Sat.Jul 29, 2023 - Fri.Aug 04, 2023

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Climate Change Yielding Bigger Waves Along the California Coast, Study Finds

Yale E360

Thanks to intensifying storms in the North Pacific, winter waves along the California coast have grown around a foot taller over the last half-century, new research shows.

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Boston Bans Fossil Fuels in New and Renovated City Buildings

Law and Environment

On July 31, 2023, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu signed an executive order ending the use of fossil fuels in new construction and major renovations of city-owned buildings. Although city buildings comprise a small percentage of overall carbon emissions in Boston, the new executive order aligns with larger efforts to decarbonize both publicly and privately owned buildings throughout Boston.

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E-bikes are a Climate Solution – Not a Menace

Legal Planet

There’s a dangerous new mobility trend on American streets that’s captured the attention of the New York Times: e-bikes. Or so the Times, and some other media outlets, are suggesting with their editorial choices. “The e-bike industry is booming, but the summer of 2023 has brought sharp questions about how safe e-bikes are, especially for teenagers,” writes Matt Richtel in a long feature titled “ A Dangerous Combination’: Teenagers’ Accidents Expose E-Bike Risks. ” The story centers largely on on

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Danger Season Underscores Need for Strong EPA Power Plant Carbon Standards

Union of Concerned Scientists

As of today, 79% of people in the US have been under extreme weather warnings of some kind or another since May 1. Record-setting heat , heavy rains, and wildfires scientifically linked to climate change are causing devastating and costly harm to people and communities across the country. The destruction we see today is a direct result of decades of dependence on fossil fuels, enabled by decades of deception and obstruction on the part of the fossil fuel industry, and prolonged by decades of ina

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Manufacturing Sustainability Surge: Your Guide to Data-Driven Energy Optimization & Decarbonization

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.

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Destruction of Ukrainian Dam Has Dried Up a Vital Irrigation Network

Yale E360

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine has drained a critical reservoir, cutting off flows of water to surrounding farmland in the Kherson region. In recent weeks, the vast irrigation network fed by the reservoir has begun to dry up, new satellite imagery shows.

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Community Scientists Are Mapping Extreme Heat So Their Neighborhoods Can Adapt

NRDC

The Urban Heat Island mapping campaign is the largest national effort of its kind to identify why one section of a city can feel so different from another on any given summer day.

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New Choices for Cleaner EVs (And Some Room for Improvement)

Union of Concerned Scientists

How much cleaner is it to drive an electric vehicle (EV) versus a gasoline vehicle? This is a common question for drivers and car buyers, and one we’ve been answering for quite a while. It’s a complicated question, in part because electricity generation varies across the US and also because some EVs are more efficient than others. To help drivers look at the options, we’ve updated our tool that lets you look at the emissions from driving different models of EVs in different parts of the country.

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Indonesia Cracks Down on the Scourge of Imported Plastic Waste

Yale E360

When China banned plastic waste imports in 2018, exporters in wealthy countries targeted other developing nations. Faced with an unending stream of unrecyclable waste, Indonesia has tightened its regulations and has begun to make progress in stemming the plastics flow.

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ECR Journeys: Pacific Northwest to the Basque Country

The Applied Ecologist

This month, The Applied Ecologist is amplifying the voice of early career ecologists from around the world working in the field of applied ecology to help inspire the next generation. In this post, Claudia Christensen García from the Basque Centre for Climate Change shares her story below. My background and interests I love to go birdwatching, both at home and when traveling.

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How Seeing the Milky Way Helped Us Discover the Whole 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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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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Batteries Now Can Replace Old Power Plants

Union of Concerned Scientists

Most of the oldest fossil fuel power plants in the United States are located near or in cities, making it more urgent—and more difficult—to shut them down. Now, with the changes in arcane rules announced just last week by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), it will be much easier to replace them with battery storage. This is welcome news.

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Was the Medieval Era Warmer Than Now? New Tree Ring Study Offers Insight

Yale E360

A new study of tree rings in Scandinavia is helping to resolve a longstanding question about the Medieval Warm Period.

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Consuming added sugars may increase risk of kidney stones

Frontiers

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer In an observational study, researchers showed that consuming more added sugars is consistently associated with greater odds of developing kidney stones in the US, especially for ethnicities such as Native Americans or Asians, or for people with a relatively higher income. The mechanisms of this relationship, and whether it is directly causal, aren’t yet known.

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Unregulated AI Will Worsen Inequality, Warns Nobel-Winning Economist Joseph Stiglitz

Scientific American

A Nobel laureate in economics explains how artificial intelligence will affect inequality—and how solutions such as a shorter work week might mitigate its negative effects

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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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The Ring Nebula glows green in a stunning new JWST image

New Scientist

A new image of the Ring Nebula from the James Webb Space Telescope is revealing its intricate internal structure, which could help us learn what the sun will look like when it dies

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As EV Sales Soar, China to Hit Peak Gasoline Next Year, Experts Say

Yale E360

With sales of electric cars surging, China is on track to hit peak gasoline demand next year, two new analyses find.

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Connect to Build: Frontline Organizations and Federal Infrastructure Funding Opportunities

NRDC

Through a series of interviews, SPARCC explores how organizations are interacting with new federal funding and what approaches are helping them move the needle toward equity and justice.

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Drone-induced flight initiation distances for shorebirds in mixed-species flocks

The Applied Ecologist

Joshua Wilson discusses recent research at Moreton Bay, Australia which saw Wilson and colleagues conduct over 200 drone approaches of shorebird flocks to measure how the birds respond to drones. Particular attention is paid to the critically endangered Eastern Curlew. Stress responses Imagine you’re resting in your bed when, out of the corner of your eye, you see something scuttling along the roof towards you.

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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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Do Jellyfish Have Brains?

Ocean Conservancy

Do jellyfish have brains? The short answer is no, jellyfish do not have brains. But this certainly does not mean they are simple creatures. In fact, not having a centralized nervous system is just one of sea jellies’ many incredible tools for defense against the brutal elements of the deep blue sea. Without a brain, a sea jelly is able to survive traumatic injuries to its bell and still function.

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Foundation For Sustainable Forests Now Accepting Registrations For Loving The Land Through Working Forests Conference Sept. 16

PA Environment Daily

Registration is now open for the 2023 Loving The Land Through Working Forests Conference hosted by the Foundation For Sustainable Forests on September 16 at the Blooming Valley Forest near Meadville, Crawford County. The day will be full of field-based presentations and walks on critical and emerging topics related to forest stewardship and conservation.

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‘Halliburton Loophole’ Allows Fracking Companies to Avoid Chemical Regulation

Inside Climate News

New research finds fracking-industry exemption for 28 chemicals otherwise regulated by federal law. By Jon Hurdle For almost 20 years, U.S. public-health advocates have worried that toxic chemicals are getting into ground water and harming human health because of an exemption to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act that allows operators of oil and gas fracking operations to use chemicals that would be regulated if used for any other purpose.

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Bizarre-Looking Colossus Whale May Have Been Heaviest Animal Ever (Sorry, Blue Whales)

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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Does space-time remember? The search for gravitational memory

New Scientist

Detecting the permanent imprints left by colliding black holes would reveal a universe saturated with infinite symmetries – and narrow the possibilities for a theory of quantum gravity.

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Fighting chronic pain with food: Here are five Frontiers articles you won’t want to miss

Frontiers

By Deborah Pirchner, Frontiers science writer Image: Shutterstock.com At Frontiers, we bring some of the world’s best research to a global audience. But with tens of thousands of articles published each year, it’s impossible to cover all of them. Here are just five amazing papers you may have missed. Certain foods help ease chronic pain Chronic pain caused by rheumatic diseases often requires prolonged treatment using drugs which are associated with side effects.

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ECR Journeys: rainforest invertebrates, woody vines and ecosystem functions

The Applied Ecologist

This month, The Applied Ecologist is amplifying the voice of early career ecologists from around the world working in the field of applied ecology to help inspire the next generation. In this post, Charlotte Raven, a second-year PhD student at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia, shares her story.

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'Virgin Birth' Engineered into Female Animals for First Time

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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NASA has regained contact with Voyager 2 after losing it for a week

New Scientist

After accidentally turning the Voyager 2 spacecraft away from Earth and losing contact with it, NASA engineers have now heard a “heartbeat signal” that shows it is still okay

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New Penn State Study: Brine Water Pumped From Played-Out Conventional Oil & Gas Wells And Used As Dust Suppressants, Winter Road Treatments Exceed Environmental, Health Standards, Just Like Conventional Oil & Gas Brine Water

PA Environment Daily

Penn State researchers tested the toxicity and chemical composition of brine water pumped from played-out conventional oil and gas wells and used for dust suppressants and winter road treatments and found they significantly exceeded environmental and health standards for 11 major chemical contaminants, including radioactive radium, just like brine water from conventional oil and gas wells regulated by DEP.

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Canada Stops Funding Some Fossils: A Milestone Worth Celebrating

Enviromental Defense

Last week the Government of Canada delivered on a longstanding commitment to end fossil fuel subsidies, effective immediately. Though the new rules are far from perfect, if they are applied with integrity they will make it impossible for the government to justify new public handouts to the oil and gas sector. These new rules are a big deal Fossil fuels are causing the climate crisis.

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Science Corrects Itself, Right? A Scandal at Stanford Says It Doesn't

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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Mike Huckabee’s “Kids Guide to the Truth About Climate Change” Shows the Changing Landscape of Climate Denial

Inside Climate News

Producers of climate misinformation are targeting kids and families, delivering an updated message that acknowledges global warming, but minimizes the influence of human emissions. By Keerti Gopal Beverly Grimmett thought the kids magazines she saw stacked on a coworker’s desk this spring were perfectly innocent, until she picked one up.

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Climate change is increasing stress on thousands of aging dams across the US

Environmental News Bits

by Hiba Baroud, Vanderbilt University Heavy rainfall in the Northeast on June 9-11, 2023, generated widespread flooding, particularly in New York’s Hudson Valley and in Vermont. One major concern was the Wrightsville Dam, built in 1935 on the Winooski River north of Vermont’s capital city, Montpelier.

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The Unexpected Diversity of Philadelphia’s Bees

Academy of Natural Sciences

While Philadelphia may not seem like an ideal habitat for wildlife, the city and county actually have a variety of green spaces, such as the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, the United States’ first urban wildlife refuge, to support plenty of different plant and animal species — including bees. But how many different kinds of bees call this city home?