September, 2024

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A New Energy Project at UCLA Law

Legal Planet

You don’t have to look beyond the front pages of newspapers , or beyond rooftops in your neighborhood to know that we are in the midst of a clean energy revolution, with renewable energy technologies dramatically decreasing in price and increasing in availability. These technologies promise to reduce energy cost burdens for households, as well as reduce climate- and health-harming pollution.

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Phantastic Job!

Real Climate

A truly impressive paper was published this week with a new reconstruction of global temperatures over the last ~500 million years. There is something tremendously satisfying about seeing a project start, and then many years later see the results actually emerge and done better than you could have imagined. Especially one as challenging as accurately tracking half a billion years of Earth’s climate.

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Hottest Summer on Record May Be Ending, but Fight to Protect Workers from Heat Is Far from Over

Union of Concerned Scientists

Over the last three months, which have been declared the world’s hottest summer on record, outdoor workers across the US have endured dangerously hot conditions on the job. They’ve cut grass in 112°F heat in California’s Coachella Valley, handled baggage on the hot tarmac of airports across the country, harvested fruit , delivered packages , and performed countless other functions that go largely unnoticed by our society.

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How Agroforestry Could Help Revitalize America’s Corn Belt

Yale E360

By practicing agroforestry — growing trees alongside crops and livestock, for example — farmers can improve soils, produce nutrient-rich foods, and build resilience to climate change. Now, a movement is emerging to bring this approach to the depleted lands of the Corn Belt.

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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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Antarctica’s 'doomsday' glacier is heading for catastrophic collapse

New Scientist

As a six-year investigation into the Thwaites glacier in Antarctica wraps up, the scientists involved are pessimistic for the future of this glacier and the consequences for sea level rise

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Scientists Will Engineer the Ocean to Absorb More Carbon Dioxide

Scientific American

A research consortium plans to revive geoengineering trials of the controversial iron fertilization technique to pull carbon dioxide from the air, despite public backlash

More Trending

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The Deteriorating Environment Is a Public Concern, but Americans Misunderstand Their Contribution to the Problem

Inside Climate News

A global survey suggests 88 percent of people are worried about the state of nature, but such polling says nothing about where those issues sit among competing concerns, like immigration and the economy. By Katie Surma Most people are “very” or “extremely” concerned about the state of the natural world, a new global public opinion survey shows.

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The Kids Get It: Why Proposition 4 Is the Right Thing to Do

Union of Concerned Scientists

Last week, we received our voter information guides in the mailbox. Before I had a chance to even take a look, I found my fifth-grader reading through the guide with a checklist. Looking over her shoulder, I saw her list of the proposition numbers – most with question marks next to them – but one with a big, bold check mark: Proposition 4. Even though I hadn’t said a word, she gets it.

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Fortress Conservation: Can a Congo Tribe Return to Its Forest?

Yale E360

An African Union ruling finds that parts of a Congo national park should be returned to the Batwa people, who were evicted decades ago. Advocates say the ruling must be implemented and that the Batwa will need support to protect the park’s rare gorillas and other wildlife.

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The jet stream may be starting to shift in response to climate change

New Scientist

Bands of fast-moving wind that blow west to east around the globe play a crucial role in weather – a poleward shift in parts of these jet streams could cause dramatic changes in weather from the western US to the Mediterranean

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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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How Your Brain Detects Patterns without Conscious Thought

Scientific American

Neurons in certain brain areas integrate ‘what’ and ‘when’ information to discern hidden order in events happening in real time

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Earth system tipping events now seem inevitable – what does this mean for climate governance?

Legal Planet

A tipping point is a system threshold beyond which change becomes self-perpetuating until a qualitatively different stable state is reached. For example a rainforest turns into a grassland, or an ice sheet melts completely. Such shifts are non-linear, and practically irreversible. Fears that growing human impacts might push aspects of the global climate past such ‘tipping points’ are not new.

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Associate Editor Mentoring: 2025 applications now open!

The Applied Ecologist

Are you looking to learn more about the peer review process through hands-on experience? Are you less than five years post-PhD and live in/are from the Global South? Why not consider applying for Journal of Applied Ecology’s 2025 mentoring scheme! What is the mentoring scheme? Since 2015, Journal of Applied Ecology has welcomed a small group of mentees with minimum editorial experience each year.

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Delivery Vans are Going Electric: Where and Why

Union of Concerned Scientists

Let’s start this one with some good news: the transition toward clean freight is picking up speed. Over the past few years, we’ve started to see more and more zero-emission commercial trucks, delivery vans, and buses hit the road. The much-needed evolution of our on-road freight system to one that’s cleaner and more equitable is gaining momentum – and not a moment too soon.

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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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Why Taiwan and Its Tech Industry Are Facing an Energy Crisis

Yale E360

As the world’s largest producer of advanced computer chips, Taiwan is struggling to meet demand for electricity. Highly dependent on imported fossil fuels, soon to shutter its last nuclear plant, and slow to build out renewables, the island is heading toward an energy crunch.

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Plan to refreeze Arctic sea ice shows promise in first tests

New Scientist

Field trials indicate that pumping seawater onto the snow on top of Arctic sea ice can make the ice sheet thicker, offering a possible way to preserve sea ice throughout the summer

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A New Quantum Cheshire Cat Thought Experiment Is Out of the Box

Scientific American

The spin of a particle seems to detach and move without a body—a strange experimental observation that’s stirring up debate

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The Dirty Truth Behind a Feel-Good Energy Story

Legal Planet

Did you see the story about a new ‘NFL first’? The San Francisco 49ers announced that it was the first NFL franchise to buy sustainable aviation fuel or SAF —enough to fly from San Francisco to LA for their Sunday game against the LA Rams. The story generated headlines , the way any “first” tends to. The 49ers called it “ a meaningful part of our commitment to more sustainable practices” and praised United for its SAF program, which both companies said can reduce greenhouse gas emissions “by up

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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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The Plastics Industry’s Latest Deception: “Mass Balance”

NRDC

Mass balance “recycled” plastic credit schemes are misleading.

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Is Russia Helping China Expand Its Nuclear Weapons Program? 

Union of Concerned Scientists

This blog was co-authored with UCS China Analyst Robert Rust. Open-source estimates of China’s past fissile material production indicate that China does not have enough plutonium to make the more than 1,000 nuclear warheads the Pentagon claims China will deploy by 2035. The extra plutonium needed to produce new weapons, the Pentagon says, will come from China’s new fast breeder reactors , a type of nuclear reactor that produces more plutonium than the uranium and plutonium it consumes for fuel.

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Slowly but Surely, U.S. School Buses Are Starting to Electrify

Yale E360

With support from a $5 billion EPA program, school districts across the country are starting to switch from polluting diesel to electric buses. Advocates point to the health benefits for children and communities but say more needs to be done to promote this transition.

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What to know about the new covid-19 XEC variant

New Scientist

A new covid-19 variant called XEC may spread more easily than past variants, but current vaccines are still effective against it

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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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Atlantic Hurricane Lull Puzzles Scientists

Scientific American

Meteorologists predicted a busy Atlantic hurricane season—and a recent lull in activity doesn’t negate that

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Rightwing Authoritarianism vs the Environment

Legal Planet

Project 2025 favors authoritarian presidential rule. It also wants to destroy environmental regulation, especially climate law. That’s not a coincidence. The combination of authoritarianism, extreme conservative ideology, and anti-environmentalism is common globally, not just in U.S. politics. There’s no logical connection between a belief in authoritarian government, upholding traditional hierarchies, and views about protecting the environment or the reality of climate change.

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What the Newest Energy Jobs Report Says About the Clean Energy Economy

NRDC

Market forces and government incentives are creating a growing number of renewable energy jobs.

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Newsom Can Continue His Climate Leadership by Signing These Three Bills 

Union of Concerned Scientists

Throughout his two terms, Governor Gavin Newsom has driven California to the top of the world in clean transportation policies that will improve air quality and fight the climate crisis. Under Newsom, California passed policies to get the state to 100% zero emission vehicle (ZEV) sales , transition large truck fleets from dirty diesel to zero emissions, and fund billions of dollars in incentives and infrastructure for clean transportation.

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In UK, Renewables Bring About Death of Coal

Yale E360

Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, Britain is this week shutting down its last coal plant. Starting Tuesday, its power grid will be permanently coal-free.

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CBD shows promise as pesticide for mosquitoes

New Scientist

Mosquito larvae die after consuming hemp leaves because they react strongly to the cannabidiol in the foliage.

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Summer 2024 Was the Hottest Ever Measured, Beating Last Year

Scientific American

The year 2024 could easily shape up to be the hottest ever measured, climate scientists say

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New Law Reaffirms Local Authority to Ban Oil Drilling

Legal Planet

This morning, Governor Newsom signed a trio of bills— AB 3233 (Addis), AB 1866 (Hart), and AB 2716 (Bryan)—that will protect communities in Los Angeles and across the state from the harms of oil and gas production, the impacts of which are disproportionately experienced in low-income communities of color across the state. He signed the package on a Los Angeles soccer field that overlooks oil wells, joined by community organizers who have led the charge for years.

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New Study Suggests Major Climate Reports May Be Underestimating Drought Risks

Inside Climate News

North America and Southern Africa, in particular, may endure longer dry spells than water managers expect, but research shows rising emissions magnifying both wet and dry extremes. By Bob Berwyn Droughts in the coming decades could be longer than projected by current climate models, a new study published Wednesday in Nature warns.

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Climate Plans for Aging US Must Focus on Higher Risks to Older Adults

Union of Concerned Scientists

It’s hard to keep up with the latest stories on extreme heat. 2023 was the world’s hottest year—a record that is likely to be broken by 2024. And just last month, NASA recorded the hottest day on record ever on July 22 , the latest in a 13-month stretch of consecutive record-setting weather. These events are part of an upward march in extreme heat in the US that has turned summer into a veritable danger season.