Mississippi River cities, towns tackle plastic pollution Mayors from more than 100 communities along the river corridor met to address plastic pollution and other critical issues. (Source: ABC/NBC) By Amber Ruch | March 4, 2021 at 2:51 PM CST - Updated March 4 at 2:51 PM
Mayors from more than 100 communities along the river corridor met to address plastic pollution and other critical issues.
The initiative will begin with data collection in three places along the length of the river: Baton Rouge, Louisiana; St. Louis, Missouri and St. Paul, Minnesota.
The data will be collected throughout April 2021 using a “citizen science” approach.
“We enthusiastically applaud the Mayors from along the Mississippi River for tackling the critical challenge of plastic pollution in our rivers and marine environments,” said Barbara Hendrie, director of UN Environment Programme’s North America Office. “With just 9 percent of all plastic being recycled globally, we have to work
During the 5th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5), the first part of which was held virtually on February 22 and 23, the German delegation announced – on behalf of Ecuador, Ghana and the Germany itself – the decision to begin preparations to convene a Ministerial Meeting on Marine Pollution by Plastics, the same one that would take place at the end of the third quarter of this year.
Germany, Ecuador and Ghana concerned about marine plastic pollution
The initiative is supported by the Presidency of the UNEA, currently under the leadership of Norway, and would benefit from close cooperation with the Secretariat of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
Mycoremediation: the under-utilised art of fungi clean-ups Mycoremediation: the under-utilised art of fungi clean-ups 26 Feb 2021 History is littered with examples of fungi helping to digest the detritus and contaminants left by humans. New challenges could reinvigorate the field
‘Mycoremediation’ is a dizzying term. Put simply, it means using fungi to clean up pollution. Fungi are nature’s most vigorous agents for decomposition. For millions of years, they have evolved to exploit the detritus of other species, recycling nutrients through the ecosystem. The only organisms on Earth that decompose wood, their ability to extend through soil in filamentous mycelia, excreting digestive enzymes, allows them to adaptively decompose tough materials.
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The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is pleased to announce that Shyla Cooks and Karl Palmquist have been selected as the 2021 AIBS Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award (EPPLA) recipients. The EPPLA recognizes graduate students in the biological sciences who are demonstrating an interest and aptitude for working at the intersection of science and policy.
Shyla Cooks is a master s student in bioscience and health policy at Rice University in Houston, Texas. After serving in the United States Navy for four years, she worked as a 7th and 8th grade science teacher for two years under the Teach for America program, which is dedicated to addressing educational inequities in low-income areas. She continues to teach science at the School of Science and Technology a charter school in Houston, Texas while enrolled in full-time coursework. Cooks is active in her professional community as a member of the Rice Science Policy Network, the Doerr Institute for New Leade