Articles include: Greens: Divided on ‘clean’ energy? Or closer than they appear?; Check these pieces on the diseases of summer; Tropical Cyclone Tauktae is fifth-strongest cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea; What is a ‘just transition,’ and why do we need one?; California’s volunteer ‘Climate Action Corps’ helps fight climate change; Increases in extreme precipitation cost the U.S. $73 billion over three decades; Bladeless wind turbine generates electricity by vibrating with air movements; The moral imperative behind the ‘Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest’;
Renovations put Seattle hockey arena closer to its goal of zero carbon emissions.
Category: Bats, Bees, Bugs, Birds, etc.
All the little critters that are threatened by global warming.
Studies: Farming, Insects, and Soil – 4 articles
CBC: How regenerative farming could help Canada meet its new carbon emission targets. Unconventional techniques can sequester carbon while improving soil.
Science Alert: ‘Wolf Packs’ of Predatory Bacteria Lurk in Our Soil, And They Play a Crucial Role. You might not have given much thought to predatory bacteria before, but a new study reveals that the behavior of these microorganisms plays a crucial part in the balance of nutrients and carbon capture in soil. The research has been published in mBio.
The Conversation: To help insects, make them welcome in your garden – here’s how. As a scientist whose research involves insects and as a gardener, I know that many beneficial insect species are declining and need humans’ help. If you’re a gardener looking for a new challenge this year, consider revamping all or part of your yard to support beneficial insects. Some gardeners choose native plants to attract and support helpful insects. Often, however, those native plants are surrounded by vast expanses of lawn.
Popular Science: Understanding plant biological clocks could boost future agriculture. Plants have their cycles, too—and knowing them could bring down how much water, fertilizer, and herbicide we use. But people aren’t the only living things with an internal clock—plants have them, too. And understanding their rhythms could make our food systems more sustainable and productive in the long run, according to a new study by British and Belgian researchers. As our climate changes, the population grows, and more resilient and sustainable food is needed, rethinking the way agriculture works is absolutely crucial for a sustainable and hunger-free world.
Study: As bat disease continues its deadly march, study finds it’s killed more than 90 percent of three species
Virginia Mercury: As bat disease continues its deadly march, study finds it’s killed more than 90 percent of three species.
Virginia is one of many states hard hit by a fungal disease known as white-nose syndrome, which according to a study published Tuesday has killed more than 90 percent of northern long-eared, little brown and tri-colored bats in the U.S. over the past decade.
“Virginia populations have suffered really severe impacts from white-nose syndrome, so there are unfortunately just not that many bats left,” said Virginia Tech infectious disease ecologist Kate Langwig, who has studied the disease extensively.
On Tuesday, a new study funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and published in “Conservation Biology” combined data from 27 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces to produce one of the clearest pictures yet of the disease’s toll on five bat species. [No link provided.]
The bats may need the help. Although one 2015 study by Reynolds, Radford University biologist Karen Powers and three other authors found that some bats have been able to persist despite white-nose syndrome, many are making bad choices. Research by Langwig and Virginia Tech biology research scientist Joseph Hoyt found that bats are continuing to hibernate in warmer subterranean environments where the disease tends to hit them the hardest.
The Daily Climate, April 23, 2021
Articles include: GHG commitments from Biden; Miami sea level rise costs; Steel company and GHG goals; Texas and clean energy; clean energy loan risks; humanity’s friend against climate change; bitcoin and the environment; Canada’s biggest banks missing from net-zero pledge; Study: dangerous toxins in Alaska’s algae; Study: ocean currents are changing; farmers and climate change; homelessness in America.
The Daily Climate, April 15, 2021
Articles include: 2050 Goals are inadequate; champagne & climate change; 100% clean power; renewable energy powers decarbonization; electric vehicles by 2035; Interior Department and Manchin; Epic Drought; Indian monsoon season; ticks moving into the Arctic; East African oil pipeline; American research station abandoned; food web in the Great Lakes.
The Daily Climate, April 2, 2021
Articles include: Birds versus bees: Here are the winners and losers in the great pesticide trade-off; How climate change is stunting farm production; California’s rooftop solar program collides with equity concerns; Barrier Reef doomed as up to 99% of coral at risk, report finds; Keep your Whole Foods gift card. We want systemic change.; US EPA takes tougher stance on new chemicals; Quebec clears path for farmers with Parkinson’s to get workers’ compensation; Florida’s only lead factory didn’t protect workers. Regulators didn’t either.; Fracking brings pollution, not wealth, to Navajo land; Decades of arsenic poisoning produced by Giant Mine has caused irreversible damage to Dene First Nation land; Mysterious death of bald eagles in US explained by bromide poisoning;
Yale Climate Connections, March 26, 2021
Articles include: The choice is clear: Fair climate policy or no climate policy; Zero emissions drive would grow U.S. economy; Cartoonists – left, right, and center – have their say on Texas freeze and power outage; The making of a one-of-a-kind climate change PR professional; Why some Christians are participating in a ‘carbon fast’ for Lent; Artist and scientist install fake bakery storefront in Chicago to draw attention to climate change; Scientists work to make solar panels more efficient; Food rescue group in Hawaii reduces food waste, feeds community; NASCAR drivers try out racing version of Ford’s all-electric Mustang Mach-E.
Southwest’s prolonged drought stressing New Mexico trees
Santa Fe New Mexican: Southwest’s prolonged drought stressing New Mexico trees. Arborists, foresters, state and local governments, and residents like Seamster are working to counter the drought’s impacts on trees. But it promises to be an endless battle as researchers predict climate change will create warmer, drier weather in the coming years throughout the Southwest.
Trump policy that weakened wild bird protections is revoked
ABC News: Trump policy that weakened wild bird protections is revoked. The Biden administration has reversed a policy imposed under President Donald Trump that drastically weakened the government’s power to enforce a century-old law protecting most U.S. bird species.
The Biden administration on Monday reversed a policy imposed under former President Donald Trump that drastically weakened the government’s power to enforce a century-old law that protects most U.S. bird species.
Trump ended criminal prosecutions against companies responsible for bird deaths that could have been prevented.
The move halted enforcement practices under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in place for decades — resulting most notably in a $100 million settlement by energy company BP after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill killed about 100,000 birds, according to federal data. Some scientists have said that number could be higher.
A federal judge in New York in August struck down the Trump administration’s legal rationale for changing how the bird treaty was enforced.
Yale Climate Connections, March 5, 2021
Articles include: New report: U.S. dams, levees get D grades, need $115 billion in upgrades; Why renewable energy was not to blame for the Texas blackouts; Canada’s oil sands industry is taking a big hit; Climate change cues tree swallows to nest earlier in spring; How cloud seeding can boost mountain snowpack; Flooding is a growing problem. A rural Mississippi; Wildfire smoke is especially dangerous for children;
Articles include: New report: U.S. dams, levees get D grades, need $115 billion in upgrades; Why renewable energy was not to blame for the Texas blackouts; Canada’s oil sands industry is taking a big hit; Climate change cues tree swallows to nest earlier in spring; How cloud seeding can boost mountain snowpack; Flooding is a growing problem. A rural Mississippi; Wildfire smoke is especially dangerous for children; Thoughtful design can make streets more walkable.