'Gap' in Carbon Removal: Countries' Plans to Remove CO2 Not Enough:
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| 'Gap' in Carbon Removal: Countries' Plans to Remove CO2 Not Enough - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Since 2010, the United Nations environmental organisation UNEP has taken an annual measurement of the emissions gap -- the difference between countries' climate protection pledges and what is necessary to limit global heating to 1.5 ºC, or at least below 2 ºC.
The UNEP Emissions Gap Reports are clear: climate policy needs more ambition. This new study now explicitly applies this analytical concept to carbon dioxide removal (CDR) -- the removal of the most important greenhouse gas, CO2, from the atmosphere.
The study, published today in the journal Nature Climate Change, was led by the Berlin-based Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change ... Read more ...
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A better way to describe the carbon removal industry:
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| A better way to describe the carbon removal industry - Climate Engineering (Lockley - Playlist) |
Apr 26 · Join the weekly newsletter â–º https://airminers.com/newsletter\n\nOur vision is a thriving human civilization on Earth.\nWe exist to empower risk takers to reverse climate change.\nAirMiners provides the catalytic infrastructure for innovators working to remove a billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2030. | By Tito - AirMiners Read more ...
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A clock in the rocks: What cosmic rays tell us about Earth's changing surface and climate:
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| A clock in the rocks: What cosmic rays tell us about Earth's changing surface and climate - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · For Earth scientists, these are important questions as we try to improve projections to prepare communities for hazardous events in the future.
We rely on instrumental measurements, but such records are often short. To extend these, we use geological archives. And at the heart of this research is geochronology—a toolkit of geological dating methods that allow us to assign absolute ages to rocks.
In recent years, we have been using a state-of-the-art technique known as cosmogenic surface exposure dating which allows us to quantify the time a rock has spent on the surface, exposed to signals from outer space.
Using cosmic rays as a clock
Earth is ... Read more ...
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A laser immersion probe for smart inline monitoring of water and wastewater:
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| A laser immersion probe for smart inline monitoring of water and wastewater - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · The 2D fluorescence measurement method generates spectroscopic data directly on site in the clarifier. In conjunction with intelligent evaluation software, this process is the key to energy- and resource-efficient water treatment.
It will be presented to the public for the first time at IFAT 2024, the world's leading trade fair for water, sewage, waste and raw materials management in Munich.
In order to monitor water treatment processes in wastewater treatment plants, operators have so far relied on 24-hour composite samples. These are collected continuously throughout the day and then analyzed in the laboratory for sum parameters, such as the total amount of organic ... Read more ...
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A look at the past suggests atmospheric rivers inundating California could get worse:
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| A look at the past suggests atmospheric rivers inundating California could get worse - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · In their paper published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, the group describes their study of sediment core samples collected from the bottom of Leonard Lake, in northern California.
Over the past two winters, parts of California have seen much more rain than is normal for the region. The reason for it has been the creation of what have come to be called atmospheric rivers over parts of the Pacific Ocean, which dump wave after wave of rain as they move over land.
For this new study, the researchers focused on the history of atmospheric rivers dumping rain on California. They traveled to Leonard Lake in northern California to collect core sediment ... Read more ...
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A new roadmap to close the carbon cycle:
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| A new roadmap to close the carbon cycle - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 1 · Led by chemist Wendy Shaw of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a multi-institutional effort has produced a new roadmap to reducing emissions in hard-to-electrify segments of the economy. The multifaceted approach includes developing non-carbon fuels, finding non-fossil sources of carbon, and keeping carbon in play once it enters the cycle, ideally resulting in multiple uses of each carbon atom.
Single-use carbon can no longer be widespread, the roadmap authors assert. The carbon must be kept in play through a circular economy where each carbon atom is used numerous times. The carbon can be reused within the same industrial sector or act as a feedstock for a new ... Read more ...
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Allergy symptoms got you down? Blame pollen AND air pollution.:
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| Allergy symptoms got you down? Blame pollen AND air pollution. - Yale Climate Connections - Health |
May 1 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
You are not alone if every pollen season feels worse than the year before.
Pollen season is starting earlier and lasting longer, and even those previously unaffected are noticing its impacts. Across the globe, allergic reactions to pollen have increased in frequency and severity over the last several decades.
The evidence is clear to the naked eye: the dusting of yellow-green powder on outdoor patio furniture and cars parked on the street and the itchy eyes, runny noses, and sleepless nights starting weeks earlier than in the ... Read more ...
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Alphabet, Meta and others are paying $58.3 million to bury sludge:
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| Alphabet, Meta and others are paying $58.3 million to bury sludge - Greenbiz |
May 1 · Corporate buyers’ group Frontier contracts with startup using deep wells to store waste that would otherwise emit methane or CO2.
The Vaulted Deep well head in Kansas. Source: Vaulted Deep
A corporate buyers group founded by Alphabet, Meta, Shopify and Stripe disclosed a $58.3 million contract to bury waste sludge in deep underground wells to prevent it from emitting carbon dioxide and methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than CO2.
The agreement provides for the equivalent of 152,480 metric tons of carbon dioxide to be stored between 2024 and 2027 - starting with 20,000 tons this year. The companies will count credits related to the stored CO2 toward ... | By Heather Clancy Read more ...
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Are carbon-capture models effective?:
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| Are carbon-capture models effective? - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 4 · Runsheng Yin is a professor in the Department of Forestry in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, where he specializes in the evaluation of ecosystem services, ecological restoration and general natural resource economics and policy. Yin has published new research identifying that carbon-capture models have not factored in what happens to the timber after trees are logged.
"The climate crisis is heightening, with 2023 representing the warmest year on record," Yin said. "Nature-based solutions have an important role to play in helping us stem the worst impacts of climate change—but rigorously assessed methods to reliably offset and reduce greenhouse gas ... Read more ...
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Astronomers Share Climate-Friendly Meeting Solutions:
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| Astronomers Share Climate-Friendly Meeting Solutions - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
Apr 24 · Carbon emissions associated with air travel to professional conferences make up a sizable fraction of the emissions produced by researchers in academia. Andrea Gokus, a McDonnell Center postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, is advocating for a reduction of these emissions.
In a paper published in PNAS Nexus, Gokus and collaborators estimated the CO2-equivalent emissions for conference travel to all 362 open meetings in the field of astronomy in 2019.
The total is an estimated 42,500 tons, or about 1 ton per participant per meeting. But it doesn't have to be that way.
"Networking and discussing new ... Read more ...
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Bigger brains allow cliff-nesting seagull species to survive and thrive in urban environments:
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| Bigger brains allow cliff-nesting seagull species to survive and thrive in urban environments - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · The findings come in a broad-ranging study by ecologists at the University of Exeter looking at potential relationships between brain size, wing shape, nesting habits and the use of urban areas. It suggests that species such as the herring gull, the lesser black-backed gull and the black-legged kittiwake possess a behavioral flexibility that enables them to nest in more challenging locations.
The study, "From the sea to the city: explaining gulls' use of urban habitats," has been published in the latest edition of Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
"Many people will be familiar with gulls nesting and foraging in urban areas," says lead author Dr. Madeleine Goumas, ... Read more ...
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Can Forests Be More Profitable Than Beef?:
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| Can Forests Be More Profitable Than Beef? - New York Times - Climate Section |
May 2 · Cattle ranches have ruled the Amazon for decades. Now, new companies are selling something else: the ability of trees to lock away planet-warming carbon.
Forest restoration workers planted native Amazonian seedlings on degraded pastureland in Mãe do Rio, Brazil.Credit...
Manuela Andreoni visited restoration projects and ranches in the northern Amazon to understand how local economies there are changing.
The residents of Maracaçumé, an impoverished town on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, are mystified by the company that recently bought the biggest ranch in the region. How can it possibly make money by planting trees, which executives say they’ll never cut down, ... | By Manuela Andreoni Read more ...
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Cat climbed into Amazon return box, found alive 630 miles away:
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| Cat climbed into Amazon return box, found alive 630 miles away - Washington Post - Climate and Environment |
May 1 · Carrie Clark’s cat mysteriously went missing, causing her and her husband to panic. They posted on social media and distributed fliers in and around their neighborhood in Lehi, Utah.
“We were frantically searching for her for a week,” said Clark, whose 6-year-old indoor shorthair cat, Galena, disappeared on April 10. “We tore our home up trying to find her.” Read more ...
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Charge Big Oil with conspiracy, former tobacco prosecutor says:
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| Charge Big Oil with conspiracy, former tobacco prosecutor says - Heated World |
May 1 · A former U.S. Department of Justice attorney who prosecuted and won the massive racketeering case against Big Tobacco said she believes the DOJ now has enough evidence to pursue a conspiracy case against Big Oil.
Sharon Eubanks, who now runs her own law firm, made the comments in response to questioning by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at today’s Senate Budget Committee’s hearing on fossil fuel industry disinformation. The hearing was called as a complement to the boatload of new internal oil industry documents released yesterday.
“If a large corporation knowingly produces a product that gets me sick or kills me,” said Sanders, “what are the legal grounds that we can ... Read more ...
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Charting a cost-efficient path to a renewable energy grid for Australia:
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| Charting a cost-efficient path to a renewable energy grid for Australia - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 3 · Raheel Ahmed Shaikh and colleagues modeled possible scenarios for Australia's eastern and western grids, using solar and wind generation, short-to-long-term energy storage, and financial input data to explore low-cost capacity mix. Going completely renewable would require significant expansion of both generation and storage.
Interconnecting the two grids would reduce generation capacity needs by 6% and storage power capacity needs by 14%. The least cost renewable-only grid would be dominated by wind, with between 50–75% of energy contributed by turbines.
Storage would be mandatory for any fully renewable grid. Australia would need the ability to store up to four ... Read more ...
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Climate Change Amplifies Severity of Combined Wind-Rain Extremes Over the UK and Ireland:
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| Climate Change Amplifies Severity of Combined Wind-Rain Extremes Over the UK and Ireland - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Climate change will cause an increase in extreme winter storms combining strong winds and heavy rainfall over the UK and Ireland, new research has shown.
The new study was led by experts at Newcastle University and the Met Office and investigated how future climate change may influence compound wind-rain extremes, which are events where extreme wind and rainfall occur simultaneously.
These changes are mainly driven by increased rainfall, a thermodynamic response to rising temperatures. Additional contributing factors include a strengthened jet stream and its southward displacement that brings storms through warmer areas leading to further increases in ... Read more ...
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Climate change threatens Africa’s rhinos:
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| Climate change threatens Africa’s rhinos - Yale Climate Connections - Ecosystems |
May 1 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
In the grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa, few animals are as instantly recognizable as the rhinoceros.
But both black and white rhinos have been under intense pressure from poaching and habitat loss, which have pushed these species close to extinction.
And a new study warns that rhinos now face another threat - climate change.
National parks like Kruger in South Africa and Etosha in Namibia, home to some of the last rhinos in Africa, are expected to get hotter in coming decades.
Randhir: “Rhinos need really unique ... Read more ...
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Climate change threatens mountain meadows by reducing humus content, finds study:
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| Climate change threatens mountain meadows by reducing humus content, finds study - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · To recreate the effects of climate change under realistic conditions, the researchers used soil–plant mesocosms. These miniature ecosystems consist of units containing soil samples. By moving the mesocosms along an elevation gradient from higher, cooler locations to lower, warmer locations, the scientists simulated climate change. Thereby, they simulated a warming of up to 3°C, depending on the difference in altitude between the original and the new locations.
"Studying soil responses to climate change in detail helps us to better understand the long-term effects on alpine grassland ecosystems," says soil researcher Dr. Noelia Garcia-Franco. The study was carried out ... Read more ...
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Climate is one culprit in growth and spread of dust in Middle East:
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| Climate is one culprit in growth and spread of dust in Middle East - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · Dust levels have increased in many parts of the Middle East chiefly due to global warming, but other human activities also share credit, says Zahra Kalantari, associate professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. She cites such factors as oil extraction, military conflicts and lack of cross-border coordination of water management.
Analyzing multiple sets of data over the last 40 years, the researchers found an increase in dust levels in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen, parts of Iran and Egypt and countries around the Persian Gulf, while it has declined in northern Iran and southwest Turkey.
The area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in northern Iraq and along the ... Read more ...
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Coastal hurricanes around the world are intensifying faster, new study finds:
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| Coastal hurricanes around the world are intensifying faster, new study finds - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · A new study led by scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory finds that coastal conditions have changed since 1979, driving nearshore hurricanes around the world to intensify at a quickening pace. What's more, new projections suggest this rate will continue climbing should current warming trends continue. The paper is published in the journal Earth's Future.
Much work has been done to document how hurricanes are changing in our warmer world. Past research has shown these storms may grow wetter, threatening heightened risks of flooding. Other work suggests they may strike more often in some areas and that their intensity may peak closer to ... Read more ...
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Cold sintering may rescue plastic, ceramics, battery components from landfills:
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| Cold sintering may rescue plastic, ceramics, battery components from landfills - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · However, cold sintering—the process of combining powder-based materials into dense forms at low temperatures through applied pressure using solvents—allows for materials to be recycled again and again.
"That's the idea with cold sintering: you can take two or more materials that were destined for the landfill, combine them and create a composite, and recycle the composite again and again, without a loss in performance," Gomez said.
In three recent papers, Gomez and his team outline three new uses for cold sintering that advance recycling in materials science.
In a paper published in Materials Horizons, researchers used cold sintering to combine ... Read more ...
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Contemporary wildfires not more severe than historically in western US dry forests: Study:
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| Contemporary wildfires not more severe than historically in western US dry forests: Study - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 3 · I addressed this question in a new study in Sustainability. Dry forests are ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and dry mixed-conifer forests with ponderosa dominant, but other trees are common. They often occur at the lower limits of forests near woodlands, shrublands, and grasslands.
Earlier, we showed these forests were historically subject to a mixture of low-, moderate- and high-severity fires, as occurred recently in a fire I photographed in a dry forest in northern New Mexico. This mixed-severity historical fire model better fits historical evidence, so the alternative low-severity fire model was rejected.
A 2023 study used US Government Landfire data to show that ... Read more ...
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Cost-effective, high-capacity and cyclable lithium-ion battery cathodes:
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| Cost-effective, high-capacity and cyclable lithium-ion battery cathodes - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · The energy capacity and charge-recharge cycling (cyclability) of lithium-iron-oxide, a cost-effective cathode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, is improved by adding small amounts of abundant elements. The development, achieved by researchers at Hokkaido University, Tohoku University, and Nagoya Institute of Technology, is reported in the journal ACS Materials Letters.
Lithium-ion batteries have become indispensable in modern life, used in a multitude of applications including mobile phones, electric vehicles, and large power storage systems.
A constant research effort is underway to increase their capacity, efficiency, and sustainability. A major ... Read more ...
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Demystifying the complex nature of Arctic clouds:
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| Demystifying the complex nature of Arctic clouds - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · With dancing ribbons of light visible in the sky, a team of researchers flew on a series of scenic and sometimes stormy flights into the cold unknown, trying to learn more about why one of the most frigid places on Earth is warming at a feverish pace.
"The Arctic is changing rapidly, warming at a rate two to four times faster than the global average," said Paquita Zuidema, professor and chair of atmospheric sciences at the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and the principal investigator of CAESAR, or Cold-Air Outbreak Experiment in the Sub-Arctic Region.
"A consensus on why and how this is occurring is still lacking, and questions remain on how ... Read more ...
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Earth-Like Environment On Ancient Mars:
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| Earth-Like Environment On Ancient Mars - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · "It is difficult for manganese oxide to form on the surface of Mars, so we didn't expect to find it in such high concentrations in a shoreline deposit," said Patrick Gasda, of Los Alamos National Laboratory's Space Science and Applications group and lead author on the study. "On Earth, these types of deposits happen all the time because of the high oxygen in our atmosphere produced by photosynthetic life, and from microbes that help catalyze those manganese oxidation reactions.
"On Mars, we don't have evidence for life, and the mechanism to produce oxygen in Mars's ancient atmosphere is unclear, so how the manganese oxide was formed and concentrated here is really puzzling. ... Read more ...
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Electric vehicles are usually safer for their occupants - but not necessarily for everyone else, says researcher:
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| Electric vehicles are usually safer for their occupants - but not necessarily for everyone else, says researcher - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 1 · Public opinion about EV crash safety often hinges on a few high-profile fire incidents. Those safety concerns are arguably misplaced, and the actual safety of EVs is more nuanced.
EVs and internal combustion vehicles undergo the same crash-testing procedures to evaluate their crashworthiness and occupant protection. These tests are conducted by the National Highway Safety Administration's New Car Assessment Program and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
These analyses use crash test dummies representing midsize male and small female occupants to evaluate the risk of injuries. The tests can evaluate fire hazard either caused by thermal runaway—when ... Read more ...
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Electricity from farm waste: How biogas could help Malawians with no power:
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| Electricity from farm waste: How biogas could help Malawians with no power - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · Decentralized household and community scale renewable energy systems like biogas plants may provide a solution. Ehiaze Ehimen and Thomas Robin study energy efficiency and energy poverty in marginalized communities. They unpack what they found in their research into the potential role of small biogas plants in meeting rural energy needs.
Why are biogas plants such a good idea?
Biogas plants are easy to set up and can be relatively inexpensive. They use readily available materials such as manure and vegetable waste, and can be built with cement and bricks. They could potentially be used to meet the electricity needs of households and small communities, especially in rural ... Read more ...
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EPA underestimates methane emissions from landfills and urban areas, researchers find:
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| EPA underestimates methane emissions from landfills and urban areas, researchers find - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · "Methane is the second largest contributor to climate change behind carbon dioxide so it's really important that we quantify methane emissions at the highest possible resolution to pinpoint what sources it is coming from," said Hannah Nesser, a former Ph.D. student at SEAS and first author of the paper. Nesser is currently a NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow in the Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The EPA estimates that landfills are the third-largest source of human-caused methane emissions in the U.S., but the EPA uses a bottom-up accounting method that often doesn't match observations of atmospheric methane.
The EPA methane ... Read more ...
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EPA Underestimates Methane Emissions from Landfills, Urban Areas:
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| EPA Underestimates Methane Emissions from Landfills, Urban Areas - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is underestimating methane emissions from landfills, urban areas and U.S. states, according to a new study led by researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).
"Methane is the second largest contributor to climate change behind carbon dioxide so it's really important that we quantify methane emissions at the highest possible resolution to pinpoint what sources it is coming from," said Hannah Nesser, a former PhD student at SEAS and first author of the paper. Nesser is currently a NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow in the Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Group at the Jet Propulsion ... Read more ...
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Every breath you take: Following the journey of inhaled plastic particle pollution:
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| Every breath you take: Following the journey of inhaled plastic particle pollution - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · Led by Senior Lecturer of Mechanical Engineering Dr. Suvash Saha, the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) research team has used computational fluid-particle dynamics (CFPD) to study the transfer and deposition of nano and microplastic particles of different sizes and shapes depending on the rate of breathing.
The results of the modeling, published in the journal Environmental Advances, have pinpointed hotspots in the human respiratory system where plastic particles can accumulate, from the nasal cavity and larynx and into the lungs. The paper is titled, "Transport and deposition of microplastics and nanoplastics in the human respiratory tract."
Dr. Saha said evidence ... Read more ...
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Flood-hit Kenya and Tanzania on alert as cyclone nears:
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| Flood-hit Kenya and Tanzania on alert as cyclone nears - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Kenya and Tanzania were on alert on Saturday for a cyclone heading towards their Indian Ocean coastlines, threatening to pile on more misery after deadly floods that have ravaged the region.
About 400 people have lost their lives in East Africa and tens of thousands have been uprooted from their homes in recent weeks as torrential rains triggered flooding and landslides engulfed houses, roads and bridges.
Kenyan President William Ruto on Friday described the weather outlook as "dire" and postponed the reopening of schools indefinitely as the nation braced for its first-ever cyclone.
Tropical Cyclone Hidaya is projected to make landfall at the weekend on the Kenyan ... Read more ...
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Flooding in a Kenyan Natural Reserve Forces Tourist Evacuation:
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| Flooding in a Kenyan Natural Reserve Forces Tourist Evacuation - New York Times - Climate Section |
May 1 · The heavy rains that pounded East Africa for weeks, killing hundreds, have spilled into the Masai Mara, one of Africa’s greatest wildlife national reserves.
Mohamed Ahmed reported from Mombasa, Kenya, and Emma Bubola from London.
Devastating floods that have killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands more in East Africa are now inundating parts of the Masai Mara, one of Africa’s greatest wildlife national reserves.
On Wednesday, the Telek River broke its banks and overflowed into parts of the natural reserve, flooding many tourist camps. A spokesman for the Kenyan Red Cross, Munir Ahmed, said that more than 90 people have been evacuated, some by ... | By Mohamed Ahmed and Emma Bubola Read more ...
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Floods strand dozens of tourists in Kenya's Maasai Mara:
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| Floods strand dozens of tourists in Kenya's Maasai Mara - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · Nearly 100 tourists were among people marooned after a river overflowed in Kenya's famed Maasai Mara wildlife reserve following a heavy downpour, a local administrator said Wednesday, as the death toll from flood-related disasters neared 180.
Torrential rains, amplified by the El Niño weather pattern, have lashed much of the East African country and destroyed roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
"Approximately 100 or more tourists" were stranded in more than a dozen lodges, hotels and camps, Narok West sub-county administrator Stephen Nakola told AFP.
"That is the preliminary number as of now because some of the camps are unaccessible," he said.
The ... Read more ...
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For Microscopic Organisms, Ocean Currents Act as 'Expressway' to Deeper Depths:
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| For Microscopic Organisms, Ocean Currents Act as 'Expressway' to Deeper Depths - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Some of the ocean's tiniest organisms get swept into underwater currents that act as a conduit that shuttles them from the sunny surface to deeper, darker depths where they play a huge role in affecting the ocean's chemistry and ecosystem, according to new research.
"We found that because these organisms are so small, they can be swept up by ocean currents that then bring them deeper than where they grow," said Mara Freilich, an assistant professor in Brown University's Division of Applied Mathematics and Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences who launched the work as a Ph.D. student a joint program at MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. "It's ... Read more ...
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For microscopic organisms, ocean currents act as 'expressway' to deeper depths, study finds:
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| For microscopic organisms, ocean currents act as 'expressway' to deeper depths, study finds - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · "We found that because these organisms are so small, they can be swept up by ocean currents that then bring them deeper than where they grow," said Mara Freilich, an assistant professor in Brown University's Division of Applied Mathematics and Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences who launched the work as a Ph.D. student a joint program at MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. "It's often a one-way trip for these organisms, but by taking this trip, they play a critical role in connecting different parts of the ocean."
Freilich conducted the research during her Ph.D. with Amala Mahadevan, senior scientist at Woods Hole, in a close collaboration ... Read more ...
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Fungal resistance in plants associated with heritable differences in microbiota abundances:
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| Fungal resistance in plants associated with heritable differences in microbiota abundances - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · Sunflowers can be harvested for a number of products including seeds and oil, for which consumer demand has increased significantly in recent years. They may also contribute to climate resilience, researchers note, since they can adapt to various weather conditions, and sunflower sprouts contain nutrients that can promote human health.
Unfortunately, like many other plants, sunflowers are susceptible to disease, which can cause significant crop losses. For example, white mold, which is caused by the fungal pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is responsible for average annual sunflower crop losses of more than 1%. It can also affect beans, eggplants, lettuce, peanuts, potatoes ... Read more ...
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Good vibrations: Low-energy lasers induce atomic excitation in semiconductor materials:
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| Good vibrations: Low-energy lasers induce atomic excitation in semiconductor materials - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · By leveraging intense and broad-band ultrafast terahertz pulses, scientists from Yokohama National University and their colleagues at the California Institute of Technology have demonstrated atomic excitation in a two-dimensional semiconductor material, advancing the development of electronic devices.
Their paper was published on March 19 and appears as an Editor's Pick in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
Two-dimensional (2D) materials, or sheet-like nanomaterials, are promising platforms for future semiconductor applications due to their unique electronic properties. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), a prominent group of 2D materials, consist of layers of ... Read more ...
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GOP Senator accidentally creates amazing ad for climate activists:
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| GOP Senator accidentally creates amazing ad for climate activists - Heated World |
May 2 · Geoffrey Supran, the director of the Climate Accountability Lab at the University of Miami, is one of the country’s foremost experts on climate disinformation.
That’s why the former Harvard researcher was called to testify in the Senate Budget Committee’s hearing yesterday, titled “Denial, Disinformation, and Doublespeak: Big Oil’s Evolving Efforts to Avoid Accountability for Climate Change.”
Supran’s opening statement for the hearing included 120 cited sources, all of which he said “clearly demonstrate that the fossil fuel regime has deliberately denied Americans and Congress their right to be accurately informed about the climate crisis, just as tobacco companies ... Read more ...
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Heat wave swells Asia's appetite for air-conditioning:
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| Heat wave swells Asia's appetite for air-conditioning - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 3 · A record-breaking heat wave is broiling parts of Asia, helping drive surging demand for cooling options, including air-conditioning.
AC exhaust units are a common feature of urban landscapes in many parts of Asia, clinging like limpets to towering apartment blocks in Hong Kong or tucked in a cross formation between the windows of a building in Cambodia.
They offer relief from temperatures that have toppled records in recent weeks, with many countries in the region hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) or higher.
Scientists have long warned that human-induced climate change will produce more frequent, longer and more intense heat waves.
Only 15 percent ... Read more ...
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How green cities could remove CO2 from the atmosphere:
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| How green cities could remove CO2 from the atmosphere - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · Technically speaking, urban removals of this most important greenhouse gas could capture up to one gigatonne (i.e., 1,000 million metric tons) per year by mid-century. The study was conducted by the Berlin-based climate research institute MCC (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change) and published in Nature Cities.
"The potential for carbon removals in cities is significant, but ultimately, it is also limited," says Quirina Rodriguez Mendez, Ph.D. student at MCC and lead author of the study. "From a global perspective, one gigatonne is only around a fifth of the urban CO2 emissions expected for 2050—urban net zero by the middle of the century is ... Read more ...
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How rioting farmers unraveled Europe’s ambitious climate plan:
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| How rioting farmers unraveled Europe’s ambitious climate plan - VOX -Environment |
May 2 · Road-clogging, manure-dumping farmers reveal the paradox at the heart of EU agriculture.
In February 2021, in the midst of the deadly second year of the Covid-19 pandemic, Grégory Doucet, mayor of Lyon, France, temporarily took red meat off the menus of the city’s school cafeterias. While the change was environmentally friendly, the decision was driven by social distancing protocols: Preparing one hot meal that could be served to meat-eaters, vegetarians, and those with religious restrictions rather than serving multiple options was safer and more efficient.
The response from the French agricultural establishment was hysterical. “We need to stop putting ideology on our ... Read more ...
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How to fix the finance flows that are pushing our planet to the brink:
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| How to fix the finance flows that are pushing our planet to the brink - Climate Change News - Politics |
May 1 · Comment: Commercial banks are financing a huge amount of fossil-fuel and industrial agriculture activities in the Global South – they must turn off the tap
Climate activists, youth and frontline communities took to the streets around the world in April to demand that countries and companies #FixtheFinance. (Photo: ActionAid)
Teresa Anderson is global lead on climate justice for ActionAid International.
Last month, from Bangladesh to Kenya to Washington DC, over 40,000 activists in nearly 20 countries hit the streets calling on banks, governments and financial institutions to “#FixTheFinance” pushing the planet to the brink.
It’s clear that we can’t ... | By Teresa Anderson Read more ...
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How Workday uses carbon offtake agreements to scale climate impact:
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| How Workday uses carbon offtake agreements to scale climate impact - Greenbiz |
May 2 · The enterpriser software provider is one of the large corporations signing offtake agreements with carbon reduction and capture projects.
Offtakes are the next step in Workday's journey to support high-quality climate action. Source: Workday
Since January, Workday has signed three new offtake agreements with early-stage carbon projects, committing to purchase over 300,000 carbon credits over the next six years. By guaranteeing future demand, the enterprise software provider is helping to close the finance gap that holds back many high-impact carbon projects.
The projects include forest protection in the Amazon with remote sensing, carbon removal via biochar in ... | By Margaret Morales Read more ...
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In photos: At least 39 dead as historic flooding hits southern Brazil:
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| In photos: At least 39 dead as historic flooding hits southern Brazil - Washington Post - Climate and Environment |
May 4 · Floods in southern Brazil killed at least 39 people as heavy rainfall brought historic amounts of water to the state of Rio Grande do Sul, according to local authorities. At least 68 others are missing.
In the state capital, Porto Alegre, water levels rose to 4.88 meters (16 feet) - the highest observed since 1941, according to the prefectural government. The state’s civil defense agency also reported that a dam at a hydropower plant in the Cotiporã municipality had partially collapsed. Water from the dam completely overwhelmed nearby cities, the Associated Press reported.
May 3 | Eldorado do Sul, Brazil
Floodwaters overtake the streets.
May 3 | Porto Alegre, ... Read more ...
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In the Jersey suburbs, a search for rocks to help fight climate change:
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| In the Jersey suburbs, a search for rocks to help fight climate change - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · Okoko, a Ph.D. candidate at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, was not so much interested in geologic history as in a modern use for basalt: to capture and store carbon permanently below the nearby seafloor in solid form.
Basalt underlies much of New Jersey, and is believed to extend well out into the Atlantic seabed. On land, it mostly lies hidden under soil, other kinds of rocks, roads, buildings, parking lots and other human infrastructure.
This particular outcrop, about 400 feet long, was exposed when people cut into a hillside to create a narrow, upward-winding track dubbed Ghost Pony Road. Today, Ghost Pony Road is wedged uphill of the constant ... Read more ...
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Inside Allbirds’ mission to make a shoe with no carbon footprint:
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| Inside Allbirds’ mission to make a shoe with no carbon footprint - Greenbiz |
May 3 · As of its most recent progress update, the shoemaker is more than halfway toward its goal to cut its per-product footprint in half by 2025.
Three years ago, Allbirds pledged to cut its per-product carbon footprint in half within four years, aiming for “near zero” status by 2030. As of its most recent progress update, the shoemaker is more than halfway there, thanks to an approach that requires every employee and business partner to consider emissions - from design to materials to packaging.
Allbirds is also one of the few public companies that regularly highlights greenhouse gas emissions in its earnings report. And it calculates carbon labels for its products, even amid ... | By Heather Clancy Read more ...
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Investigating coal emissions reductions and mortality in China:
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| Investigating coal emissions reductions and mortality in China - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · Annual coal consumption fell between 2013 and 2017, which led to observed dramatic decreases in mean daily fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels.
In 2018, a new program, known as "Three-Year Action Plan for Winning the Blue Sky Defense Battle," began, and in the same year, PM2.5 concentrations were further reduced by 9.3% from 2017 levels.
In this context, Xiaoming Shi and colleagues used accountability analysis to assess whether the acute health effects of PM2.5 changed from 2013 to 2018 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, which was the most heavily polluted region. The study is published in the journal PNAS Nexus.
The acute effects of PM2.5 were significantly ... Read more ...
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Is bioenergy ever truly green? It depends on five key questions:
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| Is bioenergy ever truly green? It depends on five key questions - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 1 · But is it environmentally sound? The annoying answer is: it depends.
Trees and other plants soak up carbon from the atmosphere and store it as biomass. When they are burnt for electricity production the same carbon is released. This would suggest bioenergy is "carbon-neutral."
But it's not that simple. Many things can change the environmental credentials of a bioenergy project. Every project is unique and must be considered independently.
So let's break down the five key questions we should ask about every bioenergy project.
1. What is the source of the biomass?
The bewildering array of plants on our planet means a huge amount of biomass "feedstock" is ... Read more ...
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Jamie Raskin Names And Shames The 'Evil Fairy' Secretly Setting 'The Country Back':
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| Jamie Raskin Names And Shames The 'Evil Fairy' Secretly Setting 'The Country Back' - Huffington Post |
May 2 · Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) slammed the petroleum industry on Wednesday as he pointed to experts who described Big Oil’s “pattern of lying and evasion” that has “set the country back decades” in its ability to address climate change.
“Instead of acting like Paul Revere and sounding the alarm about climate change, they acted like Maleficent the evil fairy and Sleeping Beauty and cursed everyone to try to go to sleep for 100 years,” said Raskin during a Senate Budget Committee hearing.
Raskin’s remarks arrived after that committee along with the House Oversight Committee released a 65-page report following a three-year investigation on oil and gas companies’ “evolving ... Read more ...
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Kenya floods death toll rises to 188 as heavy rains persist:
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| Kenya floods death toll rises to 188 as heavy rains persist - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · The number of people who have lost their lives in devastating floods in Kenya since March has risen to 188, with dozens still missing, the interior ministry said on Thursday.
Torrential rains in Kenya and other countries in East Africa have caused deadly havoc, with floods and landslides forcing people from their homes, destroying roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
"As a result, the country has regrettably recorded 188 fatalities due to severe weather conditions," the ministry said in a statement.
It added that 125 people had been reported injured and 90 people were currently missing, while 165,000 have been displaced.
On Wednesday, nearly 100 tourists ... Read more ...
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Kenya floods death toll tops 200 as cyclone approaches:
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| Kenya floods death toll tops 200 as cyclone approaches - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · The death toll from flood-related incidents in Kenya has crossed 200 since March, the interior ministry said Friday, as a cyclone barrelled towards the Tanzanian coast.
Torrential rains have lashed much of East Africa, triggering flooding and landslides that has destroyed crops, swallowed homes, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Some 210 people have died in Kenya "due to severe weather conditions," the interior ministry said in a statement, with 22 killed in the past 24 hours.
More than 165,000 people had been uprooted from their home, it added and 90 others missing, raising fears that the toll could rise higher.
Kenya and neighboring Tanzania, ... Read more ...
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Kenya's devastating floods expose decades of poor urban planning and bad land management:
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| Kenya's devastating floods expose decades of poor urban planning and bad land management - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · Floods are the natural consequence of storm rainfall and have an important ecological role. They inundate flood plains where silts settle, riverbed aquifers are recharged and nutrients are gathered. Annual rainfall in Kenya varies from 2,000 mm in the western region to less than 250 mm in the drylands covering over 80% of Kenya. But storm rainfalls are widespread. This means that floods can occur in any part of the country.
The impact of floods has become more severe due to a number of factors.
The first is how much water runs off. In rural areas, changes to the landscape have meant that there's been an increase in the amount of storm runoff generated from rainfall. This ... Read more ...
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Kenya, Tanzania brace for cyclone as heavy rains persist:
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| Kenya, Tanzania brace for cyclone as heavy rains persist - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · Kenya and Tanzania were bracing Thursday for a cyclone on the heels of torrential rains that have devastated East Africa, killing more than 350 people and forcing tens of thousands from their homes.
In addition to claiming 188 lives in Kenya since March, the floods have displaced 165,000 people, with 90 reported missing, the interior ministry said, as the government warned citizens to remain on alert.
"Crucially, the coastal region is likely to experience Cyclone Hidaya, which will result in heavy rainfall, large waves and strong winds that could affect marine activities in the Indian Ocean," the office of Kenyan President William Ruto said.
Neighboring Tanzania, ... Read more ...
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Lake tsunamis pose significant threat under warming climate:
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| Lake tsunamis pose significant threat under warming climate - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Triggered by landslides into small bodies of water, most of these tsunamis have occurred in remote locations so far, but geologist Bretwood Higman of Ground Truth Alaska said it may just be a matter of time before a tsunami swamps a more populated place like Portage Lake near Whittier, Alaska.
When he estimates where the risk of an Alaskan lake tsunami is highest, Portage Lake "is pretty much at the top of my list," Higman said.
Other sites in Alaska where the risks of lake tsunamis coincide with human activity and infrastructure include Eklutna, Seward, Valdez, Juneau, Grewingk Lake in Kachemak Bay State Park and Index Lake near Glacier View.
At the Seismological ... Read more ...
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Leveraging robots to help make wind turbine blades:
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| Leveraging robots to help make wind turbine blades - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · Although robots have been used by the wind energy industry to paint and polish blades, automation has not been widely adopted. Research at the laboratory demonstrates the ability of a robot to trim, grind, and sand blades. Those necessary steps occur after the two sides of the blade are made using a mold and then bonded together.
"I would consider it a success," said Hunter Huth, a robotics engineer at NREL and lead author of a newly published paper detailing the work. "Not everything operated as well as we wanted it to, but we learned all the lessons we think we need to make it meet or exceed our expectations."
The paper, "Toolpath Generation for Automated Wind Turbine ... Read more ...
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Light, flexible, efficient: Perovskite-based tandem solar cells:
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| Light, flexible, efficient: Perovskite-based tandem solar cells - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · Roof tiles are becoming a thing of the past: Today, more and more Swiss roofs boast large black and blue rectangles that convert sunlight into electricity. The blueish color comes from silicon crystals, as the majority of solar cells available today are based on this semiconductor material. But silicon is not the only way to make a solar cell - and possibly not even the best.
Silicon-based photovoltaic cells have been perfected so far that they are reaching the limits of their efficiency. Although a few percentage points of improvement could still be gained, the theoretical upper limit for the efficiency of a single silicon cell is 33%. In practice, it is somewhat lower, as ... Read more ...
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Mass fish die-off in Vietnam as heat wave roasts Southeast Asia:
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| Mass fish die-off in Vietnam as heat wave roasts Southeast Asia - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 1 · Hundreds of thousands of fish have died in a reservoir in southern Vietnam's Dong Nai province, with locals and media reports suggesting a brutal heat wave and the lake's management are to blame.
Like much of Southeast Asia - where schools have recently been forced to close early and electricity usage has surged - southern and central Vietnam have been scorched by devastating heat.
"All the fish in the Song May reservoir died for lack of water," a local resident in Trang Bom district, who identified himself only as Nghia, told AFP.
"Our life has been turned upside down over the past 10 days because of the smell."
Pictures show residents wading and boating ... Read more ...
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Meet 2 Companies Upcycling Food Waste to Make Beauty More Sustainable:
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| Meet 2 Companies Upcycling Food Waste to Make Beauty More Sustainable - Sustainable Brands |
Apr 30 · Biotech startups Kaffe Bueno and The Upcycled Beauty Company are transforming food-manufacturing waste streams into high-quality ingredients for personal-care products.
According to Statista, the global beauty industry will generate about $129 billion in revenue by 2028, making it a major economic player.
But the impacts of the materials in the supply chains behind many personal-care products also make it a problematic player: The industry is notorious for generating copious amounts of plastic trash; consuming staggering amounts of water; and using hazardous chemicals and ingredients that fuel deforestation, such as palm oil.
While a growing number of beauty brands ... Read more ...
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Methane emissions from gas flaring being hidden from satellite monitors:
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| Methane emissions from gas flaring being hidden from satellite monitors - Guardian - Energy |
May 2 · Use of enclosed combustors leaves regulators heavily reliant on oil and gas companies’ own flaring data
Oil and gas equipment intended to cut methane emissions is preventing scientists from accurately detecting greenhouse gases and pollutants, a satellite image investigation has revealed.
Energy companies operating in countries such as the US, UK, Germany and Norway appear to have installed technology that could stop researchers from identifying methane, carbon dioxide emissions and pollutants at industrial facilities involved in the disposal of unprofitable natural gas, known in the industry as flaring.
Flares are used by fossil fuel companies when capturing the ... Read more ...
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Methane emissions from landfill could be turned into sustainable jet fuel with plasma-driven process:
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| Methane emissions from landfill could be turned into sustainable jet fuel with plasma-driven process - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
Apr 30 · Methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (CO2). According to the International Energy Agency, the concentration of methane in the atmosphere is currently around two-and-a-half times greater than pre-industrial levels and is increasing steadily, with waste emissions and the burning of fossil fuels accounting for a significant proportion.
Australia recently joined the international methane mitigation agreement with the United States, the European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Lead author Professor PJ Cullen from the University of Sydney's School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Net Zero Initiative said, "Globally, landfills are ... Read more ...
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Mice navigating a virtual reality environment reveal that walls, not floors, define space:
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| Mice navigating a virtual reality environment reveal that walls, not floors, define space - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · The study, led by Dr. Guifen Chen from Queen Mary University of London, delves into the brains of mice navigating a two-dimensional virtual reality (VR) environment, revealing the surprising importance of specific visual cues for building and maintaining spatial maps. It reveals that specific visual cues - in this case, elevated walls - are crucial for stabilizing the neurons responsible for spatial navigation in virtual reality (VR).
"Our findings provide a significant step forward in understanding the precise nature of the sensory information that animals used for boundary detection," says Dr. Chen. "They not only highlight the importance of elevated boundaries in building ... Read more ...
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Microsoft makes renewable energy deal with Canada's Brookfield:
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| Microsoft makes renewable energy deal with Canada's Brookfield - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · Microsoft and Canada's Brookfield Asset Management have struck an agreement for the development of renewable energy that could make one of the biggest corporate purchases of green energy to date, the companies said on Tuesday.
Under the "first of its kind" agreement, Brookfield said it plans to develop over 10.5 gigawatts of new wind and solar farms for Microsoft as the tech giant looks to power its data centers and operations globally with carbon-free electricity by 2030.
The deal underscores how some of the world's biggest companies are making major investments in clean energy to meet climate goals while also remaining competitive in the race to roll out artificial ... Read more ...
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Microsoft signs its biggest renewable energy contract yet:
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| Microsoft signs its biggest renewable energy contract yet - Greenbiz |
May 1 · Deal with Brookfield will add 10.5 gigawatts of wind and solar in the U.S. and Europe between 2026 and 2030.
Microsoft is building its data center capacity to support artificial intelligence services, which is increasing its electricity consumption. Source: Microsoft
Microsoft will almost double its renewable energy capacity through a five-year deal with Brookfield Asset Management and Brookfield Renewable that will add more than 10.5 gigawatts of solar, wind and other “carbon-free” energy sources in Europe and the U.S.
The value of the contract is estimated at more than $10 billion based on current market conditions, according to news reports, although that amount ... | By Heather Clancy Read more ...
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Mom fights air pollution in North Denver:
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| Mom fights air pollution in North Denver - Yale Climate Connections - Policy |
May 2 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
People who live in North Denver, Colorado, face multiple sources of air pollution.
Oliver: “Families and young homeowners … live next to the refinery, the dog food plant, the recycling waste facility, as well as gas plants. … And there’s so many other industries that are also in this very same area that also contribute to a lot of heavy-duty truck pollution.”
Shaina Oliver is an activist with Mom’s Clean Air Force.
She says Denver has some of the highest levels of ground-level ozone in the country. It forms from the pollution emitted ... Read more ...
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Morocco's farming revolution: Defying drought with science:
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| Morocco's farming revolution: Defying drought with science - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · In the heart of sun-soaked Morocco, scientists are cultivating a future where tough crops defy a relentless drought, now in its sixth year.
"Look at these beautiful ears of wheat," said Wuletaw Tadesse Degu, the head of wheat breeding at the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA).
"The difference in quality between our field and others is striking," he said, pointing towards a lush expanse in Marchouch, south of Rabat, that stood in stark contrast with the barren lands elsewhere.
By 2040, Morocco is poised to face "extremely high" water stress, a dire prediction from the World Resources Institute, a non-profit research ... Read more ...
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Mystery behind huge opening in Antarctic sea ice solved:
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| Mystery behind huge opening in Antarctic sea ice solved - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · A study published in Science Advances reveals a key process that had eluded scientists as to how the opening, called a polynya, was able to form and persist for several weeks. The paper is titled "Ekman-Driven Salt Transport as a Key Mechanism for Open-Ocean Polynya Formation at Maud Rise."
The team of researchers from the University of Southampton, the University of Gothenburg and the University of California San Diego studied the Maud Rise polynya—named after the submerged mountain-like feature in the Weddell Sea, over which it grows.
They found the polynya was brought on by complex interactions between the wind, ocean currents, and the unique geography of the ... Read more ...
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Mystery Behind Huge Opening in Antarctic Sea Ice Solved:
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| Mystery Behind Huge Opening in Antarctic Sea Ice Solved - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · A study reveals a key process that had eluded scientists as to how the opening, called a polynya, was able to form and persist for several weeks.
The team of researchers from the University of Southampton, the University of Gothenburg and the University of California San Diego studied the Maud Rise polynya -- named after the submerged mountain-like feature in the Weddell Sea, over which it grows.
They found the polynya was brought on by complex interactions between the wind, ocean currents, and the unique geography of the ocean floor, transporting heat and salt towards the surface.
In Antarctica, the surface of the ocean freezes over in the winter, with sea ice ... Read more ...
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NASA is helping protect tigers, jaguars, and elephants - here's how:
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| NASA is helping protect tigers, jaguars, and elephants - here's how - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 3 · "Satellites observe vast areas of Earth's surface on daily to weekly schedules," said Keith Gaddis, ecological conservation program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "That helps scientists monitor habitats that would be logistically challenging and time-consuming to survey from the ground—crucial for animals like tigers that roam large territories."
Here's how NASA and its partners help protect three of Earth's most iconic species:
Trouble (and hope) for tigers
Tigers have lost at least 93% of their historical range, which once spanned Eurasia. Roughly 3,700 to 5,500 wild tigers remain, up from an estimated low of 3,200 in 2010.
In a recent ... Read more ...
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Nepal battles raging wildfires across the country:
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| Nepal battles raging wildfires across the country - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · Firefighters and local residents battled a massive wildfire on the outskirts of Nepal's capital Thursday as the Himalayan republic endures a severe fire season authorities have blamed on a heat wave.
Nepal sees a spate of wildfires annually, usually beginning in March, but their number and intensity has worsened in recent years, with climate change leading to drier winters.
Emergency crews worked through the night to fight the blaze which engulfed a forested area in Lalitpur, on the southern periphery of the Kathmandu valley.
More than 4,500 wildfires have been reported this year across the country, nearly double compared to last year according to government data ... Read more ...
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New climate study shows cloud cover is easier to affect than previously thought:
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| New climate study shows cloud cover is easier to affect than previously thought - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · Clouds are among the least understood entities in the climate system and the largest source of uncertainty in predicting future climate change. To describe clouds, you need to understand weather systems on the scale of up to hundreds of kilometers and microphysics down to the scale of molecules.
The new study sheds new light on what happens at the molecular scale, focusing on cloud condensation nuclei in marine stratus clouds—low-level, horizontally layered clouds. The study, "Supersaturation and Critical Size of Cloud Condensation Nuclei in Marine Stratus Clouds," is published in Geophysical Research Letters.
It is well-known that cloud formation depends on two ... Read more ...
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New computer algorithm supercharges climate models and could lead to better predictions of future climate change:
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| New computer algorithm supercharges climate models and could lead to better predictions of future climate change - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · However, climate modelers have long faced a major problem. Because Earth System Models integrate many complicated processes, they cannot immediately run a simulation; they must first ensure that it has reached a stable equilibrium representative of real-world conditions before the industrial revolution. Without this initial settling period—referred to as the "spin-up" phase—the model can "drift," simulating changes that may be erroneously attributed to manmade factors.
Unfortunately, this process is extremely slow as it requires running the model for many thousands of model years which, for IPCC simulations, can take as much as two years on some of the world's most ... Read more ...
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New eco-friendly lubricant additives protect turbine equipment, waterways:
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| New eco-friendly lubricant additives protect turbine equipment, waterways - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · Each year, roughly 2.47 billion gallons of lubricating oil are consumed in the United States alone for engines and industrial machinery, according to DOE, with about half eventually finding its way into the environment.
While environmentally acceptable lubricants are available, they are not optimized with additives that can greatly improve performance while posing minimal environmental impact if accidentally released. To create nontoxic, biodegradable and high-performing lubricant additives for water power turbines, researchers turned to ionic liquids, or ILs: organic liquid salts that mix well with oil, reduce friction between bearings and gears, and are stable in a range of ... Read more ...
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New findings point to an Earth-like environment on ancient Mars:
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| New findings point to an Earth-like environment on ancient Mars - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · "It is difficult for manganese oxide to form on the surface of Mars, so we didn't expect to find it in such high concentrations in a shoreline deposit," said Patrick Gasda, of Los Alamos National Laboratory's Space Science and Applications group and lead author on the study.
"On Earth, these types of deposits happen all the time because of the high oxygen in our atmosphere produced by photosynthetic life, and from microbes that help catalyze those manganese oxidation reactions.
"On Mars, we don't have evidence for life, and the mechanism to produce oxygen in Mars's ancient atmosphere is unclear, so how the manganese oxide was formed and concentrated here is really ... Read more ...
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New Nevada experiments aim to improve monitoring of nuclear explosions:
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| New Nevada experiments aim to improve monitoring of nuclear explosions - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Physics Experiment 1-A (PE1-A) is the first in a series of non-nuclear experiments that will compare computer simulations with high-resolution seismic, tracer gas, acoustic and electromagnetic data gleaned from underground explosions and atmospheric experiments, said Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher Stephen Myers at the Seismological Society of America (SSA)'s 2024 Annual Meeting.
The 18 October explosion—the equivalent of 16.3 tons of TNT—took place in Aqueduct Mesa "P Tunnel" at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Seismic, acoustic and electromagnetic waves from the shock were recorded by instruments near the explosion and with regional ... Read more ...
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New Nevada Experiments Will Improve Monitoring of Nuclear Explosions:
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| New Nevada Experiments Will Improve Monitoring of Nuclear Explosions - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · On an October morning in 2023, a chemical explosion detonated in a tunnel under the Nevada desert was the launch of the next set of experiments by the National Nuclear Security Administration, with the goal to improve detection of low-yield nuclear explosions around the world.
Physics Experiment 1-A (PE1-A) is the first in a series of non-nuclear experiments that will compare computer simulations with high-resolution seismic, tracer gas, acoustic and electromagnetic data gleaned from underground explosions and atmospheric experiments, said Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher Stephen Myers at the Seismological Society of America (SSA)'s 2024 Annual ... Read more ...
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New Research for Week #18 2024:
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| New Research for Week #18 2024 - Skeptical Science |
May 2 · Generative AI tools can enhance climate literacy but must be checked for biases and inaccuracies, Atkins et al., Communications Earth & Environment:
In the face of climate change, climate literacy is becoming increasingly important. With wide access to generative AI tools, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, we explore the potential of AI platforms for ordinary citizens asking climate literacy questions. Here, we focus on a global scale and collect responses from ChatGPT (GPT-3.5 and GPT-4) on climate change-related hazard prompts over multiple iterations by utilizing the OpenAI’s API and comparing the results with credible hazard risk indices. We find a general sense of ... Read more ...
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New research investigates how climate change amplifies severity of combined wind-rain extremes over the UK and Ireland:
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| New research investigates how climate change amplifies severity of combined wind-rain extremes over the UK and Ireland - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · The new study was led by experts at Newcastle University and the Met Office and investigated how future climate change may influence compound wind-rain extremes, which are events where extreme wind and rainfall occur simultaneously.
These changes are mainly driven by increased rainfall, a thermodynamic response to rising temperatures. Additional contributing factors include a strengthened jet stream and its southward displacement that brings storms through warmer areas leading to further increases in rainfall.
Publishing their findings in the journal Weather and Climate Extremes, the scientists show that the increase in intensity could lead to more frequent windstorms ... Read more ...
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New sugar-based catalyst could offer a potential solution for using captured carbon:
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| New sugar-based catalyst could offer a potential solution for using captured carbon - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · In a new Northwestern University study, the catalyst successfully converted CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO), an important building block to produce a variety of useful chemicals. When the reaction occurs in the presence of hydrogen, for example, CO2 and hydrogen transform into synthesis gas (or syngas), a highly valuable precursor to producing fuels that can potentially replace gasoline.
With recent advances in carbon capture technologies, post-combustion carbon capture is becoming a plausible option to help tackle the global climate change crisis. But how to handle the captured carbon remains an open-ended question. The new catalyst potentially could provide one solution for ... Read more ...
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NOAA reports continued drop in overfishing:
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| NOAA reports continued drop in overfishing - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 3 · Maintaining sustainable fisheries contributes significantly to the U.S. economy, provides important recreational opportunities and helps meet the growing challenge of increasing our nation's seafood supply.
In 2023, U.S. fisheries data revealed that 94% of stocks are not subject to overfishing and 82% are not overfished. These numbers show slight improvements compared to the 2022 figures of 93% and 81%, respectively.
Ongoing positive trends continued with the number of stocks on the overfishing list decreasing by three stocks, reaching an all-time low of 21 stocks, and the number of stocks on the overfished list decreasing by one stock, to 47. Since 2000, NOAA Fisheries ... Read more ...
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Oil Companies Expand Offshore Drilling, Pointing to Energy Needs:
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| Oil Companies Expand Offshore Drilling, Pointing to Energy Needs - New York Times - Climate Section |
May 3 · Shell and others say they plan to drill for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico in part because doing so releases fewer greenhouse gases than drilling on land.
Reporting from Shell’s Appomattox offshore platform, New Orleans, Houston and Los Angeles
About 80 miles southeast of Louisiana’s coast, 100,000 metric tons of steel floats in the Gulf of Mexico, an emblem of the hopes of oil and gas companies.
This hulk of metal, a deepwater platform called Appomattox and owned by Shell, collects the oil and gas that rigs tap from reservoirs thousands of feet below the seafloor. Equipment on the platform pipes that fuel to shore.
Political and corporate leaders have ... | By Ivan Penn Read more ...
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Path to Easier Recycling of Solar Modules:
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| Path to Easier Recycling of Solar Modules - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · The use of femtosecond lasers to form glass-to-glass welds for solar modules would make the panels easier to recycle, according to a proof-of-concept study conducted by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The welds would eliminate the need for plastic polymer sheets that are now laminated into solar modules but make recycling more difficult. At the end of their useful lifespan, the modules made with the laser welds can be shattered. The glass and metal wires running through the solar cells can be easily recycled and the silicon can be reused.
"Most recyclers will confirm that the polymers are the main issue in terms ... Read more ...
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People Are Furious At Video Of Florida Boaters Dumping Trash Into The Ocean:
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| People Are Furious At Video Of Florida Boaters Dumping Trash Into The Ocean - Huffington Post |
May 1 · Florida officials say they have identified the members of a group of young boaters who were seen on video dumping their trash into the open ocean just off the coast of Boca Raton over the weekend.
Footage of the incident, captured on YouTube and Instagram by the Miami-based content creator Wavy Boats, shows the group leaving a local event called “Boca Bash” in a boat. They can be seen drinking and, later, emptying two garbage cans filled with loose trash into the water roughly a mile and a half offshore.
Drone footage shows much of the debris, which includes cans, potato chip bags and plastic cups, floating on the surface as the boaters head back to the event.
By ... Read more ...
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Pet dogs and strays suffer in Asia heat wave:
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| Pet dogs and strays suffer in Asia heat wave - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 1 · Soaring temperatures across Kolkata have brought life in much of the Indian megacity to a standstill, but veterinarian Partha Das cannot recall a time when he was more busy.
His clinic has been swamped by distressed members of the public carrying in beloved pets suffering nosebleeds, severe skin rashes and lapses into unconsciousness in a relentless heat wave suffocating much of South and Southeastern Asia over the past week.
"Many pets are also hospitalized for three or four consecutive days, and they are taking a long time to get back to normal," the 57-year-old told AFP from his surgery.
"We are getting several heatstroke cases in a day. It's ... Read more ...
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Plants Utilize Drought Stress Hormone to Block Snacking Spider Mites:
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| Plants Utilize Drought Stress Hormone to Block Snacking Spider Mites - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Recent findings that plants employ a drought-survival mechanism to also defend against nutrient-sucking pests could inform future crop breeding programmes aimed at achieving better broadscale pest control.
Using an advanced fluorescent biosensor (ABACUS2) that can detect tiny changes in plant hormone concentrations at the cellular scale, scientists saw that abscisic acid (ABA), usually linked with drought response, started closing the plant's entry gates within 5 hours of being infested with spider mites.
Microscopic leaf pores (stomata) are important for gas exchange but are also the major sites for water loss. When there is a water shortage, plants act to conserve ... Read more ...
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PODCAST: Why are EVs more popular than hydrogen cars?:
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| PODCAST: Why are EVs more popular than hydrogen cars? - MIT - Global Change |
May 2 · Listen on your favorite streaming app.
Just 20 years ago, hydrogen cars and battery electric cars (EVs) were pretty evenly matched as clean alternatives to gas-powered cars. But today, EVs are way ahead: the big car companies are rapidly electrifying their lineups, while only a few hydrogen cars are available. What happened? Sergey Paltsev, senior research scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative, helps us answer this listener question.
Dr. Sergey Paltsev is a Deputy Director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, a Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative and MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, and a ... Read more ...
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Precipitation may brighten Colorado River's future, says modeling study:
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| Precipitation may brighten Colorado River's future, says modeling study - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · Precipitation falling in the river's headwaters region is likely to be more abundant than during the prior two decades. The work, published in the Journal of Climate, comes as policymakers, water managers, states, and tribes look for answers on how to govern the Colorado River's flows beyond 2025.
"It's a sort of nuanced message," said Balaji Rajagopalan, CIRES Fellow and co-author of the study. "Yes, the temperature is warming, but that's not the full story—you add precipitation and you get a fuller picture."
CIRES affiliate Martin Hoerling and Fellow Balaji Rajagopalan worked with colleagues from several other institutions to analyze data from a suite of models, ... Read more ...
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Research discovers plants utilize drought stress hormone to block snacking spider mites:
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| Research discovers plants utilize drought stress hormone to block snacking spider mites - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Using an advanced fluorescent biosensor (ABACUS2) that can detect tiny changes in plant hormone concentrations at the cellular scale, scientists saw that abscisic acid (ABA), usually linked with drought response, started closing the plant's entry gates within 5 hours of being infested with spider mites.
Microscopic leaf pores (stomata) are important for gas exchange but are also the major sites for water loss. When there is a water shortage, plants act to conserve water by producing the drought stress hormone ABA to close their stomata.
Coincidentally, the closure of stomata also obstructs the preferred entry points for nutrient-sucking pests like spider mites. The ... Read more ...
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Research explores energy and land-use practices on US golf courses:
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| Research explores energy and land-use practices on US golf courses - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 2 · A new study appearing in HortTechnology evaluates energy practices and use of land on US golf courses.
Energy usage on US golf facilities was first assessed in 2008 and then reevaluated in 2015. The findings showed that over 99% of golf facilities continued to use gasoline and diesel fuel, with no significant change from 2008 to 2015. However, there was an increase in the percentage of facilities implementing behavioral or design changes aimed at conserving energy during this period. Additionally, there was a rise in the adoption of written energy plans and the conduct of energy audits among golf facilities between 2008 and 2015. These findings indicate that US golf facilities ... Read more ...
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Research quantifies 'gap' in carbon removal for first time - shows countries need more awareness, ambition and action:
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| Research quantifies 'gap' in carbon removal for first time - shows countries need more awareness, ambition and action - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Since 2010, the United Nations environmental organization UNEP has taken an annual measurement of the emissions gap—the difference between countries' climate protection pledges and what is necessary to limit global heating to 1.5ºC, or at least below 2ºC.
The UNEP Emissions Gap Reports are clear: climate policy needs more ambition. This new study now explicitly applies this analytical concept to carbon dioxide removal (CDR)—the removal of the most important greenhouse gas, CO2, from the atmosphere.
The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, was led by the Berlin-based Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change ... Read more ...
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Research shows bumblebee nests are overheating due to climate change, threatening future populations:
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| Research shows bumblebee nests are overheating due to climate change, threatening future populations - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · As a result of the climate crisis, global warming is driving up temperatures around the world - and bumblebees, like humans, are struggling to cope with homes that can't beat the heat.
In a new article published in Frontiers in Bee Science, scientists identify rising heat as a potential culprit for the decline in bumblebee populations worldwide, compromising bumblebees' ability to construct livable nests in which healthy larvae can develop.
"The decline in populations and ranges of several species of bumblebees may be explained by issues of overheating of the nests and the brood," said Dr. Peter Kevan of the University of Guelph, Canada, lead author of the ... Read more ...
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Researchers create massive open dataset to advance AI solutions for carbon capture:
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| Researchers create massive open dataset to advance AI solutions for carbon capture - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · But there's a big challenge. For direct air capture technology, every type of environment and location requires a uniquely specific design. A direct air capture configuration in Texas, for example, would necessarily be different from one in Iceland. These systems must be designed with exact parameters for humidity, temperature, and air flows for each place.
Now, Georgia Tech and Meta have collaborated to produce a massive database, potentially making it easier and faster to design and implement direct air capture technologies. The open-source database enabled the team to train an AI model that is orders of magnitude faster than existing chemistry simulations. The project, ... Read more ...
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Researchers develop 'founding document' on synthetic cell development:
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| Researchers develop 'founding document' on synthetic cell development - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · The development of synthetic cells could one day hold the answers to developing new ways to fight disease, supporting long-duration human space flight, and better understanding the origins of life on Earth.
In a paper published recently in ACS Synthetic Biology, researchers outline the potential opportunities that synthetic cell development could unlock and the challenges that lie ahead in this groundbreaking research. They also present a roadmap to inspire and guide innovation in this intriguing field.
"The potential for this field is incredible," said Lynn Rothschild, the lead author of the paper and an astrobiologist at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's ... Read more ...
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Researchers find use of olivine in cement production could result in carbon negative concrete:
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| Researchers find use of olivine in cement production could result in carbon negative concrete - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · A small team of materials scientists and environmental engineers at Imperial College London has found that using olivine in cement could result in carbon-negative concrete. In their study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the group conducted experiments with cement mixing that resulted in a way to produce it in a more climate-friendly manner.
In their work, the research team extracted silica and magnesium sulfate from olivine samples by dissolving them in sulfuric acid. They then bubbled CO2 through a batch of the slurry that resulted, which in turn led to the formation of a mineral called nesquehonite during cooling and resulted in sequestration of the ... Read more ...
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Roadmap to Close the Carbon Cycle:
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| Roadmap to Close the Carbon Cycle - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · A major approach to achieving net-zero carbon emissions relies on converting various parts of the economy, such as personal vehicles and heating, to run via electricity generated from renewable sources. But carbon cannot be removed from all parts of society. Plastics, ubiquitous in the modern world, cannot be decarbonized because they are made of carbon-based molecules.
Led by chemist Wendy Shaw of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a multi-institutional effort has produced a new roadmap to reducing emissions in hard-to-electrify segments of the economy. The multifaceted approach includes developing non-carbon fuels, finding non-fossil sources of carbon, and keeping ... Read more ...
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Robots Invited to Help Make Wind Turbine Blades:
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| Robots Invited to Help Make Wind Turbine Blades - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Although robots have been used by the wind energy industry to paint and polish blades, automation has not been widely adopted. Research at the laboratory demonstrates the ability of a robot to trim, grind, and sand blades. Those necessary steps occur after the two sides of the blade are made using a mold and then bonded together.
"I would consider it a success," said Hunter Huth, a robotics engineer at NREL and lead author of a newly published paper detailing the work. "Not everything operated as well as we wanted it to, but we learned all the lessons we think we need to make it meet or exceed our expectations."
The paper, "Toolpath Generation for Automated Wind Turbine ... Read more ...
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Satellite images of plants' fluorescence can predict crop yields:
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| Satellite images of plants' fluorescence can predict crop yields - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · In many parts of the world, crop yields are dropping, largely due to the effects of climate change. According to a recent Cornell study, over the last four decades, for every 1 degree Celsius of warming, net farm income decreased by 66%.
Farmers in developed countries can often rely on big datasets and risk management tools to help reduce the impacts of extreme heat on their yield and income. But in developing countries, data is scarce, and it is often difficult to accurately measure crop yield.
In a paper appearing in Environmental Research Letters, the scientists suggest using satellite photos to remotely measure solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) as a way of ... Read more ...
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Scientists find five new hydrothermal vents in Pacific Ocean:
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| Scientists find five new hydrothermal vents in Pacific Ocean - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · The pace of discovery in the oceans leaped forward thanks to teamwork between a deep-sea robot and a human occupied submarine leading to the recent discovery of five new hydrothermal vents in the eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean.
A team of ocean scientists, led by chief scientist and Lehigh faculty member Jill McDermott, returned to port March 26 in San Diego from a research expedition in the eastern Pacific Ocean where they discovered the new deep-sea hydrothermal vent sites on the seafloor at 2,550 meters (8,366 feet, or 1.6 miles) depth.
The venting fluids are all hotter than 300°C (570°F). The discovery was supported, and in many ways accelerated, by making use of the ... Read more ...
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Scientists Show Ancient Village Adapted to Drought, Rising Seas:
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| Scientists Show Ancient Village Adapted to Drought, Rising Seas - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
Apr 24 · Around 6,200 BCE, the climate changed. Global temperatures dropped, sea levels rose and the southern Levant, including modern-day Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon, southern Syria and the Sinai desert, entered a period of drought.
Previously, archaeologists believed that this abrupt shift in global climate, called the 8.2ka event, may have led to the widespread abandonment of coastal settlements in the southern Levant. In a recent study published with the journal Antiquity, researchers at UC San Diego, the University of Haifa and Bar-Ilan University share new evidence suggesting at least one village formerly thought abandoned not only remained occupied, but ... Read more ...
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Scientists show how to treat burns with an environmentally friendly plant-based bandage:
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| Scientists show how to treat burns with an environmentally friendly plant-based bandage - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Following a burn, the affected area typically undergoes redness and swelling as a result of inflammation, the body's natural defense mechanism. Yet, excessive inflammation can counterproductively trigger the generation of oxygen free radicals, impeding the healing process.
Addressing this concern, researchers at IIT have devised a biocompatible bandage capable of blocking an excessive increase in the level of inflammation and reducing the number of free radicals, thus shortening the time needed for healing. Furthermore, the bandage naturally degrades within a few days, mitigating concerns about additional waste generation.
The bandage is made from a new biodegradable ... Read more ...
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Seismic waves used to track LA's groundwater recharge after record wet winter:
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| Seismic waves used to track LA's groundwater recharge after record wet winter - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 4 · Shujuan Mao of Stanford University and her colleagues used a surprising technique to answer this question for the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. They analyzed changes in the velocity of seismic waves traveling through the LA basin, tracking these changes in space and time between January and October 2023.
As Mao reported at the Seismological Society of America (SSA)'s 2024 Annual Meeting, their study found that groundwater levels almost completely recovered at very shallow depths—about 50 meters below the surface. However, only about 25% of the groundwater lost over the past two decades was replenished at about 300 meters and deeper, likely because it is more ... Read more ...
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Sister Cities Can Help Communities Better Navigate the Climate Crisis:
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| Sister Cities Can Help Communities Better Navigate the Climate Crisis - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · Anthropologists at Rice University suggest in a new study that establishing networks of 'sister cities' dedicated to addressing the impact of natural disasters can mitigate the devastation wrought by climate change.
Historically, these relationships have centered on social and political factors like trade relationships, diplomacy and more. But Howe and Boyer believe they can be powerful tools to aid in dealing with the physical effects of climate change, especially as cities deal with things like wildfires, extreme storms and more. As a result, they recommend forming a network called "Sister Cities for the Anthropocene" to help track and raise awareness of the spread of ... Read more ...
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Sister cities can help communities better navigate the climate crisis, research suggests:
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| Sister cities can help communities better navigate the climate crisis, research suggests - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · Anthropologists at Rice University suggest in a new study that establishing networks of 'sister cities' dedicated to addressing the impact of natural disasters can mitigate the devastation wrought by climate change.
Historically, these relationships have centered on social and political factors like trade relationships, diplomacy and more. But Howe and Boyer believe they can be powerful tools to aid in dealing with the physical effects of climate change, especially as cities deal with things like wildfires, extreme storms and more. As a result, they recommend forming a network called "Sister Cities for the Anthropocene" to help track and raise awareness of the spread of ... Read more ...
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Some communities are more vulnerable to weather-related power outages in New York State:
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| Some communities are more vulnerable to weather-related power outages in New York State - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · Weather-related power outages in the United States have become nearly twice as common in the last 10 years compared to the previous decade. These outages, which can last most of a day, are more than an inconvenience: lack of power and related indoor temperature discomfort can exacerbate health conditions; lack of power also endangers the lives of people who are reliant on electricity-powered medical devices and/or elevators.
A study led environmental health scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the University of Washington examines the link between various types of extreme weather and outages in New York State between 2017 and 2020 and who is ... Read more ...
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Startup mimics nature to produce zero-carbon cement:
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| Startup mimics nature to produce zero-carbon cement - Yale Climate Connections - Ecosystems |
May 3 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
One day you may walk down a sidewalk made from algae. A startup called Prometheus Materials is working to make that a reality to reduce the climate impact of concrete.
Concrete is made from cement. And the traditional process used to make that cement causes about 8% of global carbon emissions.
Loren Burnett of Prometheus says making cement from algae does not emit any carbon pollution.
Burnett: “We don’t mine heavy limestone. We’re not using fossil fuels to transport that heavy limestone to a cement plant. We’re not using ... Read more ...
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States rethink data centers as 'electricity hogs' strain the grid:
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| States rethink data centers as 'electricity hogs' strain the grid - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 2 · State Sen. Norm Needleman championed the 2021 legislation designed to lure major data centers to Connecticut.
The Democratic lawmaker hoped to better compete with nearby states, bring in a growing industry, and provide paychecks for workers tasked with building the sprawling server farms.
But this legislative session, he's wondering if those tax breaks are appropriate for all data centers, especially those with the potential to disrupt the state's clean energy supply.
Particularly concerning to him are plans for a mega data center on the site of the state's only nuclear power plant. The developer is proposing an arrangement that would give it priority access to ... Read more ...
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Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Is Shifting the Ecological Balance of Caribbean Reefs:
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| Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Is Shifting the Ecological Balance of Caribbean Reefs - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · The outbreak of a deadly disease called stony coral tissue loss disease is destroying susceptible species of coral in the Caribbean while helping other, "weedier" organisms thrive -- at least for now -- according to a new study published today in Science Advances.
"Some fast-growing organisms, like algae, might thrive in the short term," said the study's lead author, Sara Swaminathan, an environmental engineering sciences Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida. "But the loss of the susceptible corals could have long-lasting repercussions."
Stony coral tissue loss disease, or SCTLD, was first reported off the coast of Miami in 2014 and has since moved throughout the ... Read more ...
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Stony coral tissue loss disease is shifting the ecological balance of Caribbean reefs:
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| Stony coral tissue loss disease is shifting the ecological balance of Caribbean reefs - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · The outbreak of a deadly disease called stony coral tissue loss disease is destroying susceptible species of coral in the Caribbean while helping other, "weedier" organisms thrive—at least for now—according to a new study published in Science Advances.
"Some fast-growing organisms, like algae, might thrive in the short term," said the study's lead author, Sara Swaminathan, an environmental engineering sciences Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida. "But the loss of the susceptible corals could have long-lasting repercussions."
Stony coral tissue loss disease, or SCTLD, was first reported off the coast of Miami in 2014 and has since moved throughout the ... Read more ...
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Study reveals uniqueness of naturally occurring monodominant forests in the Republic of Congo:
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| Study reveals uniqueness of naturally occurring monodominant forests in the Republic of Congo - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 1 · A recent study published in the journal Plant Ecology and Evolution gives valuable insights into forest stands of Gilbertiodendron dewevrei (G. dewevrei) in the Sangha Trinational region.
G. dewevrei, known as "Bemba" or "Limbali" forest by Indigenous peoples and local communities, is a tree species endemic to the Congo Basin that is unusual in forming large stands where it is almost the only species present. The study focuses on the comparative analysis of the structure and composition of this G. dewevrei forest type compared to adjacent forest types.
Using data from plot inventories and herbarium specimens, researchers evaluated several parameters, including stem ... Read more ...
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Study unveils 3D printing PQD-polymer architectures at room temperature:
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| Study unveils 3D printing PQD-polymer architectures at room temperature - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 2 · Led by Professor Im Doo Jung from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UNIST, a recent study has introduced a cutting-edge one-stop perovskite quantum dot (PQD) additive manufacturing technology. This approach eliminates the need for heat treatment, allowing for the creation of complex 3D shapes with exceptional precision, including iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower.
Traditionally, shaping QD materials in 3D required prolonged heat exposure, leading to property degradation and shape deformation. However, the newly developed PQD materials exhibit remarkable luminous efficiency and color versatility, offering a game-changing solution for advanced encryption and ... Read more ...
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Sugar-Based Catalyst Upcycles Carbon Dioxide:
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| Sugar-Based Catalyst Upcycles Carbon Dioxide - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · A new catalyst made from an inexpensive, abundant metal and common table sugar has the power to destroy carbon dioxide (CO2) gas.
In a new Northwestern University study, the catalyst successfully converted CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO), an important building block to produce a variety of useful chemicals. When the reaction occurs in the presence of hydrogen, for example, CO2 and hydrogen transform into synthesis gas (or syngas), a highly valuable precursor to producing fuels that can potentially replace gasoline.
With recent advances in carbon capture technologies, post-combustion carbon capture is becoming a plausible option to help tackle the global climate change ... Read more ...
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Sunak to allow oil and gas exploration at sites intended for offshore wind:
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| Sunak to allow oil and gas exploration at sites intended for offshore wind - Guardian - Energy |
May 2 · Exclusive: decision to grant licences condemned by critics as a stunt that shows Tories are 'playing politics with climate’
Fossil fuel companies will be allowed to explore for oil and gas under offshore wind-power sites for the first time, the government will announce on Friday, in a move that campaigners said is further proof that ministers are abandoning the climate agenda.
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), which regulates North Sea oil and gas production, will confirm that it is granting licences to about 30 companies to look for hydrocarbons on sites earmarked for future offshore windfarms.
The move has brought renewed criticism of Rishi Sunak from ... Read more ...
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Tesla Pullback Puts Onus on Others to Build Electric Vehicle Chargers:
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| Tesla Pullback Puts Onus on Others to Build Electric Vehicle Chargers - New York Times - Climate Section |
May 4 · The automaker led by Elon Musk is no longer planning to take the lead in expanding the number of places to fuel electric vehicles. It’s not clear how quickly other companies will fill the gap.
Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, blindsided competitors, suppliers and his own employees this week by reversing course on his aggressive push to build electric vehicle chargers in the United States, a major priority of the Biden administration.
Mr. Musk’s decision to lay off the 500-member team responsible for installing charging stations, and to sharply slow investment in new stations, baffled the industry and raised doubts about whether the number of public chargers would ... | By Jack Ewing and Ivan Penn Read more ...
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Tesla retreat from EV charging leaves growth of U.S. network in doubt:
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| Tesla retreat from EV charging leaves growth of U.S. network in doubt - Washington Post - Climate and Environment |
May 3 · Sudden layoffs this week left Tesla construction vendors uncertain whether to carry on with the charging projects they were building.
Tesla’s abrupt decision to lay off its electric-vehicle charging team and reduce its investments in public charging is a blow to the U.S. network, which has long relied on Elon Musk to build the bulk of the country’s fast chargers.
The sudden layoffs this week left Tesla construction vendors uncertain whether to carry on with the charging projects they were building, though one vendor said the company has since confirmed that existing projects should continue. Read more ...
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Texans encouraged to turn off nighttime lights during bird migration:
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| Texans encouraged to turn off nighttime lights during bird migration - PHYS.ORG - Biology |
May 1 · Texas residents who look up at the night sky over the next few weeks might catch a glimpse of an avian superhighway.
Migratory birds like whooping cranes and tiny songbirds are making their seasonal flights over Texas to northern breeding grounds, with peak migration occurring from April 22 to May 12, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife. Nearly two billion birds of around 400 different species travel over the state each spring.
To help ensure their safe passage, the National Audubon Society is asking Texans to dim their lights as part of "Lights Out, Texas!"
The biannual campaign was launched as a statewide effort in 2020 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and ... Read more ...
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Texans should prepare for hotter temperatures, greater risk of fire and flooding:
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| Texans should prepare for hotter temperatures, greater risk of fire and flooding - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · The newly updated assessment of extreme weather in Texas draws on data from 1900 to 2023 to predict trends through the year 2036, and shows a significant uptick in extreme temperatures and droughts, wildfire conditions and urban flooding risks, among other changes. The report was authored by Nielsen-Gammon, a Regents Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, in collaboration with the nonprofit public policy organization Texas 2036.
"We have national climate assessments, but they can't do justice to Texas' specific climate conditions," Nielsen-Gammon said. "With this Texas-specific study, we focused on observed trends as much as possible rather than emphasizing ... Read more ...
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The carbon dioxide removal gap:
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| The carbon dioxide removal gap - Nature Climate Change |
May 2 · Rapid emissions reductions, including reductions in deforestation-based land emissions, are the dominant source of global climate mitigation potential in the coming decades. However, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) will also have an important role to play. Despite this, it remains unclear whether current national proposals for CDR align with temperature targets. Here we show the 'CDR gap’, that is, CDR efforts proposed by countries fall short of those in integrated assessment model scenarios that limit warming to 1.5?°C. However, the most ambitious proposals for CDR are close to levels in a low-energy demand scenario with the most-limited CDR scaling and aggressive near-term emissions ... Read more ...
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The House GOP Just Passed A Slew Of 'Extreme’ Bills:
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| The House GOP Just Passed A Slew Of 'Extreme’ Bills - Huffington Post |
May 1 · Never missing an opportunity to make life easier for extractive industries, House Republicans passed a suite of bills this week to boost development and dismantle environmental protections across millions of acres of federal land.
The bills stand little chance of passing in the Democratic-controlled Senate, but they give GOP industry allies something to tout heading into the 2024 elections. And since several of the measures closely mirror priority actions found in Project 2025, the 920-page policy blueprint that dozens of right-wing organizations compiled to guide former President Donald Trump, it might be a preview of what’s to come next year should Trump win the ... Read more ...
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The SBTi Drama Underscores the Urgent Need for Valid Scope 3 Solutions:
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| The SBTi Drama Underscores the Urgent Need for Valid Scope 3 Solutions - Sustainable Brands |
May 1 · Whether carbon credits ought to be used to account for Scope 3 emissions is a debate that must continue - involving many more stakeholders, so that views on both sides of the fence are heard and considered.
“Come for the carbon accounting, stay for the DRAMA! ????.” Sustainability communications stalwart Solitaire Townsend’s recent LinkedIn post, updating her 21,000+ followers on the latest developments at the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), made for entertaining reading. “If you’ve not been following the minutiae of climate geekdom recently, you might have missed an absolute rollacoaster.”
SBTi’s announcement that it might let brands use carbon offsets to meet ... Read more ...
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The week in climate policy: 4 updates you need to know:
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| The week in climate policy: 4 updates you need to know - Greenbiz |
May 3 · Florida bans lab-grown meat; the G-7 nations double down on their intention to phase out fossil fuel-powered utilities.
Two lab-grown cubes of beef. Photo: Shutterstock/Firn
Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill that bans lab-grown meat in Florida. Specifically, SB 1084 bans the manufacturing and sale of lab-grown meat in an effort to protect the state’s cattle industry against the rising competition. Opponents say the ban will limit future venture capital flowing into Florida; Emily Bogan, head of business operations at cultivated meat company Fork & Good, testified before a state legislative panel in February that "(a) ban like this threatens a free ... | By Leah Garden Read more ...
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Tidal energy is coming to Alaska. But how much?:
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| Tidal energy is coming to Alaska. But how much? - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
May 3 · But Alaska's Governor, Mike Dunleavy, wants to change that.
"Despite Alaska's position as a leading producer of energy, the cost of energy in Alaska, especially in our rural communities, is extremely high," he said in a 2023 press release.
Dunleavy wants 80% of the Railbelt's electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2040—not just to achieve the state's clean energy goals but also to lower its higher-than-average energy costs. Switching to renewables, including hydroelectric, wind, solar, geothermal, and tidal power, could reduce how much the state spends on electricity generation by about $100 million per year (starting around 2030).
Cumulatively, ... Read more ...
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TOI-837 b is a young Saturn-sized exoplanet with a massive core, observations find:
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| TOI-837 b is a young Saturn-sized exoplanet with a massive core, observations find - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · European astronomers have performed photometric and spectroscopic observations of a distant giant exoplanet known as TOI-837 b. As a result, they found that TOI-837 b is a young Saturn-sized planet containing a massive core, which challenges current core formation theories. The findings are presented in a paper published on the preprint server arXiv.
TOI-837 b was discovered in 2020, orbiting a young (about 35 million years old) dwarf star of spectral type F9/G0 in the open cluster IC 2602, about 465 light years away. The planet orbits its host every 8.32 days and was found to have a radius of approximately 0.77 Jupiter radii. The star TOI-837 is about the size of the sun, has ... Read more ...
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Turning up the heat on data storage: New memory device paves the way for AI computing in extreme environments:
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| Turning up the heat on data storage: New memory device paves the way for AI computing in extreme environments - PHYS.ORG - Technology |
Apr 30 · As temperatures climb, the electrons that store data become unstable and begin to escape, leading to device failure and loss of information. But what if gadgets could withstand not just a hot summer day but the searing conditions of a jet engine or the harsh surface of Venus?
In a paper published in the journal Nature Electronics, Deep Jariwala and Roy Olsson of the University of Pennsylvania and their teams at the School of Engineering and Applied Science demonstrated memory technology capable of enduring temperatures as high as 600° Celsius—more than twice the tolerance of any commercial drives on the market—and these characteristics were maintained for more ... Read more ...
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Uncovering the reasons behind the rapid warming of the North Pole:
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| Uncovering the reasons behind the rapid warming of the North Pole - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 3 · The North Pole region heats up faster than the rest of the world. Though this is a known fact, climate models underestimate the speed with which the region warms up. Sjoert Barten obtained his PhD on this subject at Wageningen University & Research on 26 April and shares his insights.
"We lack a proper understanding of the precise dynamics of climate warming on the North Pole. When, and by how much, are temperatures going to increase? Our lack of insight makes it hard to predict the consequences, such as the melting of marine ice," Barten explains.
However, new data obtained by a research vessel that traveled the Arctic Ocean and was stuck in the sea ice for a prolonged ... Read more ...
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Vietnam temperature records tumble as heat wave scorches:
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| Vietnam temperature records tumble as heat wave scorches - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 4 · More than 100 temperature records fell across Vietnam in April, according to official data, as a deadly heat wave scorches South and Southeast Asia.
Extreme heat has blasted Asia from India to the Philippines in recent weeks, triggering heatstroke deaths, school closures and desperate prayers for cooling rain.
Scientists have long warned that human-induced climate change will produce more frequent, longer and intense heat waves.
Vietnam saw three waves of high temperatures in April, according to data published Friday by the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, with the mercury peaking at 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 Fahrenheit) in two towns earlier ... Read more ...
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Webb telescope probably didn't find life on an exoplanet - yet:
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| Webb telescope probably didn't find life on an exoplanet - yet - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · Recent reports of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope finding signs of life on a distant planet understandably sparked excitement. A new study challenges this finding, but also outlines how the telescope might verify the presence of the life-produced gas.
The UC Riverside study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, may be a disappointment to extraterrestrial enthusiasts but does not rule out the near-future possibility of discovery.
In 2023 there were tantalizing reports of a biosignature gas in the atmosphere of planet K2-18b, which seemed to have several conditions that would make life possible.
Many exoplanets, meaning planets orbiting other stars, are ... Read more ...
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What Happens When NASA Loses Eyes on Earth? We’re About to Find Out.:
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| What Happens When NASA Loses Eyes on Earth? We’re About to Find Out. - New York Times - Climate Section |
May 3 · Three long-running satellites will soon be switched off, forcing scientists to figure out how to adjust their views of our changing planet.
Marine stratocumulus clouds over the southeastern Pacific Ocean, captured by NASA’s Terra satellite in 2002.Credit...NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team
Sometime in the next few years - no one knows exactly when - three NASA satellites, each one as heavy as an elephant, will go dark.
Already they are drifting, losing height bit by bit. They have been gazing down at the planet for over two decades, far longer than anyone expected, helping us forecast the weather, manage wildfires, monitor oil spills and more. But age is catching up to ... | By Raymond Zhong Read more ...
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Why India is key to heading off climate catastrophe:
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| Why India is key to heading off climate catastrophe - Yale Climate Connections - Policy |
May 3 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global efforts to head off the most catastrophic effects of climate change.
The country has one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and its energy consumption is growing rapidly as a result - but it still relies largely on fossil fuels. India has a general election that will wrap up in June 2024, and both major parties say they support moving the country away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible, a position backed by a sizable majority of citizens.
Global ... Read more ...
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Why only 22 EV models now qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit:
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| Why only 22 EV models now qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit - Washington Post - Climate and Environment |
May 3 · Electric vehicles made with Chinese materials will be ineligible for the tax credit under a final rule the Treasury Department released Friday.
Americans buying electric vehicles will no longer be able to claim federal tax credits of up to $7,500 if their cars contain Chinese materials, the Biden administration announced Friday, the result of a landmark 2022 climate law that sought to reduce U.S. reliance on clean-energy components from China.
The final rule from the Treasury Department codifies a draft rule from December that sharply limited the number of EVs that qualify for the credit. Only 22 of the more than 110 EV models on sale in the United States are eligible ... Read more ...
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Wildfires in Wet African Forests Have Doubled in Recent Decades:
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| Wildfires in Wet African Forests Have Doubled in Recent Decades - Science Daily - Earth and Climate |
May 24 · A new study presents the first large-scale analysis of fire patterns in west and central Africa's wet, tropical forests. The number of active fires there typically doubled over 18 years, particularly in the Congo Basin. The increases are primarily due to increasingly hot, dry conditions and humans' impact on the forests, including deforestation. The increase in forest fires is likely to continue given current climate projections, according to the study.
With fires increasing in other historically wet forests, such as the U.S. Pacific Northwest and the Amazon, wet forest fires can no longer be ignored, the researchers say.
Scientists have known for decades that wet ... Read more ...
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Wildfires in wet African forests have doubled in recent decades, large-scale analysis finds:
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| Wildfires in wet African forests have doubled in recent decades, large-scale analysis finds - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 2 · With fires increasing in other historically wet forests, such as the U.S. Pacific Northwest and the Amazon, wet forest fires can no longer be ignored, the researchers say.
Scientists have known for decades that wet forests in western and central Africa have fires, but because the fires tend to be much smaller than their counterparts in dry woodlands and savannas, relatively little research has been done on Africa's tropical forest fires. This has led to uncertainty over where and when they burn, what exacerbates them and how that might shift in response to climate change.
"Historically, scientists have not considered fire to be an important part of wet, tropical forests, ... Read more ...
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Wondering what Australia might look like in a hotter world? Take a glimpse into the distant past:
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| Wondering what Australia might look like in a hotter world? Take a glimpse into the distant past - PHYS.ORG - Earth |
May 1 · Wouldn't it be useful to go back in time and see what Australia looked like during those periods in the distant past? Well, scientists—including us—have done just that.
These studies, which largely involve examining sediments and fossils, reveal a radically different Australia to the one we inhabit.
The continent was warmer and wetter, and filled with unfamiliar plant and animal species. It suggests Australia may be much wetter, and look very different, in centuries and millennia to come.
Then and now: Measuring CO₂
Atmospheric CO₂ is measured in "parts per million"—in other words, how many CO₂ molecules are present in each ... Read more ...
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