Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Most countries struggle to meet climate pledges from 2009      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Nineteen out of 34 countries surveyed failed to fully meet their 2020 climate commitments set 15 years ago in Copenhagen, according to a new study by UCL researchers.

Engineering: Graphene Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Optics
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Quantum electronics: Charge travels like light in bilayer graphene      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international research team has demonstrated experimentally that electrons in naturally occurring double-layer graphene move like particles without any mass, in the same way that light travels. Furthermore, they have shown that the current can be 'switched' on and off, which has potential for developing tiny, energy-efficient transistors -- like the light switch in your house but at a nanoscale.

Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Global North energy outsourcing demands more attention      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Manufacturing nations in the Global North are stockpiling energy and emission problems by outsourcing energy-intensive industrial processes to countries in the Global South.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

GeoAI technologies for sustainable urban development      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

From heatwaves to pandemic diseases, the urban environments of the world face numerous challenges. Researchers are harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) and informatics to address emerging concerns related to environmental changes and urban growth.

Chemistry: General Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Switch to green wastewater infrastructure could reduce emissions and provide huge savings according to new research      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have shown that a transition to green wastewater-treatment approaches in the U.S. that leverages the potential of carbon-financing could save a staggering $15.6 billion and just under 30 million tons of CO2-equivalent emissions over 40 years.

Energy: Batteries Energy: Technology Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Pyrite, also known as fool's gold, may contain valuable lithium, a key element for green energy      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The technology revolution and development of new renewable energy resources is driving demand for lithium to new heights, but it is not a common mineral. Scientists say they have found lithium in an unexpected place; fool's gold, or pyrite, deposits.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

New radar analysis method can improve winter river safety      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a way to use radar to detect open water zones and other changes in Alaska's frozen rivers in the early winter. The approach can be automated to provide current hazard maps and is applicable across the Arctic and sub-Arctic.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Retention ponds can deliver a substantial reduction in tire particle pollution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research has shown that the presence of wetlands and retention ponds alongside major highways led to an average reduction of almost 75% in the mass of tire wear particles being discharged to aquatic waters. The researchers say that while the number of retention ponds and wetlands in the UK is quite small, the study has international significance as to the most effective ways to mitigate against the potential impacts of tire pollution on a global scale.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Nature Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Africa's iconic flamingos threatened by rising lake levels      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

It is one of the world's most spectacular sights -- huge flocks or 'flamboyances' of flamingos around East Africa's lakes -- as seen in the film Out of Africa or David Attenborough's A Perfect Planet. But new research has revealed how the lesser flamingo is at danger of being flushed out of its historic feeding grounds, with serious consequences for the future of the species.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Cell Biology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Method to extract useful proteins from beer-brewing leftovers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have created a method that extracts over 80 percent of the available protein in grain leftovers from brewing beer, commonly known as brewers' spent grain.

Biology: Evolutionary Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Extinction Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Oxidant pollutant ozone removes mating barriers between fly species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers show that ozone levels, such as those found in many places on hot summer days today, destroy the sex pheromones of fruit fly species. As a result, some natural mating boundaries maintained by species-specific pheromones no longer exist. The research team has shown in experiments that flies of different species mate when exposed to ozone and produce hybrid offspring. Since most of these offspring are unable to reproduce, the results could provide another explanation for the global decline of insects.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Ocean currents threaten to collapse Antarctic ice shelves      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Meandering ocean currents play an important role in the melting of Antarctic ice shelves, threatening a significant rise in sea levels.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Volcanoes
Published

Cloud engineering could be more effective 'painkiller' for global warming than previously thought      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Cloud 'engineering' could be more effective for climate cooling than previously thought, because of the increased cloud cover produced, new research shows.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Food security in developed countries shows resilience to climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A study has found that market forces have provided good food price stability over the past half century, despite extreme weather conditions.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Chemicals stored in home garages linked to ALS risk      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Storing chemicals in a garage at home may associate with an increased risk of ALS, a study finds. This comes as research has found that exposure to environmental toxins, such as pesticides and volatile organic compounds, are also linked to ALS development. Researchers call the buildup of exposures of the lifetime the ALS exposome.

Biology: Zoology Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Scientists create octopus survival guide to minimize impacts of fishing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have created a step-by-step aging guide for octopus to ensure fisheries remain sustainable, protecting the longevity of this ancient animal while guaranteeing the world doesn't go hungry.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Using CO2 and biomass, researchers find path to more environmentally friendly recyclable plastics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have created a potential alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastic that is made from carbon dioxide (CO2) and lignin, a component of wood that is a low-cost byproduct of paper manufacturing and biofuel production.

Biology: Zoology Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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New report 'braids' Indigenous and Western knowledge for forest adaptation strategies against climate change      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Forests could also be potential bulwarks against climate change. But, increasingly severe droughts and wildfires, invasive species, and large insect outbreaks -- all intensified by climate change -- are straining many national forests and surrounding lands in the United States. A report outlines a new approach to forest stewardship that 'braids together' Indigenous knowledge and Western science to conserve and restore more resilient forestlands.