Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 16, 2024

I’m currently in Istanbul, Türkiye, with my colleague Adam Markham , for the opening session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) seventh assessment cycle. While the global understanding of climate change is well-established, the world’s response remains sluggish. It’s essential that as policies and public awareness evolve, the science keeps pace, offering the latest policy-relevant insights to effectively combat climate change.

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Climate Change Paris Agreement 2028 Greenhouse 248

Yale E360

JANUARY 15, 2024

The Eastern monarch butterfly has long been thought to be in peril, but new studies indicate that its U.S. populations are not in decline. Scientists say the biggest threat the species faces is from well-meaning people who breed the butterflies at home and release them.

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Legal Planet

JANUARY 18, 2024

Photo: USDA Even though California aims to decrease the emissions of methane, dairy operations are rewarded for creating, and capturing, more and more of the planet-warming super pollutant in the form of manure-derived biogas. Today, California lawmakers declined to correct that perverse incentive, but they still have opportunities to rethink the state’s embrace of digesters as its primary mitigation tactic.

Natural Gas 310

Natural Gas Regulations 2024 Electricity 310

Real Climate

JANUARY 16, 2024

Annual updates to the model-observation comparisons for 2023 are now complete. The comparisons encompass surface air temperatures, mid-troposphere temperatures (global and tropical, and ‘corrected’), sea surface temperatures, and stratospheric temperatures. In almost every case, the addition of the 2023 numbers was in line with the long term expectation from the models.

Atmosphere 284

Atmosphere 2023 2022 Ocean 284

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.

2024

Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 18, 2024

Today, Representative Hank Johnson introduced federal transit operations funding legislation that could vastly improve transit across the country. UCS has been watching and supported a similar bill sponsored by Rep. Johnson in the last Congress. High-quality transit is freeing. It connects people to the places, communities, and resources we all need to thrive.

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Fossil Fuels Government 2020 2022 280

Yale E360

JANUARY 18, 2024

To reach its climate goals, the U.S. will need to build solar arrays on some 15,000 square miles of land, an area larger than Maryland. Growing native plants at these sites could give a much-needed boost to imperiled insects, a new study finds.

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Energy & the Law

JANUARY 17, 2024

We haven’t presented 2023’s Bad Guys in Energy, but we have SEC v. Bowen, Baker, Cannon Operating and others as an example of garden variety securities fraud. The opinion addresses a defendant’s effort to defeat the SEC’s fraud claim by attacking the complaint. The “bad guys” are only alleged at this point. Bowen, Baker and others raised $2.1MM from 140 investors for Cannon Operating.

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2023 Regulations 147

Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 18, 2024

In late December, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released proposed regulations for the Section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit. The tax credit, passed as part of 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act, provides a generous incentive for the production of clean hydrogen. Today, hydrogen is overwhelmingly produced through a heavily polluting fossil fuel-based process.

Fossil Fuels 180

Fossil Fuels Clean Energy 2028 Carbon Emissions 180

Yale E360

JANUARY 16, 2024

A dramatic shift in the Alaskan landscape is underway. As unprecedented heat melts long-frozen tundra, runoff is altering the composition of Arctic rivers and streams. One such waterway is Tukpahlearik Creek in northern Alaska, which recently turned a striking shade of orange.

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Legal Planet

JANUARY 17, 2024

The Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force ( GCF Task Force ) engaged in the 28th Conference of the Parties ( COP28 ) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Dubai, marking a pivotal moment in the global climate dialogue. This significant international forum serves as a crucial platform where nations, subnational entities, and civil society collaborate to address climate change challenges.

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Climate Change Government Deforestation 2009 147

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.

Clean Energy

Clean Energy Law

JANUARY 18, 2024

The strategy aims to boost supply chain resilience of critical goods. By Paul A. Davies , Michael D. Green , and James Bee On 17 January 2024, the government launched the Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy (the strategy), which aims to safeguard UK supplies of goods including medicine, minerals, and semiconductors. The strategy forms part of a wider government initiative to back businesses and grow the UK economy by helping companies build resilient supply chains and maintain supplies o

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Government 2024 Climate Change Technology 130

New Scientist

JANUARY 18, 2024

A large formation near the equator of Mars is now thought to be made of water ice, which could indicate that the Martian climate went through huge temperature swings in the past

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Yale E360

JANUARY 19, 2024

Humans make use of tens of thousands of different kinds of plants, many rare and endangered. Troublingly, most useful plant species grow outside protected areas, new research finds.

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Environmental Progress

JANUARY 18, 2024

Download the Full Report “An Investigation of Large Whale Mortality and Offshore Wind Development Activity in the U.S. Since 2015.” LISA LINOWES and ERIC TURNER on behalf of the SAVE RIGHT WHALES COALITION Since 2016, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has declared three Unusual Mortality Events (UME) involving large whale species in the Atlantic Ocean.

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2015 2016 Ocean 2017 144

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.

2022

Clean Energy Law

JANUARY 17, 2024

The Eligibility List sets out the approved host countries, carbon crediting programmes, and methodologies that meet the established Eligibility Criteria in Singapore. By Paul A. Davies , Jean-Philippe Brisson , Farhana Sharmeen , Don Stokes , Michael D. Green , Qingyi Pan , James Bee , and Kevin Mak On 19 December 2023, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) in Singapore published the Eligibility List under Singapore’s International Car

Paris Agreement 130

Paris Agreement Deforestation 2025 2024 130

New Scientist

JANUARY 17, 2024

Bottom trawling, a controversial and destructive fishing technique, releases large amounts of carbon dioxide from the seabed – and much of this gas gets into the atmosphere

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Carbon Dioxide Atmosphere 144

Yale E360

JANUARY 17, 2024

An analysis of thousands of YouTube videos posted over the last five years finds a decline in videos that outright deny climate change but an uptick in those that question the practicality of shifting to renewable energy or impugn the credibility of scientists.

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Renewable Energy Climate Change 209

Scientific American

JANUARY 17, 2024

Tardigrades are microscopic animals that can survive a host of conditions that are too extreme to ever occur on Earth—and scientists want to learn their secrets

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Sustainable Development

Enviromental Defense

JANUARY 19, 2024

At COP28, countries agreed to transition away from fossil fuels and accelerate action within the decade to achieve our global climate goals. Additionally, a new work programme, the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP), was set up to find ways to make the transition equitable for all. This welcome progress on climate change is an important signal for Canada to take note of; the world is transitioning away from one of our main exports.

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Fossil Fuels Government Clean Energy Climate Change 132

New Scientist

JANUARY 17, 2024

Fermented food such as artisan cheeses or kimchi made with unpasteurised milk or starter cultures that haven't been properly screened can contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria

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NRDC

JANUARY 18, 2024

One size does not fit all, building retrofit programs should be designed at a community level to ensure low-middle income homes don’t get left behind. A new guidelines doc co-authored by NRDC with partners helps set up community-driven retrofit programs.

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Scientific American

JANUARY 19, 2024

The allergy and asthma drug montelukast, also known as Singulair, can cause psychiatric side effects—and researchers aren’t sure why

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The Applied Ecologist

JANUARY 18, 2024

Gabriella Bishop introduces us to the latest study, conducted alongside colleagues, which indicates that agri-environmental management should target the provision of summer floral resources for both social and solitary bees. Bees in intensive agricultural landscapes Bees need flowers for food and reproduction. Previously, agricultural areas contained small fields with undisturbed borders and flower-rich pastures that provided bees with the resources they need.

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New Scientist

JANUARY 17, 2024

When tardigrades encounter harsh environments, high levels of free radicals in their cells trigger the onset of a dormant state in which they can endure extreme hardship

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PA Environment Daily

JANUARY 18, 2024

The AES Corporation announced the completion of 3.5 GW of renewables projects in 2023, nearly doubling the capacity constructed compared to 2022. Of the 3.5 GW of projects that AES completed, 1.6 GW are solar, 1.3 GW are wind and 0.6 GW are energy storage. The projects included the 220 MW Great Cove Solar Energy Facilities in Franklin and Fulton counties commissioned in multiple phases.

Natural Gas 109

Natural Gas Electricity Recycling 2024 109

Scientific American

JANUARY 19, 2024

Japan’s SLIM precision-landing spacecraft—a potential game-changer for upcoming lunar exploration—may expire on the moon before fulfilling its mission

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Inside Climate News

JANUARY 18, 2024

Bottom trawling disturbs the ocean floor, researchers found. Critics question whether “trawl disturbance” is different from the carbon flux that naturally occurs in oceans. By Georgina Gustin The world’s oceans are massive and critical carbon sinks that absorb roughly one-third of the greenhouse gas emissions humans generate by burning fossil fuels and reshaping Earth’s landscape.

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Fossil Fuels Atmosphere Ocean Greenhouse 108

New Scientist

JANUARY 17, 2024

With anaesthetics and brain organoids, we are finally testing the idea that quantum effects explain consciousness – and the early results suggest this long-derided idea may have been misconstrued

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Ocean Conservancy

JANUARY 18, 2024

As you walk along the beach, taking in the calm waters, it’s hard to really understand how vast and complex the ocean is. While the ocean has been around for a whopping 3.8 billion years , there’s still so much we don’t know about it. Far below the ocean’s surface lies something even more mysterious: the deep ocean. The deep ocean is one of Earth’s largest habitats and least understood places.

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Ocean 2007 Conservation 107

Scientific American

JANUARY 16, 2024

Enigmatic octopuses that have been newly discovered in the waters off Costa Rica add to a growing registry of deep-sea dwellers

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PA Environment Daily

JANUARY 19, 2024

In December, the Executive Director of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission gave his approval to 25 water use permits for individual shale gas well drilling pads in Bradford, Lycoming, Potter, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga and Wyoming counties. ( formal notice ) The approvals were granted under SRBC regulation 18 CFR 806.22(e) and (f) that creates a general permit-type process to grant approval for water use by individual shale gas drilling pads.

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2023 Natural Gas 2024 Regulations 106

New Scientist

JANUARY 16, 2024

Soil samples from a long-running UK experiment show that microplastic pollution has risen sharply in the past 50 years and is much higher in fields treated with organic or inorganic fertilisers

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National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)

JANUARY 17, 2024

Figure 4.9 from Chapter 4 of the Fifth National Climate Assessment The Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) was released on November 14, 2023. Assembled by teams of researchers from a range of climate change specialties, the publication represents a synthesis of current research including an evaluation of the current and future implications of climate change for life in the United States.

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Sea Level Climate Change Ocean Carbon Dioxide 105