The webinar will specifically be looking at recent developments in alternatives to long chain PFCs. Per- and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) have been in use since the 1950s as ingredients or intermediates of surfactants and surface protectors for assorted industrial and consumer applications.

This toolbox is a compilation of resources relevant to chemical substitution and alternatives assessments. Alternative assessments are processes for identifying, comparing and selecting safer alternatives to replace hazardous chemicals with the objective of promoting sustainable production and consumption.

On Thursday 26 September 2019, the OECD discussed "Finding Alternatives to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances of Concern: A Difficult and Continuing Challenge" with the participation of W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. Presenters shared efforts, successes and challenges in eliminating per and polyfluorinated chemicals of environmental concern from the life cycle of consumer products.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (bottom right) threatened legal action against the Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes over checkpoints set up on roads leading to their reservations.

Covid-19 lockdown: Migrant workers, family walk back from Ahmedabad to their native place in UP's Lalitpur

A special bench was hearing a writ petition filed by the All India Centre Council of Trade Unions(AICCTU) questioning the government's rationale to cancel trains that were meant to ferry migrant labourers back to their homes.

Additional police forces deployed at Polavarm; situation under control, says police

The title compound (systematic name: bis­{2-[4-(acet­yloxy)-1H-indol-3-yl]ethan-1-aminium} but-2-enedioate), 2C14H19N2O2+·C4H2O42−, has a single protonated psilacetin cation and one half of a fumarate dianion in the asymmetric unit. There are N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the ammonium H atoms and the fumarate O atoms, as well as N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the indole H atoms and the fumarate O atoms. The hydrogen bonds hold the ions together in infinite one-dimensional chains along [111].

The spread of Africanized honey bees across Central America has had a much smaller impact on native tropical bee species than scientists previously predicted...

The post Native bees prove resilient in competition with invasive African honey bees appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Caddo people of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma have maintained many of their traditional ways and actively work to preserve their unique tribal cultural today. One example is the pottery of Jeri Redcorn.

The post Clay vessels by Native American potter Jeri Redcorn added to Smithsonian collections appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

As researchers investigate the impact of the Burmese python in the Everglades, scientists from the Smithsonian Institution, South Florida Natural Resources Center and the University of Florida examined the snake’s predation of the area’s birds. They found that birds, including endangered species, accounted for 25 percent of the python’s diet in the Everglades.

The post Invasive Burmese pythons are taking a toll on Florida’s native birds appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The recent field of invasion biology faces a new challenge as 19 eminent ecologists issue a call to "end the bias against non-native species" in the journal Nature.

The post Is ecology biased against non-native species? appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Amid efforts to restore native oyster populations on the West Coast, how are oysters expected to fare under climate change in the decades and centuries […]

The post Climate Change May Benefit Native Oysters, but There’s a Catch appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Oysters are keystone organisms in estuaries around the world, influencing water quality, constructing habitat and providing food for humans and wildlife. Yet their populations in […]

The post Ancient Native-American methods may be key to sustainable oyster harvests appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

To the Hopewell Culture, ancient Native Americans who sought out the exotic from near and far, metal was a rare and precious resource. Copper, found […]

The post Ancient Native American beads traced to otherworldy source: an iron meteorite appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

As enjoyable as scientific work can be, says entomologist Dave Roubik, its greatest satisfactions are often long delayed. He gives the best example from his career: a seventeen-year study that finally helped to change our understanding of the notorious "killer bees."

The post Long-term killer bee study in tropics yields unexpected discovery: invasive killer bees are good for the native bees appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

White-tailed deer don’t like to eat the invasive plants Japanese stilt grass, garlic mustard or barberry. Native oak seedlings and tulip poplar, on the other […]

The post Too many hungry deer are lowering diversity of native plants in eastern U.S. forests appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Each year from summer into fall, ornamental crape myrtle trees in the southern and central U.S. lay out a visual feast of vibrant flowers in […]

The post Crape myrtle trees aren’t native to the US, but hungry native birds still find them tasty appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

No justification currently exists for completely abandoning chemical pesticides, says a new report from the National Academies National Research Council.

The environmental effects of oil and gas exploration and production on Alaska s North Slope have been accumulating for more than three decades, says a new report from the National Academies National Research Council.

As immigrants and their descendants become integrated into U.S. society, many aspects of their lives improve, including measurable outcomes such as educational attainment, occupational distribution, income, and language ability, but their well-being declines in the areas of health, crime, and family patterns, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Most of the alternative technologies to open burning and open detonation (OB/OD) of conventional munitions designated for disposal are mature, including contained burn and contained detonation chambers with pollution control equipment, and many are permitted to replace OB/OD of waste munitions, says a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Rapidly changing fashions increase the production and consumption of textiles and clothing. According to Finnish researchers, more sustainable production and consumption of clothing could be achieved if consumer values are used to rethink design and business strategies. For example, increased personalisation of clothing could increase consumer attachment to products.

Researchers have examined environmental and economic impacts of supermarket food waste in a new study. Bread and meat products made the largest contribution to the environmental footprint of the supermarket assessed. Alternative waste strategies, such as using bread waste as animal feed, have the potential to reduce these impacts.

Water and carbon dioxide (CO2) can be converted into ‘solar thermochemical fuel’ using energy from the sun and very high temperatures. A new study has analysed the production of this fuel and found that, under favourable future conditions, costs could be as little as €1.28 per litre, with close to zero life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Although suitable as a substitute for any hydrocarbon fuel, it could be particularly useful as a much-needed alternative for energy-dense jet fuel.

Better fuel economy, lower emissions and longer driving ranges are important factors for people considering the purchase of alternatively-powered vehicles (APVs), new research suggests. The German study also found that people would consider paying more for an APV if they could enjoy vehicle tax exemptions, free parking or bus lane access.

A recent study has assessed how the choice and cultivation of native and introduced pine tree species affects the impact of insect pests and fungal diseases in Spanish plantations. Native maritime pine trees appeared to be more susceptible to insect attack, whilst non-native Monterey pines were more likely to suffer from fungal attacks. Thinning trees also had differing effects on reducing the effects of pests, depending on the tree species.

Sustainable de-growth is the transition to a smaller economy with less production and consumption. A new study has explored its origins and compared it to sustainable development. The study found that to become a viable alternative to sustainable development, ‘de-growth’ needs to be more clearly defined, and its implications for employment need to be considered very carefully.

While the cloud was seen as a good technology to adopt until some time ago, it has now become a must in order to navigate through these challenging times. Companies that are 100 percent on the cloud have been able to transition far more rapidly than others, making them more agile than their peers.

An international group of researchers has proposed a new way of describing payments for environmental services (PES). The new definition supplies a framework, incorporating the social aspects of PES, which can be used by practitioners, such as governments, to design and implement a variety of PES schemes.

The goals of providing sufficient quantities of food to support the world's growing population, whilst simultaneously protecting its biodiversity, may seem incompatible. However, a recent review of the literature has highlighted how 'alternative' agricultural practices can offer a realistic solution to the problems of achieving both food security and biodiversity conservation.

Hedgerows are vital habitats in intensively managed landscapes, providing food and shelter for wildlife. How hedgerows are managed affects their structure, with dense, woody hedges being the most valuable for conservation. A recent study has found an alternative method of hedging that is cheaper than traditional hedge laying but offers the same benefits of dense new growth and berry provision for wildlife. Use of this method could double the length of hedgerows being rejuvenated in England, the authors estimate.

Researchers have developed a new metric to predict the ecological impacts of invasive alien species. The metric was calculated for a number of known invasive alien species and successfully predicted their impact on native species. The tool could be used to help inform the global management of invasive alien species.

Judging whether to replace a hazardous conventional chemical in a product with a nanomaterial — i.e. to assess which is the safer alternative — is challenging for many reasons. A new study suggests that chemical-alternative assessment frameworks could be adapted to better assess engineered nanomaterials with the help of new tools which provide data on hazards of, and exposure to, nanomaterials.

A new study shows that run-off from de-icing road salts can affect freshwater aquatic ecosystems by increasing certain types of plankton. The study is the first to compare effects of the most popular road salt, sodium chloride, with the effects of alternative salts and additives used to increase de-icing efficiency. Based on their findings, the researchers recommend that magnesium chloride and salt additives are used cautiously near water bodies.

PFASs — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are a family of chemicals used in a wide range of industrial and consumer applications. Due to concerns about their persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity, long-chain PFASs are increasingly being phased out, creating a growing market for alternatives. Researchers have developed a novel method, based on molecular simulation techniques, to estimate the rate at which novel PFASs interact and bind with particular proteins (‘binding affinity’) — an important factor in determining a substance’s bioaccumulation potential in organisms. The method indicates that replacement PFASs may be just as bioaccumulative as original (legacy) PFASs and are, therefore, not necessarily safer. If correct, this finding has significant policy implications.

A new study has raised safety concerns over PFO4DA, a substance increasingly used as a substitute for PFOA, a harmful persistent organic pollutant (POP), in plastic production. PFO4DA was found to cause liver damage to mice in lab tests, and is also an environmental pollutant. The researchers caution that it may not be a suitable alternative to PFOA.

Conventional municipal waste-water treatment processes are based on aeration, which is energy intensive. Now, researchers have developed an alternative waste-water treatment process. In addition to avoiding the use of aeration in favour of filtration/biofiltration and encapsulated denitrification (the application of capsules containing nitrifiers, which convert ammonium into nitrate), the process also uses waste biosolids to generate electrical energy. The process has been tested in a pilot facility and found to require just 15% of the energy required for conventional approaches. Moreover, the process is energy positive, as the biosolids are able to generate more than enough energy to power the treatment plant. If this technology could be scaled up to the municipal level, it could significantly reduce the energy use and environmental impacts of waste-water treatment.

Kia adds another option to the Ceed range with this trendy XCeed SUV. Jonathan Crouch checks it out.

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Minnesota educator develops multimedia tools to share and preserve Ojibwe language and culture.