Sat.Oct 09, 2021 - Fri.Oct 15, 2021

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HotSpots H2O: New Report Urges Policymakers to ‘Wake Up to the Looming Water Crisis’

Circle of Blue

Current rates of progress on water, sanitation, and hygiene would need to quadruple to meet UN targets. Over the past 20 years, the majority of flood losses have occurred in Asia, where climate change-induced rainfall is expected to hit the hardest. Photo © GKarunakar / Wikimedia Commons. A new report found that global progress on water, sanitation, and hygiene goals is falling short.

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A Nobel pursuit

Real Climate

Klaus Hasselmann and Suki Manabe. Last week, the Nobel physics prize was (half) awarded to Suki Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann for their work on climate prediction and the detection and attribution of climate change. This came as quite a surprise to the climate community – though it was welcomed warmly. We’ve discussed the early climate model predictions a lot (including some from Manabe and his colleagues), and we’ve discussed detection and attribution of climate change as well,

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At Glasgow, Can the World Move from Aspiration to Action?

Yale E360

Negotiators at the Glasgow climate conference will face a stark choice: Focus on setting firm emissions targets for 2030, or settle for goals of achieving “net zero” by 2050? The course they set could determine if we have a shot at avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. Read more on E360 ?.

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Top US Chemical Weapons Company Selling Lethal Smoke as Non-Hazardous

Union of Concerned Scientists

Safariland—a chemical weapons company that boasts annual sales of over $850 million—has removed vital safety information from its hexachloroethane (HC) smoke grenades, each of which is capable of killing 10 people. The company is now selling HC grenades labeled with a health rating of 0, meaning “no risk to human health”—a dangerous falsehood about a deadly […].

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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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The Law Is An Ass, RCRA Edition

Law and Environment

Late last month, the 9 th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a public water supplier could be liable in a citizens’ suit brought under the imminent and substantial endangerment provisions of RCRA, where the plaintiff alleged that the groundwater used by the supplier had been contaminated by the disposal of hexavalent chromium by a wood treatment facility upgradient of the supplier’s well field.

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Climate and Colonialism: Some Columbus Day Thoughts

Legal Planet

“In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” That’s what we learned in my grade school. Today, Columbus Day remains a day of celebration for some but has become a symbols of colonialism for others. Rather than entering that debate, I’d like to reflect on how issues of colonialism might relate to climate change. The study of colonialism and post-colonial societies is now a major academic focus.

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Roundup: Welcome Steps on Masks and Concerns about Booster Advice

Union of Concerned Scientists

Liz Borkowski provides a look back at the Biden administration's performance on scientific integrity for the third quarter of 2021.

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Beethoven's Unfinished 10th Symphony Brought to Life by Artificial Intelligence

Scientific American

Nearly 200 years after his death, the German composer’s musical scratch was pieced together by machine—with a lot of human help. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Never Give Up. Never Surrender.

Legal Planet

Although lacking the same eloquence, today’s post is in the spirit of Churchill’s famous speech promising that Britain would “fight on the beaches, … we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” My point is this: No matter how many battles we end up losing in the fight to stop carbon emissions, we can never afford to give up. It’s not hard to see why some people despair about the climate.

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Meteor strike may have destroyed Sodom, collective blob motion, asteroid nuclear impact

Physics World

According to book of Genesis in the Bible, the city of Sodom was destroyed by God because of the wickedness of its people. While there are several historical sites that could have been Sodom – and some scientists have suggested that the city could have been destroyed by a natural event such as a meteor strike – the story is widely regarded as mythical.

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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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Coal Ash Cleanup: Victory for the Environment, the Economy, and Environmental Justice

Union of Concerned Scientists

A new report demonstrates that utilities can do a much better job cleaning up coal ash sites to protect public health, the environment, and local economies.

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US military may get a dog-like robot armed with a sniper rifle

New Scientist

A four-legged robot made by Ghost Robotics and outfitted with a sniper rifle and night-vision cameras was displayed at a meeting of the Association of the United States Army

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Was Our Universe Created in a Laboratory?

Scientific American

Developing quantum-gravity technologies may elevate us to a “class A” civilization, capable of creating a baby universe. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Why nuclear energy must be part of ‘net zero’ climate targets

Physics World

Tricky problem Nuclear energy is often not viewed as a low-carbon energy source. (Courtesy: Shutterstock/andrea dantee). According to a poll carried out in 2020 by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), only a quarter of people aged between 18 and 24 in the UK are aware that nuclear is a low-carbon source of energy. Three-quarters of young people, in contrast, believe that wind and solar are low carbon, with only 61% of the eldest-age category polled – 65–74 year olds – knowing that n

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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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Biden Administration’s Policies on COVID-19 Booster Shots Plagued by Chaos

Union of Concerned Scientists

Over the past few weeks, the issue of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots has caused a perfect storm of politics, science, and confusion. We’ve seen wide scientific agreement, vigorous debate, and political overstep. As I think about the Biden administration’s actions, I’m both empathetic and enraged by them. On the one hand, it is not easy […].

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Best Buy Solar Project is its Largest Renewable Energy Venture

Environmental Leader

Best Buy unveils another solar power project in what the company says is its largest renewable energy effort to date. The post Best Buy Solar Project is its Largest Renewable Energy Venture appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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Who Needs a COVID Booster Shot? Experts Answer Common Questions

Scientific American

Now that the FDA has authorized the shots for a broad range of Americans, many people want to know if they need a booster dose. Here’s what we know so far. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Cold atmospheric plasma eradicates residual cancer cells

Physics World

Cleaning up cancer cells: Richard Wirz and colleagues are developing a portable cold atmospheric plasma device for postsurgical cancer treatment. (Courtesy: Richard Wirz). Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are standard treatments used after cancer surgery to destroy any residual tumour cells within the surgical cavity or circulating in the body. Such therapies, however, can be associated with adverse effects.

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New USDA Research Grants Show Promising Focus on Food Systems

Union of Concerned Scientists

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture announces new funding for research projects in sustainable agriculture.

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With a Warming Climate, Coastal Fog Around the World Is Declining

Inside Climate News

In California, dissipating “June gloom” could bring a dismal future for some of the state’s redwoods and Torrey pines. By Bob Berwyn, David Hasemyer, Mallory Pickett Fog is a defining element of summer in Santa Cruz, obscuring the view of day trippers descending the hills to the coast and prompting kids to bundle up to hop on their bikes for summer adventures.

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Breast milk from Mennonite moms on farms better protects babies from allergies

Frontiers

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer. Image credit: Richard L. Bowman / Shutterstock.com. A new study is the first to compare breast milk between mothers from the older order Mennonite community who live on traditional farms versus urban women. Communities such as old order Mennonites are known to have a low prevalence of atopic diseases associated with allergies, presumably due to environmental and lifestyle factors.

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Magnetoelastic material sustainably powers health monitors using body movement

Physics World

The future of bioelectronics – including wearables, implantable devices and smart technologies – hinges on the ability to sustainably power devices. A number of approaches for converting biomechanical energy into electricity have been introduced, including piezoelectrics and triboelectrics, which function by deriving charge from compressing or contacting materials.

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Las Vegas to use Digital Twin Technology to Fight Emissions

Environmental Leader

Las Vegas will begin using digital twin technology to help the city reduce its carbon footprint. The post Las Vegas to use Digital Twin Technology to Fight Emissions appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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People Who Jump to Conclusions Show Other Kinds of Thinking Errors

Scientific American

Belief in conspiracy theories and overconfidence are two tendencies linked to hasty thinking. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Women Voices on Climate Change

Academy of Natural Sciences

Inspired by the book All We Can Save , a celebration of the feminist climate renaissance , we asked 15 local women who are thinking about and working on climate change to respond to the question: “If we are at a crossroads of peril and promise, where do you see possibility alive and growing?” The responses below come from women who participated in recent All We Can Save Book Circles at the Academy and Drexel, as well as local women who are doing work around climate change.

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‘Mellow’ supermassive black holes could be creating mysterious cosmic particles

Physics World

“Mellow” supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at the centres of some galaxies could be the source of mysterious low-energy gamma rays and high-energy neutrinos that have been seen by some observatories, according to physicists in Japan and the US. Shigeo Kimura at Tohoku University and colleagues came to this conclusion by developing models of processes that occur when matter falls into SMBHs.

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A lack of fish faeces is changing the flow of carbon in the ocean

New Scientist

Fish faeces plays an important role in the carbon cycle of the ocean, but industrial fishing has lead to a lack of defecation

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20 Staggering E-Waste Facts in 2021

Earth 911

It feels as if electronics were made to be thrown out every year, right? From. The post 20 Staggering E-Waste Facts in 2021 appeared first on Earth911.

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How Antiviral Pill Molnupiravir Shot Ahead in the COVID Drug Hunt

Scientific American

The Merck pill, which could become the first oral antiviral COVID treatment, forces the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus to mutate itself to death. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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UK announces potential sites for prototype fusion energy plant

Physics World

Five sites have been shortlisted as a potential home of the UK’s prototype fusion energy plant. Known as the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP), it aims to be a working fusion reactor and have many of the features of a fully operational power station when operational in the 2040s. The five potential sites, announced today, include one in Scotland and four in England with a final decision on the plant’s location to be made by the end of 2022.

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What’s Up With White Squirrels and Black Squirrels?

Cool Green Science

A guide to squirrels of a different color. The post What’s Up With White Squirrels and Black Squirrels? appeared first on Cool Green Science.

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Ag & Food Law Daily Update: October 12, 2021

National Law Center

A comprehensive summary of today’s judicial, legislative, and regulatory developments in agriculture and food. Email important additions HERE. REGULATORY: EPA, The post Ag & Food Law Daily Update: October 12, 2021 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center.

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A Big Bet on Nanotechnology Has Paid Off

Scientific American

The National Nanotechnology Initiative promised a lot. It has delivered more. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Inferno-like exoplanet has ionized calcium in its atmosphere

Physics World

Signatures of ionized calcium in the upper atmosphere of an ultra-hot, Jupiter-like exoplanet have been found by international team of astronomers led by Emily Deibert at the University of Toronto. The researchers say that the ions could have only formed if the upper atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-76b is either far hotter or far windier than previously thought.