(FAS) GREENER LEGO (IN A TIME TO COME)

Lego is ditching fossil fuels for a more planet-friendly material.

This week, the toy maker announced it was eliminating the use of oil in its bricks and replacing it with renewable materials and recycled plastic.

The company will do so by decreasing the percentage of oil in its bricks while adding more certified renewable or recycled materials. Of course, the bricks that make up Hagrid’s Hut, the Wicked Set, and Fortnite Battle Buses will cost more to produce. The company says it will be paying up to 70% more for the new material, a certified renewable resin. “This means a significant increase in the cost of producing a Lego brick,” CEO Niels Christiansen told Reuters.

But that doesn’t mean Lego sets will cost more to buy. “With a family owner committed to sustainability, it’s a privilege that we can pay extra for the raw materials without having to charge customers extra,” Christiansen added.

The company had previous plans to use recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for its classic building blocks; however, it soon realized that using it would produce even more pollution than the current material.

“After more than three years of testing, we found the material didn’t reduce carbon emissions,” a spokesperson told CNN in 2023, adding that the brand is “not abandoning [its] effort to make oil-free bricks” and remains “fully committed to making Lego bricks from sustainable materials by 2032.” more of this article (fast company.com) - link - picture (zavvi) - link - (more like this (Lego) - link - more like this (recycling plastic) - link

(REN) VIKING ENERGY SURGES INTO GREAT BRITAIN

SSE Renewables has wrapped up construction of the 443MW Viking wind farm in Shetland, which will be the most productive onshore wind farm in the UK, according to the developer.

Viking’s 103 Vestas turbines are capable of generating around 1.8TWh of renewable electricity annually. In addition, SSEN Transmission’s 260km subsea interconnector to transport electricity between Shetland and the GB mainland has been energised.

Together, the projects represent more than £1bn of investment by businesses within the SSE Group. They supported around 650 jobs during peak construction and contributed £125m to the local Shetland economy, SSE said.

Continuing operations of the Viking Wind Farm will also support 35 permanent roles, and it is estimated Viking’s community fund will contribute more than £70m to the local Shetland economy over the lifetime of the wind farm.

SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies said: "Delivery of both the Viking wind farm and Shetland HVDC transmission link are big engineering achievements and together represent a major milestone on the UK’s path to a clean energy system.

"Shetland and the wider North Sea have long supported the country’s energy security and now they are playing a significant role in decarbonising our power system.

"But it has taken nearly two decades for these projects to move from concept to completion and if we are serious about delivering clean power by 2030 – less than 2000 days away – we need to make it much easier and faster to build this kind of mission-critical infrastructure. More of this article (renews.biz) - link - more like this (wind) - link - more like this (Scotland) - link

(NAT) UNLUCKY COW

The fossil of an extremely unlucky dugong has been uncovered. The old sea cow had a pretty bad day about 20 million years ago when it was eaten by both a crocodile and a shark.

This remarkable fossil was found in Venezuela, and belongs to the extinct genus Culebratherium, a relative of the modern dugong or sea cow. Part of a skull and some vertebrae were discovered, but that was enough to tell an incredible story of this creature’s unfortunate fate.

The poor dugong has three deep puncture marks on its snout, up to 8 mm (0.3 in) wide, which the team identified as crocodilian. These are neat puncture marks, straight in and out, meaning the croc clamped its jaws down and released, maybe a few times. Given the location on the body, the team says it might have been trying to suffocate its prey.

When that didn’t work, the crocodile changed tack. Another set of bite marks show similar round punctures that lead into large incisions in the bone, as well as other striations and slash marks. This indicates the croc did a 'death roll' on the dugong, something their modern counterparts are known to do to finish off their food.

A third set of tooth marks, found all over the skeleton, look completely different. These are long and narrow slits that leave V-shaped holes in the bone – the calling card of shark teeth. If there was any room for doubt, one of those teeth was found lodged in the dugong’s neck, allowing the team to identify the attacker as an extinct relative of the tiger shark. All up, it looks like the crocodile made the kill, and after it had eaten its fill the shark swooped in to scavenge the leftovers.

“Our findings constitute one of the few records documenting multiple predators over a single prey, and as such provide a glimpse of food chain networks in this region during the Miocene,” said Aldo Benites-Palomino, lead author of the study. more of this article (New Atlas) - link - photo - link - more like this (Blackhall Road dinosaur) - link - more like this (Venezuela) - link

(NAT) 3D PRINTING AND SOUND STICK TOGETHER

Manufacturing could be dramatically changed thanks to two new techniques for joining materials created by scientists in Austria. The two methods create super strong bonds at the pore level, eliminating the need for caustic adhesives.

While industrial adhesives are great for joining part A to part B, they're not really very good for the environment, especially those made from petroleum-based chemicals. Not only do these adhesives require a good deal of energy and resources to produce, but their manufacture can produce harmful pollutants; plus, once the items in which they've been used reach the end of their lifecycle, they can contaminate soil and groundwater. Additionally, some of the chemicals used in adhesive production can be harmful to the workers using them.

While there has been quite a push to create more eco-friendly adhesives, from such things as a reusable glue made from plants to an adhesive that biodegrades after use, researchers at the Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria took another approach. Two other approaches, actually, both of which achieved bonds between a variety of wood types and two types of plastics, stainless steel, and a titanium alloy.

n the first, the researchers used a 3D-printing process they termed "Addjoining." They were able to 3D print the various materials directly onto a piece of untreated wood in such a way that they penetrated the pores in the wood, forming a bond in much the same way an adhesive would. The team then snapped the bond apart.

“After the (bond) fractured, we were able to find polymer in the wood pores and broken wood fibers in the polymer, which suggests that the fracture occurred in the wood and polymer, but not at the joint,” explains Gean Marcatto, who worked on this process as a postdoc at TU Graz's Institute of Materials Sciences, Joining and Forming. More of this article (New Atlas) - link - more like this (Austria) - link - more like this (3D printing) - link

(NTH) THAILAND'S BUGS HEADING TO SINGAPORE

The decision by Singapore to allow the import of 16 consumable insects is an opportunity for Thai entrepreneurs to penetrate this market, the Department of International Trade Promotion said on Sunday.

The department explained that the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) had on July 8, approved the import of 16 insects, including many species of crickets, grasshoppers, locusts, mealworms and silkworms.

This move is expected to boost Singapore’s food security as insects have high protein, while insect farming emits low amounts of greenhouse gas, the department said.

The department said many food manufacturers and restaurants in Singapore hope to launch their insect products soon, adding that some of them have used insects as food additives, such as protein bars.

The department said Thailand had the potential to export insects and their products. “The SFA’s approval for the import of consumable insects is a good opportunity for Thai entrepreneurs to penetrate Singapore’s market,” it said.

However, the department advised entrepreneurs to study Singapore’s regulations, standards and market trends before exporting insects to the country.

Regulations include documentation to prove that imported insects came from farms that meet food safety standards, the department said, adding that labels should be placed on packages to offer product information to consumers.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, more than 1,900 species of insects are edible, such as caterpillars, beetles, bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, crickets, cicadas, dragonflies, termites and mealybugs.

The insect market is valued at US$400 million (13.7 billion baht), and is expected to reach $2.06 billion (70.8 billion baht) by 2027 thanks to over 2 billion insect consumers worldwide. More of this article (nationthailand) - link - mouth watering insect recipes - link -  more like this (food) - link

(ECN) THE KMT PROJECT

A scientific expedition is on the horizon that will carve into the actual lava pathways of a volcanic body in Iceland, where scientists will uncover reactions of the planet hidden for millions of years. The KMT project takes place in the Northeast of Iceland, where one of the world’s most influential and mysterious forces, the Krafla volcano’s magma chamber, can be visited and, what’s most important, drilled to generate geothermal energy.

This proposed quest is a bold, quarter-century endeavor that aims to enlist 125 specialists from 15 different countries with backgrounds in science, engineering, and technology, as well as education, with the ultimate goal of elucidating the dynamics of volcanic systems and possibly even transforming the global geothermal energy industry in the process.

This project aims to unlock the secrets of volcanoes and improve our ability to predict eruptions with unprecedented accuracy

The KMT project can be regarded as a significant advancement in volcanology because it will facilitate the observation of magma in its native state for the first time. Previous methods of monitoring volcanoes have been restricted to measuring changes on the surface, but this move will give a rare chance of viewing the internal activity of a volcano.

Through such an intrusive operation, the scientists intend to understand how volcanoes work, how magma behaves, and how it responds to the crust of the Earth. This direct connection to magma could significantly enhance the prospects of better predicting volcanic eruptions, which means more accurate magma prediction for communities inhabiting close to an active volcano daily and weekly. The knowledge gained from the project could help prevent many catastrophes due to improved early warning systems and evacuations for the regions affected by volcanic activities.

Revolutionizing geothermal energy production: harnessing magma’s intense heat for a clean and abundant power source

The KMT project has excellent potential in the future as it provides an opportunity to revolutionize the process of geothermal energy generation. The heat from magma is way higher than that of the surrounding rock. If utilized effectively, it presents a considerable source of heat that could be tapped to generate electricity. More of this article (Econews) link - more like this (Iceland) - link

(ICN) SAMSUNG - 600 MILE RANGE BATTERIES

Solid-state batteries—which pack more energy into each unit of volume than current batteries and will stretch the range of electric vehicles—have long felt just out of reach.

But they are getting close, and recent progress helps to clarify when the first models may arrive.

Samsung SDI said in March that it will produce solid-state batteries for use in high-end vehicles by 2027. The vehicles would be able to travel more than 600 miles before needing to be recharged. Samsung, based in South Korea, didn’t say which automakers would use the battery, but the company has relationships with GM, Hyundai and Stellantis.

A range of 600 miles would be roughly double the ranges of today’s most popular models. More of this article (Inside Climate News) - link - more like this (batteries) - link - more like this (Samsung ) - link

(IAN) JUST PICKED FROM THE GARDEN

No pesticides - no chemicals - just water - link

(CTE) THE ROBOTS ARE COMING

“Pick up the box the color of Darth Vader's lightsaber and place it on top of the tallest pile,” Digit, Agility's bird-legged green humanoid, is told as he stands in a room with piles of boxes of various heights and colors. Digit stands frozen in time as the system processes the human voice request. Finally, he picks up the red box and carefully places it on the highest pile.

Picking up a box and placing it in a neat pile is not an impressive action in itself for a robot; understanding an enigmatic human command and correctly deciphering and explaining the decision-making process, are definitely innovations. Digit owes parts of its progress to the generative artificial intelligence revolution that also reached the field of robotics and turned expectations from it on its head. "I've been asked what's the biggest thing in 2024 besides language modeling — it's robotics. Period," Nvidia's senior AI scientist Jim Fan wrote in December. "We're about three years away from a ChatGPT moment for physical AI agents," he explained.

Ever since Fan made this statement, it seems that everyone is talking about the "ChatGPT moment of robotics", or the hope of a technological breakthrough that will push the field forward and finally fill our homes with intelligent humanoid robots to help us with household chores, wash the floor, set the table or do the laundry (but not fold it).

"What has been happening in recent months is dramatic," explains Amir Bousani, CEO of R-Go Robotics, which recently entered into a partnership with Nvidia to equip the robot it is developing with its spatial perception capabilities. "The physical world is more difficult than the internet," notes Dr. Oren Etzioni, founding CEO of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, "but the field of robots that have the ability to behave in general is running much faster today." More of this article (CTECH) - link - more like this (bots) - link

(ELE) BYD OUTSELLS NISSAN

China’s leading EV maker, BYD, sold more vehicles than Honda and Nissan for the first time in the second quarter. BYD is now the world’s seventh-largest automaker. With low-cost EVs hitting key global markets, BYD is quickly catching up to Ford.

According to MarkLines (via Nikkei), BYD’s new vehicle sales climbed 40% between April and June to 980,000. The growth was enough to overtake Japan’s Honda and Nissan for the first time to become the seventh-largest automaker globally.

A big part of BYD’s surging sales numbers is its incredibly affordable electric cars. BYD continues slashing prices while releasing lower-cost EV models.

Its cheapest EV, the Seagull, starts at just $9,700 (69,800 yuan) in China. Meanwhile, much of BYD’s success this year is thanks to growing overseas sales.

BYD sold 105,000 vehicles outside of China, roughly tripling from last year. After launching in key markets like Mexico, Brazil, Japan, Europe, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries, BYD is already a leading EV brand.

Although global auto leaders like Volkswagen and Toyota’s sales numbers fell in Q2, BYD continued to see more demand.

Toyota is the only Japanese automaker that sold more vehicles than BYD in Q2, a stark contrast from past years. More of this article (electrek) - link - more like this (ev) - link

(HIL) YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

Researchers at the George Institute for Global Health analyzed 651 infant and toddler food products from 10 different grocery chains in the U.S. in 2023. 

The researchers assessed how the nutritional information in these foods measured up against nutritional and promotional guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The research found that 60 percent of the foods they assessed did not meet the nutritional standards and that all of the products made prohibited promotional claims on the packaging. The research was published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients.

The study also found that 70 percent of the products did not meet protein requirements and 44 percent exceeded the recommended total sugar requirements. It also found that a quarter of the products did not meet the calorie requirements and about 20 percent exceeded the sodium requirements.

The study did not identify what food products or brands it looked at but noted there’s been a 900 percent increase in baby food pouch sales over the last 13 years. It found that less than 7 percent of all pouches meet the recommended total sugar requirements. More of this article (The Hill) - link - more like this (baby contents) - link

(EUR) MESSAGING APP CEO ARRESTED

Pavel Durov, the Russian-French billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening (24 August), TF1 TV and BFM TV said, citing unnamed sources.

Durov was travelling aboard his private jet, TF1 said on its website, adding he had been targeted by an arrest warrant in France as part of a preliminary police investigation.

TF1 and BFM both said the investigation was focused on a lack of moderators on Telegram, and that police considered that this situation allowed criminal activity to go on undeterred on the messaging app.

The encrypted Telegram, with close to one billion users, is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union. It is ranked as one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat. More of this article (Euractiv) - link - more like this (France free speech) - link - more of this (free speech) - link - more like this (France) - linklink

(LSE) IT'S ALL OUR FAULT

Governments have developed a convenient habit of blaming social problems on their citizens, placing too much emphasis on personal responsibility and pursuing policies to ‘nudge’ their citizens to better behaviour. 

Keith Dowding argues that responsibility for many of our biggest social crises should be laid at the feet of politicians.

People are responsible for the choice they make from their menu of opportunities. And our past choices do affect today’s menu. But if we look at the opportunities available to each person in a society at any given time, that menu is set by society. And the government is the most important agent in society. Essentially, the way we live is the responsibility of the government. That is the argument of my new book, It’s the Government, Stupid: How Governments Blame Citizens for Their Own Policies. 

In the book, I look at five policy areas: gun crime, obesity, homelessness, gambling and recreational drugs. I explain how the massive gun-related death toll in the US is directly attributable to the nature of gun regulations there. The gambling industry has benefited from a widespread relaxation of regulations – which I generally support – but I argue that governments need to do more to prevent the harms caused by gambling: different regulation is required. Meanwhile, irrationally, recreational drug use is still subject to severe regulation. I argue for legalisation buttressed by strong regulations akin to those applied to medical drugs, alcohol, and so on.

More of this (LSE British Pilitics and Policy) - link- more of this (Keith Dowding) - link - photograph (Sky) - link - more like this (Labour) - link

(ICN) HOUSTON'S PLASTIC PILES UP

HOUSTON—When the news crew showed up outside a waste-handling business that’s failed three fire safety inspections and has yet to gain state approval to store plastic, workers quickly closed a gate displaying a “no trespassing” sign.

Behind the gate, deliveries of hundreds of thousands of pounds of plastic waste from residents’ homes have piled up over the last year and a half. Satellite and drone images reveal bags, bottles and even a cooler spread about, some of the plastic heaped high in bales next to strewn cardboard and tall stacks of wooden pallets.

The expanding open-air pile at Wright Waste Management, on the edge of an office park 20 miles northwest of downtown Houston, awaits what the city of Houston and corporate partners including ExxonMobil call a new frontier in recycling—and critics describe as a sham.

The Houston Recycling Collaboration was formed as a response to low recycling rates in the city, a global problem. Hardly any of the plastic products meant to be used once and tossed can be recycled mechanically—the shredding, melting and remolding used for collection programs across the country.

The Houston effort adds a new option alongside the city’s curbside pickup: Partners say people can bring any plastic waste to drop-off locations—even styrofoam, bubble wrap and bags—and if it can’t be mechanically recycled, it will be superheated and chemically processed into new plastic, fuels or other products.

Exxon and the petrochemical industry call this “advanced” or “chemical” recycling and heavily promote it as a solution to runaway plastic waste, even as environmental advocates warn that some of these processes pump out highly toxic air pollution, contribute to global warming and shouldn’t qualify as recycling at all. More of this article (Inside Climate News) - link - more like this (recycling) - link - LyondellBasell - link - more like this (Houston) - link - more like this (US recycling) - link

About the Houston Recycling Collaboration

On January 19, 2022, the City of Houston, ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell, Cyclyx International and FCC Environmental Services signed a memorandum of understanding to form the Houston Recycling Collaboration. More like this (ExxonMobil) - link

(CTJ) RIP FREEDOM OF SPEECH

John Adams wrote that the real war for American independence was won in the hearts and minds of the people, with the help of newspapers and pamphlets, which “enlightened and informed” public opinion. 

Freedom of expression, which the American colonists inherited from the British liberal tradition, was thus a catalyst for the creation of a new nation. In Britain today, however, the public seems to be losing interest in such liberty: a December 2021 YouGov poll found that 43 percent of respondents valued protecting people from offensive or hateful remarks over the right to free speech.

It’s no wonder that so many Britons feel this way—especially when their own police are out enforcing a new social-justice regime. When they’re not busy having their squad cars decorated in rainbow flags or virtue-signaling on Twitter about their pronouns, the police are busy telling the public how to think, having dedicated a vast amount of time, money, and resources into “raising awareness” and encouraging people to report their neighbors’ supposed hate crimes. In February last year, police in The Wirral showed up with a digital advertising van informing shoppers that “being offensive is an offence.” Meantime, a recent report found that in the last five years, almost 1 million burglaries have gone unsolved. More of this article (City Journal) - link - Noel Yaxley - link - The Free Speech Union - link - more like this (civil liberties) - link

(VNE) TRAN TO NGA

The Paris Court of Appeal's rejection of the lawsuit filed by Tran To Nga against U.S. manufacturers of Agent Orange is not a surprise for the French-Vietnamese woman, who said she will not give up but continue to pursue this lawsuit.

The Paris Court of Appeal on Thursday rejected the lawsuit filed by Nga against the U.S. chemical corporations that supplied AO/dioxin for the U.S. army to use during the war in Vietnam.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency, Nga, who is a dioxin victim herself, said she is not surprised at this ruling, and that she will not give up but keep pursuing this lawsuit.

As Nga's representatives, William Bourdon and Bertrand Repolt from the Bourdon law office expressed their determination to stay on their client’s side.

The fight by their client does not end with this ruling, and they will take the case to the highest appeals court, the lawyers said, noting that judges of the Paris Court of Appeal held a conservative attitude that runs counter to the modernity of law, as well as international law and European law. More of this article (VN Express) - link - Paris Court of Appeal - link - more like this (Agent Orange) - link

What is Agent Orange?

Agent Orange was a plant-killing chemical (herbicide). 

The United States military used Agent Orange during the Vietnam conflict from 1962 to 1971 to clear trees, plants and vegetation from U.S. bases and to remove foliage used for cover. 

During this time, the U.S. sprayed 11 million gallons of Agent Orange over 20 million acres in Vietnam - link

What 11 million gallons looks like when not being deployed deliberately - link

(NAT) LIVING PLASTIC

When the going gets tough for certain bacteria, they form into spores that can withstand the harshest of environments. Scientists have now utilized that fact to produce "living plastic" that biodegrades – but only under specific conditions.

Spores are a dormant form taken by some types of bacteria, typically when nutrients are in short supply.

They are protected by a tough outer coating that allows them to survive high temperatures, high pressure, desiccation, and caustic chemicals. This makes them one of the most resistant of all life forms. They are able to remain in an inactive state for years or even centuries at a time, becoming active again only when triggered by the right environmental cues.

Some bacteria are also known to break down plastic waste, keeping it from persisting in the environment. Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have now taken spores of such bacteria and embedded them in solid plastic, which remains tough and intact until the spores are revived. More like this (New Atlas) - link - more like this (recycling) - link

(F24) AGENT ORANGE APPEAL DISMISSED

A Paris court Thursday rejected an appeal by a French-Vietnamese woman who has been trying to sue Monsanto and other makers of Agent Orange for the chemical's use in the Vietnam war.

Tran To Nga, who was born in what was then French Indochina, accused 14 agrochemicals firms of causing grievous harm to her and others by selling Agent Orange to the American military, which used the herbicide to devastating effect in Vietnam.

She lost her initial case in 2021, when a French court ruled that the companies enjoyed legal immunity from prosecution because they worked for a sovereign government.

The Paris Court of Appeal used the same argument in rejecting Nga's claim.

Her demands "come up against the companies' immunity status," the court said in its written ruling, seen by AFP.

Nga will now take her case to France's highest appeals court for a final ruling, her lawyers said.

The 82-year-old, who covered the 1955-1975 war as a reporter and has lived in France for the past three decades, also accused the companies of environmental damage.

Campaign groups estimate that four million people in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were exposed to the 76 million litres (20 million gallons) of Agent Orange sprayed by US forces to destroy ground cover and food sources in its battle with communist North Vietnamese troops between 1962 and 1971.

Vietnam blames the chemical for severe birth defects in 150,000 children. More of this article (France 24) - link - picture (Vanity Fair - brilliant article by Nick Ut who took the photograph on 8th June 1972 ) - link - Monsanto - link - in the footsteps of Monsanto - link - the glyphosate hangover - link -  more like this (Vietnam) - link

(MAG) ZHIYUAN ROBOTICS UNVEIL 5 NEW BOTS

Zhiyuan Robotics, the startup founded by former Huawei "genius youth" Peng Zhihui, unveiled five new commercial humanoid robot models during the “Zhiyuan Expedition Commercial Sailing” 2024 New Product Launch Conference. 

The company also announced plans to open-source key technologies and datasets to accelerate industry development.

Zhiyuan introduced two new product families designed to cover a wide range of commercial applications:

Expedition Series: The Expedition series consists of three robots tailored for different industrial and service roles.

The Expedition A2 is an interactive service robot designed for customer-facing environments like exhibition halls, reception desks, and business consultations. Standing at 169 cm and weighing 69 kg, it features over 40 degrees of freedom for natural movements and uses a large language model for voice interaction and multi-modal information processing. It can carry loads of up to 1 kg, walk at a speed of 1 m/s, and operate autonomously for 2 hours. During the event, the A2 served as the host, demonstrating its ability to perform light work tasks while interacting seamlessly with attendees. more of this article (maginative) - link - more like this (bots) - link

(NAT) UNITREE ROBOT GOES TO MASS PRODUCTION

China's Unitree Robotics is a relatively recent entry in the general-purpose humanoid robot space, but its $16,000 G1 model is already proving itself to be quite the performer. So much so that the company has now revealed a version that's ready for mass production.

Until December last year, robot development at Unitree was pretty much focused on producing four-legged robo-beasts like the Go2 and B2. And by the time the first biped humanoid made its video debut, there was already stiff competition from the likes of Tesla, Figure, Boston Dynamics and Sanctuary AI.

But progress has been impressive, and the US$90k first effort was soon joined by a much cheaper and more capable model called the G1. This one has a visor-like face instead of an air gap and sports three-digit hands where once were stumps. It also looks less like a development platform and more like something headed for production – and now it appears to be ready to make that leap - more of this (New Atlas) - link - more like this (bots) - link

(MOT) THE NEW FACE OF CLIMATE ACTIVISM

The atmosphere is more festival than crime scene. There’s an accordionist, and two men in beanie hats are playing the drums. It’s a clear spring day in the farmlands of western France. But the people gathered in this field are technically trespassing, and there are signs they expect trouble. Someone has a gas mask slung around their neck.

There’s a contingent clad in balaclavas. Others disguise their features with dark goggles or masks, and one group holds up a wide fabric canopy to obscure the view of police drones. At the center of the maelstrom stands Léna Lazare, holding a pickaxe.

The then-24-year-old’s long brown hair is untied; her face uncovered. That’s important, she says. It adds a sense of legitimacy to what she’s about to do. She drives the pickaxe into the ground as the crowd around her looks on. Again and again she strikes at the hard, dry earth. When she can’t dig any more, another person emerges from the huddle to take over. Several meters down, they find what they’ve been looking for: pipes.

Beneath the field is a network designed to carry water to a new “mega-basin”—a giant reservoir being built near the village of Épannes. The group is here to rip one of those pipes out of the ground. more of this (Mother Jones) - link - more like this (activists) - link

(ENG) SISTERS DOIN' IT

Among corporate America's most persistent shareholder activists are 80 nuns in a monastery outside Kansas City.

Amid rolling farmland, the Benedictine sisters of Mount St Scholastica have taken on the likes of Google, Target and Citigroup - calling on major companies to do everything from AI oversight to measuring pesticides to respecting the rights of Indigenous people.

"Some of these companies, they just really hate us," said Sister Barbara McCracken, who leads the nuns' corporate responsibility program.

"Because we're small, we're just like a little fly in the ointment trying to irritate them."

At a time when activist investing has become politically polarised, these nuns are no strangers to making a statement.

Recently they went viral for denouncing the commencement speech of American football team the Kansas City Chief's kicker Harrison Butker at the nearby college they cofounded. When Butker suggested the women graduates of Benedictine College would most cherish their roles as wives and mothers, the nuns – who are noticeably neither wives nor mothers – expressed concern with "the assertion that being a homemaker is the highest calling for a woman." more of this - Euro News Green - link - more like this (activism) - link

(GRE) WALMART ZERO DEPACK

As it moves towards its global zero-waste goal, America’s largest retailer has introduced a new tech solution to reduce the amount of expired food going to landfill.

As part of an ongoing partnership with Arkansas-based organic recycling company Denali, the retail giant is installing repackaging technology at more than 1,400 Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs in over 16 US cities.

Called Zero Depack, the programme aims to keep food past its sell-by date out of the waste stream by repurposing it into useful products for farmers or converting it into energy with anaerobic digesters. The solution streamlines the unpackaging process of the expired food, separating 97% or more of all trash from organic food waste.

Denali’s machines have increased the volume of potentially reusable organic content from participating locations by over 60%, while reducing compactor trash by around 12%. This will lead to “cleaner waste streams, happier associates, and a host of potential sustainability opportunities”, according to RJ Zanes, VP of facility services at Walmart US. more of this - green queen - link - more like this (waste) - link