Sat.Jan 01, 2022 - Fri.Jan 07, 2022

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Can Synthetic Palm Oil Help Save the World’s Tropical Forests?

Yale E360

Numerous startups are creating synthetic palm oil in the lab, hoping to slow the loss of tropical forests to oil palm cultivation. But palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil, and producing a synthetic version on a large scale remains a daunting challenge. Read more on E360 ?.

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The Stream, January 7, 2022: The World’s Lakes Are Losing Ice Cover At An Alarming Rate

Circle of Blue

YOUR GLOBAL RUNDOWN. Lakes in the Northern Hemisphere are losing ice coverage faster than ever before. California officials impose outdoor water use restrictions. Flooding displaces thousands and destroys crops in Indonesia. A recent court ruling forces a mining company will decrease its water use at a Chilean copper mine. Environmental activists lose faith in the South African government’s willingness to clean the contaminated Vaal River.

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Climate Scientists on “Don’t Look Up:” It’s Infuriating, Soul-Sucking and On-the-Nose

Union of Concerned Scientists

UCS climate scientist reviews "Don't Look Up," an allegory for climate inaction.

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Antimatter and matter respond to gravity in the same way, experiment reveals

Physics World

Precise measurements of the motions of antiprotons and protons suggest that antimatter responds to gravity in the same way as matter. The experiment was done at CERN by the international BASE collaboration and involved trapping antiprotons and negative hydrogen ions using electric and magnetic fields. The measurements also provide the best confirmation yet that the antiproton conforms to certain aspects of the Standard Model of particle physics.

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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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EVs Made up Two-Thirds of New Cars Sales in Norway Last Year

Yale E360

Electric cars accounted for roughly two-thirds of new sales in Norway last year, a key milestone on the country’s way to ending the sale of gas-powered cars by 2025, Reuters reported. Read more on E360 ?.

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The Stream, January 5, 2022: Can “Smarter” Tech in the Great Lakes Combat Climate Change?

Circle of Blue

YOUR GLOBAL RUNDOWN. Lacking faith in government, South Africans take it upon themselves to deliver basic necessities like water to their communities. Few Chinook salmon survive after a summer of warm water in the Sacramento River. A sewer line fails in California , causing streets to flood and beaches to close. Water bill payments will resume in Phoenix, Arizona.

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Wearable device provides advance warning of epileptic seizures

Physics World

Predicting epileptic seizures: Data recorded by wearable sensors are uploaded regularly to cloud storage and analysed using deep learning. Patients also uploaded data from their responsive neurostimulation devices and the intracranial EEG data were reviewed for seizure activity. (Courtesy: CC BY 4.0/ Sci. Rep. 10.1038/s41598-021-01449-2). Data from a wearable wristband monitoring device can forecast epileptic seizures about 30 minutes before they occur, according to research published in Scienti

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Beijing Meets Air Quality Standards for the First Time

Yale E360

Beijing met state air quality standards for the first time in 2021, though it still faces high levels of pollution as it prepares to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Read more on E360 ?.

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Colorado’s Suburban Firestorm Shows the Threat of Climate-Driven Wildfires is Moving Into Unusual Seasons and Landscapes

Inside Climate News

Backyard fences, decks and landscaping helped spread the flames through suburban neighborhoods and shopping malls baked by global warming. By Bob Berwyn When he saw smoke in the air around Boulder, Colorado on Dec. 30, Tom Veblen walked up a trail near his home to check it out. Veblen, a professor emeritus of geography at the University of Colorado Boulder who has been studying forest ecology, wildfires and climate change since the mid-1970s, said he could see that the Marshall Fire, on the sout

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One in 12 new cases of asthma in children linked to NO2 air pollution

New Scientist

A US and Canadian team have estimated 1.85 million new childhood asthma cases were linked with exposure to nitrogen dioxide in 2019, 8.5 per cent of all new cases that year.

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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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Matterhorn sways to a seismic beat, interstellar propulsion system remains science fiction, goldfish drives a car

Physics World

The Matterhorn, an Alpine peak that straddles the border between Switzerland and Italy, is one of the most iconic mountains in the world. Isolated at the head of the Zermatt Valley, climbing the perfectly shaped mountain, which has a summit height of 4470 m above sea level, is on the to-do list of thousands of climbers – and some physicists. In 2019, an international team of scientists set out to take a closer look at the Matterhorn and installed several seismometers at different locations to r

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French Car Ads Will Soon Be Required to Discourage Driving

Yale E360

In France, where junk food ads must include messages imploring consumers to snack less and eat more fruits and vegetables, car ads will soon be required to include messages encouraging people to walk, bike, or take public transportation, French media report. Read more on E360 ?.

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U.S. and Chinese Scientists Propose Bold New Missions beyond the Solar System

Scientific American

Independent concepts from each nation envision launching high-speed spacecraft on aspirational multigenerational voyages into the great unknown of interstellar space. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Beth Singler interview: The dangers of treating AI like a god

New Scientist

Artificial intelligence’s lack of transparency is leading many to fear the technology and others to elevate it to a mysterious god-like figure, but we should be more critical of those making decisions about how AI is used, says anthropologist Beth Singler

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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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Building bridges between big science and industry

Physics World

How can Europe’s large-scale research facilities better engage with the industrial R&D community? That was the central question preoccupying delegates attending the Big Science Summit held in Malmö, Sweden, in November 2021, which featured talks and workshops within the broader TechConnect Europe Innovation Conference and Expo. The summit brought together applied scientists and engineers working on emerging technologies with industry experts from Europe’s top-tier laboratories such as the Eu

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As Deforestation Grows in the Brazilian Savanna, Government Ends Monitoring

Yale E360

Last year, deforestation in Brazil's Cerrado region, one of the largest savannas in the world, reached its highest level since 2015, according to newly released data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). Following that announcement, an INPE researcher said the government would stop monitoring deforestation in the Cerrado, owing to a lack of funds.

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Dogs Can Distinguish Speech from Gibberish--and Tell Spanish from Hungarian

Scientific American

A new study’s authors say their investigation represents the first time that a nonhuman brain has been shown to detect language. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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What is a Moon Jellyfish?

Ocean Conservancy

Moon jellies have a special place in my heart. Once on a family vacation, we wrapped up a hike at Acadia National Park to find hundreds of moon jellies floating near the shore. It was a magical sight. It felt as if we had crossed over into some alien dimension, the rocky coastline transformed into a sea filled with these other-worldly creatures. What do moon jellyfish look like?

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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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Majorana bosons could exist in dissipative systems, calculations suggest

Physics World

Majorana bosons – hypothetical quasiparticles that are in many ways analogous to Majorana fermions – could exist in quantum systems with dissipation. That is according to calculations done in the US by Vincent Flynn and Lorenza Viola at Dartmouth College and Emilio Cobanera at the SUNY Polytechnic Institute. The existence of Majorana bosons suggests that in such systems a photon could be separated into two “halves”.

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GERMAN ELECTRICITY TO GET DIRTIER IN 2022, NEW ANALYSIS FINDS

Environmental Progress

Germany is expected to increase its fossil fuel consumption for electricity generation in 2022, if its weather conditions and electricity demand are similar to 2021, a new analysis from Environmental Progress finds. This would come on top of an increase in fossil fuel usage in the public electricity supply in 2021 as compared to 2020, when consumption of electricity was lowered due to COVID-19-related shutdowns and disruption.

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How to Use Search Engines to Help the People and the Planet

Earth 911

We’ve heard of life hacks. How about a hack for making a difference? Make one. The post How to Use Search Engines to Help the People and the Planet appeared first on Earth911.

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Environmental Law Topics to Watch in 2022

National Law Center

Environmental law issues were at the forefront in 2021, and 2022 is shaping up to be no different. With on-going lawsuits, The post Environmental Law Topics to Watch in 2022 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center.

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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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Exploring Pluto’s changing atmosphere by chasing its shadow on Earth

Physics World

Pluto is less than 20% of the diameter of Earth and is on average six billion kilometres away, yet astronomers have been able to study its tenuous atmosphere since the 1980s. In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast the astronomers (and siblings) Leslie Young and Eliot Young talk about Pluto’s atmosphere and how it changes as the dwarf planet follows its elliptical orbit around the Sun.

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Record levels of greenhouse gas methane are a ‘fire alarm moment’

New Scientist

The rate at which methane concentrations are rising is concerning researchers, with 2020 marking the biggest annual jump since 1983.

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Salvador Dali's Creative Secret Is Backed by Science

Scientific American

The painter described falling into the briefest of slumbers to refresh his mind. Now scientists have shown the method is effective at inducing creativity. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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New January Wallpapers to Brighten Your Day

Ocean Conservancy

A brand-new year is finally here! As we dive into the first month of 2022, it’s time to start fresh, get organized and tidy up our spaces. One great way to kick off that fresh start is by refreshing our desktop and mobile home screens. Never miss an update. Sorry, but we failed to add you to the list. Please try again or contact 1.888.780.6763. Enter Your Email.loading.

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Snowflakes, snorkelling and spacewalks: your holiday secrets revealed

Physics World

Beautiful thoughts Snowflakes are just one of the natural wonders that keep physicists’ brains turning – even while on holiday.(Courtesy: iStock/ChaoticMind75). Whenever the physicist and aerospace engineer Theodore von Kármán (1881–1963) visited Lake Constance – then on the western fringes of the Austro-Hungarian empire – he’d head down to the lakeshore to watch the seagulls.

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The metaverse: What is it, will it work, and does anyone want it?

New Scientist

Since its rebrand as “Meta”, Facebook has been throwing its considerable weight behind the idea of an immersive virtual reality world.

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Deforestation Strengthens Storms in West Africa

Scientific American

As trees are cleared, surrounding areas heat up, triggering heavy rainstorms. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Ag and Food Law Daily Update: January 6, 2021

National Law Center

A comprehensive summary of today’s judicial, legislative, and regulatory developments in agriculture and food. Email important additions HERE. There are. The post Ag and Food Law Daily Update: January 6, 2021 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center.

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A new cosmic dawn: peering across the universe with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

Physics World

The original deep-field image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most iconic images in astronomy. Consisting of a mind-boggling number of distant galaxies set against a blanket of black, the picture is constructed via a series of observations that Hubble made in December 1995 of a small region in the constellation Ursa Major. Inspired by this timeless image, astronomers began planning a new mission to study the early universe – one that would see even further back in time, to 300

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Why is BreezoMeter Different from my Local Air Quality Source?

Breezometer

Seeing two or more air quality sources saying completely different things can be confusing. Let’s explore some of the reasons why BreezoMeter and your local air quality source may at times show different reports for the same area at the same time. 1)You’re Looking at a Different Air Quality Index. Different countries and regions use air quality indexes based on different scales and logic.