blog posts

• 8 Million Tons of Plastic Tornadoes Are Churning in Our Oceans, Scientists Say

  by Joy ScrogumJan 8, 2026 9:00 am

  Source: Popular Mechanics, 12/16/25

  In a new study published in the journal Chaos, scientists Larry Pratt and Irina Rypina from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts turned to 3D modeling to understand how microplastics move in chaotic environments like the ocean. Because oceans are so vast, gathering sampling data isn’t an option. So the researchers delved deep into modeling how tiny particles move in a 3D fluid, and found that microplastics tend to eventually form an “idealized eddy” (circular current) that closely resembles a kind of closed-loop tornado of ecological destruction. 

  Share this Story

  • Share 8 Million Tons of Plastic Tornadoes Are Churning in Our Oceans, Scientists Say on Facebook
  • Share 8 Million Tons of Plastic Tornadoes Are Churning in Our Oceans, Scientists Say on X

• Nearly 7,000 of the world’s 8,808 data centers are built in the wrong climate, analysis finds

  by Joy ScrogumJan 7, 2026 9:00 am

  Source: Tom's Hardware, 12/17/25

  Nearly 7,000 of the world’s 8,808 operational data centers are located in climates that fall outside the temperature range recommended for efficient operation, according to a new analysis that maps global data center locations against long-term climate data. While only a minority are in regions that are persistently too hot, the findings underline how economic, political, and network realities often outweigh environmental suitability when companies decide where to build.

  Share this Story

  • Share Nearly 7,000 of the world’s 8,808 data centers are built in the wrong climate, analysis finds on Facebook
  • Share Nearly 7,000 of the world’s 8,808 data centers are built in the wrong climate, analysis finds on X

• How sewage can be used to heat and cool buildings

  by Joy ScrogumJan 6, 2026 9:00 am

  Source: Associated Press, 12/19/25

  Wastewater flushed down the drain can be used to heat and cool homes and buildings in a sustainable way and climate experts say it is an untapped source of energy due to its stable temperature. And good news, the buildings don’t smell. 

  Share this Story

  • Share How sewage can be used to heat and cool buildings on Facebook
  • Share How sewage can be used to heat and cool buildings on X

• How Batteries Could Play a Role in Data Center Rollouts

  by Joy ScrogumJan 5, 2026 9:00 am

  Source: Inside Climate News, 12/11/25

  With data center developers in Texas and most other states now commonly deploying fossil fuel generators as backup power sources, a nascent industry from the renewable side of power generation—battery storage—has started elbowing its way into the fast-growing sector. A new report by Oxford-based Aurora Energy Research detailed how adding battery storage to a site could improve data centers’ power quality, provide flexibility and reduce transmission congestion, while offering an opportunity to reduce emissions. 

  Share this Story

  • Share How Batteries Could Play a Role in Data Center Rollouts on Facebook
  • Share How Batteries Could Play a Role in Data Center Rollouts on X

• The perfect polymer? Plant-based plastic is fully saltwater degradable and leaves behind zero microplastics

  by Joy ScrogumJan 2, 2026 9:00 am

  Source: Phys.org, 12/17/25

  In a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers led by Takuzo Aida at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) in Japan report a new type of plastic made from plant cellulose, the world's most abundant organic compound. The new plastic is strong, flexible, and capable of rapid decomposition in natural environments, setting it apart from other plastics marketed as biodegradable. 

  Share this Story

  • Share The perfect polymer? Plant-based plastic is fully saltwater degradable and leaves behind zero microplastics on Facebook
  • Share The perfect polymer? Plant-based plastic is fully saltwater degradable and leaves behind zero microplastics on X

• Rutgers researchers create plastics that self-destruct at programmed speeds

  by Joy ScrogumDec 31, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Rutgers University, 11/26/25

  Yuwei Gu, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences, was hiking through Bear Mountain State Park in New York when inspiration struck.  If nature can build polymers that serve their purpose and then disappear, Gu reasoned, perhaps human-made plastics could be made to do the same. Gu already knew that natural polymers contain tiny helper groups built into their structure that make chemical bonds easier to break when the time is right.  In a study published in Nature Chemistry, Gu and a team of Rutgers scientists have shown that by borrowing this principle from nature, they can create plastics that break down under everyday conditions without heat or harsh chemicals. 

  Share this Story

  • Share Rutgers researchers create plastics that self-destruct at programmed speeds on Facebook
  • Share Rutgers researchers create plastics that self-destruct at programmed speeds on X

• Factory Farms in Iowa Generate 110 Billion Pounds of Manure Per Year. No One Tracks Where It's Going.

  by Joy ScrogumDec 30, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Inside Climate News, 12/4/25

  Manure management planning could prevent fertilizer pollution. But an antiquated system isn’t doing enough to track manure, a former state employee says.

  Share this Story

  • Share Factory Farms in Iowa Generate 110 Billion Pounds of Manure Per Year. No One Tracks Where It's Going. on Facebook
  • Share Factory Farms in Iowa Generate 110 Billion Pounds of Manure Per Year. No One Tracks Where It's Going. on X

• Supposedly “safer” substitutes for BPA continue to drive metabolic disease globally

  by Joy ScrogumDec 29, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Environmental Health News, 12/5/25

  A recent analysis published by Science of The Total Environment found that exposure to bisphenol chemicals — including BPA and its replacements BPS and BPF — were responsible for over 127 million cases of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome globally in 2024. 

  Share this Story

  • Share Supposedly “safer” substitutes for BPA continue to drive metabolic disease globally on Facebook
  • Share Supposedly “safer” substitutes for BPA continue to drive metabolic disease globally on X

• Glue strong enough to tow a car made from used cooking oil

  by Joy ScrogumDec 26, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: Live Science, 12/8/25

  Scientists have converted waste cooking oil into various recyclable plastics with exceptional strength — and some were even durable enough to tow a car. Turning nonedible waste into useful polymers is a sustainable way to create new materials, the researchers said in a new study published Nov. 28 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

  Share this Story

  • Share Glue strong enough to tow a car made from used cooking oil on Facebook
  • Share Glue strong enough to tow a car made from used cooking oil on X

• Epic Cleantec unveils first-ever commercial beer made from recycled shower and laundry water

  by Joy ScrogumDec 24, 2025 9:00 am

  Source: BusinessWire, 11/18/25

  Epic Cleantec ("Epic") recently announced the launch of a groundbreaking commercial beer made with highly purified recycled water from showers and laundry — now available to consumers across the United States. Shower Hour IPA and Laundry Club Kölsch, Epic’s two beer styles, are category-defining brews made with a uniquely sustainable ingredient: recycled water. Crafted in partnership with the award-winning team at Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company in San Carlos, CA, the beers use water from buildings where Epic operates advanced onsite reuse systems. The water is cleaned with modern, state-of-the-art technology to ensure it’s exceptionally pure. 

  
  

  Share this Story

  • Share Epic Cleantec unveils first-ever commercial beer made from recycled shower and laundry water on Facebook
  • Share Epic Cleantec unveils first-ever commercial beer made from recycled shower and laundry water on X