Sat.Sep 07, 2024 - Fri.Sep 13, 2024

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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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“Salt Lakes in Crisis: Legal Responses to Ecological Catastrophes”

Legal Planet

The Great Shrinking Salt Lake (credit: NASA Earth Observatory) On Friday, September 20th, the student-run U.C. Davis Law Review will host a most timely conference examining an environmental crisis facing many of the American West’s iconic “terminal lakes.” That term refers to lakes that have no natural outlet. For many years, protracted droughts and human diversions from freshwater rivers and streams feeding those lakes have combined to reduce lake levels dramatically and sign

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Cats have brain activity recorded with the help of crocheted hats

New Scientist

Custom-made wool caps have enabled scientists to record electroencephalograms in awake cats for the first time, which could help assess their pain levels

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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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How Do You Talk to Children about Climate Change? One Book Has a Few Ideas

Union of Concerned Scientists

Science communication is strengthened when we use creative approaches. Art is such a powerful tool for this, especially when communicating to kids. Last year, I met Dave Schneider, a climate scientist who studies ice sheets and climate systems, work very similar to my own. He recently published a children’s book titled Goodnight Fossil Fuels! that’s specifically about climate change and fossil fuel accountability.

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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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Greenland landslide caused freak wave that shook Earth for nine days

New Scientist

Seismologists were mystified by a strange signal that persisted for nine days in 2023 – now its source has been identified as a standing wave caused by a landslide in Greenland

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Ask A Scientist: How Can Science and Data Inform Fairer, Freer Elections?

Union of Concerned Scientists

Many democracies around the world require every eligible voter to fulfill their civic duty and cast their votes during national elections. If you were an Australian, Belgian, Singaporean, or Uruguayan citizen eligible to vote in your country’s elections, you could even expect to incur a fine from the government for failing to do so. Some countries set their election dates on weekends or declare national holidays so that more voters can participate.

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In a First, Brazilian City Grants Legal Rights to Waves

Yale E360

The city of Linhares, Brazil, has granted legal personhood to the waves at the mouth of the Dolce River, the first instance in which a government has conferred rights upon part of the ocean.

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Mars Missions May Be Blocked by Kidney Stones

Scientific American

Astronauts may have the guts for space travel—but not the kidneys

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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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Ig Nobel prizes 2024: The unexpected science that won this year

New Scientist

From drunk worms to mammals that breath through their anuses, founder Marc Abrahams on the winners of this year's Ig Nobel prizes, for research that "makes people laugh, then think"

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Has Gasoline Use in California Peaked?

Union of Concerned Scientists

Despite adding six million more passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs to the roads over the last 10 years, California’s gasoline consumption has dropped over two billion gallons from its peak in 2005. More efficient (and cleaner) gasoline cars are part of the reason why gasoline use is down, but the increasing number of electric vehicles being sold in the state will likely drive gasoline use down even further.

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Peru Sees Growing Attacks on Environmental Defenders

Yale E360

Indigenous Peruvians have long faced violent attacks by miners, loggers, coca growers, and drug traffickers, but a troubling new report finds that murders of environmental defenders are on the rise.

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What Giant Data Breaches Mean for You

Scientific American

The security expert who created Have I Been Pwned?

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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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Complex chemicals found on Enceladus improve prospects for life

New Scientist

The Cassini mission’s samples from Saturn’s moon Enceladus have signs of various organic molecules that could be among the ingredients needed for life to get started

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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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Southern California Blaze Spawns 'Fire Clouds'

Yale E360

The Line Fire in Southern California is giving rise to massive billowing "fire clouds.

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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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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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Genome of Neanderthal fossil reveals lost tribe cut off for millennia

New Scientist

Analysis of DNA from a Neanderthal fossil found in a French cave indicates that it belonged to a group that was isolated for more than 50,000 years

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Media Advisory: Ontario Healthcare Professionals and Environmental Advocates are Rallying this Weekend to Demand Better Public Healthcare not Greenbelt Highways

Enviromental Defense

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – As Ontario grapples with emergency room closures, a critical shortage of nurses, family doctors, and other health professionals, the provincial government is planning to spend tens of billions of taxpayer dollars on two controversial highway projects that would cut through the Greenbelt — Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass.

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Hope for North America’s Most Endangered Bird

Inside Climate News

The Florida grasshopper sparrow was near extinction only a few years ago. The recent release of the 1,000th captive-raised sparrow into the wild has rekindled optimism. By Amy Green On a recent morning, 10 Florida grasshopper sparrows, tiny brown-speckled birds that are the most endangered on the continent, took their first scampers and flaps on the state’s central prairie.

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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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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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Why everyone needs to stop joking that they're "a little bit OCD"

New Scientist

Far from being a behavioural quirk, obsessive-compulsive disorder is a debilitating condition with complex causes that we're just beginning to understand.

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California Legislature Passes Food Date Labeling Standardization

NRDC

California is aiming to standardize food date labels with the passage of AB 660 (Irwin). The bill is now awaiting signature from Governor Newsom.

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DREAM…THEN ACT!

Cleannovate

It’s OK to dream. But it takes more to start moving towards achieving it. Too often do we let ideas bounce off our heads without action. But have you ever thought of picking up and running with that one idea to its logical end? Well, it’s good to be a think tank – churning up those ideas per minute. But it’s better to pick one or two and create something out of it.

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How Retinol Cosmetics Change Skin at a Chemical Level

Scientific American

Experts explain the differences between popular retinol products and the way they trigger molecular changes deep in the skin

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A fresh understanding of OCD is opening routes to new treatments

New Scientist

We're finally pinning down the mechanisms that drive obsessive-compulsive disorder, revealing a complex combination of imbalanced brain networks, the immune system and even gut microbes

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California Code Takes Another Step Toward Clean Buildings

NRDC

The 2025 building code will save Californians money, increase comfort, and reduce the state’s dependency on fossil fuels.

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PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - September 14

PA Environment Daily

The following notices were published in the September 14 PA Bulletin related to oil and gas industry facilities. Many of the notices offer the opportunity for public comments. Land Recycling/Brownfield Cleanups -- Coterra Energy, Inc. - D.Lewis Shale Gas Well Pad: DEP received a Final Report on remediation of soil contaminated with an oil-based drilling mud to meet the Statewide Health and Background Standards at the pad located in Bridgewater Twp., Susquehanna County. ( PA Bulletin, page 5902 )

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Why This Great Mathematician Wanted a Heptadecagon on His Tombstone

Scientific American

Mathematician Gauss left behind a trophy case of mathematical achievements to highlight on his tombstone, but above all he wanted a regular heptadecagon etched on it

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How Star Trek-style replicators could lead to a food revolution

New Scientist

Our Future Chronicles column explores an imagined history of inventions and developments yet to come.

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EVs Already Reduce Electricity Rates—and They Can Do Even More

NRDC

EVs reduce electricity rates for all utility customers, and recent legislation accelerates a cycle of more EVs, better climate, better health, and lower rates.