{"id":4880,"date":"2017-08-14T18:58:58","date_gmt":"2017-08-14T23:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecooptimism.com\/?p=4880"},"modified":"2017-08-14T19:24:16","modified_gmt":"2017-08-15T00:24:16","slug":"the-distillery-august-14-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecooptimism.com\/?p=4880","title":{"rendered":"The Distillery: August 14, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Triangles_Distillery_Text-smr\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We can all use some positive news these days, especially on the environmental front in which science is considered evil, denial is an alternative fact and the EPA is now what I\u2019m calling the Environmental Destruction Agency. And while I don’t want to gloss over the issues – there isn’t enough paint in the world to do that – I offer here The Distillery, a weekly (or thereabouts) selection of posts to help offset the PTSD of our current nightmare.<\/p>\n

The posts I pick will be “real” in the sense that they aren’t pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking, as fun as those can be, but are evidence of EcoOptimism.<\/p>\n

August 7, 2017
\n<\/span>
\nFrom EcoWatch:
\nCosta Rica Wants to Become World’s First Country to Eliminate Single-Use Plastics<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

EcoOptimism’s take:\u00a0<\/span>Only a fraction of plastics gets recycled. The rest of t<\/span>his\u00a0persistent scourge ends up in the oceans and distant beaches or, at best, in landfills to live on virtually forever.
\n<\/span>
\nThey\u2019ve even been found in the deepest place on Earth: the Marianas Trench.
\n<\/span>
\nAnd in case that’s not nasty enough, bear in mind this\u00a0doesn’t take into account\u00a0the resources (oil!) and energy required to make them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Marine<\/a>

Marine debris on Kamilo Beach, Hawaii. Credit: Algalita.org<\/p><\/div>\n

August 9, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

From ThinkProgress:
\nAmerica\u2019s Wind Energy Industry Passed a Major Milestone<\/a><\/p>\n

EcoOptimism’s take:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0in 2016, wind energy passed the generating capacity of hydroelectric power became the nation\u2019s top renewable generating source. <\/span><\/p>\n

For all the talk naysaying renewable energy \u2013 it\u2019s too expensive or too unreliable because \u201cthe sun don\u2019t always shine, the wind don\u2019t always blow\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s now the most rapidly growing and inexpensive form of energy. More efficient solar cells and new types of batteries will only further the trend, and the renewable energy industry is already creating more jobs than fossil fuels are.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Credit:<\/a>

Credit: Department of Energy via ThinkProgress.org<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

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