Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Category Archives: Environmental Law

Global internet connectivity at risk from climate disasters

E&E News ClimateWire: “The flow of digital information through fiber-optic cables lining the sea floor could be compromised by climate change. That’s according to new research published in the journal Earth-Science Reviews by scientists from the United Kingdom’s National Oceanography Centre and the University of Central Florida. They found that ocean and nearshore disturbances caused… Continue Reading

Why Is the Amazon So Important for Climate Change?

Scientific American: “Here’s why the Amazon rain forest is key to protecting Earth from the detrimental effects of climate change…The Amazon’s sheer size—it covers nearly seven million square kilometers, or about the area of Australia—makes it shine on the climate stage. With so many trees covering such an enormous swath of land, everything the forest… Continue Reading

Unpriced climate risk and the potential consequences of overvaluation in US housing markets

Gourevitch, J.D., Kousky, C., Liao, Y.(. et al. Unpriced climate risk and the potential consequences of overvaluation in US housing markets. Nat. Clim. Chang. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01594-8 “Climate change impacts threaten the stability of the US housing market. In response to growing concerns that increasing costs of flooding are not fully captured in property values, we… Continue Reading

Throughout the rich world, the young are falling out of love with cars

The Economist: “That could have big political ramifications. For Adah Crandall, a high-school student in Portland, Oregon, a daily annoyance is family members asking when she is going to learn to drive. Ms Crandall, who is 16, has spent a quarter of her life arguing against the car-centric planning of her city. At 12 she… Continue Reading

PFAS Central

PFAS Central: “It’s impossible to completely avoid PFAS, a class of human-made chemicals that has been linked to a growing list of serious medical concerns. There are thousands of types of PFAS, and many are not well studied. Yet they’re in everything from stain-resistant rugs to dental floss, outdoor gear, food packaging and soil. “These… Continue Reading

How does an EV battery actually work?

MIT Technology Review: “Are lithium batteries sustainable enough to fulfill the dream of the electric-car revolution? The batteries propelling electric vehicles have quickly become the most crucial component, and expense, for a new generation of cars and trucks. They represent not only the potential for cleaner transportation but also broad shifts in geopolitical power, industrial… Continue Reading

Nine years of ranking the most influential companies driving tropical deforestation

“2023: A watershed year for action on deforestation – For nine years, Global Canopy’s Forest 500 has tracked the policies and performance of the 350 most influential companies and 150 financial institutions linked to deforestation in their supply chains and investments. We are three years past the 2020 deadline that many organisations set themselves to… Continue Reading

The First Interactive Map with AI-Detected Fields and Crops

OneSoil:” Compare ratings for more than half the world. Get insights about local and global trends in crop production. For farmers, advisers, dealers, students and just curious people…First launched in 2018, the updated OneSoil Map allows you to explore fields and crops in more than half the world for 2020. Anyone can get global agricultural… Continue Reading

Visualizing the Environmental Impact of Food

Washington Post visualization: “Which food is better for the planet?  Salmon or cod? Knowing what to eat to minimize impact on the planet can feel like an impossible task: Eat locally? Skip meat? Opt for organic, free range, humanely raised? But each of those choices, however Earth-friendly they may sound, come with environmental impact. And… Continue Reading

Point of View: Rethinking academia in a time of climate crisis

Anne E Urai, Clare Kelly (2023) Point of View: Rethinking academia in a time of climate crisis eLife 12:e84991 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.84991 “Addressing the climate crisis requires radical and urgent action at all levels of society. Universities are ideally positioned to lead such action but are largely failing to do so. At the same time, many academic… Continue Reading

Billions in Federal Farm Subsidies Flow to a Select Group of Producers

“EWG’s newly updated Farm Subsidy Database shows that federal farm subsidies between 1995 and 2021 totaled $478 billion. This huge amount of taxpayer money does almost nothing to help farmers reduce their greenhouse gas emissions or adapt to adverse weather conditions caused by the climate crisis. Our database update also shows that farm subsidy funding… Continue Reading