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Added on the 07/07/2022 09:40:41 - Copyright : France 24 EN
This creepy crawly insect is called a wax worm and, believe it or not, this little guy may just be the answer to global pollution. Footage provided courtesy of the Spanish National Research Council shows a brilliant new discovery made by researcher Federica Bertocchini. She discovered that wax worms are capable of eating through polyethylene plastic. The researcher demonstrated her discovery at a laboratory in Madrid on Wednesday. Although polyethylene is one of the world's most resistant forms of plastic, the worms can destroy the material by munching their way through it. According to the researcher, 100 worms can biodegrade up to 92 milligrams of polyethylene in just one night. That might not seem like much, but what if we multiply that by a thousand? Or even a million? The discovery is touted as the first all-natural solution to the disposal of the dangerous and wasteful material worldwide. Wax worms are now seen as the best way to biodegrade plastic without causing more harmful effects to nature. Polyethylene plastic, the material used to make plastic bags, is very durable. That's why we use it so often. The problem is that polyethylene is not biodegradable, which means that it stays in the environment for hundreds of years after being thrown away. It can cause all sorts of problems for wild animals and the natural environment in general. That's why this new discovery has the potential to help us clean up our act and restore areas like landfills and other areas polluted with plastic.
The OPEC oil cartel says there is no "single solution" to the energy transition as pressure grows to agree a phase-out of fossil fuels at the COP28 climate talks. "There is no single solution or path to achieve a sustainable energy future," said a speech by OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais to the Dubai summit read on his behalf by the head of the cartel's research division, Ayed al-Qahtani. SOUNDBITE
Scientists in Britain say they have smashed a previous record for generating "sustained" fusion energy, on the protracted path towards harnessing a power source considered cheap and clean. A team at the Joint European Torus (JET) facility near Oxford in central England generated 59 megajoules of sustained energy during an experiment in December, more than doubling a 1997 record. SOUNDBITE
Mairead McGuinness, the European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability, and Capital Markets Union, says that the European Commission's new label for sustainable finance sets out "how gas and nuclear could make a contribution in the difficult transition to climate neutrality", despite controversy over giving the sustainable finance label to both nuclear power and natural gas. Opponents of gas want to discourage investment in a fossil fuel technology they say only fuels the climate change crisis, while critics of nuclear energy point to the threat posed by accidents and nuclear waste. SOUNDBITE
US climate envoy John Kerry says spending fortunes on fossil fuel subsidies was 'the definition of insanity' as marathon COP26 talks inch towards a final reckoning. SOUNDBITE
As climate change drives drought, and the rising global population drives food demand, the world's food security is ever more precarious. But struggling farmers may find relief from the soaring temperatures from the sun itself--and the technology that harnesses its power. HuffPost reports students at the University of Arizona noticed that vegetables grown under the cover of solar panels flourished during the hottest summer on record. The observation provided food for thought for Prof. Greg Barron-Gafford’s research in 'agrivoltaics': growing food and generating solar energy on the same land. The concept could fulfill the need for land on which to build new solar installations while also helping farmers stay afloat. It’s a case where one plus one could equal more than two. Greg Barron-Gafford Associate Professor, University of Arizona’s School of Geography, Development and Environment
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