https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj2807 By Kevin M. Van Germ, Science.  Excerpt: ...the public is dissatisfied with recycling rates, notably below 9% in the United States.... This makes governments respond by enforcing a minimum recycled plastic content, such as the 30% target in the European Union. Therefore, a plastics circular economy, in which new, high-quality plastics can be remanufactured from plastic waste, is becoming increasingly popular. Plastics should no longer be considered waste but rather valuable resources. ...A recent study showed that it is possible, by 2050, to produce all plastics in a circular way, without requiring fossil resources.... ...Reducing CO 2  emissions for plastic recycling technologies is also crucial. By electrifying the chemical process and using electricity from nonfossil sources, millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions can be avoided....

https://eos.org/opinions/climate-education-that-builds-hope-and-agency-not-fear By Jeffrey D. Corbin ,   Meghan A. Duffy ,   Jacquelyn L. Gill  and   Carly Ziter , Eos/AGU.  Excerpt: Reframing climate change education around a message of “hopeful alarm” not only will underscore the threats we face but will also show students how they can act to shape the future. ...The urgency of the climate crisis grows every year; meanwhile, disinformation and politicization have made communicating the science of climate change increasingly challenging. For the past 2 decades, such communication efforts have focused mainly on convincing people that climate change is real while also combating organized campaigns of denialism [ Mann , 2012]. These efforts have largely succeeded: Polls show that  the public now overwhelmingly accepts  the reality of climate change. ...So although  challenging climate change denial  may still be necessary in som...

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/08/climate/amazon-rainforest-belem-protections.html By Manuela Andreoni  and  Max Bearak , The New York Times.  Excerpt: On Tuesday, the leaders of eight countries that are home to the Amazon River basin agreed to work together to conserve the world’s largest rainforest at a groundbreaking meeting convened by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil. The agreement, called the Belém Declaration, for the Brazilian city where the meeting was held, provides a road map to stave off the rampant deforestation, caused in large part by industrial agriculture and land-grabbing, that has severely damaged the rainforest and has major implications for Earth’s climate. The meeting was also expected to yield a separate agreement on Wednesday among other nations with major rainforests — including the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo and Indonesia — to more closely coordinate protecting the ecosystems globally. The Amazon rainforest ...

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/realestate/microgrid-solar-power-energy.html By  Kaya Laterman , The New York Times.  Excerpt: ...Heron’s Nest, a new cottage community in Shallotte, N.C., ...calling itself an “environmental village,” ...homes were reasonably priced, between $300,000 to $400,000. ...each house came with a three-kilowatt rooftop solar system, which would reduce their carbon footprint and cut their utility bill by a third. ...the 31-home community, ...North Carolina’s first residential “microgrid” development. ...A microgrid is a network of buildings that essentially acts as a miniature power grid. It can operate outside of the larger municipal electrical system by ensuring backup power for the entire development, which can be produced by a solar array system and stored in a battery. ...The U.S. Energy Department estimated that there were more than 450  operational microgrids  in the United States in 2022. ...The California Public Utilities Commissio...

https://www.science.org/content/article/afghanistan-iran-border-climate-change-fuels-fight-over-water By Ruchi Kumar, Science.  Excerpt: Fueled in part by a prolonged drought, tensions over water between Iran and Afghanistan have escalated this year, with Iran accusing Taliban leaders of violating a long-standing agreement to share water from the Helmand River that flows from Afghanistan into Iran. In late May, clashes near the river reportedly led to the deaths of at least two Iranian border guards and one Taliban fighter. Climate change could only worsen the conflict, researchers say. Although detailed data are scarce,  a recent study concluded  that average temperatures in Afghanistan have risen by between 0.6°C and 1.8°C since 1950. And, “If you look at the map [of Afghanistan], the area that has the highest change in temperatures [is] … where the conflict has occurred,” says water specialist Assem Mayar, a former lecturer at Kabul Polytechnic University.... 

https://www.science.org/content/article/changing-clouds-unforeseen-test-geoengineering-fueling-record-ocean-warmth By Paul Voosen, Science.  Excerpt: ...Regulations imposed in 2020 by the United Nations’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) have cut ships’ sulfur pollution by more than 80% and improved air quality worldwide. The reduction has also lessened the effect of sulfate particles in seeding and brightening the distinctive low-lying, reflective clouds that follow in the wake of ships and help cool the planet. The 2020 IMO rule “is a big natural experiment,” says Duncan Watson-Parris, an atmospheric physicist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “We’re changing the clouds.” By dramatically reducing the number of ship tracks, the planet has warmed up faster, several new studies have found. That trend is magnified in the Atlantic, where maritime traffic is particularly dense. In the shipping corridors, the increased light represents a 50% boost to the warming effec...

https://www.science.org/content/article/everyone-aghast-india-s-move-weaken-forest-protections-outrages-conservationists By Tanvi Dutta Gupta, Science.  Excerpt: Conservation scientists fear more than one-quarter of forests in India could lose legal protection under controversial legislation that the nation’s Parliament could approve as early as this week. The legislation amends India’s flagship 1980 Forest Conservation Act. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi says it will help India meet its commitments to combat climate change by planting trees, and “eliminate ambiguities” in rules that govern how officials legally define forests and regulate their use. But researchers and others worry the measure—which has triggered nationwide protests—will irrevocably transform India’s landscape. They say the amendments will open forests to development, harm biodiversity, and weaken the rights of Indigenous people....