Category «Climate Change»

How the pandemic might play out in 2021 and beyond

Nature – This coronavirus is here for the long haul – here’s what scientists predict for the next months and years. “…It is clear now that summer does not uniformly stop the virus, but warm weather might make it easier to contain in temperate regions. In areas that will get colder in the second half …

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Education, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Health Care, Medicine

COVID recovery choices shape future climate

EurekAlert: “A post-lockdown economic recovery plan that incorporates and emphasises climate-friendly choices could help significantly in the battle against global warming, according to a new study. This is despite the sudden reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants during lockdown having a negligible impact on holding down global temperature change. The researchers warn that …

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Environmental Law, Health Care, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Ocean heatwaves dramatically shift habitats

NOAA – “Thermal displacement” reflects how far species must go to follow preferred temperatures. Marine heat waves across the world’s oceans can displace habitat for sea turtles, whales, and other marine life by 10s to thousands of kilometers. They dramatically shift these animals’ preferred temperatures in a fraction of the time that climate change is …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Knowledge Management

A small federal agency focused on preventing industrial disasters is on life support

Vox: “That agency, the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, investigates accidents and makes recommendations — but it doesn’t regulate the industry. Since 1998, it has looked into some of the nation’s biggest industrial disasters, including the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout, which killed 11 workers and dumped an estimated 4 million barrels of oil into …

Subjects: Climate Change, Energy, Environmental Law, Freedom of Information, Government Documents

Major new climate study rules out less severe global warming scenarios

Washington Post: “The current pace of human-caused carbon emissions is increasingly likely to trigger irreversible damage to the planet, according to a comprehensive international study released Wednesday. Researchers studying one of the most important and vexing topics in climate science — how sensitive the Earth’s climate is to a doubling of the amount of carbon …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law, Government Documents

Lockdown was the longest period of quiet in recorded human history

MIT Technology Review: “When lockdown started in March, the world went instantly, strangely silent. City streets emptied. Joggers and families disappeared from parks. Construction projects froze. Stores closed. Now a network of seismic monitoring stations around the world has quantified this unprecedented period of quiet. The resulting research into “seismic silence,” published in Science today, …

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Environmental Law, Health Care, Knowledge Management

Trump weakens environmental law to speed up permits for pipelines and other infrastructure

CNBC: “President Donald Trump on Wednesday finalized a rollback to the country’s landmark environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act, by speeding up approval for federal projects like pipelines, highways and power plants.  NEPA was signed into law by President Richard Nixon 50 years ago and requires federal agencies to consider the environmental consequences of infrastructure projects before …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law, Legal Research, Legislation

Your Car Is Spewing Microplastics That Blow Around the World

Wired – “When you drive, tiny bits of plastic fly off your tires and brakes. Now scientists have shown how all that road muck is blowing into “pristine” environments like the Arctic. “…Today in the journal Nature Communications, researchers model how microplastics from our cars are traveling from densely populated regions into the environment. These …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law, Transportation

Socio-economic, environmental impacts of coronavirus quantified

University of Syndey: “How is COVID-19 impacting people and the planet and what are the implications for a post-pandemic world? This world-first study led by the University of Sydney quantifies the socio-economic losses and environmental gains. The first comprehensive study of the pandemic shows consumption losses amount to more than US$3.8 trillion, triggering full-time equivalent …

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Environmental Law, Financial System, Health Care

The Go-To Instagram for NYC Protest Updates Explains How They Do It

Vice – The team behind @justiceforgeorgenyc talked about what it takes to track protests and keep their followers informed…”VICE spoke to the people behind the go-to Instagram account for action tracking in New York City, @justiceforgeorgenyc. Their account quickly became a go-to source for anyone trying to make direct action a regular part of their …

Subjects: Climate Change, Knowledge Management, Social Media