Sat.Jul 17, 2021 - Fri.Jul 23, 2021

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Land Grabbers: The Growing Assault on Brazil’s Indigenous Areas

Yale E360

Under President Jair Bolsonaro, illegal miners, loggers and ranchers are invading and occupying ever-larger amounts of Indigenous territory. Brazil’s original inhabitants are increasingly opposing these incursions, leading to conflicts and a surge in killings of local activists. Read more on E360 ?.

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Unveiling the Public Health Burden of Natural Gas

Union of Concerned Scientists

Environmental health has always been of concern to me, as it is to many of us. Climate change has affected our lives in seemingly inconsequential but sad ways, like white Christmases becoming green Christmases just within the span of my childhood, but also in substantial ways, like excessively hot summers and increased flooding, to name […].

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The Delta Variant

Legal Planet

The Delta Variant sounds like the title of one of those Robert Ludlum thrillers, like The Bourne Identity.Actually, though, it’s a lot scarier. The Delta variant of the coronavirus is rapidly becoming dominant. What are its characteristics and what can we expect from its spread? The first thing to know is that the Delta variant is about 50% more transmissible than the Alpha variant, which itself is more transmissible than the original COVID strain.

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Highly programmable quantum simulator operates with up to 256 qubits

Physics World

Physicists have demonstrated a large-scale, programmable quantum simulator, featuring a precisely-arranged two-dimensional array of 256 quantum bits (qubits). Designed by a team headed up at Harvard University , the system uses arrays of highly focused laser beams to trap individual atoms and drag them into desirable arrangements. The design, which the researchers describe in Nature , marks a key step forward in the global race to design larger, more reliable quantum computers, and could signifi

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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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Series of Rare Arctic Thunderstorms Stuns Scientists

Yale E360

Three successive thunderstorms formed in the Arctic last week, a rare phenomenon in the frigid north, but one that is likely to become more common as the planet warms, Reuters reported. Read more on E360 ?.

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To Transform the Electricity System, We Must Transform Electricity Governance

Union of Concerned Scientists

Most people know very little about the institutions that run the electricity grid. Yet one of the key findings of “A People-Centered Clean Energy Transition,” a new report co-authored by an advisory committee—of which I am a member—and the Union of Concerned Scientists, is the centrality of the electricity system in creating an equitable clean energy future.

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Multi-party quantum key distribution paves the way for quantum-secure conference calls

Physics World

Researchers in the UK and Germany have used quantum entanglement to securely distribute secret keys among multiple users in a network. By distributing entangled photons over optical fibres at telecommunications wavelengths, the team demonstrated that conventional telecoms infrastructure offers a viable path towards realizing a large-scale network of interconnected quantum devices – and perhaps even quantum-secure conference calls using Zoom or other platforms.

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Climate Change Responsible for Recent Decline of Eastern Monarch Butterflies

Yale E360

The population of eastern monarch butterflies has been dropping steadily for decades, with some estimates suggesting their numbers are just 20 percent of what they once were. According to a new study , climate change is the biggest driver of recent declines. Read more on E360 ?.

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Re-examining my Personal Biases: Clinical Work and Research with Justice-Involved Individuals

Union of Concerned Scientists

Reflecting on my prejudices toward justice-involved clients revealed to me that I had treated them like inmates rather than clients.

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Should Children Get COVID Vaccines? What the Science Says

Scientific American

With vaccination campaigns underway in some countries while others weigh the options, Nature looks at the evidence for vaccinating younger 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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Climate-Driven Changes in Clouds are Likely to Amplify Global Warming

Inside Climate News

New research, using machine learning, helps project how the buildup of greenhouse gases will change clouds in ways that further heat the planet. By Bob Berwyn Scientists know that global warming is changing clouds, but they haven’t been sure whether those changes would heat or cool the planet overall.

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NASA craft provides an insight into Mars’ interior

Physics World

The interior of Mars has been mapped with seismic waves for the first time revealing tantalising details about how Mars may have formed across billions of years. The work was done by NASA’s Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (Insight) craft that landed in Elysium Planitia, close to the Martian equator, in November 2018.

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Appalachia Poised to Be Part of Shift to Clean Energy

Union of Concerned Scientists

Federal action is key to cleaning up fossil fuel industry pollution.

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Covid-19 news: England unlocks as UK cases continue to soar

New Scientist

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic

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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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On California’s Coast, Black Abalone, Already Vulnerable to Climate Change, are Increasingly Threatened by Wildfire

Inside Climate News

In Big Sur, scientists are rescuing the abalone from landslides caused by the Dolan Fire, and moving them to safety in new neighborhoods where “resident abalone” already thrive. By Anne Marshall-Chalmers BIG SUR, Calif.— It’s four in the morning, damp and dark along the central California coast. Huddled around the back of a minivan, five scientists in waders and boots tenderly move 41 black abalone from large white coolers into reusable Trader Joe’s grocery totes lined with wet, cold washcloths

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Kirigami-inspired stent provides targeted drug delivery to tubular organs

Physics World

The kirigami-inspired stent has two key elements: a soft, stretchy tube made of silicone-based rubber and a plastic coating etched with needles that pop up when the tube is stretched. (Courtesy: MIT). A new type of stent with “pop-up/fold-down” needles that deliver drugs to tubular organs such as the gastrointestinal tract, vasculature and airway has been designed by a team of US-based engineers and physicians.

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Confronting the Consequences of an Extractive Economy

Union of Concerned Scientists

Renewables, energy efficiency are key solutions for the climate emergency.

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E-Waste: What Happens When We Fail To Recycle Electronics

Earth 911

Today, the average person owns three to four electronic devices. But what happens after these. The post E-Waste: What Happens When We Fail To Recycle Electronics appeared first on Earth911.

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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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Who counts as an astronaut? Not Jeff Bezos, say new US rules

New Scientist

The US Federal Aviation Administration has updated its rules on who counts as a commercial astronaut, making it tougher for space tourists to earn official astronaut wings

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Atom cavity sees the same photon twice

Physics World

For the first time, physicists have succeeded in measuring the same photon at two different locations within an optical fibre – all without destroying the photon. The new non-destructive technique, which was developed by researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) in Germany, is based on the principles of cavity quantum electrodynamics and could aid the development of quantum communications networks that rely on information-carrying photons.

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A Framework for a People-Centered Clean Energy Transition

Union of Concerned Scientists

It's time for systemic change in our energy syst now.

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Burrowing Owls Face an Uncertain Future

Cool Green Science

Why are burrowing owls declining? Research and hope for the underground owl of the Americas. The post Burrowing Owls Face an Uncertain Future appeared first on Cool Green Science.

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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 opium, caffeine and mescaline shaped the world – and got us hooked

New Scientist

Michael Pollan's This is Your Mind on Plants explains how the psychoactive plants that produce opium, caffeine and mescaline fuelled innovation, sedatives and even the expansion of the transatlantic slave trade

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‘Second sound’ appears in germanium

Physics World

Researchers in Spain and Italy have observed “second sound” in a room-temperature semiconductor for the first time. This phenomenon, which occurs when distinct waves of temperature pass through a material, had previously only been observed in exotic superfluids at ultracold temperatures (and, more recently, in graphite). Its surprise appearance in a material widely used in electronic chips could make it possible to improve the performance of electric devices by managing waste heat better.

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'Advanced' Nuclear Reactors? Don't Hold Your Breath

Scientific American

With little hard evidence, their developers maintain they’ll be cheaper, safer and more secure than existing power plants. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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New method predicts ‘stealth’ solar storms before they wreak geomagnetic havoc on Earth

Frontiers

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer. Image credit: Lukasz Pawel Szczepanski / Shutterstock.com. Scientists show for the first time that ‘stealth’ coronal mass ejections, a type of solar storm, can be detected early on the Sun’s surface. This could help put measures in place that limit damage to technology and energy grids on Earth from the electromagnetic radiation.

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Do Leaked Climate Reports Help or Hurt Public Understanding of Global Warming?

Inside Climate News

Last month’s leaked IPCC report cherry picked grim scenarios, but it’s just the latest in a long line of leaks intended to shape perception of climate science. By Bob Berwyn The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has always been a lightning rod for controversy. Since its creation in 1988, conspiracy theorists and politicians funded by fossil fuel interests have tried to undermine the organization’s science by portraying the panel as a power-mongering globalist organization set on overthro

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Bloom Energy, Heliogen Partner On Low-Cost Green Hydrogen

Environmental Leader

Bloom Energy and Heliogen have announced plans to produce green hydrogen using only concentrated solar power and water, further accelerating progress toward a zero-carbon future. The companies’ first integrated solution is expected to be operational by the end of 2021. Green hydrogen is one of the top ten technologies shaping. Read more ». The post Bloom Energy, Heliogen Partner On Low-Cost Green Hydrogen appeared first on Environment + Energy Leader.

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The Idea That Trees Talk to Cooperate Is Misleading

Scientific American

It’s a romantic notion, but pretending they’re like humans could actually harm the cause of conservation. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.

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Climate Change and Me

Academy of Natural Sciences

The first climate change presentation I saw was back in the 1970s when I was working for the National Weather Service. The speaker, J. Murray Mitchell, was the top climate scientist for NWS. At the time, media speculation and popular books were suggesting a new “ice age” was coming. While that got the bulk of the publicity, Dr. Mitchell assured us that the warming of the climate would be the biggest problem in the future.

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Ag & Food Law Daily Update: July 19, 2021

National Law Center

A comprehensive summary of today’s judicial, legislative, and regulatory developments in agriculture and food. Email important additions HERE. REGULATORY: AMS, The post Ag & Food Law Daily Update: July 19, 2021 appeared first on National Agricultural Law Center.

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Why chemical pollution is turning into a third great planetary crisis

New Scientist

Thousands of synthetic substances have leaked into ecosystems everywhere, and we are only just beginning to realise the devastating consequences

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