Former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres among signatories of letter warning that the next three years will be crucial to stopping the worst effects of global warming

Avoiding dangerous levels of climate change is still just about possible, but will require unprecedented effort and coordination from governments, businesses, citizens and scientists in the next three years, a group of prominent experts has warned.

Warnings over global warming have picked up pace in recent months, even as the political environment has grown chilly with Donald Trump’s formal announcement of the US’s withdrawal from the Paris agreement. This year’s weather has beaten high temperature records in some regions, and 2014, 2015 and 2016 were the hottest years on record.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

After warm weather and summer rain, flying ants emerge from nests for a mass mating event to ensure survival and dispersal of the species

A steady stream of black ants scurries in and out of a crack in the patio. They have been living there quietly for weeks. Perhaps you tried to get rid of them – especially if they were taking sugar from the kitchen or crawling across your bedroom. Perhaps you ignored them, or marvelled at their ability to navigate over apparently featureless paving stones back to their nest.

Then we have a spell of warm weather, a summer downpour, and when it stops there are winged explorers erupting from the ground – welcome to flying ant day!

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Fear of nuclear energy runs deep but it may be the most efficient and clean energy source we have, albeit with complications

Of all the hazards facing humankind, climate change is the single greatest threat we have ever faced. In a few short decades, we have altered the climate more than we ever thought possible and now, in the midst of the greatest heatwave recorded in decades in the hottest year on record, we are finally beginning to countenance the scale of problem before us.

The poorest of the poor have been the first to suffer – droughts and food shortages are already imperilling the lives of countless millions, with ensuing conflicts threatening even more. We have rendered some areas uninhabitable, and the number of climate refugees will only increase. Even we privileged folk in the western world are no longer immune, with the dangers steadily encroaching.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Arizona State University (ASU) has announced a new innovation incubator programme in partnership with the City of Phoenix. Backed by the US Economic Development Administration’s i6 Challenge, and the Resource Innovation and Solutions Network (RISN), the RISN Incubator is designed to catalyse innovation towards the circular economy by redirecting flows of waste and byproducts to economically viable utilisations elsewhere in the city.

Venture concepts targeted by the incubator programme include: those converting solid waste into new material or energy, services that divert, reuse or recycle, new design concepts, and software applications that support better flows of organic products, or more reuse and recycling.

The selected startups will be provided with a range of resources, including support and training to further develop and scale their products and services, contributing to the regional development of a circular economy.

From plastics to batteries, carpeting, furniture, textiles to food waste, a diverse range of priority waste feedstocks are available to participants in the RISN’s incubator.

Startups will benefit from the expertise of academics at ASU, and the material and practice resources within the City of Phoenix municipal body. Application for the Incubator are open until July 24, with the challenge schedule to kick off on August 25.

Particularly intriguing from a circular economy perspective is the collaboration model between a university and governmental body, the new kinds of connections created and the innovation opportunities it could enable through the Incubator programme.

Source: ASU, City of Phoenix Launch Circular Innovation Incubator

Lead image via Pixabay

The post New Circular Innovation Incubator launched by ASU and the City of Phoenix appeared first on Circulate.

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In the global rush for bottled water, China leads the way. But while cities lack official recycling schemes, some residents are turning the tide of plastic waste into cash and keeping it out of landfil in the process

In the great global rush for bottled water, nowhere is thirstier than Asia. Demand is predicted to surge by more than 140% across the region this decade, to account for one-third of the global total by 2020.

China leads the way. The country accounted for 28% of the global demand for polyethylene terephthalate (Pet) bottles in 2015. Consumers bought 73.8bn bottles of water in 2016, up more than five billion on the previous year.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Exclusive: Annual consumption of plastic bottles is set to top half a trillion by 2021, far outstripping recycling efforts and jeopardising oceans, coastlines and other environments

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A million plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute and the number will jump another 20% by 2021, creating an environmental crisis some campaigners predict will be as serious as climate change.

New figures obtained by the Guardian reveal the surge in usage of plastic bottles, more than half a trillion of which will be sold annually by the end of the decade.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

£1 million of funding is currently available from Zero Waste Scotland for manufacturing businesses aiming to harness and innovate towards realising the significant economic and environmental benefits associated with a circular economy.

Manufacturing is a key target sector for Zero Waste Scotland’s Circular Economy Investment Fund, which aims to work with small and medium-sized enterprises to enact circular economy models, and to design products and services that keep materials in use and at their highest utility for as long as possible.

“This is an opportunity to gain financial support for innovative new ideas that generate growth, as well as driving a more circular economy in Scotland. There are huge potential benefits for both the businesses themselves and the country as a whole, and we at Zero Waste Scotland are keen to hear from businesses with transformational ideas.”

The announcement is another example of the potential of policy interventions, as a key enabler of the circular economy, creating funds that incentivise and support a different way of doing business.

Source: The Scotsman

Lead image: Pixabay

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In an excerpt from his book on Australian birdlife, Geoffrey Maslen finds there’s method in magpies’ madness

Hostilities have broken out up and down the east coast of Australia. The enemy strikes from above, and always attacks from behind. Casualties have been reported and the dive bombings that began with the onset of spring have become more frequent. Zoologists have been called in to devise some means of defence but they have also suffered from the swift and silent enemy.

Related: Penguin Bloom: how a scruffy magpie saved a family

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Source: Guardian Climate Change

Robotic submersible probes depths of up to 4,000m near Antarctic Peninsula to obtain unprecedented data on how mixing ocean waters affect climate change

A yellow submarine dubbed Boaty McBoatface has obtained “unprecedented data” from its first voyage exploring one of the deepest and coldest ocean regions on Earth, scientists have said.

The robotic submersible was given the name originally chosen for a new polar research ship by irreverent contestants in a public competition. Embarrassed officials decided to ignore the popular vote and instead named the vessel the RRS Sir David Attenborough in honour of the veteran broadcaster. A storm of protest led to a compromise that allowed the name to live on.

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Source: Guardian Climate Change