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Gone with the glaciers: Researchers track unprecedented ice loss
by Hakai Institute 25/6/25 PHYS ORG
A study published in Geophysical Research Letters reveals that glaciers in western Canada, the United States, and Switzerland lost around 12% of their ice between 2021 and 2024.
First sea-level records for coastal community protection
by European Space Agency 25/6/25 PHYS ORG
Our ability to monitor sea-level rise is thanks largely to the long-term record of sea-surface height from satellite radar altimeters, initially provided by the French–US Topex Poseidon satellite and the Jason series of satellites, and now by the Copernicus Sentinel-6 mission.
'Right size, right place' approach required for climate adaptation plans
by University of Glasgow 27/6/25 PHYS ORG
Sophisticated computer modeling of the Clyde by researchers at the University of Glasgow suggests that urban planners will need to adopt a "right size, right place" approach to tidal flood management in the years to come.
Old aerial photos give scientists a new tool to predict sea level rise
by Kristian Bjorn 2/7/25 PHYS ORG
On 28 November 1966, an American airplane flies over the Antarctic Peninsula just south of the southernmost tip of Chile. On board is a photographer, probably from the U.S. Navy, whose job is to map the Antarctic landscape. But it turns out that the photographer is also documenting a very special situation that is in progress. He shoots an aerial photo of the Wordie Ice Shelf, which, 30 years later, has almost vanished after a total collapse.
The ‘Great Dying’ wiped out 90% of life, then came 5 million years of lethal heat. New fossils explain why
A team of international researchers say they have now figured out why using a vast trove of fossils — and it all revolves around tropical forests.
Regen agriculture outperforms conventional farming across key metrics
The European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture has released the results of new study which reveals that regenerative farming systems across Europe are not only environmentally superior but bring higher returns for farmers and are more resilient than conventional models.
Trump EPA rollbacks would weaken rules projected to save billions of dollars and thousands of lives
When the head of the Environmental Protection Agency announced a wide-ranging rollback of environmental regulations, he said it would put a “dagger through the heart of climate-change religion” and introduce a “Golden Age” for the American economy.
Trump Wants to Cut Tribal College Funding by Nearly 90%, Putting Them at Risk of Closing
by Matt Krupnick 3/6/25 PROPUBLICA
The Trump administration has proposed cutting funding for tribal colleges and universities by nearly 90%, a move that would likely shut down most or all of the institutions created to serve students disadvantaged by the nation’s historic mistreatment of Indigenous communities.
5 ways Trump's megabill will limit health care access
The bill, passed in both the House and the Senate without a single Democratic vote, is expected to reverse many of the health coverage gains of the Biden and Obama administrations. Their policies made it easier for millions of people to access health care and reduced the U.S. uninsured rate to record lows, though Republicans say the trade-off was far higher costs borne by taxpayers and increased fraud.
A Classic Childhood Pastime Is Fading
by Erin Sagen 1/7/25 The Atlantic
You’re less likely to catch that kind of scene today. Over the course of the 1990s, an average of 20.5 million children ages 7 to 17 hopped on a bike six or more times a year, according to data from the National Sporting Goods Association, a sports-equipment trade group. Only a few decades later, that number has fallen by nearly half, to about 10.9 million in 2023. Of those kids, according to the association, just less than 5 percent rode their bikes “frequently.”
Why induction stoves are better than gas
by Justin Pot 1/7/25 POPULAR SCIENCE
Gas stoves have a reputation as being the best, mostly because of marketing, so you might think I’m only saying I “upgraded” to induction because of environmental conviction. And I’ll admit using less energy motivated the switch (I like saving money) but efficiency alone is not why I’m saying that induction is better.
Destroying 50 years of women’s health samples is like ‘burning the Library of Congress’
For decades, researchers have been collecting samples from hundreds of thousands of women and tracking their health. The work has deepened our basic understanding of human health, but now the entire project is in danger.
Mauna Loa Observatory captured the reality of climate change. The US plans to shut it down
by Alex Sen Gupta 3/7/25 THE CONVERSATION
In 1956, United States scientist Charles Keeling chose Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano for the site of a new atmospheric measuring station. It was ideal, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and at high altitude away from the confounding influence of population centres.
How did these class rings stay put for decades? Santa Cruz County beach mystery delights ocean expert
[https://lookout.co/how-did-these-class-rings-stay-put-for-decades-santa-cruz-county-beach-mystery-delights-ocean-expert/story by Hillary Ojeda 3/7/25 LookOut
When UC Santa Cruz ocean expert Gary Griggs read this week about a ring found on a local beach 28 years after it was lost in the water, he was struck by the similarities to another story he’s told his students for more than two decades about a long-lost ring found on the beach.
RFK Jr.’s Confusing Disdain for Medicaid
by Nicholas Florko 2/7/25 The Atlantic
For Robert F. Kennedy Jr., “Make America healthy again” is far more than a nice slogan. His cosmic purpose in life, he has said, is to fix the country’s health woes. “The first thing I’ve done every morning for the past 20 years is to get on my knees and pray to God that he would put me in a position to end the chronic-disease epidemic,” Kennedy told senators during his confirmation hearing in January. As health secretary, he has continued to emphasize his commitment to that goal. But yesterday, Kennedy cheered a move that is all but guaranteed to make America less healthy.
Wearables Aren't Going to 'Make America Healthy Again'
by Beth Skwarecki 1/7/25 LIFEHACKER
Health and fitness wearables can do many things, but they really can’t do much to make people healthier—no matter what U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., says in front of Congress.
Dr James Hansen Warns Climate is Heating up way faster than IPCC forecasts & he has the receipts
by FishOutofWater 28/10/23 DAILY KOS
Dr. James Hansen is publishing a paper next week that warns of future warming at a much faster pace than the official IPCC forecasts. He has summarized his scientific paper In multiple recent communications, explaining the differences between his forecasts and those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC. The recent spike in global temperatures, coupled with rapidly declining reflected solar radiation and Antarctic sea ice extent support Hansen’s views.
We are damned fools’: scientist who sounded climate alarm in 80s warns of worse to come
by Oliver Milman 19/7/23 The Guardian
The world is shifting towards a superheated climate not seen in the past 1m years, prior to human existence, because “we are damned fools” for not acting upon warnings over the climate crisis, according to James Hansen, the US scientist who alerted the world to the greenhouse effect in the 1980s.
The Trump administration has shut down more than 100 climate studies
by James Temple 2/6/25 MIT Technology Review
The Trump administration has terminated National Science Foundation grants for more than 100 research projects related to climate change amid a widening campaign to slash federal funding for scientists and institutions studying the rising risks of a warming world.
Glaciers will keep melting for centuries even if warming stops, study warns
by Stuti Mishra 3/6/25 INDEPENDENT
About 40 per cent of the world's glacier mass is already set to disappear due to past greenhouse gas emissions. The ongoing loss not only contributes to sea-level rise but also threatens freshwater supplies and increases the risk of natural hazards in mountainous regions.
Can multivitamins improve memory? A new study shows 'intriguing' results
A team of researchers wanted to assess how a daily multivitamin may influence cognitive aging and memory. They tracked about 3,500 older adults who were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial. One group of participants took a placebo, and another group took a Silver Centrum multivitamin, for three years. The participants also took tests, administered online, to evaluate memory.
‘It was an accident’: the scientists who have turned humid air into renewable power
In the early 20th century, Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla dreamed of pulling limitless free electricity from the air around us. Ever ambitious, Tesla was thinking on a vast scale, effectively looking at the Earth and upper atmosphere as two ends of an enormous battery. Needless to say, his dreams were never realised, but the promise of air-derived electricity – hygroelectricity – is now capturing researchers’ imaginations again. The difference: they’re not thinking big, but very, very small.
The 'Game-Changing' Technology The Nuclear Industry Is Betting On For A Revival
by Alexander C.Kaufman 31/7/23 HUFFPOST
CAMDEN, N.J. ― On a bright, humid afternoon last September, Allen Hickman made the rounds on the floor of a factory that embodies the past, present and future of the nation’s atomic energy industry perhaps more than any other site in the United States.
Could kinder, gentler fracking create a breakthrough in geothermal power?
by Mark Sumner 23/7/23 DAILY KOS
Hydro power is often mentioned, but only in the sense that while it plays a significant role in the current energy portfolio, there are few options for expansion. While wind and solar have been racing up, hydroelectric production has declined.
Three independent studies say that blood platelet factor PF4 prevents and reverses cognitive decline
Although the percentage of older people with dementia is thankfully decreasing, from 13% to 10% in those over 70 from 2011-2019, the absolute number of people with dementia is actually increasing. That’s because the share of the U.S. population that is 65 and over ballooned by 38.6% from 2010-2020, in large part due to baby boomers (shown in dark blue below) crossing the 65-year mark. They’ll keep on doing that until 2031, so the 65+ population will continue to grow quickly until then.
It’s absolutely guaranteed’: the best and worst case scenarios for sea level rise
by Karen McVeigh 6/26/23 the Guardian
It is accelerating, too: the ocean rose more than twice as fast (4.62mm a year) in the most recent decade (2013-22) than it did in 1993-2002, the first decade of satellite measurements, when the rate was 2.77mm a year. Last year was a new high, according to the World Meteorological Organization. It is no coincidence that the past eight years were the warmest on record.
How the far right tore apart one of the best tools to fight voter fraud
On a night in January 2022, Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin stepped on stage in a former airbase in Houma, La.
With American flags draped from the stage, the topic of the night was democracy.
A beautiful, broken America: what I learned on a 2,800-mile bus ride from Detroit to LA
by Joanna Pocock 26/7/23 The Guardian
Historically, chroniclers of the road have travelled by car – intrepid individuals in charge of their destinies. They also tend to be male. The only book I could find by a woman about crossing the US was America Day by Day by Simone de Beauvoir. It is also the only Great American Road Trip book that features Greyhound bus travel. Simone became my companion on the road.
‘This way of farming is really sexy’: the rise of regenerative agriculture
by Alexandra Topping 14/8/23 The Guardian
Hollie Fallick looks over Brading on the Isle of Wight, at a patchwork of fields bordered by ancient oaks, which stretches to the Solent. “We still have to pinch ourselves every day,” says the 30-year-old, as she surveys the 50 hectares (125 acres) she farms with her best friend, Francesca Cooper, 34.
Five geoengineering trials the UK is funding to combat global warming
by Robert Chris 3/6/25 The Conversation
The UK government recently announced plans to fund five small-scale trials related to geoengineering. It’s the first time a state research funding body has put serious money into what’s known as solar radiation management, or SRM, which seeks to cool the planet by reflecting more of the Sun’s energy back into space.
Profound Paradigm Shift in Cellular Biology – DNA Damage Repaired by Antioxidant Enzymes
by CENTER FOR GENOMIC REGULATION 6/7/23 sciTechDaily
The human nucleus is metabolically active, according to the findings of a new study in Molecular Systems Biology by researchers at the CRG in Barcelona and CeMM/Medical University of Vienna.
How to improve US cities and tackle the climate crisis? Get rid of parking spaces
by Danielle Renwick 26/5/23 The Guardian
What could New York achieve if it repurposed some of its 3m curbside parking spots?
It could get rid of rats by moving trash off the sidewalks and into containers. It could create safe, cool play spaces for the more than 1m New Yorkers without easy park access. It could build bioswales to collect rainwater and prevent flooding during heavy storms.
Calculating the amount companies owe for causing global warming
Prior research has found that it is possible to tie certain environmental events to climate change—the current heat wave in parts of South Asia, for example, or excessive flooding in Myanmar and Bangladesh. As it stands now, governments wind up paying to restore order in such areas, or in some cases, insurance companies pay for those who have coverage.
Earth Matters: James Hansen warned us about climate change 35 years ago this month
by Staff Emeritus 1/6/23 DAILY KOS
“The present observed global warming is close to 0.4 degrees C [0.72 F], relative to ‘climatology,’ which is defined as the thirty-year (1951–1980) mean. A warming of 0.4 degrees C is three times larger than the standard deviation of annual mean temperatures in the 30-year climatology. The standard deviation of 0.13 degrees C i[0.23 F] is a typical amount by which the global temperature fluctuates annually about its 30-year mean; the probability of a chance warming of three standard deviations is about 1 percent. Thus, we can state with about 99 percent confidence that current temperatures represent a real warming trend rather than a chance fluctuation over the 30-year period.”—James Hansen testifying to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on June 23, 1988.
Experience exceeds awareness of anthropogenic climate change in Greenland
Although Greenland is a hub for climate science, the climate perceptions of Greenland’s predominantly Indigenous population have remained largely unstudied. Here we present two nationally representative surveys and show that Greenlanders are more likely than residents of top oil-producing Arctic countries to perceive that climate change is happening and about twice as likely to have personally experienced its effects. However, half are unaware that climate change is human-caused and those who are most affected appear to be least aware.
‘Double agents’: fossil-fuel lobbyists work for US groups trying to fight climate crisis
by Oliver Milman 5/7/23 The Guardian
More than 1,500 lobbyists in the US are working on behalf of fossil-fuel companies while at the same time representing hundreds of liberal-run cities, universities, technology companies and environmental groups that say they are tackling the climate crisis, the Guardian can reveal.
Understanding the role of the sun in climate change
by Nicola Scafetta 6/7/23 PHYS ORG
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) supports the latter view and estimates that almost 100% of the observed warming of the Earth's surface from 1850–1900 to 2020 was caused by man-made emissions. This is known as the anthropogenic global warming (AGWT) theory.
Should I worry about ticks?
by Joel Snape 16/7/23 The Guardian
As arachnid superorders go, ticks are pretty evolutionarily successful. They’ve been around for at least 100 million years in one variety or another, with their main party trick – hanging around until they can latch a host to feed on – working on thousands of different animals across almost endless environments. But how concerned should you be about them in the UK? You won’t miss the blood they take, but they can cause a variety of unpleasant conditions in their hosts – and there’s some evidence that their population is growing.
Why Billionaires Fund Anti-Trans & Anti-Black-History Political Movements
by Thomnhartmann 16/8/23 DAILY KOS
Almost 12 percent of Americans, over 37 million of us, live in dire poverty. According to OECD numbers, while only 5 percent of Italians and 11 percent of Japanese workers toil in low-wage jobs, almost a quarter of Americans — 23 percent — work for wages that can’t support a normal lifestyle. (And low-income Japanese and Italians have free healthcare and college.)
Phoenix Roasts in Record-Breaking 110-Plus-Degree Heat, with No End in Sight
by Daniel Cusick 17/7/23 E&E News
Several million heat-tolerant Arizonans spent the weekend in air-conditioned semi-darkness, drawing their curtains shut as temperatures soared to nearly 120 degrees in one of America's largest metro areas.
US businessman is wannabe ‘warlord’ of secretive far-right men’s network
by Jason Wilson 22/8/23 The Guardian
The founder and sponsor of a far-right network of secretive, men-only, invitation-only fraternal lodges in the US is a former industrialist who has frequently speculated about his future as a warlord after the collapse of America, a Guardian investigation has found.
California shores up beaver protection in nod to their ‘ecological benefit’
by Guardian staff and agencies 26/7/23 The Guardian
California is embracing beavers and the role they play in the ecosystem after years of viewing the animals as a nuisance for chewing down trees and blocking up streams.
Microplastic-eating plankton may be worsening crisis in oceans, say scientists
by Karen McVeigh 9/11/23 The Guardian
A type of zooplankton found in marine and fresh water can ingest and break down microplastics, scientists have discovered. But rather than providing a solution to the threat plastics pose to aquatic life, the tiny creatures known as rotifers could be accelerating the risk by splitting the particles into thousands of smaller and potentially more dangerous nanoplastics.
Trump’s EPA aims to cut pollution rules projected to save nearly 200,000 lives: ‘People will be hurt’
by Oliver Milman and Dharna Noor 19/3/25 The Guardian
A push by Donald Trump’s administration to repeal a barrage of clean air and water regulations may deal a severe blow to US public health, with a Guardian analysis finding that the targeted rules were set to save the lives of nearly 200,000 people in the years ahead.
Vegan diet massively cuts environmental damage, study shows
by Damian Garrington 20/7/23 The Guardian
Eating a vegan diet massively reduces the damage to the environment caused by food production, the most comprehensive analysis to date has concluded.
‘Wings’ on poles: Bill Gates-backed wind power tech promises 75% cheaper energy
by Jijo Malayil 30/5/25 Interesting Engineering
US-based firm Airloom Energy’s innovative renewable energy technology to maximize wind power’s potential has now gained significant backing from investors. The list also includes Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the innovation platform led by Microsoft founder Gates, and the state of Wyoming.
‘Even a freeway is redeemable’: world’s largest wildlife crossing takes shape in Los Angeles
by Katharine Gammon 6/4/25 The Guardian
Above the whirring of 300,000 cars each day on Los Angeles’s 101 freeway, an ambitious project is taking shape. The Wallis Annenberg wildlife crossing is the largest wildlife bridge in the world at 210ft long and 174ft wide, and this week it’s had help taking shape: soil.
China population decline accelerates as birthrate hits record low
by Helen Davidson 01/17/24 The Guardian
China’s population decline has accelerated, with a second year of record-low birthrates.
The government will give homeowners $2,000 to buy kitchen-transforming stoves: 'Tons of power without … major home electrical upgrades'
Induction units, on the other hand, are totally gas-free. All they need is a plug on your wall since they run entirely on electricity and energy-efficient battery storage. This means they cook food faster and cheaper and keep your lungs healthier at the same time — a true win-win.
High rises made out of wood? What matters in whether ‘mass timber’ buildings are sustainable
by Brent Sohngen 12/11/24 The Conversation
Companies behind these “mass timber” projects say that wood is a lower-carbon alternative to steel or concrete and brings other benefits, such as faster construction time and lower cost than concrete and steel. Advocates say the wood materials, made of compressed layers of wood with glue, offer good fire safety as well.
For 50 years I’ve let friends and strangers share my house – this kind of communal living can make for better lives for all
by Lynne Segal 11/11/23 The Guardian
It’s more than half a century since I first set foot in Heathrow from Sydney, in my mid-20s, clutching my 14-month-old baby in one hand and what little remained of my luggage in the other. My large suitcase, stuffed with books and clothes, had vanished at a stopover at Colombo airport in Sri Lanka, where I narrowly avoided arrest as my infant son had startlingly managed to push an empty trolley into the glass duty-free shop, smashing part of it. I was surrounded by a hubbub of people and noise, and one man in khaki uniform who kept sidling up to me saying quietly, “Get on to the plane.” Slowly, I separated myself from those surrounding me and did just that. Twelve hours later, I landed in London, exhausted and bewildered.
Could Vienna’s approach to affordable housing work in California?
by Kristy Lang 4/30/24 The Guardian
In the past two years, at least four delegations of housing experts and political leaders from California have visited the Austrian capital, hoping to unlock the secrets of why Vienna regularly comes top in surveys of the world’s most livable cities.
Neuroscientists link low self-awareness to stronger brain reactions to moralized issues
by Eric W. Dolan PsyPost 4/01/25
A new study published in the journal Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience reveals that people who hold strong moral convictions about political issues make decisions more quickly—but that these choices are shaped by both emotional brain responses and metacognitive ability. The research shows that moral conviction activates specific brain regions involved in emotion and cognitive control, and that people with lower self-awareness about their own decision accuracy show stronger brain responses to morally charged political issues.
Watch Out: Tornado Alley Is Migrating Eastward
by By Mark Fischetti, Matthew Twombly & Daniel P. Huffman 5/11/23 Scientific American
Although tornadoes touch down in many places across the eastern half of the country, from the 1950s through the 1990s they struck most often in Tornado Alley, an oval area centered on northeastern Texas and south-central Oklahoma. More recently, that focus has shifted eastward by 400 to 500 miles. In the past decade or so tornadoes have become prevalent in eastern Missouri and Arkansas, western Tennessee and Kentucky, and northern Mississippi and Alabama—a new region of concentrated storms.1
