Delaware Online: “After the species was devastated by an Asian blight in the early 20th century, a single American chestnut tree in Centreville has been deemed a “precious resource” by the Delaware Nature Society. Jim White, a senior fellow at the Delaware Nature Society, said the tree discovered at Coverdale Farm Preserve is the largest… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Environmental Law
The Sustainable Finance Policy Tracker
OMFIF Sustainable Policy Institute: “The Sustainable Finance Policy Tracker provides a comprehensive overview of different countries’ approaches to mitigating climate risks in the financial sector. Covering 23 countries and jurisdictions, the tracker presents information on 14 sustainable policy subjects that include regulatory and supervisory measures, climate stress testing activity, net zero strategies, green bond issuance… Continue Reading
Americans experience a false social reality by underestimating popular climate policy support by nearly half
Sparkman, G., Geiger, N. & Weber, E.U. Americans experience a false social reality by underestimating popular climate policy support by nearly half. Nat Commun 13, 4779 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32412-y “Pluralistic ignorance—a shared misperception of how others think or behave—poses a challenge to collective action on problems like climate change. Using a representative sample of Americans (N = 6119),… Continue Reading
As many as one in six U.S. tree species is threatened with extinction
Washington Post: Some 100 native tree species could die out amid an onslaught of invasive insects, a surge in deadly diseases and the all-encompassing peril of climate change: “Amid an onslaught of invasive insects, a surge in deadly diseases and the all-encompassing peril of climate change, as many as 1 in 6 trees native to… Continue Reading
These stark before-and-after satellite photos show the Western megadrought from space
Fast Company: “If you walk to the edge of Lake Mead, on the border between Nevada and Arizona, you can stand on a rocky shore that used to be more than 100 feet below water. After 23 years of drought and increasing demand for water, the lake keeps shrinking. Satellite photos show the stark difference… Continue Reading
GriddingMachine: A new database and software for sharing global datasets
Climate Modeling Alliance (CliMA): “Researchers are spending way too much time finding, reading, and processing public data. The ever increasing amount of data, various data formats, and different data layouts are increasing the time spent on handling data—before getting ready for scientific analysis. While the intention of sharing data is to facilitate their broad use… Continue Reading
The Inflation Reduction Act Drives Significant Emissions Reductions and Positions America to Reach Our Climate Goals
U.S. Dept. of Energy Report: “The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 represents a historic, $369 billion investment in the modernization of the American energy system. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) preliminary assessment finds that this law—in combination with other enacted policies and past actions—will help drive 2030 economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 40%… Continue Reading
The right kind of filter can keep microplastics out of drinking water
Popular Science – Slow sand and membrane filters can knock out nearly all of the tiny pollutants. “Out of all the plastic that has even been produced globally, less than 10 percent has been recycled. One of the biggest environmental dilemmas with this is that plastic does not decompose, it only breaks down into smaller… Continue Reading
The 6th National Risk Assessment on Hazardous Heat
“New research from First Street Foundation analyzes the the prevalence of increasing extreme temperatures and dangerous heat wave events throughout the contiguous United States, with a key finding being the incidence of heat that exceeds the threshold of the National Weather Service’s (NWS) highest category for heat, called “Extreme Danger” (Heat Index above 125°F) is… Continue Reading
Birds Online
“The BIRDS ONLINE project has been implemented by the Faculty of Environmental Sciences of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague since 2014. The project has been through several phases – design and creation of the monitoring system, construction of a special nest box for built-in technical equipment, installing test nest boxes with the help… Continue Reading
How Many U.S. Households Don’t Have Air Conditioning?
Energy Institute at Haas: “With rising adoption, nearly 90% of American homes have air conditioning, but almost 30% in California are still without it. And, once again, the U.S. is gripped by sweltering heat and humidity. Higher-than-average summer temperatures are everywhere, even in places like Portland, Oregon, which topped 100 degrees last weekend and in… Continue Reading
The Carbon Cycle: Key Component of the Climate System, with Implications for Policy
CRS Report – The Carbon Cycle: Key Component of the Climate System, with Implications for Policy, August 10, 2022: “Large quantities of carbon are actively exchanged between the atmosphere and the other carbon storage pools, including the oceans, vegetation, and soils on the land surface. The exchange, or flux, of carbon among the atmosphere, oceans,… Continue Reading
