Thu.Sep 16, 2021

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Why Saving World’s Peatlands Can Help Stabilize the Climate

Yale E360

Peatlands make up 3 percent of the earth’s landscape, yet absorb large amounts of carbon and harbor surprising biodiversity. Although peat bogs and fens are under increasing environmental threat, efforts to protect and restore these ecosystems are gathering momentum. Read more on E360 ?.

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Driving Away Dirty Air

Union of Concerned Scientists

Emissions from diesel trucks and buses don’t just release higher levels of air pollution, they are also local in their effects and in Oregon disproportionately impact low-income individuals.

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The Stream, September 16, 2021: Waterways in the United Kingdom Are Polluted By Sewage and Agricultural Runoff, Report Says

Circle of Blue

YOUR GLOBAL RUNDOWN. A new report sheds light on water pollution in U.K. waterways. New data finds that 2020 was the deadliest year on record for environmental activists around the world. Incarcerated women in New York complain that their drinking water has been contaminated after Hurricane Ida. Regional threats spurred by climate change have become a “blind spot” in Australia’s security planning.

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Sustainable nutrition science could help solve climate and health crises. Why isn’t the federal government funding more of it?

Union of Concerned Scientists

New analysis underscores need for $50 million annual investment in sustainable nutrition science research.

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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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Masks Protect Schoolkids from COVID despite What Antiscience Politicians Claim

Scientific American

Florida governor Ron DeSantis and politicians in Texas say research does not support mask mandates. Many studies show they are wrong. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Magnetic beads inside the body could improve control of bionic limbs

Physics World

In recent years, health and fitness wearables have gained popularity as platforms to wirelessly track daily physical activities, by counting steps, for example, or recording heartbeats directly from the wrist. To achieve this, inertial sensors in contact with the skin capture the relevant motion and physiological signals originating from the body. As wearable technology evolves, researchers strive to understand not just how to track the body’s dynamic signals, but also how to simulate them to co

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Probing the origins of the universe, using plasmonic tweezers to manipulate tiny objects

Physics World

In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast, the cosmologist and theoretical physicist Laura Mersini-Houghton of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill joins us to talk about big questions in cosmology such as why did the universe come into existence and what, if anything, existed before the Big Bang? From the very big to the very small, our second guest is the electrical engineer Justus Ndukaife , who uses nanophotonic plasmonic tweezers to manipulate objects that are too tiny

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Stop Torturing Animals in the Name of Science

Scientific American

Four centuries after Descartes declared them to be mere machines that didn’t feel fear or pain, we’re still acting as though we don’t know better. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Composition of gases in the Milky Way appears surprisingly patchy

Physics World

The interstellar medium (ISM) of gas and dust between the stars seems surprisingly patchy, with large areas missing lots of heavy elements, according to new research published in Nature. This could have repercussions for how we interpret the history of the galaxy and its chemical evolution, although not all astronomers agree with the findings. The ISM is made primarily of hydrogen and helium, but is laced with what astronomers refer to as “metals” – that is, all elements heavier than helium, to

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The JISC UK National Open Access Agreement with Frontiers – Two Years in.

Frontiers

In 2019, Frontiers signed a three year national open access agreement in the UK with JISC Collections. Thanks to this landmark deal, UK universities now benefit from a simplified and streamlined route to open access publishing for researchers in the UK. As we approach the second anniversary of the agreement, we are pleased to announce an overwhelmingly positive response from UK universities.

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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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Fast-switching structural colour could be used in low power video displays

Physics World

Video-speed switching of structural colour has been achieved by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and the UK’s University of Cambridge. The technology could be further developed to create low power video displays. The team, led by Andreas Dahlin , created their reflectance-based digital displays by controlling structural colour and broadband switching in a conductive polymer.

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Ag & Food Law Daily Update: September 16, 2021

National Law Center

A comprehensive summary of today’s judicial, legislative, and regulatory developments in agriculture and food. Email important additions HERE. REGULATORY: AMS, The post Ag & Food Law Daily Update: September 16, 2021 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center.

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Frontiers eBook releases: September 2021

Frontiers

Download this month’s new releases including the latest Special Issues on livestock production and the functioning of agricultural ecosystems, new perspectives on cultured meat , the impact of melatonin in health and disease, recent advances in delivering therapeutics to the inner ear , challenges in Multimodal Brain Tumor Segmentation and many more!

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An entire street of 3D printed homes in Texas are move-in ready

Inhabitant

This is East 17th Street, a collection of homes that range in size and style. It's got beautiful construction, lovely walkways and landscaping. But what truly makes this Austin, Texas project unique is that these are the first 3D-printed homes for sale in America.

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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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DOE announces $54 million to increase energy efficiency in microelectronics technologies

Environmental News Bits

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced nearly $54 million for 10 new projects led by DOE’s National Laboratories to increase energy efficiency in microelectronics design and production. Microelectronics are critical to nearly all modern technology, including smartphones, medical equipment, power plant and electricity grids, and automobiles.

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Cats refuse to snuggle with objects that smell like their owners

New Scientist

Cats form strong bonds with their owners, but the scent of their human companions doesn’t comfort them when they’re left alone – and it could even make them howl more

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CBF Blog: A Tree Grows In Dairy Land To Improve Land And Water

PA Environment Daily

By B.J. Small, Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA Lancaster County farmer Tim Sauder's "Aha" moment sprang from a little patch of grass under a black walnut tree along the driveway by his house. The best grass on the dairy farm, especially in summer when pastureland is typically brown, hot, and dry, was under that tree. "A little bit of shade helps those grasses to really thrive," Sauder said.

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UK night skies will be among worst hit by satellite megaconstellations

New Scientist

From anywhere on Earth there may soon by hundreds of satellites visible in the night sky at any time of year because of satellite constellation projects such as SpaceX’s Starlink

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Ten environmental topics to watch in the new infrastructure bill

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story in the National Law Review. While a spending bill rather than traditional “environmental” legislation, this week’s passage by the United States Senate of major infrastructure legislation has broad environmental implications. Multiple provisions are designed to incentivize progress toward achieving previously stymied goals.

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NASA’s Perseverance rover has been hit by 100 ‘dust devils’ on Mars

New Scientist

The Perseverance rover on Mars was hit by 100 dust devils in its first 90 days – the Curiosity rover elsewhere on Mars is hit by the weather phenomena 5 to 10 times less often

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Book review: How to Think About the Climate Crisis, by Graham Parkes

A Greener Life

By Jeremy Williams. Reading How to Think About the Climate Crisis , I got the distinct impression that it was a difficult book to write. The author spent ten years on it, and at one point mentions “the torment of writing this book.” Given that there is a website with an appendix for every chapter, some of which run longer than the chapters themselves, perhaps part of the problem is what to leave out.

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Covid-19 news: Call to investigate impact of vaccines on menstruation

New Scientist

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic

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Generac, Enchanted Rock Partnership Aims to Protect from Power Interruptions

Environmental Leader

Generac Power Systems announced a five-year development agreement with microgrid technology company Enchanted Rock to build and supply natural gas generators in an effort to protect businesses from interruptions from power outages. Generac says the company has seen an increased demand for power backup systems, driven from situations such as. Read more ».

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Here are the Astronomy Photographer of the Year winners

New Scientist

These images of the sun, the moon and the planets of the solar system took some of the top prizes in this year’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition

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A New Nurse Struggles to Save Patients in a New COVID Surge

Scientific American

Cases peaked, then fell, then rose again. “It is so much worse this time” -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Prehistoric elephant nursery probably made easy prey for Neanderthals

New Scientist

Fossil footprints reveal that the extinct straight-tusked elephant raised its young with groups of adult females and no adult males, just as modern elephants do – and that they were probably hunted by Neanderthals

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The world is failing to limit global warming

Inhabitant

A newly released assessment by Climate Action Tracker (CAT) shows that nearly every nation has failed to meet a major climate goal. The goal in question is to keep global warming from rising 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as per the Paris Agreement.

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If Algae Has Not Found Its Way Onto Your Plate Yet, It Probably Will Soon

Scientific American

A new video series from Scientific American and Spektrum der Wissenschaft gives you a serving of science. In this episode, we take a look at edible seaweed. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Bloomberg, Schneider Electric Outline Steps Needed to Expand Rooftop Solar

Environmental Leader

The opportunity for such a build out was made possible by rapidly falling solar costs, which fell by 82% between 2010 and 2020. Still, authors noted that “policy and tariff design will be critical to enable [these deployments]. The post Bloomberg, Schneider Electric Outline Steps Needed to Expand Rooftop Solar appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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Heat Safety and Wildfire Smoke Standards and Guidelines at the State and Federal Level

National Law Center

In recent years, heatwaves and wildfires have increased in intensity. Those increases have posed additional risks for employees that work outside, The post Heat Safety and Wildfire Smoke Standards and Guidelines at the State and Federal Level appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center.

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Several South Dakota Farms Chosen as Future RNG Dairy Digester Project Sites

Environmental Leader

MBL Bioenergy has entered into definitive agreements to develop several clusters of dairy farm digester projects to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) from multiple farms in South Dakota. The post Several South Dakota Farms Chosen as Future RNG Dairy Digester Project Sites appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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Having HPV while pregnant linked to increased risk of premature birth

New Scientist

A study of 900 pregnant women has found that those infected with human papillomavirus were almost four times more likely to give birth prematurely

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Several South Dakota Farms Chosen as Future RNG Dairy Digester Project Sites

Environmental Leader

MBL Bioenergy has entered into definitive agreements to develop several clusters of dairy farm digester projects to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) from multiple farms in South Dakota. The post Several South Dakota Farms Chosen as Future RNG Dairy Digester Project Sites appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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Are UK energy supplies in trouble after fire at French power link?

New Scientist

A fire at a facility that connects the electricity grids of the UK and mainland Europe has led to talk of a potential winter energy crisis, but supplies should stabilise in the coming months