October, 2023

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Stopping the Carnage: A Push to Protect Birds from Window Strikes

Yale E360

A massive bird kill this month highlighted a grim problem: As many as a billion birds die in the U.S. each year by flying into windows and glass walls. Efforts are now underway in cities to dim building lights, make glass more visible, and adopt other bird-friendly practices.

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Transition to EVs: a Win for Climate; Let’s Make it a Win for US Workers

Union of Concerned Scientists

A global transition to electric transportation is underway and momentum is growing. Traditional and new auto manufacturers are bringing more and more models to market. Even in California, where a tradition of stringent regulation has pushed the industry to innovate over the past 50 years, automakers are selling EVs at levels well above sales requirements.

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The World Solved Acid Rain. We Can Also Solve Climate Change

Scientific American

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

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California Enacts Major Water Law Reform Legislation–But More Changes Are Needed

Legal Planet

The California Legislature has enacted and Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law SB 389 , an important water law reform measure authored by State Senator Ben Allen. California has one of the most antiquated and outdated water rights systems of any Western state. Indeed, California currently faces a 21st century water supply crisis; relies on a 20th century water infrastructure system; and is burdened by a 19th century water rights legal regime.

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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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Ontario Government Political Staff Directed Changes to Municipal Official Plans to Favour the Interests of Select Landowners

Enviromental Defense

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE AND ECOJUSTICE Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Newly obtained documents released by Ontario’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing as a result of a series of freedom of information requests show that it was partisan Minister’s Office staff – not civil service experts – who directed changes to municipal Official Plans in ways that favoured select landowners and sprawl devel

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New York Supreme Court Dismisses Challenge to Local Law 97

SPR Law

On October 30, 2023, the New York Supreme Court, New York County dismissed a significant legal challenge to New York City’s building emissions law, Local Law 97 of 2019. The decision provides clarity to the NYC real estate community that Local Law 97 is valid, enforceable, and constitutional. The law’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caps… The post New York Supreme Court Dismisses Challenge to Local Law 97 appeared first on Sive Paget Riesel.

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How are EV batteries (actually) recycled?

Union of Concerned Scientists

Electric Vehicle (EV) battery recycling is crucial to a sustainable, electrified transportation system. A substantial portion of key minerals for electrifying could come from recycled batteries by 2050, dramatically reducing the need for new mining. But how those batteries are recycled can make a big difference—we must use recycling processes with high mineral recovery rates and lower environmental impact.

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A Possible Crisis in the Cosmos Could Lead to a New Understanding of the Universe

Scientific American

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

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Livestock Operations Are Responsible for Over Half of California’s Methane Emissions—Why Won’t CARB Regulate Them?

Legal Planet

U.S. Dep’t of Agriculture At a recent California Air Resources Board (CARB) meeting, a staff member responded to a question about why CARB’s program for reducing emissions from transportation fuels incentivized the capture of methane from landfills so much less than the capture of methane from dairies: “Landfills have a different CI [carbon intensity] score because they are regulated,” the staff member explained.

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Statement: Reversing forced boundary expansions in Hamilton, Halton, Waterloo and other municipalities would be another modest step towards ending Ontario’s sprawl and land speculation scandal

Enviromental Defense

Statement by Phil Pothen, Ontario Environmen t Program Manager on Ontario Government’s Commitment to Reverse Forced Boundary Expansions in Hamilton, Halton, Waterloo and other Ontario Municipalities Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – The provincial government will take another modest step to try to end its sprawl and land speculation scandal if it follows through on Minister Calandra’s promise to reverse the

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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 Much Trash is in the Ocean?

Ocean Conservancy

In many ways, the ocean is “ground zero” for the plastic pollution crisis. It is so vast, yet plastics have been found in every corner of the ocean —from the deepest trench to the most remote Arctic ice sheets. Sea turtles , whales and seabirds are frequently discovered with plastics in their guts, unable to escape the plastic deluge. So, it’s normal to wonder, how much trash is in the ocean?

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The Planet’s Big Blue Machine: Why the Ocean Engine Matters

Yale E360

The ocean is an enormous engine, turning heat energy into motion, says physicist Helen Czerski. But human activity is threatening that machine — depriving the seas of oxygen, increasing stratification, and potentially changing the currents that influence global weather.

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Electric bikes: a Less-Polluting Option for Commutes and Errands in the “New Normal”

Union of Concerned Scientists

My commute now mostly consists of the distance from my bedroom to the laptop in my home office (with a short detour to the kitchen for coffee) because I’m fortunate enough to have a job and employer that allows me to work from home. But pre-COVID, most days I used an electric bike to handle the 11-mile round trip to and from the Oakland UCS office. And while I miss seeing my colleagues in person, at times I also miss my commute!

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To Lead a Meaningful Life, Become Your Own Hero

Scientific American

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

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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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Face masks ward off covid-19, so why are we still arguing about it?

New Scientist

The most recent review into the effectiveness of face masks has confirmed that they do help to prevent covid-19, but the intervention remains a controversial issue

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Environmental groups sue Ontario government to release Greenbelt documents

Enviromental Defense

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE AND ECOJUSTICE Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Ecojustice, on behalf of Environmental Defence, is taking the Ontario government to court to make sure it tells the public the truth about the Greenbelt scandal, and about the government’s relationship with developers.

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Untangling Threats to Whales

Ocean Conservancy

In recent years, an elevated number of whale strandings have occurred along the east coast of the United States. These unusual mortality events have rightly raised concerns, especially with regard to the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Misinformation about the causes of these whale strandings is jeopardizing the public’s ability to address the real threats to whales and implement evidence-based solutions that can help.

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Climate Change Is Pushing These Migratory Birds to the Brink

Yale E360

Afro-Siberian red knots migrate from the Arctic to winter in Africa, where they recover from the arduous journey. But warming in Siberia is causing physiological changes in the birds that hinder their ability to feed, and scientists fear the subspecies is headed for extinction.

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Scientists Disagree About Drivers of September’s Global Temperature Spike, but It Has Most of Them Worried

Inside Climate News

The month’s shocking surge is likely to make 2023 the hottest year on record and drive extreme impact around the globe. It could also be a harbinger of even higher temperatures next year. By Bob Berwyn September’s stunning rise of the average global temperature is all but certain to make 2023 the warmest year on record, and 2024 is likely to be even hotter, edging close to the “red line” of 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming above the pre-industrial level that the 2015 Paris climate agreement is str

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What Went Wrong with a Highly Publicized COVID Mask Analysis?

Scientific American

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

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A blast of radio waves hit Earth after travelling for 8 billion years

New Scientist

A huge burst of energy that has been travelling for more than half the age of the universe is powerful enough to microwave a bowl of popcorn twice the size of the sun

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Statement: The Ontario Government’s New Greenbelt Bill is only a modest first step towards ending the sprawl and land speculation scandal

Enviromental Defense

Statement by Phil Pothen, Ontario Environment Program Manager on An Act to amend the Greenbelt Act, 2005… Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – By introducing legislation to return the 7,400 acres of vital habitat and prime farmland his Ministry wrongly removed from the Greenbelt, Minister Paul Callandra has taken only a modest first first step on the long path that leads out of the government’s sprawl and

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All About the Catshark

Ocean Conservancy

Not to be confused with the similarly named catfish, the catshark is an interesting aquatic animal. And yes, even though they dwell on the ocean floor, they have a couple of characteristics in common with their feline namesake. If you’ve ever walked into a room with the lights off and been startled by your cat’s gleaming eyes, you know that they have special light-sensitive eyes designed for hunting in total darkness.

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Why Native Women’s Voices Are Crucial to Saving Brazil’s Forests

Yale E360

Cristiane Julião — a member of the Pankararu Indigenous group and co-founder of the National Articulation of Ancestral Warriors Women — challenges the deeply rooted sexism that hinders environmental protection in Brazil. “The state needs to listen to women,” she insists.

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Who Were the Worst of the Worst Climate Polluters in 2022?

Inside Climate News

EPA’s annual greenhouse gas report for large emitters show some facilities slashed their emissions while others polluted more than ever. By Phil McKenna Emissions from the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the U.S. were down slightly in 2022, but thousands of industrial facilities with substantial emissions remain, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently released Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program data.

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Grammar Changes How We See, an Australian Language Shows

Scientific American

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

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Student uses AI to decipher word in ancient scroll from Herculaneum

New Scientist

A computer science student has discovered the first decipherable word in unopened scrolls from Herculaneum, an ancient Roman town buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius

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Top reasons why building Highway 413 is a very bad idea

Enviromental Defense

Highway 413 has been back in the news lately, and for one very important, and very concerning reason. Premier Ford finally relented and cancelled plans to open the Greenbelt to development but at the same time reiterated his plan to build the highway, including committing unspecified billions of our money towards constructing both Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass.

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Sabin Center Launches Report with Summaries of the Briefs and Statements Submitted to the ITLOS on The Advisory Opinion on Climate Change

Law Columbia

On September 29, 2023, a report titled “ITLOS Advisory Opinion on Climate Change: Summary of Briefs and Statements Submitted to the Tribunal” was published by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. This report offers an overview of the briefs and statements submitted to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in response to the Commission of Small Island States (COSIS)’s request for an advisory opinion on crucial legal questions pertaining to climate change (you c

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What the Expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill Means for Food and Agriculture

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)

On October 1, 2023, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 – more commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill – expired. The expiration did not come as a surprise, as Congress’ timeline for reauthorizing the 2018 Farm Bill has been increasingly drawn out for a variety of reasons such that neither the House nor Senate Agriculture Committees have yet been ready to unveil their bills.

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Extinction Findings Underscore Need for Strong ESA

NRDC

Twenty-one long-missing endangered species have been declared extinct. Far from a failure of the ESA, the announcement shows the need for prompt ESA protections.

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See How Humans around the World Spend the 24 Hours in a Day

Scientific American

Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.

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Mega penguins: These are the largest penguins to have ever lived

New Scientist

No penguin alive today can compare with some of the extinct giants that once roamed the planet, including Kumimanu fordycei, Petradyptes stonehousei and Palaeeudyptes klekowskii

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Statement: Leaked Document Shows Ontario Government Knew Expanding Urban Boundaries Would Make it Harder to Build More Homes

Enviromental Defense

Statement by Phil Pothen, Ontario Environment Program Manager Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Today’s leak of internal documents from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing reveals that just as in Halton Region and Hamilton, the Ontario government knew that imposing 3,211 hectares of boundary expansions in Belleville, Peterborough, Waterloo, and Wellington was a threat to more than the environment –