Legal Planet

MARCH 7, 2024

In the last weeks, diplomats from all over the world were negotiating more than twenty draft resolutions at the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA). The Assembly is a biennial intergovernmental meeting which sets the global environmental agenda. It also sets the strategy for the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and outlines policy responses to address emerging environmental challenges.

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2019 Government Precautionary Principle Technology 339

Yale E360

MARCH 6, 2024

Mongolia’s nomadic herders are facing a savage “dzud” winter, with more than 2 million livestock frozen to death so far. Scientists say this lethal phenomenon — extreme cold and heavy snow following summer drought — is occurring more frequently and is linked to climate change.

Climate Change 362

Climate Change 362

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 7, 2024

There’s been a lot of nay-saying around EVs lately, including, amongst other things, worries that EV sales are stalling out now that all the early adopters have already made the switch and mainstream buyers aren’t ready to dive in. I wouldn’t blame you if you thought nobody was buying EVs or that sales were about to plummet. While there are some near term headwinds, I’ve never had as much confidence in the ability to zero out tailpipe emissions from our cars and trucks.

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Electricity 2025 Climate Change 2023 359

Real Climate

MARCH 7, 2024

Going back a few months, I spent a bit of time pointing out the strategy and nonsense in the various Willie Soon and company’s efforts to blame current warming on solar activity. I specifically pointed out their cultish devotion to a single solar activity reconstruction (Hoyt and Schatten, 1993) (HS93); with an update from Scaffeta (2023) , and their increasingly elaborate efforts to create temperature series that correlate to it.

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2003 Climate Change 2024 Radiation 341

Speaker: Kevin Kai Wong, President of Emergent Energy Solutions

In today's industrial landscape, the pursuit of sustainable energy optimization and decarbonization has become paramount. Manufacturing corporations across the U.S. are facing the urgent need to align with decarbonization goals while enhancing efficiency and productivity. Unfortunately, the lack of comprehensive energy data poses a significant challenge for manufacturing managers striving to meet their targets.

2024

Legal Planet

MARCH 4, 2024

There is a lot of talk about weak consumer demand for EVs — doleful from greens, triumphant from others. Maybe US carmakers have hit a few speed bumps –not surprising when trying to rapidly ramp up a product that’s new to most consumers. But the reality is actually quite reassuring in terms of the U.S. market. Globally, the picture is even rosier for EVs, with the big open question being whether U.S. carmakers are going to be shoved to the curb by the Chinese.

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2020 Clean Energy 2023 Electricity 299

Yale E360

MARCH 7, 2024

Ever-worsening floods are killing trees at an increasing rate along the upper Mississippi River, and invasive grasses are taking over. The Army Corps of Engineers has launched a project to boost both tree density and diversity, and to improve habitat for fish and waterfowl, too.

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Energy & the Law

MARCH 7, 2024

Frontier Drilling, LLC v. XTO Energy , Inc. has the indicia of an inequitable result, but as I remind my wife every time she objects to what she deems to be an outrageous jury verdict, we don’t know all the facts and the court’s gotta follow the law, so let’s not judge. The facts Drilling contractor Frontier and operator XTO were parties to a drilling contract that was amended several times by negotiations via oral and/or email communications and then written agreements memorializing the discuss

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Law 2021 2020 147

Legal Planet

MARCH 8, 2024

As we wrote in part 1 , a Swiss-led proposal to the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) to establish an expert group on solar radiation management (SRM) proved divisive and was eventually withdrawn. Here we explore why, and what that means for any global conversation about SRM. SRM has long generated concerns that, as a powerful lever on the Earth system, it could have unwanted side-effects and generate political and ethical risks, as well as lowering temperatures.

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Government Politics 2019 Precautionary Principle 250

Yale E360

MARCH 4, 2024

On the North American Great Lakes, ice cover usually peaks in late February or early March. But currently, the lakes are nearly ice-free.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 6, 2024

Oppenheimer documents humanity’s transition into the nuclear age through the eyes of Robert Oppenheimer, the “ father of the atomic bomb.” While it is a faithful rendition of a critical chapter of nuclear history, what is most striking about the film is how that history is repeating itself. 1. The United States is once again preparing to run a nuclear arms race, this time against two adversaries at once.

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Politics Atmosphere Government Waste 313

Speaker: Antoine M. Thompson, Executive Director of the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition

Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Inclusion (DEJI) policies, programs, and initiatives are critically important as we move forward with public and private sector climate and sustainability goals and plans. Underserved and socially, economically, and racially disadvantaged communities bear the burden of pollution, higher energy costs, limited resources, and limited investments in the clean energy and transportation sectors.

Clean Energy

Clean Energy Law

MARCH 7, 2024

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority and Singapore Exchange Regulation have provided details of mandatory climate reporting for listed issuers and large non-listed companies. By Paul A. Davies , Farhana Sharmeen , Michael D. Green , James Bee , and Kevin Mak On 28 February 2024, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) introduced regulations for mandatory climate-related disclosures (CRD) (the Regulations).

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2027 Regulations Greenhouse 2024 147

Legal Planet

MARCH 7, 2024

NEPA was long an island of legal stability, standing almost unamended for over a half century. Then in the summer of 2023, everything changed. As a rider on the agreement to raise the debt ceiling, Congress extensively rewrote and expanded NEPA, gifting us with a new statutory regime. As I’ve written before — and discuss in more detail in a forthcoming article — the new statute is something of a disaster in terms of legal drafting.

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2023 Law Regulations Politics 246

Yale E360

MARCH 8, 2024

Beset by severe heat throughout the Australian summer, the Great Barrier Reef is undergoing a mass bleaching, its fifth in eight years.

Ocean 303

Ocean 303

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 4, 2024

This blog post was cowritten with Dezaraye Bagalayos, Laurie Galvagna, Kayode Kadara, Kinah Hutson, and Jose Armando Munguia, and revised by other members of the Allensworth Progressive Association team and community leaders. Over the next 15 years, California will have to repurpose about 1 million acres of cropland, most of it out of the 5.5 million irrigated acres in the San Joaquin Valley.

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2023 Renewable Energy Natural Resources Clean Energy 259

Speaker: Laurie Schoeman Director, Climate & Sustainability, Capital

As households and communities across the nation face challenges such as hurricanes, wildfires, drought, extreme heat and cold, and thawing permafrost and flooding, we are increasingly searching for ways to mitigate and prevent climate impacts. During this event, national climate and housing expert Laurie Schoeman will discuss topics including: The two paths for climate action: decarbonization and adaptation.

2022

Clean Energy Law

MARCH 6, 2024

The stock exchanges of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore have partnered to advance sustainability in ASEAN through the development of an interregional ESG ecosystem. By Paul A. Davies , Farhana Sharmeen , Michael D. Green , James Bee , and Kevin Mak On February 15, 2024, Bursa Malaysia Berhad (Bursa Malaysia), Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), and Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) released a joint statement announcing their collaboration on the develop

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2024 Government Climate Change 147

Legal Planet

MARCH 6, 2024

After months of discussion, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 to adopt climate reporting standards that will mandate publicly-traded companies disclose some of their greenhouse gas emissions. The SEC’s rule was proposed way back in 2022, and the initial draft would have required companies to disclose their “Scope 3” supply chain emissions, in addition to the “Scope 1” and “Scope 2” direct and indirect emissions the final rule includes.

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Greenhouse Law Government 2022 195

Yale E360

MARCH 5, 2024

For more than a decade, scientists have been mulling whether the Earth had entered a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, marked by the profound impact humans have had on the planet. Today, a committee of experts has reportedly decided on the matter.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 4, 2024

On Friday, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued long-awaited regulations to strengthen the Risk Management Program (RMP). The RMP requires roughly 12,000 industrial facilities that use or store extremely hazardous substances to develop Risk Management Plans that identify prevention and response measures for chemical releases. The new rule restores critical disaster planning and prevention protections under the program after it was gutted in 2019 under the Trump administration.

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Regulations Technology Technology 2021 200

Advertisement

Sustainability impacts every nation, company, and person around the world. So much so that, in 2015, the United Nations (UN) issued a call for action by all countries to work toward sustainable development. In response to this and as part of a global Sustainability at Retail initiative, Shop! worked collaboratively with its global affiliates to address these critical issues in this white paper.

Sustainable Development

Law and Environment

MARCH 5, 2024

Last week, in Bristol Asphalt v. Rochester Bituminous Products , the SJC jettisoned two prior decisions and revised its directions to lower courts regarding how to handle “special motions to dismiss” under Massachusetts’ so-called “Anti-SLAPP” statute. If you don’t know what SLAPP stands for, you can just stop reading now. The purpose of the Anti-SLAPP statute is, in brief, to prevent large corporations from stifling petitioning activities by citizen groups.

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Law 130

New Scientist

MARCH 7, 2024

Mass mortality events at salmon farms have been getting more frequent since 2011, sometimes killing millions of fish at once, with causes including heatwaves and poor living conditions

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2011 145

Scientific American

MARCH 7, 2024

One in seven species of deepwater sharks and rays is threatened with extinction because of the liver oil and meat trade and emerging fishing technologies that make it possible to catch deep-sea fishes

Technology 144

Technology Technology 144

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 4, 2024

Este blog ha sido escrito en colaboración con Dezaraye Bagalayos, Laurie Galvagna, Kayode Kadara, Kinah Hutson, y José Armando Munguía, y revisado por miembros de la Allensworth Progressive Association y líderes comunitarios. En los próximos 15 años, California tendrá que reusar aproximadamente 1 millón de acres de tierras de cultivo, la mayoría en los 5,5 millones de acres irrigados (2.2 millones de hectáreas) en el Valle de San Joaquín.

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2023 2024 Climate Change 199

Environmental Progress

MARCH 4, 2024

Leaked files from WPATH reveal widespread medical malpractice on children and vulnerable adults at global transgender healthcare authority World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) members demonstrate a lack of consideration for long-term patient outcomes despite being aware of the debilitating and potentially fatal side effects of cross-sex hormones and other treatments READ: THE WPATH FILES AND REPORT All Links Full WPATH Files and Report FAQ Panel Discussion Video Executive

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2024 Regulations 2021 Government 145

New Scientist

MARCH 7, 2024

Quantum computing firm D-Wave says its machines are the first to achieve "computational supremacy" by solving a practically useful problem that would otherwise take millions of years on an ordinary supercomputer

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Enviromental Defense

MARCH 8, 2024

Last year, one of Imperial Oil’s mines in the tar sands leaked toxic industrial waste into the surrounding environment. Instead of informing downstream communities, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) helped Imperial cover up the spill for over nine months. Now the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) – one of the downstream Indigenous nations impacted by the toxic spill – is taking the AER to court.

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Regulations Waste Government Environmental Responsibility 142

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 4, 2024

In the ever-evolving landscape of technological advancements, artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a focal point in both personal and political discussions. Engineered to emulate human cognitive functions of learning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making, AI is advancing at an unprecedented pace. Amidst an escalating discourse surrounding AI and its rapid advancement, countries are working to regulate its uses.

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Regulations Technology Technology Government 195

Scientific American

MARCH 5, 2024

A new catalog of more than 12,000 galaxy clusters is helping scientists better understand the universe’s clumpiness, dark energy and some of the smallest particles in the cosmos: neutrinos

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New Scientist

MARCH 7, 2024

Large language models still demonstrate racial prejudice against speakers of African American English, despite the safety guard rails implemented by tech companies such as OpenAI

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Inside Climate News

MARCH 4, 2024

MethaneSAT, a partnership between the Environmental Defense Fund, Harvard University and others seeks to combat climate change through enhanced greenhouse gas emissions monitoring. By Phil McKenna A satellite that could soon play a key role in combating climate change by monitoring methane emissions entered Earth’s orbit aboard a SpaceX rocket launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in southern California on Monday.

Climate Change 136

Climate Change Greenhouse Fossil Fuels 136

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 4, 2024

Before going to my polling place to vote in the November 2023 local elections, I searched online to find a sample ballot. After clicking around, I found one on a non-government site and reviewed the list of contests and ballot measures. I had to read the instructions a few times to clearly understand how many candidates I should select in each contest.

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2008 2010 2024 2020 190

Scientific American

MARCH 6, 2024

A former government official calls for investigating unidentified anomalous phenomena without succumbing to conspiracy theories about extraterrestrials

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Government 145

New Scientist

MARCH 8, 2024

South of New Orleans, a project to divert the Mississippi river could restore ecosystems destroyed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and build new land to protect against sea level rise

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Sea Level 143

Inside Climate News

MARCH 2, 2024

What happens when a rose doesn’t smell as sweet? By Moriah McDonald The level of air pollution in many cities is great enough to shorten the distance from which insects can smell the flowers they need to pollinate, according to recent research.

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Air Pollution 131