Mon.Jun 06, 2022

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What Happens If Glen Canyon Dam’s Power Shuts Off?

Circle of Blue

Lake Powell is drying behind one of the Southwest’s largest hydropower plants. Glen Canyon Dam forms the massive reservoir of Lake Powell. Water in Powell is released through turbines in the dam, generating power that electrifies homes, businesses, rural coops, and irrigation pumps across six states and more than 50 Native American tribes. Photo © J.

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We’re Naming Summer “Danger Season” in the US. Here’s Why.

Union of Concerned Scientists

Every year, as the calendar flips from May to June, I feel a sense of dread sink into my chest. By June 1 each year, the West’s rainy season is long over, hurricane season is likely to have kicked off, and the grim annual parade of heatwaves has begun. While summer is still summer and we on the climate team at UCS look forward to ice cream and late sunsets as much as anyone, there’s something we need to tell you: Climate change has transformed summer into our country’s Danger Season, and we’d be

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A Beautiful Day for Bumblefish?

Legal Planet

A California appeals court ruled last week that bumblebees are fish and are therefore protected by the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). That may sound ridiculous, but there’s actually a convoluted legal argument to support the court. That argument does justify giving the CESA some extra coverage beyond what we would ordinarily classify as fish.

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After Long Decline, Eastern Monarchs Show Signs of Recovery, Survey Finds

Yale E360

Eastern monarch butterflies covered 35 percent more ground in the mountain forests of central Mexico this past winter than they did the year before, according to a survey from the World Wildlife Fund. Read more on E360 ?.

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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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Temasek Launches Investment Platform Aimed at Accelerating Decarbonization

Environment + Energy Leader

Temasek today announced the launch of GenZero, a wholly-owned investment platform company dedicated to accelerating decarbonization globally. The post Temasek Launches Investment Platform Aimed at Accelerating Decarbonization appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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Climate Change, Danger Seasons and the Need for Global Action

Union of Concerned Scientists

Deadly heatwaves, extreme drought, food and water shortages, catastrophic flooding, rapidly intensifying tropical storms, raging wildfires—around the world, climate change is exacerbating extreme conditions and their harsh toll on people and ecosystems. It’s fueling “Danger Seasons,” when these impacts are at their peak and are also increasingly likely to collide with one another.

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Clathrate superhydride makes new high-temperature superconductor

Physics World

Researchers in China have synthesized a new type of high-temperature superconductor, clathrate calcium hydride (CaH 6 ). The material, which is superconducting at temperatures of 215 K and pressures of 172 GPa (1.72 Mbar), is one of best high-temperature superhydrides made to date and the only clathrate hydride outside the family of rare earth and actinide hydrides.

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No Off-Lease Gas Use Recovery For Royalty Owners

Energy & the Law

Co-author Brittany Blakey. The question is presented again but in a different format: In Texas is a lessee allowed to deduct post-production costs (PPC’s) from the lessor’s gas royalty? In Carl v. Hilcorp , the answer was “yes” based on the language in the oil and gas lease at issue. The question was for gas used by the lessee off the lease premises.

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Synergistic integration of deep learning and model-based reconstruction for CT image generation

Physics World

Want to take part in this webinar? Join the audience. (Courtesy: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock). Conventional model-based image reconstruction (MBIR) for X-ray CT is often formulated as an optimization problem, the solution of which is the unknown image to be reconstructed. Research in the past few years has shifted to replace components of these conventional MBIR methods by deep neural network models.

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Restoring the Great Lakes: After 50 years of US-Canada joint efforts, some success and lots of unfinished business

Environmental News Bits

by Daniel Macfarlane, Western Michigan University The Great Lakes cover nearly 95,000 square miles (250,000 square kilometers) and hold over 20% of Earth’s surface fresh water. More than 30 million people in the U.S. and Canada rely on them for drinking water. The lakes support a multibillion-dollar maritime economy, and the lands around them provided … Continue reading Restoring the Great Lakes: After 50 years of US-Canada joint efforts, some success and lots of unfinished business.

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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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Incorporating deep learning into X-ray CT imaging

Physics World

Want to take part in this webinar? Join the audience. In recent years, deep learning gained a lot of attention and made impressive achievements in various applications. Incorporating deep learning in X-ray CT has become a non-reversible trend. In this webinar, we’ll give a brief overview of deep learning technology. On this basis, focusing on the key issues in CT imaging, including denoising, artefact suppression, image reconstruction, we will discuss the methodology of incorporating deep

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Medical cannabis eases chronic pain – but only if it has very high THC

New Scientist

Most prescribed cannabis products for chronic pain cause side effects like dizziness, but a new review has found that only those with very high THC, not CBD, actually provide pain relief

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Ag and Food Law Daily Update: June 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: June 6, 2022 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center.

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Computer calculation and machine learning in radiotherapy

Physics World

Want to take part in this webinar? Join the audience. Recent innovations of computer calculation and artificial intelligence in radiotherapy resulted in rapid advancements in various aspects in cancer treatment such as treatment planning, patient-specific quality assurance, radiation dosimetry, and education for patients and radiation staff. Such computer applications not only improve the quality of radiation treatment, but also enhance the safety in the radiotherapy chain.

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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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AI translates maths problems into code to make them easier to solve

New Scientist

An artificial intelligence that can turn mathematical concepts written in English into a formal proving language for computers could make problems easier for other AIs to solve

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Who really owns the oil industry’s future stranded assets? If you own investment funds or expect a pension, it might be you

Environmental News Bits

by Gregor Semieniuk, UMass Amherst and Philip Holden, The Open University When an oil company invests in an expensive new drilling project today, it’s taking a gamble. Even if the new well is a success, future government policies designed to slow climate change could make the project unprofitable or force it to shut down years … Continue reading Who really owns the oil industry’s future stranded assets?

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Are the world's most powerful supercomputers operating in secret?

New Scientist

A supercomputer called Frontier has been officially crowned as the world's first exascale computer – one capable of a billion billion operations per second – but more powerful machines may be out there

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Climate activist delivers a poignant message during the French Open semi-final ?

A Greener Life

Photo credit: Derniere Renovation. By Anders Lorenzen. As the high-profile grand slam tennis tournament Roland Garros (French Open) entered its later stages, it also became the centre point for climate action. A climate activist from the French climate group Derniere Renovation managed to gain access to the men’s semi-final between Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud as she jumped onto the Philippe Chatrier court and glued herself to the net using metal wires.

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Greening Professional Sport: How Communicating the Fit, Proximity, and Impact of Sustainability Efforts Affects Fan Perceptions and Supportive Intentions

Environmental News Bits

Harrison, V.S.; Vafeiadis, M.; Bober, J. (2022). “Greening Professional Sport: How Communicating the Fit, Proximity, and Impact of Sustainability Efforts Affects Fan Perceptions and Supportive Intentions.” Sustainability 14, 3139. [link] Abstract: Grounded in multidisciplinary literature from public relations, sport communication, and marketing, this study examined consumer reactions to sustainability initiatives launched by major sports leagues. … Continue reading Greening Pro

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42% chance of breaching 1.5°C goal even if all carbon emissions cease

New Scientist

However, research shows that prospects for meeting the Paris Agreement’s backstop of 2°C is still well within reach, provided emissions are cut rapidly

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Focus on machine learning models in medical imaging

Physics World

Want to take part in this webinar? Join the audience. This webinar is made up of three presentations: • AI autocontouring of organs in preclinical radiation studies for cancer. An overview will be given of the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in automatic delineation (contouring) of organs in preclinical cancer research models. It will be shown how AI can increase efficiency in preclinical research.

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On-Site Conventional Oil & Gas Drilling Waste Disposal Plans Making Hundreds Of Drilling Sites Waste Dumps

PA Environment Daily

Randomly selected individual on-site drill cutting and wastewater disposal plans submitted by conventional oil and gas drillers call for drilling wastes to be “dispersed directly to the environment,” according to a review by PA Environment Digest. The plans are authorized under DEP’s existing oil and gas regulations and approved by the agency. Read more here.

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Monkeypox DNA hints virus has been spreading in people for years

New Scientist

Genome sequencing confirms that monkeypox cases outside Africa are all related and suggests the virus responsible may have been circulating in people since 2017

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Earth911 Podcast: Dr. Marcus Extavour on the $100M XPRIZE Circular Carbon Network Competition

Earth 911

Dr. Marcus Extavour, chief scientist and executive vice president of the XPRIZE Circular Carbon Network, The post Earth911 Podcast: Dr. Marcus Extavour on the $100M XPRIZE Circular Carbon Network Competition appeared first on Earth911.

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Meet Our New Executive Director, Library and Archives

Academy of Natural Sciences

Pedro Raposo is thrilled about the power of a well-kept collection. As a seasoned museum, library and archival professional — with a passion for public engagement, science and history — Raposo has had first-hand experience of a collection’s immense potential for research and storytelling, as well as inspiring positive change. So, it comes as no surprise that the Academy is equally excited to welcome Raposo as our new executive director of library and archives, an incredibly prestigious — a

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Report Reveals Disconnect Between Sustainability Plans and Action at Most Companies

Environmental Leader

Recent research by Oxford Economics and SAP has uncovered significant barriers to corporate sustainability initiatives. The post Report Reveals Disconnect Between Sustainability Plans and Action at Most Companies appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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Robotic peregrine falcon can scare birds away from crop fields

New Scientist

A flying robot inspired by peregrine falcons offers a non-lethal method for scaring flocks of birds from crop fields

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Accelerating drug discovery with machine learning and AI

Physics World

Want to take part in this webinar? Join the audience. Deep learning is revolutionizing many areas of science and technology, particularly in natural language processing, speech recognition and computer vision. In this talk, we will provide an overview into the latest developments of machine learning and AI methods and application to the problem of drug discovery and development at Isayev’s Lab at CMU.

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Popping a champagne cork fires gas at supersonic speeds

New Scientist

A computer simulation has revealed what happens in the microseconds after uncorking a bottle of champagne in full detail, uncovering how different types of shock waves form before the drink is ready to pour

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We don’t have to solve business problems with food waste

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story at Triple Pundit. When asking indigenous farmers about food waste, A-dae Romero-Briones, director of programs for the First Nations Development Institute, said they expressed puzzlement. According to Romero-Briones, indigenous farmers didn’t know why they would operate a system that intentionally wasted food. After all, if they were doing things right, they wouldn’t … Continue reading We don’t have to solve business problems with food waste.

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We may now know when chickens were domesticated – but not why

New Scientist

Chickens were domesticated later than we thought, but probably not for their meat.

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Foresters hope ‘assisted migration’ will preserve landscapes as the climate changes

Environmental News Bits

Read the full story from NPR. Foresters have experiments underway around the country in “assisted migration.” This term actually covers a pretty wide gamut of activity, from, in this case, moving a genotype within a tree’s existing range to introducing an animal somewhere its species has never lived before.

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EPA Announces Winners of the 2022 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards

Brag

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton. On June 6, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the winners of the 2022 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards. EPA states that green chemistry “is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the generation and use of hazardous substances.” According to EPA, the winners “have developed new and innovative green chemistry technologies that provide solutions to significant environmental challen

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The Politics of Protein: Examining Claims About Livestock, Fish, ‘Alternative Proteins,’ and Sustainability

Environmental News Bits

This report by IPES-Food examines the sustainability and health claims about livestock, fish, alternative proteins and makes recommendations to reframe the discussion, overcome polarization, and put the conditions and frameworks in place for reformed pathways to emerge.