January, 2024

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Mind the Gaps: How the UN Climate Plan Fails to Follow the Science

Yale E360

The U.N. climate conference in Dubai agreed on a plan to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees C and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. But researchers are warning that these pledges are not grounded in sound science and will fail to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

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Neuralink: What do brain implants do and why is Elon Musk making them?

New Scientist

Elon Musk's Neuralink company is conducting its first human trials, implanting a tiny chip into the surface of a person's brain to allow them to talk directly with computers

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The Beleaguered Whitebark Pine Is in Trouble. Can It Be Saved?

Yale E360

Once common in the West, whitebark pine is being wiped out by a deadly fungus, ravaging beetles, and climate change. Scientists hope advances in gene sequencing and a recent federal listing as threatened will speed the hunt for trees that can be replanted and seed the future.

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Spencer’s Shenanigans

Real Climate

A recent sensible-sounding piece by Roy Spencer for the Heritage foundation is full of misrepresentations. Let’s play spot the fallacy. Comparing climate models to observations is usually a great idea, but there are some obvious pitfalls to avoid if you want to be taken seriously. The most obvious one is to neglect the impacts of internal variability – which is not synchronized across the models or with the observations.

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How to Drive Cost Savings, Efficiency Gains, and Sustainability Wins with MES

Speaker: Nikhil Joshi, Founder & President of Snic Solutions

Is your manufacturing operation reaching its efficiency potential? A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) could be the game-changer, helping you reduce waste, cut costs, and lower your carbon footprint. Join Nikhil Joshi, Founder & President of Snic Solutions, in this value-packed webinar as he breaks down how MES can drive operational excellence and sustainability.

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Rural Drivers vs. Disinformation: Three Facts about Electric Vehicles to Set the Record Straight

Union of Concerned Scientists

EV demand is on a clear upward trajectory, in spite of fluctuations in the market. Availability has also increased , with many auto dealers offering a wide range of new and more affordable electric passenger car and pick-up truck models. This is all good news, but while urban areas have witnessed a growing adoption of EVs, adoption in rural areas is still lagging.

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With the World Stumbling Past 1.5 Degrees of Warming, Scientists Warn Climate Shocks Could Trigger Unrest and Authoritarian Backlash

Inside Climate News

Most of the public seems unaware that global temperatures will soon push past the target to which the U.N. hoped to limit warming, but researchers see social and psychological crises brewing. By Bob Berwyn As Earth’s annual average temperature pushes against the 1.5 degree Celsius limit beyond which climatologists expect the impacts of global warming to intensify, social scientists warn that humanity may be about to sleepwalk into a dangerous new era in human history.

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Modern humans were already in northern Europe 45,000 years ago

New Scientist

DNA from bones found in a cave in Germany has been identified as from Homo sapiens, showing that our species endured frigid conditions there as they expanded across the continent

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No Free Parking: An Urban Reform Movement Takes Hold

Yale E360

In cities across the U.S., planners are pushing to eliminate mandates requiring parking spaces in new buildings. The reforms, along with adding street parking meters, reduce car dependency, create public spaces, cut down on heat-island effects, and lower housing costs.

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Not just another dot on the graph?

Real Climate

As the climate monitoring groups add an additional dot to their graphs this week, there is some disquiet among people paying attention about just how extraordinary 2023 really was. First, it’s been obvious for months that 2023 would be a record year – in temperatures (at the surface, troposphere and in the ocean), in Antarctic sea ice, in the number of big climate disasters etc.

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Fossilized Finances: Oil and Gas Subsidies in the Permian Basin

NRDC

A new NRDC report shows how, despite the need to curb fossil fuel production, outdated tax giveaways incentivize further extraction in the country's largest oil and gas region.

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The Key to Sustainable Energy Optimization: A Data-Driven Approach for Manufacturing

Speaker: Kevin Kai Wong, President of Emergent Energy Solutions

In today's industrial landscape, the pursuit of sustainable energy optimization and decarbonization has become paramount. ♻️ Manufacturing corporations across the U.S. are facing the urgent need to align with decarbonization goals while enhancing efficiency and productivity. Unfortunately, the lack of comprehensive energy data poses a significant challenge for manufacturing managers striving to meet their targets. 📊 Join us for a practical webinar hosted by Kevin Kai Wong of Emergent Ene

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Groundwater Levels Around the World Are Dropping Quickly, Often at Accelerating Rates

Inside Climate News

Rapid declines are most common in aquifers under croplands in drier regions, including California, the most extensive analysis of groundwater trends so far shows. By Liza Gross Groundwater supplies are dwindling in aquifers around the world, a groundbreaking new study found, with the rates of decline accelerating over the past four decades in nearly a third of aquifers studied.

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Cute Little Tardigrades Are Basically Indestructible, and Scientists Just Figured Out One Reason Why

Scientific American

Tardigrades are microscopic animals that can survive a host of conditions that are too extreme to ever occur on Earth—and scientists want to learn their secrets

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Mysterious patch on Mars appears to be enormous lump of ice

New Scientist

A large formation near the equator of Mars is now thought to be made of water ice, which could indicate that the Martian climate went through huge temperature swings in the past

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How DNA from Museums Is Helping Boost Species on the Brink

Yale E360

Historical and ancient DNA from museum specimens is enabling scientists to establish baselines of genetic diversity for species now in decline. Biologists are using that information to decide how best to protect imperiled wildlife, from Galápagos tortoises to African rhinos.

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Implementing D.E.J.I. Strategies in Energy, Environment, and Transportation

Speaker: Antoine M. Thompson, Executive Director of the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition

Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Inclusion (DEJI) policies, programs, and initiatives are critically important as we move forward with public and private sector climate and sustainability goals and plans. Underserved and socially, economically, and racially disadvantaged communities bear the burden of pollution, higher energy costs, limited resources, and limited investments in the clean energy and transportation sectors.

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Not just another dot on the graph? Part II

Real Climate

Annual updates to the model-observation comparisons for 2023 are now complete. The comparisons encompass surface air temperatures, mid-troposphere temperatures (global and tropical, and ‘corrected’), sea surface temperatures, and stratospheric temperatures. In almost every case, the addition of the 2023 numbers was in line with the long term expectation from the models.

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Wind Industry Activity Strongly Correlated With Whale Deaths, New Study Finds

Environmental Progress

Download the Full Report “An Investigation of Large Whale Mortality and Offshore Wind Development Activity in the U.S. Since 2015.” LISA LINOWES and ERIC TURNER on behalf of the SAVE RIGHT WHALES COALITION Since 2016, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has declared three Unusual Mortality Events (UME) involving large whale species in the Atlantic Ocean.

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Another Hot, Dry Summer May Push Parts of Texas to the Brink

Inside Climate News

Some areas are starting the year with low water reserves, and forecasters don’t expect substantial relief from the weather. By Dylan Baddour Two consecutive summers of brutal heat and drought have left some parts of Texas with notably low water supplies going into 2024.

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Renewable Power Set to Surpass Coal Globally by 2025

Scientific American

Renewable energy will surpass coal power by 2025 and, with nuclear energy, will account for nearly half the world’s power generation by 2026, the International Energy Agency forecasts

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Shaping a Resilient Future: Climate Impact on Vulnerable Populations

Speaker: Laurie Schoeman Director, Climate & Sustainability, Capital

As households and communities across the nation face challenges such as hurricanes, wildfires, drought, extreme heat and cold, and thawing permafrost and flooding, we are increasingly searching for ways to mitigate and prevent climate impacts. During this event, national climate and housing expert Laurie Schoeman will discuss topics including: The two paths for climate action: decarbonization and adaptation.

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Guinness yeasts are genetically unique among Irish beers

New Scientist

The Guinness brewery has kept a record of the yeast strains it has used going back to 1903 – a genetic analysis shows these are distinct from those used to brew other Irish beers

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Rethinking Monarchs: Does the Beloved Butterfly Need Our Help?

Yale E360

The Eastern monarch butterfly has long been thought to be in peril, but new studies indicate that its U.S. populations are not in decline. Scientists say the biggest threat the species faces is from well-meaning people who breed the butterflies at home and release them.

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Annual GMSAT predictions and ENSO

Real Climate

For the last few years ( since at least 2016 ), I’ve shared predictions for the next annual global mean surface air temperature (GMSAT) anomaly based on the long term trend and the state of ENSO at the start of the year. Generally speaking, this has been quite skillful compared to persistence or just the long term trend alone – the eventual anomaly was consistently within the predicted bounds.

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Caution: Killer Cone Snails

Ocean Conservancy

If you’ve ever been to an amusement park, you’ve probably heard or read the phrase, “Keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle at all times.” While our planet is full of magical, mesmerizing and often enticing creatures, the same “look, don’t touch!” rule applies when visiting and exploring the beach, ocean or any body of water. And this is especially true for the cone snail—one of the most venomous animals on Earth.

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Sustainability at Retail

Sustainability impacts every nation, company, and person around the world. So much so that, in 2015, the United Nations (UN) issued a call for action by all countries to work toward sustainable development. In response to this and as part of a global Sustainability at Retail initiative, Shop! worked collaboratively with its global affiliates to address these critical issues in this white paper.

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Once Known for Its Pollution, Pittsburgh Becomes a Poster Child for Climate Consciousness

Inside Climate News

The National Climate Assessment shines a light on the city’s “innovative” plans to curb flooding based on projections for heavier, climate-amplified precipitation. By Jon Hurdle The City of Pittsburgh’s incorporation of climate-change projections into its stormwater-control regulations have been highlighted by the latest National Climate Assessment as an example of how a city can prepare itself for the bigger, more frequent rain storms produced by the changing climate.

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Japan Reaches the Moon, but the Fate of Its Precision Lander Is Uncertain

Scientific American

Japan’s SLIM precision-landing spacecraft—a potential game-changer for upcoming lunar exploration—may expire on the moon before fulfilling its mission

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Writing things down may help you remember information more than typing

New Scientist

Writing words down increases connectivity linked to memory and learning between different areas of the brain, with the same not being true when things are typed out on a computer

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International Community Wants Biden to Act on LNG

NRDC

Allies from key countries around the world came out resoundingly in support of the Biden administration's decision to pause permitting of new liquefied natural gas export facilities.

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Borax Lake Chub: Conserving a High Desert Survivor

Cool Green Science

This fish has adapted to a lake high in arsenic and heavy metals. But human activity poses a greater challenge. The post Borax Lake Chub: Conserving a High Desert Survivor appeared first on Cool Green Science.

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Meet the Mole Crab

Ocean Conservancy

Under the wet sand along beautiful shorelines, just beneath our feet during beach strolls, there lies an entire ecosystem. The mole crab (also known as a sand crab or sand flea) is a small but mighty sea creature that lives just below the surface of the sand. When thinking of a sand flea, the first thought that comes to mind is probably not pleasant.

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More Than 900 Widely Used Chemicals May Increase Breast Cancer Risk

Inside Climate News

Ninety percent of the chemicals identified as potential breast carcinogens in a new study are found in everyday products in homes and workplaces. By Liza Gross More than 900 chemicals in widespread use could be increasing breast cancer risk, scientists reported in a peer-reviewed study published today.

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Ancient Jewelry Shows Ice Age Europe Had 9 Distinct Cultures

Scientific American

Prehistoric artifacts used in jewelry, such as beads made from shells, amber and ivory, have shed light on the cultural groups that were present in Europe tens of thousands of years ago

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What does Ukraine’s million-drone army mean for the future of war?

New Scientist

In 2024, Ukraine will have more drones than soldiers in its armed forces, and the aerial vehicles and the artificial intelligences that can control them are changing the way war is waged

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DEP: Shale Gas Operator Found Responsible For Water Supply Contamination After Investigation Documents Chemical Contamination Spread Across 3 Townships In Greene County

PA Environment Daily

On December 28, 2023, DEP posted an inspection report for the Mohr A and B shale gas well pads in Cumberland Township, Greene County operated by Greylock Production LLC-- formerly Energy Corporation of America-- saying-- “This administrative inspection is being conducted of the Mohr A and B locations well sites to document violations related to impacts to a private water supply.

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