Sustainability Weekly — CTA Architects P.C.

**Mondays are for…**

Global Plastic Treaty Negotiations, Energy Star Labels, Bridge Prototypes, and more!

by Alli DiGiacomo

Happy Monday! Happening this week around the world is the 6th round of Global Plastic Treaty negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland (read more on this below). In New York City, prepare for another scorching hot week! In between doing your best to stay cool and make the most of the last few weeks of summer, try to remember to conserve energy where you can to keep the pressure off the electricity grid.

Keep reading for sustainability news…

T H I S W E E K ’ S T O P S T O R I E S

RESEARCHERS AT PENN UNVEIL A CARBON-CAPTURING BRIDGE PROTOTYPE IN VENICE

Envisioned 115-foot bridge for the City of Paris. Visualization by Fortes Vision. Image courtesy of Masoud Akbarzadeh.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have built a futuristic 10-foot bridge prototype called DIAMANTI, now on display at an architecture exhibition in Venice. The design uses advanced geometry and robotic fabrication to create a strong, lightweight structure.The structural method is called Polyhedral Graphic Statics (PGS), and it efficiently channels both tension and compression forces, meaning it needs significantly less material, using 60% less concrete and 81% less steel than traditional bridges. Even cooler, the team experimented with a concrete mix containing diatomaceous earth, which makes the surface more porous and able to absorb up to 142% more CO2 from the air compared to regular concrete containing cement. They see this technology being used not only for bridges but also for floor systems, which could cut embodied carbon (life cycle) emissions by 60% and reduce material waste through 3D printing. The researchers released a video concept showing DIAMANTI as a full 115-foot bridge in Paris, and construction partners are now fundraising to build the first real-world version in France (pending official approval). Check out the futuristic design and renderings here.

THE UNLIKELY COALITION FIGHTING TO KEEP ENERGY STAR LABELS ON OUR APPLIANCES

The Energy Star program, a government-backed label that has identified energy-efficient products and practices since 1992, might be eliminated under the Trump administration. The program saves Americans $40 billion annually and prevents 4 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering our atmosphere per year. Although environmental groups are pushing back, an unexpected team of industry groups including the American Chemistry Council, National Association of Home Builders, American Bakers Association, and Pool and Hot Tub Alliance have joined together to fight to save it. These groups value Energy Star for driving demand for energy-efficient products, guiding building practices, and providing tools like the Energy Star Portfolio Manager, which over 50 cities and several states use to enforce local efficiency regulations. They worry that without it, incentives for energy-efficient design and compliance tracking would disappear without a replacement. The program also boosts property values for efficient buildings, which is appealing to landlords/developers as a voluntary alternative to stricter mandates. Bipartisan support in Congress has secured proposed funding of $32–36 million for the next year, but after that remains uncertain as budget decisions are still months away. Industry leaders argue that Energy Star is a rare example of the government delivering strong returns for taxpayers.

GLOBAL TALKS ON PLASTIC TREATIES CONTINUE IN GENEVA THIS WEEK

This week happening in Geneva, Switzerland is the 6th round of global negotiations on a plastic treaty, an extension from the 5th round of talks that were supposed to conclude back in December. 184 countries are meeting to attempt to slow down greenhouse gas emissions from global plastic production, where just 7 countries produce two-thirds of the world’s plastic made from fossil fuels. Currently only 9% of plastic gets recycled and production is predicted to triple by 2060 if nothing changes.

Since the current U.S. administration has changed since the last talks, so has our stance. We knew that there would a slim chance that the U.S. and Trump administration would ever ratify a UN treaty, but they have decided to take it a step further. They have forcefully opposed measures to slow plastic production, and sided with Russia, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf countries, sending letters to countries encouraging them to reject any plastic production limits or chemical additives. Countries such as Canada, Europe, Australia, Latin American and Pacific Island countries disagree, all supporting reducing virgin plastic production. “For the first time, the U.S. is actively throwing its weight around to push other countries to go along with them,” said John Hocevar, Greenpeace USA’s Oceans Campaign Director. Last week, the oil states that the U.S. is now siding with were accused of using scare tactics to stop a green shipping deal. Here’s what else to watch for as the global plastics treaty talks are set to end this week.

MORE IN SUSTAINABILITY NEWS

Good news: A federal judge in Hawaii blocked the Trump administration’s effort to open the Pacific Islands Heritage marine national monument to commercial fishing.
Climate disasters are killing small businesses.
Elementary schoolers invented a remote-control ‘orca’ robot to clean up beach trash.
How changes in nature’s symphony can reflect climate impacts.
How does hot weather affect our brains?
President Trump’s narrow focus on boosting gas exports and power plant construction won’t help his goal of lowering energy prices, industry analysts say.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) says renewable energy sources will overtake coal to be the world’s top power source ‘by 2026 at the latest’.
A new analysis finds that when a coal processing plant outside of Pittsburgh shut down in 2016, ER visits for pediatric asthma almost immediately dropped 40% and then continued to decline.
Nonprofits, tribes, and local governments sue the EPA and Administrator Lee Zeldin for terminating the $3 Billion Environmental and Climate Justice block grant program in a first-of-its-kind class-action suit.
A Taiwanese company CircularBlue is building a “vacuum cleaner for the ocean” that uses AI to detect and remove plastic waste. The marine debris cleanup initiative is “designed to intercept and process ocean waste along coastlines, the areas where 80% of this trash ends up.”
Microsoft is investing in increasingly innovative methods of removing carbon from the atmosphere in an effort to offset the climate impact of its AI data centers, such as storing human waste underground.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said his agency is preparing to rewrite previously published National Climate Assessments, which have already been removed from government websites.
In partnership with ECO-CEL, A zoo in Arizona launched a cell phone recycling program and is now accepting used cell phones, tablets, and chargers with the goal of reducing the demand for new lithium mining, which threatens ecosystems where Chilean flamingos live.
The world’s climate-resilient forest lab is in Alabama.
A global framework proposes a first-of-it’s-kind plan for tackling the toxic tire pollution crisis.