The headlines are filled with stories of polar ice caps melting, pollution choking our cities and the billions of microplastics in everything we own and eat. While it is important to stay informed about the problems in the environment, it is just as important to acknowledge what IS going well. 

To flip the script for a minute, let’s look at some happy news in the world of the environment. 

“Ocean Eyes” singer is helping save the oceans

Pop singer Billie Eilish recently launched an upcycled merchandise project with Universal Music Group, which is projected to turn old shirts and sweatshirts into over 280,000 new shirts. Aside from keeping unused clothing out of landfills, Eilish has also partnered with other small sustainable clothing companies to create Earth Day collections this past spring. 

Herbicides are out, sheep are in

Carpenter Preserve in Neenah, Wis., has initiated a natural cleanup of the area using sheep and goats. The livestock grazing targets invasive plants that are disrupting the local ecosystem. Herbicides can degrade the land and soil, and seep into surface and groundwater, posing risks to wildlife and humans, as well as lead to environmental remediation costs. Instead, livestock offer a natural method for species control and may provide fertilizer that benefits the land as well. 

Diapers might save the world? 

Carrie Pollak purchased Diaper Stork, a compostable diaper company, in 2018, and has since expanded its work to include turning diapers into a substance called biochar. The company uses a process called pyrolysis to turn its compostable diapers into biochar, which is a substance that can be used as fertilizer and in water purification. It is estimated that approximately 30-40 billion diapers go into landfills each year in North America alone, and this process could significantly reduce such. Diaper pyrolysis can help alleviate some of the fecal stress felt by the landfills and provides an end product that is completely pathogen-free and can be used as a fertilizer and water filter. 

Insects, Guts and Drones

Flight requires extreme intricacy, and scientists are drawing inspiration from the folds found in nature… from the wrinkles and layers of the large intestines of a baby chick to the tiny folds of the wings of insects. Researchers at Purdue University are examining the wings of an insect called an earwig, which has what they call “bistable” wings. This means that it can be at rest open or closed and has almost unfathomable folding techniques that allow the bug to pack very large wings into a very small space. The researchers believe that studying these wings may allow them to model drones that can fly more efficiently and fold more compactly.