'Gap' in Carbon Removal: Countries' Plans to Remove CO2 Not Enough:
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| 'Gap' in Carbon Removal: Countries' Plans to Remove CO2 Not Enough - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Since 2010, the United Nations environmental organisation UNEP has taken an annual measurement of the emissions gap -- the difference between countries' climate protection pledges and what is necessary to limit global heating to 1.5 ºC, or at least below 2 ºC.
The UNEP Emissions Gap Reports are clear: climate policy needs more ambition. This new study now explicitly applies this analytical concept to carbon dioxide removal (CDR) -- the removal of the most important greenhouse gas, CO2, from the atmosphere.
The study, published today in the journal Nature Climate Change, was led by the Berlin-based Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change ... Read more ...
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'It’s going to be messy’: advocates balance climate action and conservation amid Queensland’s green energy boom:
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| 'It’s going to be messy’: advocates balance climate action and conservation amid Queensland’s green energy boom - Guardian - Energy |
May 4 · 'Some negative projects will get up, but we have to keep our eyes on the broader goals’, says WWF Australia
A map of operating windfarms in Queensland does not take too long to survey – of the 100 or so across Australia, only six of them are in the sunshine state.
But this is about to change in a very big way. According to state government data, there are 46 separate proposals for windfarms in Queensland with four more already under construction.
Many of those plans target the winds that sweep across the spectacular mountains and ridge tops of the Great Dividing Range from central Queensland to the state’s far north.
While this wind-grab will help wrench the ... Read more ...
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2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #18:
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| 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #18 - Skeptical Science |
May 5 · "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues has shown that character assassination has been one of the most common ways in which fossil fuel interests have attempted to deny accountability for the climate crisis."
— Geoffrey Supan
Why go low? Because when one can't fly, one creeps and crawls. Widely remarked: to fall back on ad hominem remarks is to declare intellectual surrender, at best a Hail Mary attempt to change topics— and easily spotted even by children arguing on a playground. "Going ad hom" is a common failure mode when talk turns to human-caused climate change. US Senator (from ... Read more ...
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A Century-Old Company The Government Owns Wants To Solve A Big Energy Problem:
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| A Century-Old Company The Government Owns Wants To Solve A Big Energy Problem - Huffington Post |
May 4 · The Biden administration wants the United States to triple the global supply of nuclear power, with American-designed reactors running on fuel enriched in the West. The goal: Usurp Russia’s near monopoly on atomic energy exports, and keep China from gaining control of yet another green energy industry.
But there’s one big problem: The U.S. isn’t even building any more reactors at home.
After nearly 15 years of billion-dollar cost overruns and delays, the utility giant Southern Company just hooked the second of two new reactors at a power plant in Georgia up to the grid this week - the only two atomic energy units built from scratch in the U.S. in decades. Developers are ... Read more ...
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A clock in the rocks: What cosmic rays tell us about Earth's changing surface and climate:
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| A clock in the rocks: What cosmic rays tell us about Earth's changing surface and climate - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · For Earth scientists, these are important questions as we try to improve projections to prepare communities for hazardous events in the future.
We rely on instrumental measurements, but such records are often short. To extend these, we use geological archives. And at the heart of this research is geochronology—a toolkit of geological dating methods that allow us to assign absolute ages to rocks.
In recent years, we have been using a state-of-the-art technique known as cosmogenic surface exposure dating which allows us to quantify the time a rock has spent on the surface, exposed to signals from outer space.
Using cosmic rays as a clock
Earth is ... Read more ...
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A laser immersion probe for smart inline monitoring of water and wastewater:
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| A laser immersion probe for smart inline monitoring of water and wastewater - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · The 2D fluorescence measurement method generates spectroscopic data directly on site in the clarifier. In conjunction with intelligent evaluation software, this process is the key to energy- and resource-efficient water treatment.
It will be presented to the public for the first time at IFAT 2024, the world's leading trade fair for water, sewage, waste and raw materials management in Munich.
In order to monitor water treatment processes in wastewater treatment plants, operators have so far relied on 24-hour composite samples. These are collected continuously throughout the day and then analyzed in the laboratory for sum parameters, such as the total amount of organic ... Read more ...
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A look at the past suggests atmospheric rivers inundating California could get worse:
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| A look at the past suggests atmospheric rivers inundating California could get worse - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · In their paper published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, the group describes their study of sediment core samples collected from the bottom of Leonard Lake, in northern California.
Over the past two winters, parts of California have seen much more rain than is normal for the region. The reason for it has been the creation of what have come to be called atmospheric rivers over parts of the Pacific Ocean, which dump wave after wave of rain as they move over land.
For this new study, the researchers focused on the history of atmospheric rivers dumping rain on California. They traveled to Leonard Lake in northern California to collect core sediment ... Read more ...
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A rare tropical cyclone landfall is on tap for Tanzania:
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| A rare tropical cyclone landfall is on tap for Tanzania - Yale Climate Connections - Weather |
May 3 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our newsletters.
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Yale Climate Connections
After suffering at least 155 deaths since March from disastrous floods, Tanzania is bracing for the approach of what could be the strongest tropical cyclone to affect the region in modern recordkeeping, with torrential rains in excess of 10 inches (254 mm) likely along its path.
As of 8 a.m. EDT Friday (12 UTC), the Joint Typhoon Warning Center placed the center of Tropical Cyclone Hidaya about 210 miles east-southeast of Dar es Salaam, the capital and largest ... Read more ...
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Are carbon-capture models effective?:
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| Are carbon-capture models effective? - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 4 · Runsheng Yin is a professor in the Department of Forestry in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, where he specializes in the evaluation of ecosystem services, ecological restoration and general natural resource economics and policy. Yin has published new research identifying that carbon-capture models have not factored in what happens to the timber after trees are logged.
"The climate crisis is heightening, with 2023 representing the warmest year on record," Yin said. "Nature-based solutions have an important role to play in helping us stem the worst impacts of climate change—but rigorously assessed methods to reliably offset and reduce greenhouse gas ... Read more ...
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Bigger brains allow cliff-nesting seagull species to survive and thrive in urban environments:
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| Bigger brains allow cliff-nesting seagull species to survive and thrive in urban environments - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · The findings come in a broad-ranging study by ecologists at the University of Exeter looking at potential relationships between brain size, wing shape, nesting habits and the use of urban areas. It suggests that species such as the herring gull, the lesser black-backed gull and the black-legged kittiwake possess a behavioral flexibility that enables them to nest in more challenging locations.
The study, "From the sea to the city: explaining gulls' use of urban habitats," has been published in the latest edition of Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
"Many people will be familiar with gulls nesting and foraging in urban areas," says lead author Dr. Madeleine Goumas, ... Read more ...
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Charting a cost-efficient path to a renewable energy grid for Australia:
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| Charting a cost-efficient path to a renewable energy grid for Australia - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 3 · Raheel Ahmed Shaikh and colleagues modeled possible scenarios for Australia's eastern and western grids, using solar and wind generation, short-to-long-term energy storage, and financial input data to explore low-cost capacity mix. Going completely renewable would require significant expansion of both generation and storage.
Interconnecting the two grids would reduce generation capacity needs by 6% and storage power capacity needs by 14%. The least cost renewable-only grid would be dominated by wind, with between 50–75% of energy contributed by turbines.
Storage would be mandatory for any fully renewable grid. Australia would need the ability to store up to four ... Read more ...
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Climate Change Amplifies Severity of Combined Wind-Rain Extremes Over the UK and Ireland:
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| Climate Change Amplifies Severity of Combined Wind-Rain Extremes Over the UK and Ireland - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Climate change will cause an increase in extreme winter storms combining strong winds and heavy rainfall over the UK and Ireland, new research has shown.
The new study was led by experts at Newcastle University and the Met Office and investigated how future climate change may influence compound wind-rain extremes, which are events where extreme wind and rainfall occur simultaneously.
These changes are mainly driven by increased rainfall, a thermodynamic response to rising temperatures. Additional contributing factors include a strengthened jet stream and its southward displacement that brings storms through warmer areas leading to further increases in ... Read more ...
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Climate change threatens mountain meadows by reducing humus content, finds study:
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| Climate change threatens mountain meadows by reducing humus content, finds study - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · To recreate the effects of climate change under realistic conditions, the researchers used soil–plant mesocosms. These miniature ecosystems consist of units containing soil samples. By moving the mesocosms along an elevation gradient from higher, cooler locations to lower, warmer locations, the scientists simulated climate change. Thereby, they simulated a warming of up to 3°C, depending on the difference in altitude between the original and the new locations.
"Studying soil responses to climate change in detail helps us to better understand the long-term effects on alpine grassland ecosystems," says soil researcher Dr. Noelia Garcia-Franco. The study was carried out ... Read more ...
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Climate is one culprit in growth and spread of dust in Middle East:
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| Climate is one culprit in growth and spread of dust in Middle East - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · Dust levels have increased in many parts of the Middle East chiefly due to global warming, but other human activities also share credit, says Zahra Kalantari, associate professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. She cites such factors as oil extraction, military conflicts and lack of cross-border coordination of water management.
Analyzing multiple sets of data over the last 40 years, the researchers found an increase in dust levels in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen, parts of Iran and Egypt and countries around the Persian Gulf, while it has declined in northern Iran and southwest Turkey.
The area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in northern Iraq and along the ... Read more ...
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Coastal hurricanes around the world are intensifying faster, new study finds:
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| Coastal hurricanes around the world are intensifying faster, new study finds - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · A new study led by scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory finds that coastal conditions have changed since 1979, driving nearshore hurricanes around the world to intensify at a quickening pace. What's more, new projections suggest this rate will continue climbing should current warming trends continue. The paper is published in the journal Earth's Future.
Much work has been done to document how hurricanes are changing in our warmer world. Past research has shown these storms may grow wetter, threatening heightened risks of flooding. Other work suggests they may strike more often in some areas and that their intensity may peak closer to ... Read more ...
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Cold sintering may rescue plastic, ceramics, battery components from landfills:
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| Cold sintering may rescue plastic, ceramics, battery components from landfills - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · However, cold sintering—the process of combining powder-based materials into dense forms at low temperatures through applied pressure using solvents—allows for materials to be recycled again and again.
"That's the idea with cold sintering: you can take two or more materials that were destined for the landfill, combine them and create a composite, and recycle the composite again and again, without a loss in performance," Gomez said.
In three recent papers, Gomez and his team outline three new uses for cold sintering that advance recycling in materials science.
In a paper published in Materials Horizons, researchers used cold sintering to combine ... Read more ...
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Contemporary wildfires not more severe than historically in western US dry forests: Study:
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| Contemporary wildfires not more severe than historically in western US dry forests: Study - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 3 · I addressed this question in a new study in Sustainability. Dry forests are ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and dry mixed-conifer forests with ponderosa dominant, but other trees are common. They often occur at the lower limits of forests near woodlands, shrublands, and grasslands.
Earlier, we showed these forests were historically subject to a mixture of low-, moderate- and high-severity fires, as occurred recently in a fire I photographed in a dry forest in northern New Mexico. This mixed-severity historical fire model better fits historical evidence, so the alternative low-severity fire model was rejected.
A 2023 study used US Government Landfire data to show that ... Read more ...
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Cost-effective, high-capacity and cyclable lithium-ion battery cathodes:
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| Cost-effective, high-capacity and cyclable lithium-ion battery cathodes - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · The energy capacity and charge-recharge cycling (cyclability) of lithium-iron-oxide, a cost-effective cathode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, is improved by adding small amounts of abundant elements. The development, achieved by researchers at Hokkaido University, Tohoku University, and Nagoya Institute of Technology, is reported in the journal ACS Materials Letters.
Lithium-ion batteries have become indispensable in modern life, used in a multitude of applications including mobile phones, electric vehicles, and large power storage systems.
A constant research effort is underway to increase their capacity, efficiency, and sustainability. A major ... Read more ...
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Demystifying the complex nature of Arctic clouds:
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| Demystifying the complex nature of Arctic clouds - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · With dancing ribbons of light visible in the sky, a team of researchers flew on a series of scenic and sometimes stormy flights into the cold unknown, trying to learn more about why one of the most frigid places on Earth is warming at a feverish pace.
"The Arctic is changing rapidly, warming at a rate two to four times faster than the global average," said Paquita Zuidema, professor and chair of atmospheric sciences at the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and the principal investigator of CAESAR, or Cold-Air Outbreak Experiment in the Sub-Arctic Region.
"A consensus on why and how this is occurring is still lacking, and questions remain on how ... Read more ...
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Did a Magnetic Field Collapse Trigger the Emergence of Animals?:
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| Did a Magnetic Field Collapse Trigger the Emergence of Animals? - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · The Ediacaran Period, spanning from about 635 to 541 million years ago, was a pivotal time in Earth's history. It marked a transformative era during which complex, multicellular organisms emerged, setting the stage for the explosion of life.
But how did this surge of life unfold and what factors on Earth may have contributed to it?
According to John Tarduno, the William Kenan, Jr. Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, one of the most remarkable life forms during the Ediacaran Period was the Ediacaran fauna. They were notable for their resemblance to early animals -- some even reached more than a meter (three feet) in size and were mobile, ... Read more ...
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Electric vehicles will start to cut emissions and improve air quality in our cities - but only once they're common:
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| Electric vehicles will start to cut emissions and improve air quality in our cities - but only once they're common - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 4 · Is this view correct? Yes—but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the recent boom in EV purchases, they're still a tiny minority of the cars on the road.
We would get more immediate benefit by focusing on electrifying buses, which are a surprisingly large source of air pollution, and finding ways to cut rapidly growing emissions from diesel trucks.
While the electricity sector still produces the largest share of emissions in Australia (32.3%), emissions are falling. But emissions from transport (21.1%) are already the third-largest contributor—and are rising faster and faster.
Critics say EVs just shift the emissions and pollution from tailpipe to ... Read more ...
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Electricity from farm waste: How biogas could help Malawians with no power:
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| Electricity from farm waste: How biogas could help Malawians with no power - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · Decentralized household and community scale renewable energy systems like biogas plants may provide a solution. Ehiaze Ehimen and Thomas Robin study energy efficiency and energy poverty in marginalized communities. They unpack what they found in their research into the potential role of small biogas plants in meeting rural energy needs.
Why are biogas plants such a good idea?
Biogas plants are easy to set up and can be relatively inexpensive. They use readily available materials such as manure and vegetable waste, and can be built with cement and bricks. They could potentially be used to meet the electricity needs of households and small communities, especially in rural ... Read more ...
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Empowering Pacific & NE Asia Youth: Peacebuilders & Climate Advocates Workshop | United Nations:
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| Empowering Pacific & NE Asia Youth: Peacebuilders & Climate Advocates Workshop | United Nations - Climate Change (United Nations - Playlist) |
May 4 · The video follows young peacebuilders and climate advocates from the Pacific and Northeast Asia regions as they participate in a strategic foresight youth workshop in Samoa co-organized by the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (UNDPPA) and UNDP Samoa. \n\nCo-created by Youth for Youth, participants utilized strategic foresight tools to explore pathways to a peaceful, just, and sustainable future and transition in line with the 1.5 degrees Celsius benchmark in the Paris Agreement and important regional frameworks such as the Pacific Islands Forum Boe Declaration (2018) and the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.\n\nProduced for the Department of ... | By United Nations Read more ...
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Fish are shrinking around the world. Here’s why scientists are worried.:
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| Fish are shrinking around the world. Here’s why scientists are worried. - Washington Post - Climate and Environment |
May 4 · Figuring out the reason why has big implications, with billions of people depending on seafood for protein.
There’s something fishy going on in the water. Across Earth’s oceans, fish are shrinking - and no one can agree why.
It’s happening with salmon near the Arctic Circle and skate in the Atlantic. Nearly three-fourths of marine fish populations sampled worldwide have seen their average body size dwindle between 1960 and 2020, according to a recent analysis. Read more ...
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Flood-hit Kenya and Tanzania on alert as cyclone nears:
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| Flood-hit Kenya and Tanzania on alert as cyclone nears - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Kenya and Tanzania were on alert on Saturday for a cyclone heading towards their Indian Ocean coastlines, threatening to pile on more misery after deadly floods that have ravaged the region.
About 400 people have lost their lives in East Africa and tens of thousands have been uprooted from their homes in recent weeks as torrential rains triggered flooding and landslides engulfed houses, roads and bridges.
Kenyan President William Ruto on Friday described the weather outlook as "dire" and postponed the reopening of schools indefinitely as the nation braced for its first-ever cyclone.
Tropical Cyclone Hidaya is projected to make landfall at the weekend on the Kenyan ... Read more ...
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For Microscopic Organisms, Ocean Currents Act as 'Expressway' to Deeper Depths:
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| For Microscopic Organisms, Ocean Currents Act as 'Expressway' to Deeper Depths - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Some of the ocean's tiniest organisms get swept into underwater currents that act as a conduit that shuttles them from the sunny surface to deeper, darker depths where they play a huge role in affecting the ocean's chemistry and ecosystem, according to new research.
"We found that because these organisms are so small, they can be swept up by ocean currents that then bring them deeper than where they grow," said Mara Freilich, an assistant professor in Brown University's Division of Applied Mathematics and Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences who launched the work as a Ph.D. student a joint program at MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. "It's ... Read more ...
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For microscopic organisms, ocean currents act as 'expressway' to deeper depths, study finds:
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| For microscopic organisms, ocean currents act as 'expressway' to deeper depths, study finds - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · "We found that because these organisms are so small, they can be swept up by ocean currents that then bring them deeper than where they grow," said Mara Freilich, an assistant professor in Brown University's Division of Applied Mathematics and Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences who launched the work as a Ph.D. student a joint program at MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. "It's often a one-way trip for these organisms, but by taking this trip, they play a critical role in connecting different parts of the ocean."
Freilich conducted the research during her Ph.D. with Amala Mahadevan, senior scientist at Woods Hole, in a close collaboration ... Read more ...
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Good vibrations: Low-energy lasers induce atomic excitation in semiconductor materials:
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| Good vibrations: Low-energy lasers induce atomic excitation in semiconductor materials - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · By leveraging intense and broad-band ultrafast terahertz pulses, scientists from Yokohama National University and their colleagues at the California Institute of Technology have demonstrated atomic excitation in a two-dimensional semiconductor material, advancing the development of electronic devices.
Their paper was published on March 19 and appears as an Editor's Pick in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
Two-dimensional (2D) materials, or sheet-like nanomaterials, are promising platforms for future semiconductor applications due to their unique electronic properties. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), a prominent group of 2D materials, consist of layers of ... Read more ...
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GOP Senator accidentally creates amazing ad for climate activists:
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| GOP Senator accidentally creates amazing ad for climate activists - Heated World |
May 2 · Geoffrey Supran, the director of the Climate Accountability Lab at the University of Miami, is one of the country’s foremost experts on climate disinformation.
That’s why the former Harvard researcher was called to testify in the Senate Budget Committee’s hearing yesterday, titled “Denial, Disinformation, and Doublespeak: Big Oil’s Evolving Efforts to Avoid Accountability for Climate Change.”
Supran’s opening statement for the hearing included 120 cited sources, all of which he said “clearly demonstrate that the fossil fuel regime has deliberately denied Americans and Congress their right to be accurately informed about the climate crisis, just as tobacco companies ... Read more ...
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Heat wave swells Asia's appetite for air-conditioning:
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| Heat wave swells Asia's appetite for air-conditioning - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 3 · A record-breaking heat wave is broiling parts of Asia, helping drive surging demand for cooling options, including air-conditioning.
AC exhaust units are a common feature of urban landscapes in many parts of Asia, clinging like limpets to towering apartment blocks in Hong Kong or tucked in a cross formation between the windows of a building in Cambodia.
They offer relief from temperatures that have toppled records in recent weeks, with many countries in the region hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) or higher.
Scientists have long warned that human-induced climate change will produce more frequent, longer and more intense heat waves.
Only 15 percent ... Read more ...
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Herb Simmens Presentation on Climate Vocabulary to Healthy Planet Action Coalition 2 May 2024:
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| Herb Simmens Presentation on Climate Vocabulary to Healthy Planet Action Coalition 2 May 2024 - Climate Engineering (Lockley - Playlist) |
May 3 · This discussion features the narrative story in Herb Simmens’ recent book A Climate Vocabulary of the Future. That segment of the book looks back from the year 2035. It describes how humanity began to achieve a healthy climate.\n\nHerb Simmens will present that narrative, and lead a discussion on the kinds of stories and language that can inform and excite people to embrace the HPAC vision for a healthy planet.\n\nHerb’s presentation and the subsequent discussion are particularly stimulating and timely, now that the HPAC Advocacy Task Force is beginning to explore what an effective and compelling narrative might be developed to advance our mission. | By Robbie Tulip Read more ...
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Hopes fade for production curbs in new global pact on plastic pollution:
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| Hopes fade for production curbs in new global pact on plastic pollution - Climate Change News - Energy |
May 3 · With no further talks scheduled on limiting plastic production before final negotiations in November, the treaty may focus instead on recycling
Negotiators discuss the text in Ottawa (Photo: Kiara Worth - IISD/ENB)
Hopes for a new global treaty to include limits on rocketing production of plastic worldwide have faded after government negotiators sidestepped the issue at UN talks in the Canadian capital of Ottawa earlier this week.
At the fourth – and penultimate – round of talks, negotiators did not agree to continue formal discussions on how to cut plastic production before a final session in the Korean city of Busan set for November, making it less ... | By Joe Lo Read more ...
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How evolving landscapes impacted First Peoples' early migration patterns into Australia:
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| How evolving landscapes impacted First Peoples' early migration patterns into Australia - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 4 · Using a dynamic model charting the changing landscape, researchers have provided a more realistic description of the of the areas inhabited by the first humans to traverse Sahul: the landmass combining what is now Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea.
Led by Associate Professor Tristan Salles from the School of Geosciences at the University of Sydney, the research model factors-in evolution of the landscape, driven by climate, during the time of human dispersal. This is a novel approach; previous studies of migration patterns have relied heavily on archaeological findings.
"One aspect overlooked when evaluating how people spread across the continent is the evolution of the ... Read more ...
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How green cities could remove CO2 from the atmosphere:
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| How green cities could remove CO2 from the atmosphere - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · Technically speaking, urban removals of this most important greenhouse gas could capture up to one gigatonne (i.e., 1,000 million metric tons) per year by mid-century. The study was conducted by the Berlin-based climate research institute MCC (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change) and published in Nature Cities.
"The potential for carbon removals in cities is significant, but ultimately, it is also limited," says Quirina Rodriguez Mendez, Ph.D. student at MCC and lead author of the study. "From a global perspective, one gigatonne is only around a fifth of the urban CO2 emissions expected for 2050—urban net zero by the middle of the century is ... Read more ...
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How the world wastes hundreds of billions of meals in a year, in three charts:
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| How the world wastes hundreds of billions of meals in a year, in three charts - VOX -Environment |
May 4 · Think twice before throwing out your leftovers.
A billion meals are wasted every single day, according to a recent report from the United Nations. And that’s a conservative estimate.
It’s not just food down the drain, but money, too. The 2024 UN Food Waste Index report - which measured food waste at the consumer and retail level across more than 100 countries - found that over a trillion dollars worth of food gets thrown out every year, from households to grocery stores to farms, all across the globe.
Such waste takes a significant toll on the environment. The process of producing food - the raising of animals, the land and water use, and the subsequent pollution ... Read more ...
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Ice Shelves Fracture Under Weight of Meltwater Lakes:
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| Ice Shelves Fracture Under Weight of Meltwater Lakes - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · When air temperatures in Antarctica rise and glacier ice melts, water can pool on the surface of floating ice shelves, weighing them down and causing the ice to bend. Now, for the first time in the field, CIRES-led research shows that ice shelves don't just buckle under the weight of meltwater lakes -- they fracture. As the climate warms and melt rates in Antarctica increase, this fracturing could cause vulnerable ice shelves to collapse, allowing inland glacier ice to spill into the ocean and contribute to sea level rise.
"Ice shelves are extremely important for the Antarctic Ice Sheet's overall health as they act to buttress or hold back the glacier ice on land," said Alison ... Read more ...
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Ice shelves fracture under weight of meltwater lakes, study shows:
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| Ice shelves fracture under weight of meltwater lakes, study shows - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · As the climate warms and melt rates in Antarctica increase, this fracturing could cause vulnerable ice shelves to collapse, allowing inland glacier ice to spill into the ocean and contribute to sea level rise.
Ice shelves are important for the Antarctic Ice Sheet's overall health as they act to buttress or hold back the glacier ice on land. Scientists have predicted and modeled that surface meltwater loading could cause ice shelves to fracture, but no one had observed the process in the field, until now.
The new study, published in the Journal of Glaciology, may help explain how the Larsen B Ice Shelf abruptly collapsed in 2002. In the months before its catastrophic ... Read more ...
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In photos: At least 39 dead as historic flooding hits southern Brazil:
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| In photos: At least 39 dead as historic flooding hits southern Brazil - Washington Post - Climate and Environment |
May 4 · Floods in southern Brazil killed at least 39 people as heavy rainfall brought historic amounts of water to the state of Rio Grande do Sul, according to local authorities. At least 68 others are missing.
In the state capital, Porto Alegre, water levels rose to 4.88 meters (16 feet) - the highest observed since 1941, according to the prefectural government. The state’s civil defense agency also reported that a dam at a hydropower plant in the Cotiporã municipality had partially collapsed. Water from the dam completely overwhelmed nearby cities, the Associated Press reported.
May 3 | Eldorado do Sul, Brazil
Floodwaters overtake the streets.
May 3 | Porto Alegre, ... Read more ...
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In the Jersey suburbs, a search for rocks to help fight climate change:
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| In the Jersey suburbs, a search for rocks to help fight climate change - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · Okoko, a Ph.D. candidate at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, was not so much interested in geologic history as in a modern use for basalt: to capture and store carbon permanently below the nearby seafloor in solid form.
Basalt underlies much of New Jersey, and is believed to extend well out into the Atlantic seabed. On land, it mostly lies hidden under soil, other kinds of rocks, roads, buildings, parking lots and other human infrastructure.
This particular outcrop, about 400 feet long, was exposed when people cut into a hillside to create a narrow, upward-winding track dubbed Ghost Pony Road. Today, Ghost Pony Road is wedged uphill of the constant ... Read more ...
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Inside Allbirds’ mission to make a shoe with no carbon footprint:
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| Inside Allbirds’ mission to make a shoe with no carbon footprint - Greenbiz |
May 3 · As of its most recent progress update, the shoemaker is more than halfway toward its goal to cut its per-product footprint in half by 2025.
Three years ago, Allbirds pledged to cut its per-product carbon footprint in half within four years, aiming for “near zero” status by 2030. As of its most recent progress update, the shoemaker is more than halfway there, thanks to an approach that requires every employee and business partner to consider emissions - from design to materials to packaging.
Allbirds is also one of the few public companies that regularly highlights greenhouse gas emissions in its earnings report. And it calculates carbon labels for its products, even amid ... | By Heather Clancy Read more ...
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Kenya floods death toll rises to 188 as heavy rains persist:
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| Kenya floods death toll rises to 188 as heavy rains persist - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · The number of people who have lost their lives in devastating floods in Kenya since March has risen to 188, with dozens still missing, the interior ministry said on Thursday.
Torrential rains in Kenya and other countries in East Africa have caused deadly havoc, with floods and landslides forcing people from their homes, destroying roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
"As a result, the country has regrettably recorded 188 fatalities due to severe weather conditions," the ministry said in a statement.
It added that 125 people had been reported injured and 90 people were currently missing, while 165,000 have been displaced.
On Wednesday, nearly 100 tourists ... Read more ...
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Kenya floods death toll tops 200 as cyclone approaches:
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| Kenya floods death toll tops 200 as cyclone approaches - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · The death toll from flood-related incidents in Kenya has crossed 200 since March, the interior ministry said Friday, as a cyclone barrelled towards the Tanzanian coast.
Torrential rains have lashed much of East Africa, triggering flooding and landslides that has destroyed crops, swallowed homes, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Some 210 people have died in Kenya "due to severe weather conditions," the interior ministry said in a statement, with 22 killed in the past 24 hours.
More than 165,000 people had been uprooted from their home, it added and 90 others missing, raising fears that the toll could rise higher.
Kenya and neighboring Tanzania, ... Read more ...
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Kenya, Tanzania brace for cyclone as heavy rains persist:
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| Kenya, Tanzania brace for cyclone as heavy rains persist - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · Kenya and Tanzania were bracing Thursday for a cyclone on the heels of torrential rains that have devastated East Africa, killing more than 350 people and forcing tens of thousands from their homes.
In addition to claiming 188 lives in Kenya since March, the floods have displaced 165,000 people, with 90 reported missing, the interior ministry said, as the government warned citizens to remain on alert.
"Crucially, the coastal region is likely to experience Cyclone Hidaya, which will result in heavy rainfall, large waves and strong winds that could affect marine activities in the Indian Ocean," the office of Kenyan President William Ruto said.
Neighboring Tanzania, ... Read more ...
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Lake tsunamis pose significant threat under warming climate:
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| Lake tsunamis pose significant threat under warming climate - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Triggered by landslides into small bodies of water, most of these tsunamis have occurred in remote locations so far, but geologist Bretwood Higman of Ground Truth Alaska said it may just be a matter of time before a tsunami swamps a more populated place like Portage Lake near Whittier, Alaska.
When he estimates where the risk of an Alaskan lake tsunami is highest, Portage Lake "is pretty much at the top of my list," Higman said.
Other sites in Alaska where the risks of lake tsunamis coincide with human activity and infrastructure include Eklutna, Seward, Valdez, Juneau, Grewingk Lake in Kachemak Bay State Park and Index Lake near Glacier View.
At the Seismological ... Read more ...
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Leveraging robots to help make wind turbine blades:
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| Leveraging robots to help make wind turbine blades - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · Although robots have been used by the wind energy industry to paint and polish blades, automation has not been widely adopted. Research at the laboratory demonstrates the ability of a robot to trim, grind, and sand blades. Those necessary steps occur after the two sides of the blade are made using a mold and then bonded together.
"I would consider it a success," said Hunter Huth, a robotics engineer at NREL and lead author of a newly published paper detailing the work. "Not everything operated as well as we wanted it to, but we learned all the lessons we think we need to make it meet or exceed our expectations."
The paper, "Toolpath Generation for Automated Wind Turbine ... Read more ...
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Light, flexible, efficient: Perovskite-based tandem solar cells:
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| Light, flexible, efficient: Perovskite-based tandem solar cells - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · Roof tiles are becoming a thing of the past: Today, more and more Swiss roofs boast large black and blue rectangles that convert sunlight into electricity. The blueish color comes from silicon crystals, as the majority of solar cells available today are based on this semiconductor material. But silicon is not the only way to make a solar cell - and possibly not even the best.
Silicon-based photovoltaic cells have been perfected so far that they are reaching the limits of their efficiency. Although a few percentage points of improvement could still be gained, the theoretical upper limit for the efficiency of a single silicon cell is 33%. In practice, it is somewhat lower, as ... Read more ...
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Loss and damage board speeds up work to allow countries direct access to funds:
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| Loss and damage board speeds up work to allow countries direct access to funds - Climate Change News - Finance |
May 3 · At its first meeting, the fund’s board decided to fast-track the selection of its host country so money can be disbursed as fast as possible to disaster-hit people
The first board meeting was held in the UAE, where extreme rainfall caused widespread flooding last month. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky
The board of the loss and damage fund is set to pick its host nation in July as it speeds up the process to ensure hard-hit countries can directly access money to help them recover from the unavoidable effects of climate change.
As the 26-member board held its first three-day meeting in Abu Dhabi this week, discussions centered on the administrative steps needed to get the ... | By Matteo Civillini Read more ...
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Methane emissions from landfill could be turned into sustainable jet fuel with plasma-driven process:
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| Methane emissions from landfill could be turned into sustainable jet fuel with plasma-driven process - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
Apr 30 · Methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (CO2). According to the International Energy Agency, the concentration of methane in the atmosphere is currently around two-and-a-half times greater than pre-industrial levels and is increasing steadily, with waste emissions and the burning of fossil fuels accounting for a significant proportion.
Australia recently joined the international methane mitigation agreement with the United States, the European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Lead author Professor PJ Cullen from the University of Sydney's School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Net Zero Initiative said, "Globally, landfills are ... Read more ...
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Mice navigating a virtual reality environment reveal that walls, not floors, define space:
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| Mice navigating a virtual reality environment reveal that walls, not floors, define space - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · The study, led by Dr. Guifen Chen from Queen Mary University of London, delves into the brains of mice navigating a two-dimensional virtual reality (VR) environment, revealing the surprising importance of specific visual cues for building and maintaining spatial maps. It reveals that specific visual cues - in this case, elevated walls - are crucial for stabilizing the neurons responsible for spatial navigation in virtual reality (VR).
"Our findings provide a significant step forward in understanding the precise nature of the sensory information that animals used for boundary detection," says Dr. Chen. "They not only highlight the importance of elevated boundaries in building ... Read more ...
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Mom fights air pollution in North Denver:
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| Mom fights air pollution in North Denver - Yale Climate Connections - Policy |
May 2 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
People who live in North Denver, Colorado, face multiple sources of air pollution.
Oliver: “Families and young homeowners … live next to the refinery, the dog food plant, the recycling waste facility, as well as gas plants. … And there’s so many other industries that are also in this very same area that also contribute to a lot of heavy-duty truck pollution.”
Shaina Oliver is an activist with Mom’s Clean Air Force.
She says Denver has some of the highest levels of ground-level ozone in the country. It forms from the pollution emitted ... Read more ...
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NASA is helping protect tigers, jaguars, and elephants - here's how:
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| NASA is helping protect tigers, jaguars, and elephants - here's how - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 3 · "Satellites observe vast areas of Earth's surface on daily to weekly schedules," said Keith Gaddis, ecological conservation program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "That helps scientists monitor habitats that would be logistically challenging and time-consuming to survey from the ground—crucial for animals like tigers that roam large territories."
Here's how NASA and its partners help protect three of Earth's most iconic species:
Trouble (and hope) for tigers
Tigers have lost at least 93% of their historical range, which once spanned Eurasia. Roughly 3,700 to 5,500 wild tigers remain, up from an estimated low of 3,200 in 2010.
In a recent ... Read more ...
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Nepal battles raging wildfires across the country:
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| Nepal battles raging wildfires across the country - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · Firefighters and local residents battled a massive wildfire on the outskirts of Nepal's capital Thursday as the Himalayan republic endures a severe fire season authorities have blamed on a heat wave.
Nepal sees a spate of wildfires annually, usually beginning in March, but their number and intensity has worsened in recent years, with climate change leading to drier winters.
Emergency crews worked through the night to fight the blaze which engulfed a forested area in Lalitpur, on the southern periphery of the Kathmandu valley.
More than 4,500 wildfires have been reported this year across the country, nearly double compared to last year according to government data ... Read more ...
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Nepal court orders limit on Everest climbing permits:
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| Nepal court orders limit on Everest climbing permits - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Nepal's Supreme Court has ordered the government to limit the number of mountaineering permits issued for Everest and other peaks, a lawyer confirmed Friday, just as expeditions prepare for the spring climbing season.
The Himalayan republic is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring, when temperatures are warm and winds are typically calm.
The verdict was issued in late April but a summary was only published this week.
Lawyer Deepak Bikram Mishra, who had filed a petition urging permits to be curtailed, told AFP that the court had responded to public concerns about Nepal's mountains and its ... Read more ...
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New Computer Algorithm Supercharges Climate Models and Could Lead to Better Predictions of Future Climate Change:
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| New Computer Algorithm Supercharges Climate Models and Could Lead to Better Predictions of Future Climate Change - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Earth System Models -- complex computer models which describe Earth processes and how they interact -- are critical for predicting future climate change. By simulating the response of our land, oceans and atmosphere to manmade greenhouse gas emissions, these models form the foundation for predictions of future extreme weather and climate event scenarios, including those issued by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
However, climate modellers have long faced a major problem. Because Earth System Models integrate many complicated processes, they cannot immediately run a simulation; they must first ensure that it has reached a stable equilibrium ... Read more ...
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New eco-friendly lubricant additives protect turbine equipment, waterways:
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| New eco-friendly lubricant additives protect turbine equipment, waterways - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · Each year, roughly 2.47 billion gallons of lubricating oil are consumed in the United States alone for engines and industrial machinery, according to DOE, with about half eventually finding its way into the environment.
While environmentally acceptable lubricants are available, they are not optimized with additives that can greatly improve performance while posing minimal environmental impact if accidentally released. To create nontoxic, biodegradable and high-performing lubricant additives for water power turbines, researchers turned to ionic liquids, or ILs: organic liquid salts that mix well with oil, reduce friction between bearings and gears, and are stable in a range of ... Read more ...
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New Nevada experiments aim to improve monitoring of nuclear explosions:
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| New Nevada experiments aim to improve monitoring of nuclear explosions - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Physics Experiment 1-A (PE1-A) is the first in a series of non-nuclear experiments that will compare computer simulations with high-resolution seismic, tracer gas, acoustic and electromagnetic data gleaned from underground explosions and atmospheric experiments, said Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher Stephen Myers at the Seismological Society of America (SSA)'s 2024 Annual Meeting.
The 18 October explosion—the equivalent of 16.3 tons of TNT—took place in Aqueduct Mesa "P Tunnel" at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Seismic, acoustic and electromagnetic waves from the shock were recorded by instruments near the explosion and with regional ... Read more ...
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New Nevada Experiments Will Improve Monitoring of Nuclear Explosions:
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| New Nevada Experiments Will Improve Monitoring of Nuclear Explosions - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · On an October morning in 2023, a chemical explosion detonated in a tunnel under the Nevada desert was the launch of the next set of experiments by the National Nuclear Security Administration, with the goal to improve detection of low-yield nuclear explosions around the world.
Physics Experiment 1-A (PE1-A) is the first in a series of non-nuclear experiments that will compare computer simulations with high-resolution seismic, tracer gas, acoustic and electromagnetic data gleaned from underground explosions and atmospheric experiments, said Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher Stephen Myers at the Seismological Society of America (SSA)'s 2024 Annual ... Read more ...
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New research investigates how climate change amplifies severity of combined wind-rain extremes over the UK and Ireland:
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| New research investigates how climate change amplifies severity of combined wind-rain extremes over the UK and Ireland - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · The new study was led by experts at Newcastle University and the Met Office and investigated how future climate change may influence compound wind-rain extremes, which are events where extreme wind and rainfall occur simultaneously.
These changes are mainly driven by increased rainfall, a thermodynamic response to rising temperatures. Additional contributing factors include a strengthened jet stream and its southward displacement that brings storms through warmer areas leading to further increases in rainfall.
Publishing their findings in the journal Weather and Climate Extremes, the scientists show that the increase in intensity could lead to more frequent windstorms ... Read more ...
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New sugar-based catalyst could offer a potential solution for using captured carbon:
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| New sugar-based catalyst could offer a potential solution for using captured carbon - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · In a new Northwestern University study, the catalyst successfully converted CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO), an important building block to produce a variety of useful chemicals. When the reaction occurs in the presence of hydrogen, for example, CO2 and hydrogen transform into synthesis gas (or syngas), a highly valuable precursor to producing fuels that can potentially replace gasoline.
With recent advances in carbon capture technologies, post-combustion carbon capture is becoming a plausible option to help tackle the global climate change crisis. But how to handle the captured carbon remains an open-ended question. The new catalyst potentially could provide one solution for ... Read more ...
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NOAA reports continued drop in overfishing:
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| NOAA reports continued drop in overfishing - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 3 · Maintaining sustainable fisheries contributes significantly to the U.S. economy, provides important recreational opportunities and helps meet the growing challenge of increasing our nation's seafood supply.
In 2023, U.S. fisheries data revealed that 94% of stocks are not subject to overfishing and 82% are not overfished. These numbers show slight improvements compared to the 2022 figures of 93% and 81%, respectively.
Ongoing positive trends continued with the number of stocks on the overfishing list decreasing by three stocks, reaching an all-time low of 21 stocks, and the number of stocks on the overfished list decreasing by one stock, to 47. Since 2000, NOAA Fisheries ... Read more ...
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Oil Companies Expand Offshore Drilling, Pointing to Energy Needs:
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| Oil Companies Expand Offshore Drilling, Pointing to Energy Needs - New York Times - Climate Section |
May 3 · Shell and others say they plan to drill for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico in part because doing so releases fewer greenhouse gases than drilling on land.
Reporting from Shell’s Appomattox offshore platform, New Orleans, Houston and Los Angeles
About 80 miles southeast of Louisiana’s coast, 100,000 metric tons of steel floats in the Gulf of Mexico, an emblem of the hopes of oil and gas companies.
This hulk of metal, a deepwater platform called Appomattox and owned by Shell, collects the oil and gas that rigs tap from reservoirs thousands of feet below the seafloor. Equipment on the platform pipes that fuel to shore.
Political and corporate leaders have ... | By Ivan Penn Read more ...
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Path to Easier Recycling of Solar Modules:
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| Path to Easier Recycling of Solar Modules - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · The use of femtosecond lasers to form glass-to-glass welds for solar modules would make the panels easier to recycle, according to a proof-of-concept study conducted by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The welds would eliminate the need for plastic polymer sheets that are now laminated into solar modules but make recycling more difficult. At the end of their useful lifespan, the modules made with the laser welds can be shattered. The glass and metal wires running through the solar cells can be easily recycled and the silicon can be reused.
"Most recyclers will confirm that the polymers are the main issue in terms ... Read more ...
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Plants Utilize Drought Stress Hormone to Block Snacking Spider Mites:
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| Plants Utilize Drought Stress Hormone to Block Snacking Spider Mites - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Recent findings that plants employ a drought-survival mechanism to also defend against nutrient-sucking pests could inform future crop breeding programmes aimed at achieving better broadscale pest control.
Using an advanced fluorescent biosensor (ABACUS2) that can detect tiny changes in plant hormone concentrations at the cellular scale, scientists saw that abscisic acid (ABA), usually linked with drought response, started closing the plant's entry gates within 5 hours of being infested with spider mites.
Microscopic leaf pores (stomata) are important for gas exchange but are also the major sites for water loss. When there is a water shortage, plants act to conserve ... Read more ...
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PODCAST: Why are EVs more popular than hydrogen cars?:
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| PODCAST: Why are EVs more popular than hydrogen cars? - MIT - Global Change |
May 2 · Listen on your favorite streaming app.
Just 20 years ago, hydrogen cars and battery electric cars (EVs) were pretty evenly matched as clean alternatives to gas-powered cars. But today, EVs are way ahead: the big car companies are rapidly electrifying their lineups, while only a few hydrogen cars are available. What happened? Sergey Paltsev, senior research scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative, helps us answer this listener question.
Dr. Sergey Paltsev is a Deputy Director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, a Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative and MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, and a ... Read more ...
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Research discovers plants utilize drought stress hormone to block snacking spider mites:
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| Research discovers plants utilize drought stress hormone to block snacking spider mites - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Using an advanced fluorescent biosensor (ABACUS2) that can detect tiny changes in plant hormone concentrations at the cellular scale, scientists saw that abscisic acid (ABA), usually linked with drought response, started closing the plant's entry gates within 5 hours of being infested with spider mites.
Microscopic leaf pores (stomata) are important for gas exchange but are also the major sites for water loss. When there is a water shortage, plants act to conserve water by producing the drought stress hormone ABA to close their stomata.
Coincidentally, the closure of stomata also obstructs the preferred entry points for nutrient-sucking pests like spider mites. The ... Read more ...
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Research explores energy and land-use practices on US golf courses:
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| Research explores energy and land-use practices on US golf courses - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 2 · A new study appearing in HortTechnology evaluates energy practices and use of land on US golf courses.
Energy usage on US golf facilities was first assessed in 2008 and then reevaluated in 2015. The findings showed that over 99% of golf facilities continued to use gasoline and diesel fuel, with no significant change from 2008 to 2015. However, there was an increase in the percentage of facilities implementing behavioral or design changes aimed at conserving energy during this period. Additionally, there was a rise in the adoption of written energy plans and the conduct of energy audits among golf facilities between 2008 and 2015. These findings indicate that US golf facilities ... Read more ...
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Research quantifies 'gap' in carbon removal for first time - shows countries need more awareness, ambition and action:
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| Research quantifies 'gap' in carbon removal for first time - shows countries need more awareness, ambition and action - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Since 2010, the United Nations environmental organization UNEP has taken an annual measurement of the emissions gap—the difference between countries' climate protection pledges and what is necessary to limit global heating to 1.5ºC, or at least below 2ºC.
The UNEP Emissions Gap Reports are clear: climate policy needs more ambition. This new study now explicitly applies this analytical concept to carbon dioxide removal (CDR)—the removal of the most important greenhouse gas, CO2, from the atmosphere.
The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, was led by the Berlin-based Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change ... Read more ...
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Research shows bumblebee nests are overheating due to climate change, threatening future populations:
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| Research shows bumblebee nests are overheating due to climate change, threatening future populations - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · As a result of the climate crisis, global warming is driving up temperatures around the world - and bumblebees, like humans, are struggling to cope with homes that can't beat the heat.
In a new article published in Frontiers in Bee Science, scientists identify rising heat as a potential culprit for the decline in bumblebee populations worldwide, compromising bumblebees' ability to construct livable nests in which healthy larvae can develop.
"The decline in populations and ranges of several species of bumblebees may be explained by issues of overheating of the nests and the brood," said Dr. Peter Kevan of the University of Guelph, Canada, lead author of the ... Read more ...
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Researcher: Climate models can run for months on supercomputers - but my new algorithm can make them ten times faster:
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| Researcher: Climate models can run for months on supercomputers - but my new algorithm can make them ten times faster - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 4 · Not surprisingly, these models are expensive. The simulations take time, frequently several months, and the supercomputers on which the models are run consume a lot of energy. But a new algorithm I have developed promises to make many of these climate model simulations ten times faster, and could ultimately be an important tool in the fight against climate change.
One reason climate modeling takes so long is that some of the processes being simulated are intrinsically slow. The ocean is a good example. It takes a few thousand years for water to circulate from the surface to the deep ocean and back (by contrast, the atmosphere has a "mixing time" of weeks).
Ever since the ... Read more ...
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Researchers create massive open dataset to advance AI solutions for carbon capture:
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| Researchers create massive open dataset to advance AI solutions for carbon capture - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · But there's a big challenge. For direct air capture technology, every type of environment and location requires a uniquely specific design. A direct air capture configuration in Texas, for example, would necessarily be different from one in Iceland. These systems must be designed with exact parameters for humidity, temperature, and air flows for each place.
Now, Georgia Tech and Meta have collaborated to produce a massive database, potentially making it easier and faster to design and implement direct air capture technologies. The open-source database enabled the team to train an AI model that is orders of magnitude faster than existing chemistry simulations. The project, ... Read more ...
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Researchers develop 'founding document' on synthetic cell development:
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| Researchers develop 'founding document' on synthetic cell development - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · The development of synthetic cells could one day hold the answers to developing new ways to fight disease, supporting long-duration human space flight, and better understanding the origins of life on Earth.
In a paper published recently in ACS Synthetic Biology, researchers outline the potential opportunities that synthetic cell development could unlock and the challenges that lie ahead in this groundbreaking research. They also present a roadmap to inspire and guide innovation in this intriguing field.
"The potential for this field is incredible," said Lynn Rothschild, the lead author of the paper and an astrobiologist at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's ... Read more ...
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Researchers find use of olivine in cement production could result in carbon negative concrete:
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| Researchers find use of olivine in cement production could result in carbon negative concrete - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · A small team of materials scientists and environmental engineers at Imperial College London has found that using olivine in cement could result in carbon-negative concrete. In their study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the group conducted experiments with cement mixing that resulted in a way to produce it in a more climate-friendly manner.
In their work, the research team extracted silica and magnesium sulfate from olivine samples by dissolving them in sulfuric acid. They then bubbled CO2 through a batch of the slurry that resulted, which in turn led to the formation of a mineral called nesquehonite during cooling and resulted in sequestration of the ... Read more ...
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Rising mercury levels may contribute to declining Steller sea lion populations:
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| Rising mercury levels may contribute to declining Steller sea lion populations - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · The team's decade-long effort to study mercury in Steller sea lions in the Aleutian Islands—the strip of islands stretching between Russia and Alaska and separating the Bering Sea and Pacific Ocean—has revealed that the number of pups born with potentially dangerous levels of mercury in their blood and fur increased by more than 50% from 2011 to 2018 before leveling off in 2019.
Mercury—a "heavy metal," non-essential element—can be toxic to some animals, including humans, at high concentrations. Various forms of mercury can be introduced into the environment via emissions from human activities; it can also be introduced naturally through seismic ... Read more ...
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Robots Invited to Help Make Wind Turbine Blades:
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| Robots Invited to Help Make Wind Turbine Blades - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Although robots have been used by the wind energy industry to paint and polish blades, automation has not been widely adopted. Research at the laboratory demonstrates the ability of a robot to trim, grind, and sand blades. Those necessary steps occur after the two sides of the blade are made using a mold and then bonded together.
"I would consider it a success," said Hunter Huth, a robotics engineer at NREL and lead author of a newly published paper detailing the work. "Not everything operated as well as we wanted it to, but we learned all the lessons we think we need to make it meet or exceed our expectations."
The paper, "Toolpath Generation for Automated Wind Turbine ... Read more ...
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Scientists show how to treat burns with an environmentally friendly plant-based bandage:
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| Scientists show how to treat burns with an environmentally friendly plant-based bandage - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Following a burn, the affected area typically undergoes redness and swelling as a result of inflammation, the body's natural defense mechanism. Yet, excessive inflammation can counterproductively trigger the generation of oxygen free radicals, impeding the healing process.
Addressing this concern, researchers at IIT have devised a biocompatible bandage capable of blocking an excessive increase in the level of inflammation and reducing the number of free radicals, thus shortening the time needed for healing. Furthermore, the bandage naturally degrades within a few days, mitigating concerns about additional waste generation.
The bandage is made from a new biodegradable ... Read more ...
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Seismic shifts are underway to find finance for loss and damage:
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| Seismic shifts are underway to find finance for loss and damage - Climate Change News - Finance |
May 3 · Comment: The new UN fund can channel taxes and other innovative ways of raising money to pay for climate loss and damage – we just have to decide to apply them
Residents sift through the rubble as they recover their belongings after the Nairobi river burst its banks and destroyed their homes within the Mathare Valley settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, April 25, 2024. (Photo: REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi)
Avinash Persaud is Special Advisor to the President of the Inter-American Development Bank on Climate Change. Previously he was a member of the negotiation committee to establish the Loss and Damage Fund and an architect of the original ‘Bridgetown Initiative’ on ... | By Avinash Persaud Read more ...
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Seismic waves used to track LA's groundwater recharge after record wet winter:
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| Seismic waves used to track LA's groundwater recharge after record wet winter - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 4 · Shujuan Mao of Stanford University and her colleagues used a surprising technique to answer this question for the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. They analyzed changes in the velocity of seismic waves traveling through the LA basin, tracking these changes in space and time between January and October 2023.
As Mao reported at the Seismological Society of America (SSA)'s 2024 Annual Meeting, their study found that groundwater levels almost completely recovered at very shallow depths—about 50 meters below the surface. However, only about 25% of the groundwater lost over the past two decades was replenished at about 300 meters and deeper, likely because it is more ... Read more ...
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Sister Cities Can Help Communities Better Navigate the Climate Crisis:
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| Sister Cities Can Help Communities Better Navigate the Climate Crisis - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Anthropologists at Rice University suggest in a new study that establishing networks of 'sister cities' dedicated to addressing the impact of natural disasters can mitigate the devastation wrought by climate change.
Historically, these relationships have centered on social and political factors like trade relationships, diplomacy and more. But Howe and Boyer believe they can be powerful tools to aid in dealing with the physical effects of climate change, especially as cities deal with things like wildfires, extreme storms and more. As a result, they recommend forming a network called "Sister Cities for the Anthropocene" to help track and raise awareness of the spread of ... Read more ...
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Sister cities can help communities better navigate the climate crisis, research suggests:
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| Sister cities can help communities better navigate the climate crisis, research suggests - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Anthropologists at Rice University suggest in a new study that establishing networks of 'sister cities' dedicated to addressing the impact of natural disasters can mitigate the devastation wrought by climate change.
Historically, these relationships have centered on social and political factors like trade relationships, diplomacy and more. But Howe and Boyer believe they can be powerful tools to aid in dealing with the physical effects of climate change, especially as cities deal with things like wildfires, extreme storms and more. As a result, they recommend forming a network called "Sister Cities for the Anthropocene" to help track and raise awareness of the spread of ... Read more ...
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Startup mimics nature to produce zero-carbon cement:
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| Startup mimics nature to produce zero-carbon cement - Yale Climate Connections - Ecosystems |
May 3 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
One day you may walk down a sidewalk made from algae. A startup called Prometheus Materials is working to make that a reality to reduce the climate impact of concrete.
Concrete is made from cement. And the traditional process used to make that cement causes about 8% of global carbon emissions.
Loren Burnett of Prometheus says making cement from algae does not emit any carbon pollution.
Burnett: “We don’t mine heavy limestone. We’re not using fossil fuels to transport that heavy limestone to a cement plant. We’re not using ... Read more ...
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States rethink data centers as 'electricity hogs' strain the grid:
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| States rethink data centers as 'electricity hogs' strain the grid - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · State Sen. Norm Needleman championed the 2021 legislation designed to lure major data centers to Connecticut.
The Democratic lawmaker hoped to better compete with nearby states, bring in a growing industry, and provide paychecks for workers tasked with building the sprawling server farms.
But this legislative session, he's wondering if those tax breaks are appropriate for all data centers, especially those with the potential to disrupt the state's clean energy supply.
Particularly concerning to him are plans for a mega data center on the site of the state's only nuclear power plant. The developer is proposing an arrangement that would give it priority access to ... Read more ...
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Stony coral tissue loss disease is shifting the ecological balance of Caribbean reefs:
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| Stony coral tissue loss disease is shifting the ecological balance of Caribbean reefs - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · The outbreak of a deadly disease called stony coral tissue loss disease is destroying susceptible species of coral in the Caribbean while helping other, "weedier" organisms thrive—at least for now—according to a new study published in Science Advances.
"Some fast-growing organisms, like algae, might thrive in the short term," said the study's lead author, Sara Swaminathan, an environmental engineering sciences Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida. "But the loss of the susceptible corals could have long-lasting repercussions."
Stony coral tissue loss disease, or SCTLD, was first reported off the coast of Miami in 2014 and has since moved throughout the ... Read more ...
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Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Is Shifting the Ecological Balance of Caribbean Reefs:
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| Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Is Shifting the Ecological Balance of Caribbean Reefs - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · The outbreak of a deadly disease called stony coral tissue loss disease is destroying susceptible species of coral in the Caribbean while helping other, "weedier" organisms thrive -- at least for now -- according to a new study published today in Science Advances.
"Some fast-growing organisms, like algae, might thrive in the short term," said the study's lead author, Sara Swaminathan, an environmental engineering sciences Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida. "But the loss of the susceptible corals could have long-lasting repercussions."
Stony coral tissue loss disease, or SCTLD, was first reported off the coast of Miami in 2014 and has since moved throughout the ... Read more ...
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Study unveils 3D printing PQD-polymer architectures at room temperature:
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| Study unveils 3D printing PQD-polymer architectures at room temperature - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 2 · Led by Professor Im Doo Jung from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UNIST, a recent study has introduced a cutting-edge one-stop perovskite quantum dot (PQD) additive manufacturing technology. This approach eliminates the need for heat treatment, allowing for the creation of complex 3D shapes with exceptional precision, including iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower.
Traditionally, shaping QD materials in 3D required prolonged heat exposure, leading to property degradation and shape deformation. However, the newly developed PQD materials exhibit remarkable luminous efficiency and color versatility, offering a game-changing solution for advanced encryption and ... Read more ...
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Sugar-Based Catalyst Upcycles Carbon Dioxide:
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| Sugar-Based Catalyst Upcycles Carbon Dioxide - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · A new catalyst made from an inexpensive, abundant metal and common table sugar has the power to destroy carbon dioxide (CO2) gas.
In a new Northwestern University study, the catalyst successfully converted CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO), an important building block to produce a variety of useful chemicals. When the reaction occurs in the presence of hydrogen, for example, CO2 and hydrogen transform into synthesis gas (or syngas), a highly valuable precursor to producing fuels that can potentially replace gasoline.
With recent advances in carbon capture technologies, post-combustion carbon capture is becoming a plausible option to help tackle the global climate change ... Read more ...
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Sunak to allow oil and gas exploration at sites intended for offshore wind:
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| Sunak to allow oil and gas exploration at sites intended for offshore wind - Guardian - Energy |
May 2 · Exclusive: decision to grant licences condemned by critics as a stunt that shows Tories are 'playing politics with climate’
Fossil fuel companies will be allowed to explore for oil and gas under offshore wind-power sites for the first time, the government will announce on Friday, in a move that campaigners said is further proof that ministers are abandoning the climate agenda.
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), which regulates North Sea oil and gas production, will confirm that it is granting licences to about 30 companies to look for hydrocarbons on sites earmarked for future offshore windfarms.
The move has brought renewed criticism of Rishi Sunak from ... Read more ...
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Tesla Pullback Puts Onus on Others to Build Electric Vehicle Chargers:
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| Tesla Pullback Puts Onus on Others to Build Electric Vehicle Chargers - New York Times - Climate Section |
May 4 · The automaker led by Elon Musk is no longer planning to take the lead in expanding the number of places to fuel electric vehicles. It’s not clear how quickly other companies will fill the gap.
Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, blindsided competitors, suppliers and his own employees this week by reversing course on his aggressive push to build electric vehicle chargers in the United States, a major priority of the Biden administration.
Mr. Musk’s decision to lay off the 500-member team responsible for installing charging stations, and to sharply slow investment in new stations, baffled the industry and raised doubts about whether the number of public chargers would ... | By Jack Ewing and Ivan Penn Read more ...
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Tesla retreat from EV charging leaves growth of U.S. network in doubt:
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| Tesla retreat from EV charging leaves growth of U.S. network in doubt - Washington Post - Climate and Environment |
May 3 · Sudden layoffs this week left Tesla construction vendors uncertain whether to carry on with the charging projects they were building.
Tesla’s abrupt decision to lay off its electric-vehicle charging team and reduce its investments in public charging is a blow to the U.S. network, which has long relied on Elon Musk to build the bulk of the country’s fast chargers.
The sudden layoffs this week left Tesla construction vendors uncertain whether to carry on with the charging projects they were building, though one vendor said the company has since confirmed that existing projects should continue. Read more ...
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The benefits of crown-of-thorns starfish control on the Great Barrier Reef:
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| The benefits of crown-of-thorns starfish control on the Great Barrier Reef - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 4 · The study led by the Reef Authority in collaboration with research and delivery partners demonstrated up to a six-fold reduction in starfish numbers and a 44% increase in coral cover across regions that received timely and sufficient control effort. The research is published in the journal PLOS ONE.
While crown-of-thorns starfish are native to the Reef, outbreaks can cause broadscale coral loss and reef degradation, which are another pressure on top of culminative impacts like coral bleaching and cyclones, further impacting on reef health.
Reef Authority Chief Scientist Dr. Roger Beeden said this long-term data demonstrated that suppressing outbreaks of the coral-eating ... Read more ...
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The carbon dioxide removal gap:
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| The carbon dioxide removal gap - Nature Climate Change |
May 2 · Rapid emissions reductions, including reductions in deforestation-based land emissions, are the dominant source of global climate mitigation potential in the coming decades. However, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) will also have an important role to play. Despite this, it remains unclear whether current national proposals for CDR align with temperature targets. Here we show the 'CDR gap’, that is, CDR efforts proposed by countries fall short of those in integrated assessment model scenarios that limit warming to 1.5?°C. However, the most ambitious proposals for CDR are close to levels in a low-energy demand scenario with the most-limited CDR scaling and aggressive near-term emissions ... Read more ...
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The SBTi Drama Underscores the Urgent Need for Valid Scope 3 Solutions:
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| The SBTi Drama Underscores the Urgent Need for Valid Scope 3 Solutions - Sustainable Brands |
May 1 · Whether carbon credits ought to be used to account for Scope 3 emissions is a debate that must continue - involving many more stakeholders, so that views on both sides of the fence are heard and considered.
“Come for the carbon accounting, stay for the DRAMA! ????.” Sustainability communications stalwart Solitaire Townsend’s recent LinkedIn post, updating her 21,000+ followers on the latest developments at the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), made for entertaining reading. “If you’ve not been following the minutiae of climate geekdom recently, you might have missed an absolute rollacoaster.”
SBTi’s announcement that it might let brands use carbon offsets to meet ... Read more ...
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The week in climate policy: 4 updates you need to know:
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| The week in climate policy: 4 updates you need to know - Greenbiz |
May 3 · Florida bans lab-grown meat; the G-7 nations double down on their intention to phase out fossil fuel-powered utilities.
Two lab-grown cubes of beef. Photo: Shutterstock/Firn
Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill that bans lab-grown meat in Florida. Specifically, SB 1084 bans the manufacturing and sale of lab-grown meat in an effort to protect the state’s cattle industry against the rising competition. Opponents say the ban will limit future venture capital flowing into Florida; Emily Bogan, head of business operations at cultivated meat company Fork & Good, testified before a state legislative panel in February that "(a) ban like this threatens a free ... | By Leah Garden Read more ...
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Tidal energy is coming to Alaska. But how much?:
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| Tidal energy is coming to Alaska. But how much? - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 3 · But Alaska's Governor, Mike Dunleavy, wants to change that.
"Despite Alaska's position as a leading producer of energy, the cost of energy in Alaska, especially in our rural communities, is extremely high," he said in a 2023 press release.
Dunleavy wants 80% of the Railbelt's electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2040—not just to achieve the state's clean energy goals but also to lower its higher-than-average energy costs. Switching to renewables, including hydroelectric, wind, solar, geothermal, and tidal power, could reduce how much the state spends on electricity generation by about $100 million per year (starting around 2030).
Cumulatively, ... Read more ...
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TOI-837 b is a young Saturn-sized exoplanet with a massive core, observations find:
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| TOI-837 b is a young Saturn-sized exoplanet with a massive core, observations find - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · European astronomers have performed photometric and spectroscopic observations of a distant giant exoplanet known as TOI-837 b. As a result, they found that TOI-837 b is a young Saturn-sized planet containing a massive core, which challenges current core formation theories. The findings are presented in a paper published on the preprint server arXiv.
TOI-837 b was discovered in 2020, orbiting a young (about 35 million years old) dwarf star of spectral type F9/G0 in the open cluster IC 2602, about 465 light years away. The planet orbits its host every 8.32 days and was found to have a radius of approximately 0.77 Jupiter radii. The star TOI-837 is about the size of the sun, has ... Read more ...
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Uncovering the reasons behind the rapid warming of the North Pole:
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| Uncovering the reasons behind the rapid warming of the North Pole - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · The North Pole region heats up faster than the rest of the world. Though this is a known fact, climate models underestimate the speed with which the region warms up. Sjoert Barten obtained his PhD on this subject at Wageningen University & Research on 26 April and shares his insights.
"We lack a proper understanding of the precise dynamics of climate warming on the North Pole. When, and by how much, are temperatures going to increase? Our lack of insight makes it hard to predict the consequences, such as the melting of marine ice," Barten explains.
However, new data obtained by a research vessel that traveled the Arctic Ocean and was stuck in the sea ice for a prolonged ... Read more ...
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Vietnam temperature records tumble as heat wave scorches:
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| Vietnam temperature records tumble as heat wave scorches - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 4 · More than 100 temperature records fell across Vietnam in April, according to official data, as a deadly heat wave scorches South and Southeast Asia.
Extreme heat has blasted Asia from India to the Philippines in recent weeks, triggering heatstroke deaths, school closures and desperate prayers for cooling rain.
Scientists have long warned that human-induced climate change will produce more frequent, longer and intense heat waves.
Vietnam saw three waves of high temperatures in April, according to data published Friday by the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, with the mercury peaking at 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 Fahrenheit) in two towns earlier ... Read more ...
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Webb telescope probably didn't find life on an exoplanet - yet:
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| Webb telescope probably didn't find life on an exoplanet - yet - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · Recent reports of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope finding signs of life on a distant planet understandably sparked excitement. A new study challenges this finding, but also outlines how the telescope might verify the presence of the life-produced gas.
The UC Riverside study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, may be a disappointment to extraterrestrial enthusiasts but does not rule out the near-future possibility of discovery.
In 2023 there were tantalizing reports of a biosignature gas in the atmosphere of planet K2-18b, which seemed to have several conditions that would make life possible.
Many exoplanets, meaning planets orbiting other stars, are ... Read more ...
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What Happens When NASA Loses Eyes on Earth? We’re About to Find Out.:
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| What Happens When NASA Loses Eyes on Earth? We’re About to Find Out. - New York Times - Climate Section |
May 3 · Three long-running satellites will soon be switched off, forcing scientists to figure out how to adjust their views of our changing planet.
Marine stratocumulus clouds over the southeastern Pacific Ocean, captured by NASA’s Terra satellite in 2002.Credit...NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team
Sometime in the next few years - no one knows exactly when - three NASA satellites, each one as heavy as an elephant, will go dark.
Already they are drifting, losing height bit by bit. They have been gazing down at the planet for over two decades, far longer than anyone expected, helping us forecast the weather, manage wildfires, monitor oil spills and more. But age is catching up to ... | By Raymond Zhong Read more ...
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Why India is key to heading off climate catastrophe:
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| Why India is key to heading off climate catastrophe - Yale Climate Connections - Policy |
May 3 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global efforts to head off the most catastrophic effects of climate change.
The country has one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and its energy consumption is growing rapidly as a result - but it still relies largely on fossil fuels. India has a general election that will wrap up in June 2024, and both major parties say they support moving the country away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible, a position backed by a sizable majority of citizens.
Global ... Read more ...
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Why only 22 EV models now qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit:
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| Why only 22 EV models now qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit - Washington Post - Climate and Environment |
May 3 · Electric vehicles made with Chinese materials will be ineligible for the tax credit under a final rule the Treasury Department released Friday.
Americans buying electric vehicles will no longer be able to claim federal tax credits of up to $7,500 if their cars contain Chinese materials, the Biden administration announced Friday, the result of a landmark 2022 climate law that sought to reduce U.S. reliance on clean-energy components from China.
The final rule from the Treasury Department codifies a draft rule from December that sharply limited the number of EVs that qualify for the credit. Only 22 of the more than 110 EV models on sale in the United States are eligible ... Read more ...
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Wildfires in Wet African Forests Have Doubled in Recent Decades:
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| Wildfires in Wet African Forests Have Doubled in Recent Decades - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · A new study presents the first large-scale analysis of fire patterns in west and central Africa's wet, tropical forests. The number of active fires there typically doubled over 18 years, particularly in the Congo Basin. The increases are primarily due to increasingly hot, dry conditions and humans' impact on the forests, including deforestation. The increase in forest fires is likely to continue given current climate projections, according to the study.
With fires increasing in other historically wet forests, such as the U.S. Pacific Northwest and the Amazon, wet forest fires can no longer be ignored, the researchers say.
Scientists have known for decades that wet ... Read more ...
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Wildfires in wet African forests have doubled in recent decades, large-scale analysis finds:
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| Wildfires in wet African forests have doubled in recent decades, large-scale analysis finds - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · With fires increasing in other historically wet forests, such as the U.S. Pacific Northwest and the Amazon, wet forest fires can no longer be ignored, the researchers say.
Scientists have known for decades that wet forests in western and central Africa have fires, but because the fires tend to be much smaller than their counterparts in dry woodlands and savannas, relatively little research has been done on Africa's tropical forest fires. This has led to uncertainty over where and when they burn, what exacerbates them and how that might shift in response to climate change.
"Historically, scientists have not considered fire to be an important part of wet, tropical forests, ... Read more ...
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Will a Global Plastics Treaty Effectively Curb Plastic Pollution?:
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| Will a Global Plastics Treaty Effectively Curb Plastic Pollution? - Sustainable Brands |
May 3 · Not at this rate: In one corner, industry bodies and petrochemical companies call for enhanced recycling and the increased use of materials with recycled content. In the other, climate campaigners continue to push for cuts in production - an argument that won’t be resolved anytime soon.
All eyes were on Ottawa this week as national environmental negotiators descended on the Canadian city for the latest round of talks on UN Global Plastics Treaty - a crucial agreement that if ratified could seriously reduce virgin plastics production, enhance waste management, and get rid of the materials that pose the most risk to the environment and public health globally.
So, what ... Read more ...
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