Most recent 40 articles: PHYS.ORG - Earth
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More evacuated as early wildfires sweep western Canada - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 14) |
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May 14 · One of the year's first major wildfires in Canada closed in Monday on the British Columbia town of Fort Nelson, as thousands of people across the nation were forced to flee advancing blazes.
The Pacific coast province's emergency management minister, Bowinn Ma, said 4,700 people were ordered evacuated from the remote town as well as a nearby Indigenous community, as a fire spanning 5,280 hectares advanced to within 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) of Fort Nelson.
Authorities have been bracing for another possibly devastating wildfire season, after Canada's worst ever last year that saw flames burning from coast to coast and charring more than 15 million hectares (37 million ... Read more ...
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Biohybrid robot made from flour and oats could act as a biodegradable vector for reforestation - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · Named HybriBot, this new device can accommodate natural seeds from different plants, serving as a biodegradable vector for reforestation. The research group has already conducted positive tests with tomato, chicory, and willow herb seeds, the latter being one of bees' favorite flowers, from which the plants germinated. A patent application has been filed for the invention.
HybriBot has been described in a paper published in Advanced Materials; it is born within the framework of the European project i-Seed coordinated by Barbara Mazzolai, Associate Director for Robotics at the IIT, and the innovation ecosystem RAISE (Robotics and AI for Socio-economic Empowerment).
The ... Read more ...
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Bid to end deadly cooking methods which stoke global warming - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · Fifty countries are meeting in France on Tuesday to discuss the lack of access to clean cooking methods worldwide which causes millions of deaths every year and fuels global warming.
Some 2.3 billion people across 128 countries breathe in harmful smoke when they cook on basic stoves or over open fires, according to an International Energy Agency (IEA)-African Development Bank (ADB) report that sounded the alarm last year.
It said 3.7 million people a year die prematurely from harmful cooking practices, with children and women most at risk.
The IEA said the "unprecedented" Paris gathering aims to be "a moment of changing the direction", its sustainability and ... Read more ...
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Brazil's flooded south paralyzed as waters remain high - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · Brazil's flooded south remained paralyzed Monday, with schools and health centers shut and streets cut off as overflowing rivers showed no sign of receding after torrential rains in a disaster that has left 147 dead.
More than two million people have been affected by the flooding in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where towns and part of the regional capital have been under water for about two weeks after being battered by heavy rains.
Regional capital Porto Alegre's international airport remains under water, as do agricultural fields and roads, while more than 360,000 students were not in school.
The latest official figures showed that 127 people were missing, ... Read more ...
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Cambodia's famed Kampot pepper withers in scorching heat wave - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · Farmer Chhim Laem shakes his head as he walks between long rows of dead bushes, their brown leaves scorched by heat and drought that have devastated Cambodia's famed Kampot pepper crop.
Known for its intense floral flavor, Kampot pepper is prized by top chefs around the world and sells for up to $200 per kilo.
Nurtured for generations in two provinces in southwest Cambodia, the pepper industry survived the genocidal Khmer Rouge and decades of instability, but now faces the threat of extreme weather driven by climate change.
"It is so hot this year, no rains, and we have no water to water the pepper plants," Laem told AFP. "So they all died."
South and ... Read more ...
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Canadian wildfire smoke chokes Upper Midwest for second straight year - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · Smoke from Canadian wildfires has prompted health warnings across the Upper Midwest and Montana for the second year in a row.
Fires raging in British Columbia and Alberta have filled the skies with haze over parts of Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin on Sunday, lingering into Monday morning.
Unhealthy air pollution levels mean everyone in Minnesota should stay indoors and avoid heavy exertion outdoors, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said in its first statewide air quality alert of the season Sunday. Scheduled to end at noon Monday, the advisory was extended until 11 p.m. for southern Minnesota including the Twin Cities metro area.
The Wisconsin ... Read more ...
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Chemical analysis of natural CO2 rise over the last 50,000 years shows that today's rate is 10 times faster - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide important new understanding of abrupt climate change periods in Earth's past and offer new insight into the potential impacts of climate change today.
"Studying the past teaches us how today is different. The rate of CO2 change today really is unprecedented," said Kathleen Wendt, an assistant professor in Oregon State University's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences and the study's lead author.
Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is a greenhouse gas that occurs naturally in the atmosphere. When carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere, it contributes to warming of the climate due to the ... Read more ...
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Enhancing marine heat wave predictions with advanced ocean data assimilation - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · The study leveraged two assimilation schemes within the global climate forecast system developed by Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology. While the SST nudging scheme focuses solely on sea surface temperatures, the EnKF assimilates a broader range of oceanic observations, from the surface to the deep ocean. This comprehensive approach has been shown to enhance the accuracy of subsurface temperature predictions, particularly in the critical 100–300 m depth layer.
"By assimilating more ocean data, particularly subsurface temperatures, we can better predict the progression and impacts of marine heat waves like the Blob," says corresponding author Jingjia ... Read more ...
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Identity crisis: Climate destroying wonders that gave US parks their names - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · Glacier National Park's ice fortress is crumbling. The giant trees of Sequoia National Park are ablaze. And even the tenacious cacti of Saguaro National Park are struggling to endure a decades-long drought.
Since their creation, national parks have embodied the pioneering spirit of America in their vast expanses and breathtaking landscapes.
But today, the climate crisis imperils the very symbols of many parks, leaving them facing a future where their names could be cruel ironies.
Deep within Montana's Glacier National Park, the once majestic Grinnell Glacier is now greatly diminished.
After a grueling trek, visitors are met with a stunning sight: a serene ... Read more ...
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In a reservoir in Southeast Brazil, introduction of a fish native to the Amazon has reduced native species diversity - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · As a top predator in the food network, the invader has negatively affected local biodiversity by bringing about detrimental changes to its taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic structure, according to a study published in Biological Invasions by researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP).
They analyzed fish monitoring data collected by power utility CESP (Companhia Energética de São Paulo), which has recorded the presence of the species in the reservoir since 2001. The data analyzed is for a period ending in 2016. In no more than ten years, P. squamosissimus has become the most abundant fish species in the reservoir.
"Although this predator ... Read more ...
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Indonesia flood death toll rises to 41 with 17 missing - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · The number of people killed by flash floods and cold lava flow from a volcano in western Indonesia over the weekend has risen to 41 with 17 more missing, a local disaster agency official told AFP Monday.
Hours of heavy rain caused large volcanic rocks to roll down one of Indonesia's most active volcanos into two districts on Sumatra island Saturday evening, while flooding inundated roads, homes and mosques.
"Data as of last night, we recorded 37 dead victims... But from this morning it has grown again, the figure reached 41 (dead)," Ilham Wahab, West Sumatra disaster mitigation agency official, told AFP.
Rescuers were searching for 17 still missing, three in Agam ... Read more ...
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Island birds more adaptable than previously thought - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · Scientists still don't fully understand the consequences that pollution and climate change can have on the world around us. Now, a study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B examining bird populations living on islands shows we may know even less than previously thought.
"Usually, one predicts that there should be fewer species of birds living in agricultural areas where trees have been removed and the land manipulated than in natural habitats like forests," said Luke O. Frishkoff, assistant professor of biology at The University of Texas at Arlington.
"But strangely, on the islands we studied off the coast of China, we found opposite patterns with the ... Read more ...
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Lake Tahoe expected to be full for first time since 2019, thanks to winter storms - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · Lake Tahoe is expected to fill for the first time since 2019, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The last time the lake was full was June 2019.
The dam at Lake Tahoe provides up to 6 feet of storage, totaling 744,500 acre-feet, according to the USDA.
"Once full the stored water in Lake Tahoe typically provides sufficient supply to meet demand for three years even if snowpacks are below normal," the USDA report read.
Strong precipitation in January, February and March led to winter snowpack above the median, according to the report.
"April 1 snowpacks were 108%–244% of median across the region and May 1 snowpacks continue ... Read more ...
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Loss and hope: US park rangers' climate crisis fight - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · American biologist Laura Brennan describes the coin-sized Karner blue butterfly as "very delicate and graceful" with a "lovely blue" coloring and "just a little speckling of orange."
The species, declared endangered in 1992, used to flourish in Indiana Dunes National Park, where Brennan has worked for two decades.
But the butterfly is now believed to have disappeared entirely from the midwestern US park - becoming a victim of rising temperatures fueled by human activity, among other stressors.
Brennan and thousands of others in the National Park Service (NPS) are witnessing firsthand the consequences of the climate crisis and struggling to mitigate its ... Read more ...
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More desalination is coming to Australia's driest states - but super-salty outflows could trash ecosystems and fisheries - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · Most cities didn't actually use them much. The drought broke in 2010, and desalinated water is expensive. The exception is Perth, which has been hit by declining rainfall, a drying climate and overuse of groundwater. The city will soon open its third desal plant.
As climate change intensifies, other states are also looking to build more desal plants. In South Australia, for instance, there are plans to build one urgently in response to looming water shortages. The Eyre Peninsula, for instance, is expected to run out of drinking water within two years as groundwater runs dry.
But beyond the expense, many of these plants bring environmental problems of their own.
How ... Read more ...
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New study examines the price tag of phasing-out coal - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.
This planned compensation globally amounts to USD 200 billion, but it excludes China and India, the two largest users of coal that currently do not have phase-out plans. The study shows that if China and India decide to phase out coal as fast as needed to reach the Paris climate targets and pay similar compensation, it would cost upwards of USD 2 trillion.
To slow global warming, coal use needs to end. Many governments, mostly in Europe, have begun to phase-out coal, but these policies can harm companies, risk unemployment, and lead to economic hardship for coal-dependent regions. In response, some countries ... Read more ...
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Non-photosynthetic vegetation helps improve accuracy of wind erosion impact assessment - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · It also helps to reduce wind erosion during this time. However, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) can generally reflect the fractional cover of PV, but it may not accurately reflect the fractional cover of NPV, leading to potential errors in estimating the fractional cover of NPV.
In the study published in Geoderma, the researchers conducted short-term observations of wind erosion to estimate the fractional cover of NPV and calibrate the simulated results to reduce uncertainties in wind erosion simulations.
They found that the mean values of NPV fractional cover in the MUSL from 2014 to 2017 were approximately 2.71 times higher than those estimated from ... Read more ...
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Research team develops an impact-based forecasting system for improved early flood warning - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · Over the past years, great progress has been made in the spatiotemporal forecasting of flood events. It is thus now possible to predict maximum flood levels at locations of river gauges. Until now, however, estimates of the impacts of flooding on cities and municipalities were only rough or even completely inaccurate, especially for people at the lower river reaches away from gauge locations. However, this information is critical, as the affected population must be notified as quickly as possible in advance in order to initiate any necessary evacuation measures.
"What is needed is a state-of-the-art early flood warning system that provides high-resolution flood forecasts in a ... Read more ...
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Rivers rise again as rain batters flood-hit south Brazil - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · River levels rose again Sunday as strong rains lashed waterlogged southern Brazil, where flooding has killed 145 people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.
Residents of the state of Rio Grande do Sul were bracing for more misery from the new rains, after two weeks of downpours saw rivers burst their banks, swallowing up towns and parts of the regional capital.
More than two million people have been affected by the deluge, which experts link to climate change exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon.
The levels of "practically all the major rivers in the state are tending to rise," state authorities said Sunday.
The probability of further ... Read more ...
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The power of ambiguity: Using computer models to understand the debate about climate change - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · Is it possible for a society initially characterized by heterogeneous views on climate change to reach a consensus despite prejudices and taking into account "noise"? A team led by Professor Agostino Merico, head of the working group Systems Ecology at ZMT, investigated this question in a study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
"Our model is based on realistic assumptions about how people change opinions and includes the cognitive processes affecting the dynamics of opinions in a society," says Merico. The model was fed with data from surveys conducted in the U.S.
This data shows the presence of six opinion groups in the U.S. in relation to climate ... Read more ...
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Tracing the origins of organic matter in Martian sediments - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 13) |
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May 13 · In one such analysis, sediments collected by the Curiosity rover from Gale Crater, believed to be an ancient lake formed approximately 3.8 billion years ago due to an asteroid impact, revealed organic matter. However, this organic matter had a significantly lower amount of the carbon-13 isotope (13C) relative to carbon-12 isotopes (12C) compared to what is found on Earth, suggesting different processes of organic matter formation on Mars.
Now, a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience on May 9, 2024, elucidates this discrepancy. A research team, led by Professor Yuichiro Ueno from Tokyo Institute of Technology and Professor Matthew Johnson from the University of ... Read more ...
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Brazil authorities warn of more floods, landslides as new rains hit south - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 12) |
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May 12 · New rains in waterlogged southern Brazil are expected to be heaviest between Sunday and Monday, authorities have warned, bringing fresh misery to victims of flooding that has killed 136 people so far.
State authorities warned late Saturday of the risk of further rising waters and landslides.
"We are still experiencing an emergency situation," Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite said in a video on Instagram.
Heavy rains last week caused rivers in the agricultural state to overflow, leaving 806 injured and 125 missing in addition to those killed, the civil defense agency said.
"Many people see the rain and are traumatized. We've seen how scared people ... Read more ...
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Second night of auroras seen 'extreme' solar storm - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 12) |
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May 12 · Auroras lit up skies across swaths of the planet for the second night in a row on Saturday, after already dazzling Earthlings from the United States to Tasmania to the Bahamas the day before.
A powerful solar storm - which could continue into Sunday - has triggered spectacular celestial shows usually confined to the far northern reaches of the planet, hence their nickname of the "northern lights."
"I have the sensation of living through a historic night in France... It was really charged, with solar particles and emotions," Eric Lagadec, an astrophysicist at the Observatoire de Cote d'Azur, wrote on social media after the first night.
"Find good spots, away from ... Read more ...
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Brazil's catastrophic weather spawns spate of conspiracy theories - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 11) |
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May 11 · The climate catastrophe that has struck southern Brazil, killing more than a hundred people and displacing nearly two million, has also spawned a spate of bizarre conspiracy theories, some involving jets' vapor trails and weather antennas in faraway Alaska.
As often happens at times of disaster and great uncertainty, several of these theories have gone viral on social media.
"What's happening in Rio Grande do Sul is definitely not natural," one woman said on the platform known as X. "Let's open our eyes!"
She blamed something called HAARP - the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program - a US project that studies the ionosphere using huge antennas in ... Read more ...
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Fresh rains pound Brazil's flood-hit south as evacuations double - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 11) |
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May 11 · The skies opened once again Friday in southern Brazil, offering little respite for those whose homes have been swallowed by floodwaters, while the number of people forced to evacuate doubled in 24 hours.
Residents of the state of Rio Grande do Sul were bracing for a weekend of heavy rainfall, hitting just as waters that turned city streets into rivers had begun to subside.
The deluge - which experts link to climate change exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon - has affected almost two million people, leaving 126 dead and 756 injured.
Another 141 people are still missing, according to authorities.
The state capital Porto Alegre, home to 1.4 million ... Read more ...
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Research explores ways to mitigate the environmental toxicity of ubiquitous silver nanoparticles - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 11) |
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May 11 · Nanoparticles are tiny pieces of material ranging in size from one- to 100-billionths of a meter. In addition to their antimicrobial properties, silver nanoparticles are industrially important as catalysts and in electronics applications.
Despite their ubiquity, little is known about their environmental toxicity or how it might be mitigated.
The findings, published in Nanomaterials, are important because they suggest silver nanoparticles can be produced in formats that preserve their beneficial properties while limiting environmentally negative ones.
Scientists led by Marilyn Rampersad Mackiewicz and Stacey L. Harper assessed how spherical and triangular-shaped ... Read more ...
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Solar storm puts on brilliant light show across the globe, but no serious problems reported - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 11) |
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May 11 · A powerful solar storm put on an amazing skyward light show across the globe overnight but has caused what appeared to be only minor disruptions to the electric power grid, communications and satellite positioning systems.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said extreme geomagnetic storm conditions continued Saturday, and there were preliminary reports of power grid irregularities, degradation of high-frequency communications and global positioning systems.
But the Federal Emergency Management Agency said that, so far, no FEMA region had reported any significant impact from the storms. The U.S. Department of Energy said Saturday it is not aware of ... Read more ...
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Weaker ocean currents lead to decline in nutrients for North Atlantic ocean life during prehistoric climate change - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 11) |
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May 11 · The North Atlantic ocean is a hub of biological activity, due in large part to the Gulf Stream, which supplies a rich current of nutrients. Scientists have speculated that our changing climate may lead to a decline of nutrients and biological activity in the North Atlantic due to a weakening of the ocean circulation - but this theory has previously been supported only by models.
Now, by studying sediments buried at the Gulf Stream's origin, the team has conducted a first-of-its-kind investigation into the impact of a similar climate-induced decline nearly 13,000 years ago, when Earth exited the last ice age.
The paper, "A Diminished North Atlantic Nutrient Stream During ... Read more ...
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Bilbies could hop back into mild climate zones, study finds - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 10) |
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May 10 · A study of greater bilbies at Taronga Western Plains Zoo has provided some new ideas about how bilbies would cope if reintroduced to temperate areas of Australia where they once roamed.
Today the bilby is a threatened native marsupial that is restricted to areas where introduced predators are excluded or intensively managed. The beloved animal, often referred to as Australia's answer to the Easter Bunny, has not lived within the temperate zone of their former range—southeastern and southwestern Australia—for more than 100 years.
Since European settlement, bilbies have experienced a massive decline in range due to competition with invasive rabbits and ... Read more ...
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NASA's Chandra notices the galactic center is venting - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 10) |
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May 10 · Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have located an exhaust vent attached to a "chimney" of hot gas blowing away from the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Their paper describing these results is published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Eruptions from the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way's center called Sagittarius A* (Sgr A* for short) may have created this chimney and exhaust vent.
The chimney and vent are about 26,000 light-years from Earth. The chimney begins at the center of the galaxy and stands perpendicular to the Milky Way's spiral disk. Astronomers had previously identified the chimney using X-ray data from Chandra and XMM-Newton, an ESA ... Read more ...
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Alerting communities to hyperlocalized urban flooding - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 10) |
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May 10 · Urban flooding hazards are complicated by the heterogeneity of cities—various types of land use, development, surfaces, and drainage systems can all change how water moves. Flooding can be localized to areas as specific as a block or a street corner and change quickly, making it difficult to monitor hyperlocal floods distributed across a city in real time.
Crowdsourced flood reports from citizens (such as social media posts) are helpful during such events, but the coverage and accuracy can be spotty given that they require human witnesses to register events. Some water level sensors present logistical challenges. For example, pressure sensors installed in sewers are ... Read more ...
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Convergence science in the changing Arctic - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 10) |
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May 10 · The aim of convergence science is to generate new paradigms and ways of viewing problems that reach beyond any single discipline. Despite the rising popularity of this concept over the past decade, few publications have addressed the practical specifics of how to put it into practice—and none have focused on the Arctic.
Now, a new paper in Earth's Future, by Ivanov and others, aims to do just that. In 2020, a team of Earth system scientists, ecologists, anthropologists, and engineers, representing a range of countries and cultural identities, organized a series of workshops to explore how to apply convergence science to the changing Arctic. In particular, they focused on ... Read more ...
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Iceland's 'Mammoth' raises potential for carbon capture - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 10) |
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May 10 · With Mammoth's 72 industrial fans, Swiss start-up Climeworks intends to suck 36,000 tonnes of CO2 from the air annually to bury underground, vying to prove the technology has a place in the fight against global warming.
Mammoth, the largest carbon dioxide capture and storage facility of its kind, launched operations this week situated on a dormant volcano in Iceland.
It adds significant capacity to the Climework's first project Orca, which also sucks the primary greenhouse gas fueling climate change from the atmosphere.
Just 50 kilometers (31 miles) from an active volcano, the seemingly risky site was chosen for its proximity to the Hellisheidi geothermal energy ... Read more ...
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Many people in the Arctic are staying put despite climate change, study reports - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 10) |
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May 10 · However, the researchers did find evidence of whole communities relocating when climate change led to deteriorating conditions. For example, the Chevak Native Village in Alaska already has relocated. In another example, the village of Newtok—a Yup'ik community in Alaska—has spent millions of dollars on relocation efforts, which already have taken more than 30 years and are not yet complete.
"Arctic communities under environmental threats are forced to relocate because flooding, erosion and storms are destroying their homes and infrastructure," said the paper's lead author, Guangqing Chi, professor of rural sociology, demography and public health sciences in Penn ... Read more ...
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No sign of widespread lead exposure from Maui wildfires, Hawaii health officials say - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 10) |
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May 10 · Blood samples were taken from 557 people after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century ripped through the town of Lahaina, killing 101 people.
Just 27 people's screening results came out positive, and subsequent testing showed 15 of them did not have elevated blood lead levels and were determined to have had a false positive, the state health department said.
"While the effects of the August 8 wildfires on the community have been devastating, it's reassuring to know that people in the community are not showing elevated blood lead levels," state Health Director Dr. Kenneth Fink said in a statement. "On the basis of these results with lead as an indicator of ... Read more ...
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Nothing to sneeze at: Experimental model shows pollen can change the weather - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 10) |
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May 10 · More than 80 million Americans suffer from seasonal allergies due to airborne pollen, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Associated medical costs exceed $3 billion every year, with nearly half of those costs linked to prescription medicine.
Pollen is an equal opportunity irritant, particularly during spring, summer and fall when wind-blown pollen from trees, grasses and weeds can be at their highest levels. Accurate pollen forecasts could help sufferers reduce their exposure the same way that they might on high ozone days.
For the past two years, researchers from NOAA's Global Systems Laboratory (GSL) have been developing the first ... Read more ...
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Researchers shed new light on carboxysomes in key discovery that could boost photosynthesis - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 10) |
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May 10 · Carboxysomes are tiny compartments in certain bacteria and algae that encase particular enzymes in a shell made of proteins. They perform carbon fixation, which is the process of converting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into organic compounds that can be used by the cell for growth and energy. Scientists have been trying to figure out how these compartments put themselves together.
In their latest research, the team led by Prof. Zeng Qinglu, Associated Professor at HKUST's Department of Ocean Science, has shown the overall architecture of carboxysomes purified from a type of bacteria called Prochlorococcus.
In collaboration with Prof. Zhou Cong-Zhao of the School of ... Read more ...
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Salad chain says a cleaner farming method will offset adding steak to its menu. What is it? - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 10) |
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May 10 · Founded in 2007 and known as a fast-casual spot serving salads and bowls, Sweetgreen says it will be carbon neutral by 2027 — meaning it plans to offset its own emissions by putting in place strategies that also remove carbon from the atmosphere.
But beef production is incredibly resource-intensive and a contributor to climate change. It's the largest agricultural source of greenhouse gases globally, emitting massive amounts of methane into the atmosphere, and requires extensive land use.
Sweetgreen's rationale for the controversial caramelized, garlic-flavored steak menu addition this week includes using regenerative farming. The chain also says carbon offsets are ... Read more ...
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Scientists unlock key to breeding 'carbon gobbling' plants with a major appetite - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 10) |
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May 10 · The discovery, made by scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Newcastle (UoN), could help engineer climate-resilient crops capable of sucking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere more efficiently, helping to produce more food in the process.
Cyanobacteria are commonly known for their toxic blooms in lakes and rivers. But these little blue-green bugs are widespread, also living in the world's oceans.
Although they can pose an environmental hazard, the researchers describe them as "tiny carbon superheroes." Through the process of photosynthesis, they play an important role in capturing about 12% of the world's carbon dioxide each year. Read more ...
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Stable magnetic bundles achieved at room temperature and zero magnetic field - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 10) |
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May 10 · Their work is published in Nature Communications.
Topological magnetic structures are a type of spin arrangement with nontrivial topological properties. These structures hold promise as the next-generation data carriers and could overcome the limitations of traditional magnetic storage technologies in spintronics.
In previous research, the team proposed a method for inducing magnetic skyrmion bundles in a chiral helimagnetic material called FeGe. However, achieving stable magnetic bundles at room temperature and without an external magnetic field remained a significant challenge for practical applications in spintronics.
To address this challenge, the researchers ... Read more ...
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