NOAA: “After storing carbon dioxide in frozen soil for millennia, the Arctic tundra is being transformed by frequent wildfires into an overall source of carbon to the atmosphere, which is already absorbing record levels of heat-trapping fossil fuel pollution. The transition of the Arctic from a carbon sink to a carbon source is one of… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: Environmental Law
Plastic Pollution and Policy Considerations: Frequently Asked Questions
CRS – Plastic Pollution and Policy Considerations: Frequently Asked Questions, December 5, 2024. “Global and domestic plastic production has increased substantially since the mid-20th century—doubling in the last two decades. The durability, moldability, and versatility of plastic have led to its ubiquitous use, benefiting many aspects of society, including the food, medical, technology, textile, and… Continue Reading
The Ocean Investigations Guide
Via Ian Urbina: “Investigative reporting about activities at sea is a unique specialty requiring distinct tools and tactics. How can I find open-source footage evidence of human rights abuses or illegal fishing on ships? Is it possible to connect ships to the specific seafood buyers? Is there a way to track ships even when they… Continue Reading
Almost all of earth became permanently drier since 1990: Report
The Hill: “More than 75 percent of the globe became permanently drier over the past three decades, according to a report from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The report, published Monday, found that about 77.6 percent of the globe became drier from 1990 to 2020, more than it did over the preceding… Continue Reading
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, December 7, 2024
Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, December 7, 2024 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the… Continue Reading
The Global Fishing Legislative Database
Ian Urbina, The Outlaw Ocean Project: “If you don’t know the rules, it’s tough to determine whether they’ve been broken. And yet, there isn’t a central spot online where a journalist or researcher can find the rules that apply in a given countries’ waters. This tool, called The Global Fishing Legislative Database, is meant to… Continue Reading
CAMS Global wildfires review 2024: a harsh year for the Americas
“The year 2024 saw contrasting wildfire activity across the globe. North and South America were the most affected continents according to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS*) data, going back to 2003. Bolivia recorded its highest wildfire carbon emissions in CAMS Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) dataset by a huge margin, and Venezuela also saw the… Continue Reading
Formaldehyde Cancer Risk in Your Neighborhood
ProPublica – Risk in Your Neighborhood. In most of the country, formaldehyde contributes more to outdoor cancer risk than any other toxic air pollutant. Look up your address to see risks from the chemical on your block and where it comes from. Formaldehyde causes more cancer than any other toxic chemical in the air. It’s… Continue Reading
Water Conflict Chronology
Citation: Pacific Institute (2024) Water Conflict Chronology. Pacific Institute, Oakland, CA. https://www.worldwater.org/water-conflict/ – “In an ongoing effort to understand the connections between water resources, water systems, and international security and conflict, the Pacific Institute initiated a project in the late 1980s to track and categorize events related to water and conflict, which has been continuously… Continue Reading
New AI tool generates realistic satellite images of future flooding
MIT News: “Visualizing the potential impacts of a hurricane on people’s homes before it hits can help residents prepare and decide whether to evacuate. MIT scientists have developed a method that generates satellite imagery from the future to depict how a region would look after a potential flooding event. The method combines a generative artificial… Continue Reading
America’s Rare Earth Problem Could Be Solved With Literal Trash
Gizmodo – Rare earth elements are crucial to many technologies, and scientists say the U.S. could boost extraction from domestic reserves by as much as eight times the current level. How great would it be if we could extract resources from our waste products? Or even better, raise them from the ashes? Scientists in the… Continue Reading
NASA satellites reveal abrupt drop in global freshwater levels
PHYS.org: “An international team of scientists using observations from NASA-German satellites found evidence that Earth’s total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since. Reporting in Surveys in Geophysics, the researchers suggested the shift could indicate Earth’s continents have entered a persistently drier phase. From 2015 through 2023,… Continue Reading
