Sat.Jul 24, 2021 - Fri.Jul 30, 2021

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The Race for EV Parts Leads to Risky Deep-Ocean Mining

Yale E360

The electric vehicle boom is driving a surge in demand for prized metals needed for batteries and other components. Some companies say the solution lies in mining the deep oceans, but scientists say that could irreversibly damage a vast, largely pristine ecosystem. Read more on E360 ?.

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Climate adaptation should be based on robust regional climate information

Real Climate

Climate adaptation steams forward with an accelerated speed that can be seen through the Climate Adaptation Summit in January (see previous post ), the ECCA 2021 in May/June, and the upcoming COP26. Recent extreme events may spur this development even further (see previous post about attribution of recent heatwaves). To aid climate adaptation, Europe’s Climate-Adapt programme provides a wealth of resources, such as guidance, case studies and videos.

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Wildfire Smoke in Your Area? Six Things to Know for Staying Safe

Union of Concerned Scientists

This summer, smoke from wildfires burning in the western US and Canada has blown all the way to cities and states along the East Coast, causing air quality to deteriorate in cities throughout the Northeast and Midwest. Being subjected to smoke from wildfires has become disturbingly routine across the western United States, but recently the […].

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Oregon Takes a Big Step Forward

Legal Planet

On Wednesday, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a package of four clean energy bills. These bills move Oregon to the forefront of climate action. These laws ban new fossil fuel plants and set aggressive targets for the state’s two major utilities, requiring emission cuts of 80% by 2030, 90% by 2035 and 100% by 2040. This is not only a major step forward for the state; it should also clear the path to closer collaboration among Washington State, Oregon, and California on climate issues.

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How to Modernize Manufacturing Without Losing Control

Speaker: Andrew Skoog, Founder of MachinistX & President of Hexis Representatives

Manufacturing is evolving, and the right technology can empower—not replace—your workforce. Smart automation and AI-driven software are revolutionizing decision-making, optimizing processes, and improving efficiency. But how do you implement these tools with confidence and ensure they complement human expertise rather than override it? Join industry expert Andrew Skoog as he explores how manufacturers can leverage automation to enhance operations, streamline workflows, and make smarter, data-dri

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Can Retrofitting Dams for Hydro Provide a Green Energy Boost?

Yale E360

With the era of building big dams over in the U.S., a growing number of existing dams are being modified to produce hydropower. These projects, advocates say, avoid the damaging impacts of new dams and could generate enough renewable electricity for several million homes. Read more on E360 ?.

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The Stream, July 29, 2021: Activists Oppose Indian Railway Project Amid Environmental Concerns, Water Pollution

Circle of Blue

YOUR GLOBAL RUNDOWN. Locals report water contamination amid the construction of a major railway in northeastern India. Thousands of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia’s Tigray region have been cut off from humanitarian aid and are running low on clean water. A recent report finds that last year’s drought and derecho damaged millions of dollars’ worth of crops in Iowa.

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Profs. William Boyd and Alex Wang Join Prof. Ted Parson in Emmett Institute Faculty Leadership

Legal Planet

This month, the Emmett Institute is thrilled to welcome two of our core faculty members, W illiam Boyd and Alex Wang , to new roles at the Institute. Both will serve as faculty co-directors alongside our faculty director Ted Parson. In their new roles, Prof. Wang and Prof. Boyd will help lead the Emmett Institute’s ambitious research, teaching, and public service agenda.

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In Namibia, Rhino and Elephant Poaching Continues to Decline

Yale E360

Rhino and elephant poaching is significantly down in Namibia, according to data from the country's Ministry of Environment and Tourism. So far in 2021, hunters have illegally killed nine rhinos, an eight-year low, and four elephants, a five-year low, Reuters reported. Read more on E360 ?.

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Harvard's Avi Loeb Thinks We Should Study UFOs--and He's Not Wrong

Scientific American

As a SETI scientist, I’m grateful that he has the freedom—and the guts—to go where few would dare to go. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Protecting Our Families’ Health, Protecting Our Future: The LUCIR study

Union of Concerned Scientists

What is really in our cleaning products? Who is most affected? What habits can we change to reduce our exposures to harmful chemicals? These questions and more are answered by the LUCIR study, conducted by youth in Salinas, CA, a predominantly Latinx farmworker community, in collaboration with researchers from UC Berkeley and La Clinica de Salud […].

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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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Cosmic-ray threat to quantum computing greater than previously thought

Physics World

Cosmic intruders : Energetic particles from space and natural background radiation can trigger hard-to-correct errors when they collide with chips containing superconducting qubits. (Courtesy: Chris Wilen). Quantum computers may need a redesign to protect them from background radiation, say physicists. After earlier experiments showed that cosmic rays can severely disrupt the operation of superconducting quantum bits (qubits), an international team led by Robert McDermott of the University of Wi

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?Just 5 Percent of Electric Plants Responsible for 73 percent of Power Sector Emissions

Yale E360

Just 5 percent of all power plants globally — all of them coal-fired — are responsible for 73 percent of electricity-sector carbon emissions, according to a new study that calls for cutting emissions from "hyper-polluting" power plants. Read more on E360 ?.

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The Question Medical AI Can't Answer

Scientific American

It’s unable to tell us why it came to a particular decision—and that’s crucial information. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Machine learning and knowledge engineering uncovers significant role of elevated blood glucose in severe Covid-19

Frontiers

By Colm Gorey, Frontiers’ Science Communications Manager. A digital reconstruction of SARS-CoV-2 primary infection in the lungs. Image: Blue Brain Project/EPFL 2005-2021. All rights reserved. Why does Covid-19 present itself more severe in some patients but not in others? The question has puzzled researchers and clinicians since the start of the pandemic, but now new research from the EPFL Blue Brain Project may have found a major clue to solving the mystery thanks to machine learning.

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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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PET imaging tracks ingested microplastics in mice

Physics World

Microplastics, tiny pieces of plastic debris less than five millimetres in length, are designed for commercial use or created through the breakdown of consumer products and industrial waste. They litter our oceans , they have been detected in everything from aquatic life to drinking water, and they take lifetimes or longer to decompose. In 2019, the World Health Organization called for more research on the effects of microplastics to the environment and human health.

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County in Washington State First in U.S. To Ban New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure

Yale E360

A county in Washington state has become the first such jurisdiction in the United States to ban new fossil fuel infrastructure, following a lengthy battle over the impact of oil refineries on the local community. Read more on E360 ?.

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The Crucial Vaccine Benefit We're Not Talking about Enough

Scientific American

They not only prevent people from getting sick; they also cut down on transmission by those who get infected after immunization. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Can Arctic Animals Keep Up With Climate Change? Scientists are Trying to Find Out

Inside Climate News

New studies suggest that rising temperatures may prove disastrous for species of birds, fish and other animals that are adapted to the cold of Arctic climes. By Haley Dunleavy In 2019, Emily Choy rappelled off the side of a guano-covered cliff almost 400 feet above Hudson Bay, and reached for a sleek black-and-white seabird. The laughing calls of more than 60,000 thick-billed murres surrounded her.

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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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Bullying and harassment rife in astronomy and geophysics, finds poll

Physics World

Astronomy and geophysics have a systemic bullying and harassment problem, the effects of which are disproportionately felt by women and individuals belonging to minority groups. That is according to an investigation by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), which has also found that younger researchers were more likely to be the victim of bullying than their more senior counterparts.

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Communities rally across the GTA to say No More Highways

Enviromental Defense

On Saturday, July 24th, communities and volunteers across the Greater Toronto Area turned out in the face of a pandemic and the threat of severe thunderstorms to stand up and say to the Ontario government: “No More Highways!” . The message of No More Highways is first and foremost about saying no to the Bradford Bypass and Highway 413, two proposed new 400-series highways which would pave over parts of the Greenbelt, destroy endangered species’ habitats, and open up huge areas of prime farmland

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How Olympic Tracking Systems Capture Athletic Performances

Scientific American

The 3-D tracking systems used in Tokyo may one day enable digital twins of athletes. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Dr. Lynette Hart – Be open-minded and resourceful: insights from the life of an Animal Behaviorist #WomeninScience

Frontiers

Author: Emma Phipps, Journal Specialist. This week, we speak to Dr. Lynette Hart, Professor at UC Davis. Dr. Hart’s research primarily focuses on human-animal interactions, an interest which stemmed from her passion for animal behavior and has taken her all over the world. We discussed her impressive career and the importance of always keeping an eye out for new opportunities.

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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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Twisted trilayer graphene could be a spin-triplet superconductor

Physics World

Physicists in the US and Japan have observed superconductivity in a graphene-based material during the application of very high magnetic fields. What is more, the superconductivity re-emerges after dropping to zero as the field strength is increased. The team, led by Pablo Jarillo-Herrero at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spotted the curious behaviour in magic-angle twisted trilayer graphene (MATTG), which is a member of a family of 2D materials that have extraordinary properties.

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Sponge fossils suggest animals already existed 890 million years ago

New Scientist

The preserved remains of sponges found in Canada suggest that animals may have originated 350 million years earlier than we thought

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Wild Pigs Release as Much Carbon Emissions as 1 Million Cars

Scientific American

The invasive animals uproot soil, exposing it to microbes that release greenhouse gases. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Why Sick Bats Self-Isolate

Cool Green Science

Research shows that normally social bats self-isolate when sick. The post Why Sick Bats Self-Isolate appeared first on Cool Green Science.

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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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Changing research field from astrophysics to neuroscience

Physics World

What do our brains have to do with dusty plasmas in outer space? Such a question had never occurred to me when I embarked on my BSc in physics at Jahangirnagar University , in my home country of Bangladesh. To me, physics meant particles, mechanics and electricity. As a child I had been curious about how things work, breaking my electric toys to get to the motor and making my own bicycle rearlight.

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Earth911 Podcast: Ideanomics Is Building a Renewable Energy-based Transportation Infrastructure

Earth 911

Earth911’s Mitch Ratcliffe talks with Ideanomics CEO Alf Poor about the evolution of transportation. We. The post Earth911 Podcast: Ideanomics Is Building a Renewable Energy-based Transportation Infrastructure appeared first on Earth911.

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Infrastructure Deal Whittles Down Climate Spending

Scientific American

The bipartisan legislation includes less funding for public transit and electric vehicles. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Lost art of the Stone Age: The cave paintings redrawing human history

New Scientist

Newly discovered cave art gives fresh insight into the minds of our ancestors - and upends the idea that a Stone Age cultural explosion was unique to Europe

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Ice microfibres are super flexible and springy

Physics World

Scientists in China and the US have created extremely flexible and elastic microfibres from ice. These fibres, which defy the usual rigid and brittle nature of ice, exhibit excellent optical quality and have mechanical properties that are near ice’s fundamental limits. They could be used for optical applications, environmental sensors and to study ice physics, the researchers claim.

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