Legal Planet

AUGUST 23, 2023

After reading the recent (and very dumb) New York Times expose by Matt Richtel on e-bikes , you’d be forgiven for mistaking electric-assist bicycles for the next big threat to human health. But 3 other news stories about the benefits, and growing pains, of e-bikes show there’s real interest in them as a climate solution. Rather than just critique the NYT’s editorial choices , I want to highlight some of what we’re learning from more thoughtful reporting on e-bikes.

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Yale E360

AUGUST 24, 2023

In 2021, the South African government committed to shutting down the country’s captive-lion breeding industry, which provided animals for canned hunts. Among the sticking points slowing progress is what should happen to the thousands of lions that remain on private ranches.

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Real Climate

AUGUST 25, 2023

A few weeks ago, a study by Copenhagen University researchers Peter and Susanne Ditlevsen concluded that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is likely to pass a tipping point already this century, most probably around mid-century. Given the catastrophic consequences of an AMOC breakdown, the study made quite a few headlines but also met some skepticism.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

AUGUST 22, 2023

Extreme heat has hit hard lately from coast to coast and beyond, and it’s a major way Danger Season has shown up this year. Even as I write this, communities from the Northwest to the Southwest to the Southeast and Puerto Rico are under heat alerts. The direct health impact of heat stress is bad enough, and dangerous. But extreme heat also hits our electricity system in ways that make it more expensive, more polluting, and less reliable.

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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

NRDC

AUGUST 23, 2023

The designation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni—Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument is not only extremely popular but its protections are long overdue.

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Yale E360

AUGUST 22, 2023

In cities, a little native greenery can go a long way. Australian scientists found that, after adding native shrubs to a planting in Melbourne, the number of insect species at the site increased sevenfold.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

AUGUST 22, 2023

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics has made an unusual change that will make the regulation of PFAS chemicals even harder , potentially letting thousands of these dangerous “forever chemicals” escape EPA regulation, thereby endangering the health of millions of people. Specifically, the EPA office says it is planning to define PFAS on a “case-by-case” basis during rulemaking and agency actions, scrapping the idea of a standardized definition of

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Toxic Substances Control Act Regulations Environmental Protection 2021 218

Scientific American

AUGUST 25, 2023

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.

Technology 98

Technology Technology 98

Yale E360

AUGUST 20, 2023

"Vanishing Oasis" — First-Place Winner of the Yale Environment 360 Film Contest — documents how massive withdrawals from rivers that feed the Great Salt Lake are threatening the survival of millions of migratory birds and creating bare lake beds that generate plumes of toxic dust.

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The Applied Ecologist

AUGUST 24, 2023

This month, The Applied Ecologist is amplifying the voice of early career researchers from around the world working in and around the field of applied ecology to help inspire the next generation.

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Climate Change 98

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

Union of Concerned Scientists

AUGUST 24, 2023

This “ Danger Season ” (the months of May through October, when the risk posed by extreme weather is highest) has been characterized by record-breaking stretches of extreme heat overlapping with torrential rain and floods. Laboring outdoors on the front lines of the climate crisis, farmworkers face disproportionate impacts from extreme weather: recent research from the National Institutes of Health found agricultural workers are 35 times more likely to die from heat than other worker

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Frontiers

AUGUST 24, 2023

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer One of the ‘tree-reefs’ being examined after five months in the Wadden Sea. Image credit: Jon Dickson Researchers have shown that structures made from culled pear trees sunk into soft-bottomed seas like the Dutch Wadden Sea provide excellent replacements for naturally occurring hard substrates, of which many have been lost due to human activities.

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Enviromental Defense

AUGUST 25, 2023

Supervillains in movies are core to the plot and love to be the centre of attention. In real life, Canada’s biggest climate villains like to stay out of the public’s eye to avoid scrutiny. But transparency helps us hold power accountable. That’s why we’re revealing the people behind Canada’s oil and gas industry, who are fueling the climate crisis with their dedication to fossil fuels.

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Scientific American

AUGUST 25, 2023

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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Technology Technology 98

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

Union of Concerned Scientists

AUGUST 23, 2023

One of the biggest challenges with the transition to clean electricity is figuring out how to keep the grid reliable. Extreme heat , winter storms , and flooding regularly remind us that the grid is struggling to keep up in the face of more climate change-fueled extreme weather. Now, if you thought I was going to say that clean energy technologies aren’t capable of providing a reliable electricity supply, you’re way off track.

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Fossil Fuels Electricity Natural Gas Climate Change 186

New Scientist

AUGUST 22, 2023

From Walking with Dinosaurs to King Kong, palaeontologist David Hone chooses his favourite science fiction films about dinosaurs – and reveals which Jurassic Park made the cut

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Frontiers

AUGUST 23, 2023

by Angharad Brewer Gillham, Frontiers science writer Image/Shutterstock.com Scientists have developed a device that works with a smartphone or tablet to capture medical images which can identify infected wounds. By capturing the heat produced by a wound and the fluorescence of bacteria, it helps clinicians tell the difference between inflammation and a potentially dangerous infection.

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Scientific American

AUGUST 24, 2023

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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Technology Technology 98

Advertisement

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.

Sustainable Development

PA Environment Daily

AUGUST 24, 2023

On August 24, the Department of Environmental Protection announced after a meeting of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force that drought watch has been lifted for 47 counties and remains for 20 counties. Drought Watch remains in Adams, Berks, Bucks, Cameron, Chester, Clarion, Cumberland, Dauphin, Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Venango and York counties.

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New Scientist

AUGUST 23, 2023

Non-vaccine measures such as social distancing and wearing face masks have been "unequivocally effective" at preventing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, according to a major report by the UK's Royal Society

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NRDC

AUGUST 21, 2023

The designation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni—Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument is not only extremely popular but its protections are long overdue.

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Scientific American

AUGUST 24, 2023

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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Technology Technology 98

Environmental News Bits

AUGUST 25, 2023

The Seedlot Selection Tool (SST) is a web-based mapping application designed to help natural resource managers match seedlots with planting sites based on climatic information. Because of natural selection to different climatic conditions at a location, plant populations are genetically differentiated from one another and are generally locally adapted.

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Enviromental Defense

AUGUST 23, 2023

Are you outraged about Premier Ford’s $8 billion Greenbelt giveaway? I am too. How would you feel if I told you that the Ontario government is going to blow another $4 billion on another environmentally destructive and indefensible act? A scandal in the making Actually, how do you feel is a better question – because I’m not speaking hypothetically.

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New Scientist

AUGUST 23, 2023

The Y chromosome, which normally confers male characteristics, features large amounts of repetitive DNA, which meant it was difficult to compile a complete sequence until now

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Scientific American

AUGUST 24, 2023

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.

Technology 98

Technology Technology 98

Environmental News Bits

AUGUST 23, 2023

Demastus, J., & Landrum, N. E. (2023). “Organizational sustainability schemes align with weak sustainability.” Business Strategy and the Environment, 1–19. [link] [open access] Abstract: While sustainability research is expansive, studies of business-internal practices and resulting sustainability outcomes are largely unexplored.

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Frontiers

AUGUST 21, 2023

By Deborah Pirchner, Frontiers science writer Image: Rob Lachlan New behavioral traits are often the first response of animals to changing environmental conditions. As cities increasingly become habitats of wildlife, researchers have studied behavioral changes in birds and examined how urbanization impacts parental care behavior of male song sparrows.

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PA Environment Daily

AUGUST 22, 2023

On August 22, the Brandywine Conservancy announced the launch of the Brandywine Flood Study -- nearly two years after Hurricane Ida produced historic flooding that devastated the region. Conducted in partnership with the Chester County Water Resources Authority and the University of Delaware Water Resources Center , the flood study is a coordinated effort to better understand where and why flooding occurs and identify the best approaches to protect our communities from future severe flooding eve

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Scientific American

AUGUST 24, 2023

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.

Technology 98

Technology Technology Climate Change 98

New Scientist

AUGUST 24, 2023

Men typically throw objects with a greater velocity than women can – but with a spear-launching tool called an atlatl, men and women’s throwing velocity is indistinguishable

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Environmental News Bits

AUGUST 22, 2023

John Mulrow, Joe F. Bozeman, Shantanu Pai, Emily Grubert, Sybil Derrible (2023). “Energy-Material Cycles: A materials-based perspective of vehicle energy systems.” Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 196, 107039. [link] Abstract: In this article, we propose an Energy-Material Cycles (EM-cycles) model to facilitate communication and comparison of tradeoffs that exist across energy systems.

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PA Environment Daily

AUGUST 22, 2023

On August 21, 2023 , DEP did a detailed inspection of conventional oil well wastewater tanks near the Lower Reno 1 well operated by Petro Erie, Inc. in Sugarcreek Borough, Venango County and found a pipe running from wastewater tanks into a ditch with a visible impact area from past discharges. The Lower Reno 1 wastewater tanks are in the same area as the Lower Reno 6 wastewater tanks that discharged wastewater that contaminated the Village of Reno water supply.

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