Sat.Jul 06, 2024 - Fri.Jul 12, 2024

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$10 Billion Climate Bond Heads to the California Ballot

Legal Planet

After much anticipation and deliberation, the California legislature approved a $10 billion climate bond measure just before the summer recess began on July 3, 2024. California voters will now have the opportunity to approve or reject the bond measure on the November ballot. The bond measure will now be referred to as Proposition 4 on the upcoming ballot, but it began as SB 867 , the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024.

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A Brutal Supreme Court Session Puts a Generation of Public Protections at Risk

Union of Concerned Scientists

There’s no sugarcoating it: over the last two terms, but particularly in the last month, an ideologically-driven Supreme Court majority has issued ruling after ruling that collectively undermine how we protect public health and safety in this country. In a string of 6-3 and 5-4 rulings emerging from deliberately selected cases, this court has targeted decades of precedent and invited further attacks on the safeguards we all rely on.

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‘SOFTWARE’ REVOLUTION – SABOTEURS & THE SABERTOOTHED

Cleannovate

I walked into a government testing lab for some analysis. I expected the cost to be Kshs 2500 per sample. However, the government official told me that this time, he would charge me Kshs 2000 per sample. I was elated…at least he was giving me a generous discount because I was a repeat customer.

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Gen X Faces Higher Cancer Rates Than Any Previous Generation

Scientific American

Researchers are investigating changes in cancer risks among young people as new data predict that rising rates of leading cancers, such as colon cancer, will overtake improvements

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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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 After Loper: The Primacy of Skidmore

Legal Planet

One thing about the Loper Bright decision is obvious: it overruled Chevron. So much for past law. What about the future? How should courts review agency regulations now that Chevron is gone? As I discuss in a later post, regulations that were upheld by the courts during the Chevron era have some protection, but new regulations will be fully subject to Loper rather than Chevron.

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Improved EV Credits Makes the Switch Even Easier for US Drivers

Union of Concerned Scientists

To avoid the worst impacts of climate change we need to switch from gasoline and diesel to electric vehicles powered by clean electricity as soon as possible. While driving an electric vehicle (EV) can save drivers on fuel and maintenance, the upfront cost of electric cars and trucks can be a barrier to choosing an EV. The federal tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are important tools to accelerate the transition and make EVs accessible to more car buyers by reducing the initial co

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In the South, Sea Level Rise Accelerates at Some of the Most Extreme Rates on Earth

Inside Climate News

The surge is startling scientists, amplifying impacts such as hurricane storm surges and nuisance flooding and testing mitigation measures like the Resilient Florida program. By Amy Green JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—For most of his life, Steve Salem has led an existence closely linked with the rise and fall of the tides.

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Understanding Loper: The Grandfather Clause

Legal Planet

To cushion the shock of abandoning Chevron , the Supreme Court created a safe harbor for past judicial decisions. This was well-advised. The Court itself applied Chevron at least seventy time, as did thousands of lower court decisions. The key question will be the scope of the grandfather clause. The Court’s discussion began by saying that “we do not call into question prior cases that relied on the Chevron framework.

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Supreme Court Sidelines Science, Threatens Public Health: These Rules-in-Progress Show What’s at Stake

Union of Concerned Scientists

When our family participated in the Science March at the Minnesota Capitol in 2017, one of our signs said, “What do we want – Science Based Policy! When do we want it? After Public Comment!” It was not a catchy slogan to write on a cardboard sign, but the message is important to all of our lives. If governments bypass or undermine science and public comments in policy making, our health could be in jeopardy from increased pollution, cases of foodborne illnesses, politically-driven medicine appro

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Last common ancestor of all life emerged far earlier than thought

New Scientist

All life on Earth can trace its origin to LUCA, the last universal common ancestor – and now it seems this organism may have lived a few hundred million years after the planet formed

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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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Hurricane Beryl Was a Warning Shot for Houston

Inside Climate News

The category one storm dealt the city disastrous damage. Houston’s first direct hit from a hurricane in decades showed how vulnerable the nation’s energy capital remains. By Dylan Baddour When Hurricane Beryl entered the Gulf of Mexico, the city of Houston had little reason to believe it was about to take its first direct hit from a tropical cyclone in decades.

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The Head of NASA Science Spent a Whole Weekend Building a LEGO Rocket

Scientific American

Scientific American sat down with Nicola Fox, head of NASA science, to talk about her LEGO-building hobby, the agency’s massive Space Launch System rocket and the NASA science she’s most excited about

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The True Intent of Overturning Chevron: Stifle Agency Rulemaking

Union of Concerned Scientists

This article is republished from SciLight, an independent science policy publication on Substack. It’s been a rough few weeks for the US legal framework for protecting public health and safety and science-based decision making. In a string of really problematic decisions, the US Supreme Court’s ultra-conservative majority has ensured that the hard job of regulatory agencies in protecting the public interest will get even harder, if not impossible in many instances.

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Russia is building ground-based kamikaze robots out of old hoverboards

New Scientist

Hoverboards, or self-balancing scooters, are already used by hobbyists as a basis for robots, but now a group in Russia is putting them to use on the battlefields of Ukraine

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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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Average Global Temperature Has Warmed 1.5 Degrees Celsius Above Pre-industrial Levels for 12 Months in a Row

Inside Climate News

New data shows the planet’s fever stayed above a crucial target for a full year, but it would need to do that for decades to breach the Paris Agreement limit. By Bob Berwyn Last month wasn’t only the hottest June by far in the observed temperature record, but marked the first-ever 12-month stretch of the Earth’s average temperature exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius of temperature rise above the pre-industrial baseline against which human-caused warming is measured.

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Mixed forests and delicious seeds: How tree species change the relationship between rodents and seeds

The Applied Ecologist

In this blog post, Pedro Mittelman and Bernado Araújo discuss how forest composition can affect plant–animal interactions without necessarily altering animal communities or population densities. Forest mortality We are walking through a dead forest. It is not yet winter, but as we move amid still standing Norway spruce (Picea abies) trunks along the Harz mountains, we find no leaves attached to them.

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Massachusetts’ Siting Process is Hurting Environmental Justice Populations. Will New Legislation Help?

Union of Concerned Scientists

Massachusetts is laser focused on passing new legislation to streamline the building of new energy infrastructure to clean the electric grid and electrify buildings and transportation. While being able to build fast is a key component of a clean energy transition, the slow speed is not the only major failure of Massachusetts’ current siting process.

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Why did humans evolve big brains? A new idea bodes ill for our future

New Scientist

Recent fossil finds suggest that big brains weren't an evolutionary asset to our ancestors but evolved by accident – and are likely to shrink again in the near future

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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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How Did Jupiter Get Its Great Red Spot?

Scientific American

New research suggests the Great Red Spot we see on Jupiter today is an entirely different giant storm from the one astronomers observed more than three centuries ago

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The Curito: Guardian of Orinoquia Conservation and Tradition

Cool Green Science

The rich lands and waters of Colombia’s department (state) of Vichada are valued around the world for their biodiversity, which in […] The post The Curito: Guardian of Orinoquia Conservation and Tradition appeared first on Cool Green Science.

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As Hurricane Beryl Surged Toward Texas, Scientists Found Human-Driven Warming Intensified Its Wind and Rain

Inside Climate News

All recent research on global warming and tropical storms show the growing threat for developing island states and other vulnerable coastal areas. By Bob Berwyn Climate heating caused by fossil fuel pollution supercharged Hurricane Beryl during its unusually early July push from the heart of the tropical Atlantic Ocean to the coast of Texas, scientists said Friday.

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Google creates self-replicating life from digital 'primordial soup'

New Scientist

A digital "primordial soup" with no rules or direction can lead to the emergence of self-replicating artificial life forms, in an experiment that may hint at how biological life began on Earth

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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 Animals Living on Islands Are at Greater Risk of Extinction

Scientific American

Warm-blooded island species tend to evolve a slower metabolic rate compared with their mainland counterparts, making it harder for them to bounce back when under stress

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What is a Gummy Squirrel?

Ocean Conservancy

The name “gummy squirrel” seems more fitting for a dangerously delicious confection dreamt up by Willy Wonka, but you may be surprised to learn it is actually a sea cucumber found in the deep ocean. While its name is inspired by its resemblance to gummy candy, to me, this weirdo looks a bit more like a banana-shaped Runt that didn’t pass quality control.

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Agriculture Spending Bills Must Address Broad Demand for Research and Conservation Programs

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)

Cover crop experiment at Rogers Farm Forage and Crop Research Facility in Orono, Maine. Photo credit: Reana Kovalcik. On June 11, 2024, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee advanced the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2025 on a party-line vote. The bill – which provides Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 funding for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – totals $2

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Why do teenagers take such risks? A new book has some answers

New Scientist

An eye-opening new book by psychologist Lucy Foulkes lifts the lid on the surprisingly rational strategies behind the risky behaviours of adolescence, finds Catherine de Lange

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How Science Can Defeat Witchcraft Fears in Papua New Guinea

Scientific American

Belief in witchcraft and sorcery is deeply rooted in Papua New Guinea's culture and history, but it can lead to violence, particularly against women. Local public health experts are working to end this violence through education.

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State Health Plan Identified Oil & Gas Development As Health Risk Last Year; Environmental Health Indicators Map Is Now Available To Show Potential Risks Near You

PA Environment Daily

In April of 2023, the state Department of Health issued an updated Pennsylvania State Health Improvement Plan that identified Environmental Health, and specifically oil and gas development, as a rising risk to public health. Read more here. In August of 2023, the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, with funding from the Department of Health, released the results of health studies in Southwestern Pennsylvania that found gas development activities make asthma worse and children have

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Restoring River Oxbows Benefits Endangered Fish

Cool Green Science

The Topeka shiner is returning to Iowa rivers; restoration offers benefits for water quality and flood control. The post Restoring River Oxbows Benefits Endangered Fish appeared first on Cool Green Science.

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'Butter' made from CO2 could pave the way for food without farming

New Scientist

US start-up Savor says its synthetic vegan fat, made without livestock or the crops needed for margarine, could cut carbon emissions and save rainforests

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5 New Types of Gravitational-Wave Detectors Could Reshape Astrophysics

Scientific American

With the confirmation of gravitational waves less than a decade old, scientists are barreling ahead with new detectors to pick up ever more elusive ripples in spacetime

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Philadelphia Solar Energy Assn. Junior Solar Sprint Another Sunny Success

PA Environment Daily

The Philadelphia Solar Energy Association's 2024 Junior Solar Sprint was a smashing sunny success on Drexel University’s Quad in June. Students from schools across the region showed off their engineering skills, competing for awards in artistic and technical merit, and of course speed to design, build and race their model solar cars. The event featured a number of improvements this year, including the new scoreboard (pictured above), handmade trophies, and an Open Division with entrants from the

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