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| Yale University,YALE |
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A nuclear power revival is sparking a surge in uranium mining - Yale University (Apr 4) |
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Apr 4 · The Pinyon Plain uranium mine, which recently opened in Arizona. Taylor McKinnon / Center for Biological Diversity
A push for nuclear power is fueling demand for uranium, spurring the opening of new mines. The industry says new technologies will eliminate pollution from uranium mining, but its toxic legacy, particularly in the U.S. Southwest, leaves many wary of an incipient mining boom.
After sitting dormant since the 1980s, the Pinyon Plain uranium mine began operating in January on the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona, about seven miles south of the Grand Canyon. Thanks to new interest in expanding nuclear power, the price of uranium is on a tear, making undeveloped ... Read more ...
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Nations are undercounting emissions, putting un goals at risk - Yale University (Mar 21) |
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Mar 21 · Air pollution in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last April. Lillian Suwanrumpha / AFP via Getty Images
Because of lax rules, national inventories reported to the United Nations grossly underestimate many countries’ greenhouse gas emissions. The result, analysts say, is that the world can not verify compliance with agreed emissions targets, jeopardizing global climate agreements.
They are supposed to be the climate-savers’ gold standard - the key data on which the world relies in its efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions and hold global warming in check. But the national inventories of emissions supplied to the United Nations climate convention (UNFCCC) by most countries are ... Read more ...
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Nations Are Undercounting Emissions, Putting UN Goals at Risk - YALE (Mar 21) |
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Mar 21 · Air pollution in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last April. Lillian Suwanrumpha / AFP via Getty Images
Because of lax rules, national inventories reported to the United Nations grossly underestimate many countries’ greenhouse gas emissions. The result, analysts say, is that the world can not verify compliance with agreed emissions targets, jeopardizing global climate agreements.
They are supposed to be the climate-savers’ gold standard - the key data on which the world relies in its efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions and hold global warming in check. But the national inventories of emissions supplied to the United Nations climate convention (UNFCCC) by most countries are ... Read more ...
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Rain Comes to the Arctic, With a Cascade of Troubling Changes - YALE (Feb 20) |
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Feb 20 · A rainstorm in the distance, as viewed from Disko Bay, Greenland. Mario Tama / Getty Images
Rain used to be rare in the Arctic, but as the region warms, so-called rain-on-snow events are becoming more common. The rains accelerate ice loss, trigger flooding, landslides, and avalanches, and create problems for wildlife and the Indigenous people who depend on them.
In August of 2021, rain fell atop the 10,551-foot summit of the Greenland ice cap, triggering an epic meltdown and a more-than-2,000-foot retreat of the snowline. The unprecedented event reminded Joel Harper, a University of Montana glaciologist who works on the Greenland ice sheet, of a strange anomaly in his ... Read more ...
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UN Carbon Removal Estimates "By No Means Feasible," Scientists Warn - YALE (Feb 5) |
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Feb 5 · Cropland converted to forest in Yunnan Province, China. CIFOR via Flickr
U.N. estimates of the amount of carbon that humans can remove from the atmosphere are deeply unrealistic, scientists warn. A new paper offers more plausible carbon removal targets.
The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates the world could draw down 11.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide yearly by planting fast-growing crops, burning those crops to generate power, and then capturing the resulting emissions. The world could scrub an additional 10.1 billion metric tons from the atmosphere each year by cultivating forests. But the land needed for new farmland and forest in these ... Read more ...
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The Amount of Mercury in the Atmosphere Has Grown Sevenfold Over Last 500 Years - YALE (Nov 3) |
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Nov 3 · The Dave Johnston coal-fired power plant in Glenrock, Wyoming. Carol Highsmith
Humans have raised the level of mercury in the atmosphere sevenfold, largely by burning coal, a new study finds.
The largest natural source of mercury is volcanoes. To conduct their study, researchers at Harvard University determined how much mercury volcanoes disgorge annually into the atmosphere, then used that finding to estimate mercury levels before humans began burning large volumes of coal.
Before the start of the modern era, some 500 years ago, the atmosphere held around 580 metric tons of mercury. Today, the atmosphere holds around 4,000 metric tons. The findings were published ... Read more ...
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Without warning: a lack of weather stations is costing African lives - Yale University (Oct 31) |
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Oct 31 · Homes destroyed by floods along Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, May 6, 2023. Moses Sawasawa / AP Photo
A scarcity of weather stations in Africa and elsewhere in the Global South means millions of people cannot be alerted about impending extreme weather events. What’s needed is funding for equipment and early warning systems, which will reduce damage and save lives.
In early May, heavy rainfall led to severe flooding and hundreds of landslides around Lake Kivu, on the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), killing at least 600 people. The floods, which caught many as they slept, also displaced thousands of people, ... Read more ...
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Microplastics Are Literally Everywhere - Yale University (Sep 29, 2023) |
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Sep 29, 2023 · Mount Fuji. midorisyu via Flickr
After sampling the skies over two Japanese mountains, scientists have found microplastics in the clouds.
The finding underscores the extent to which the small particles have invaded nearly every part of the Earth, where they can harm living creatures and even potentially influence the climate, the researchers from several Japanese universities wrote in a paper in Environmental Chemistry Letters.
Their presence in clouds is especially concerning, the researchers wrote, because some of the microplastics they found had molecular structures that could help to seed clouds, spurring them to produce ice or water. The particles could also ... Read more ...
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From Carbon Sink to Source: The Stark Changes in Arctic Lakes - Yale E360 - YALE (Sep 11, 2023) |
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Sep 11, 2023 · Rhododendrons and wildflowers along a tundra lake in West Greenland. Mariusz Potocki
For millennia, lakes in Greenland’s tundra have locked up huge loads of carbon in their sediment. But as the Arctic becomes warmer and wetter, scientists believe these lakes could be turning into sources of carbon, which would have important consequences for the world’s climate.
A family of muskox rumbles along craggy hilltops overlooking the small parade of humans crossing the West Greenland tundra. Ecologist Václava Hazuková, in the lead, sets a brisk pace as we bushwhack through knee-high willow and birch. Leaning forward under an equipment-filled pack nearly half her size, she ... Read more ...
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Restoring Peatlands Proves To Be Effective Carbon Sink - Yale University (May 02, 2023) |
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May 02, 2023 · Tero Mustonen. Goldman Environmental Prize
Tero Mustonen has led a successful effort to restore roughly 80 areas of ecologically critical peatlands across his native Finland. In an interview, he talks about the importance of bringing Indigenous knowledge to rewilding initiatives in far northern regions and beyond.
Until a century ago, almost a third of Finland was covered in pristine peatlands, which comprise one of the Earth’s largest and most important carbon sinks. Since then, however, half of Finnish peatlands have been strip-mined for fuel or drained to make room for forest plantations.
But Tero Mustonen is turning the tide. After campaigning to restore a ... Read more ...
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As millions of solar panels age out, recyclers look to cash in - Yale University (Feb 28, 2023) |
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Feb 28, 2023 · Mexico's Villanueva solar plant, the largest solar farm in the Americas. Enel
Solar panels have a lifespan of 25 to 30 years, but they contain valuable metals, including silver and copper. With a surge of expired panels expected soon, companies are emerging that seek to recycle the reusable materials and keep the panels out of landfills.
In Odessa, Texas, workers at a startup called SolarCycle unload trucks carrying end-of-life photovoltaic panels freshly picked from commercial solar farms across the United States. They separate the panels from the aluminum frames and electrical boxes, then feed them into machines that detach their glass from the laminated materials that ... Read more ...
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Microplastics are filling the skies. Will they affect the climate? - Yale University (Feb 01, 2023) |
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Feb 01, 2023 · Recent studies reveal that tiny pieces of plastic are constantly lofted into the atmosphere. These particles can travel thousands of miles and affect the formation of clouds, which means they have the potential to impact temperature, rainfall, and even climate change.
Plastic has become an obvious pollutant over recent decades, choking turtles and seabirds, clogging up our landfills and waterways. But in just the past few years, a less-obvious problem has emerged. Researchers are starting to get concerned about how tiny bits of plastic in the air, lofted into the skies from seafoam bubbles or spinning tires on the highway, might potentially change our future ... Read more ...
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How floating wetlands are helping to clean up urban waters - Yale University (Nov 22, 2022) |
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Nov 22, 2022 · Floating wetlands along the Chicago River's Wild Mile. Dave Burk / SOM
As cities around the world look to rid their waterways of remaining pollution, researchers are installing artificial islands brimming with grasses and sedges. The islands’ surfaces attract wildlife, while the underwater plant roots absorb contaminants and support aquatic life.
Five small islands roughly the size of backyard swimming pools float next to the concrete riverbank of Bubbly Creek, a stretch of the Chicago River named for the gas that once rose to the surface after stockyards dumped animal waste and byproducts into the waterway. Clumps of short, native grasses and plants, including sedges, ... Read more ...
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Showdown on reparations is looming for UN climate talks - Yale University (Oct 20, 2022) |
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Oct 20, 2022 · Women and children evacuate their flooded homes in Sindh Province, Pakistan on September 6, 2022. Fareed Khan / AP Photo
Developing nations have pushed demands that rich nations provide compensation for climate-caused “loss and damage” atop the agenda for next month’s climate conference in Egypt. With the U.S. and EU resisting, analysts say this key issue must be addressed if COP27 is to be a success.
As the floodwaters retreated from an estimated one-third of his country in September, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was very clear. His heavily indebted nation should not be forced to take a “begging bowl” to rich nations, asking them to help restore his country ... Read more ...
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Phantom forests: Why ambitious tree planting projects are failing - Yale University (Oct 06, 2022) |
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Oct 06, 2022 · More than 9,000 people in Leh, India planted more than 50,000 tree saplings in under an hour on October 10, 2010. Drukpa Publications via Wikipedia
High-profile initiatives to plant millions of trees are being touted by governments around the world as major contributions to fighting climate change. But scientists say many of these projects are ill-conceived and poorly managed and often fail to grow any forests at all.
It was perhaps the most spectacular failed tree planting project ever. Certainly the fastest. On March 8, 2012, teams of village volunteers in Camarines Sur province on the Filipino island of Luzon sunk over a million mangrove seedlings into coastal mud in ... Read more ...
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As Himalayan Glaciers Melt, a Water Crisis Looms in South Asia - YALE (Oct 03, 2022) |
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Oct 03, 2022 · Sabai Tsho Lake, formed by the melting of Sabai Glacier in Nepal. Afripics / Alamy Stock Photo
Warmer air is thinning most of the vast mountain range’s glaciers, known as the Third Pole because they contain so much ice. The melting could have far-reaching consequences for flood risk and for water security for a billion people who rely on meltwater for their survival.
Spring came early this year in the high mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan, a remote border region of Pakistan. Record temperatures in March and April hastened melting of the Shisper Glacier, creating a lake that swelled and, on May 7, burst through an ice dam. A torrent of water and debris flooded the valley ... Read more ...
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As Himalayan glaciers melt, a water crisis looms in South Asia - Yale University (Oct 03, 2022) |
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Oct 03, 2022 · Sabai Tsho Lake, formed by the melting of Sabai Glacier in Nepal. Afripics / Alamy Stock Photo
Warmer air is thinning most of the vast mountain range’s glaciers, known as the Third Pole because they contain so much ice. The melting could have far-reaching consequences for flood risk and for water security for a billion people who rely on meltwater for their survival.
Spring came early this year in the high mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan, a remote border region of Pakistan. Record temperatures in March and April hastened melting of the Shisper Glacier, creating a lake that swelled and, on May 7, burst through an ice dam. A torrent of water and debris flooded the valley ... Read more ...
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As Himalayan glaciers melt, a water crisis looms in South Asia - Yale University (Oct 03, 2022) |
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Oct 03, 2022 · Sabai Tsho Lake, formed by the melting of Sabai Glacier in Nepal. Afripics / Alamy Stock Photo
Warmer air is thinning most of the vast mountain range’s glaciers, known as the Third Pole because they contain so much ice. The melting could have far-reaching consequences for flood risk and for water security for a billion people who rely on meltwater for their survival.
Spring came early this year in the high mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan, a remote border region of Pakistan. Record temperatures in March and April hastened melting of the Shisper Glacier, creating a lake that swelled and, on May 7, burst through an ice dam. A torrent of water and debris flooded the valley ... Read more ...
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Why the rush to mine lithium could dry up the high Andes - Yale University (Sep 19, 2022) |
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Sep 19, 2022 · Brine pools at the Soquimich lithium mine on a salt flat in northern Chile. Ivan Alvarado / Reuters via Alamy
The demand for lithium for EV batteries is driving a mining boom in an arid Andes region of Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia, home to half the world’s reserves. Hydrologists are warning the mines could drain vital ecosystems and deprive Indigenous communities of precious water.
What environmental price should the world be willing to pay for the metals needed to switch to electric vehicles? The question is being asked urgently in South America where there are growing fears that what is good for the global climate may be a disaster for some of the world’s rarest and ... Read more ...
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Could the drying up of Europe's great rivers be the new normal? - Yale University (Sep 06, 2022) |
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Sep 06, 2022 · Low water levels on the Danube River in Belgrade, Serbia on August 15, 2022. Darko Vojinovic / AP
From the Danube to the Loire, Europe’s prime rivers - lifelines for the continent’s economy - are running low after a brutal five-month drought. After years of dry weather, scientists are warning that low-water conditions could become the norm in Europe as the climate changes.
Along the fabled Danube River, which snakes its way for 1,800 miles from the Black Forest in Germany to the Black Sea in Romania, scores of towns - such as the small Romanian port of Zimnicea on the Bulgarian border - depend on the waterway for their livelihood. But this summer’s epic drought and ... Read more ...
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Collateral damage: The environmental cost of the Ukraine war - Yale University (Aug 29, 2022) |
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Aug 29, 2022 · A forest smolders in Byshiv, Ukraine following fighting, March 27, 2022. Anastasia Vlasova / Getty Images
As the war in Ukraine drags on, scientists are increasingly concerned about the environmental consequences of the destruction. From forests ignited by shelling to wrecked factories spewing pollution to precarious nuclear plants, the long-term impacts could be profound.
What happens to the environment when a large, industrialized country is consumed by war? Ukraine is finding out. While concern about human lives remains paramount, Russia’s war on that country’s environment matters. The fate of Ukraine after the conflict is over is likely to depend on the survival of ... Read more ...
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The three cricketeers: betting on bug food to help the planet - Yale University (Aug 16, 2022) |
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Aug 16, 2022 · A family in Minnesota wants to put crickets on your dinner plate. In the First Runner-Up in the 2022 Yale Environment 360 Film Contest, they explain how the insects are a high-protein food that can help reduce the massive emissions produced by livestock and large-scale farming.
For Claire Simons and her husband, Chad, it all started when their son brought home a snickerdoodle made of cricket flour one Earth Day. The cookie was delicious, and the next day the Simons - long concerned about the American diet and the destructive impact of industrial farming - began building a cricket habitat in their basement. A year later, in 2016, they launched their cricket farm, and by 2018 ... Read more ...
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Bitcoin's intensive energy demands are sparking a crypto backlash - Yale University (Jun 21, 2022) |
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Jun 21, 2022 · The Greenidge Generation Bitcoin mining facility, located in a former coal plant on the shore of Seneca Lake, New York. Ted Shaffrey / AP
The enormous energy demands of Bitcoin mining are prompting some U.S. municipalities to impose moratoriums or outright bans on cryptocurrency facilities. Bitcoin mining activity, critics warn, is leading to electricity price hikes and a revival of dirtier sources of power.
The first time Jackie Sawicky learned that a Bitcoin mining operation was coming to Corsicana, a rural Texas city 60 miles south of Dallas, was on April 27, when she happened upon a Facebook video of a meeting at the local public library. The featured speaker was ... Read more ...
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How Russia's war is putting green tech progress in jeopardy - Yale University (Jun 16, 2022) |
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Jun 16, 2022 · A Norilsk Nickel plant in Siberia. Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP
The European Union relies heavily on Russia to supply nickel and other metals for electric vehicle batteries and other renewable technologies. War-related price increases and shortages of these metals could hinder Europe’s drive to sharply cut emissions by 2030 and beyond.
Volkswagen might as well hang a “sold out” sign on the doors of its European and U.S. factories. The world’s second-largest manufacturer of electric automobiles announced last month that any plug-in ordered after May won’t find its way to customers’ garages before 2023. The German carmaker’s sales of nearly 100,000 battery electric models ... Read more ...
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In Tanzania, carbon offsets preserve forests and a way of life - Yale University (May 25, 2022) |
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May 25, 2022 · Hadza scout Ezekiel Phillipo overlooking Tanzania's Yaeda Valley. Roshni Lodhia / Carbon Tanzania
Carbon offsets have been criticized for failing to provide carbon savings and ignoring the needs of local communities. But in Tanzania, hunter-gatherer tribes are earning a good return for their carbon credits and protecting their forests from poachers and encroaching agriculture.
Deep in the Rift Valley of East Africa, close to some of the most ancient human remains ever unearthed, one of the continent’s last hunter-gatherer tribes is embracing 21st -century environmentalism. The Hadza people, often called “the last archers of Africa,” are selling carbon credits generated ... Read more ...
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Beyond Magical Thinking: Time to Get Real on Climate Change - Yale E360 - YALE (May 19, 2022) |
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May 19, 2022 · A coal power plant near large housing developments outside Tianjin, China. In Pictures Ltd. / Corbis via Getty Images
Despite decades of studies and climate summits, greenhouse gas emissions continue to soar. Energy scientist Vaclav Smil says it’s time to stop ricocheting between apocalyptic forecasts and rosy models of rapid CO2 cuts and focus on the difficult task of remaking our energy system.
The UN’s first climate conference took place in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, and in the intervening decades we have had a series of global meetings and countless assessments and studies. Annual climate change conferences began in 1995 (in Berlin) and included much publicized ... Read more ...
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time to get real on climate change - Yale University (May 19, 2022) |
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May 19, 2022 · A coal power plant near large housing developments outside Tianjin, China. In Pictures Ltd. / Corbis via Getty Images
Despite decades of studies and climate summits, greenhouse gas emissions continue to soar. Energy scientist Vaclav Smil says it’s time to stop ricocheting between apocalyptic forecasts and rosy models of rapid CO2 cuts and focus on the difficult task of remaking our energy system.
The UN’s first climate conference took place in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, and in the intervening decades we have had a series of global meetings and countless assessments and studies. Annual climate change conferences began in 1995 (in Berlin) and included much publicized ... Read more ...
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How ailing strip malls could be a green fix for US housing crisis - Yale University (May 18, 2022) |
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May 18, 2022 · An abandoned strip mall in Casa Grande, Arizona. Jim Parkin / Alamy Stock Photo
Urban designer Peter Calthorpe has a plan for the shuttered and financially troubled strip malls that dot the suburban landscape: Convert the malls into housing that would be part of green communities where people could be closer to their jobs and get out of their cars.
The U.S. housing shortage is so severe that demand outstrips supply by a stunning 3.8 million homes?, according to Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage dealer. The shortage exacerbates homelessness, income inequality, and even climate destabilization, as greenhouse gas emissions increase while workers drive longer ... Read more ...
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Oregon adopts strongest worker protections in US against heat and wildfire smoke - Yale University (May 12, 2022) |
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May 12, 2022 · Farmworkers harvesting watermelons in Hermiston, Oregon. Oregon Department of Agriculture via Flickr
New rules to protect Oregon workers from extreme heat and wildfire smoke will provide the most comprehensive climate protections for U.S. outdoor workers, including those in construction, forestry, and agriculture, advocates say.
To protect against extreme heat, employers must as of June 15 afford workers paid heat breaks when temperatures surpass 80 degrees F and must provide access to shade and drinking water, among other measures. To protect against wildfire smoke, employers must supply workers as of July 1 with N95 masks when air quality dips. Masks mandatory will be ... Read more ...
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Following record growth in 2021, renewables on track for new high in 2022 - Yale University (May 11, 2022) |
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May 11, 2022 · The world added a record 295 gigawatts of renewable power in 2021 and is on pace to surpass that amount in 2022, according to a new analysis from the International Energy Agency.
China led the world in the renewable buildout, with almost half of new capacity globally, followed by the European Union and the United States. The renewable boom is particularly noteworthy given that developers faced numerous speed bumps as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, from kinks in the supply chain to construction delays.
This year, the world is expected to add another 320 gigawatts of renewables, enough to meet the power demands of Germany, the world’s fourth-largest economy. ... Read more ...
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For Gen Z, climate change is a heavy emotional burden - Yale University (Apr 28, 2022) |
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Apr 28, 2022 · Children in New Delhi, India take part in a youth climate strike in 2019. Laurène Becquart / AFP via Getty Images
Britt Wray is a leading researcher on the mental health impact of climate change. In an e360 interview, she talks about the rise of climate anxiety in young people, how social media exacerbates this trend, and why distress about the climate crisis can spur positive change.
People who have come of age in recent decades - millennials and members of Generation Z - have been exposed to a steady stream of alarming news about climate change and ecological destruction. And a growing body of evidence suggests that these worsening problems, and the failure to address ... Read more ...
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Adding rock dust to farmland could get UK almost halfway to its carbon removal goal - Yale University (Apr 27, 2022) |
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Apr 27, 2022 · Rock dust applied to an experimental field at the University of California, Davis. IRIS HOLZER
To meet its climate goals, Britain must not only cut emissions, but also scrub carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. A new study finds that rock dust sprinkled on farmland could supply nearly half of the needed carbon removal.
Rocks react with water and carbon dioxide to trap carbon in the ground. By adding basalt rock dust to crop fields in a process known as enhanced weathering, the UK could remove up to 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide yearly by 2050, providing 45 percent of the carbon removal needed for Britain to reach net-zero emissions, according to the study. The ... Read more ...
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How U.S. Gas Exports to Europe Could Lock in Future Emissions - Yale E360 - YALE (Apr 21, 2022) |
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Apr 21, 2022 · The Marvel Crane, a liquid natural gas carrier, at the Cameron LNG terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. U.S. Coast Guard via Flickr
The U.S. plans to boost liquefied natural gas exports to Europe to help the EU reduce its dependence on Russian gas. This could spur an expansion of LNG terminals, which analysts say would lead to long-term increases in gas production and greenhouse gas emissions.
In the span of weeks, Russia’s war on Ukraine has created millions of refugees, transformed the geopolitical landscape, upended global energy markets and food supply chains, and hastened Europe’s efforts to transition away from fossil fuels. The war also threatens to alter the ... Read more ...
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How US gas exports to Europe could lock in future emissions - Yale University (Apr 21, 2022) |
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Apr 21, 2022 · The Marvel Crane, a liquid natural gas carrier, at the Cameron LNG terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. U.S. Coast Guard via Flickr
The U.S. plans to boost liquefied natural gas exports to Europe to help the EU reduce its dependence on Russian gas. This could spur an expansion of LNG terminals, which analysts say would lead to long-term increases in gas production and greenhouse gas emissions.
In the span of weeks, Russia’s war on Ukraine has created millions of refugees, transformed the geopolitical landscape, upended global energy markets and food supply chains, and hastened Europe’s efforts to transition away from fossil fuels. The war also threatens to alter the ... Read more ...
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Why Are Nature-Based Solutions on Climate Being Overlooked? - Yale E360 - YALE (Apr 18, 2022) |
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Apr 18, 2022 · A local volunteer ties a newly-grown mangrove to a stake on Teluk Palu Beach, Indonesia. Basri Marzuki / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Nature-based initiatives, such as planting mangroves and revitalizing wetlands, have proven effective in making communities more resilient to climate change. But international funding has shortchanged such solutions in favor of more costly and less efficient engineering projects.
On the low-lying northern shore of the Indonesian island of Java, the sea has invaded a kilometer inland in places in recent years, engulfing whole communities and vast expanses of rice paddy. But villagers are fighting back against further advances by erecting ... Read more ...
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A mid hopes and fears, a plastics boom in Appalachia is on hold - Yale University (Apr 13, 2022) |
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Apr 13, 2022 · Shell's ethane cracker plant in Monaca, Pennsylvania. Jeff Swensen for Yale Environment 360
The rise of fracking in Appalachia has fed visions of turning the Ohio River Valley into a petrochemical and plastics hub. But overproduction of plastic, opposition to natural gas pipelines, and public concern about rampant plastic waste are upending those plans.
Karen Gdula lives in the house she grew up in, a modest home on a pretty street in rural western Pennsylvania. Ivy Lane, in her view, is someplace special. “There’s a warmth and a caring,” she said. “We look out for each other.” The street never needed those bonds more than on September 10, 2018.
Retired and newly ... Read more ...
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Bringing back fire: how burning can help restore Eastern lands - Yale University (Apr 07, 2022) |
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Apr 07, 2022 · A controlled burn near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland. Sarah Baker
For millennia, North American ecosystems benefited from fire, mostly set by Indigenous people. Now, a movement is growing, particularly in the eastern U.S., to reintroduce controlled burns to forests and grasslands and restore the role of fire in creating biodiverse landscapes.
It’s an apocalyptic scene that has become all too familiar in recent years. Columns of thick black smoke rise from the land, turning the piercing late winter sun an otherworldly orange. The acrid smell of burning grass and trees wafts on the wind as dry stalks and dead trunks crackle and pop.
By sunset on ... Read more ...
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As EV sales soar, automakers back higher fuel standards - Yale University (Apr 05, 2022) |
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Apr 05, 2022 · Electric cars plugged into a solar-powered charging station. Kindel Media via Pexels
Sales of electric cars are surging in the U.S. and Britain, a reflection of growing interest in plug-in vehicles and a response to high gas prices, analysts say. And as EV sales boom, automakers are backing the Biden administration’s new, more stringent fuel standards.
While the U.S. saw an overall dip in car sales in the first quarter of 2022, all-electric brands such as Karma, Polestar, and Tesla made significant gains, with sales of Teslas up 87 percent over the first quarter of last year. Major automakers also saw a significant EV uptick, with Ford reporting a 38 percent growth ... Read more ...
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America's car culture and the road not taken - Yale University (Apr 04, 2022) |
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Apr 04, 2022 · With its highways and suburbs, modern America was built around the automobile and powered by fossil fuels. The oil crises of the 1970s provided an opportunity to change course and move to renewable energy, but any momentum achieved then proved to be very short-lived.
If you lived in the suburbs in the 1970s, you can see it in your mind’s eye: driveway after driveway filled with Country Squires and Pontiac Safaris and Buick Estate Wagons. The Silvermans, for instance, with whom we shared a double-driveway in the Boston suburb of Lexington (“birthplace of American liberty”) and who, on a warm summer evening, would pile all the kids in back and all the adults in front and drive ... Read more ...
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For the Kayapó, a long battle to save their Amazon homeland - Yale University (Mar 29, 2022) |
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Mar 29, 2022 · Deforestation along highway BR-163 from Cuiabá to Santarém, Brazil. Photographs by Flavio Forner and the Kabu Institute
For decades, the Kayapó of Brazil have fought to protect their territory from successive waves of loggers, miners, farmers, and land grabbers. Now, with a recently paved highway and a planned railway closing in on their lands, the Kayapó’s struggle is far from over.
For more than four decades, Kokoró Mekranotire has watched with dismay as outsiders have laid waste to ever-larger swaths of his Kayapó homeland. Loggers, gold miners, farmers, and land grabbers have streamed illegally into and around the Indigenous territory, a 40,000-square-mile expanse of ... Read more ...
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