Interesting stats on EVs and energy use in the US, developments in wind and tidal power, a plastic recycling microfactory, and an "unprecedented collapse" in EU fossil fuel generation.
This start-up wants to make fishing gear from seaweed
Given that 75%-86% of the plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is thought to come from the fishing and aquaculture industries, this seems like a good thing.
The founder of Portland, Maine-based start-up Viable Gear is on a mission to save our oceans by swapping out petroleum-based plastics used in the fishing and aquaculture industries with seaweed-based alternatives.
Katie Weiler says products made with her company's seaweed-derived polymers will biodegrade without shedding toxic microplastics into the oceans and environment. Their first commercially available product is a seeding twine made from kelp for use in seaweed hatcheries. If that's a success they plan to scale up to producing bait bags for the lobster industry next.
Of course, since this article reads largely like a company glow-up meant to entice investors, there's no real discussion of how the seaweed-based products perform compared to traditional plastics. It does mention that natural polymers have a reputation of not being as durable as plastic, and that the company is working on a new formula to address that criticism. But there's no evidence the new formula will meet their expectations. I sure hope it DOES, though. The world needs more biodegradable kelp products and a whole lot less plastic in the ocean.
(Side note: is it just me or is it weird that seaweed farms are called "hatcheries"? Is seaweed "hatched"? To me the word implies the breeding of animals from eggs, specifically.)
A new study suggests that switching to a reusable packaging paradigm can reduce greenhouse emissions from plastic by up to 69% – AND use up to 70% less water.
