Read the full story from Arizona State University.
The American pika is a charismatic, diminutive relative of rabbits that some researchers say is at high risk of extinction due to climate change. A new review finds that the American pika is far more resilient in the face of warm temperatures than previously believed.
Associated journal article: Andrew T Smith. Conservation status of American pikas (Ochotona princeps). Journal of Mammalogy, 2020; DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyaa110
Read the full story in the Southern Illinoisan.
Under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s oversight, Beazer East began cleanup this week of an additional 16 acres of soil at the former Koppers wood treating site at 1555 Marion St.
Cleanup at the site began in 2004. This additional work is required under an Administrative Order on Consent issued under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, according to a Wednesday news release from the EPA.
Read the full story in Wired.
A new study shows that some big carnivores are getting up to half their diet from sources like trash, crops, or small mammals that live near people.
Read the full story at GreenBiz.
When it comes to the climate crisis, it’s not just what you make and sell, it’s what you do, and for whom you do it.
That’s the message from several recent reports focusing on the role of service-sector companies in addressing — positively or negatively — climate change. The mere existence of these documents, and the campaigns behind some of them, represent another broadening of the conversation, a clarion call for nontraditional business players to lead, or at least not hinder, efforts to address the climate crisis.
But, hopefully, lead.
Read the full story from Bird Life International.
Where can you find out about the world’s most important sites for nature, and the reasons for their significance? The Key Biodiversity Area Partnership is delighted to announce the launch of its new website, containing everything you need to know about all 16,000 sites.
Read the full story in Nature.
Registration forms, grant applications and publishing all create hurdles for single-name researchers. A culturally sensitive approach is needed.
Listen to the podcast episode at Reveal.
The 40-year fight over drilling for oil in one of the world’s wildest places, Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, is coming to a head. On Aug. 17, 2020, the Department of the Interior removed the final hurdle to allow oil industry bids for the right to drill in the refuge. Opponents say climate change is warming the Arctic twice as fast as the rest of the planet, and the plants, animals and people living there are struggling to adapt.
But this isn’t just a fight between environmentalists and oil companies – the Indigenous communities in the region also are fighting to be heard. Both the Iñupiat and the Gwich’in have roots in the refuge that go back thousands of years. The refuge is sacred land, and some Indigenous people are fighting to prevent drilling. But others say oil development is the best hope for the future of their community.
Read the full story at Triple Pundit.
Plenty of global food companies say they are determined to work with their supply chains to reduce emissions. There’s also been no shortage of innovation within agriculture, whether it’s related to reducing emissions, finding new ways to raise livestock, developing more sustainable methods to grow crops, or using water more effectively on farms and orchards.
But according to a study recently published in the journal Nature, those efforts may be about as effective as arming oneself for a gunfight with a butter knife.
Read the full story at Fast Company.
Every year, Adidas introduces an experimental new shoe technology dubbed “Futurecraft.” These aren’t just bouncier foams or sneakers loaded with fitness tracking inside. They fundamentally reimagine how performance footwear is made—from creating shoes from ocean plastic, to 3D-printing midsoles, to building “Loop” shoes that can be ground up, melted, and made into brand-new shoes when you’re done wearing them.
This year is no exception, as Adidas introduces a new way of making uppers—the soft, cloth top of your shoe—called Strung. Most shoe uppers are made by cutting a square of cloth into a pattern, leaving scraps that fall to the floor. Strung is almost a zero-waste process. It entails a robot arm wrapping yarn around a pegboard very fast to build a textile from layer after layer of string, all of which gets fused together through heat. There is no stitching, no glue, and no eyelets, and no other components are added after the fact. Strung is what Adidas calls additive manufacturing: You build up a material layer by layer from scratch, rather than cutting away from existing material, which inevitably creates waste.
Read the full story from Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA).
Researchers have developed a material that works like a luminescent solar concentrator and can even be applied to textiles. This opens up numerous possibilities for producing energy directly where it is needed, i.e. in the use of everyday electronics.
Associated journal article: Chieh-Szu Huang, Konrad Jakubowski, Sebastian Ulrich, Sergii Yakunin, Michèle Clerc, Claudio Toncelli, René M. Rossi, Maksym V. Kovalenko, Luciano F. Boesel. Nano-domains assisted energy transfer in amphiphilic polymer conetworks for wearable luminescent solar concentrators. Nano Energy, 2020; 76: 105039 DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105039
