November, 2021

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Utah’s Water Dilemma

Circle of Blue

Utah’s Water Dilemma Record-breaking drought along the Wasatch Front forces tough decisions about water supply. Brett Walton, Circle of Blue November 29, 2021. BOX ELDER COUNTY, Utah – Sitting inside a shepherd’s trailer hitched to his white pickup truck, Robert Child recounts a lifetime spent running sheep in the pastures of northern Utah. Wind gently rocks the compact trailer as Child, who is 75, describes the grazing rotations for his 2,000-head flock.

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Why Putting Solar Canopies on Parking Lots Is a Smart Green Move

Yale E360

Solar farms are proliferating on undeveloped land, often harming ecosystems. But placing solar canopies on large parking lots offers a host of advantages — making use of land that is already cleared, producing electricity close to those who need it, and even shading cars. Read more on E360 ?.

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Mythbusting “Wind Oversupply”

Union of Concerned Scientists

Wind "curtailment" is not due to too much wind.

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Making Sense of the US-China Joint Glasgow Declaration

Legal Planet

Yesterday, China and the US announced a “Joint Glasgow Declaration on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s” ( En / Ch ) What to make of it? The short answer is that it only offers slight forward progress on climate action. Increased climate ambition from China and US in the short-term remains the critical metric and in this regard the agreement does not make much of a breakthrough.

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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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Net Zero/Not Zero

Real Climate

At the COP26 gathering last week much of the discussion related to “Net-Zero” goals. This concept derives from important physical science results highlighted in the Special Report on 1.5ºC and more thoroughly in the last IPCC report that future warming is tied to future emissions, and that warming will effectively cease only once anthropogenic CO2 emissions are balanced by anthropogenic CO2 removals.

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EPA Proposes to Use Science to Identify Waters of the United States. I’m Shocked, Shocked.

Law and Environment

Last week, EPA and the Army Corps proposed a new rule to define what constitutes “waters of the United States.” Déjà vu all over again. Under the proposal, the agencies: are exercising their discretionary authority to interpret “waters of the United States” to mean the waters defined by the longstanding 1986 regulations, with amendments to certain parts of those rules to reflect the agencies’ interpretation of the statutory limits on the scope of the “waters of the United States” and informed b

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As Warming and Drought Increase, A New Case for Ending Big Dams

Yale E360

The argument against major hydropower projects — ravaged ecosystems and large-scale displacement of people — is well known. But dam critics now say that climate change, bringing dried-up reservoirs and increased methane releases, should spell the end of big hydropower. Read more on E360 ?.

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After COP26 – Wasted Time or Time Well-Spent?

Union of Concerned Scientists

People blocking progress need to get out of the way.

Waste 353
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Bold Climate Rulings Beyond Our Borders

Legal Planet

The atmosphere for climate litigation in our Supreme Court is decidedly chilly. Some of its peers in other countries have taken a much different approach. US lawyers tend to be inward focused, adept at understanding our own legal system but largely unaware of developments elsewhere. Here, I want to briefly summarize some key rulings. Germany. In a pathbreaking opinion, the German Constitutional Court ordered the government to adopt much stricter emissions targets for 2030.

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Infrastructure Investment Microeconomics

Environmental and Urban Economics

A few thoughts about the pending Infrastructure Bill. What Criteria Will be Used to Allocate the Money? An efficiency criteria would state that it should be allocated to those places and on those projects within such places that offer the greatest economic and quality of life impact. Before we make such irreversible investments, how do we know what these effects will be?

Politics 188
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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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Will We Ever Stop Overestimating the Cost of Complying with Environmental Regulations?

Law and Environment

Earlier this week, Greenwire (subscription required) had an interesting story about the role that EPA’s estimate of the cost to comply with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule played in the politics and judicial review of the rule. It turned out that compliance costs were much less than originally estimated by EPA – let alone by industry. Unfortunately, the $9.6 billion price tag originally put on the MATS rule lived on, even after it was clear that that number was way off.

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Where Is The Water Going?

Circle of Blue

Where Is The Water Going? Small farmers struggle as ag titans wheel water for profit. This piece is part of a collaboration that includes the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), California Health Report, Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism, Circle of Blue, Colorado Public Radio, Columbia Insight, The Counter, High Country News, New Mexico In Depth and SJV Water.

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Glasgow Disappointed, But It Inched the World Forward on Climate

Yale E360

The UN climate agreement reached in Glasgow fell far short of what scientists say is needed, angering activists and many delegates. But the pact achieved progress, agreeing to toughen emissions targets by next year and to compensate developing nations for “loss and damage.” Read more on E360 ?.

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Florida Governor Suppresses the Vote, State University Suppresses the Voting Experts

Union of Concerned Scientists

Scientists everywhere should be outraged at this attempt by the University of Florida to suppress science in a crucial public policy debate.

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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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The Need for Enhanced and Meaningful Confidentiality in Tribal Cultural Resource Protection

Legal Planet

For Indigenous Peoples, the forced removal from ancestral lands coupled with the Western commodification of human remains and ceremonial objects has resulted in a devastating and ongoing loss of cultural resources. This loss includes both tangible resources and landscapes as well as intangible traditional knowledge. During the pursuit of cultural resource protection, tribes are compelled to reveal an extraordinary amount of sensitive information.

Law 246
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Unforced variations: Nov 2021

Real Climate

This month’s open thread. The first two weeks will be dominated by COP-26 , and various science updates that will be announced there, including this year’s Global Carbon Project report. Curiously, there is some archival interest in the climategate affair possibly in connection to COP-26 (a BBC dramatization “ The Trick “, a BBC radio series on the security aspects “ The Hack that Changed the World” , and a couple of months ago, a podcast episode of “Chea

2021 150
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Humans Are Doomed to Go Extinct

Scientific American

Habitat degradation, low genetic variation and declining fertility are setting Homo sapiens up for collapse. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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2021 Election Recap: New York Voters Approve Clean Water Constitutional Amendment

Circle of Blue

High-profile water-related issues were also on the ballot in Maine, Boise, and Virginia Beach. The New York City skyline and the Hudson River. Photo © J. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue. New Yorkers approved an environmental rights amendment in their state constitution. Voters in Boise and Virginia Beach authorized infrastructure spending plans that exceed a half-billion dollars.

2021 317
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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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Why Climate Change Could Put New Conservation Areas in Jeopardy

Yale E360

A global initiative to protect 30 percent of the earth’s land and oceans by 2030 is gaining momentum. But scientists warn that as the world warms, many conservation areas will become less and less suited to the types of species and ecosystems they were intended to protect. Read more on E360 ?.

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The Magic Math of Solar plus Storage

Union of Concerned Scientists

Combining solar and storage has its benefits.

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Aggregating the Harms of Fossil Fuels

Legal Planet

The decision at the Glasgow climate conference to phase down fossil fuels is an important step forward — and not just because of climate change. We think of fossil fuels as a source of climate change, but that’s only a one part of the problem. From their extraction to their combustion, everything about them is destructive to the environment and human health.

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Finding Bright Spots in the Global Coral Reef Catastrophe

Inside Climate News

The first-ever report on the world’s coral reefs presents a grim picture, as losses mount due to global warming. But there are signs of hope. By Nicola Jones, Yale Environment 360 This article was originally published by Yale Environment 360. Read the original story here.

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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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How Brains Seamlessly Switch Between Languages

Scientific American

Bilingual people engage the same brain region that monolingual individuals use to put together words—even when combining different languages. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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HotSpots H2O: In Afghanistan, Political Upheaval Aggravates Drought-Fueled Famine

Circle of Blue

Drought, a financial crisis, and political collapse are accelerating the country’s decline into all-out famine. Almost two-thirds of the country’s population is facing acute hunger. Photo © Mohammed Rahmani / Unsplash. Afghanistan has been facing a drought-induced hunger crisis since last year. This summer’s political upheaval has kneecapped response efforts, pushing the country into famine.

Politics 279
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More Eyes on Polluters: The Growth of Citizen Monitoring

Yale E360

In pollution hotspots like western Pennsylvania — where petrochemical facilities are proliferating — local residents, distrustful of companies and government, are taking advantage of low-cost technologies to do their own monitoring of air, water, and noise pollution. Read more on E360 ?.

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EPA’s Latest Emissions Report Shows Why We Need Stronger Regulations

Union of Concerned Scientists

Regulations have pushed car manufacturers to offer the most efficient vehicles ever, but much more can and must be done to address climate change.

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Climate Change in the Law School Curriculum

Legal Planet

Someone asked me recently what I thought law schools should be teaching about climate change. Naturally, my first reaction is that everyone everywhere needs to put climate change at the top of their agenda. As usually happens, when I got past that gut reaction, things got more complicated. There are many important societal issues that don’t get high priority in law school, such as the availability of health care or public health law.

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Canine teeth shrank in human ancestors at least 4.5 million years ago

New Scientist

The extra-large, dagger-like canine teeth seen in male great apes have been missing from human ancestors for at least 4.

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Marine Oxygen Levels are the Next Great Casualty of Climate Change

Scientific American

The increasing frequency of dead zones will affect billions of people who rely on the ocean for survival. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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What’s Up With Water – November 1, 2021

Circle of Blue

Transcript. Welcome to “What’s Up With Water,” your need-to-know news of the world’s water from Circle of Blue. I’m Eileen Wray-McCann. ————————. In international news, this week marks the start of a critical UN climate conference, known as COP26. Leaders meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, have three main issues on the agenda. One is strengthening commitments to reduce heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions in order to keep the planet from dangerously overheating.

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How to Repair the World’s Broken Carbon Offset Markets

Yale E360

Markets that connect businesses hoping to offset their carbon emissions with climate change mitigation projects have been plagued by problems. But an economist and his co-authors argue that carbon markets can be reformed and play a significant role in slowing global warming Read more on E360 ?.

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Lessons from a Career Serving the Public

Union of Concerned Scientists

There are so many paths for using your expertise, energy, and passion to make this world a better place -- my reflections on 17 years as executive director of UCS, and a lifetime of public service.

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