Sat.Aug 17, 2024 - Fri.Aug 23, 2024

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The Atlantic is cooling at record speed and nobody knows why

New Scientist

After over a year of record-high global sea temperatures, the Atlantic is cooling off more quickly than ever recorded, which could impact weather around the world

Cooling 145
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Seven Years after Hurricane María, in Puerto Rico You Can’t Even Count on Keeping the Lights On   

Union of Concerned Scientists

On August 13, Tropical Storm Ernesto rapidly intensified just before hitting Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The intensification and trajectory merited a hurricane warning for the Virgin Islands as well as the island municipalities of Vieques and Culebra. Despite not making landfall in either archipelago, Ernesto brought with it winds of up to 50 miles per hour (80.5 kilometers per hour) and up to 10 inches (25.5 cm) of rain to Puerto Rico.

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Assessing the First Decade of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act

Legal Planet

A decade ago, California stood out–and not in a good way–as the only Western state without comprehensive state laws monitoring and regulating groundwater pumping and use. But in 2014, following years of severe and protracted California drought, and both agricultural and urban water users compensating for depleted surface water flows by pumping groundwater in unprecedented amounts, a fragile political consensus emerged among California legislators, water districts and environmentalist

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Killing Growth Plan for Greater Golden Horseshoe is a Disaster for Ontario’s Environment and Efforts to End Housing Shortage

Enviromental Defense

Statement from Phil Pothen, Land Use and Land Development program manager, in response to Ontario’s Provincial Planning Statement Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – The Ontario government’s repeal of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe may be a death sentence for the province’s best farmland and many endangered species, and it also ends any real hope of fixing the housing shortage.

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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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Most climate policies do little to prevent climate change

New Scientist

An analysis of 1500 climate policies in 41 countries has found that a slim minority have led to a significant reduction in carbon emissions, with most policies being too specifically targeted to make a substantial difference

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Electric School Buses: The Best Choice for Our Kids and Communities

Union of Concerned Scientists

The iconic yellow school bus is a familiar sight on our streets no matter where you live in the US, transporting millions of kids safely to and from school every day. While the color of school buses is still the same old yellow that it was when I was going to elementary school, there’s been a lot of changes going on under the hood recently. It turns out school buses are at the leading edge of the transition to electric heavy-duty vehicles.

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The Aspen Institute Is Calling for a Systemic Approach to Climate Education at the University Level

Inside Climate News

Arizona State and UC San Diego will begin requiring climate courses this academic year. Columbia, Harvard and Stanford are going even further, creating schools devoted to climate change. By Caroline Marshall Reinhart In 2019, Laura Schifter’s phone buzzed with a message: “ Only 11 Years Left to Prevent Irreversible Damage From Climate Change. ” As she lifted her eyes from her phone back to her three children playing in her basement, she knew she had to fight for them.

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Part of the Atlantic is cooling at record speed and nobody knows why

New Scientist

After over a year of record-high global sea temperatures, the equatorial Atlantic is cooling off more quickly than ever recorded, which could impact weather around the world

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These Are the Critical Issues to Track with the New “Tech-Neutral” Clean Electricity Tax Credits

Union of Concerned Scientists

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) included a major—forthcoming—refresh for one of the biggest policy drivers of the nation’s clean energy transition to date: tax credits subsidizing the deployment of clean electricity resources. These incentives aren’t just historically important. Across multiple analyses, they’ve been repeatedly identified as one of, if not the, single most impactful incentives coming out of the IRA for delivering future emissions reductions , too, by supporting the deployment

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How the Search for Aliens Is Redefining Life in the Golden Age of Astrobiology

Scientific American

The search for extraterrestrial life has profound physical, mental and spiritual implications, says Nathalie Cabrol in The Secret Life of the Universe —and it belongs to everyone

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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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PJM’s Capacity Auction: The Real Story

NRDC

Fossil fuel un-reliability and PJM’s failure to speedily connect new clean resources to the grid are to blame for the 2025/26 auction price spike.

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Your brain may be mutating in a way that was thought to be very rare

New Scientist

DNA from mitochondria, the energy powerhouses inside cells, sometimes gets added to our genome – and the number of these mutations in the brain could be linked to ageing

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What Does Meaningful Community Engagement Look Like in Massachusetts?

Union of Concerned Scientists

What words or feelings immediately come to mind when you think of a public meeting? If words like long, confusing, or inaccessible rise to the top, you’re not alone. As graduate students pursuing degrees in planning, we’re all too aware of the challenges associated with public engagement processes. Sometimes it can feel like the meeting is simply checking a box, and not truly engaging the community in which the proposed idea or plan is going to impact.

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People Are Overdosing on Semaglutide Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy

Scientific American

Dosing errors in the medication semaglutide, prescribed as Wegovy and Ozempic, can cause severe or prolonged gastrointestinal issues that require medical attention

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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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New Federal Report Details More of 2023’s Extreme Climate Conditions

Inside Climate News

Some indicators, including “super-marine heatwaves,” may suggest a major shift in the global climate system. By Bob Berwyn Last year was already one for the climate record books, but a new report from the American Meteorological Society is adding to that already substantial list.

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Fuzzy quantum effects have been seen on the largest scale yet

New Scientist

A weird quantum phenomenon called delocalisation has been measured for a 100-nanometre glass bead, helping reveal where the boundary lies between quantum and classical physics

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A siete años del huracán María, en Puerto Rico no se puede contar ni con el servicio eléctrico 

Union of Concerned Scientists

El 13 de agosto, la tormenta tropical Ernesto se intensificó rápidamente justo antes de pegarle a Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. La intensificación y trayectoria merecieron aviso de huracán para las Islas Vírgenes tanto como para las islas municipio de Vieques y Culebra. A pesar de no tocar tierra en ninguno de los dos archipiélagos, Ernesto trajo consigo vientos de hasta 50 millas por hora (80,5 kilómetros por hora) y hasta 10 pulgadas (25,5 cm) de lluvia en Puerto Rico.

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Many Older People Maintain and Even Gain Cognitive Skills

Scientific American

Contrary to stereotypes of the doddering elderly, research shows that half of people older than age 70 stay mentally sharp

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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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Hands off the Humber River!

Enviromental Defense

The Greater Toronto Area is hot and noisy and busy in the summer, but people in Vaughan and the west-end of Toronto can retreat to the forested banks of the Humber River for peace and quiet. In such a densely populated area, the Humber is an unlikely ribbon of natural beauty. And, against all odds, salmon still travel up the Humber each fall to spawn.

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Intestinal parasites may reduce covid-19 vaccine effectiveness

New Scientist

Around 25 per cent of the world’s population has intestinal parasite infections – these could hinder the effectiveness of covid-19 vaccines, according to research in mice

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UCS Expert Testifies on the New Clean Electricity Tax Credits

Union of Concerned Scientists

Earlier this month, the US Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service hosted a public hearing on their recent proposed rules governing implementation of the Section 45Y Clean Electricity Production Credit and the Section 48E Clean Electricity Investment Credit. My testimony is copied below. It covered a subset of issues from the full set of technical comments UCS submitted to the record earlier in August and focused on: Support for clear eligibility of solar- and wind-powered re

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New Satellite Will Track Methane Super Emitters

Scientific American

Tanager-1 is the first in a series of satellites that aim to pinpoint major emitters of carbon dioxide and methane, major greenhouse gases

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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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Stories You May Have Missed Last Week: PA Environment & Energy Articles & NewsClips By Topic

PA Environment Daily

PA Environment Digest Puts Links To The Best Environment & Energy Articles and NewsClips From Last Week Here By Topic-- -- 8.19.24 - PA Environment Digest - All Articles & NewsClips From This Issue By Topic Other Handy Groups Of Articles & NewsClips From This Week-- -- 120 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA [PaEN] -- Environment & Energy Educational Opportunities For Students & Adults [PaEN] -- Top 10 Stories: Harrisburg/PA Politics Reported

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This antimatter version of an atomic nucleus is the heaviest yet

New Scientist

Smashing gold nuclei together at high speeds billions of times has resulted in 16 particles of antihyperhydrogen-4, a very exotic and heavy form of antimatter

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The Seagrass Species That Is Not So Slowly Taking Over the World

Inside Climate News

When Halophila stipulacea comes to town, it outcompetes native seagrasses. That’s bad—but its spread brings unexpected benefits, too. By Bing Lin It started life in the Indian Ocean, hitched a ride to the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal and kept pushing west. Now the fast-growing seagrass known as Halophila stipulacea is expanding in the Caribbean as waters warm, outcompeting important native grasses.

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Without AC, Texan Prisons Sentence People to Unsafe Heat

Scientific American

Air-conditioning is uncommon for incarcerated people, and the heat index inside many of Texas’s 100 prison buildings can exceed 110 degrees Fahrenheit

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USDA NRCS-PA Conducting Disaster Recovery Needs Survey In PA As A Result Of Tropical Storm Debby

PA Environment Daily

On August 16, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service State Conservationist Denise Coleman is conducting a rapid survey to determine if the impacts of flooding from the August 9, 2024 rainfall events have caused a watershed impairment and has left property owners at risk. The survey results will be used to determine if properties could be eligible for the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program.

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We now know that life began on Earth much earlier than we thought

New Scientist

A big rethink of our planet’s early years adds to growing fossil, chemical and DNA evidence that Earth was only a few hundred million years old when life began

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Earth911 Podcast: USEFULL Founder Alison Cove Brings Reusable Packaging To Campus Cafeterias

Earth 911

Alison Cove, CEO and founder of USEFULL, works at the forefront of a critical shift. The post Earth911 Podcast: USEFULL Founder Alison Cove Brings Reusable Packaging To Campus Cafeterias appeared first on Earth911.

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Europe's JUICE Jupiter Probe Zooms past the Moon in Historic Flyby

Scientific American

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer spacecraft took a shortcut to the giant planet by way of the Earth and the moon

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Susquehanna Greenway Partnership: Winners Named In 13th Annual Photo Contest; Vote For People’s Choice Winners

PA Environment Daily

On August 21, the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership announced the winners of the 13th Annual Susquehanna Greenway Photo Contest. Each year, the photo contest draws hundreds of images from across the Susquehanna Greenway, which runs along the Susquehanna River throughout Pennsylvania. Entries were presented to a select group of judges where they based their decisions on adherence to the category theme, composition, and quality.

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Video games are good, actually, find scientists

New Scientist

The World Health Organization considers "gaming disorder" a condition, but researchers have now found that playing video games can boost well-being

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