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Category Archives: Climate Change

Global study revealed world’s biggest known plastic polluters

Washington Post: “Every year, companies produce more than 400 million metric tons of plastic. Some of that plastic spills onto waterways or beaches, clogging streams or floating in huge gyres in the ocean. Some of it breaks down into tiny microplastics or nanoplastics that float in the air and enter human lungs, blood and organs. Sometimes it’s hard to know which companies are behind all this plastic — but now, scientists have identified some of the largest contributors. A new study – Global producer responsibility for plastic pollution published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances has pinpointed some of the major brands responsible for plastic pollution across six continents. The researchers, who used a team of over 100,000 volunteers to catalogue over 1.8 million pieces of plastic waste, found that 56 companies were responsible for more than 50 percent of branded plastic waste globally. The largest contributor was Coca-Cola, which accounted for 11 percent of the branded plastic pollution worldwide…”

NOAA expands availability of new heat forecast tool ahead of summer

“NOAA is expanding the availability of a new experimental heat tool called HeatRisk ahead of the hot summer months. A collaboration with NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HeatRisk provides information and guidance for those who are particularly vulnerable to heat and may need to take extra… Continue Reading

Vast DNA tree of life for plants revealed by global science team

PHYS.org: “A new paper published April 24, 2024 in the journal Nature by an international team of 279 scientists led by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew presents the most up-to-date understanding of the flowering plant tree of life. Using 1.8 billion letters of genetic code from more than 9,500 species covering almost 8,000 known flowering… Continue Reading

Pollinator Conservation Resource Center

“Region-specific resources to aid in the planning, establishment, restoration, and maintenance of pollinator habitat. Welcome to the Pollinator Conservation Resource Center! Here we offer region-specific collections of publications, native plant and seed suppliers, and other resources to aid in planning, establishing, restoring, and maintaining pollinator habitat—as well as materials to help you learn about the… Continue Reading

What Really Happens When You Trade In an iPhone at the Apple Store

Bloomberg [unpaywalled]: Apple touts its network of shredding robots and contractors as a greener way to reuse old gadgets. A lengthy court battle and a Businessweek investigation have cast some light on the recycling industry’s dirty secrets. Few workers at the recycling plant had access to the secure room that some called the “Apple cage.”… Continue Reading

Staggering quantities of energy transition metals are winding up in the garbage bin

Grist: “To build all of the solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehiclebatteries, and other technologies necessary to fight climate change, we’re going to need a lot more metals. Mining those metals from the Earth creates damage and pollution that threaten ecosystems and communities. But there’s another potential source of the copper, nickel, aluminum, and rare-earth… Continue Reading

Unregulated water contaminants

Via Data is Plural: “Through the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, the Environmental Protection Agency “collect[s] data for contaminants that are suspected to be present in drinking water and do not have health-based standards set under the Safe Drinking Water Act.” The current version of the rule requires public water systems to test for lithium and… Continue Reading

Climate crisis: average world incomes to drop by nearly a fifth by 2050

The Guardian: “Average incomes will fall by almost a fifth within the next 26 years as a result of the climate crisis, according to a study that predicts the costs of damage will be six times higher than the price of limiting global heating to 2C. Rising temperatures, heavier rainfall and more frequent and intense… Continue Reading

The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat

The Verge: “…The world’s emails, TikToks, classified memos, bank transfers, satellite surveillance, and FaceTime calls travel on cables that are about as thin as a garden hose. There are about 800,000 miles of these skinny tubes crisscrossing the Earth’s oceans, representing nearly 600 different systems, according to the industry tracking organization TeleGeography. The cables are… Continue Reading

US DOT – PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program Award Recipients

PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program Fact Sheet –  “The vision of the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program is to fund projects that address the climate crisis by improving the resilience of the surface transportation system, including highways, public transportation, ports, and intercity passenger rail. Projects selected under this program should be grounded in the best available scientific… Continue Reading