Wed.Jul 06, 2022

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Alaska Is on Track for a Record Fire Season

Yale E360

Alaska is on pace for a historic fire season, spurred on by warm temperatures, a diminished snowpack, and an apparent uptick in lightning strikes. Fires have ripped through 2 million acres so far this year, roughly 10 times the total area burned in all of 2021. Read more on E360 ?.

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The Stream, July 6, 2022: Which Western States Are On the Hook for Cutting Water Use?

Circle of Blue

Lake Powell. Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue. YOUR GLOBAL RUNDOWN. Colorado’s top water official weighs in the responsibility lower Colorado River Basin states have in cutting water use. A new study links childhood diarrheal disease with drought exposure in low-and-middle-income countries. India’s major reservoirs sit at critically low levels even as monsoon rains pummel parts of the country.

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Terradepth Offloads Data from the Ocean Depths – While Managing Its Environmental Footprint

Environment + Energy Leader

Gathering immersive, ocean data via autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) can assist with projects in sectors such as clean energy and national security. And they do it with little disruption to the natural ocean environment – AUVs can be deployed and managed in such a way that makes the gathering of data minimally invasive and with a very small carbon footprint.

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Bees’ ‘waggle dance’ may revolutionize how robots talk to each other in disaster zones

Frontiers

By Conn Hastings, science writer. Image credit: rtbilder / Shutterstock.com. Honeybees use a sophisticated dance to tell their sisters about the location of nearby flowers. This phenomenon forms the inspiration for a form of robot-robot communication that does not rely on digital networks. A recent study presents a simple technique whereby robots view and interpret each other’s movements or a gesture from a human to communicate a geographical location.

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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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Research fieldwork comes with safety challenges

Environmental News Bits

by Lisa Sheppard, Prairie Research Institute Prairie Research Institute (PRI) researchers and technicians may not know exactly which hazards they’ll face when they conduct fieldwork to study the natural world. What they do know is that there are plenty of dangers to prepare for as they start another field season. “The safety aspects of being … Continue reading Research fieldwork comes with safety challenges.

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In the US West, Researchers Consider a Four-Legged Tool to Fight Two Foes: Wildfire and Cheatgrass

Inside Climate News

Targeted grazing could reduce an invasive grass that has fueled an explosion of wildfires and threatens native species. But it’s not a silver bullet. By Emma Foehringer Merchant Cheatgrass first spread across the U.S. West in the 1800s, carried by settlers and in contaminated seed and straw. The spikey, droopy, almost hairy plant spreads like a weed, chokes out native grasses, and, once dry, lights up like kindling.

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What does it mean when we say that space-time is expanding?

New Scientist

When it comes to something as complex as space-time, intuition comes in different ways, depending on the level of science you have access to, writes Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

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Ag and Food Law Daily Update: July 6, 2022

National Law Center

A comprehensive summary of today’s judicial, legislative, and regulatory developments in agriculture and food. Email important additions HERE. . The post Ag and Food Law Daily Update: July 6, 2022 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center.

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Meta's AI can translate between 204 languages, including rare ones

New Scientist

Facebook's owner Meta has created an AI model that can translate dozens more languages than the biggest current tools, and the company also claims the results are better than those of competitors

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FuelCell Energy, TuNur Partnership Increases Green Hydrogen Production

Environmental Leader

A partnership will help increase the production of green hydrogen for Europe and North Africa. The post FuelCell Energy, TuNur Partnership Increases Green Hydrogen Production appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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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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Bats in Germany are riddled with pesticides and toxic pollutants

New Scientist

Tests on 387 bats from five species found that all were exposed to high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine insecticides, legacy pollutants that have long been banned

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U.S. Department of Energy will fund applied research and development to accelerate decarbonization of American industry

Environmental News Bits

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) recently announced its intent to issue a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) that will support DOE’s efforts to decarbonize the American industrial sector and move the U.S. toward net-zero carbon emissions. The industrial sector currently accounts for one third of domestic, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.

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Brian and Charles review: Can robots transform us, asks fantasy film

New Scientist

A gentle fantasy about a lonely inventor called Brian, whose world changes completely when a robot he creates comes to life, makes a serious point about the possibilities of personal robots, finds Simon Ings

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Cities launch short and long-term strategies to combat heat waves

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story at Smart Cities Dive. This week brings a new heat dome over much of the U.S. Cities have to adapt to more dangerous summers, but policies and strategies vary.

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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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NFT fans fall for Snoop Dogg impersonator

New Scientist

Feedback investigates how celebrity impersonator Doop Snogg fooled an NFT conference in New York, while also looking into Amazon’s new technology enabling users to recreate the voice of a lost loved one

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Webinar: Improving your vision to see more savings

Environmental News Bits

Jul 13, 2022, 10-11 am CDTRegister here. Wastes are hiding in plain sight. Don’t become blind to opportunities that could be simplified or modified to generate significant savings. Learn a simple method to help train yourself to see existing processes in a different way. Attendees will be guided step-by-step through a simple Excel tool that will … Continue reading Webinar: Improving your vision to see more savings.

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AI can convert almost any 3D scene into the style of a famous artwork

New Scientist

Artificial intelligence can transfer artistic styles onto a 3D scene, including turning a bulldozer into the style of Van Gogh’s The Starry Night painting

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Sludgy science: Student recovers nutrients from wastewater for Research Symposium project

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story from Illinois State University. Nutrient pollution is one of the most widespread, costly, and challenging environmental problems facing the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Elevated levels of nutrients in water harm aquatic life and impact public health. Senior Illinois State University environmental health and sustainability major Rowan Carroll is addressing the widespread … Continue reading Sludgy science: Student recovers nutrients from w

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An Immense World review: A powerful look at animals' inner lives

New Scientist

Pulitzer prize-winning author Ed Yong invites readers on a tour of animals' sensory worlds to better understand their lives in his fascinating new book says Anna Demming

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Biden administration launches $500 million program to transform mines into new clean energy hubs

Environmental News Bits

The Biden Administration through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently issued a Request For Information (RFI) to inform a $500 million program funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to place clean energy demonstration projects on current or former mine lands across America. Operated through DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Clean Energy Demonstrations on Current and Former Mine Land Program will … Continue reading Biden administration launches $500

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We really can become ‘hangry’, suggests first real-world test of idea

New Scientist

Some lab-based work has suggested we can become more irritable when we are hungry – now the phenomenon has been seen in the real-world too

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Study: Proposed nitrogen fertilizer policies could protect farmer profits, environment

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story from the University of Illinois. Nitrogen fertilizer has major implications for crop yields and environmental health, specifically water quality in the Gulf of Mexico. Federal and state governments have shied away from regulating nitrogen fertilizer use, but voluntary and incentives-based programs have not been particularly successful; the oxygen-starved “dead zone” in … Continue reading Study: Proposed nitrogen fertilizer policies could protect farmer profits, environm

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Stalking the Atomic City review: An extraordinary window on Chernobyl

New Scientist

This vivid guide takes us into the exclusion zone around the nuclear power plant that exploded in 1986, revealing a "land of tranquillity and frozen time"

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Food Contact Chemicals Database

Environmental News Bits

The Food Contact Chemicals database (FCCdb) contains an extensive set of intentionally added food contact chemicals (FCCs), with hazard and regulatory information included where available. The FCCdb is freely downloadable and searchable as a Microsoft Excel file from the Zenodo repository. The list of 608 identified priority FCCs can be downloaded from the scientific article’s supplementary information as … Continue reading Food Contact Chemicals Database.

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7 big questions the James Webb Space Telescope is about to answer

New Scientist

NASA will release the first full-colour images from the James Webb Space Telescope next week.

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Bumblebees and honeybees aren’t the only key bees

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story at Treehugger. Although bumblebees and honeybees get all the attention, there are other bees that are just as important to a blooming ecosystem. Researchers recently uncovered the importance of pollinator diversity and it goes way beyond the bees that are most often in the spotlight. They found that less common bees are more critical to … Continue reading Bumblebees and honeybees aren’t the only key bees.

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Why restoring seagrass meadows would be a huge conservation win

New Scientist

Seagrass meadows are vanishing at a rate of 7 per cent a year, but this is a habitat that buries carbon up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforest.

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What’s missing from the circular economy, according to 10 emerging leaders

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story at GreenBiz. It’s been half a decade since the start of GreenBiz Group’s Emerging Leaders program, which has the goal of supporting students and young professionals who identify as Black, Indigenous or a person of color and are working to become sustainability leaders of the future. With all of the cohorts that I’ve … Continue reading What’s missing from the circular economy, according to 10 emerging leaders.

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A passing star shifting Neptune’s orbit could wreck the solar system

New Scientist

If a star flying past our solar system moved Neptune's orbit by just 0.

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Will renaming carp help control them?

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story from the University of Illinois. Illinois officials this month announced that Asian carp would now be called “copi” in an attempt to make the fish more desirable for eating. Joseph Parkos, the director of the Illinois Natural History Survey’s Kaskaskia, Ridge Lake and Sam Parr biological stations in Illinois, spoke with News … Continue reading Will renaming carp help control them?

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Don't Miss: Resident Evil's Raccoon City gets a futuristic TV makeover

New Scientist

New Scientist's weekly round-up of the best books, films, TV series, games and more that you shouldn't miss

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Lake Michigan water-level rise affects inland waterways, study finds

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story from the University of Illinois. 2020 marked Lake Michigan’s highest water level in 120 years, experts said, and climate variance makes future water levels challenging to predict. Coastal impacts are well-documented, but the effect of lake level rise on the area’s inland waterways is poorly understood. A University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign … Continue reading Lake Michigan water-level rise affects inland waterways, study finds.

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After 12 Years, House, Senate Pass Bill To Control Overuse Of Fertilizer On Turf

PA Environment Daily

On July 6, the House passed and sent to the Governor Senate Bill 251 (Yaw-R-Lycoming, Comitta-D-Chester) which sets standards for the application of fertilizer to turf, provides for the certification of professional fertilizer applicators and for labeling and an education program. The goal of the legislation is to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient pollution going into Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams.

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Renewable energy project demonstrates efficiencies, benefits of clean energy geothermal systems

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story from University of Illinois Extension. The State of Illinois has committed to achieving a carbon-free footprint by 2050 through its recently passed Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. Plans to phase out coal-fired and natural gas power plants before 2045 means steps are needed now to move Illinois to a more sustainable future … Continue reading Renewable energy project demonstrates efficiencies, benefits of clean energy geothermal systems.