- — Scientists Probe the Surprising Role of Trees in Methane Emissions
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at 6/24/19 3:00amRecent research is showing that trees, especially in tropical wetlands, are a major source of the second most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, methane. The knowledge that certain woodlands are high methane emitters should help guide reforestation projects in many parts of the world.
- — Declassified Cold War Spy Technology Shows How Quickly Himalayan Glaciers are Melting
- at 6/21/19 11:49am
During the Height of the Cold War, a telescope-shaped American spy satellite code-named Hexagon circled the globe snapping high-resolution photographs of forests, mountains, and perhaps a few Russian military bases. From time to time, the satellite would eject metal canisters containing the film of the imagery. The canister would deploy its parachute, and high-flying spy planes would pick it up midair. Now, a team of scientists has stitched together these once-classified analog images to form a three-dimensional digital model of the Himalayas as they existed more than 40 years ago.
- — Chattanooga Becomes First U.S. Airport to Run Entirely On Solar
- at 6/20/19 12:22pm
Tennessee’s Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport has become the first airport in the United States to run entirely on solar power. The small facility, which operates more than 61,000 flights a year, announced it completed work on a 12-acre, 2.64 megawatt (MW) solar farm that generates enough green electricity to account for the airport’s total energy needs, reported the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
- — Forgotten Landscapes: Bringing Back the Rich Grasslands of the Southeast
- at 6/20/19 5:18am
Native prairie and savanna once covered vast areas of the U.S. Southeast from Maryland to Texas, but agriculture and sprawl have left only small patches remaining. Now, a new initiative, driven by scientists and local communities, is pushing to restore these imperiled grassland habitats.
- — EPA Announces Its Replacement of Obama-Era Power Plant Rules
- at 6/19/19 11:36am
The Trump administration has announced a new rule for power plants that gives states more control over setting limits on greenhouse gas emissions and requires only modest efficiency upgrades at facilities. The rule, which is expected to come into effect in the next 30 days, fulfills a campaign pledge by President Donald Trump to roll back the Obama-era Clean Power Plan.
- — U.S. Forests Are Being Clear-Cut to Supply Biomass Energy Industry, Report Finds
- at 6/18/19 11:02am
Forests in the U.S. Southeast are being devastated by demand for wood pellets to power biomass energy plants in Europe and Japan, according to a new report by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Dogwood Alliance, and the Southern Environmental Law Center.
- — To Stop Destruction of Liberia’s Rainforest, He Put His Life on the Line
- at 6/18/19 3:00am
Alfred Brownell had to flee Liberia after challenging the powerful palm oil and other extractive industries that were clearing its forests. But he remains committed to seeing that the West African nation’s biodiverse lands be developed sustainably and the rights of its indigenous peoples respected.
- — High Levels of DDT Found in Remote Canadian Lakes, 50 Years After Being Banned
- at 6/17/19 12:41pm
More than 6,280 tons of DDT were sprayed on the forests of New Brunswick, Canada to fight insect outbreaks in the 1950s and 1960s. Now, 50 years after the chemical was banned, scientists have discovered it lingering in the sediments of remote lakes at levels high enough to potentially alter entire aquatic food webs.
- — Renewable Energy Capacity Now Exceeds Coal in U.S.
- at 6/13/19 12:06pm
Renewable energy now generates more electricity in the United States than coal. Solar, wind, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal totaled 21.56 percent of U.S. generating capacity as of April, according to a report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Coal, meanwhile, accounted for just 21.55 percent of capacity, down from 23.04 percent last year.
- — Despite Industry Pleas, White House Halts Progress on Fuel Economy
- at 6/13/19 8:12am
In its anti-regulatory zeal, the Trump administration is moving to weaken vehicle fuel efficiency standards so much that even U.S. carmakers are balking. The administration’s hard-line stance appears likely to stall efforts to make major cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
- — Enforcement Efforts to Slow Amazon Deforestation Plummet Under New Brazilian President
- at 6/12/19 10:32am
Since taking office in January, the nationalist Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has gutted key agencies responsible for monitoring and stopping deforestation in the Amazon, leading to a steep drop in enforcement actions in the world’s largest tropical forest, according to an investigation by the non-profit news site, Mongabay.
- — As Water Scarcity Increases, Desalination Plants Are on the Rise
- at 6/11/19 3:00am
After decades of slow progress, desalination is increasingly being used to provide drinking water around the globe. Costs for processing salt water for drinking water have dropped, but it remains an expensive option and one that creates environmental problems that must be addressed.
- — Limiting Climate Change Would Prevent Thousands of Heat-Related Deaths Annually in the U.S., Study Finds
- at 6/7/19 9:00am
Thousands of heat-related deaths in major U.S. cities could be avoided if rising global temperatures are curbed, new research has found.
- — Fuzzy Math: The Strategy Behind the Trump EPA’s Deregulation Push
- at 6/6/19 7:05am
Polluters have long exaggerated the cost of new regulations and downplayed their benefits. Now, the Trump administration is turning that approach into policy as it seeks to slash regulations governing power plant emissions and weaken other environmental laws.
- — Americans Consume Tens of Thousands of Microplastic Particles Every Year
- at 6/5/19 12:47pm
Americans consume more than 70,000 microplastic particles every year from the food they eat, the water they drink, and the air they breathe, according to a new study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. Scientists warn that while the health impacts of ingesting these tiny particles are largely unknown, there is potential for the plastic to enter human tissues and cause an immune response, as well as release toxic chemicals into the body.
- — How Green Party Gains Could Make Europe a Leader Again on Climate
- at 6/5/19 3:00am
In recent years, Europe’s role as a global environmental leader has been jeopardized by rising nationalism and populism. But spurred by young climate activists, the Green Party fared well in the latest European Union elections and is now well-positioned to advance bold climate initiatives.
- — World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Now Operational
- at 6/4/19 11:09am
The world’s largest offshore wind farm began operations this week in the North Sea. According to Earther, the first 50 turbines at the Hornsea One wind farm, located 75 miles off the east coast of Yorkshire in the United Kingdom, are now generating electricity for up to 287,00 homes.
- — Miami Dredging Project Killed More Than Half-a-Million Corals
- at 6/3/19 12:30pm
Scientists have found that a large dredging project at the port of Miami killed more than half-a-million corals from 2013 to 2015, devastating the only nearshore coral reef in the continental United States. Sediment kicked up by the project buried up to 90 percent of nearby reefs, with the impacts felt as far as 15 miles away, according to a new study published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin.
- — The U.S. Just Had Its Wettest 12 Months on Record
- at 5/30/19 12:37pm
The continental United States just experienced its wettest 12 months on record, receiving 6.25 inches of rainfall above the mean, according to a new report by NASA’s Earth Observatory. The finding comes amid weeks of record-setting floods throughout much of the central United States.
- — Tackling Climate Change? Governor Jay Inslee Has a Plan for That
- at 5/30/19 7:14am
Jay Inslee has made climate change the centerpiece of his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president. In an e360 interview, the Washington governor talks about why a full-scale national mobilization is needed to address what he calls an “existential crisis.”
- — Florida Utility Breaks Ground on 745 MW of New Solar Capacity
- at 5/29/19 11:38am
Florida’s largest utility has started construction on 10 new solar projects with a total capacity of 745 megawatts (MW). When completed early next year, the projects will increase the utility’s solar capacity by 60 percent to 2,000 MW — enough to power approximately 400,000 homes, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) said in a statement.
As of 6/24/19 7:40am. Last new 6/24/19 6:18am.
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