September, 2024

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A New Energy Project at UCLA Law

Legal Planet

You don’t have to look beyond the front pages of newspapers , or beyond rooftops in your neighborhood to know that we are in the midst of a clean energy revolution, with renewable energy technologies dramatically decreasing in price and increasing in availability. These technologies promise to reduce energy cost burdens for households, as well as reduce climate- and health-harming pollution.

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Phantastic Job!

Real Climate

A truly impressive paper was published this week with a new reconstruction of global temperatures over the last ~500 million years. There is something tremendously satisfying about seeing a project start, and then many years later see the results actually emerge and done better than you could have imagined. Especially one as challenging as accurately tracking half a billion years of Earth’s climate.

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Hottest Summer on Record May Be Ending, but Fight to Protect Workers from Heat Is Far from Over

Union of Concerned Scientists

Over the last three months, which have been declared the world’s hottest summer on record, outdoor workers across the US have endured dangerously hot conditions on the job. They’ve cut grass in 112°F heat in California’s Coachella Valley, handled baggage on the hot tarmac of airports across the country, harvested fruit , delivered packages , and performed countless other functions that go largely unnoticed by our society.

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How Agroforestry Could Help Revitalize America’s Corn Belt

Yale E360

By practicing agroforestry — growing trees alongside crops and livestock, for example — farmers can improve soils, produce nutrient-rich foods, and build resilience to climate change. Now, a movement is emerging to bring this approach to the depleted lands of the Corn Belt.

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How to Drive Cost Savings, Efficiency Gains, and Sustainability Wins with MES

Speaker: Nikhil Joshi, Founder & President of Snic Solutions

Is your manufacturing operation reaching its efficiency potential? A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) could be the game-changer, helping you reduce waste, cut costs, and lower your carbon footprint. Join Nikhil Joshi, Founder & President of Snic Solutions, in this value-packed webinar as he breaks down how MES can drive operational excellence and sustainability.

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Jet contrails may cool the planet by day and warm it by night

New Scientist

An AI-assisted analysis of satellite images suggests the vapour trails produced by aircraft have a net cooling effect in the daytime because they reflect sunlight back into space

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New Report: Highway 413 Would Have Devastating Impact on Critical GTA Watersheds

Enviromental Defense

Report finds that Highway 413 would contaminate streams and rivers within the Humber River, Etobicoke Creek, and the Credit River watersheds and destroy large areas of forest, meadow, river and wetland habitat. Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – A new report released today, Concrete Consequences: How Highway 413 would put GTA watersheds at risk , highlights alarming findings about the proposed Highway 413, s

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The Deteriorating Environment Is a Public Concern, but Americans Misunderstand Their Contribution to the Problem

Inside Climate News

A global survey suggests 88 percent of people are worried about the state of nature, but such polling says nothing about where those issues sit among competing concerns, like immigration and the economy. By Katie Surma Most people are “very” or “extremely” concerned about the state of the natural world, a new global public opinion survey shows.

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Delivery Vans are Going Electric: Where and Why

Union of Concerned Scientists

Let’s start this one with some good news: the transition toward clean freight is picking up speed. Over the past few years, we’ve started to see more and more zero-emission commercial trucks, delivery vans, and buses hit the road. The much-needed evolution of our on-road freight system to one that’s cleaner and more equitable is gaining momentum – and not a moment too soon.

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Fortress Conservation: Can a Congo Tribe Return to Its Forest?

Yale E360

An African Union ruling finds that parts of a Congo national park should be returned to the Batwa people, who were evicted decades ago. Advocates say the ruling must be implemented and that the Batwa will need support to protect the park’s rare gorillas and other wildlife.

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Forcing people to change their passwords is officially a bad idea

New Scientist

A US standards agency has issued new guidance saying organisations shouldn’t require users to change their passwords periodically – advice that is backed up by decades of research

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The Key to Sustainable Energy Optimization: A Data-Driven Approach for Manufacturing

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. 📊 Join us for a practical webinar hosted by Kevin Kai Wong of Emergent Ene

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Victory on the Shores of Lake Scugog: Port Perry Residents Block MZO, Protecting Sensitive Wetlands

Enviromental Defense

Statement from Rebecca Kolarich, Water Program Manager, Environmental Defence Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – We’re thrilled that Scugog council voted against (4-2) an ill-conceived MZO that would have fast-tracked development on a significant wetland. This was a win for Lake Scugog and the engaged local community that rallied to block Avenu Properties’ MZO request.

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Scientists Will Engineer the Ocean to Absorb More Carbon Dioxide

Scientific American

A research consortium plans to revive geoengineering trials of the controversial iron fertilization technique to pull carbon dioxide from the air, despite public backlash

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Associate Editor Mentoring: 2025 applications now open!

The Applied Ecologist

Are you looking to learn more about the peer review process through hands-on experience? Are you less than five years post-PhD and live in/are from the Global South? Why not consider applying for Journal of Applied Ecology’s 2025 mentoring scheme! What is the mentoring scheme? Since 2015, Journal of Applied Ecology has welcomed a small group of mentees with minimum editorial experience each year.

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The Kids Get It: Why Proposition 4 Is the Right Thing to Do

Union of Concerned Scientists

Last week, we received our voter information guides in the mailbox. Before I had a chance to even take a look, I found my fifth-grader reading through the guide with a checklist. Looking over her shoulder, I saw her list of the proposition numbers – most with question marks next to them – but one with a big, bold check mark: Proposition 4. Even though I hadn’t said a word, she gets it.

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Implementing D.E.J.I. Strategies in Energy, Environment, and Transportation

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.

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Why Taiwan and Its Tech Industry Are Facing an Energy Crisis

Yale E360

As the world’s largest producer of advanced computer chips, Taiwan is struggling to meet demand for electricity. Highly dependent on imported fossil fuels, soon to shutter its last nuclear plant, and slow to build out renewables, the island is heading toward an energy crunch.

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Plan to refreeze Arctic sea ice shows promise in first tests

New Scientist

Field trials indicate that pumping seawater onto the snow on top of Arctic sea ice can make the ice sheet thicker, offering a possible way to preserve sea ice throughout the summer

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Media Advisory: Ontario Healthcare Professionals and Environmental Advocates are Rallying this Weekend to Demand Better Public Healthcare not Greenbelt Highways

Enviromental Defense

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – As Ontario grapples with emergency room closures, a critical shortage of nurses, family doctors, and other health professionals, the provincial government is planning to spend tens of billions of taxpayer dollars on two controversial highway projects that would cut through the Greenbelt — Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass.

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How Your Brain Detects Patterns without Conscious Thought

Scientific American

Neurons in certain brain areas integrate ‘what’ and ‘when’ information to discern hidden order in events happening in real time

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Shaping a Resilient Future: Climate Impact on Vulnerable Populations

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.

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New Study Suggests Major Climate Reports May Be Underestimating Drought Risks

Inside Climate News

North America and Southern Africa, in particular, may endure longer dry spells than water managers expect, but research shows rising emissions magnifying both wet and dry extremes. By Bob Berwyn Droughts in the coming decades could be longer than projected by current climate models, a new study published Wednesday in Nature warns.

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Is Russia Helping China Expand Its Nuclear Weapons Program? 

Union of Concerned Scientists

This blog was co-authored with UCS China Analyst Robert Rust. Open-source estimates of China’s past fissile material production indicate that China does not have enough plutonium to make the more than 1,000 nuclear warheads the Pentagon claims China will deploy by 2035. The extra plutonium needed to produce new weapons, the Pentagon says, will come from China’s new fast breeder reactors , a type of nuclear reactor that produces more plutonium than the uranium and plutonium it consumes for fuel.

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Slowly but Surely, U.S. School Buses Are Starting to Electrify

Yale E360

With support from a $5 billion EPA program, school districts across the country are starting to switch from polluting diesel to electric buses. Advocates point to the health benefits for children and communities but say more needs to be done to promote this transition.

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Antarctica’s 'doomsday' glacier is heading for catastrophic collapse

New Scientist

As a six-year investigation into the Thwaites glacier in Antarctica wraps up, the scientists involved are pessimistic for the future of this glacier and the consequences for sea level rise

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Sustainability at Retail

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.

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Canada keeps handing public money to Big Oil’s favourite greenwashing schemes

Enviromental Defense

A new report released by Oil Change International reveals that governments worldwide have already wasted over $40 billion on carbon capture and hydrogen projects. Just five countries account for 95 per cent of those billions – and Canada is third on the list. Around 45 per cent of the $40 billion was spent on projects that are not even operational today.

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Government Funding and Farm Bill’s Future Top Congress’ September To-Do List

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)

On September 9, 2024, Congress will be back in session in Washington, DC for the first time since early August. Yet, their return will be short lived. In an election year, Members of Congress spend all of October and early November in their states and Congressional districts. In total, Congress will be in session for three full weeks before adjourning on September 27.

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What Will It Take to Tackle Water Scarcity on the Navajo Nation?

NRDC

With contaminated wells, climate-fueled drought, and limited access to safe water sources, a study seeks solutions—and perspective—from the reservation’s residents.

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Hope for North America’s Most Endangered Bird

Inside Climate News

The Florida grasshopper sparrow was near extinction only a few years ago. The recent release of the 1,000th captive-raised sparrow into the wild has rekindled optimism. By Amy Green On a recent morning, 10 Florida grasshopper sparrows, tiny brown-speckled birds that are the most endangered on the continent, took their first scampers and flaps on the state’s central prairie.

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Eye on the Fertile Crescent: Life Along the Mideast’s Fabled Rivers

Yale E360

A series of dams and years of conflict have transformed the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which gave rise to some of the world’s earliest civilizations. Kurdish photographer Murat Yazar focused his lens on these rivers of his homeland and on the people who live alongside them.

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The fascinating truth about why common sense isn't really that common

New Scientist

New research is revealing that common sense is a lot more idiosyncratic than we thought, with important implications for tackling political polarisation and the future of AI

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These Bizarre Fish Walk on Six Legs and Taste the Location of Buried Prey

Scientific American

A species of legged fish uses taste receptors to search for hidden prey, providing an ideal window for scientists to study the emergence of new evolutionary traits

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DEP Finds Shale Gas Wastewater Pipeline Sprayed & Leaked 12,600+ Gallons For Nearly 3 Hours In Gilmore Twp., Greene County

PA Environment Daily

On September 11, 2024, DEP did an inspection of the NITMH023 shale gas wastewater pipeline in Gilmore Township, Greene County in response to a notification by EQM Gathering OPCO LLC of a spill from the pipeline at the Trust Well Site owned by EQT Production Company. The inspection found the pipeline still leaking at the time of arrival. The pipeline had been leaking and spraying shale gas wastewater for nearly three hours before being stopped.

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Over a Million Public Comments Call for Old-Growth Forest Protections

NRDC

The public comment period for the US Forest Service’s proposed National Old Growth Amendment closed on September 20th. Hundreds of thousands of people wrote in to critique the agency’s proposal, which falls short of it’s intended purpose to protect public.

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How to Talk to Anxious Children About Climate Change

Inside Climate News

For years, educators and parents often avoided the subject. But that is starting to change, as therapists urge parents to listen to their kids and help them understand that their fears are normal. By Nina Dietz At 21, Olivia Vesovich has already put more on the line for the climate fight than most people, regardless of age. In 2020, Vesovich was just 16 and wrapping up her sophomore year of high school when she decided to sacrifice her privacy and step onto the national stage as one of the 16 yo