Read the full story from the New York Times.
Efforts to limit global warming often focus on emissions from fossil fuels, but food is crucial, too, according to new research.
Day: November 11, 2020
Trump Administration Removes Scientist in Charge of Assessing Climate Change
Read the full story from the New York Times.
Michael Kuperberg was told he would no longer oversee the National Climate Assessment. The job is expected to go to a climate-change skeptic, according to people familiar with the changes.
Bankruptcy of Oakland project marks a bellwether moment for U.S. coal export ambitions
Read the full story from IEEFA.
A long-shot proposal to send coal 700 miles overland from Utah to Oakland for transoceanic shipment to Asian markets is dead.
A U.S. bankruptcy judge in Kentucky last week approved a plan by the proposed project’s major creditor, Autumn Wind Lending LLC, to take over a sublease at the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal (OBOT) that was held by Utah-based Insight Terminal Solutions (ITS) LLC. Autumn Wind Lending is a subsidiary of a private Los Angeles-based investment fund that has shown no intention of utilizing the terminal for coal exports. The ruling follows a refusal by the Utah Legislature in August to give ITS a $20 million bailout.
Preventing lead poisoning at the source
Read the full story from Case Western Reserve University.
Using a variety of public records, researchers examined every rental property in Cleveland from 2016-18 on factors related to the likelihood that the property could have lead-safety problems.
Associated publication: Characteristics of Rental Properties and Landlords
in Cleveland: Implications for Achieving Lead Safe Rental Housing
How the Virus Slowed the Booming Wind Energy Business
Read the full story in the New York Times.
Renewable energy developers have struggled to finish projects as the pandemic disrupts construction and global supply chains.
Researchers test seawater air conditioning as a renewable cooling alternative
Read the full story at Inhabitat.
A new study led by the International Institute of Applied System Analysis (IIASA) indicates that using seawater air conditioning is a greener alternative to conventional AC and could reduce cooling costs significantly. The study, which was published in the journal Energy Efficiency, was conducted to determine the pros and cons of seawater air conditioning (SWAC). The researchers behind the study say that there is a need to find renewable air conditioning alternatives to conventional options as global warming worsens.
NASA Researchers Help Analyze a Historically Powerful, Costly Storm
Read the full story from NASA.
An intense August storm gave many Iowans a brief sense of what it might feel like to experience the strong winds of a hurricane.
The powerful, fast-moving, line of thunderstorms known as a derecho, blasted across Iowa Aug. 10 with extreme winds. The derecho did catastrophic damage to corn and soybean crops, caused widespread utility and property damage, and resulted in fatalities. NOAA estimates damage totals to be $7.5 billion, making it one of the most costly severe thunderstorm events in U.S. history.
To help officials in Iowa better understand the scale and scope of the disaster, a team of NASA researchers, led by Kris Bedka, a severe storm expert at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and colleagues at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama and the University of Oklahoma, analyzed the storm using data and imagery from multiple Earth-observing satellites and weather radars on the ground.
Nature family of journals inks first open-access deal with an institution
Read the full story in Science.
The Nature family of journals announced today it has become the first group of highly selective scientific titles to sign an arrangement that will allow researchers to publish articles that are immediately free to read. The deal will allow authors at institutions across Germany to publish an estimated 400 open-access (OA) papers annually in Nature journals, which have traditionally earned revenues exclusively from subscription fees.
Lead Awareness in Indian Country: Keeping our Children Healthy!
This curriculum is a robust set of educational tools that provide practical, on-the-ground, community-based resources to reduce childhood lead exposure in communities. The Curriculum creates a starting point to hold informed conversations within communities to teach parents and caregivers about lead. The Curriculum also empowers individuals to act within their own homes to protect their children and communities from potential lead exposure.
EPA designed the Curriculum with over 200 tribal partners to:
- Raise awareness in tribal communities (and other interested communities) about childhood lead exposure;
- Expand understanding of lead’s potential impacts on children’s health and cultural practices; and
- Encourage actions that can be taken to reduce and/or prevent childhood lead exposure.
RECLAIM project
The RECLAIM Project works in Indianapolis’ Northwest Area community to transform blighted properties into community murals designed by and for the community, these murals then become opportunities for community economic development.
Their process includes taking painted wood salvaged from demolished buildings and upcycling it by building furniture, which they will sell to fund their next project.
