine has been invented which solves a problem more than 6,000 years old. It is hemp, a crop that will not compete with other American products. Instead, it will displace imports of raw material and…
This is an exciting development! Decortication is the process of separating hemp hurd (softer, inner part of stems) from bast, the tougher, more fiberous material. The process of decortication separates the two. In the past, one had to find a decortication facility, which might be 100s of miles away. Now, Latvian Kristaps Eglitis has created…
This is a marvelous effort to take on plastic pollution in our water. Below is a recent abstact. Here’s the URL to the site…https://theoceancleanup.com/ Increasing ocean plastic pollution is irreversibly harming ecosystems and human economic activities. We partner with a nonprofit organization and use optimization to help clean up oceans from plastic faster. Specifically, we…