June 14, 2024
Image: Rapapawn
Efforts to restore meaning to the iconic recycling symbol; the promise of floating solar panels; and a first in heat protections for workers.
Corporations sold Americans on the promise of recycling, even as they made the iconic symbol essentially meaningless. New efforts are holding companies to account for deceptive labeling, and could create new rules governing use of the recycling symbol.
Rapapawn
Covering a small fraction of the world's lakes and reservoirs with solar rafts could generate enough energy to power countries, and keep valuable drinking water from evaporating. It's called "floatovoltaics."
At a Seattle-based sandwich chain, where conditions can resemble a "big brick oven," employees won a first-of-its-kind contract that includes a heat pay clause -- double pay if the store temperature tops 86 degrees. It's not better AC, but it's a start.
Mike Rodriguez
Barcelona is home to the world’s first master’s program in degrowth, a movement calling for scaling back economic development to prioritize sustainability. Now its graduates are reflecting on how to bring their lessons into real markets.
Grist / Mia Torres
Photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier is a powerful force in environmental justice art. Lylla Younes reflects on her work's importance writing that "she invites communities to see themselves in a different way ... a step toward believing that they are not powerless."
LaToya Ruby Frazier; courtesy LaToya Ruby Frazier / Gladstone Gallery