Mon.Jun 13, 2022

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Do We Really Need New Technology to Fight Climate Change?

Union of Concerned Scientists

I was invited to speak at a panel discussion last Wednesday as part of The Economist ’s annual Sustainability Week, titled “What technologies are needed to avert a climate disaster?” True to the theme, I was asked about which technological innovations would be necessary to save our planet. I wanted to take this space to share some of my thoughts from the panel—and why I believe this wasn’t exactly the right question to ask.

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Climate Policy in India

Legal Planet

India is home to 1.39 billion people, just below China but growing faster. By some projections, it will have the second largest economy in the world by 2050. In terms of climate policy, however, it doesn’t get nearly as much attention as China. That’s understandable in terms of India’s current carbon emissions, which are now only a quarter of China’s.

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After More Than a Decade of Drought, Chile's Peñuelas Lake Has Nearly Vanished

Yale E360

A once-sprawling lake, the Peñuelas reservoir in central Chile has all but disappeared, desiccated by a 13-year drought. The resulting water shortage has fueled tensions over supplies needed for farming and lithium mining, and spurred the Chilean capital of Santiago to prepare for rationing. Read more on E360 ?.

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Emissions Trading in California: Lessons for China

Legal Planet

We are pleased to announce the release of a new UCLA Law Emmett Institute of Climate Change & Environment report on Emissions Trading in California: Lessons for China. As many of you know, China launched trading for its national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading system (ETS) in 2021. By volume of emissions, the Chinese system is the world’s largest ETS.

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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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Sick Building Syndrome: Causes & Prevention | BreezoMeter

Breezometer

Sick Building Syndrome impacts the health, wellness, and productivity of many building occupants across the world. But why is diagnosing this sickness so difficult? In this piece, we explore Sick Building Syndrome in more detail and consider how new forms of environmental intelligence can help providers of commercial indoor treatment solutions ensure they meet health regulations and demands for safety indoors.

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Gaia releases most detailed maps of the Milky Way ever taken

Physics World

The European Space Agency (ESA) has released the latest data from its €450m Gaia mission. It contains information about billions of stars in our Milky Way, a catalogue of thousands of objects in our solar system such as asteroids and moons, as well as data on millions of galaxies and quasars in the universe. Gaia’s aim is to create the most accurate and complete multi-dimensional map of the Milky Way.

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Bike The Brandywine Returns For Its 5th Year On Sept. 17 In Chester County

PA Environment Daily

Back from a pandemic hiatus, the Brandywine Conservancy’s Bike the Brandywine event will officially return for its fifth year on Saturday, September 17, 2022. This year’s ride will feature three scenic routes that explore the beautiful Brandywine Creek Greenway and surrounding countryside. Proceeds from the ride benefit the clean water and open space programs of the Brandywine Conservancy.

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Protecting biodiversity – and making it accessible – has paid off for Costa Rica

Environmental News Bits

by Alejandra Echeverri Ochoa, Stanford University and Jeffrey R. Smith, Princeton University After two years of pandemic lockdowns and border closures, global travel appears to be rebounding in much of the world in 2022. Wilderness is a big tourist attraction – but do countries that protect their natural environments earn a payoff in tourism revenues?

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Opinion: Economics is on the side of a low-emissions future?

A Greener Life

By Jeremy Williams. The title above is a quote from the Global Turning Point report from Deloitte, which looks into the economic cost of inaction on climate change. If you’ve been paying attention to such things for a while, you’ll remember the Stern review , which was an important moment in climate policy in the UK. It made it very clear that the cost of inaction was greater than the cost of action, and that there was a sound economic case for responding to climate change.

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How Studio Ghibli films can help us rediscover the childlike wonder of our connection with nature

Environmental News Bits

by Yuan Pan, University of Reading Films with powerful environmentally centred narratives can transform our thinking and connect us with nature in ways that scientific papers cannot. For example, Studio Ghibli, a renowned Japanese film studio co-founded by animator Hayao Miyazaki, creates complex visual stories about human-nature relationships that transcend barriers of culture or age. … Continue reading How Studio Ghibli films can help us rediscover the childlike wonder of our connection

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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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Has Google's LaMDA artificial intelligence really achieved sentience?

New Scientist

Blake Lemoine, an engineer at Google, has claimed that the firm's LaMDA artificial intelligence is sentient, but the expert consensus is that this is not the case

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Reuse Ecosystem Map

Environmental News Bits

All For Reuse, a network of building professionals committed to the reuse of commercial building materials, created this map to connect the dots across the design and construction industry to move toward an inclusive circular economy in the building sector.

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Friends Of Allegheny Wilderness Advocates Cancellation Of Tracy Ridge Burn Project To Protect Bat

PA Environment Daily

In a letter to Forest Supervisor Jamie Davidson , the nonprofit wilderness advocacy organization Friends of Allegheny Wilderness is asking the U.S. Forest Service to cancel a prescribed burn project in the proposed Tracy Ridge Wilderness Area in the Allegheny National Forest , out of concern for the imperiled northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis).

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This humble chair kickstarted the sustainable-design revolution

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story at Fast Company. Designer Jane Atfield brought recycled plastic into furniture design in the ‘90s. She’s ready for the industry to finally catch up.

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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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Long-Term Industrial Improvements Must Come from Ingrained Sustainability Efforts

Environmental Leader

Industry needs to make deeper commitments to sustainability improvements for long-range successes, according to a report. The post Long-Term Industrial Improvements Must Come from Ingrained Sustainability Efforts appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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One epigenome-editing injection could cut cholesterol level for years

New Scientist

Tests in mice show that it is possible to switch off a gene in liver cells for at least 220 days, which should lower cholesterol and cut the risk of heart disease

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ExxonMobil Becomes a Partner of Houston’s Ion Hub

Environmental Leader

ExxonMobil has joined as a Founding Partner of Houston's innovation hub, The Ion, to curate programming to advance the energy transition. The post ExxonMobil Becomes a Partner of Houston’s Ion Hub appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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Brains can be hotter than the rest of our bodies, especially in women

New Scientist

Our grey matter can be over 2°C warmer than the rest of our body, with the highest temperatures reached by women’s brains in the second half of the menstrual cycle

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From Spring to Fall, New York Harbor Is a Feeding Ground for Bottlenose Dolphins, a New Study Reveals

Inside Climate News

Scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society used underwater acoustic monitoring to record their foraging “clicks” and compile baseline data on their presence in the busy estuary. By Daelin Brown The bottlenose dolphins arrive in New York Harbor in the spring and frequent the busy waterway through autumn, sometimes feeding with such frenzy that their foraging clicks sound like a buzz on underwater listening devices off Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and New Jersey.

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Ag and Food Law Daily Update: June 13, 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: June 13, 2022 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center.

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More than 1 in 7 people worldwide have had Lyme disease

New Scientist

Lyme disease is becoming increasingly common across the world, with warming temperatures one possible culprit for ticks spreading to new regions

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Bay Journal: EPA And Farm Bureau Find Common Ground In Pennsylvania - Urge State Lawmakers To Support Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Funding

PA Environment Daily

By Karl Blankenship, Chesapeake Bay Journal A decade ago, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were squaring off on opposite sides of courtrooms The farm organization was challenging the agency’s authority to establish new cleanup goals for the Chesapeake Bay, a case it ultimately lost after years in court. On Thursday, their leaders stood side by side, urging Pennsylvania lawmakers to support efforts that would help farmers meet the state’s nutrient reduction go

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Gaia telescope’s new map of the Milky Way will let us rewind time

New Scientist

The European Space Agency has released a new tranche of data from its Gaia space observatory, and it could help us rewind the path of stars to see the history of the Milky Way

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Long-Term Industrial Improvements Must Come from Ingrained Sustainability Efforts

Environmental Leader

Industry needs to make deeper commitments to sustainability improvements for long-range successes, according to a report. The post Long-Term Industrial Improvements Must Come from Ingrained Sustainability Efforts appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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Parts of the brain form a circuit that may fuel smoking addiction

New Scientist

Some smokers lose their cravings after experiencing damage to specific parts of the brain, suggesting these areas form a network that somehow fuels the habit

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ExxonMobil Becomes a Partner of Houston’s Ion Hub

Environmental Leader

ExxonMobil has joined as a Founding Partner of Houston's innovation hub, The Ion, to curate programming to advance the energy transition. The post ExxonMobil Becomes a Partner of Houston’s Ion Hub appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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England food strategy ducks big questions on health and environment

New Scientist

A major policy paper fails to address big health and environmental issues it was supposed to tackle, such as how to enable the diet changes needed to reach net zero

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TURI releases guide to safer alternatives for halogenated solvents

Environmental News Bits

TURI’s new Alternatives to Halogenated Solvents Used in Surface Cleaning Guide provides insight into safer options for specific applications, shows how to evaluate those alternatives, and determine information needed from equipment vendors. Links to case studies sprinkled throughout showcase safer alternative chemistries and equipment used, performance testing process, and return on investment.

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Fort Bragg Gets Floating Solar Plant

Environmental Leader

A large floating solar facility, a growing way to implement renewable energy, is being installed at the North Carolina military base. The post Fort Bragg Gets Floating Solar Plant appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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California and New York high school students earn EPA’s Patrick H. Hurd Sustainability Award at world’s largest pre-college science career fair

Environmental News Bits

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that two high school seniors earned the agency’s 2022 Patrick H. Hurd Sustainability Award for their research projects at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF) in Atlanta, Georgia. Jacqueline Prawira, a senior at Mountain House High School, Mountain House, California won for a project titled, “Cyclo.Cloud: Development … Continue reading California and New York high school students earn EPA’s Pa

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Robot can find keys in a bag just by listening as it rummages around

New Scientist

A robotic arm with an attached microphone learned to locate objects in a bag based on the sound they make, including a ring of keys and a bag of crisps

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Carbon capture and sequestration loses ground to carbon recycling

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story at Triple Pundit. Fossil fuel stakeholders continue to tout carbon capture and sequestration as an effective strategy for picking up the pace of global decarbonization, but they have yet to prove their case. The argument in favor of underground carbon sequestration has become even more difficult to prove with the advent … Continue reading Carbon capture and sequestration loses ground to carbon recycling.

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Preparations Underway For Penn State’s 2022 Ag Progress Days August 9-11

PA Environment Daily

Organizers have begun preparations for Penn State's 2022 Ag Progress Days exposition, which will be held Aug. 9-11 in Centre County. Sponsored by the College of Agricultural Sciences, the expo is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, located 9 miles southwest of State College on state Route 45. Admission and parking are free.

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Deny, Deceive, Delay: Documenting and Responding to Climate Disinformation at COP26 and Beyond

Environmental News Bits

A new report released Thursday by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and the 20+ member coalition Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) documents the extent and diverse nature of climate disinformation during last year’s international climate conference in Glasgow, COP26. The report, the most comprehensive of its type to date, offers seven key policy recommendations to stop disinformation from jeopardizing future … Continue reading Deny, Deceive, Delay: Documenting and Respo

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