Scientists Look for Toxins from East Palestine Derailment in Ohio

East Palestine residents are looking to independent researchers to fill gaps left by authorities about the toxic chemicals that could be affecting people after a train derailment

#environment, #pollution, #public-health

There Is Still Plenty We Can Do to Slow Climate Change

While it may seem daunting, there are still many things we can do individually to slow climate change

#climate-change, #environment

Climate Change Is Destabilizing Insurance Industry

Insurers face a “crisis of confidence” as global warming makes weather events unpredictable and increases damage

#climate-change, #economics, #environment

The World Faces a Water Crisis and 4 Powerful Charts Show How

Hundreds of millions of people lack access to safe water and sanitation. Will the first U.N. conference on water in nearly 50 years make a difference?

#climate-change, #environment, #water

Chipmakers fight spread of US crackdowns on “forever chemicals”

Chips on a wafer

Enlarge / The surface of a semiconductor wafer in the cleanroom at the Tower Semiconductor Ltd. plant in Migdal HaEmek, Israel, on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. Intel Corp. agreed to acquire Tower Semiconductor for about $5.4 billion, part of Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsingers push into the outsourced chip-manufacturing business. Photographer: Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images (credit: Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Intel and other semiconductor companies have joined together with industrial materials businesses to fight US clampdowns on “forever chemicals,” substances used in myriad products that are slow to break down in the environment.

The lobbying push from chipmakers broadens the opposition to new rules and bans for the chemicals known as PFAS. The substances have been found in the blood of 97 percent of Americans, according to the US government.

More than 30 US states this year are considering legislation to address PFAS, according to Safer States, an environmental advocacy group. Bills in California and Maine passed in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

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#cpu-fabri, #environment, #intel, #pfas, #policy, #tech

‘Plasticosis’ in Seabirds Could Herald New Era of Animal Disease

Ocean animals are growing sicker from ingesting too much plastic

#environment, #pollution

Use Nature as Infrastructure

In the climate crisis, wetlands have more economic value than new development

#climate-change, #environment, #the-science-agenda

Spring Is Starting Earlier–It’s Not Your Imagination

Birds are heading north before their insect prey emerge. Bees are missing out on early blossoms. Ticks and other pests have more time to feast and spread disease

#climate-change, #ecology, #environment

Scientists Just Warned We Need to Cut Emissions by 60 Percent, but the U.S. Is Years Away

The IPCC’s latest climate assessment says the world must cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent by 2035, but the U.S. is already behind on a less ambitious target

#climate-change, #environment, #fossil-fuels

Will Humans Ever Go Extinct?

It’s probably a matter of when and how, not if, we humans will meet our doom

#climate-change, #environment, #public-health

Fast, Deep Cuts in Emissions Are Needed to Avoid ‘Climate Time Bomb’

To keep warming below levels that scientists say will bring extreme climate impacts, nations must act quickly to make deep cuts in carbon emissions, according to the final installment of the IPCC’s latest climate report

#climate-change, #environment

The Strange Way a 12-Foot-Long Invasive Python Was Caught

In Key Largo, Fla., scientists are looking to protect endangered native rodents and slow the invasion of massive Burmese pythons

#animals, #endangered-species, #environment

We Need New Warning Systems to Save Lives during Climate Disasters

Satellites that can better predict extreme weather and location-based text messaging systems can warn at-risk communities of storms and other climate-related threats to help save lives, the U.N. says

#climate-change, #environment, #inequality

Here’s the Real Story behind the Massive ‘Blob’ of Seaweed Heading toward Florida

Florida beaches are already receiving hefty batches of brown seaweed, kicking off a year that could break records

#environment, #oceans

Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts Stirred Up Toxic Sediment

The Nord Stream pipeline explosions happened in a dumping ground for chemical warfare, but other contaminants proved most toxic to marine life

#engineering, #environment, #fossil-fuels, #politics, #pollution, #technology

What the Silicon Valley Bank Collapse Means for Science Start-ups

Bailouts mean customers’ deposits are safe, but the Silicon Valley Bank’s demise has sparked concern about future investment in small tech companies

#climate-change, #environment, #policy, #technology

No, Diversity Did Not Cause Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse

Blaming workplace diversity or environmentally and socially conscious investments for the firm’s downfall signals a “complete lack of understanding of how banks work,” one expert said.

#banking-and-financial-institutions, #conservatism-us-politics, #consumer-financial-protection-bureau, #corporate-social-responsibility, #environment, #minorities, #silicon-valley-bank, #united-states-politics-and-government

Environmental and Indigenous Groups Sue over Willow Oil-Drilling Project

A coalition of environmental and Indigenous groups is suing the Biden administration over the approval of the Willow oil- and gas-drilling project in Alaska, arguing the government failed to consider the climate risks, as well as harm to wildlife and subsistence hunting

#climate-change, #environment, #fossil-fuels

‘Toxic Forever Chemicals’ in U.S. Drinking Water to Be Regulated for the First Time

The EPA has proposed the first nationwide limits for toxic chemicals called PFASs in the U.S. water supply

#environment, #pollution

How the U.S. Cracked Down on a Potent Greenhouse Gas

The U.S. government is celebrating some success at reining in emissions of a potent greenhouse gas called SF6, which traps 25,000 times more heat than CO2 does over a century-long timescale

#climate-change, #environment

Rich Countries Should Not Control the World’s Sunlight, Experts Warn

Interest is building in using solar geoengineering to combat climate warming, but experts warn it could have broad—and inequitable—impacts

#climate-change, #environment, #inequality

Australia’s Massive Wildfires Shredded the Ozone Layer–Now Scientists Know Why

Smoke from the catastrophic 2019–2020 fires in Australia unleashed ozone-eating chlorine molecules into the stratosphere

#climate-change, #environment, #natural-disasters

A Historic Deal to Protect the High Seas Makes Researchers ‘Ecstatic’

The historic High Seas Treaty aims to preserve marine biodiversity in what has been considered the “Wild West” of the oceans while still encouraging research

#environment, #oceans

Antarctic Sea Ice Hits a Record Low, but Role of Warming Is Unclear

The vast and deep Southern Ocean complicates efforts to single out the role of climate change in declining sea ice

#climate-change, #environment, #oceans

Old Bomber Plane Will Sniff the Sky for Geoengineering Particles

NOAA will use a converted Air Force bomber to search the upper atmosphere for substances that could help the U.S. reflect sunlight away from Earth

#climate-change, #environment

‘Pretty Epic’ Mountain Snowfall Stuns Californians

A near-record amount of snow in California could ease some water restrictions after years of climate-change-fueled drought

#climate-change, #environment, #water

Spotlight on Women in Science

Honoring women at the forefront of science

#environment, #health, #mindbrain, #policy, #technology, #the-sciences

Could Giant Blankets and Other Extreme Actions Save Glaciers?

Plastic coverings, gravity snow guns and painted rocks could slow ice melt in high mountains

#climate-change, #environment

How Helper Sharks Discovered the World’s Largest Seagrass Ecosystem

Scientists partnered with tiger sharks to map seagrasses—the unsung hero of ocean conservation.

#environment, #oceans

We Must Stop Treating Grasslands as Wastelands

The grasslands of India and elsewhere do not need to have economic value to be worth studying and preserving

#ecology, #environment

Record-Breaking Boreal Fires May Be a Climate ‘Time Bomb’

Fires in North America and Eurasia spewed record-shattering amounts of COin 2021

#climate-change, #environment

Pablo Escobar’s ‘Cocaine Hippos’ Spark Conservation Fight

Researchers worry the Colombian environmental ministry will side with animal-rights activists rather than curb the spread of invasive hippos once kept by drug-cartel leader Pablo Escobar

#conservation, #ecology, #environment

Algal Blooms Have Boomed Worldwide

Climate change is likely at least partially to blame for an uptick in the size and frequency of algal blooms in parts of the world’s oceans

#climate-change, #environment, #oceans

Ukrainians Shift to Renewable Power for Energy Security amid War

Russia’s war in Ukraine has caused widespread power cuts, spurring a rise in demand for residential solar power units

#environment, #renewable-energy

Ancient Tsunami Detectives Hunt for Long-Lost Cataclysms

Gigantic tsunamis have been decimating coastlines since time immemorial and hold warnings for our present and future

#environment, #natural-disasters

7 Ways Jimmy Carter Has Improved America’s Energy Future–Or Tried To

As U.S. president, Jimmy Carter championed renewable energy, conservation and other then fringe efforts that are powerhouses today

#environment, #renewable-energy

Solar Geoengineering Should Be Regulated, U.N. Report Says

A panel of independent experts urged international leaders to set rules for the stratosphere and solar geoengineering

#climate-change, #environment

Why Is It So Hard to Make Vegan Fish?

Futuristic food science technology could finally bring plant-based salmon filets and tuna steaks to the table

#conservation, #engineering, #environment, #food, #technology

Scientists Are Trying to Pull Carbon Out of the Ocean to Combat Climate Change

Instead of sucking planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, some scientists are looking to capture it from the oceans

#climate-change, #environment, #oceans

New Color-Changing Coating Could Both Heat and Cool Buildings

A thin film can switch from releasing heat to trapping it, and wrapping it around buildings could make them more energy-efficient

#engineering, #environment, #technology

Chemistry Urgently Needs to Develop Safer Materials

The damaging effects of accidents like the Ohio train derailment would be minimized if industry would commit to developing safer chemical processes and products

#basic-chemistry, #chemistry, #environment

Why a Blizzard Is Hitting Southern California

A massive storm shocks Southern California with cold temperatures, strong winds and abundant moisture, causing extremely rare blizzard conditions and potentially unprecedented snowfalls

#environment, #weather

How the U.S. Is Planning to Boost Floating Wind Power

The Biden administration is eyeing a 70 percent cut in the cost of floating offshore wind power by 2035

#environment, #renewable-energy

Building Resilience in the Face of Climate Change [Sponsored]

Successfully mitigating the impacts of climate change will rely heavily on innovation in science and technology.

#climate-change, #environment

How to Engineer Buildings That Withstand Earthquakes

Though deadly quakes can’t be prevented, science does have some ways to protect buildings—and the people inside them

#engineering, #environment, #natural-disasters

U.S. Battery Installations Soared in 2022, Reshaping Power Grids

The U.S. installed more battery storage last year than ever before, with California and Texas leading the way

#environment, #renewable-energy

Earth’s Inner Core May Have an Inner Core

Echoes from earthquakes suggest that Earth’s solid inner core has its own core

#environment, #geology

Global Internet Connectivity Is at Risk from Climate Disasters

Thousands of miles of fiber-optic cable lining the seafloor are vulnerable to sea-level rise, storms and other climate impacts, research shows

#climate-change, #environment

Why Is the Amazon So Important for Climate Change?

Here’s why the Amazon rain forest is key to protecting Earth from the detrimental effects of climate change

#climate-change, #environment

Ignoring Climate Risks Has Inflated Property Values in Flood Zones

Home buyers are paying excessive prices after ignoring flood risk and the costs of insurance and repairs, a new study finds

#climate-change, #environment, #natural-disasters