June, 2021

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As a Hot, Dry Summer Begins in California, More Water Wells Are Failing

Circle of Blue

Government agencies and nonprofit groups are preparing for difficult months ahead. Guillermina Andrade (left) and Vicente Tapia filled barrels from a water depot outside the East Porterville, California, fire station. When this photo was taken, in April 2015, the well at their nearby home had been dry for 18 months and they visited the depot twice a week for water.

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How Returning Lands to Native Tribes Is Helping Protect Nature

Yale E360

From California to Maine, land is being given back to Native American tribes who are committing to managing it for conservation. Some tribes are using traditional knowledge, from how to support wildlife to the use of prescribed fires, to protect their ancestral grounds. Read more on E360 ?.

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Scientists Cannot Sit Comfortably Around Police Violence. We Have a Role in Helping End this Epidemic.

Union of Concerned Scientists

The lack of a comprehensive and easily accessible federal database to track and publicly report fatal encounters with the police, excessive use of force, and other policing interactions has created a blind spot for police reform and accountability.

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Katherine Johnson memoir: Her incredible life as a NASA mathematician

New Scientist

The Hollywood movie Hidden Figures made a star of Katherine Johnson, the pioneering NASA mathematician whose talents played a key part in putting the first US astronaut into orbit.

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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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Maybe the Aliens Really Are Here

Scientific American

But if so, it’s probably in the form of robotic probes; something both UFO enthusiasts and SETI scientists should be able to agree on. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Solar device generates electricity and desalinates water with no waste brine

Physics World

A device that can generate electricity while desalinating seawater has been developed by researchers in Saudi Arabia and China, who claim that their new system is highly efficient at performing both tasks. The device uses waste heat from the solar cell for desalination, thereby cooling the solar cell. It also produces no concentrated brine as waste, cutting its potential environmental impact.

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As Climate Warms, a Rearrangement of World’s Plant Life Looms

Yale E360

Previous periods of rapid warming millions of years ago drastically altered plants and forests on Earth. Now, scientists see the beginnings of a more sudden, disruptive rearrangement of the world’s flora — a trend that will intensify if greenhouse gas emissions are not reined in. Read more on E360 ?.

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Plug In or Gas Up? Why Driving on Electricity is Better than Gasoline

Union of Concerned Scientists

Electricity power plant emissions data and the latest assessments of fuel emissions and vehicle efficiency show 97 percent of people in the US live where driving an EV would produce fewer emissions than a 50 mpg gasoline car.

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NASA mission takes first close-up images of Ganymede in two decades

New Scientist

NASA took pictures of Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede with its Galileo and Voyager missions, and now it has returned for the first time in over two decades with the Juno mission

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How Dangerous Is the Delta Variant, and Will It Cause a COVID Surge in the U.S.?

Scientific American

A new, more transmissible form of SARS-CoV-2 is rapidly spreading in the country and poses a threat to unvaccinated and partially vaccinated people. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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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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Artificial intelligence can spot holes in the Sun’s corona

Physics World

Many Suns: this image taken by the Solar Dynamic Observatory shows the Sun at seven different EUV wavelengths (coloured stripes) and magnetic field information (grey scale stripe). Coronal holes are indicated by red contour lines. (Courtesy: Jarolim et al. 2021). Artificial intelligence can be used to detect coronal holes in the Sun’s upper atmosphere, an international research team has shown.

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Michigan’s Climate-Ready Future: Wetland Parks, Less Cement, Roomy Shores

Circle of Blue

Kelly House, Bridge Magazine and Keith Schneider, Circle of Blue , – June 9, 2021. The year is 2050, and you’re visiting family in Detroit. . Arriving, you grab coffee on the ground floor of a nine-floor building filled with offices and apartments, designed to house a growing Great Lakes city without pushing out longtime residents. . Around the corner, people gather for walks and picnics in a wetland park, one of dozens constructed around the city.

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Natural Protectors: Kenyan Women Step Up to Save a Forest

Yale E360

Only a few years ago, Samburu women in northern Kenya were cutting down firewood in the Kirisia forest and burning it to make charcoal. Now, those same women are directly involved in managing the forest, using it sustainably and reporting any illegal activity to authorities. Read more on E360 ?.

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When It Comes to Nuclear Power, “Advanced” Isn’t Always Better

Union of Concerned Scientists

Nuclear power proponents have long been prone to wishful thinking. Back in 1954, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Lewis Strauss famously predicted that nuclear-generated electricity would ultimately become “too cheap to meter.” Today, nuclear power is among the most expensive forms of electricity. Strauss’s successor at the commission, Nobel laureate Glenn Seaborg, projected in 1971 that […].

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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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New Climate Research From a Year-Long Arctic Expedition Raises an Ozone Alarm in the High North

Inside Climate News

Warming of the surface of the Arctic is matched by a colder polar vortex high in the atmosphere, which is speeding the breakdown of the Earth’s shield against ultraviolet rays. By Bob Berwyn After sampling the atmosphere above the Arctic for more than a year during the MOSAiC research voyage , climate scientists say the ozone layer, Earth’s protection against intense ultraviolet radiation, is at risk, despite the progress made in protecting atmospheric ozone by the 1987 Montreal Protocol , the g

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See the Highest-Resolution Atomic Image Ever Captured

Scientific American

Scientists achieved a record level of visual detail with an imaging technique that could help develop future electronics and better batteries. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Huge Oort Cloud object has been spotted entering the solar system

Physics World

Astronomers sifting through data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) have spotted a large Oort Cloud object approaching the outer regions of the solar system. The discovery has caused ripples of excitement within the planetary science community because of the object’s unusually large size – initial estimates suggest it may be as big as 130–160 km across, substantially bigger than some of the largest comets.

2014 145
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Drought, The Everything Disaster

Circle of Blue

When water stops flowing, painful days are at hand. Lake Shasta was low enough on March 8, 2021 that a boat ramp at Bridge Bay did not reach the water. Today, the largest reservoir in California is just 40 percent full. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of Blue. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue – June 24, 2021. It develops in stages, a story that builds upon itself.

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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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Europe’s Drive to Slash Plastic Waste Moves Into High Gear

Yale E360

As part of a broader effort to create a circular economy that reduces waste and greenhouse gas emissions, the EU will ban a host of throwaway plastic items next month and is creating an expansive and lucrative market for recycled plastics. Read more on E360 ?.

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Ask a Scientist: As Predicted, Electric Vehicles Are Getting Cleaner

Union of Concerned Scientists

I recently caught up with UCS Senior Engineer David Reichmuth to find out more about his new analysis on electric vehicles and ask his opinion on their short-term and long-term prospects.

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Breakthrough study shows defining traits are forged the moment we’re born

Frontiers

By Suzanna Burgelman, Frontiers science writer. Image: Oleksii Synelnykov/Shutterstock. A new study published by the open access publisher Frontiers is the first to research the link between functional brain network connectivity and behavioral temperament in newborns and one-month-old babies. The findings, which show that functional brain connectivity networks with behavioral relevance are already present in young infants, help further bridge the research gap between the human brain and our beha

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A Possible Link between 'Oumuamua and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

Scientific American

If some UAP turn out to be extraterrestrial technology, they could be dropping sensors for a subsequent craft to tune into. What if ‘Oumuamua is such a craft? -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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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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Novel brachytherapy device treats eye cancer with intensity-modulated radiation

Physics World

“That may be one of the reasons why people in the medical physics world are interested in getting a conformal brachytherapy treatment for the eye.”. David Medich , an associate professor of physics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, was explaining why internal radiation, or brachytherapy, may be preferable for treating ocular melanomas over external-beam radiation therapy: using brachytherapy to deliver radiation to an ocular tumour also protects healthy tissues and critical structures, like th

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Marine Blooms of Harmful Algae Increasing in Europe, Much of the Americas

Circle of Blue

First global review of marine harmful algal blooms identifies regional trends linked to the rise of fish and shellfish farming. A bloom of Noctiluca scintillans, a single-celled algae, was seen off of Florida’s Panhandle in February 2011. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons user FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue — June 8, 2021 .

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Amid Troubles for Fossil Fuels, Has the Era of ‘Peak Oil’ Arrived?

Yale E360

For years, analysts have predicted that rising world oil consumption would peak and start declining in the coming decades. But with a recent string of setbacks for big oil companies and the rapid advance of electric vehicles, some now say that “peak oil” is already here. Read more on E360 ?.

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Top Political Scientists Release Dire Warning: Our Entire Democracy Is at Risk

Union of Concerned Scientists

Radical changes to core electoral procedures are transforming several states into political systems that no longer meet the minimum conditions for free and fair elections.

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The Acceleration of an Antarctic Glacier Shows How Global Warming Can Rapidly Break Up Polar Ice and Raise Sea Level

Inside Climate News

New research on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet tracked the disintegration of a floating ice shelf and how that accelerated the flow of the Pine Island Glacier to the sea. By Bob Berwyn The Pine Island Glacier, sometimes called the “soft underbelly” of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, suddenly started moving about 10 to 12 percent faster between 2017 and 2020, as about 20 percent of its floating ice shelf broke apart in a series of large iceberg calving events.

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The Delusion of Infinite Economic Growth

Scientific American

Even “sustainable” technologies such as electric vehicles and wind turbines face unbreachable physical limits and exact grave environmental costs. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Exotic quantum state could make smallest-ever laser

Physics World

Physicists have taken a step towards realizing the smallest-ever solid-state laser by generating an exotic quantum state known as a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in quasiparticles consisting of both matter and light. Although the effect has so far only been observed at ultracold temperatures in atomically thin crystals of molybdenum diselenide (MoSe 2 ), it might also be produced at room temperature in other materials.

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The Stream, June 29, 2021: Detroiters Face Severe Flooding After Heavy Rains

Circle of Blue

YOUR GLOBAL RUNDOWN. Residents of Detroit, Michigan, face severe flooding after heavy rain storms last weekend. Louisiana lawmakers plan for a complete overhaul of the state’s water infrastructure. China begins operating the world’s second-largest hydropower generating station amid environmental concerns. Turkey will begin constructing a major canal that opponents say will damage marine ecosystems and the country’s fragile water supply.

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Yellowstone and Warming: An Iconic Park Faces Startling Changes

Yale E360

A new report details global warming’s impact on Yellowstone Park, changes that have begun to fundamentally alter its famed ecosystem and threaten everything from its forests to Old Faithful geyser. Such troubling shifts are occurring in national parks across the U.S. West. Read more on E360 ?.

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New Legislation Addresses Legacies of Pollution in Environmental Justice Communities

Union of Concerned Scientists

The Environmental Justice Legacy Pollution Cleanup Act would help address pollution that has been haunting environmental justice communities for decades.