'Insane’ Heat Has Been Scorching Miami. It’s Not Even June.:
|
| 'Insane’ Heat Has Been Scorching Miami. It’s Not Even June. - New York Times - Climate Section |
May 21 · The hottest May on record for the city has experts worried about the summer - and hurricane season - to come.
Reporting from Miami
Meteorologists in Miami, it is fair to say, are accustomed to drama: sunny-day flooding, severe rainstorms, strong hurricanes.
So it is telling - and scary - that they seem at a loss for words to describe the extreme heat that the city experienced over the past few days, a full month ahead of summer.
“It’s completely crazy, what just happened,” Brian McNoldy, a senior research scientist at the University of Miami, said.
“It’s insane,” said John Morales, a meteorologist for ClimaData, a private weather forecasting and ... | By Patricia Mazzei Read more ...
|
????:
|
| ???? - Fortune |
May 19 · We’re in the early stages of an electricity boom. From renewables, to AI, to electric vehicles, the green transition’s most vital sectors all need electricity, and far more of it than ever before.
As these technologies expand, massive increases in power consumption across the country are exposing deep weaknesses in the grid, the sprawling network of thousands of power plants and some 500,000 miles of power cables that provide electricity to millions of homes and businesses across the country.
The grid’s magnitude is rivaled only by its complexity - It’s been called “the most complicated machine ever built.” It also isn’t one uniform, national system: The Lower 48 is ... Read more ...
|
5 key roles needed to comply with SEC, EU and California climate disclosure regulations:
|
| 5 key roles needed to comply with SEC, EU and California climate disclosure regulations - Greenbiz |
May 21 · The shifting regulatory and legislative landscape will require companies to prioritize specialized positions.
New regulation in the U.S. and abroad has ushered in a wave of new roles around carbon reporting and disclosures. Originally, the driver was the much anticipated Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) climate disclosure rule. However, given the recent stay on the SEC rule, additional regulatory drivers remain such as the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and California SB 253, which also faces legal challenges.
Sustainability executives are putting considerable resources into meeting the anticipated - or in the case of ... | By Ellen Weinreb Read more ...
|
A new project promised low-income families 'zero net energy homes’ – but they still rely on gas:
|
| A new project promised low-income families 'zero net energy homes’ – but they still rely on gas - Guardian - Energy |
May 2 · US gas utilities are partnering with one of the nation’s most trusted non-profits as part of a “cynical PR stunt” to combat efforts to curb fossil fuel usage, a Guardian investigation has found.
Local Habitat for Humanity affiliates have teamed up with at least four utilities across 10 states to build “zero-net energy homes”, which are meant to produce more energy than they use.
The houses, which are sold at affordable rates to low-income families, are weatherized and meticulously insulated to boost efficiency and equipped with rooftop solar panels. But they also come with appliances powered by gas, a planet-heating fossil fuel that has been shown to degrade indoor air ... Read more ...
|
A review of the applications of mercury stable isotopes for tracing volcanism in geologic events:
|
| A review of the applications of mercury stable isotopes for tracing volcanism in geologic events - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that can exist stably as a gas, with high volatility and global distribution in the atmosphere. Volcanoes represent a primary natural source of Hg in the atmosphere, with significant effects on Hg cycles on both global and regional scales. Mercury can undergo both mass-dependent fractionation (MDF) and mass-independent fractionation (MIF) in Earth systems.
Hg-MDF is omnipresent and associated with numerous processes, while Hg-MIF can provide a unique signature to identify the specific pathways of Hg. Volcanic-sourced Hg exhibits near-zero ?199Hg values. The photoreduction of Hg(II) generates negative MIF (?199Hg < 0) in the produced Hg(0), ... Read more ...
|
A Rise in Sea Urchins and Related Damage to Kelp Forests Impacts Oregon's Gray Whales and Their Food:
|
| A Rise in Sea Urchins and Related Damage to Kelp Forests Impacts Oregon's Gray Whales and Their Food - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · A recent boom in the purple sea urchin population off the southern Oregon Coast appears to have had an indirect and negative impact on the gray whales that usually forage in the region, a new study shows.
When urchin numbers rise, the spiky marine invertebrates can devour kelp forests that are a critical habitat for zooplankton, the tiny aquatic organisms that are the primary prey of many marine animals. Damaged kelp forests lead to reductions in zooplankton, and with fewer zooplankton to feed on, gray whales spend less time foraging there, researchers with Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute found.
"This study shows the cascading impacts of a change in the ... Read more ...
|
A Vast, Untapped Source of Lithium Has Just Been Found in The US:
|
| A Vast, Untapped Source of Lithium Has Just Been Found in The US - RT |
May 17 · Almost two centuries after California's gold rush, the United States is on the brink of a lithium rush. As demand for the material skyrockets, government geologists are rushing to figure out where the precious element is hiding.
In September 2023, scientists funded by a mining company reported finding what could be the largest deposit of lithium in an ancient US supervolcano. Now public researchers on the other side of the country have uncovered another untapped reservoir – one that could cover nearly half the nation's lithium demands.
It's hiding in wastewater from Pennsylvania's gas fracking industry.
Lithium is arguably the most important element in the nation's ... Read more ...
|
Addressing link between climate and health will lower emissions, create resilient care systems:
|
| Addressing link between climate and health will lower emissions, create resilient care systems - Greenbiz |
May 21 · The health care sector is a leading driver of greenhouse gas emissions; decarbonization will require intentional investment and systemic action throughout the industry.
Over the past decade, hospital systems have reduced some of their environmental footprint through energy efficiency measures, high-performance building constructions and minimization of medical and regular waste. Source: Shutterstock/chayanuphol
As an industry, health care is one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with more than 4 percent of emissions attributed to the sector.
One reason for such high GHG emissions is that hospitals are energy-intensive systems that ... | By Fahmida Bangert & Monica L. Nakielski Read more ...
|
Africa must reap the benefits of its energy transition minerals:
|
| Africa must reap the benefits of its energy transition minerals - Climate Change News - Comment |
May 21 · Comment: In the rush to exploit minerals needed to fight climate change, African leaders should harness their natural wealth for the continent’s development
Artisanal miners work at Tilwizembe, a former industrial copper-cobalt mine, outside of Kolwezi, the capital city of Lualaba Province in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo, June 11, 2016 (Photo: REUTERS/Kenny Katombe)
Adam Anthony is executive director of the Tanzanian NGO HakiRasilimali, which works for transparency, accountability and human rights in the extractive sector. He is also chair of the Africa Steering Committee of Publish What You Pay (PWYP), the global movement for transparency in ... | By Adam Anthony Read more ...
|
After hundreds of years, study confirms Bermuda now home to cownose rays:
|
| After hundreds of years, study confirms Bermuda now home to cownose rays - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · Using citizen science, photographs, on-water observations and the combination of morphological and genetic data, researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and collaborators are the first to provide evidence that the Atlantic cownose ray (Rhinoptera bonasus) has recently made a new home in Bermuda.
Because cownose rays (Family Rhinopteridae) are highly migratory and prefer tropical and temperate seas, they are typically restricted to continental shelves. Bermuda, located in the northwest region of the Sargasso Sea, is separated from the continental mainland United States by about 1,000 kilometers.
Results of the study, published ... Read more ...
|
Agricultural enigma: A mysterious decline in his harvests leaves a farmer searching for a solution:
|
| Agricultural enigma: A mysterious decline in his harvests leaves a farmer searching for a solution - Yale Climate Connections - Agriculture |
May 20 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Whenever people notice the stunted sugar cane plants on Babar Kamble’s farm in India’s Maharashtra state, he tells them: “My farm is dying a slow death.”
It started in 2014 when production on Kamble’s farm slid five metric tons lower than the 80 metric tons he normally harvested from his one-acre field. He shrugged off that year’s decline, chalking it up to bad weather, but the following year he was alarmed when he lost 10 more metric tons.
“I thought increasing the use of chemical fertilizers would help boost the production,” he recalled. It did ... Read more ...
|
Alaska's rusting waters: Pristine rivers and streams turning orange:
|
| Alaska's rusting waters: Pristine rivers and streams turning orange - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · Dozens of Alaska's most remote streams and rivers are turning from a crystal clear blue into a cloudy orange, and the staining could be the result of minerals exposed by thawing permafrost, finds new research in Communications Earth & Environment.
For the first time, researchers from the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, the University of California, Davis, and other institutions have documented and sampled some of the impaired waters, pinpointing 75 locations across a Texas-sized area of northern Alaska's Brooks Range.
These degraded rivers and streams could have significant implications for drinking water and fisheries in Arctic watersheds as the climate ... Read more ...
|
Alaska's Rusting Waters: Pristine Rivers and Streams Turning Orange:
|
| Alaska's Rusting Waters: Pristine Rivers and Streams Turning Orange - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Dozens of Alaska's most remote streams and rivers are turning from a crystal clear blue into a cloudy orange, and the staining could be the result of minerals exposed by thawing permafrost, new research in the Nature journal Communications: Earth and Environment finds.
For the first time, a team of researchers from the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, the University of California, Davis, and other institutions have documented and sampled some of the impaired waters, pinpointing 75 locations across a Texas-sized area of northern Alaska's Brooks Range.
These degraded rivers and streams could have significant implications for drinking water and fisheries in ... Read more ...
|
Allbirds keeps 'nerdy’ approach to emissions at the heart of rescue plan:
|
| Allbirds keeps 'nerdy’ approach to emissions at the heart of rescue plan - Greenbiz |
May 20 · Allbirds’ sales are in steep decline, but it’s hoping a shoe with 'close to zero’ carbon emissions can help turn that around.
The industry average carbon footprint for shoes is 14 kilograms per pair. The average for Allbirds - reported on its footwear - is half that, at 7.12 kg, the 10-year-old company disclosed in April 2023.
The San Francisco company is pushing for 5.5 kg by the end of 2025, half of where it started in 2021 when it went public. The stretch goal is "close to zero" by 2030. It’s nearly there with "M0.0nshot," a sneaker with a production footprint of about 2 kg. Introduced last year, it will become commercially available in late 2024.
The company ... | By Heather Clancy Read more ...
|
At a glance - How does the Medieval Warm Period compare to current global temperatures?:
|
| At a glance - How does the Medieval Warm Period compare to current global temperatures? - Skeptical Science |
May 21 · On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a "bump" for our ask. This week features "How does the Medieval Warm Period compare to current global temperatures?". More will follow in the upcoming weeks. Please follow the Further Reading link at the bottom to read the full rebuttal and to join the discussion in the comment thread there.
To explore this topic, the first question must surely be: what was the Medieval Warm Period? The ... Read more ...
|
Azerbaijan pursues clean energy to export more ‘god-given’ gas to Europe:
|
| Azerbaijan pursues clean energy to export more ‘god-given’ gas to Europe - Climate Change News - Politics |
May 17 · Baku rolls out its first large-scale renewables, but a rise in clean energy does not mean leaving fossil fuels in the ground
Azerbaijan inaugurated its first large-scale solar power plant in Garadagh in October 2023. Photo: Matteo Civillini
An ocean of 570,000 solar panels stretches out as far as the eye can see across an arid landscape an hour’s drive from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku. In the sun-baked hills of Garadagh, a country built on oil and gas is taking its first steps towards what it bills as a “green” future.
This is Azerbaijan’s first large-scale solar power plant. It opened last October and the Emirati company developing it, Masdar, says it can power ... | By Matteo Civillini Read more ...
|
Biden and Big Oil Had a Truce. Now, It’s Collapsing.:
|
| Biden and Big Oil Had a Truce. Now, It’s Collapsing. - New York Times - Climate Section |
May 21 · Companies were enjoying record profits. But the president’s decision to pause permits for gas export terminals has whipped up industry support, and donations, for Donald Trump.
Early in his term, President Biden seemed to have struck an uneasy truce with the oil and gas industry.
Mr. Biden had imposed restrictions on drilling as part of his ambitious climate agenda, but he also approved an enormous $8 billion oil project in Alaska. The United States had become the world’s leading exporter of natural gas, and no other country in history was pumping more crude. The industry was enjoying record profits.
Then, in January, Mr. Biden paused new permits for export ... | By Lisa Friedman and Rebecca Elliott Read more ...
|
Biologists travel with their mobile laboratory to study a wide range of mitochondrial functions in avian migration:
|
| Biologists travel with their mobile laboratory to study a wide range of mitochondrial functions in avian migration - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · The first publication conducted in the AU MitoMobile van is featured in Scientific Reports, "Flexibility underlies differences in mitochondrial respiratory performance between migratory and non‑migratory White‑crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys)."
Mitochondria drive several vital biological functions. Think of them as the power plants that create the energy needed to support virtually all of the body's functions.
"This is the first publication to show that change in the performance of the mitochondria is associated with a massive increase in the energy demand of long-distance migratory flights," said Hood, a professor in the Department of Biological ... Read more ...
|
Breakthrough or boast? The quest for comparable research results:
|
| Breakthrough or boast? The quest for comparable research results - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 20 · In late 2019, physicist Dr. Lorenzo Pattelli was part of an Italian-Chinese scientific team working on a cooling technology that is fast gaining attention as the Earth gets hotter from climate change.
Called passive daytime radiative cooling, or PDRC, the technology uses engineered materials to reflect away the sun's radiation. The idea is that, amid heat waves, PDRC panels would cool buildings without the need for energy-intensive air conditioning.
Desert surprise
Right before Pattelli's team was ready to publish the results of its study into the cooling effects of a particular material, another research group released a paper on a very similar material that ... Read more ...
|
Bubbles create better sound environments in open offices:
|
| Bubbles create better sound environments in open offices - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 21 · Over the past 20 years, most indoor work spaces have transitioned from individual offices where one could close the door, to open work spaces where many share the same space. A new doctoral thesis from the University West examines whether the increasingly poor sound environment can be made more pleasant through innovative sound design.
Martin Ljungdahl Eriksson is a third-party doctoral student in informatics specializing in Work-Integrated Learning. His doctoral thesis "Space in the Space - Designing Sound Environments for the Shared Indoor Workspace" explores possible design solutions for offices to create better sound environments. But before we get there, Martin wants to ... Read more ...
|
Building arti?cial cells to measure energy ?ow in living systems:
|
| Building arti?cial cells to measure energy ?ow in living systems - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 21 · Scientists at Yale's Systems Biology Institute have made an artificial cell to enable precise measurement of energy consumption and force generation in our cells. The work, from the lab of Michael Murrell, associate professor of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, was published in Nature Communications.
The artificial cells comprised key proteins responsible for cell force generation—a cytoskeleton, acting like the bones and muscle in the human body, wrapped in an outer membrane.
Their findings revealed that the amount of energy consumed varies with different morphological features. For example, cells with thicker cytoskeletons consumed less energy than cells with ... Read more ...
|
California farmers are low on water: Why not help them go solar?:
|
| California farmers are low on water: Why not help them go solar? - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 20 · It sounds like a climate solution everyone should be able to support: Let's make it easier and cheaper for farmers with dwindling water supplies to convert their lands from crop production to solar energy generation, if that's what those farmers want.
So why did the California Legislature just reject such a bill?
"Change can be difficult," said Shannon Eddy, executive director of the Large-scale Solar Association.
Tell me about it.
Even as coal, oil and gas combustion fuel an ever-deadlier rise in global temperatures, finding a spot to build a solar or wind farm where no one will object is damn near impossible. Some concerns are legitimate, such as ... Read more ...
|
Can coal mines be tapped for rare earth elements?:
|
| Can coal mines be tapped for rare earth elements? - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · These findings open the possibility that these mines could see a secondary resource stream in the form of metals used in renewable energy and numerous other high-tech applications, according to study co-author Lauren Birgenheier, an associate professor of geology and geophysics.
"The model is if you're already moving rock, could you move a little more rock for resources towards energy transition?" Birgenheier said. "In those areas, we're finding that the rare earth elements are concentrated in fine-grain shale units, the muddy shales that are above and below the coal seams."
While these metals are crucial for U.S. manufacturing, especially in high-end technologies, they ... Read more ...
|
Canadian oil city lifts wildfire evacuation orders:
|
| Canadian oil city lifts wildfire evacuation orders - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 19 · Residents forced to flee wildfires threatening a Canadian oil-producing hub were allowed to return home Saturday after evacuation orders were lifted.
"We are so pleased to be able to welcome people home and have them return home safely," Fort McMurray Mayor Sandy Bowman said, thanking the more than 6,000 residents who had been ordered to leave for their "patience, resolve and strength."
Much-needed rains have reduced the intensity of the wildfire in western Canada's Alberta province and "significant progress" has been made to contain its northern edge, a city statement said.
However, more than 19,000 hectares (47,000 acres) continued to burn out of control, Alberta ... Read more ...
|
Capture and reuse opportunities for CO2 in the construction sector in the next 100 years:
|
| Capture and reuse opportunities for CO2 in the construction sector in the next 100 years - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 20 · As humans continue to emit CO2 into the atmosphere, warming the planet and causing climate change, the U.S. and many other countries around the world are making commitments to reduce their carbon footprint.
Buildings and the construction sector account for about 39% of energy-related global CO2 emissions annually, positioning the built environment as a major focus of decarbonization efforts. For this reason, the U.S. Federal Sustainability Plan set forth an ambitious goal to achieve net-zero emissions buildings by 2045.
"Climatologically, we are running out of time. We can no longer continue to build the way we have always done," said Volker Sick, Director of the Global ... Read more ...
|
Charging stations are failing to keep up with the EV boom:
|
| Charging stations are failing to keep up with the EV boom - Washington Post - Climate and Environment |
May 20 · Once, America had 1 public charger for every 7 EVs. Now, that number has ballooned to over 20.
For the past few years, electric vehicles have flooded onto America’s roads: Tesla Model 3s, Hyundai Ioniq 5s, even the occasional electric Hummer. In 2023, automakers sold almost 1.2 million all-electric cars to U.S. consumers, accounting for over 7 percent of total new car sales and a new national record. Read more ...
|
Chinese researchers issue critical warning on groundwater flooding risks:
|
| Chinese researchers issue critical warning on groundwater flooding risks - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · These hidden floods pose significant risks, yet they have historically been neglected by the public, scientists, and policymakers, revealing a significant gap in environmental management.
In a recent article published in Science, researchers led by Prof. Nie Yunpeng from the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture of the Chinese Academy of Sciences issued a critical warning about the risks of groundwater flooding.
They called for comprehensive water management to effectively combat groundwater flooding. Notably, this is the third time that Science has published a paper related to the karst ecosystem in southwest China.
According to the researchers, traditional flood ... Read more ...
|
Climate Adam: Can we really suck up Carbon Dioxide?:
|
| Climate Adam: Can we really suck up Carbon Dioxide? - Skeptical Science |
May 24 · This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any).
Is carbon dioxide removal - aka "negative emissions" - going to save us from climate change? Or is it just a dangerous distraction from the action we need - cutting fossil fuels and building renewables? The truth is somewhere in between - we're going to need to remove some amounts of carbon dioxide, but we can't rely on negative emissions to solve all our climate change problems. So what are the technologies behind the headlines, and what do they mean for our future?
Support ... Read more ...
|
Climate change is a human rights issue:
|
| Climate change is a human rights issue - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · This landmark decision by the highest human rights court in Europe confirms not only that climate change is intimately linked to human rights, but effectively holds all European governments accountable to adopt more rigorous measures to combat climate change.
Clear obligations
It is well documented that runaway carbon dioxide emissions, deforestation, resource depletion and the acidification of the oceans have contributed to increased heat waves and megadroughts, more frequent and violent storms and unseasonable precipitation.
Unpredictable weather patterns and swings in temperature disrupt ecosystems, wildlife and threaten agriculture and food ... Read more ...
|
Climate change is affecting mental health literally everywhere:
|
| Climate change is affecting mental health literally everywhere - Skeptical Science |
May 20 · Farmers who can’t sleep, worrying they’ll lose everything amid increasing drought. Youth struggling with depression over a future that feels hopeless. Indigenous people grief-stricken over devastated ecosystems. For all these people and more, climate change is taking a clear toll on mental health — in every part of the world.
Experts shared these examples and others during a recent summit organized by the Connecting Climate Minds network that brought together hundreds of scientists, doctors, community leaders, and other experts from dozens of countries who have spent the past year studying how climate change is harming mental health in their ... Read more ...
|
Climate Interventions: Solar Geoengineering:
|
| Climate Interventions: Solar Geoengineering - Climate Engineering (Lockley - Playlist) |
May 21 · In our three-part Climate Interventions series, we look at the scientific understanding and uncertainties around a range of interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cool the planet, along with a robust discussion on ethics, risks, and governance. \n\nIn this session, we are exploring solar geoengineering approaches, also known as solar radiation modification/management (SRM), which seek to cool the planet by reflecting some of the incoming energy back to space. To date, most of the research approaches have been restricted to computer modeling. Some proponents, however, are looking to field experiments, and perhaps ultimately, wide-scale deployment. While some options might ... | By The Institute for Science \u0026 Policy Read more ...
|
Climate policy outlook: Critical mineral prices are about to surge without policy intervention:
|
| Climate policy outlook: Critical mineral prices are about to surge without policy intervention - Greenbiz |
May 20 · This week’s most important climate policy stories.
Copper nickel ore before mining is not an unlimited resource, which will lead to market shortages and raised prices. Photo: Shutterstock/kochabamba | By Leah Garden Read more ...
|
Climate victims file criminal case against bosses of oil firm Total:
|
| Climate victims file criminal case against bosses of oil firm Total - Guardian - Energy |
May 2 · Case alleges French company’s exploitation of fossil fuel contributed to deaths of victims in extreme weather disasters
A criminal case has been filed against the CEO and directors of the French oil company TotalEnergies, alleging its fossil fuel exploitation has contributed to the deaths of victims of climate-fuelled extreme weather disasters.
The case was filed in Paris by eight people harmed by extreme weather, and three NGOs. The plaintiffs believe it to be the first such criminal case filed against the individuals running a major oil company. The public prosecutor who received the file has three months to decide whether to open a judicial investigation or dismiss ... Read more ...
|
Closing Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station would leave NSW exposed to risk of blackouts – Aemo:
|
| Closing Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station would leave NSW exposed to risk of blackouts – Aemo - Guardian - Energy |
May 2 · States must roll out batteries, solar and wind energy more quickly to ease risk of blackouts, market operator says
Eraring, the nation’s biggest coal-fired power station, may need to delay its closure to ease blackout threats in New South Wales, while other eastern states also face “periods of high risk” because of the slow rollout of renewables, the Australian Energy Market Operator warns.
In an unusual update of its Electricity Statement of Opportunities report, Aemo forecast so-called reliability gaps in NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria unless authorities “orchestrated” faster deployment of solar and wind energy as well as batteries.
“While new ... Read more ...
|
CO2municator: Communications Coaching for CDR Advocates & Educators:
|
| CO2municator: Communications Coaching for CDR Advocates & Educators - Climate Engineering (Lockley - Playlist) |
May 16 · CO2municator: Communications Coaching for CDR Advocates \u0026 Educators | By OpenAir Read more ...
|
Collapse in migratory fish populations threatens health of millions and critical freshwater ecosystems:
|
| Collapse in migratory fish populations threatens health of millions and critical freshwater ecosystems - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 21 · This news is supported by a global study published today by the World Fish Migration Foundation, ZSL, IUCN, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Wetlands International and WWF.
Habitat loss and degradation—including fragmentation of rivers by dams and other barriers and conversion of wetlands for agriculture—account for half of the threats to migratory fishes, followed by over-exploitation. Increasing pollution and the worsening impacts of climate change are also fueling the fall in freshwater migratory fish species, which have now been declining consistently for 30 years.
"The catastrophic decline in migratory fish populations is a deafening wake-up call for the ... Read more ...
|
Combating air pollution in China: Why secondary pollutants are now a primary concern:
|
| Combating air pollution in China: Why secondary pollutants are now a primary concern - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · Nonetheless, despite this improvement, severe air pollution events still occur, and scientists already know that contributions from secondary air pollutants (pollutants formed in the lower atmosphere by chemical reactions), such as ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA), have notably increased.
Yet, an understanding of how secondary air pollutants form and how they vary in response to changes in the weather and emissions of their precursor substances (i.e., primary air pollutants), remains limited. This is a key knowledge gap to address, particularly in areas with dense populations, such as the North China Plain (NCP) region, because being able to prevent or mitigate air ... Read more ...
|
Concrete Is Causing the Downfall of Cities. Literally.:
|
| Concrete Is Causing the Downfall of Cities. Literally. - Sustainable Brands |
May 16 · In addition to generating 8% of global carbon emissions, recent studies have highlighted another negative impact of the world’s most popular building material - its weight, which is causing a host of coastal cities to sink faster than sea levels are rising.
Concrete is the second most widely used substance on earth, next to water. It’s well understood that concrete has an emissions problem - the concrete industry is responsible for 8 percent of all global carbon emissions - however, the impact of its weight in sustainable development is less discussed. Concrete demand is expected to increase 48 percent by 2050, but humanity’s favorite building material is literally causing the ... Read more ...
|
Concrete made from sugarcane could help fight climate change:
|
| Concrete made from sugarcane could help fight climate change - Climate Engineering (Lockley - Playlist) |
May 18 · Scientists in London are testing a form of concrete called sugarcrete which is made from fibrous material left over from the harvest of sugarcane. The material can be made simply and hopes to provide an alternative to high-energy use construction materials.\n» Subscribe to NBC News: https://www.youtube.com/user/NBCNews\n\nNBC News Digital is a collection of innovative and powerful news brands that deliver compelling, diverse and engaging news stories. NBC News Digital features NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, TODAY.com, Nightly News, Meet the Press, Dateline, and the existing apps and digital extensions of these respective properties. We deliver the best in breaking news, live video coverage, ... | By NBC News Read more ...
|
Congress Could Repeal A Rule That Would Save Americans $1.5 Billion A Year:
|
| Congress Could Repeal A Rule That Would Save Americans $1.5 Billion A Year - Huffington Post |
May 21 · The Senate is set to vote this week on whether to repeal the first major update to national standards for gas furnaces in four decades in a move experts say would save real estate developers and landlords a few hundred dollars but cost ratepayers and renters thousands in heating bills for wasted energy.
At least a handful of Democrats are expected to break with the chamber’s majority and join Republicans to pass legislation revoking the Department of Energy’s regulation. Starting four years from now, the rule finalized last September requires manufacturers to make the least efficient gas furnaces on the market today waste 15% less energy, cutting back on more carbon dioxide ... Read more ...
|
Corn, millet and ... rooftop solar? Farm family's newest crop shows China's solar ascendancy:
|
| Corn, millet and ... rooftop solar? Farm family's newest crop shows China's solar ascendancy - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 21 · Shi Mei and her husband earn a decent enough living by growing corn and millet on their small farm in eastern China's Shandong province. In 2021, they diversified by investing in solar energy - signing a contract to mount some 40 panels on their roof to feed energy to the grid.
Now, the couple get paid for every watt of electricity they generate, harvesting the equivalent of $10,000 per year that Shi can track through an app on her phone.
"When the sun comes out, you make money," Shi said.
The Shi family is on the leading edge of a solar boom in China, which has long dominated global solar manufacturing but didn't always install a lot of it at home. That's changing ... Read more ...
|
Costly gas separation may not be needed to recycle CO₂ from air and industrial plants:
|
| Costly gas separation may not be needed to recycle CO₂ from air and industrial plants - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · The paper is published in the journal Environmental Science: Nano.
Carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere is a key driver of climate change, with the burning of fossil fuels accounting for 90% of all CO2 emissions. New EPA regulations introduced in April call for fossil fuel plants to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2039.
Now, new kinds of electrodes, enhanced with a coating of bacteria, can skip that step. While conventional metal electrodes react with sulfur, oxygen and other components of air and flue gases, the bacteria seem less sensitive to them.
"The microbes on these electrodes, or biocatalysts, can use smaller concentrations of CO2 and ... Read more ...
|
Critical Youth Talks on Solar Geoengineering:
|
| Critical Youth Talks on Solar Geoengineering - Climate Engineering (Lockley - Playlist) |
May 17 · In the first event hosted by Mind Our Future!, youth and scholars gathered to discuss critical approaches to the topic of solar geoengineering, its governance, and the surrounding debate. The event featured Dr. Rak Kim, who shared insights on solar geoengineering as a case of problem shifting where focus is diverted away from addressing the root causes of climate change. The event also featured Dr. Rolando Vázquez Melken who approached solar geoengineering from a decolonial perspective, critiquing the fundamental thought that we could think to change the atmosphere before we change ourselves. \n\nDate: Tuesday May 30th, 2023 | By MindOurFuture! Read more ...
|
CSIRO puts cost of new nuclear plant at $8.6bn as Coalition stalls on policy details:
|
| CSIRO puts cost of new nuclear plant at $8.6bn as Coalition stalls on policy details - Guardian - Energy |
May 2 · Report finds nuclear energy more expensive than renewable alternatives and calculates costs for large-scale reactors for first time
Electricity from nuclear power in Australia would be at least 50% more expensive than solar and wind, according to a report from the CSIRO that has for the first time calculated costs for large-scale reactors.
The federal Coalition, which has claimed nuclear would provide cheap electricity, is still to reveal any details on its nuclear policy after initially promising it would make an announcement in time for last week’s federal budget.
This week the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, said more plans would be released “in due course” and ... Read more ...
|
Decarbonization Dynamics: New Analysis Unveils Shifting Trends in the Voluntary Carbon Offset Market:
|
| Decarbonization Dynamics: New Analysis Unveils Shifting Trends in the Voluntary Carbon Offset Market - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · As humanity grapples with the fight against climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is urgently necessary. One way to achieve this is through the carbon offset market, where organizations or individuals can buy credits from emissions-reducing projects.
"The carbon offset market is one of the most economically effective means of reducing carbon emissions," says first author Professor Hidemichi Fujii of Kyushu University's Faculty of Economics. "For many companies, becoming more environmentally friendly is an important priority, but reducing their own emissions may not be economically feasible. Instead, by purchasing carbon offsets, organizations can reduce their ... Read more ...
|
Decarbonization dynamics: New analysis unveils shifting trends in the voluntary carbon offset market:
|
| Decarbonization dynamics: New analysis unveils shifting trends in the voluntary carbon offset market - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · "The carbon offset market is one of the most economically effective means of reducing carbon emissions," says first author Professor Hidemichi Fujii of Kyushu University's Faculty of Economics.
"For many companies, becoming more environmentally friendly is an important priority, but reducing their own emissions may not be economically feasible. Instead, by purchasing carbon offsets, organizations can reduce their carbon footprint for a much cheaper price."
Over the last decade, as demand for carbon offset programs has skyrocketed. But until now, there has been no global analysis into which types of programs are established and why.
In this research, Fujii and ... Read more ...
|
Demise of rangelands 'severely underestimated': Report:
|
| Demise of rangelands 'severely underestimated': Report - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · From camel drivers in the Sahara to nomads on the Mongolian steppe, traditional herders the world over rely on earth's wildest open spaces to support an ancient way of life.
But the expansive plains, tundra and savanna they inhabit are in much greater peril than previously thought, researchers said Tuesday in a major reassessment of the health of these crucial environments.
As much as half of all rangelands - encompassing some of nature's most striking vistas from the Arctic to the tropics, deserts and mountains - are believed to be degraded, the report said.
Mostly natural grasslands used by livestock and wild animals to graze, they also include scrubland, ... Read more ...
|
Denser housing can be greener, too: How NZ can build better for biodiversity:
|
| Denser housing can be greener, too: How NZ can build better for biodiversity - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 19 · Some homeowners in Dunedin, for example, are vehemently opposed to potential higher-density development in their area. They fear the loss of nature and increased use of concrete and other non-permeable surfaces it might entail.
One developer acknowledged the "juggling act" councils can face when trying to balance the need for more homes with preserving natural environments.
The issue isn't going away, given the national shortage of affordable housing and the growing emphasis on increased density under the National Policy Statement on Housing and Urban Development.
However, we argue that incorporating nature within built environments is not just possible, it's ... Read more ...
|
Drone and geospatial team becomes first to map the Coca River in the Amazon basin:
|
| Drone and geospatial team becomes first to map the Coca River in the Amazon basin - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · The geology along Ecuador's Coca River is moving in fast-forward. In a scientific field where natural wonders form over millennia, but natural disasters occur in minutes, speed is less than desirable.
Over the last four years, the river and its surrounding area within the Amazon basin have experienced a lava dam collapse, 500 million tons of sediment displaced down the river, landslides and the formation of what some have dubbed the "Ecuadorian Grand Canyon."
In the wake of these events, bridges and pipelines have collapsed, collapsing riverbanks have threatened homes and businesses, and Ecuadorian engineers feared the rapidly dropping headwaters of the river could take ... Read more ...
|
Electric cars: Swappable batteries could be the way to revive flagging sales:
|
| Electric cars: Swappable batteries could be the way to revive flagging sales - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 21 · In a far cry from a year or two ago, the same has been happening in other countries. Hybrid market share across Europe has risen from about 25% to 30% in the past year, while battery EVs are down from about 18% to 13%. This has encouraged automakers like Ford to switch from prioritizing battery EVs to hybrids.
It's now looking increasingly difficult for governments to meet their targets for zero-emission vehicles. The UK, for instance, is aiming for 80% of all new car sales to be zero emissions by 2030 and 100% by 2035.
Surveys suggest that the slowdown has a lot to do with the high cost of new EVs and the lack of charging infrastructure. In my view, the answer is to ... Read more ...
|
Electric school buses may yield significant health and climate benefits, cost savings:
|
| Electric school buses may yield significant health and climate benefits, cost savings - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 20 · The study, "Adopting electric school buses in the United States: health and climate benefits," was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on May 20, 2024.
While the health and climate benefits of switching from diesel vehicles to electric ones are well established, this is the first study to specifically quantify how electric school buses can improve human and planetary health.
"Our findings can inform policymakers that greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution are reduced by implementing solutions like electric vehicle use. Our data offer strong evidence that accelerating the ongoing transition to electric school buses will benefit individual, ... Read more ...
|
Electric School Buses May Yield Significant Health and Climate Benefits, Cost Savings:
|
| Electric School Buses May Yield Significant Health and Climate Benefits, Cost Savings - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 20 · Replacing diesel school buses with electric school buses may yield up to $247,600 in climate and health benefits per individual bus, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The researchers found that these benefits -- including fewer greenhouse gas emissions and reduced rates of adult mortality and childhood asthma -- and their associated savings are strongest in large cities and among fleets of old (2005 and before) buses.
While the health and climate benefits of switching from diesel vehicles to electric ones are well established, this is the first study to specifically quantify how electric school buses can improve human and ... Read more ...
|
Endangered migrating eagles impacted by Ukraine war, new study shows:
|
| Endangered migrating eagles impacted by Ukraine war, new study shows - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · A new study reveals for the first time the impact of ongoing conflicts on the migration of an endangered bird species. The paper "Active European Warzone Impacts Raptor Migration" was published in Current Biology on May 20.
They were already studying the species when the war started, with the dangers faced by migratory birds usually related to disruptive weather or drought, changes in land use affecting traditional stopping-off points, or destruction of essential habitats.
However, during the invasion the team found that the eagles, which had previously been fitted with GPS tracking devices, were exposed to multiple conflict events along their journey through the country ... Read more ...
|
Europe hit by severe floods in the north and a heatwave in the south:
|
| Europe hit by severe floods in the north and a heatwave in the south - Euronews |
May 18 · Watch Euronews live stream
Heavy rainfall and storms wreak havoc across northern Italy, France and Germany, whilst southern Italy endures an unseasonal heatwave.
Flooding in northern Italy
Northern Italy has been hit by severe storms and heavy rainfall, leaving several regions, including Padua and Vicenza, submerged.
Emergency services have been mobilised, using dinghies to rescue residents from flooded homes, while cars float in the inundated streets.
The governor of the Veneto region described the deluge as a "water bomb," reflecting the sudden and devastating nature of the rainfall.
In the early hours of Friday, the banks of the Muson dei Sassi ... Read more ...
|
Europe's climate laws could spell the end to low-cost flights - but what about private jets?:
|
| Europe's climate laws could spell the end to low-cost flights - but what about private jets? - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 20 · Yet the same policies will have little or no impact on the use of much more polluting private jets, which typically cover distances served by commercial airlines and trains. This is a case of unfair sacrifice for climate action. Addressing this injustice should be a top priority for the next EU legislative term if a just and inclusive climate transition is to be achieved.
Rising prices…
According to data from the European Commission, intra-EU airfares last summer were on average between 20% and 30% higher than they had been before COVID-19. The main reasons are high consumer demand, rising fuel costs and disrupted supply chains—the latter two at least partly ... Read more ...
|
Excavation reveals 'major' ancient migration to Timor Island:
|
| Excavation reveals 'major' ancient migration to Timor Island - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 22 · The discovery of thousands of stone artifacts and animal bones in a deep cave in Timor Island has led archaeologists to reassess the route that early humans took to reach Australia.
They detected a human "arrival signature" from about 44,000 years ago, suggesting there were no humans on the island prior to this time.
"Unlike other sites in the region, the Laili rock shelter preserved deep sediments dating between 59,000 and 54,000 years ago which showed no clear signs of human occupation," said Dr. Shimona Kealy, from the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.
"When we analyze and compare markers of human occupation from other sites across Timor-Leste and nearby ... Read more ...
|
Extreme Heat Associated With Children's Asthma Hospital Visits:
|
| Extreme Heat Associated With Children's Asthma Hospital Visits - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · For children seeking care at a California urban pediatric health center, extreme heat events were associated with increased asthma hospital visits, according to research published at the ATS 2024 International Conference.
"We found that both daily high heat events and extreme temperatures that lasted several days increased the risk of asthma hospital visits," said corresponding author Morgan Ye, MPH, research data analyst, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. "Understanding the impacts of climate-sensitive events such as extreme heat on a vulnerable population is the key to reducing the burden of disease ... Read more ...
|
Extreme heat waves in south and southeast Asia are a sign of things to come:
|
| Extreme heat waves in south and southeast Asia are a sign of things to come - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · Many pupils in India, Bangladesh, and Philippines have been told to stay at home for days due to a severe health risk from extreme heat, while the heat waves are becoming a major issue in India's election. Bangladesh even closed all primary schools for weeks while the temperature reached 43.8°C on April 30.
Once the temperature goes above 38°C, it exceeds the core human body temperature (about 37°C) and the chance of heat exhaustion and even heatstroke increases dramatically. This is compounded by increasing humidity in the region which puts additional heat stress on the human body, as sweat is not able to evaporate as effectively (the primary mechanism for cooling ... Read more ...
|
Five ways to keep towns cool in a heat wave:
|
| Five ways to keep towns cool in a heat wave - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · Particularly for younger and older people and those with existing conditions, heat can affect human health. It reduces our ability to concentrate and learn. Heat waves have been linked to increased aggressive behavior. Effects are both direct, in terms of lost productivity, and indirect in terms of longer-term economic effects.
I was recently involved in the cool towns project, working with researchers from Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Our aim was to show how cities could develop heat resilience strategies by using local interventions to increase thermal comfort in priority areas.
We began by developing a method, set out in our urban heat atlas to identify where ... Read more ...
|
Floods in south Brazil have displaced 600,000 - here's why this region is likely to see ever more extreme rain in future:
|
| Floods in south Brazil have displaced 600,000 - here's why this region is likely to see ever more extreme rain in future - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 19 · Almost the entire state—an area larger than the UK—is currently affected by unprecedented floods. The flying river has acted like a firehose, fueling five months of rainfall in just two weeks, further enhanced by a strong jetstream located in just the wrong position above the region. And, based on future projections of climate change, this situation will likely get worse as the temperature rises.
Since the beginning of May, those massive floods in Rio Grande do Sul have made world headlines. In the state's capital, Porto Alegre, the Guaíba river is more than five meters above its normal level, breaking a record set in 1941. The death toll is 149 and growing, ... Read more ...
|
Florida Governor DeSantis’ Head-In-The-Sand Climate Change Policies:
|
| Florida Governor DeSantis’ Head-In-The-Sand Climate Change Policies - Legal Planet |
May 19 · Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in coordination with an equally myopic and partisan Florida Legislature, has approved new state legislation (HB 1645) that eliminates the term “climate change” from numerous existing Florida statutes that former Republican Governor Charlie Crist signed into law in 2008.
The legislation, which takes effect on July 1st, is not just symbolic: it also prohibits construction of wind turbines in Florida’s offshore waters and repeals state grant programs that encourage energy conservation and the deployment of renewable energy sources in the Sunshine State. Instead, the new legislation commits the state to continued reliance on fossil ... Read more ...
|
Four Steps Federal Agencies Need to Take for Better Public Engagement:
|
| Four Steps Federal Agencies Need to Take for Better Public Engagement - Union of Concerned Scientists - Scientific Integrity |
May 20 · For years at the Center for Science and Democracy (CSD), we have championed the need for federal agencies to adopt clear and equitable practices for engaging with the public.
The public’s ability to weigh in on new rules and regulations proposed by agencies lies at the heart of a strong democracy. It offers a critical mechanism through which members of the public can have a direct say in the decisions our government is making. And it affords federal agencies the chance to consider the perspectives of people with diverse knowledge, backgrounds, and skillsets.
We at CSD recently sent the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a public comment outlining our top ... Read more ...
|
Free the fridges! Make dishwashers great again! US conservatives have odd priorities:
|
| Free the fridges! Make dishwashers great again! US conservatives have odd priorities - Guardian - Energy |
May 1 · The latest victims of the culture wars? Woke white goods. Because, apparently, energy efficiency and lower electricity bills are unAmerican
If you’ve ever wished your dishwasher used more water, or found your fridge too cheap to run, help is at hand. US Republicans have their sights set on one of the greatest scourges of our age: woke white goods.
You may or may not remember last year’s “induction hobs are unpatriotic” idiocy. For the mercifully uninitiated, one of 2023’s more niche culture war moments crystallised around an allegation that “the Feds” were going to “take away” gas stoves. This was demonstrably untrue: despite plentiful research demonstrating gas stove ... Read more ...
|
Green Infrastructure Plans Need to Consider Historical Racial Inequalities:
|
| Green Infrastructure Plans Need to Consider Historical Racial Inequalities - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Urban planners increasingly are interested in green infrastructure projects for the health and climate benefits they bring to cities. But without attention to historical development patterns and existing power structures, such projects may not benefit all residents equally and may exacerbate social and racial inequalities, says a group of researchers and practitioners of nature-based solutions for urban areas.
"For the environmental and ecological questions, we have a pretty good handle on what we need to do. The questions that are the hardest and the most important for people to tackle are how to work well with communities, particularly marginalized communities," said Rebecca ... Read more ...
|
Green infrastructure plans need to consider historical racial inequalities, say researchers:
|
| Green infrastructure plans need to consider historical racial inequalities, say researchers - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · "For the environmental and ecological questions, we have a pretty good handle on what we need to do. The questions that are the hardest and the most important for people to tackle are how to work well with communities, particularly marginalized communities," said Rebecca Walker, a co-lead author of the paper and a professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The other lead authors of the paper are Kate Derickson, a professor of geography, environment and society at the University of Minnesota and the co-director of the CREATE Initiative to address equitable access to environmental amenities; and Maike Hamann, a lecturer in ... Read more ...
|
Half of mangrove ecosystems at risk: conservationists:
|
| Half of mangrove ecosystems at risk: conservationists - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 22 · Half of the world's mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse due to climate change, deforestation and pollution, according to a study published Wednesday.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), known for its red list of threatened species, has for the first time taken stock of the world's mangroves, evaluating 36 different regions.
IUCN director general Grethel Aguilar said the assessment "highlights the urgent need for coordinated conservation of mangroves - crucial habitats for millions in vulnerable communities worldwide".
Mangroves are trees or shrubs that grow mainly in seawater or brackish water along coastlines and tidal rivers, in ... Read more ...
|
Has logging really stopped in Victoria? What the death of an endangered glider tells us:
|
| Has logging really stopped in Victoria? What the death of an endangered glider tells us - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 20 · But did logging really end? Last week, an endangered southern greater glider was found dead next to an area logged to create fuel breaks along the Yarra Ranges National Park. The news triggered outrage.
By itself, the death of one glider would be sad. But its death speaks to a larger problem. Three kinds of logging are continuing in Victoria's forests, for fuel breaks, salvage logging after windstorms, and logging on private land. The first two are linked to the government's Forestry Transition Program, which states:
"Harvest and haulage workers will be offered alternative work in forest and land management, enabling them to continue to work in the forests they know so ... Read more ...
|
How India Is Coping With Extreme Heat:
|
| How India Is Coping With Extreme Heat - New York Times - Climate Section |
May 21 · Subscriber-only Newsletter
Climate Forward
India is adapting to a new era of dangerous heat, even as climbing temperatures are making its transition to a cleaner economy more difficult.
Since April, heat waves, most likely fueled by climate change, have reached dangerous levels across India and other Asian countries. This week, many Indian cities, including New Delhi, the capital, recorded temperatures above 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Local governments sent out heat alerts warning people to avoid staying outside and schools in several states were ordered to close.
It’s all happening as hundreds of millions of Indians head to the polls and are expected to ... | By Manuela Andreoni Read more ...
|
How Miami-Dade County is protecting public housing residents from dangerous heat waves:
|
| How Miami-Dade County is protecting public housing residents from dangerous heat waves - Yale Climate Connections - Weather |
May 20 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
The federal government requires all public housing to be heated to keep residents warm, but it does not require cooling. So during heat waves, people may be at risk of heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses, especially as the climate warms.
So Miami-Dade County has taken action on its own.
Jane Gilbert is the county’s chief heat officer. She says for decades, the county has required all new and redeveloped public housing to have air conditioning.
Gilbert: “But our existing buildings, still, many of them have maybe one old wall unit, ... Read more ...
|
How to support scaling and speeding up transition finance:
|
| How to support scaling and speeding up transition finance - Greenbiz |
May 21 · Sponsored: Decarbonizing high-emitting but critical industries shouldn’t have to wait for the perfect framework to jumpstart the financing for real change.
Mobilizing transition finance to support a low-carbon, sustainable future across the whole economy. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
This article is sponsored by Wells Fargo.
If you walk into a bar in your local financial district to strike up a conversation around transition finance, you could be lonely in short order. However, if you stumble into a group of climate professionals and do the same, you’re in for a long and likely contentious evening. While the climate crew has passion and a shared goal, their ... | By Jeffrey Schub Read more ...
|
I Asked The UK Government About Geoengineering Projects:
|
| I Asked The UK Government About Geoengineering Projects - Climate Engineering (Lockley - Playlist) |
May 17 · Last month, I submitted seven comprehensive Freedom of Information requests to various governmental departments, seeking details about any geoengineering projects in the UK. This included inquiries about research initiatives, publications, funding sources, public awareness and consent, involvement of airliners, stakeholder engagement, and more.\n\nIn this video, I’ll share the responses I’ve received from two departments. All information will be made available in the video description for you, the viewer, to review. This investigation is far from over, with ongoing requests pending and more revelations to come.\n\n#trending #geoengineering #investigativejournalism \nSupport the ... | By Lewis Brackpool Read more ...
|
I gamified Australia’s power industry – and learned just how weird and perverse it can be:
|
| I gamified Australia’s power industry – and learned just how weird and perverse it can be - Guardian - Energy |
May 1 · If we knew the price of power at any time of day, we could stack the deck in our favour. That was the theory, anyway
For a year I paid the real price for solar and I hated it – and loved it.
I eventually had to stop because I was starting to more-than-slightly obsess about it. For a while it was worse than my Candy Crush addiction, and it ended the same way.
But then Ausgrid announced it was going to charge solar panel owners for some of the excess power they sent to the grid, and it is giving me intense flashbacks to that year.
Ah, 2022. The year I gamified the power industry, and inadvertently learned exactly how that weird and perverse place ... Read more ...
|
Important Progress Toward a Climate-Ready Grid:
|
| Important Progress Toward a Climate-Ready Grid - Legal Planet |
May 21 · We urgently need more transmission to accommodate renewable energy, increased energy demand, and grid resilience to climate disasters. Yet the transmission approval process has been badly broken, often favoring small projects that plump up utility profits but do little to address longterm or regional transmission needs.
Last week, the government took steps to improve permitting for new transmission lines. These moves have been urgently needed. (Regrettably, someone else preempted the title, “What the FERC Is Happening With New Electric Transmission Rules?”) Transmission has become the Achilles Heel of our energy system. “Achilles tendon” would be an even better metaphor, ... Read more ...
|
In Two New Studies, Scientists See Signs of Fundamental Climate Shifts in Antarctica - Inside Climate News:
|
| In Two New Studies, Scientists See Signs of Fundamental Climate Shifts in Antarctica - Inside Climate News - NEWS |
May 20 · Property News: $2 million spent on land alone in Sydney suburb.
T?he world's widest glacier could be even more vulnerable to melting than previously thought, new research suggests.
CNN wires brings you the latest breaking news and information on the top stories, weather, business, entertainment, politics, and more.
CNN on Instagram
Property News: $2 million spent on land alone in Sydney suburb.
A? young Sydney couple are thousands of dollars out of pocket after they were unknowingly sent their neighbour's power bill for three years straight. Read more ...
|
Increasing drought puts the resilience of the Amazon rainforest to the test:
|
| Increasing drought puts the resilience of the Amazon rainforest to the test - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · Since the turn of the century, four extreme droughts have occurred in the Amazon rainforest. Droughts of that kind should normally occur only once per century. This shows an evident increase in droughts in the largest rainforest on our planet.
In a new study, published in PNAS, researchers from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the KU Leuven Plant Institute analyze whether and to which extent the Amazon rainforest can withstand these changing conditions.
"The Amazon rainforest greatly depends on the internal rain cycle, where the forest produces part of its own rain through leaf transpiration," says doctoral researcher Johanna Van Passel, lead author ... Read more ...
|
India shuts schools as temperatures soar:
|
| India shuts schools as temperatures soar - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · Indian authorities in the capital have ordered schools shut early for the summer holiday, after temperatures hit 47.4 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) with Delhi gripped by a "severe heat wave".
Delhi city officials asked schools to shut with "immediate effect" due to the blistering heat, according to a government order quoted by the Hindustan Times Tuesday, cutting short the term by a few days.
India's weather bureau has warned of "severe heat wave conditions" this week, with the mercury reaching the sizzling peak of 47.4 degrees Celsius in Delhi's Najafgarh suburb on Monday, the hottest temperature countrywide.
Authorities in other states - including ... Read more ...
|
Inside Microsoft's record-breaking carbon removal contract:
|
| Inside Microsoft's record-breaking carbon removal contract - Greenbiz |
May 22 · The company signed a contract for 3.3 million metric tons of offsets over 10 years from a facility in Stockholm.
The facade of the Stockholm Exergi biomass power plant in the Gardet neighborhood, circa January 2020. Image via Shutterstock/Alexanderstock23
Microsoft is one of the largest corporate buyers of credits for carbon removal and it shows no sign of slowing down: In early May, the software developer disclosed its biggest carbon removal contract yet, a 10-year deal covering 3.3 million metric tons of emissions starting in 2028 at an installation being built in Stockholm.
The deal follows contracts signed by the company in fiscal year 2023 to eliminate 5 ... | By Heather Clancy Read more ...
|
International Court Backs Need to Protect Oceans and Island Nations from Climate Impacts:
|
| International Court Backs Need to Protect Oceans and Island Nations from Climate Impacts - Union of Concerned Scientists - Global Warming |
May 21 · In a historic development, a recent opinion by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) recognizes global warming emissions as a marine pollutant. While nonbinding, the unanimous advisory opinion offers important support for small island nations facing climate impacts and raises the bar for other nations to reduce their global warming emissions to protect the world’s oceans.
Back in December, 2022, a group of small island nations, under the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law, submitted a request to the tribunal (pictured above in Hamburg, Germany). They sought to clarify the obligations of state parties under the United ... Read more ...
|
International shipping in a world below 2 °C:
|
| International shipping in a world below 2 °C - Nature Climate Change |
May 21 · The decarbonization of shipping has become an important policy goal. While integrated assessment models (IAMs) are often used to explore climate mitigation strategies, they typically provide little information on international shipping, which accounts for emissions of around 0.7?GtCO2?yr-1. Here we perform a multi-IAM analysis of international shipping and show the potential for decreasing annual emissions in the next decades, with reductions of up to 86% by 2050. This is primarily achieved through the deployment of low-carbon fuels. Models that represent several potential low-carbon alternatives tend to show a deeper decarbonization of international shipping, with drop-in biofuels, ... Read more ...
|
Kenya is badly prepared for floods: Four steps to reduce devastation and deaths:
|
| Kenya is badly prepared for floods: Four steps to reduce devastation and deaths - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · Not for the first time, Kenya's lack of preparedness was apparent as flooding rampaged through rural and urban landscapes. There was also confusion as to who would deal with the disaster—the national or county governments. And it took several weeks before the government mobilized emergency agencies.
This need not have been the case. The Kenya Meteorological Department, the national weather agency, gave more than five heavy rainfall advisories between 1 March and 15 May 2024. This gave the government and humanitarian organizations adequate time for early actions like providing non-food items and evacuating people from informal settlements.
Kenya has made significant ... Read more ...
|
La Niña is coming, raising the chances of a dangerous Atlantic hurricane season:
|
| La Niña is coming, raising the chances of a dangerous Atlantic hurricane season - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · Whether that's a relief or not depends in part on where you live. Above-normal temperatures are still forecast across the U.S. in summer 2024. And if you live along the U.S. Atlantic or Gulf coasts, La Niña can contribute to the worst possible combination of climate conditions for fueling hurricanes.
Pedro DiNezio, an atmosphere and ocean scientist at the University of Colorado who studies El Niño and La Niña, explains why and what's ahead:
La Niña and El Niño are the two extremes of a recurring climate pattern that can affect weather around the world.
Forecasters know La Niña has arrived when temperatures in the eastern ... Read more ...
|
Landfill study shows flawed detection methods, higher methane emissions in Illinois, other states:
|
| Landfill study shows flawed detection methods, higher methane emissions in Illinois, other states - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's method of detecting methane leaks at landfills is flawed, and emissions of this powerful heat-trapping gas are likely much higher than what is being reported, according to a new study analyzing landfills in Illinois and seven other states.
Released May 15 by the environmental nonprofit Industrious Labs, the study is the most recent of several reports that show landfill operators are likely understating their annual emissions to the federal government as major methane leaks go unnoticed.
A Harvard study using satellite data released earlier this month found emissions at landfills across the country in 2019 were 51% higher than ... | By August, the EPA will review its standards and emissions guidelines under the Clean Air Act and decide whether to update them. Advocates say the agency can choose to implement sweeping regulations that require landfill operators to start using available best practices and technologies to identify and Read more ...
|
Large-scale nuclear power station planned for Anglesey in Wales:
|
| Large-scale nuclear power station planned for Anglesey in Wales - Guardian - Energy |
May 2 · Ministers are discussing who will build the plant, which will join Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C as major future suppliers to the grid
Ministers have earmarked north Wales as the site of a large-scale nuclear power plant, which is part of plans to resuscitate Britain’s nuclear power ambitions.
Wylfa on Anglesey (Ynys Môn) has been named as the preferred site for the UK’s third major nuclear power plant in a generation, coming after EDF’s Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, which is under construction in Somerset, and its Sizewell C nuclear project planned for Suffolk.
The government added that it is already in discussion with major energy companies interested in ... Read more ...
|
Long-term ocean sampling in Narragansett Bay reveals plummeting plankton levels: Impact uncertain for local food web:
|
| Long-term ocean sampling in Narragansett Bay reveals plummeting plankton levels: Impact uncertain for local food web - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 21 · That's what a new paper published by the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) reports—news, recently uncovered, that is both surprising and concerning.
Analyzing the full time series of the bay, the research team found that phytoplankton biomass in Narragansett Bay declined by a stunning 49% from 1968 to 2019. The intensity of the winter-spring bloom, which starts the annual cycle of productivity in the Bay, decreased over time and is also occurring earlier each year.
URI's new study in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) shares information from one of the longest plankton time series in the world. The subject of ... Read more ...
|
Machine learning accelerates discovery of solar-cell perovskites:
|
| Machine learning accelerates discovery of solar-cell perovskites - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · As we integrate solar energy into our daily lives, it has become important to find materials that efficiently convert sunlight into electricity. While silicon has dominated solar technology so far, there is also a steady turn towards materials known as perovskites due to their lower costs and simpler manufacturing processes.
The challenge, however, has been to find perovskites with the right "band gap": a specific energy range that determines how efficiently a material can absorb sunlight and convert it into electricity without losing it as heat.
Now, an EPFL research project led by Haiyuan Wang and Alfredo Pasquarello, with collaborators in Shanghai and in ... Read more ...
|
Machine learning models improve the prediction of groundwater depth in the Ningxia area of China:
|
| Machine learning models improve the prediction of groundwater depth in the Ningxia area of China - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · Professor Sun Bo (Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology) and colleagues carried out research on groundwater prediction in Ningxia, and found that two hybrid machine learning models—namely, the Multi-head Attention–Convolution Neural Network–Long Short Term Memory (MH-CNN-LSTM) and the Multi-head Attention–Convolution Neural Network–Gated Recurrent Unit (MH-CNN-GRU)—have great potential in groundwater depth prediction in the Ningxia area. The findings have recently been published in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters.
In this study, the factors related to groundwater, such as precipitation, are selected, and two hybrid ... Read more ...
|
Making steel with electricity:
|
| Making steel with electricity - MIT - Greenhouse Gases |
May 22 · d="M12.132,61.991a5.519,5.519,0,0,1-5.866,5.753A5.554,5.554,0,0,1,.4,61.854a5.809,5.809,0,0,1,1.816-4.383,6.04,6.04,0,0,1,4.05-1.37C9.9,55.965,12.132,58.43,12.132,61.991Zm-8.939-.137c0,2.328,1.117,3.7,3.073,3.7s3.073-1.37,3.073-3.7-1.117-3.835-3.073-3.835C4.45,58.156,3.193,59.526,3.193,61.854Z" transform="translate(-0.4 -55.965)" fill="#333"/> d="M17.884,67.531l-3.352-5.753-1.257-2.191v7.944H10.9V56.3h2.793l3.212,5.616c.419.822.7,1.37,1.257,2.328V56.3h2.374V67.531Z" transform="translate(3.765 -55.889)" fill="#333"/> ... Read more ...
|
Mapping malaria in Africa: Climate change study predicts where mosquitoes will breed in future:
|
| Mapping malaria in Africa: Climate change study predicts where mosquitoes will breed in future - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · Mosquito vector populations sufficient to maintain malaria transmission occur within a particular range of temperatures and humidity that are suitable for their survival and breeding. The parasite also needs suitable temperatures to complete its mosquito life stages. And mosquitoes need surface water to breed in. These conditions have to last long enough for mosquito and parasite populations to grow.
Much of sub-Saharan Africa provides exactly these conditions. Factors like public health interventions, land use, urbanization and quality of housing also determine transmission and local disease burden. But a suitable climate is a big factor in explaining the latest available ... Read more ...
|
MasterChef Australia fans being deceived by 'renewable gas’ campaign, climate advocates tell watchdog:
|
| MasterChef Australia fans being deceived by 'renewable gas’ campaign, climate advocates tell watchdog - Guardian - Energy |
May 2 · Comms Declare asks ACCC to investigate show sponsor Australian Gas Networks for alleged greenwashing
A climate communications group has asked the Australian consumer watchdog to investigate claims made about “renewable gas” by one of the sponsors of Network Ten’s MasterChef.
Comms Declare said it had filed a complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission about the Australian Gas Networks’ partnership with the hit cooking show and its promotion of two developing products – “renewable” hydrogen and biomethane.
The complaint asks the watchdog to investigate the “renewable gas” campaign for alleged greenwashing.
“We believe that hundreds of ... Read more ...
|
Multi-decadal climate services help farmers assess and manage future risks:
|
| Multi-decadal climate services help farmers assess and manage future risks - Nature Climate Change |
May 20 · Climate services can support on-farm decisions, yet this potential is currently not fully realized. Here, using a participatory qualitative risk analysis framework, we introduced 24 Australian farmers to My Climate View, an Australian online, multi-decadal climate service, and asked them to identify, assess and discuss management of long-term risks in light of its projections. We found that multi-decadal projections can help farmers to better understand future climate risks, potentially reducing the psychological distance of climate change. The use of long-term climate projections, however, can be impeded by lack of confidence in data, so leveraging the expertise of trusted service ... Read more ...
|
NA64 uses the high-energy SPS muon beam to search for dark matter:
|
| NA64 uses the high-energy SPS muon beam to search for dark matter - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · Recently, the NA64 team started using a muon beam from the SPS to search for new particles that interact predominantly with muons—heavier versions of the electron—and could explain simultaneously the long-standing puzzle of the muon's anomalous magnetic moment and the dark-matter (DM) problem. Their first results were accepted in the journal Physical Review Letters on 8 April.
In this paper, the NA64 collaboration sets new limits on the available parameter space—the window where the researchers could find a hypothetical dark boson Z' coupling only to muons and tauons for given values of its mass and coupling strength.
In the so-called vanilla model, the ... Read more ...
|
NASA's 'Wildfire Digital Twin' pioneers new AI models and streaming data techniques for forecasting fire and smoke:
|
| NASA's 'Wildfire Digital Twin' pioneers new AI models and streaming data techniques for forecasting fire and smoke - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · NASA's "Wildfire Digital Twin" project will equip firefighters and wildfire managers with a superior tool for monitoring wildfires and predicting harmful air pollution events and help researchers observe global wildfire trends more precisely.
The tool will use artificial intelligence and machine learning to forecast potential burn paths in real time, merging data from in situ, airborne, and spaceborne sensors to produce global models with high precision.
Whereas current global models describing the spread of wildfires and smoke have a spatial resolution of about 10 kilometers per pixel, the Wildfire Digital Twin would produce regional ensemble models with a spatial ... Read more ...
|
Natural disasters hit 1 in 5 US adults' finances in 2023: Fed:
|
| Natural disasters hit 1 in 5 US adults' finances in 2023: Fed - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · Almost 20 percent of adults in the United States were financially impacted by natural disasters last year, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday, marking a nearly 50-percent rise from 2022.
The Fed's annual report into the economic well-being of US households found that 19 percent of adults reported being financially affected by natural disasters or severe weather events like flooding and wildfires over the last 12 months.
This was up sharply from 13 percent in 2022, with some of the biggest changes seen in the West of the country, where the percentage of people noting a financial impact from natural disasters almost doubled.
In the US South, which includes ... Read more ...
|
Neutrons open window to explore space glass:
|
| Neutrons open window to explore space glass - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · Such transformational technologies seem to blend into the rhythm of our everyday lives overnight. But they emerged from years of discoveries and developments of materials that can withstand harsh environments outside our atmosphere. They evolve from decades of laying foundations in basic science to understand how atoms behave in different materials under different conditions.
Building on this past, a global team of researchers has set a new benchmark for future experiments making materials in space rather than for space. The team included members from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories, Materials Development, Inc., NASA, the Japan Aerospace ... Read more ...
|
New 3D models reveal how warming climate affects underwater ocean tides:
|
| New 3D models reveal how warming climate affects underwater ocean tides - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · But lately, researchers have noticed subtle changes in surface tidal measurements that do not coincide with changes in the moon and sun's gravitational pull. Instead, collected data and theory indicate that a warming ocean surface may be behind the observations.
To investigate these phenomena, Dr. Michael Schindelegger at the University of Bonn has been utilizing supercomputing resources at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) to better understand observational data collected between 1993–2020, improving the accuracy of three-dimensional (3D) ocean circulation models in the process.
"Tides often mask other potentially interesting and less predictable signals ... Read more ...
|
New catalyst transforms carbon dioxide from industrial emissions into commonly used chemicals:
|
| New catalyst transforms carbon dioxide from industrial emissions into commonly used chemicals - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · Lurking within the emissions from many industrial operations is an untapped resource—carbon dioxide (CO2). A contributor of greenhouse gas and global warming, it could instead be captured and converted to value-added chemicals.
In a collaborative project involving the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, Northern Illinois University and Valparaiso University, scientists report a family of catalysts that efficiently converts CO2 into ethanol, acetic acid or formic acid. These liquid hydrocarbons are among the most produced chemicals in the U.S. and are found in many commercial products. For example, ethanol is a key ingredient in numerous ... Read more ...
|
New electrochromic structure with tri-band optimization developed for energy-saving smart windows in buildings:
|
| New electrochromic structure with tri-band optimization developed for energy-saving smart windows in buildings - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 21 · Electrochromic smart windows, which can dynamically regulate solar radiation under external voltage stimuli, have been considered as a promising technology to reduce the energy consumption of buildings.
To promote the application of EC windows, Cao's group has made great efforts to improve EC performance, such as response speed, contrast ratio. However, little progress has been made in reducing the influence of solar radiation and outdoor temperature.
In this study, the researchers designed a new electrochromic smart window system based on a VO2-WO3 tandem film via a solid electrolyte with the tri-stable control of solar heat and sunlight transmittance simultaneously, ... Read more ...
|
New quantum dot approach can enhance electrical conductivity of solar cells:
|
| New quantum dot approach can enhance electrical conductivity of solar cells - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · A team led by Professor Jongmin Choi of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering has developed a PbS quantum dot that can rapidly enhance the electrical conductivity of solar cells. The findings are published in the journal Small.
The team identified a method to enhance electrical conductivity through the use of "pulse-shaped" light, which generates substantial energy in a concentrated manner at regular intervals. This method could replace the heat treatment process, which requires a significant amount of time to achieve the same result. This approach is expected to facilitate the production and commercialization of PbS quantum dot solar cells in the future.
PbS ... Read more ...
|
New report highlights many unknowns in green hydrogen plans across California:
|
| New report highlights many unknowns in green hydrogen plans across California - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 21 · "Many state and local agencies are counting on massive build outs of green hydrogen infrastructure in the coming decades to achieve their climate targets," said PSE Healthy Energy Scientist Bethany Kwoka. "But without coordination between decision makers, communities, and industry we could see overwhelming demand that ultimately undermines energy security and reliability."
The report, "Green Hydrogen Proposals Across California," identifies opportunities, challenges, and risks associated with several proposed energy transition plans, including the California Air Resources Board's 2022 Scoping Plan, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's Strategic Long Term Resources ... Read more ...
|
New research calls for the protection of UK saltmarshes:
|
| New research calls for the protection of UK saltmarshes - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · Occupying more than 450km2 of the UK coastline, saltmarshes capture and store large quantities of carbon, which makes them one of the UK's most important coastal ecosystems. They provide a natural climate regulation service through the long-term storage of organic carbon in their soils.
Year by year, saltmarshes accumulate thin layers of sediments that are rich in carbon from the plants that grow and die there, as well as from adjacent sources on land (via rivers) and at sea. As this organic carbon is buried in the waterlogged soils, decomposition is slowed, keeping carbon out of the atmosphere.
The new study, published in Science of the Total Environment 20 May, follows ... Read more ...
|
New, electricity-free desalination method shows promise:
|
| New, electricity-free desalination method shows promise - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 20 · Freshwater is becoming a critical issue in many locales around the world, and some are already relying on desalination—extracting freshwater from ocean water.
About one-third of all freshwater discharges are now used by humans, projected to go to one-half by midcentury, especially in regions such as Israel, Mexico City, India, southern California and many others. Arguably, water availability will be the most serious crisis humanity faces this century, made worse as climate change melts snowpack, increases evaporation from surface water, alters precipitation patterns and amounts and increases the amount of water held in the atmosphere.
A 2018 report from the World ... Read more ...
|
Night-Time Heat Significantly Increases the Risk of Stroke:
|
| Night-Time Heat Significantly Increases the Risk of Stroke - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · In a recent study, researchers from Helmholtz Munich and the Augsburg University Hospital show that nocturnal heat significantly increases the risk of stroke. The findings can contribute to the development of preventive measures: With them, the population can better protect themselves against the risks of climate change with increasingly frequent hot nights. In addition, knowledge of the consequences of hot nights can improve patient care.
Climate change is resulting in more and more extreme weather events. These include extremely hot, so-called tropical nights. The research team led by Dr. Alexandra Schneider investigated the effects of night-time heat on the risk of stroke. ... Read more ...
|
Ocean Temperature Animation: 1854 - 2024:
|
| Ocean Temperature Animation: 1854 - 2024 - Youtube |
May 12 Read more ...
|
On the trail of global climate change - volcanism as a driver of the climate in the 'Carnian Crisis':
|
| On the trail of global climate change - volcanism as a driver of the climate in the 'Carnian Crisis' - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · Extensive geochemical and geophysical data help decipher one of the greatest environmental catastrophes in Earth's history, the Carnian Crisis. Climate change 233 million years ago led to a global mass extinction in the seas of the Mesozoic era. The results have now been published for the first time in Scientific Reports.
The global Carnian Crisis lasted 2 million years (234–232 million years), the effects of which have been preserved in the rocks of the Reiflinger Basin in the vicinity of Lunz am See. Massive volcanism in Canada and the northern U.S. led to the deposition of a layer of basalt more than a thousand meters thick. The resulting enormous CO2 emissions into ... Read more ...
|
Peering into Pluto's ocean using mathematical models and images from the New Horizons spacecraft:
|
| Peering into Pluto's ocean using mathematical models and images from the New Horizons spacecraft - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · In a paper published in the journal Icarus, Nguyen used mathematical models and images from the New Horizons spacecraft that passed by Pluto in 2015 to take a closer look at the ocean that likely covers the planet beneath a thick shell of nitrogen, methane and water ice.
Patrick McGovern of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston was a co-author of the paper.
For many decades, planetary scientists assumed that Pluto could not support an ocean. The surface temperature is about -220°C, a temperature so cold even gases like nitrogen and methane freeze solid. Water shouldn't have a chance.
"Pluto is a small body," said Nguyen, who is conducting his Ph.D. ... Read more ...
|
Plastic-greenhouse agriculture: A novel soil profile design for global sustainability and enhanced crop production:
|
| Plastic-greenhouse agriculture: A novel soil profile design for global sustainability and enhanced crop production - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 20 · Exemplified by the sand mulching in Almería, Spain, and the sunken profile in Shouguang, China, this affordable and sustainable profile design holds significant promise for enhancing horticultural production globally. Future research will focus on adapting these profiles to local conditions and optimizing organic input to improve both plant and soil health, ultimately supporting sustainable agricultural practices.
Plastic greenhouses, including high tunnels and solar greenhouses, play a crucial role in protecting horticultural crops from various stresses, enabling year-round production. These greenhouses, covering 4.8 million hectares globally, create unique ... Read more ...
|
Powering wearable devices with high-performing carbon nanotube yarns:
|
| Powering wearable devices with high-performing carbon nanotube yarns - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · Effective thermoelectric (TE) materials are characterized by high electrical conductivity enabling high electrical current and a large Seebeck coefficient generating voltage by temperature difference. CNTs meet most of these requirements. Their flexibility and high mechanical strength also make them promising for various TE applications. However, the high thermal conductivity of CNTs limits their TE performance.
To lower their thermal conductivity, CNTs are dispersed in a solution where they can be combined with other materials. This dispersion is then spun into CNT yarns using a wet-spinning process. However, conventional dispersion methods often entangle nanometer-thick CNT ... Read more ...
|
Probing small molecule-RNA interactions by looking through the FOREST:
|
| Probing small molecule-RNA interactions by looking through the FOREST - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 21 · The team was led by Professor Hirohide Saito (Department of Life Science Frontiers, CiRA), Dr. Kaoru R. Komatsu (a former Ph.D. student in CiRA), Associate Professor Kazumitsu Onizuka, and Professor Fumi Nagatsugi (Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University).
From recent SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic to risdiplam, an RNA splicing modifier approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for spinal muscular atrophy, the word "RNA" has entered into common language as it represents both new classes of therapeutic agents and drug targets.
However, our understanding of how various RNA sequences and, in turn, ... Read more ...
|
Rabies Outbreaks in Costa Rica Cattle Linked to Deforestation:
|
| Rabies Outbreaks in Costa Rica Cattle Linked to Deforestation - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Deforestation in Costa Rica raises the risk of cattle becoming infected with rabies by vampire bats, finds a new study. Emerging Infectious Diseases published the research by disease ecologists at Emory University.
"A healthy tropical forest has phenomenal diversity -- not just among plants and mammals like monkeys and bats, but also among microorganisms," says Thomas Gillespie, Emory professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Sciences and senior author of the study. "When you destroy parts of a forest, the diversity goes down and the dynamics of disease transmission may change in a way that leads to the emergence of new pathogens or the reemergence of existing ones." Read more ...
|
Record Low Antarctic Sea Ice 'Extremely Unlikely' Without Climate Change:
|
| Record Low Antarctic Sea Ice 'Extremely Unlikely' Without Climate Change - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · In 2023, Antarctic sea ice reached historically low levels, with over 2 million square kilometres less ice than usual during winter -- equivalent to about ten times the size of the UK. This drastic reduction followed decades of steady growth in sea ice up to 2015, making the sudden decline even more surprising.
Using a large climate dataset called CMIP6, BAS researchers investigated this unprecedented sea ice loss. They analysed data from 18 different climate models to understand the probability of such a significant reduction in sea ice and its connection to climate change.
Lead author Rachel Diamond explained that while 2023's extreme low sea ice was made more likely ... Read more ...
|
Record low Antarctic sea ice 'extremely unlikely' without climate change, says scientists:
|
| Record low Antarctic sea ice 'extremely unlikely' without climate change, says scientists - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have found that the record-low levels of sea ice around Antarctica in 2023 were extremely unlikely to happen without the influence of climate change. This low was a one-in-a-2000-year event without climate change and four times more likely under its effects. The results are published (20 May) in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, in a paper titled "CMIP6 models rarely simulate Antarctic winter sea-ice anomalies as large as observed in 2023."
In 2023, Antarctic sea ice reached historically low levels, with over 2 million square kilometers less ice than usual during winter - equivalent to about ten times the size of the UK. ... Read more ...
|
Research reveals that prehistoric seafloor pockmarks off the California coast are maintained by powerful sediment flows:
|
| Research reveals that prehistoric seafloor pockmarks off the California coast are maintained by powerful sediment flows - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · A team of researchers from MBARI, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and Stanford University published their findings in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface. This work provides important information to guide decision-making about responsible use and management of the seafloor off California, including site assessments for the development of offshore wind farms.
The Sur Pockmark Field—an area about the size of the city of Los Angeles that is located off the coast of Big Sur, California—contains more than 5,200 circular depressions. These formations are approximately 200 meters (656 feet) across, roughly the distance of two football fields, ... Read more ...
|
Researchers say economies in South China and Indochina set to suffer under precipitation extremes:
|
| Researchers say economies in South China and Indochina set to suffer under precipitation extremes - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · Here, as recently exemplified by the catastrophic floods in China's southern province of Guangdong, which killed at least 4 people and left many more missing, heavy precipitation and extreme drought have taken their toll in recent decades.
Aside from the human cost, the economic impacts can be brutal; for instance, in the case of the Guangdong floods, there were direct economic losses of more than 346 million yuan (close to 50 million US Dollars).
Also, given that those parts of the INCSC region with the largest GDP (gross domestic product) tend to be distributed along the coastline, where the effects of global warming are felt the most, understanding the likely future ... Read more ...
|
Researchers successfully develop next-gen semi-permanent battery technology:
|
| Researchers successfully develop next-gen semi-permanent battery technology - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 20 · The study is published in the Journal of Power Sources.
The growth of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, represented by the Internet of Things (IoT), cyber-physical systems, and artificial intelligence (AI), is gathering momentum quickly. While this rapid growth highlights the importance of battery technology as an energy source to enable platforms, it is becoming increasingly necessary to develop next-gen batteries due to limitations with the current commercially available battery technologies, including the rising cost of raw materials such as lithium and nickel, safety issues related to heat generation and durability, and limited performance in secondary ... Read more ...
|
Researchers test ways to remove 'forever chemicals' from the environment and replace them in commercial goods:
|
| Researchers test ways to remove 'forever chemicals' from the environment and replace them in commercial goods - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · The aquifer, near the town of Korsør, contains high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which are chemicals that have been used worldwide since the 1940s in hundreds of goods, including firefighting foams. The chemicals contaminated the Korsør reservoir through runoff from a nearby firefighting school that used such foams in training exercises.
Huge headache
PFAS have concerned scientists since at least the 1990s. Known as "forever chemicals," they don't naturally break down, and can't be removed from polluted soil and water by any existing method. They also increase the risk of cancer, immune-system disorders and other human health ... Read more ...
|
Researchers: We're helping farmers access future climate projections as easily as checking the weather:
|
| Researchers: We're helping farmers access future climate projections as easily as checking the weather - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 21 · We know climate change could slash Australian farm profits by as much as 32% if agriculture continues as usual. Fortunately, farmers are very good at adapting to other challenges. Developing a better understanding of how the climate will change over the coming decades will help farmers prepare and adapt.
The decision-making process will vary depending on the location and the nature of the business, but it will become increasingly important to engage and respond to climate-related risks. These may include drought, flood, fire, extreme heat or greater rainfall variability. The changing climate can also present opportunities, such as being able to branch out into growing crops or ... Read more ...
|
Rewriting the Carbon Tragedy: Dr. Nicholas on Mission Zero’s Love Story with CO2:
|
| Rewriting the Carbon Tragedy: Dr. Nicholas on Mission Zero’s Love Story with CO2 - Climate Engineering (Lockley - Playlist) |
May 19 · 🌠Episode 15 of Bite-Size Climate Tech Season 2! 🌿 This time, we're diving into Direct Air Capture with Dr. Nicholas, The CEO of Mission Zero. \nDo you know this thing called Electrodialysis? It's widely used in wastewater treatment and the food and beverage industry. But did you know it's also useful in removing COâ‚‚ from the atmosphere? \nIn today's special, Dr. Nicholas walk us through how their technology is contributing to the fight against climate change.\nDiscover the innovative use of electrodialysis in carbon capture and its transformative potential for reducing atmospheric COâ‚‚.\n\n👉 Learn more about: \nhttps://www.missionzero.tech/about\n\n\n🌟 Subscribe, like, ... | By Bite-Size Climate Tech Read more ...
|
Rise in sea urchins and related damage to kelp forests impacts Oregon's gray whales and their food, study finds:
|
| Rise in sea urchins and related damage to kelp forests impacts Oregon's gray whales and their food, study finds - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · When urchin numbers rise, the spiky marine invertebrates can devour kelp forests that are a critical habitat for zooplankton, the tiny aquatic organisms that are the primary prey of many marine animals. Damaged kelp forests lead to reductions in zooplankton, and with fewer zooplankton to feed on, gray whales spend less time foraging there, researchers with Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute found.
"This study shows the cascading impacts of a change in the coastal ocean ecosystem in a way that has not been documented before," said the study's lead author, Lisa Hildebrand, a doctoral candidate in the Marine Mammal Institute's Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna ... Read more ...
|
Rising sea levels along the Southeast and Gulf Coast pose a problem for septic systems, which could cause environmental damage and exacerbate health risks if they fail.:
|
| Rising sea levels along the Southeast and Gulf Coast pose a problem for septic systems, which could cause environmental damage and exacerbate health risks if they fail. - Washington Post - Climate and Environment |
May 22 · On the worst days, when the backyard would flood and the toilet would gurgle and the smell of sewage hung thick in the air, Monica Arenas would flee to her mother-in-law’s home to use the bathroom or wash laundry.
“It was a nightmare,” Arenas, 41, recalled one evening in the modest home she shares with her husband and teenage daughter several miles north of downtown Miami.
She worried about what pathogens might lurk in the tainted waters, what it might cost to fix the persistent problems and whether the ever-present anxiety would ever subside.
Residents in neighborhoods around Arenas’s have similar tales to share - of out-of-commission toilets, of groundwater ... Read more ...
|
Satellite mission to unravel how clouds impact future climate change:
|
| Satellite mission to unravel how clouds impact future climate change - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · A brand new satellite that will revolutionize our understanding of the role clouds and aerosol particles play in climate change is set to launch after more than 30 years of planning.
The EarthCARE satellite is the brainchild of the University of Reading's Professor Anthony Illingworth. Conceived in 1993, the project was adopted by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2004.
The satellite is set to blast off from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on board one of Elon Musk's SpaceX rockets, scheduled for launch no earlier than Tuesday 28 May 2024.
The mission is a testament to the power of U.K. and international collaboration and the importance of long-term, ... Read more ...
|
Satellite radar data uncover 'vigorous melting' at Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier:
|
| Satellite radar data uncover 'vigorous melting' at Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the UC Irvine-led team said that widespread contact between ocean water and the glacier—a process that is replicated throughout Antarctica and in Greenland—causes "vigorous melting" and may require a reassessment of global sea level rise projections.
The glaciologists relied on data gathered from March to June of 2023 by Finland's ICEYE commercial satellite mission. The ICEYE satellites form a "constellation" in polar orbit around the planet, using InSAR—interferometer synthetic aperture radar—to persistently monitor changes on the Earth's surface. Many passes, by a spacecraft over ... Read more ...
|
Scale Matters in Determining Vulnerability of Freshwater Fish to Climate Changes:
|
| Scale Matters in Determining Vulnerability of Freshwater Fish to Climate Changes - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · The silver chub isn't considered sensitive to climate change on a national scale, but context matters. For example, if climate change sensitivity is evaluated in only one region of the United States, the freshwater fish appears quite a bit more susceptible.
"Relative to other species we looked at in the gulf region of the U.S., the silver chub occupied a pretty small geographic area," said Samuel Silknetter, a Ph.D. student in biological sciences. "If we didn't look at the climate sensitivity across multiple spatial scales, a regional analysis alone may miss the bigger context of why a species appears sensitive to climate change at some scales but not others, especially ... Read more ...
|
Scientists discover single atom defect in 2D material can hold quantum information at room temperature:
|
| Scientists discover single atom defect in 2D material can hold quantum information at room temperature - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · The defect, found by researchers from the Universities of Manchester and Cambridge using a thin material called hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), demonstrates spin coherence—a property where an electronic spin can retain quantum information—under ambient conditions. They also found that these spins can be controlled with light.
Up until now, only a few solid-state materials have been able to do this, marking a significant step forward in quantum technologies.
The findings, published in Nature Materials, further confirm that the accessible spin coherence at room temperature is longer than the researchers initially imagined it could be.
Carmem M. Gilardoni, ... Read more ...
|
Sea levels are starting to rise faster: Here's how much South Florida is expecting:
|
| Sea levels are starting to rise faster: Here's how much South Florida is expecting - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · Sea levels are rising, swamping roads and homes in South Florida. And it's picked up the pace in recent years.
In the last 80 years, sea level rise has risen about a foot, with 8 inches of that total in the last 30 years, said Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's best estimates, that pace is expected to speed up - dramatically.
It took about 80 years for the first foot. The second one will only take 30 years. The next, 20 years. And Florida could see the next foot in merely a decade after that.
"Sea ... Read more ...
|
Seychelles: Floating baby corals can help save damaged reefs, says new study:
|
| Seychelles: Floating baby corals can help save damaged reefs, says new study - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 21 · Coral reefs are formed by colonies of invertebrate animals that build hard skeletons and grow in a myriad of forms. These complex tropical reefs support a third of all species in the ocean as well as the livelihoods of millions of people. Dependency on coral reefs for food security and economic stability is particularly acute in small island developing states such as Seychelles, where a high proportion of people live close to reef systems and there isn't much land for alternative ways of life.
Corals reefs are also the ecosystems most vulnerable to climate change, due to the sensitivity of tropical corals to ocean warming. Marine heat waves that cause widespread coral ... Read more ...
|
Slowing climate change is possible - here's how nations could make it happen:
|
| Slowing climate change is possible - here's how nations could make it happen - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · With news like that, it's easy to feel like it's too late, that there's nothing we can do to curb greenhouse gas emissions enough to make a difference. But a report from the Joint Global Change Research Institute (JGCRI), a partnership between Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the University of Maryland, shows that the world's goal to stay below a 1.5°C temperature rise is still within reach. The study was led out of the Center for Global Sustainability in the University of Maryland.
The report lays out a scenario in which major societal players come together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase electrification, and protect forests. The report ... Read more ...
|
Sodium-ion batteries in the USA. Beating China at their own game!:
|
| Sodium-ion batteries in the USA. Beating China at their own game! - Just Have A Think |
May 19 · China has cornered the market in green energy transition technologies in recent years, and very effectively gained control of raw material supply chains so any other country has to go through them to get things done. There is one notable exception though. Sodium. It's so ubiquitous that even China can't monopolise it as a commodity. And that means European and US battery makers have spotted a chink in the Great Dragon's armour!
Use discount code JHTEE20 to get your 20% discounted tickets for EVERYTHING ELECTRIC LIVE
https://uk.everythingelectric.show/north/
Help support this channels independence at
http://www.patreon.com/justhaveathink
Or with a donation via Paypal by ... | By Just Have a Think Read more ...
|
South African communities vs Shell: High court victories show cultural beliefs and practices count in climate cases:
|
| South African communities vs Shell: High court victories show cultural beliefs and practices count in climate cases - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · In two separate cases, the communities successfully challenged Shell. They won both cases, winning an interim interdict to put Shell's exploration on hold and having the company's exploration right set aside. Shell is appealing the second ruling on several, largely procedural, grounds; that process got underway in the Supreme Court of Appeal on 17 May this year.
If the Supreme Court of Appeal upholds the High Court's judgment, this would affirm the Indigenous communities' rights and interests. If, on the other hand, it overturns the judgment, the exploration right, which was granted 10 years ago, would continue to stand.
Whatever the outcome of this appeal, the two cases ... Read more ...
|
Storytelling in the metaverse can spur environmental action:
|
| Storytelling in the metaverse can spur environmental action - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · Compared to traditional video, environmental stories told through metaverse technologies, including virtual reality and 360-degree video, can better motivate people to act on environmental threats.
As described in a paper published Jan. 8 in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, the metaverse not only provides a fantastical visual experience but an interactive one that can make seemingly distant threats, like climate change or ocean acidification, feel close and personally relevant.
"The magic of VR isn't just that it transports you somewhere, but it meaningfully uses interactivity to reduce psychological distance and increase immersion," said ... Read more ...
|
Study explains regional differences in bird diversity in agroforestry systems:
|
| Study explains regional differences in bird diversity in agroforestry systems - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 21 · The Universities of Würzburg and Vienna and the Alliance Biodiversity International in Peru were also involved in the study. The scientists found very different results depending on the region, and therefore emphasize the importance of tailoring agroforestry management strategies according to the region. The results are published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice.
The cocoa agroforestry systems studied are located in two contrasting Peruvian regions: one with seasonally dry tropical forests and one with subtropical humid rainforests along the Andes.
In both regions, cocoa agroforestry systems exist at different distances from natural forest, and ... Read more ...
|
Study explores long-term impacts of climate change on plant pollinators and food production:
|
| Study explores long-term impacts of climate change on plant pollinators and food production - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · A study published in Oecologia from researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington; the University of Nevada, Reno; and Virginia Tech shows that climate change has led to decreased pollen production from plants and less pollen more diversity than previously thought, which could have a significant impact on food production.
The Great Basin region is home to more than 200 butterfly species, many of which act as pollinators. Pollinators are important in agriculture because they carry pollen from the male to the female parts of flowers so they can become fertilized and produce fruit.
"By analyzing 21 years of historical data, a very long period that provides clear ... Read more ...
|
Tata agrees Port Talbot deal with National Grid despite union criticism:
|
| Tata agrees Port Talbot deal with National Grid despite union criticism - Guardian - Energy |
May 1 · New furnaces will be powered by electricity from 2027 but up to 2,800 workers will be made redundant
Tata Steel has reached a deal with the UK’s electricity grid to start supplying the energy for new furnaces in south Wales from 2027, as the company moves ahead with its plan despite union opposition.
The agreement with the National Grid’s electricity supply operator (ESO), the company that controls how energy is moved around Great Britain, will provide hundreds of megawatts of power to a new electric arc furnace at the steelworks in Port Talbot.
Tata Steel is planning to shift rapidly from two polluting blast furnaces – which can produce 5m tonnes of steel, but ... Read more ...
|
The chopped steak eaters:
|
| The chopped steak eaters - Heated World |
May 21 · There’s a detail I keep coming back to from Donald Trump’s recent fundraising dinner with oil executives, during which he reportedly asked them for $1 billion in campaign donations in exchange for repealing all of the Biden administration’s climate policies.
Surrounded by opulence, wearing fancy suits and discussing a Thanos-level mass extinction plan, the oil executives were eating… chopped steak.
Chopped steak is literally just breadcrumb-less meatloaf. It is, as I understand it, a shaped mound of ground sirloin usually topped with brown gravy. I don’t mean to knock the dish in general; I’m sure it can be good. I just feel like, if I were proposing a literal billion ... Read more ...
|
The largely untapped energy source beneath our feet:
|
| The largely untapped energy source beneath our feet - Yale Climate Connections - Energy |
May 21 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Under the surface of the Earth is a largely untapped source of energy: geothermal heat.
Beard: “The core of our Earth is a molten ball of energy that is the temperature of the surface of the sun … and so underneath the ground, it’s actually incredibly hot.”
Jamie Beard is executive director of Project InnerSpace, a nonprofit working to accelerate the development of geothermal power.
She says underground reservoirs of hot water and steam provide clean heat, which can be used to drive the turbines that create electricity at power plants ... Read more ...
|
The silent tragedy of local restrictions on renewable energy:
|
| The silent tragedy of local restrictions on renewable energy - Yale Climate Connections - Energy |
May 21 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Communities across the United States may soon find themselves facing a grim scenario. By adopted local ordinances that obstruct the development of new renewable energy resources within their borders, they have put themselves at risk of missing out on the next big technology-driven economic revolution: the clean energy transition.
As you read this, rapidly advancing renewable energy technology is transforming how we power the U.S. economy in the 21st century, bringing with it new economic opportunities and social and environmental benefits. Yet the ... Read more ...
|
This 'doomsday’ glacier is more vulnerable than scientists once thought:
|
| This 'doomsday’ glacier is more vulnerable than scientists once thought - Washington Post - Climate and Environment |
May 20 · A massive Antarctic glacier that could raise global sea levels by up to two feet if it melts is far more exposed to warm ocean water than previously believed.
A massive Antarctic glacier, which could raise global sea levels by up to two feet if it melts, is far more exposed to warm ocean water than previously believed, according to a study published Monday.
Thwaites Glacier, the world’s widest, bobs up and down on daily tides. As it lifts up, warm seawater is shooting farther under the ice than scientists thought - up to 6 kilometers, or 3.7 miles, according to satellite data. This has the potential to substantially increase the area over which the glacier is melting, ... Read more ...
|
Top Oceans Court Says Nations Must Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions:
|
| Top Oceans Court Says Nations Must Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions - New York Times - Climate Section |
May 21 · Experts say the opinion, though nonbinding, is likely to lead to more claims for damages against polluting nations.
Reporting from Paris
The world’s highest court dealing with the oceans issued a groundbreaking opinion on Tuesday that said excessive greenhouse gases were pollutants that could cause irreversible harm to the marine environment and must be cut back.
The advisory opinion by the court, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, is not binding, but it stated that, legally, nations must take all necessary measures to reduce, control and prevent marine pollution caused by human-made greenhouse gas emissions.
The 21 judges on the tribunal were ... | By Marlise Simons Read more ...
|
Top oil firms’ climate pledges failing on almost every metric, report finds:
|
| Top oil firms’ climate pledges failing on almost every metric, report finds - Guardian - Energy |
May 2 · Major oil companies have in recent years made splashy climate pledges to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and take on the climate crisis, but a new report suggests those plans do not stand up to scrutiny.
“There is no evidence that big oil and gas companies are acting seriously to be part of the energy transition,” David Tong, global industry campaign Manager at Oil Change International, who co-authored the analysis, said in a statement.
None of the companies were immediately available for comment.
The report’s authors used 10 criteria and ranked each aspect of each company’s plan on a spectrum from “fully aligned” to “grossly insufficient” and found all eight ... Read more ...
|
Unraveling the drought dilemma in South Korea: Can reservoirs be a carbon source?:
|
| Unraveling the drought dilemma in South Korea: Can reservoirs be a carbon source? - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · Professor Jonghun Kam and Kwang-Hun Lee, a Ph.D. student, from the Division of Environmental Science and Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) research findings were recently published in Water Research.
The recent climate crisis has resulted in more frequent extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods. Although models have outlined the anticipated effects of these extreme events on the global water cycle and carbon cycle, efforts to quantitatively comprehend them using observational data have been limited by the limited available big data on water quantity and quality.
During spring, the onset of rice planting necessitates ample ... Read more ...
|
Unraveling the Drought Dilemma: Can Reservoirs Be a Carbon Source?:
|
| Unraveling the Drought Dilemma: Can Reservoirs Be a Carbon Source? - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Professor Jonghun Kam and Kwang-Hun Lee, a PhD student, from the Division of Environmental Science and Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) analyzed water quantity and quality data from domestic agricultural reservoirs to shed light on the hydrological impacts of a severe drought on degrading the water quality. Their research findings were recently published in Water Research.
The recent climate crisis has resulted in more frequent extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods. Although models have outlined the anticipated effects of these extreme events on the global water cycle and carbon cycle, efforts to quantitatively comprehend them ... Read more ...
|
Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy to design safer, higher-performance lithium batteries:
|
| Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy to design safer, higher-performance lithium batteries - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 20 · A Columbia Engineering team has published a paper in the journal Joule that details how nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy techniques can be leveraged to design the anode surface in lithium metal batteries. The researchers also present new data and interpretations for how this method can be used to gain unique insight into the structure of these surfaces to share with the field.
"We believe that, armed with all the data we've pulled together, we can help accelerate the design of lithium metal batteries and help make them safe for consumers, which folks have been trying to do for more than four decades," said the team's leader Lauren Marbella, associate professor of ... Read more ...
|
Volunteers race to save Mexico's howler monkeys in heat wave:
|
| Volunteers race to save Mexico's howler monkeys in heat wave - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 22 · Volunteers are rushing to hoist food and water up into trees in sweltering southern Mexico, but help came too late for the howler monkeys whose lifeless bodies lay still on the ground.
Dozens of the primates are reported to have dropped dead from trees in recent weeks, alarming conservationists trying to keep the monkeys hydrated during a heat wave.
Victor Morato and his team at a veterinary hospital in the town of Comalcalco in Tabasco state have treated eight howler monkeys brought in by residents.
"When they arrived here in agony, they extended their hand to us as if to say 'help me'. I had a lump in my throat," he told AFP.
Several monkeys arrived at the ... Read more ...
|
Warming Climate Intensifies Flash Droughts Worldwide:
|
| Warming Climate Intensifies Flash Droughts Worldwide - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Sudden, severe dry spells known as flash droughts are rising in intensity around the world, with a notable exception in mountainous Central Asia, where flash drought extent is shrinking, according to new research. Heat and changes to precipitation patterns caused by a warming climate are driving these trends, the study found.
Flash droughts arrive suddenly, within weeks, hitting communities that are often not prepared and causing lasting impact. They are an emerging concern for water and food security. The new study is the first to apply a systematic, quantitative approach to the global incidence of flash drought, mapping hotspots and regions of rapid increases in recent decades. Read more ...
|
Warming climate intensifies flash droughts worldwide - study defines and tracks critical measures of drought severity:
|
| Warming climate intensifies flash droughts worldwide - study defines and tracks critical measures of drought severity - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 21 · Sudden, severe dry spells known as flash droughts are rising in intensity around the world, with a notable exception in mountainous Central Asia, where flash drought extent is shrinking, according to new research published in Geophysical Research Letters. Heat and changes to precipitation patterns caused by a warming climate are driving these trends, the study found.
Flash droughts arrive suddenly, within weeks, hitting communities that are often not prepared and causing lasting impact. They are an emerging concern for water and food security. The new study is the first to apply a systematic, quantitative approach to the global incidence of flash drought, mapping hotspots and ... Read more ...
|
Webb cracks case of inflated exoplanet:
|
| Webb cracks case of inflated exoplanet - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 20 · Data collected using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, combined with prior observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, show surprisingly little methane (CH4) in the planet's atmosphere, indicating that the interior of WASP-107 b must be significantly hotter and the core much more massive than previously estimated.
The unexpectedly high temperature is thought to be a result of tidal heating caused by the planet's slightly non-circular orbit, and can explain how WASP-107 b can be so inflated without resorting to extreme theories of how it formed.
The results, which were made possible by Webb's extraordinary sensitivity and accompanying ability to measure light ... Read more ...
|
What a blast to work at NASA. Space agency is sky-high again in latest survey of federal employees:
|
| What a blast to work at NASA. Space agency is sky-high again in latest survey of federal employees - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 20 · Those are some of the highlights of a survey released Monday of more than a million federal workers.
In a city that revolves around the federal government, the annual Best Places to Work survey is a closely watched annual event worthy of bragging rights—provided you're one of the agencies such as NASA or the Government Accountability Office who topped the survey.
The survey uses information from the Office of Personnel Management's Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey and is produced by the Partnership for Public Service and the Boston Consulting Group.
It covers 532 federal agencies including 17 large agencies, 26 midsize agencies, 30 small agencies and 459 ... Read more ...
|
What is "clean energy"? Is any kind of energy completely clean?:
|
| What is "clean energy"? Is any kind of energy completely clean? - MIT - Global Change |
May 7 · The group of technologies widely considered to be “clean energy” include hydropower, geothermal, solar, wind, nuclear, bioenergy (at least in some circumstances), and even some extremely nascent technologies like ocean wave power. These energy sources are “clean” with regard to climate change because - unlike fossil fuels - when they produce energy they do not emit greenhouse gases, the type of pollution that is warming our planet. The most important of these gases is carbon dioxide (CO2), so “clean” technologies can more precisely be referred to as low-carbon or carbon-free.
Clean energy technologies are in many ways very different from one another, but none directly emit ... Read more ...
|
When smart meters save money – and the overheating planet:
|
| When smart meters save money – and the overheating planet - Guardian - Energy |
May 2 · Michael Wilkinson has had a good experience using a smart meter when charging his electric car and using a heat pump. But other readers remain unconvinced about their benefits
Recent letters about smart meters (14 May) reported some readers’ bad experiences, but it’s not all negative – our smart meter is allowing our household to cut carbon and save money. In combination with our electric vehicle charger, the smart meter allows us to automatically charge our car at times when there is less demand on the grid and higher renewable-energy generation. This helps balance the grid, and I only pay 7p per kWh to charge the car. This works out at about 1.5p per mile to drive.
The ... Read more ...
|
Why banks consider renewable energy to be a riskier investment than fossil fuels:
|
| Why banks consider renewable energy to be a riskier investment than fossil fuels - The Conversation |
May 15 · DPhil Candidate, Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, University of Oxford
Matteo Gasparini does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
University of Oxford provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.
The financial sector is among the world’s most heavily regulated industries – and for good reason. Financial rules, which force banks to hold capital in reserve when making riskier investments, are designed to prevent financial crises. Other financial regulations, such as accounting rules, ... Read more ...
|