Inspirational and good news.
The European Union has banned the selling of cosmetics that have been tested on animals. This will make the lives of many animals better and may encourage innovations in cosmetic testing .
The ban applies to all new cosmetics and their ingredients sold in the EU, regardless of where in the world testing on animals was carried out.
The 27 EU countries have had a ban on such tests in place since 2009. But the EU Commission is now asking the EU’s trading partners to do the same.
Canada has a large pulp and paper industry and it produces tons of waste in the form of wastewater and greenhouse gas emissions. Collectively the industry spends hundreds of millions of dollars to lower their environmental damage, so even a marginal increase in environmental efficiency can have a large impact on their bottom line.
A study from Concordia University looked into using dynamic systems modelling to asses what the output of processing facilities to predict waste output.
“With dynamic modeling, we can better understand the behaviour of the treatment plant over time,†says senior author Fariborz Haghighat, professor in Concordia’s Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Concordia ResearchChair in Energy and Environment. “With this knowledge, we can then recommend a strategy to reduce the emission of greenhouse gas and also improve energy efficiency.â€
“Models such as this are used to simulate the behaviour of a particular management system either in the early stages of system design or in later development to incorporate changes,†adds Yerushalmi. “We want to make sure that we use the most accurate method possible and the dynamic model isbest predictor yet.â€
Often we hear that spending on experiences make for a happier life than buying into consumerism. In concept it sounds great, but many people think that it’s hard to rejig their life to be focused on doing things rather than consuming things. This TED talk is about breaking free of that passive normality and living life to its fullest.
Researchers in Toronto are looking into ways to help people who are suffering from Parkinson’s by altering diets. So far their research has shown that by embracing a low-protien diet some symptoms of Parkinson’s can be managed better.
“Diet is very important in Parkinson’s disease because the main medication called Levodopa may interact with protein,” says Kleiner-Fisman pointing out that in some people high protein may numb the effectiveness of the medication. “Food is a really important part of people’s social lives. If you now have this wacky diet, it makes it hard to enjoy food. A lot of people become quite isolated.”
…In total, the students developed 14 recipes: three for each major meal and five snacks. There’s the ginger and vegetable stir-fry chock full of veggies and rice noodles, but only three grams of protein. Or the hearty roasted breakfast potatoes with tomatoes salad also falling within the low-protein requirements. For heavier protein meals, the students came up with a southwestern-style chicken and quinoa dinner and some delicious salmon fishcakes. They also included a list of necessary equipment to make the meals and made sure the ingredients were easy to find in the average grocery store.
Read more at Yonge Street Media.
Many academic journals charge a subscription fee that is out of reach for the common person, which means that independent researchers and students are at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing information. Elementa aims to make research about the anthropocene era we’re in freely accessible for everyone.
Elementa follows the example of organizations such as PLoS, who offers peer-reviewed research to academics worldwide on an open-access, public-good basis. Elementa aims to facilitate scientific solutions to the challenges presented by this era of accelerated human impact on natural systems. It is committed to the rapid publication of technically sound, peer-reviewed articles that address interactions between human and natural systems and behaviors. Six knowledge domains form the structure of the publication, each headed by an Editor-in-Chief – Atmospheric Science, Earth and Environmental Science, Ecology, Ocean Science, Sustainable Engineering, and Sustainability Sciences.
It’s not just academic journals that are freeing knowledge to make it more available in the USA. The White House has recently stated that research funded by the American government will be freely available:
The White House has moved to make the results of federally funded research available to the public for free within a year, bowing to public pressure for unfettered access to scholarly articles and other materials produced at taxpayers’ expense.
“Americans should have easy access to the results of research they help support,” John Holdren, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, wrote on the White House website.
Read more about the White House’s open access stance.
Read more about Elementa.