Christopher Joyce
Stories
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Health
U.S. Recycling Industry Is Struggling to Figure Out A Future Without China
China is no longer taking the world's waste. The U.S. recycling industry is overwhelmed — it can't keep up with the plastic being churned out. This doesn't bode well for our plastic waste problem.
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Environment
Plastics Or People? At Least 1 Of Them Has To Change To Clean Up Our Mess
As consumers rebel against plastic waste, there's a growing question: Do we invent something people can toss without harming the environment or do we change people by giving them a chance to reuse?
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Environment
Plastic Has A Big Carbon Footprint — But That Isn't The Whole Story
Plastic waste litters cities, oceans and even the air. Largely overlooked is how making plastic affects the environment. Plastic is a big contributor to global warming. So are its alternatives.
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Environment
Replacing Plastic: Can Bacteria Help Us Break The Habit?
Entrepreneurs are eager to find substitutes for plastic that naturally degrade. One option is a "natural" plastic made by microbes and then eaten by them. But the process is still in early days.
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Food
Microplastics Have Invaded The Deep Ocean — And The Food Chain
Giant gyres of plastic in the ocean grab headlines, but it's the tiny bits of plastic that scare scientists. And they've made their way everywhere, a new study finds — including in our seafood.
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Environment
The 'Great Dying' Nearly Erased Life On Earth. Scientists See Similarities To Today
It was the biggest extinction in Earth's history. A new Smithsonian exhibit notes that some of the same things that killed 90 percent of life 250 million years ago are happening now.
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Environment
Remote Island Chain Has Few People — But Hundreds Of Millions Of Pieces Of Plastic
The Cocos Keeling Islands make up barely 6 square miles in the Indian Ocean. It's a good place to measure plastic waste as almost no one lives there. Scientists were flabbergasted by what they found.
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Science
Denisovans, A Mysterious Form Of Ancient Humans, Are Traced to Tibet
Until now, the only Denisovan remains came from a cave called Denisova in Siberia. The new find is "much more complete," one expert says.
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Health
Ancient Bones And Teeth Found In A Philippine Cave May Rewrite Human History
Islands in Southeast Asia were clearly important in the evolution of early humans, say scientists who have turned up 50,000-year-old remains of what they suspect is a previously unknown human species.
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Environment
Where Will Your Plastic Trash Go Now That China Doesn't Want It?
Last year, China drastically cut back its imports of plastic waste to recycle. Now the U.S. and other wealthy nations must figure out what to do with their discards.