I suspect that we socialize more during the spring and summer months. Under the warm sun, yards bloom with cold drinks and conversation, barbecues get fired up, and parties quickly spill outside. Shifting these sweet summer parties to ones that are also waste-free can be both simple and inexpensive, with just a few small changes to your habits.

The first step is to keep invitations virtual. Creating a Facebook event or sending a simple email is perfect for inviting guests to your party without generating waste from paper invitations, and if you're looking for something a bit more formal, sites such as Greenvelope and Paperless Post have given the cheesy e-vite a brilliant makeover. Virtual invites also allow you to track RSVPs, communicate with guests, and provide clickable info about your event.

To decorate, make use of the candles, flowers and greenery already in your outdoor space rather than stocking upon store-bought flowers, and consider using decorations that can be reused (like a cloth happy birthday banner, for example) rather than one-time use decorations. Skip the balloons in favour of large tissue paper pom-poms, and offer up any decorations still in decent condition to a free group after the event rather than just tossing them out.

The most obvious way to cut down on party waste, of course, is by getting rid of disposable plates, cups and cutlery. I shouldn't have to do much convincing in this department – does anyone actually enjoy using those paper plates that fold in half when you pile them high with too much greek salad or drip oil through the bottom? Has anyone in the history of the world ever actually successfully cut anything with one of those completely useless plastic knives? There really isn't much to be gained from using disposables.

With these shifts and a few other small adjustments here and there – paper straws instead of plastic, a large drink dispenser rather than individual soft drinks or juice boxes – you'll be set to celebrate all summer long, without suffering the accompanying garbage hangover the next day.

The plastic value chain faces two key challenges: controlling plastic waste and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The chemical industry has a unique role to play in addressing these challenges. Cooperation between upstream and downstream partners is essential to develop solutions that reduce plastic pollution and emissions in plastic production. SABIC(Saudi Basic Industries Corporation)is at the forefront of these efforts.

SABIC has set specific goals, including a commitment to achieve icarbon neutrality(碳中 和) by 2050. To realize this goal, the company has outlined a Carbon Neutrality Roadmap that focuses on five pathways: energy efficiency; renewable energy; electrification; carbon capture, usage and storage(CCUS); and green/blue hydrogen.

Recognizing the scale of the challenges, SABIC understands that progress cannot be made alone. The company actively cooperates through initiatives, such as the Low — Carbon Emitting Technologies(LCET) initiative, where chemical companies work together to accelerate the development of technology solutions for carbon neutrality.

Partnerships are also vital in addressing plastic waste. SABIC is a founding member of the Alliance(联盟) to End Plastic Waste, an organization that brings stakeholders(利益相关者) from across the value chain together to take collective action on the ground. The alliance works towards a future where plastic products never end up in landfills or oceans, but instead are reused or transformed into new products. SABIC is also actively involved in driving the transition from a linear to a circular carbon economy. As responsible plastic producers, SABIC recognizes the importance of offering sustainable materials to customers.

Although the chemical industry has made significant progress, there is still more work to do to achieve the goals. SABIC is already making progress on the complex, long—term effort required and will continue to partner with others to increase the solutions needed to push meaningful change.

With its first public appearance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, rock climbing, the once less popular sport, is set to reach new heights. Yet its popularity is raising questions about the damaging environmental effects of climbing chalk—an essential climbing tool.

Made from magnesium carbonate (碳酸镁), which occurs in nature as the mineral magnesite, climbing chalk is used to improve climbers’ grip(紧握)on rocks. However, the resulting chalk marks have become so bad in the United States that parks are beginning to restrict its use. Utah’s Arches National Park allows only colored chalk that mostly matches rocks, while Colorado’s Kent Mountain Adventure Center bans all chalk.

Beyond the visual pollution, new research suggests chalk may be harming the plants that grow on rocks. The latest study on the effects of climbing chalk found that it negatively impacted four plants living on rocks in laboratory settings.

However, Daniel Hepenstrick, a co-author of the study, emphasizes that his study is far from conclusive. Additional field research needs to be done to understand the full effects of climbing chalk. But that is easier said than done. The environmental impact of rock climbing, in general, isn’t well known. “Access is one limitation, as most scientists are not climbers. Even in accessible areas, the variable terrain(地形)itself can present a challenge to measuring climbing’s effects. It’s been difficult to find the mechanisms that are potentially impacting the sensitive cliff communities,” says ecologist Peter Clark.

Climbing groups such as Access Fund are taking a wait-and-see approach to Hepenstrick's report before making any policy adjustments. “It’s data for us,” says executive director Chris Winter. “If there is a conservation concern, we take that quite seriously.”

Until additional studies can be conducted, responsibility is mostly left to climbers, who “do care about nature,” says Hepenstrick, an occasional climber himself. “You could inform them that using climbing chalk in a certain way could have an impact, and they would take that in.”