Sat.May 04, 2024 - Fri.May 10, 2024

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Renewables supply 30 per cent of global electricity for the first time

New Scientist

The rapid growth of solar power led to a record-breaking year for clean energy generation in 2023, and the year is expected to mark the start of a long-term decline in fossil fuels

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From Whale Oil to Wind Power: the Fossil Fuel Industry’s Disinformation Is an Ocean of Hypocrisy

Union of Concerned Scientists

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago, I began to feel the most important thing I could do was learn how to replace fossil fuel with renewable energy. I had seen from an early age how oil dependency distorted and aggravated conflicts around the world, especially in the Middle East. For 30 years I have been an advocate for offshore wind development off New England’s coast and for the creation of institutions to support a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

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California Seeks to Protect Homes from Excessive Indoor Heat

Legal Planet

Hotter, deadlier, and more frequent heat waves have become one of the most surefire signs of a changing climate in our day-to-day lives. California recognized the need for action on this issue in 2022 by bringing to life AB 209 , one section of which centers around creating better indoor heat safety in homes. That should include mobile home communities, which are too often left out of this discussion.

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Call for Applications: ESA Editorial Fellows

ESA

by Richard Wallace, Director of Publishing The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is delighted to announce the call for applications for its inaugural Editorial Fellows Program (EFP). The EFP is part of ESA’s ongoing efforts to provide professional development opportunities to early career ecologists and environmental scientists, especially those from historically excluded or underrepresented groups.

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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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Global capacity to directly suck CO2 from air has just quadrupled

New Scientist

A new plant in Iceland operated by the firm Climeworks can remove up to 36,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air per year, more than quadrupling existing global capabilities

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The House Has 13 Working Days to Save RECA. Here’s What’s Happened in 2024 So Far.

Union of Concerned Scientists

The clock is ticking for the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which provides health screenings and compensation for people sickened by radiation from U.S. nuclear weapons production. RECA is set to expire on June 7; this would mean not only an end to life-saving health screenings and compensation, but also to the hopes of thousands of downwinders and uranium industry workers who have been unfairly excluded from the program for decades.

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The Department of Agriculture Rubber-Stamped Tyson’s “Climate Friendly” Beef, but No One Has Seen the Data Behind the Company’s Claim

Inside Climate News

As millions of taxpayer dollars flow to livestock companies claiming to raise “low carbon” beef, watchdog groups scrutinize the government’s oversight. By Georgina Gustin About five miles south of Broken Bow, in the heart of central Nebraska, thousands of cattle stand in feedlots at Adams Land & Cattle Co., a supplier of beef to the meat giant Tyson Foods.

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Fusion reactors could create ingredients for a nuclear weapon in weeks

New Scientist

Concern over the risks of enabling nuclear weapons development is usually focused on nuclear fission reactors, but the potential harm from more advanced fusion reactors has been underappreciated

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Congressional Ag Chairs Release Dueling Farm Bill Proposals. What Happens Next?

Union of Concerned Scientists

After months (and months and months) of anticipation, we are finally seeing some forward movement on a new food and farm bill. On May 1, Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow of Michigan released a detailed, 94-page framework laying out her committee’s priorities for the bill. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol, House Agriculture Chair G.T.

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Can GoGreen Advance California’s Home Decarbonization Goals?

Legal Planet

Last week, the California Public Utilities Commission released a report evaluating the state’s GoGreen home energy financing program. Residential buildings are responsible for about 10 percent of state greenhouse gas emissions, and home decarbonization routinely ranks among the most challenging of our many emissions reduction challenges. Our buildings and electrical distribution grid are old, retrofit projects are complex and time-consuming, and few Californians have the energy–let alone the ca

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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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Puppy-Dog Eyes in Wild Canines Sparks Rethink on Dog Evolution

Scientific American

The eyebrows of the African wild dog have scientists wondering whether other canine species besides domestic dogs can make the irresistible “puppy-dog eyes” expression

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How Schrödinger's cat could make quantum computers work better

New Scientist

A quantum bit inspired by Schrödinger’s cat can resist making errors for an unprecedentedly long time, which makes it a candidate for building less error-prone quantum computers

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Utah Nursery Gives Endangered Fish a Place to Grow

Cool Green Science

A Nature Conservancy preserve in Moab, Utah offers hopeful news for endangered razorback suckers: this fall, 51 juvenile suckers were […] The post Utah Nursery Gives Endangered Fish a Place to Grow appeared first on Cool Green Science.

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Colorado Legislative Roundup: 2024

NRDC

This legislative session, Colorado once again solidified its place as a climate leader by taking on new and innovative approaches to reduce emissions and protect the environment.

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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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Alberta’s New Committee on Tar Sands Tailings is Too Little, Too Late 

Enviromental Defense

Statement by Aliénor Rougeot, Program Manager, Climate and Energy Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Alberta’s newly announced Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee is just another attempt to delay action and distract from the daily harm caused by toxic tailings in the tar sands.

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Mars is blasting plasma out of its atmosphere into space

New Scientist

The Red Planet launches large bursts of plasma into space from its upper atmosphere, much like the sun’s coronal mass ejections, despite not having a global magnetic field

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How Should Wildfire Smoke Damage Be Measured?

Scientific American

Homes that survive wildfire flames but that are still affected by smoke, soot and ash is a growing issue for homeowners and insurers, as is the question of how to best remediate the problem

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Hundreds Of Residents Warn Against Impacts Of Shale Gas Development In Cecil Township, Washington County

PA Environment Daily

On May 8, hundreds of Washington County residents rallied at an event calling for greater safety at fracking well pads outside a Cecil Township Board of Supervisors hearing on oil and gas ordinances. In the parking lot steps from the meeting room, homeowners called for increases to zoning setbacks for new well pads that would improve area quality of life and reduce pollution in new and existing neighborhoods.

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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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Farmers and Ranchers Love the IRA’s Climate-Smart Funding. Will the House Farm Bill Pull the Rug Out from Under Them?

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)

Photo credit: USDA For over a year and a half, countless farmers and ranchers nationwide have been sending an unmistakable message to policymakers in Washington, DC – that the climate-smart agriculture funding included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is exactly what they’ve been looking for. Since the IRA was signed into law on August 16, 2022, the farmer-driven demand – in red states and blue states alike – for these resources has far outpaced availability.

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Sperm whale clicks could be the closest thing to a human language yet

New Scientist

Analysis of thousands of exchanges between the intelligent cetaceans suggests they combine short click patterns – similar to letters of the alphabet - into longer sequences

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AI Could Help Find a Solution for String Theory

Scientific American

String theory could provide a theory of everything for our universe—but it entails 10 500 (more than a centillion) possible solutions.

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We’re Heard This Before: ‘We’re Providing Jobs - Stopping Pollution Threatens Jobs’ - A Brief Review Of Pennsylvania’s Conservation History

PA Environment Daily

A brief review of Pennsylvania’s conservation history-- -- We've Heard This Before: "We're Providing Jobs - Stopping Pollution Threatens Jobs" - Until Air Pollution Killed People, Then We Said No. [ First Pair Of Photos ] -- We've Heard This Before: "We're Providing Jobs - Stopping Pollution Threatens Jobs" - Until Hunters Could Find No Game And Anglers Could Find No Fish, Then We Said No. [ Second Pair Of Photos ] -- We've Heard This Before: "We're Providing Jobs - Stopping Pollution Threatens

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Explore Before You Restore: Enhancing ecosystem restoration with complex systems science

The Applied Ecologist

Sybryn L. Maes explains how they, alongside colleagues, developed an Explore Before You Restore framework, and illustrates how these concepts may impact restoration outcomes by influencing degradation and recovery trajectories. To help restore ecosystems, we, a group of international experts in resilience & restoration, propose using a new framework called Explore Before You Restore (EBYR) throughout the restoration project cycle.

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Game theory shows we can never learn perfectly from our mistakes

New Scientist

An analysis of a mathematical economic game suggests that even learning from past mistakes will almost never help us optimise our decision-making – with implications for our ability to make the biggest financial gains

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Scientists Warn against Treating Forests as Carbon Commodities

Scientific American

Using forests to prop up carbon markets can lead to “perverse effects” on land management, such as cutting out local communities

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The Critical Role of Lawyers and Bar Associations in Achieving Net Zero

Law Columbia

Lawyers, bar associations, and law societies have an important but not fully recognized role to play in achieving the net zero goal in the Paris Agreement. Over the last few years, a unique collaboration involving the American Bar Association (ABA), the International Bar Association (IBA), the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), and the Law Society of England and Wales (LSEW) has begun to discuss the role of lawyers in combatting climate change and share best practices.

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The Carbon Capture Boondoggle Begins To Unwind 

Enviromental Defense

For Canada’s major oil and gas producers, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a get-out-of-jail-free card, which allows them to keep on polluting while appearing as though they are taking the threat of climate change seriously. CCS is a multi-billion dollar boondoggle that doesn’t come close to the hype, has significant safety risks, and is a substantial distraction from real climate solutions, such as building more renewable energy, increasing electricity transmission infrastructure, and

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Extreme exercise may help you live longer without stressing your heart

New Scientist

People who can run a mile in less than 4 minutes generally live almost five years longer than would otherwise be expected, challenging the idea that too much strenuous exercise is bad for the heart

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In a First, JWST Confirms an Atmosphere on a Rocky Exoplanet

Scientific American

Milestone observations from the James Webb Space Telescope reveal signs of an atmosphere on the inhospitably hot super-Earth 55 Cancri e

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DEP To Propose Changes To Coproduct Determination Process In Residual Waste Regulations; Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Tried To Use This Process To Legalize Road Dumping Their Wastewater

PA Environment Daily

The DEP Waste Management Program announced in DEP’s Regulatory Agenda it is developing proposed changes to the Coproduct Determination process under the Residual Waste Regulations that allow a material, that would otherwise be regulated as a waste, to be used as a commercial product without any restrictions or upfront review or approval by DEP. DEP described the changes as-- “This rulemaking proposes to amend the coproduct regulations to ensure that the efficacy of a waste for a particular use a

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New York State Legislature Strikes A Blow Against Plastic Pollution

NRDC

Going, going, almost gone! Just-passed New York State legislation would prohibit the sale and distribution of fossil fuel–based, water-polluting polystyrene foam ice chests.

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How to reconnect with long-lost friends, according to science

New Scientist

We are generally as reluctant to contact a long-lost friend as we are to talk to a stranger, but scientists have come up with an approach so it's easier to make the first move

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Self-Driving Trucks Claim Climate Benefits

Scientific American

The autonomous trucking industry says its self-driving vehicles can cut carbon emissions by reducing fuel use, though some groups have raised safety questions