Updated: 30/04/2021 - 10:00
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Last week New Zealand unveiled a raft of policies aimed at creating a ‘smoke-free generation’ and phasing tobacco products out of the country.
Among ideas expected to be implemented are an increase in the legal smoking age, a potential ban on sale of tobacco products to anyone born after 2004, minimum pricing and vendor restrictions.
The announcement was welcomed by campaigners and civil groups for its contribution to reaching New Zealand’s ambition to be smoke free by 2025.
But as well as being extremely bad for personal health, cigarettes also impact the health of the planet.
Waste Carbon From Steel Production Can Be Recycled Into New Products
Gases from steel processing can be used to make materials for products like insulation boards and wood coatings, concludes an EU-funded project.
The project team demonstrated that carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) in blast furnace gas – a ‘process gas’ from steel production – can be recovered and used as the raw material for chemicals called polyols.
Polyols are used in polyurethane-based insulation materials and coatings and are typically derived from crude oil. Obtaining them from process gases therefore reduces the amount of crude oil that needs to be extracted and used, as well as reducing carbon emissions released to the atmosphere.
Waste carbon from steel production can be recycled into new products miragenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miragenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Swapping the car for walking, cycling and e-biking even just one day a week makes a significant impact on personal carbon emissions in cities. Active transport - cycling, e-biking or walking - can help tackle the climate crisis according to a new study led by the University of Oxford s Transport Studies Unit and including researchers from Imperial s Centre for Environmental Policy as part of the EU-funded project PASTA: Physical Activity Through Sustainable Transport Approaches.
Meeting greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets requires a significant move away from motorised transport. The team found that shifting to active transport could save as much as a quarter of personal carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from transport.