Mon.Nov 18, 2024

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We Need to Change Our Assumptions About Gas Plant Reliability

Union of Concerned Scientists

Gas power plants have a problem. And it’s a problem that affects all of us. In extreme weather, when electricity demand is at its highest and the grid needs gas plants the most, gas plants have been failing at alarming rates. In the worst instance , widespread gas plant failures led to rolling blackouts that impacted millions of people for days on end.

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Wildlands Conservancy Opens 187 Acre Black River Sanctuary In Lehigh County

PA Environment Daily

In October, over 100 individuals gathered to watch scissors cut ribbon to celebrate the grand opening of the Lehigh Valley’s newest nature preserve, Black River Sanctuary , 187 acres situated in Salisbury and Saucon Townships in Lehigh County. “At a time when our region is losing our open space at an alarming rate of more than 2,000 acres a year, Black River Sanctuary stands protected forever because every day citizens decided it was an important, special place” says Christopher Kocher, presiden

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Vital Atlantic Ocean current is already weakening due to melting ice

New Scientist

A study modelling the impact of melting ice suggests scientists have underestimated the risk that an important ocean current will shut down and cause climate chaos

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Pennsylvania Firefly Festival Lottery For 2025 Festival & Glow & Know Campouts Will Start January 1

PA Environment Daily

The 13th Annual PA Firefly Festival and Glow & Know Campouts are going to be combined events for the 2025 firefly season June 26 to 28 in Forest County. In cooperation with Tionesta Lake US Army Corps of Engineers, the Pennsylvania Firefly Festival will host three fundraising camping events at the Kellettville Campground. The PA Firefly Festival Campouts are planned for Thursday, June 26, Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28.

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How to Modernize Manufacturing Without Losing Control

Speaker: Andrew Skoog, Founder of MachinistX & President of Hexis Representatives

Manufacturing is evolving, and the right technology can empower—not replace—your workforce. Smart automation and AI-driven software are revolutionizing decision-making, optimizing processes, and improving efficiency. But how do you implement these tools with confidence and ensure they complement human expertise rather than override it? Join industry expert Andrew Skoog as he explores how manufacturers can leverage automation to enhance operations, streamline workflows, and make smarter, data-dri

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Diversifying How We Visualize Climate Change

HumanNature

Guest Post by Elizabeth Diaz-Clark , 2024-2025 Sustainability Leadership Fellow and Ph.D. Student in the Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology at Colorado State University Seeing is Believing What do you picture when you think of climate change? Is it a sad polar bear on an isolated ice sheet? A cracked barren landscape? Or a more abstract image of Earth on fire?

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DEP: Some Guidance Now Available To Apply For $396 Million In RISE PA Industrial Decarbonization Grants; Application Period Opens Early In 2025

PA Environment Daily

The Department of Environmental Protection now has available some guidance on how to apply for the RISE PA Industrial Decarbonization Grant Program with an anticipated application period opening in early 2025. DEP was awarded $396 million in funding from the EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program established by the federal Inflation Reduction Act.

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Federal Highway Administration, Fish & Wildlife Service Host Dec. 4 Online Pollinator Conservation And Transportation Symposium

PA Environment Daily

On December 4, the Federal Highway Administration and the US Fish and Wildlife Service Center for Pollinator Conservation will host an online Pollinator Conservation and Transportation Symposium from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST. This engaging three-hour symposium will unite transportation industry leaders and practitioners from across the Nation to explore cutting-edge management practices and actionable insights in pollinator conservation.

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Climate Change Is Altering Animals' Colors

Scientific American

Lizards in France have grown lighter in color and so are many insects and birds across the globe.

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We're starting to understand why some people regain weight they lost

New Scientist

Changes to the structure of DNA within fat cells may be why it is often so hard to keep weight off after you have lost it

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Enjoy Holiday Food without the Anxiety

Scientific American

Food anxiety can peak during the holidays.

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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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Countries are cheating their way to net zero by overrelying on forests

New Scientist

Leading researchers warn that relying on "passive" carbon sinks such as forests to absorb ongoing carbon emissions will doom the world to continued warming

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November 18 - Weekly PA Environment Digest Now Available

PA Environment Daily

“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.” -- Article I, Section 27 Pennsylvania Constitution [It’s Not A Suggestion] Click Here To View Or Print The Entire Nov

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We may have solved the mystery of what froze Earth's inner core

New Scientist

A supercomputer simulation of iron and carbon atoms in Earth’s inner core may explain how a molten ball at the centre of our planet froze solid

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Wright Picked to Lead Department of Energy

NRDC

Wright is an oil-industry executive who has denied the impacts of climate change.

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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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Evidence is growing that microbes in your mouth contribute to cancer

New Scientist

The oral microbiome is increasingly being linked to head and neck cancer, but we don't yet understand its exact role

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Countries Discuss the HFC-23 Blind Spot and More at 36th Montreal Protocol Meeting

NRDC

The meeting concluded with multiple important decisions that will help advance protection of the ozone layer and our climate.

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Quantum time crystals could be used to store energy

New Scientist

The weird thermodynamics found in time crystals could be harnessed to store energy in a quantum battery-like device

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Strategy to reduce the amount of propofol waste in the operating room

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story from Universitatsklinikum Bonn. Propofol is used in the operating room to induce anesthesia. To maintain anesthesia, a continuous infusion of the agent via a separate syringe pump is the standard procedure for total intravenous anesthesia.

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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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Drought across the U.S., H5N1 in Canada and Uranus Data Reevaluated

Scientific American

A serious bird flu infection in Canada, a troubling projection of future plastic waste and dispatches from a global climate convention.

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Fight On! After Grant and Transfer, Second District Holds Upon Reconsideration that Resident Noise Does Not Preclude CEQA Class 32 Infill Exemption for USC Area Housing Development Project; But Also Holds City Must First Find Project Consistent With Redevelopment Plan Incorporated Into Zoning Before Granting Exemption

CEQA Developments

In a partially published opinion filed October 31, 2024, the Second District Court of Appeal (Div. 1) held, in light of AB 1307 and the Supreme Courts decision in Make UC a Good Neighbor v. Regents of University of California (2024) 16 Cal.5th 43 ( Make UC II ), that noise from residents congregating on a USC-area residential housing projects rooftop decks do[es] not constitute a significant environmental effect impeding application of the Class 32 exemption[,] including through attempted invoca

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Survey finds that most people believe in climate justice

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story in Cosmos. New global research has revealed that people don’t want developing countries left out of the climate change debate.

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Earth911 Podcast: Making IT Product Chemical Impacts Transparent With TCO Development’s Stephen Fuller

Earth 911

Being a consumer in an advanced economy—or any economy these days—is challenging because you cannot. The post Earth911 Podcast: Making IT Product Chemical Impacts Transparent With TCO Development’s Stephen Fuller appeared first on Earth911.

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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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How to recover when a climate disaster destroys your city

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story in Nature. In the wake of unprecedented floods that displaced half a million people in southern Brazil, researchers are investigating how to prevent long-term mental trauma and provide lessons for other regions dealing with disasters.

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It’s Time for OSHA to Finalize a Strong Heat Health Standard to Protect Workers: Here’s How You Can Help.

Union of Concerned Scientists

It’s November, and heat may not be the first thing on your mind. But here’s why it should be and what you can do to help indoor and outdoor workers stay safe from deadly heat. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a proposed heat health safety standard and is taking comments on it through the end of December. Please weigh in to protect workers’ health and safety.

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Coastal flooding during hurricanes Helene and Milton tracked

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story from the University of South Florida. A web-based application that gathers crowdsourced data to identify flooding and inform policy in coastal communities provided scientists with essential data from hurricanes Helene and Milton. The app can help inform decisions about policy and resource allocation.

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Pine Creek Headwaters Protection Group Update: Industrial Shale Gas Development In Tioga State Forest Prioritizes Industry Profit Over Constitutional Mandate To Preserve, Protect State Forest Lands

PA Environment Daily

The Tioga County-based Pine Creek Headwaters Protection Group devoted most of its Winter 2024-25 newsletter to providing an update on industrial shale gas development in the Tioga State Forest. The Headwaters Protection Group was formed to protect Pine Creek, its headwaters and the forests and fields within that area. They have never taken a formal position against fracking, but have worked to ensure the shale gas industry does “the least harm” possible to their beloved Tioga County.

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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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Reactor could make direct air capture more energy efficient

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story from Rice University. Researchers have developed an electrochemical reactor that has the potential to drastically reduce energy consumption and cost for direct air capture.

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Monday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips -- 11.18.24

PA Environment Daily

“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania's public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.” - - Article I, Section 27 Pennsylvania Constitution [It’s Not A Suggestion] House Voting Schedule -- [End Of Session,

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Companies and investors can now get smarter when it comes to nature

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story from Stanford University. Amid growing pressure to report on nature-related risks and impacts, an open-source footprinting tool offers a scientific and transparent approach.

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Hope Amidst the Heat: Massachusetts’ New Legislation to Combat Climate Crisis and Protect Communities 

Union of Concerned Scientists

It may feel like we are facing a grim reality. Regardless of people’s beliefs, the facts show us the increasing toll from an unaddressed climate crisis. Globally, this year is going strong as the warmest on record and likely one of the coolest we’ll see in the decades ahead. In Spain, recent catastrophic flooding, the most devastating in Europe since 1967, has cost more than 200 lives.

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Achieving health justice through environmental justice

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story from the Association of American Medical Colleges. All communities, particularly those that have been historically marginalized, deserve equitable access to healthy environments, the authors argue.

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