Good news on rainforests, microplastics, plastic recycling
First, here is Fix the News’ announcement that it’s launched a network of four podcasts alongside its newsletter.
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Here are highlights from the subscriber-only section of this edition:
— A chopped-down rainforest can mostly regenerate within 30 years, researchers report in the journal Nature.
— Scientists who were trying to create a strain of algae that would produce aviation fuel discovered that engineered algae can vacuum up microplastic, Nebraska Public Media reports.
The scientists’ engineered algae and the tiny pieces of plastic are hydrophobic, meaning they repel water and attract each other. By changing the genetic code of the algae, the scientists can increase its stickiness, removing more than 90 percent of microplastics in a water sample within an hour.
The engineered algae grab the microplastics and sink to the bottom of the water. The plastic-algae sediment then can be collected and even potentially turned into a recycled product of its own, the scientists say.
— New rules in California give plastic producers until 2032 to make all their packaging recyclable or compostable. It’s the most ambitious deadline in the nation, says CalMatters.
Also in the news
KFF: In Congo, travel bans and conflict have disrupted supply chains, leaving health workers without Ebola tests, protective gear
U.S. sanctions Cuba President Miguel Díaz-Canel in latest move to pressure its leadership
Zelensky writes open letter to Putin calling for face-to-face negotiations in a neutral country
Ukraine aid package passes House, in bipartisan blow to GOP leaders and Trump
Senate passes $70 billion immigration enforcement bill without limits on Trump $1.776 billion settlement fund, on 52-47 vote
Senate blocks extending Section 702 of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act after backlash over Trump pick of Pulte
Four Senate Republicans again unite with Democrats to block Trump's SAVE America Act voting bill
Trump announces plan to spend nearly $700 million to support coal power plants, exports
Trump announces plan to build promenade at Lincoln Memorial
Kennedy Center beginning to erase Trump references after judge said they were illegally added
Former Trump adviser John Bolton to plead guilty to retaining national security information and pay fine, possibly get jail time
Amid reports about his history with women, Graham Platner to hold Maine rally with Rep. Ro Khanna
Some GOP governors are rebranding June with conservative alternatives to Pride
Heather Cox Richardson on Trump effort to destroy U.S. liberal consensus government
Robert Reich on why gasoline prices are higher in California
Anthropic urges global pause in AI development, saying models are near ability to improve without human intervention
Internal documents show how social media companies hooked teens at school
Supreme Court rules 8-1 against cell service providers over right to jury trial in FCC proceedings
Prosecutors lose appeal in Arizona fake elector case and vow to present it again to a grand jury
Preview of Obama Presidential Center in Chicago
Scientists precisely edit human embryo genes for first time, possibly opening way to engineer babies with particular traits
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