Data is Plural: “Leveraging high performance computing, remote sensing, geographic data science, machine learning, and computer vision,” Hsiuhan Lexie Yang et al., researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, have “partnered with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to build a baseline structure inventory covering the US and its territories to support disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.”… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Environmental Law
Global water crisis leaves half of world food production at risk in next 25 years
The Guardian: More than half the world’s food production will be at risk of failure within the next 25 years as a rapidly accelerating water crisis grips the planet, unless urgent action is taken to conserve water resources and end the destruction of the ecosystems on which our fresh water depends, experts have warned in… Continue Reading
The Individualization of Responsibility – Masterclass in Deception
The Climate Historian: “…In the mid-20th century, as evidence mounted linking smoking to lung cancer, the tobacco industry didn’t just fight back—they mastered the art of deflection. Instead of outright denying the dangers, they funded research to stir doubt, muddying the scientific waters.In the 1950s, the Tobacco Institute launched its “health reassurance” campaigns. These campaigns… Continue Reading
Where climate change poses the most and least risk to American homeowners
Washington Post – [unpaywalled] This article includes searchable databases as follows: Find your county’s climate risk. AlphaGeo, a climate modeling group, analyzed the risks in every county. Type in your county below to see which exist in your area. Figure out your state’s disclosure laws. More than one third of states don’t require sellers to… Continue Reading
Comics art against Project 2025
“Project 2025 is a detailed plan to shut you up, and shut you out. You matter, and you have a voice. Project 2025, also known as “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” is a document created to be a roadmap for a second Donald Trump presidency. It was prepared by the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation and… Continue Reading
‘Alarming’ decline of seed-dispersing animals threatens Europe’s plants
Science: “When hunters wiped out most fruiteating birds in the tropical forest of Lambir Hills National Park on western Borneo by the 1990s, the skies grew duller—and in a few years so did the forest. Without birds to spread their seeds, the diversity of fruit-producing plants declined, illuminating the critical importance of seed dispersal for… Continue Reading
What Do Climate Risk Indices Measure?
Liberty Street Economics, New York Fed, October 7, 2024: “As interest in understanding the economic impacts of climate change grows, the climate economics and finance literature has developed a number of indices to quantify climate risks. Various approaches have been employed, utilizing firm-level emissions data, financial market data (from equity and derivatives markets), or textual… Continue Reading
What’s happening in America today is something darker than a misinformation crisis.
The Atlantic [no paywall]: ” I’m Running Out of Ways to Explain How Bad This Is What’s happening in America today is something darker than a misinformation crisis. By Charlie Warzel. The truth is, it’s getting harder to describe the extent to which a meaningful percentage of Americans have dissociated from reality. As Hurricane Milton… Continue Reading
Microplatics in Salt and Sugar
“A new study by Indian environmental and research organization Toxics Link has found that all salt and sugar brands from the country contain microplastics, concerning scientists as a growing body of analysis suggests the particles are harmful to humans. As detailed by English language channel Times Now, researchers discovered microplastics (particles no more than five… Continue Reading
GPO Quadruples Number of Congressionally Mandated Reports Since Launch
U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) now has more than 500 Congressionally Mandated Reports (CMR) from more than 75 Federal agencies available for free public access on GovInfo, the one-stop site for authentic, published information for all three branches of the Federal Government. This number has quadrupled since GPO first put CMRs online in December 2023.… Continue Reading
The White House launches Reddit account
The Biden-Harris Administration has launched a Reddit account to provide accurate info on Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The White House will combat misinformation and share updates on federal response, recovery, and preparedness efforts across key sub-Reddits. TechCrunch: “On Tuesday, a White House official announced that the Biden-Harris administration has launched a White House account on… Continue Reading
First-of-its-kind dataset connects greenhouse gases and air quality
NOAA Research: “The GReenhouse gas And Air Pollutants Emissions System (GRA²PES), from NOAA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), combines information on greenhouse gas and air quality pollutant sources into a single national database, offering innovative interactive map displays and new benefits for both climate and public health solutions. A new U.S.-based… Continue Reading
