Study Suggests A Link Between Air Pollution And Depression

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There was an interesting study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Friday. In it, the researchers looked at the depersonalized records of nearly 9 million Medicare patients. They then compared those records to the levels of air pollution in the zip codes those people belonged to. And what they found was interesting: there was a statistically significant association between exposure to high levels of air pollution and the onset of depression. Interestingly enough, the researchers looked at three different types of air pollution and found the link was the same even if a single level was high or two or three were, meaning the association itself is pretty robust. More work needs to be done to establish that pollution would be a definitive cause of the increased risk of depression, but the work in this study accords with several other studies that have also found a link between pollution and depression.

What these findings demonstrate is that the risk of air pollution, which we often think of in terms of either climate change or lung health, has other health risks as well, which provides yet one more reason to seek out cleaner ways to power our world.

The Big Read

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Here’s 3 Ways To Cut The Carbon Out Of Cement Right Now

Concrete is not just the most common man-made material on earth, and the most widely used material after water, it is also one of the most polluting when it comes to carbon emissions. That’s in part because the process for making it hasn’t changed in the past century.

Discoveries And Innovations

Despite growing consumer pressure and regulation, more single-use plastic waste is being produced now than ever before, according to a new report.

Fusion power startup Tokamak Energy announced that it will be building a new fusion power prototype in the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority’s Culham Campus.

Sustainability Deals Of The Week

EV Subscriptions: Motor, which provides a subscription-style service for electric car ownership, announced that it raised a $7 million series A from AES and Mitsubishi Corporation.

Circular Fashion: Microsoft announced that it has entered into a partnership with Junk Kouture, a fashion competition for teenagers that challenges them to design clothes made from 100% recycled materials.

On The Horizon

Many of our devices and vehicles are currently dependent on lithium-ion batteries, but scientists are already looking to the next-generation of battery materials. One promising such material is magnesium, which could potentially serve as the basis for batteries that are cheaper, have a more robust supply chain and can be more sustainably produced. Researchers at the Tokyo University of Science have taken this promise one step closer, announcing this week that it’s developed a cathode material that could serve as the basis for a scalable magnesium battery.

What Else We’re Reading This Week

Why taxing cow burps isn’t the best climate solution (The Conversation)

Is cultured meat the kosher way to go? (Religion News)

Why someday we may be storing carbon in sidewalks (The Washington Post)

Green Transportation Update

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The race to ramp up production of batteries for electric cars has companies scrambling to get all the metals and minerals needed to make lithium-ion cells from a complex global supply chain. Aside from volatile costs the environmental impact of mining, a new study finds that auto, battery and electronics firms are indirectly using cobalt sourced from unsafe artisanal mines in Congo that rely heavily on children doing dangerous work.

The Big Transportation Story

Redwood Materials

Redwood Wins $2 Billion Federal Loan To Scale Up Production Of Battery Materials For Electric Cars

Auto and battery makers have announced tens of billions of dollars worth of new plants to make lithium-ion packs for electric cars, but key materials they need for those batteries, like anodes and cathodes, are currently imported from Asia. Tesla cofounder JB Straubel aims to change that. His startup, Redwood Materials, has announced plans to produce critical battery components at two plants in the U.S. and this week it lined up a $2 billion federal loan to get those facilities up and running. Best of all, they’ll use high-value minerals including lithium, nickel and cobalt Redwood is recovering from used batteries and electronics.