Trending Articles

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The State of the Air in 2024? Not Great

Union of Concerned Scientists

I am into air quality. Especially when it means I can breathe outside because there is no pesticide drift, wildfire smoke, vehicle exhaust, or pungent odors. However, the reasons why I am into air quality are a bit contradictory. On the one hand, I am fascinated by air quality because I love working with sensors and monitoring equipment. I enjoy doing outreach and education about electronics with kids.

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California Seeks to Protect Homes from Excessive Indoor Heat

Legal Planet

Hotter, deadlier, and more frequent heat waves have become one of the most surefire signs of a changing climate in our day-to-day lives. California recognized the need for action on this issue in 2022 by bringing to life AB 209 , one section of which centers around creating better indoor heat safety in homes. That should include mobile home communities, which are too often left out of this discussion.

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From Whale Oil to Wind Power: the Fossil Fuel Industry’s Disinformation Is an Ocean of Hypocrisy

Union of Concerned Scientists

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago, I began to feel the most important thing I could do was learn how to replace fossil fuel with renewable energy. I had seen from an early age how oil dependency distorted and aggravated conflicts around the world, especially in the Middle East. For 30 years I have been an advocate for offshore wind development off New England’s coast and for the creation of institutions to support a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

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Renewables supply 30 per cent of global electricity for the first time

New Scientist

The rapid growth of solar power led to a record-breaking year for clean energy generation in 2023, and the year is expected to mark the start of a long-term decline in fossil fuels

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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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Hundreds Of Residents Warn Against Impacts Of Shale Gas Development In Cecil Township, Washington County

PA Environment Daily

On May 8, hundreds of Washington County residents rallied at an event calling for greater safety at fracking well pads outside a Cecil Township Board of Supervisors hearing on oil and gas ordinances. In the parking lot steps from the meeting room, homeowners called for increases to zoning setbacks for new well pads that would improve area quality of life and reduce pollution in new and existing neighborhoods.

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The Department of Agriculture Rubber-Stamped Tyson’s “Climate Friendly” Beef, but No One Has Seen the Data Behind the Company’s Claim

Inside Climate News

As millions of taxpayer dollars flow to livestock companies claiming to raise “low carbon” beef, watchdog groups scrutinize the government’s oversight. By Georgina Gustin About five miles south of Broken Bow, in the heart of central Nebraska, thousands of cattle stand in feedlots at Adams Land & Cattle Co., a supplier of beef to the meat giant Tyson Foods.

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The House Has 13 Working Days to Save RECA. Here’s What’s Happened in 2024 So Far.

Union of Concerned Scientists

The clock is ticking for the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which provides health screenings and compensation for people sickened by radiation from U.S. nuclear weapons production. RECA is set to expire on June 7; this would mean not only an end to life-saving health screenings and compensation, but also to the hopes of thousands of downwinders and uranium industry workers who have been unfairly excluded from the program for decades.

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Fusion reactors could create ingredients for a nuclear weapon in weeks

New Scientist

Concern over the risks of enabling nuclear weapons development is usually focused on nuclear fission reactors, but the potential harm from more advanced fusion reactors has been underappreciated

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Utah Nursery Gives Endangered Fish a Place to Grow

Cool Green Science

A Nature Conservancy preserve in Moab, Utah offers hopeful news for endangered razorback suckers: this fall, 51 juvenile suckers were […] The post Utah Nursery Gives Endangered Fish a Place to Grow appeared first on Cool Green Science.

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Alberta’s New Committee on Tar Sands Tailings is Too Little, Too Late 

Enviromental Defense

Statement by Aliénor Rougeot, Program Manager, Climate and Energy Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Alberta’s newly announced Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee is just another attempt to delay action and distract from the daily harm caused by toxic tailings in the tar sands.

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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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Can GoGreen Advance California’s Home Decarbonization Goals?

Legal Planet

Last week, the California Public Utilities Commission released a report evaluating the state’s GoGreen home energy financing program. Residential buildings are responsible for about 10 percent of state greenhouse gas emissions, and home decarbonization routinely ranks among the most challenging of our many emissions reduction challenges. Our buildings and electrical distribution grid are old, retrofit projects are complex and time-consuming, and few Californians have the energy–let alone the ca

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Congressional Ag Chairs Release Dueling Farm Bill Proposals. What Happens Next?

Union of Concerned Scientists

After months (and months and months) of anticipation, we are finally seeing some forward movement on a new food and farm bill. On May 1, Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow of Michigan released a detailed, 94-page framework laying out her committee’s priorities for the bill. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol, House Agriculture Chair G.T.

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Dozens of stars show signs of hosting advanced alien civilisations

New Scientist

Sufficiently advanced aliens would be able to capture vast quantities of energy from their star using a massive structure called a Dyson sphere.

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We’re Heard This Before: ‘We’re Providing Jobs - Stopping Pollution Threatens Jobs’ - A Brief Review Of Pennsylvania’s Conservation History

PA Environment Daily

A brief review of Pennsylvania’s conservation history-- -- We've Heard This Before: "We're Providing Jobs - Stopping Pollution Threatens Jobs" - Until Air Pollution Killed People, Then We Said No. [ First Pair Of Photos ] -- We've Heard This Before: "We're Providing Jobs - Stopping Pollution Threatens Jobs" - Until Hunters Could Find No Game And Anglers Could Find No Fish, Then We Said No. [ Second Pair Of Photos ] -- We've Heard This Before: "We're Providing Jobs - Stopping Pollution Threatens

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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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AI Could Help Find a Solution for String Theory

Scientific American

String theory could provide a theory of everything for our universe—but it entails 10 500 (more than a centillion) possible solutions.

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The Carbon Capture Boondoggle Begins To Unwind 

Enviromental Defense

For Canada’s major oil and gas producers, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a get-out-of-jail-free card, which allows them to keep on polluting while appearing as though they are taking the threat of climate change seriously. CCS is a multi-billion dollar boondoggle that doesn’t come close to the hype, has significant safety risks, and is a substantial distraction from real climate solutions, such as building more renewable energy, increasing electricity transmission infrastructure, and

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Global capacity to directly suck CO2 from air has just quadrupled

New Scientist

A new plant in Iceland operated by the firm Climeworks can remove up to 36,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air per year, more than quadrupling existing global capabilities

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Reparation for Climate Change at the ECtHR

Law Columbia

A Missed Opportunity or the First of Many Decisions to Come? The recent rulings on climate change by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) are—as others have pointed out in this blog symposium —both “historic and unprecedented” for various reasons, not least regarding the question of reparation for climate change-related harm. While redress is a pivotal question to think through in relation to climate change, it has, somewhat surprisingly, received less attention from scholars and has no

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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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Puppy-Dog Eyes in Wild Canines Sparks Rethink on Dog Evolution

Scientific American

The eyebrows of the African wild dog have scientists wondering whether other canine species besides domestic dogs can make the irresistible “puppy-dog eyes” expression

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Farmers and Ranchers Love the IRA’s Climate-Smart Funding. Will the House Farm Bill Pull the Rug Out from Under Them?

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)

Photo credit: USDA For over a year and a half, countless farmers and ranchers nationwide have been sending an unmistakable message to policymakers in Washington, DC – that the climate-smart agriculture funding included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is exactly what they’ve been looking for. Since the IRA was signed into law on August 16, 2022, the farmer-driven demand – in red states and blue states alike – for these resources has far outpaced availability.

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¿El estado del aire en 2024? No es bueno.

Union of Concerned Scientists

Me interesa mucho la calidad del aire. Especialmente cuando eso significa que puedo respirar afuera porque no nos están rociando con pesticidas, no hay humo de incendios forestales, ni gases de escape de vehículos ni olores repulsivos. Sin embargo, las razones por las que me importa la calidad del aire son un poco contradictorias. Por un lado, me fascina la calidad del aire porque me encanta trabajar con sensores.

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Sperm whale clicks could be the closest thing to a human language yet

New Scientist

Analysis of thousands of exchanges between the intelligent cetaceans suggests they combine short click patterns – similar to letters of the alphabet - into longer sequences

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KlimaSeniorinnen and Gender

Law Columbia

Much has been said already about the decision in KlimaSeniorinnen v. Switzerland granted on Apr 9, 2024 by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR or the Court). The Court’s decision was groundbreaking in that it established an obligation to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a human rights duty, required countries to establish a carbon budget, and arguably established a new right under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (see here , here , and here ).

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Climate Extremes Slammed Latin America and the Caribbean Last Year. A New UN Report Details the Impacts and Costs

Inside Climate News

Some scientists in the region said many of the effects seen today weren’t expected until the second half of the century. By Bob Berwyn Extreme climate shocks, intensified by global warming, killed hundreds of people and devastated livelihoods and ecosystems across Latin America and the Caribbean in 2023, scientists with the World Meteorological Organization said earlier this week when they released the annual state of the climate report for the region.

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Penn State Team Awarded US DOE Grant To Develop Extraction & Recovery Technologies For Rare Earth, Other Critical Materials From Coal, Coal Wastes, Acid Mine Drainage

PA Environment Daily

By Patricia Craig, Penn State News A Penn State research team was recently awarded a $4.99 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop and assess advanced separation technologies for the extraction and recovery of rare earth elements and other critical materials from coal, coal wastes, acid mine drainage and coal by-products. The materials, which are abundant in Earth’s crust but challenging to extract and primarily sourced from overseas, serve a vital function in modern te

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Why Did Ancient Romans Make this Baffling Metal Dodecahedron?

Scientific American

A mysterious 12-sided object called a dodecahedron discovered in England has archaeologists both excited and baffled

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Psychedelic toxins from toads could treat depression and anxiety

New Scientist

A compound emitted by the Colorado river toad may reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in a similar way to LSD and psilocybin, according to a study in mice

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Call for Applications: ESA Editorial Fellows

ESA

by Richard Wallace, Director of Publishing The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is delighted to announce the call for applications for its inaugural Editorial Fellows Program (EFP). The EFP is part of ESA’s ongoing efforts to provide professional development opportunities to early career ecologists and environmental scientists, especially those from historically excluded or underrepresented groups.

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A Rare Dose of Hope for the Colorado River as New Study Says Future May Be Wetter

Inside Climate News

The research’s high end precipitation predictions could ease drying, but the models also show a possible decline in the river and the researchers urge “conservation and thoughtful management.” By Alex Hager, KUNC Good news on the Colorado River is rare. Its reservoirs, the two largest in the country, have shrunk to record lows. The policymakers who will decide its future are stuck at an impasse.

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Two Months: Road Dumping Conventional Oil & Gas Wastewater Continues To Surround The Home Of A Senate Witness Who Opposes The Illegal Practice

PA Environment Daily

Starting on March 12, Siri Lawson has taken photos and gotten physically ill from the illegal, repeated road dumping of conventional oil and gas wastewater on the road running past her home and on every dirt and paved road she has to travel to get groceries, go to the doctor and take the normal trips anyone would make in Warren County. She has filed complaints on everything she sees with the Department of Environmental Protection, sent them copies of photos of the dumping and has talked to inspe

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The Feed: Volume 2, Issue 9

National Law Center

The Feed newsletter highlights recent legal developments affecting agriculture, with issues released twice a month. Click below to sign up for. The post The Feed: Volume 2, Issue 9 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center.

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Being in two places at once could make a quantum battery charge faster

New Scientist

The quantum principle of superposition – the idea of particles being in multiple places at once – could help make quantum batteries that charge within minutes

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How Bird Flu Caught the Dairy Industry Off Guard

Scientific American

Understanding how avian influenza jumped into cows can help shape the path to stopping the virus’s spread

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