Published

2 years ago

June 26, 2024

Alice Rush

Alaska is known for its natural beauty and stunning landscapes teeming with vast wilderness and abundant wildlife.

But staining the landscape is a strange phenomenon: Dozens of the most remote rivers and streams in the Land of the Midnight Sun are turning from clear blue to cloudy orange. New research has found that the discoloration could be from the exposure of minerals from thawing permafrost.

“The more we flew around, we started noticing more and more orange rivers and streams,” said Jon O’Donnell, lead author of the study and an ecologist with the National Park Service (NPS)’s Arctic Inventory and Monitoring Network, in a press release from University of California, Davis (UC Davis). “There are certain sites that look almost like a milky orange juice. Those orange streams can be problematic both in terms of being toxic but might also prevent migration of fish to spawning areas.”

For the first time, researchers have sampled and documented some of these degraded waterways, including 75 locations across part of the Brooks Range in northern Alaska.

The researchers said that, as the climate continues to be affected by global heating, these contaminated rivers and streams could seriously impact fisheries and drinking water in Arctic watersheds.

“When the permafrost thaw, sulfide mineral deposits are exposed to groundwater and chemical weathering processes. Through this process, acid, iron and trace metals are released to streams and rivers. Many of these trace metals (such as copper, cadmium, arsenic, and others) are considered toxic for drinking water or for aquatic life if they exceed certain thresholds. We are actively working to determine which metals may exceed thresholds for aquatic life determine[d] by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” O’Donnell told EcoWatch in an email.

O’Donnell first became aware of the problem in 2018 while visiting a river that looked rusty but had been clear a year earlier. O’Donnell compiled a list of locations and took water samples when possible. The region is so remote that the rivers and streams are usually only accessible by helicopter.

“The stained rivers are so big we can see them from space,” said Brett Poulin, one of the study’s primary investigators and a UC Davis assistant environmental toxicology professor, in the press release. “These have to be stained a lot to pick them up from space.”

Poulin is a water chemistry expert and thought the staining appeared similar to when water becomes contaminated by acid mine drainage, but there aren’t any mines near any of the degraded rivers.

“Rusting rivers tend to be more acidic and more turbid (due to iron particles). Evidence from the lower 48 has shown that migratory fish like salmon may not pass through river reaches affected by acid mine drainage. Our observations from the Arctic are similar to acid mine drainage, except there are no mines in the affected watersheds. The rivers are draining remote wilderness areas,” O’Donnell told EcoWatch.

One theory is that, as Earth’s climate has warmed, the thawing of frozen permafrost has exposed its minerals to water and oxygen, releasing acid and metals.

“Chemistry tells us minerals are weathering,” Poulin said in the press release. “Understanding what’s in the water is a fingerprint as to what occurred.”

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The affected rivers are located on federal lands — including Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic National Parks — managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and NPS.

“The Arctic is warming four times faster than the Earth as a whole. Model projections predict continued warming in the coming decades. As the climate warms, permafrost will continue to thaw, exposing previously frozen soils and rocks to chemical weathering. We are working to determine which watersheds in the Brooks Range will be vulnerable to rusting in the future. Not all rivers will turn orange. There needs to be sulfide minerals, such as pyrite, to drive the mobilization of trace metals, sulfate, iron, and acid into the streams,” O’Donnell told EcoWatch.

The river and stream-staining minerals can affect the health of fish and, in turn, the humans who consume them.

“Rusting rivers represent a loss of habitat for fish. Our observations showed a complete loss of resident fish from a stream that changed from clear to orange. Further, metals might accumulate in stream invertebrates, which fish eat, and further accumulate in fish. Thus, eating affected fish has implications for human health. We have not shown this yet, it’s just a concern,” O’Donnell said.

Initial samples were analyzed by Poulin and Taylor Evinger, a Ph.D. candidate in agricultural and environmental chemistry at UC Davis. Other scientists took samples in June and July of 2023, while Poulin and Evinger collected their own in August.

Green Living

Earth911 Inspiration: Nothing In Vain

Published

1 day ago

January 23, 2026

Alice Rush

Aristotle, who saw purpose and design in everything, wrote in several different works that “Nature does nothing in vain.” We reply that regardless of purpose, nature does everything with grace; we are fortunate to witness the miraculous results of 13.4 billion years of experimentation.

Earth911 inspirations. Post them, share your desire to help people think of the planet first, every day. Click the poster to get a larger image.

The post Earth911 Inspiration: Nothing In Vain appeared first on Earth911.

https://earth911.com/inspire/earth911-inspiration-nothing-in-vain/

Green Living

Can You Recycle Computers?

Published

3 days ago

January 21, 2026

Alice Rush

Last Updated on January 21, 2026

Picture this: Your laptop of three years decides it’s going to conk out. What’s the most sustainable solution? Seeing if you can get it repaired, of course.

Fighting planned obsolescence is a full time job, and it occurs with way more than just electronics.

But lets say you can’t repair your laptop for some unforeseeable reason…what then? You recycle it of course.

Computers don’t belong in landfills, nor do most conventional curbside recycling programs accept them. So how do you recycle computers? Here’s everything you need to know about computer recycling (and why we need to dispose of them properly).

why should you recycle computers?

First, lets tackle the reason we should bother to recycle computers. Computers are made up of several components – and when we dump them out, they become notorious for leaking toxins and carcinogens into the environment. This poses a risk for humans, wildlife, and soil quality alike.

However, if we recycle computers, all those components get a second shot at life. There are several valuable materials in our old computers that can be used to make new electronics, thus reducing waste and pollution.

According to the EPA, recycling 1 million laptops saves enough energy to power ~3,500 U.S. homes for a year.

And if that’s not reason enough – improperly disposed computers can put your personal or business files at risk of being recovered. And that can escalate to data breaches or reputation damage (yikes).

how do I get rid of my old computer?

To get rid of your old computer, you must first back up your data, sign out of all accounts, wipe & destroy the hard drive, then recycle the computer through local e-waste centers or retailers with take-back programs (Best Buy, Staples, etc.).

To wipe a hard drive, be sure to back up any important data first. Use built-in tools like ‘reset this PC’ or check with your computer’s manufacturer to see specific instructions. For example, here’s how to wipe a Dell hard drive and erase a Mac hard drive.

For absolutely no chance of your data being recovered, it’s always best to remove and destroy the hard drive, if possible. Here’s a guide to destroying a hard drive safely.

Once the hard drive is no longer an issue, you can recycle computers through a number of drop-off or mail-in options.

drop off:

Local e-waste recycling events (make sure to ask if your specific computer will be accepted in advance). Check your local .gov to see when your next one will be!

Best Buy accepts various desktops, laptops, and tablets, including some accessories. There’s a limit of 3 items per household per day. They charge a small fee for recycling monitors.

Staples accepts computers & Macs. They charge a fee for monitors. When you recycle, you get rewards with their store!

Use ERI’s recycle search and find recycling locations near you. Just type in “computer recycling” and your zip code to learn what your options are.

mail-in:

Several manufacturers will accept mail-in recycling for their computer models. Dell and HP have trade-in programs for computers that meet certain standards, as well as recycling options for lesser functioning computers of any brand. Apple also accepts trade-in and recycling for several devices, including computers.

Green Citizen offers free mail-in recycling for laptops, desktops, and tablets, but there may be fees for data destruction.

Most of these places will also accept computer accessories, like keyboards, mice, etc. But be sure to double check!

should you remove the hard drive from a computer before recycling?

Yes, always remove the hard drive before recycling. It’s best to wipe it, then remove it and destroy it. Because even a wiped hard drive can still be recovered, to an extent.

Even if you empty the recycling bin on your computer it doesn’t guarantee that the content is gone because the computer marks that data space to be overwritten with new data. So if the data hasn’t been overwritten, data recovery software can pick it up.

does best buy erase hard drives when recycling?

Best Buy offers tips and advice on wiping hard drives and data for Windows computers prior to drop off, but won’t actually do it for you. It’s best to go prepared by wiping/destroying your hard drive first.

So, what did you think of this guide to recycling computers? Let me know in the comments!

The post Can You Recycle Computers? appeared first on Going Zero Waste.

Can You Recycle Computers?

Green Living

Best of Sustainability In Your Ear: Carbonfuture is Building the Trust Infrastructure for Carbon Removal

Published

3 days ago

January 21, 2026

Alice Rush

Read a transcript of this episode. Subscribe to receive transcripts: Learn more.

The carbon removal industry stands at a crucial crossroads. While cutting emissions remains essential, avoiding catastrophic warming now requires pulling billions of tons of CO2 from the atmosphere permanently. But as this nascent field grapples with questions of legitimacy, scalability, and accountability, a critical challenge remains: How do we build the infrastructure needed to track, verify, and certify that carbon has actually been removed and stays removed? Meet Hannes Junginger-Gestrich, CEO of Carbonfuture, a company helping define the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) infrastructure that could transform carbon removal from scattered efforts into a functioning ecosystem. Launched five years ago, Carbonfuture has emerged as what CDR.fyi describes as “the largest facilitator of durable carbon removal” by volume. The company’s digital platform integrates data across the carbon removal life cycle, connecting diverse approaches like biochar, enhanced rock weathering, and direct air capture with buyers seeking to meet climate commitments. “We are probably more the crowd, the ground keepers in a stadium that makes sure that everything is provided properly,” Hannes explains, using a sports analogy to describe their role: “We are the ground keepers in a stadium [who ensure] the players have a playing field that’s in shape and no one gets hurt, and the audience can come and they pay their tickets and have a good experience.”

Hannes Junginger-Gestrich, CEO of Carbonfuture, is our guest on Sustainability In Your Ear.

The MRV infrastructure becomes crucial as corporate demand for verified carbon removal grows and trust becomes currency. One of the most interesting aspects of the conversation centers on balancing data confidentiality with transparency needs, particularly when collecting data along industrial value chains from agricultural residue producers to biochar processors to end users. Perhaps most telling is Junginger-Gestrich’s unwavering commitment to scientific rigor over short-term economic gains: “We never had to trade off between rigor and allowing a not so good project on our platform for economic reasons. We always lean to the scientific and rigorous side.” This philosophy has guided Carbonfuture’s work with leading buyers like Microsoft, helping develop increasingly sophisticated approaches to carbon removal verification. While Junginger-Gestrich expresses concern about delayed emission reductions globally, he remains optimistic about carbon removal scaling: “I think we will be on the path to the gigatons by 2040 for sure.” His vision emphasizes ecosystem thinking over vertical integration, aiming to drive down costs while creating network effects that could accelerate the entire field. As governments worldwide grapple with climate policy, the monitoring, reporting, and verification systems companies like Carbonfuture are developing now may well determine the success of our collective effort to reverse climate change. You can learn more about Carbonfuture at carbonfuture.earth.