Recycling has always seemed like the easy, intuitive way for each of us to do our part, but the system may not be as easy, or as straightforward, as it seems. On Thursday, August 17, ConservAmerica hosted a webinar on recycling. Titled Rethinking How We Recycle: Bottle Bills and Beyond, the webinar featured expert panelists Philip Rossetti, Resident Senior Fellow at R Street, and Scott Breen, Vice President of Sustainability at the Can Manufacturers Institute.

We also heard from Hannah Flygare, who recently authored a report about renewable energy and battery waste management in the U.S. Click below to read more about the webinar and to view the replay.

As the world works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the infrastructure needed for wind, solar, and electric vehicles is being built at record rates. Before long, a wave of solar panels, wind turbines, and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) will reach the end of their useful life. Nevertheless, despite growing demand for the critical minerals such as copper, lithium, silver, and cobalt used to build these renewable technologies, there seems to be little analysis about the dynamics of recycling. 

With that in mind, ConservAmerica released a new report recently titled Renewable Energy and Battery Waste Management in the United States. Click through to read the full report.

The following OpEd by ConservAmerica President Jeff Kupfer appears in Utility Dive.

A few weeks ago, the Biden administration convened what it characterized as the “first ever White House Methane Summit” and announced a new cabinet–level task force to focus on accelerating the reduction of methane emissions. 

The meeting took place against the backdrop of an ongoing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency effort to finalize its new regulations on methane emissions detection and control from oil and gas operations. Like many other current regulatory initiatives, this one may appear on its face to be a highly partisan and divisive issue — with dueling comment letters, for instance, from Senate Republicans and Democrats. And the fact that the White House didn’t invite any industry representatives to its gathering also didn’t help that perception. However, there is actually more alignment on the issue of curtailing methane emissions than many realize.

ConservAmerica has joined with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, the National Lime Association, the Aluminum Association, and the American Chemistry Council in submitting comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in response to proposed regulations targeting fossil-fueled power plants emissions along with the repeal of the Affordable Clean Energy Rule.

"It’s important to acknowledge the potential that the two technologies that EPA points to as essential for the implementation of its rule - carbon capture and storage and hydrogen co-firing - can have in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Todd Johnston, Vice President, for ConservAmerica.

When it comes to the beauty and greatness of our country’s national parks, it's easy to be captivated by the stunning and diverse landscapes, the proximity they allow us to wildlife, and the fun and relaxation they offer all visitors. However, maintaining and preserving these natural treasures, with their aging infrastructure, requires significant effort and resources. 

August 4 marked the third anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). This landmark piece of legislation strengthened the multi-billion dollar outdoor recreation economy by permanently funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and by establishing the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF).

The following OpEd by ConservAmerica Senior Advisor Quill Robinson appeared in The Dispatch.

The late English philosopher Roger Scruton made a case for environmentalism that would leave many modern environmentalists—as well as their critics—scratching their heads. In his 2012 book Green Philosophy: How to Think Seriously About the Planet, he claimed that “conservatism and conservation are two aspects of a single long-term policy, which is that of husbanding resources and ensuring their renewal.” Scruton argued that the human desire to protect the environment stems not from a hatred of deodorant or fossil fuel executives, but from a feeling of oikophilia, a “love of home” which compels us to conserve the natural contours of the particular place to which we belong. It’s a vision of conservation that is largely absent, but desperately needed, in America today.