Wildfires leave behind loss and ruin - charred homes, scorched forests, communities upended. Yet even in those blackened remnants, Professor Pei Chiu sees an overlooked resource with climate potential.&nbsp;



In his lab at the<a href="https://www.udel.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> University of Delaware</a>, Professor Chiu studies “char,” the carbon-rich residue produced when biomass burns without much oxygen. His team has probed both naturally produced <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-risk-is-rapidly-rising-across-the-southern-u-s/">wildfire</a> char and its artificial cousin, biochar.



The researchers uncovered a surprising role of chars: they can help starve methane-producing microbes and tilt microbial communities toward pathways that generate far less climate damage.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-wildfire-char-is-everywhere">Why wildfire char is everywhere</h2>



Char forms whenever organic matter is heated at high temperatures with limited <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dark-oxygen-discovery-deep-ocean-rocks-upends-centuries-of-scientific-beliefs/">oxygen</a>. In nature, that’s wildfires; in industry, it’s pyrolysis, the controlled heating of leftover biomass such as wood chips, corn stalks, rice husks, and other agricultural residues.&nbsp;



Commercial “biochar” is already used to improve soils, blend into compost, and filter stormwater. 



Wildfire char, by contrast, is scattered by the ton across burned landscapes and gradually worked into soils by wind, rain, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plant-roots-could-be-key-to-fighting-climate-change/">roots</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chars-that-behave-like-batteries">Chars that behave like batteries</h2>



Several years ago, Chiu’s group noticed something striking: chars made by pyrolysis behaved like tiny rechargeable batteries. They could store and release electrons - a property the team calls electron storage capacity (ESC).&nbsp;



That matters because <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microbes-aquificales-discovered-in-hot-springs-breathe-oxygen-and-sulfur-at-same-time/">microbes</a> make a living moving electrons around. In oxygen-rich settings, they “breathe” oxygen to accept electrons as they break down sugars. In oxygen-poor places - think landfills, manure pits, waterlogged soils, rice paddies, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wetlands-are-a-hidden-source-of-rising-methane-emissions/">wetlands</a>, or the guts of anaerobic digesters - other organisms take over.&nbsp;



Among the most consequential are methanogens, microbes that churn out <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microbes-have-emerged-as-major-source-of-methane-emissions/">methane</a>, a heat-trapping gas roughly 85 times more potent than CO₂ over the short term and responsible for about a third of current warming.



Chiu’s team showed that char gives many common soil microbes an alternative “breath.” In essence, char can stand in for oxygen as an electron sink, letting beneficial microbes keep metabolizing without ceding the field to methanogens. When that happens, methane production drops.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-wildfires-have-to-do-with-it">What wildfires have to do with it</h2>



Wildfire char has been part of Earth’s carbon cycle for millions of years. That longevity led Chiu to a simple hypothesis: if char has been embedded in soils for eons, microbes likely evolved ways to use it.&nbsp;



Across a range of chars - those born in wildfires and those made in kilns - the team measured substantial ESC, enough to change who thrives in oxygen-limited environments.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-much-charge-are-we-talking-about">How much “charge” are we talking about?</h2>



The numbers are eye-opening. In lab tests, a single gram of char - about a quarter teaspoon - could hold on the order of 10²¹ electrons. Scale that to real-world biomass and the potential grows fast.&nbsp;



U.S. agriculture alone generates roughly 140 million dry tons of crop residues each year (with corn stover and wheat straw leading the way), while forestry adds 60–70 million dry tons more.&nbsp;



Collectively, Chiu noted, chars represent an immense rechargeable, bioavailable reservoir of electrons - he likens it to a “trillion-trillion-trillion” (10³⁶) electrons injected into the global biogeochemical cycle annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turning-down-methane-naturally">Turning down methane - naturally</h2>



In controlled experiments, all wildfire chars and plant-based biochars tested suppressed methane formation.&nbsp;



The mechanism is elegant: by giving char-“breathing” microbes a competitive edge, the material helps outcompete methanogens, which still produce more than 50% of global methane today.&nbsp;



Unlike a chemical additive that’s used once and gone, char can be reused by microbes repeatedly, serving as a long-lived electron buffer in soils, sediments, and engineered systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cleaner-water-healthier-soils">Cleaner water, healthier soils</h2>



Steering electrons through char doesn’t only curb methane. The same microbial pathways can keep arsenic from mobilizing into drinking water or crops and can remove nitrate and perchlorate from stormwater and groundwater.&nbsp;



That dovetails with biochar’s existing uses in filtration and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/planting-diverse-crops-traps-carbon-and-boosts-soil-health/">soil health</a>, suggesting one material can deliver multiple environmental services at once.



None of this minimizes the devastation of wildfires, which destroy ecosystems, businesses, and lives. But Chiu argues there’s value in learning from what’s left behind.&nbsp;



Wildfire char’s electron-trading ability points to a sustainable lever for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-mitigation-strategies-may-be-endangering-biodiversity/">climate mitigation</a> and pollution control - one built on microbes already common in nature and on carbon materials produced at massive scales, whether by accident (fires) or design (pyrolysis).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-the-urgency-and-the-hope">Why the urgency - and the hope</h2>



CO₂ rightly dominates climate discussions, but it lingers for 50 to 200 years. Methane is different: far stronger in the near term and with an atmospheric lifetime of about 12 years. That makes near-term methane cuts an unusually fast-acting climate lever.&nbsp;



“If we can find ways to reduce methane, we could see the impact within our lifetimes,” said Professor Chiu.



That promise keeps his team pushing on the basic science: How exactly do microbes “breathe” a solid? How do different chars - from different fires, feedstocks, or kiln settings - shift ESC and microbial behavior?&nbsp;



And how can this knowledge be scaled into landfill covers, livestock waste systems, wetlands restoration, or post-fire land management so that nature’s own electron economy helps dial down a powerful greenhouse gas?



Char, in other words, may be the rare wildfire remnant that points forward.



Study co-authors include doctoral student Jiwon Choi and former graduate student Danhui Xin (now at the <a href="https://www.sccwrp.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Southern California Coastal Water Research Project</a>).



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.5c05709" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Environmental Science &amp; Technology</a>.



-----



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From ashes to action: Wildfire char holds a hidden climate solution

Wildfires leave behind loss and ruin - charred homes, scorched forests, communities upended. Yet even in those blackened remnants, Professor Pei Chiu sees an overlooked resource with climate potential.&nbsp; In his lab at the University of Delaware, Professor Chiu studies “char,” the carbon-rich residue produced when biomass burns without much oxygen. His team has probed both naturally produced wildfire char and its artificial cousin, biochar. The researchers uncovered a surprising role of chars: they can help starve methane-producing microbes and tilt microbial communities toward pathways that generate...

Vanuatu Villagers Seek Higher Ground From Global Warming. Many people living in this coastal village in Vanuatu believe the March cyclone that sent waves surging through their homes was the latest and most dramatic sign of climate change. They are now considering rebuilding their entire community on higher ground.
Cyclone Pam struck the <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/noumea-in-the-south-pacific-archipelago-of-new-caledonia/">Pacific</a> archipelago three months ago, blasting the islands with winds of 270 kilometers (168 miles) per hour, killing at least 11 people and affecting 180,000 more by destroying their homes and crops. Many residents saw it as part of broader environmental changes they've witnessed in recent years, from higher sea levels to trees bearing fruit out of season. Vanuatu Villagers Seek Higher Ground From Global Warming
"We have seen a lot of changes in our weather patterns. The level of the sea rise. And it is affecting the nation at the moment," said Vanuatu President Baldwin Lonsdale in an interview with The Associated Press. "The impact of climate change is quite real in Vanuatu."
Parts of Vanuatu are low-lying and are starting to see visible signs of rising sea levels as the earth warms and ice caps melt. The world's oceans have risen nearly 7 centimeters (nearly 3 inches) since 1992, scientists at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say, and are projected to rise at a faster rate in the decades to come.
More damaging than the overall rise, however, are the unpredictable surges brought on by more severe storms. While scientists caution that singular events like the cyclone can't be attributed solely to climate change, many say there is a link to a general increase in violent weather.
"The short answer would be that certainly there is a connection between climate change and extreme weather," said Debarati Guha-Sapir, a professor at the University of Louvain School of Public Health in Brussels. "The numbers of storms and high wind events have been increasing. So have droughts, in fact, and all of these are very connected to climate change."
She said there's likely to be an increase in catastrophic flooding in coming years and people need to better prepare for that.
Vanuatu isn't the only Pacific island nation figuring out how to face climate change. Low-lying Kiribati has purchased land in Fiji, which Kiribati President Anote Tong says is an investment and also a guarantee in case the entire nation needs to move.
In Takara, which is on Vanuatu's main island of Efate, village chief Benjamin Tamata said he wants to move the village of about 200 people inland by about 300 meters (1,000 feet) to move away from the rising seas and to avoid future storm surges.
"When the cyclone came to my village, it's not only the cyclone," he said. "With the sea level rising, it came through and damaged our houses. And some of the people run away."
He said many escaped to a nearby school, but now it's time to plan for the long term.
"We try to relocate," he said. "To take all the people from this village and we try to relocate where we can be safe, or where we can survive from the sea."
If Takara does move inland, it won't be the first village to do so in Vanuatu. A decade ago, dozens of villagers on Tegua Island moved inland in what the U.N. described as one of the first cases of mass displacement triggered by global warming.
"Staff from the meteorological office and hazard department, they went and assessed the level of sea rise," said Lonsdale. "And they advised people to move inland. And so they assisted. They assisted the communities and we have moved them further up from the coastal area."
NOAA, NASA, the Japanese weather agency, and the World Meteorological Organization all declared 2014 the hottest year on record, with NOAA putting 2014 at an average of 58.26 degrees Fahrenheit (14.6 Celsius).
As the world gets warmer, water expands, so the seas rise. But on top of that, ice sheets in Greenland and west Antarctica are melting, as are world glaciers, and scientists worry that meltwater will dramatically increase sea level by about 1 meter by the end of the century.
Islanders are also noticing other effects of climate change, said Shadrack Welegtabit, the director of Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office. He said trees are bearing fruit and nuts all year round, instead of in distinct seasons like in the past.
"Not only in Vanuatu, but probably in the Pacific as a whole, climate change does have an impact," Welegtabit said. "We are beginning to see changes in the weather patterns. We are beginning to have more intense weather, more severe cyclones."
Vanuatu has made strides in its rebuilding efforts since the cyclone, and many tourism operators are hoping that the tourists who help power the economy will soon return. But for others, like Vila North School Principal Elina Jaywelson Gilu, the rebuild has been painfully slow.
She's still operating three classes from a tent provided by aid agency UNICEF while she waits for her classroom buildings to get new roofs.
"You can just imagine our classes are very noisy, and it's really, really hard to get the students to concentrate," she said. "Because they are all under one roof and it's not been partitioned to separate the classes. And they are all sitting on the floor."
Shirley Laban, the climate change adaptation manager in Vanuatu for aid agency Oxfam, said its time for the world to get serious about tackling climate change.
"What more can we show you. Category-5 Cyclone Pam is the real evidence already," she said. "We need to cut down on this carbon emission. Because as long as we do not cut down, vulnerable individuals, countries, women and children will continue to be impacted."
---
Associated Press video journalist Mark Carlson in Brussels contributed to this report.
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Vanuatu Villagers Seek Higher Ground From Global Warming

Vanuatu Villagers Seek Higher Ground From Global Warming. Many people...

Huge <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/the-2020-atlantic-hurricane-season-was-supercharged/">Atlantic</a> Herring Haul Worries Fishermen And Environmentalists. A little fish that New Englanders have sought since the Colonial era is at the center of a battle over how to manage massive boats that trawl swaths of ocean off the East Coast.
The catch for the Atlantic herring, which travels in groups sometimes numbering in the billions, is in the midst of a massive boom. Last year fishermen caught more than 95,000 metric tons of the fish for the first time since 2009, federal statistics show. Huge Atlantic Herring Haul Worries Fishermen And Environmentalists
Now rival fishermen are raising concerns about the high catches, and regulators are starting to consider whether the big haul is adversely impacting the environment, marine <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=mammals&amp;cvid=6bfef0a0fce343da8ca9fb1c56475818&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">mammals</a> or other fisheries.
Herring trawlers have the ability to deplete localized areas of other fish, in part because the hulking boats leave pieces of ocean bereft of the herring other species they rely on to eat, some fishermen of species such as cod and tuna complain.
Steve Weiner, a tuna fisherman based out of Ogunquit, Maine, said the high herring catches need a hard look because of the fish's status as a lynchpin of the Atlantic Ocean's food web. Everything from seabirds to whale-watching boats rely on a steady supply of herring for stability, he said.
The issue is particularly concerning for Cape Cod fishermen, many of whom are struggling to make a living in a time of strict cod quotas, Weiner said.
"You have to worry about all the other people who depend on healthy herring resources," he said. "When you get down to the Cape, it's raw, real."
But some herring fishermen dismiss those complaints as nonsense and reference federal studies that describe the species as "not overfished."
The herring trawlers can be more than 100 feet long and drag 300-foot nets behind them to catch hundreds of thousands of pounds of herring. Fishermen of other species complain that they also take other fish as bycatch, and environmentalists have long charged that they sometimes kill marine mammals. Fishing observers found that midwater herring trawlers killed four pilot whales, three seals and a dolphin through incidental catch in Northeast oceans in 2014, federal statistics show.
Fishermen and conservationists have also charged that wiping herring out of localized areas of the ocean makes those areas economically worthless because other species then stay away.
The New England Fishery Management Council, which regulates fishing in the area, will solicit feedback from the industry and the public about the issue of "localized depletion," said Lori Steele, a fishery analyst for the council. It's too early to say what the council will do with the information, she said.
Mary Beth Tooley, who sits on the council, said it will be important to develop scientific metrics for localized depletion. Tooley also works in government relations for O'Hara Corporation, which operates two herring trawlers out of Rockland, Maine. She said the issue has become "political" in recent years.
"We hear a lot from tuna fishermen," she said. "I think they would like us to catch less because they think it would make their fishing better."
About half of the Atlantic herring caught last year came to shore in Maine, with Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey fishermen also reporting significant catches. The fish is in high demand in part because of its key role as the preferred bait for Maine's lobster industry, which has also reported record catches in recent years. Herring that aren't used as bait sometimes end up as food in the form of canned fish, and it is also popular smoked, pickled or salted.
Maine had its second-most productive herring fishing year since 2000 with more than 100 million pounds of herring brought to the docks in 2014. The fish were worth more than $16 million, an all-time high according to state records that go back to 1950, making it one of the most valuable fisheries in a state where fishing is the lifeblood industry.
But the Northeast herring fishery has struggled with quota cuts and wildly fluctuating catches as recently as this decade. Peter Baker, who directs the Herring Alliance conservation group, said the fishery is in need of closer monitoring.
"If you've got a boat that can catch half a million pounds overnight, you change all the other animals in the area," he said. "There's no reason for herring to stay there, no reason for whales to stay there, no reason for tuna to stay there."
In Gloucester, Massachusetts, one of the busiest fishing ports on the East Coast, herring fisherman Jerry O'Neill said the abundance of herring and the strength of the lobster fishery have combined to keep business strong. He said he's unmoved by complaints about herring trawlers disrupting other fisheries, which he said lack "actual, scientific" basis for their claims.
O'Neill said he'd like to see more New England waters opened to year-round herring fishing.
"It's a healthy stock," he said. "I don't think there's any basis for believing it's an issue."
But Rockland herring fisherman Glenn Robbins said tighter restrictions could be necessary. Robbins, who uses a different kind of gear, said the larger trawlers should be kept out of the Gulf of Maine year-round.
"They do kill the whales, they do kill the porpoises and seals. Anything that gets in them," he said. "They never die in my net."
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Huge Atlantic Herring Haul Worries Fishermen And Environmentalists

Huge Atlantic Herring Haul Worries Fishermen And Environmentalists. A little...

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

'Mini Ice Age' Study Being Criticized. Some headline-grabbing research by a math professor at Northumbria University in England suggesting that the Earth will experience a "mini ice age" in the 2030s is being criticized by climate experts.

Valentina Zharkova's study, which made <a class="tpstyle" href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2015/07/11/Earth-heading-for-mini-ice-age-in-just-15-years-scientists-say/2751436649025/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">headlines around the world</a>, didn't directly predict a miniature ice age, but that the sun's solar activity would go into a prolonged lull.
<div class="ad_slot"></div>
Zharkova says the magnetic waves that cause sunspots exist as two divergent -- and competing -- frequencies. These frequencies will soon cancel each other out, she says, leading to a reduction in radiation hurled toward Earth. 'Mini Ice Age' Study Being Criticized

The Royal Astronomical Society, after its National Astronomy Meeting last week in Llandudno, Wales, sent out a <a class="tpstyle" href="http://nam2015.org/index.php/press-releases/64-irregular-heartbeat-of-the-sun-driven-by-double-dynamo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">press release</a> that helped shine the spotlight on Zharkova's research, which was published last year in the Astrophysical Journal.

Zharkova recently questioned the consensus of anthropogenic global warming. She believes the sun's fluctuating output plays a greater role in influencing temperature than does the greenhouse gas effect.

"I am not convinced with the arguments of the group promoting global warming of an anthropogenic nature," <a class="tpstyle" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/07/14/no-earth-is-not-heading-toward-a-mini-ice-age/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Zharkova told The Washington Post</a>.

For this reason and others, Zharkova predicts a reduction in solar radiation to precipitate a drop in global temperatures, similar to the last mini ice age, or Maunder Minimum, that hit Earth in the mid-1700s and caused several decades of harsh winters in the Western Hemisphere.

But Zharkova is isolated in her conclusions on the sun's climatic effects.

Recent studies suggest a slowdown in solar radiation will have a minimal effect on upward-trending global temperatures.

"Any reduction in global mean near-surface temperature due to a future decline in solar activity is likely to be a small fraction of projected anthropogenic warming," scientists concluded in a recent <a class="tpstyle" href="http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150623/ncomms8535/abs/ncomms8535.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">study published in the journal Nature</a>.

"The effect is a drop in the bucket, a barely detectable blip, on the overall warming trajectory we can expect over the next several decades from greenhouse warming," <a class="tpstyle" title="Michael Mann" href="http://www.upi.com/topic/Michael_Mann/">Michael Mann</a>, professor of meteorology at Pennsylvania State University, told The Washington Post.

Furthermore, a number of recent studies suggest the so-called Little Ice Age was, as its name suggests, quite small in size and stature -- resulting in only small temperature reductions <a class="tpstyle" href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10712-012-9181-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">isolated to Europe</a>. It was also, scientists say, mostly the result of an uptick in volcanic activity, which spewed sun-blocking gas and ash into the atmosphere.

'Mini Ice Age' Study Being Criticized

'Mini Ice Age' Study Being Criticized. Some headline-grabbing research by...

Obama Proposes New Rule To Protect Streams Near Coal Mines. The Obama administration is proposing new regulations Thursday designed to reduce the impact of coal mining on the nation's streams.
Current federal regulation designed to protect streams near coal mines date back to 1983. The proposed regulations, long anticipated, would maintain the buffer zone that prevents coal mining from within 100 feet of streams to prevent debris from being dumped into the water. But they will set clearer guidelines for companies to follow. Current federal regulation designed to protect streams near coal mines date back to 1983.
A summary obtained by the Associated Press said the regulations would update reclamation practices that require companies to restore streams and return mined areas to a condition capable of supporting the land uses available before mining activities. Companies also would have to replant native trees and <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=vegation&amp;cvid=1b5c9942b1d54b32ada0a50ceacc3c5d&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">vegetation</a>.
Mine operators often already undertake such restoration work. The proposed rule acknowledges those advancements and seeks greater consistency from companies to expedite forest recovery.
The Obama administration has made clear for a while that it intended to develop a new rule that keeps pace with current science and modern mining practices. Some Republican lawmakers and industry groups have voiced fears that the proposed regulatory changes would force some mining operations to close, leading to job loss and higher utility costs in states where surface mining is most common, namely West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. The administration is maintaining that the costs of the proposed rule is projected to have a minimal impact on the coal industry overall. Obama Proposes New Rule To Protect Streams Near Coal Mines
Leading up to the release of the proposed rule later Thursday, Republicans sought to undercut the legitimacy of process that the Office of Surface <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/potential-impacts-of-deep-seabed-mining-are-not-yet-understood/">Mining</a> Reclamation and Enforcement undertook in developing it. A House committee posted letters from nine states withdrawing from an environmental review process that coincided with the rule's development because, as one West Virginia official put it, a "lack of fundamental engagement."
President George W. Bush sought to relax the existing regulations shortly leaving office. The regulatory change allowed excess spoils to be place in streams, but added new requirements designed to reduce the adverse environmental impact. A federal court tossed the rule after environmental groups sued, and the 1983 version was reinstated.
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Obama Proposes New Rule To Protect Streams Near Coal Mines

Obama Proposes New Rule To Protect Streams Near Coal Mines....

California Drought

The House on Thursday passed GOP-led legislation designed to bring more water to California's farm belt amid a severe and lengthy drought.
Similar legislation has failed in the last two congressional sessions, and the White House and Democrats remain opposed.
The four-year California drought has forced communities to cut water use. Some rural areas have been particularly hurt as the state's water distribution systems curtailed the amount of water for agriculture. The bill is designed to take more water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta before it flows into the ocean. It also seeks to speed up studies for a handful of new or expanded dams.
The House passed the bill by a vote of 245-176. Opponents said that diverting more water to farms will take water from other California communities and harm the state's salmon fishing industry. Only five Democrats voted for the bill.
Republicans have blamed some of the cutbacks on environmental regulations designed to protect salmon populations and the threatened Delta smelt, a three-inch-long fish that is disappearing from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. At times over the years, state and federal officials have reduced the amount of water pumped from the Delta to prevent smelt from getting sucked into the pumps.
The bill authored by Republican Rep. David Valadao required that federal regulators maintain certain pumping levels unless the secretary of the Interior Department certifies that level would harm the long-term survival of the Delta smelt and no other alternatives to protect the smelt are available. The 170-page bill also sets deadlines for the completion of feasibility studies to build or enlarge five dams in the state and ends efforts to build up salmon populations in the San Joaquin River.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, said that people would lose their livelihoods if lawmakers didn't act, and consumers would have to rely more on food from countries that don't have the same labor and environmental laws.
"We designed the bill to move as much water down south to our farms and to our cities as possible without making any fundamental changes to the environmental law," McCarthy said.
Republicans focused on how more water flowing out to the ocean should be captured for agriculture. Democrats said that would upset the balance of the delta, harming both the environment and the quality of the drinking water.
"If that fresh water doesn't run through and run out to the ocean, the salt water runs back in. I have two major cities in my district that rely on that for a source of water," said Democratic Rep Mike Thompson. "If this bill were to pass, their water supply is in jeopardy. You can't drink salt water. It just doesn't work."
The White House said it strongly opposes the bill and argued that dictating operational decisions for the state's water distribution systems could limit water supplies. Other provisions would likely result in the resumption of costly litigation, said a statement from the White House Office of Management and Budget.
"Much of the bill contains provisions that have little connection to the ongoing drought," the statement said.
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US House Passes Another Bill To Help Stem California Drought

The House on Thursday passed GOP-led legislation designed to bring...

Scientists: Earth's Climate In Hot And Rising Water. In their annual, detailed physical of Earth's climate, scientists say the world is in increasingly hot and rising water.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the American Meteorological Society's annual state of the climate report, released Thursday, delves into the details of already reported record-smashing warmth globally in 2014, giving special attention to the world's oceans.
<a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=NOAA&amp;cvid=6c942ade05c34f1fa128b7ea6168776f&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">NOAA</a> climate monitoring chief Deke Arndt, co-editor of the report, said the seas last year "were just ridiculous." Scientists: Earth's Climate In Hot And Rising Water
The report said ocean surface temperatures were the warmest in 135 years of records, with the seas holding record levels of heat energy down to 2,300 feet below the surface. <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/clear-blue-waters-highlight-the-caribbean-sea/">Sea</a> level also hit modern highs, partly because warmer water expands. Scientists: Earth's Climate In Hot And Rising Water
About 93 percent of the man-made heat energy from the burning of fossil fuels went into the world's oceans, said NOAA oceanographer Greg Johnson. And that heat energy trapped in the ocean affects all sorts of weather, including providing more fuel for tropical cyclones, said Tom Karl, director of NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.
All sorts of warming events shifted into overdrive, especially in the Pacific. In addition to a brewing El Nino - where weather worldwide is changed by warm water in parts of the central Pacific - there was a warming of the northeast Pacific nicknamed "The Blob" and a larger scale warming called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, which often coincides with faster warming of the planet, Johnson said.
Johnson said subtropical fish not normally seen that far north were appearing off the coast of an unusually warm Alaska.
More than 400 scientists wrote the peer-reviewed 292-page study, the 25th year that the climate checkup was conducted. Its highlights include:
-Four different measuring systems concluded that 2014 was hottest year on record on Earth's surface. However, because of margins of error, there's a chance it could only be second hottest.
-Many places, such as Europe, not only had record heat on average, but record patches of extreme heat.
-There were 91 tropical cyclones worldwide in 2014, slightly more than the 30-year average of 82.
-Permafrost in Alaska measuring sites thawed, as temperatures at 65 feet underground set record highs for the second year in a row.
-Glaciers worldwide continued to shrink, but not at a record pace.
-Arctic sea ice, while not at a record setting low last year, is still declining over the long-term.
-However, Antarctic sea ice hit record high levels for the third straight year; different factors aside from temperature have been a cause, said NOAA climate scientist Jessica Blunden.
Jeff Severinghaus of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who wasn't part of the report, said if this is Earth's annual checkup, "the doctor is saying `you are gravely ill.'"
---
Online:
NOAA's State of the Climate: <a href="http://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/2014-state-climate-highlights" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/2014-state-climate-highlights</a>
---
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Scientists: Earth's Climate In Hot And Rising Water

Scientists: Earth's Climate In Hot And Rising Water. In their...

Ranchers Sue Feds Over State Water Rights. Ranchers in New Mexico, California and Washington state have challenged a new Obama administration rule giving federal agencies authority to protect some streams and wetlands.
The Sacramento, California-based Pacific Legal Foundation announced it has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/minnesota-stricter-emissions-standards/">Minnesota</a> on behalf of the ranchers over the recent expansion of the Clean Water Act.
The rule came in response to calls from the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=us+supreme+court&amp;cvid=be7780b6700a45c0904345024bd0b766&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">U.S. Supreme</a> Court and Congress for the Environmental Protection Agency to clarify which smaller waterways are protected under the law. Ranchers Sue Feds Over State Water Rights
The foundation argues the rule is unconstitutional because it sets no limit on the reach of the Clean Water Act.
"We are suing to block the administration's breathtaking attempt to control practically every pond, stream, and ditch in the country," said Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Reed Hopper.
EPA spokeswoman Monica Lee declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The agency said in a statement that the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized the Clean Water Rule because protection for many of the nation's streams and wetlands had been confusing, complex and time-consuming as a result of past Supreme Court decisions.
"The agencies developed a rule that ensures that waters protected under the Clean Water Act are more precisely defined, more predictably determined, and easier for businesses and industry to understand," the EPA said.
Minnesota-based Pierce Investment Co. also is named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit that seeks to throw out the new rule.
The company owns property in Marshall County, Minnesota, that the Corps of Engineers claims is subject to federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.
In June, 13 states led by North Dakota filed a lawsuit over the same rule change.
North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said the "Waters of the U.S." rule by the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers is a power grab that is "unnecessary and unlawful and will do nothing to increase water quality."
That lawsuit, filed in federal court in Bismarck, also asks for the rule to be thrown out.
Nine other states later joined the lawsuit.
---
Follow Russell Contreras at <a href="http://twitter.com/russcontreras" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/russcontreras</a>
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Ranchers Sue Feds Over State Water Rights

Ranchers Sue Feds Over State Water Rights. Ranchers in New...

Scientists: Polar Bears Can't Stave Off Starvation From Global Warming. A study of an Alaska polar bear population in summer concludes the bear's biology will not help stave off starvation in the face of global warming.
The study of southern Beaufort Sea polar bears by university, federal and private researchers over three years concludes they have no special ability to minimize energy loss during increasing periods of fasting brought on by <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=climate+change&amp;cvid=cd165a8ab6cf4a029c787c6b55acd97d&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">climate</a> warming, less sea ice and fewer hunting days. Scientists: Polar Bears Can't Stave Off Starvation From Global Warming
The research rejects the idea that polar bears can avoid harmful declines in body condition in a sort of "walking <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/arctic-ground-squirrels-recycle-their-own-nutrients-during-hibernation/">hibernation,</a>" as suggested by 1970s research.
Co-author, Steve Amstrup, a retired U.S. Geological Survey polar bear researcher now affiliated with Montana-based Polar Bears International, said the "walking hibernation" theory arose with observations of bears at Canada's Hudson Bay.
The paper published Thursday in the journal Science instead concludes that polar bears have no such ability to conserve energy and react like all other mammals when faced with limited food.
"We haven't known until now whether bears really reduce their metabolism in summer, which, if they did, may have offered a limited buffer from some of the negative effects of ice loss," said lead author John Whiteman of the University of Wyoming.
Fasting is a way of life for many animals. For polar bears, fasting can last eight months.
Their main prey is ringed seals. Hunting is most successful from April to July when seals use sea ice for rearing pups and molting.
In months following, ringed seals spend most of their time in water. Some polar bears retreat to land, where feeding opportunities are limited, or stay on sea ice that in recent years has retreated far north of the shallow, biologically abundant outer continental shelf.
Using helicopters launched from a Coast Guard icebreaker, researchers sampled bears on summer sea ice.
"This paper gives us the first solid understanding of polar bear metabolism in summer, especially out on the sea ice over deep water far from shore, where bears have never been sampled before," Whiteman said.
The study found that activity and temperature patterns recorded for polar bears in summer were not comparable to patterns for hibernating bears in winter dens. The patterns were typical of food-deprived mammals rather than hibernating mammals, Amstrup said.
Karyn Rode, U.S. Geological Survey research wildlife biologist in Anchorage who was part of a polar bear fasting study published in 2012, said the new study confirms that "walking hibernation" does not accurately describe polar bears' energetic status in the summer.
"It's definitely a different line of evidence that further supports that they can't conserve energy when they're fasting," Rode said.
Additional studies are coming out, but scientists say it's already clear what needs to be done.
"We already know the answer to the question, `What do we need to do to save polar bears from extinction?" Amstrup said. "All of the studies in the world won't help us there. If we don't deal with greenhouse gas emissions, those of us who have been studying polar bears for our whole lives will be nothing more than polar bear historians."
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Scientists: Polar Bears Can't Stave Off Starvation From Global Warming

Scientists: Polar Bears Can't Stave Off Starvation From Global Warming....

Silhouette of oil platform in sea against moody sky at sunset

Unused Oil And Gas Wells Becoming A Big Problem. Five years after the Obama administration promised to move swiftly to permanently plug unused oil and gas wells in the Gulf of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=mexico&amp;cvid=7b266c382ce24b508c97e74476b994cd&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Mexico,</a> even more shafts are lingering for longer periods with only temporary sealing, an Associated Press investigation shows.
It is not clear how many incompletely sealed wells may have leaked - they generally are not monitored as carefully as active wells - but they contain fewer barriers to pent-up petroleum and rupture more easily. The threat to the environment increases with time. Unused Oil And Gas Wells Becoming A Big Problem
In July 2010, during the BP <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/life-in-deep-ocean-sediments-can-survive-boiling-hot-temperatures/">oil</a> spill, the AP reported that the Gulf was littered with more than 27,000 unused wells, including 14 percent left with just temporary seals. Unused Oil And Gas Wells Becoming A Big Problem
The AP's new analysis of federal data shows that the neglect of long-idle wells has intensified since 2010, despite the federal push after the BP accident:
-Twenty-five percent more wells have now stayed temporarily sealed for more than a year, jumping from 2,855 to 3,576.
-Wells sealed temporarily for more than a year make up 86 percent of all temporarily sealed shafts, up from 78 percent.
-The number of wells equipped with temporary barriers for more than five years has risen from 1,631 to 1,895 - a 16 percent increase.
"I think there are signs of progress, but, my God, we got a long way to go," said Bob Bea, an emeritus engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley, when told of the AP findings. Bea, who advised the government on safety after the BP spill, said he'd give "a poor grade" to efforts to seal wells since then.
In the aftermath of the BP spill, federal officials rolled out a program to push companies to permanently seal wells "in a timely manner." That effort, known as the "Idle Iron" program, is beset by loopholes that essentially allow companies to delay permanent closure indefinitely, the AP found.
The government allows wells to remain temporarily sealed when companies say they intend to reuse them. However, the rules let oil companies dodge either temporary or permanent sealing on active leases simply by filing plans to make use of the well eventually. Such wells are not considered idle. Other wells without any conceivable use must be plugged after five years, but temporary sealing is then acceptable until the lease expires. Some leases have lasted for almost 70 years.
The AP analysis in May shows that 1,065 wells have been left with temporary sealing for at least a decade, up from 1,009 wells in 2010 - a rise of 6 percent.
Such wells are subject to corrosion and intense pressure at depths down to almost two miles below the water's surface. Shafts penetrate as far as six miles into the seabed.
"The older it is, probably the more attention needs to be given to monitoring and maintaining it," said John Rogers Smith, a retired professor at Louisiana State University who also used to do engineering work for offshore wells in the oil industry. "Are ... people really paying attention to something that's sitting there doing nothing for five-plus years?"
Permanent sealing installs multiple plugs, including one very near the mouth of the well. Permanent closing also cuts off all hardware 15 feet below the seafloor, blocking any ready oil pathway to the water. But these jobs cost more and take more time than temporary sealing, which also entails multiple seals but allows a smaller uppermost plug to be set 1,000 feet down from the mouth of the well. Temporary sealing keeps piping in place that can channel a leak up to the seabed.
Companies often seal wells temporarily to allow time to work up plans to fix a drilling problem or damage from a storm. Some owners, though, temporarily close wells for economic reasons: to wait for higher oil prices or better drilling technology.
Roger Anderson, an oil geophysicist at Columbia University, said some reasons to keep a well temporarily sealed are legitimate. But at a minimum, he said wells in this temporary condition since the 1950s should be permanently sealed, since they were drilled before many improvements in well design.
In mid-May, according to a federal well database, there were three Gulf wells on U.S. leases kept in temporary sealing since the 1950s and another 17 since the 1960s.
Leaks in such wells are likely to occur in small volumes that could easily go unnoticed. But federal reports have for years warned that such releases are harmful to the environment. And state and federal regulators have acknowledged that even drained wells can re-pressurize, and some sealed wells eventually leak.
The BP leak, the worst-ever in offshore U.S. waters, occurred at a well that the company was in the process of temporarily closing. The accident killed 11 workers and spilled up to 172 million gallons of oil. Federal officials defend their well safety efforts since then, and there have more permanent closures. There were 25,928 permanently sealed wells in mid-May, up 10 percent from 23,468 at the end of the BP spill, according to the AP analysis of federal data.
Michael Saucier, who oversees federal efforts to close idle wells, said in a statement that he intends that "wells with no future use be properly abandoned."
"From the data available," he said, "it is evident that we are accomplishing this goal."
Saucier's agency, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, released data to the AP saying that as of February, only 1,120 wells remained targets of its Idle Iron program to permanently plug wells. There were 3,233 in October 2010 - a two-thirds decrease. The number of oil platforms considered idle has dropped from 617 to 266.
However, wells on active leases can remain temporarily sealed for decades under this program, as long there are plans for reuse.
Asked about the rules, federal regulators suggested that some permanent sealing jobs would be unwise, because cutters and explosives used to fully sever and bury wells may pose danger to nearby active wells. They said unsafe wells can be ordered to undergo permanent sealing if necessary.
Fieldwood Energy LLC and subsidiaries - Fieldwood Energy Offshore LLC and Fieldwood SD Offshore LLC - have 711 temporarily abandoned Gulf wells, more than any other companies, according to the AP analysis. Those wells also include more such wells inactive for over five years than anyone else - 419 - including seven dating to the 1960s.
Mike Dane, a vice president of the private Houston-based Fieldwood Energy, said in a statement that temporary seals act as "vital barriers necessary to ensure a well is safely abandoned," even without permanent abandonment. He acknowledged that it's "generally more practical" to wait for full permanent closure until the associated oil platform is removed.
Oil platforms often remain in place until leases expire. Even then, the rules let companies take another year to fully seal wells.
The pressure on the Gulf is apt to keep increasing. The overall number of wells has increased by 5 percent since 2010: from 50,784 to 53,481. The number of temporarily abandoned wells has risen by 11 percent, from 3,669 to 4,081.
---
The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/investigate@ap.org" target="-blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">investigate@ap.org</a>
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Unused Oil And Gas Wells Becoming A Big Problem

Unused Oil And Gas Wells Becoming A Big Problem. Five...

528069.TIF

Arctic Sea Ice Has Increased Since 2013. Measurements from ESA’s CryoSat satellite show that the volume of Arctic sea ice increased by a third following the unusually cool summer of 2013. This new finding suggests that ice in the northern hemisphere is more sensitive to changes in summer melting than it is to winter cooling.

Scientists at University College London (UCL) and the University of Leeds in the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=UK&amp;cvid=9fd5a8aeb6764a0b9004b0ecf4caeaf2&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">UK</a> used 88 million sea-ice thickness measurements taken by CryoSat between 2010 and 2014.

The study, published today in Nature Geoscience, shows a 14% reduction in the volume of summer sea ice between 2010 and 2012, but the volume of ice jumped by 41% in 2013, when the summer was 5% cooler than the previous year.

[caption id="attachment_2383011" align="alignleft" width="150"]<a href="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/07/20121938/arctic-sea-ice-autumn_1big_esa.png"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2383011" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/07/20121938/arctic-sea-ice-autumn_1big_esa-150x150.png" alt="Changes in autumn ice" width="150" height="150" /></a> Changes in autumn ice[/caption]

Lead author Rachel Tilling, from the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) at UCL, said, “The summer of 2013 was much cooler than recent years, with temperatures typical of those seen in the late 1990s.

“This allowed thick sea ice to persist northwest of Greenland because there were fewer days when it could melt. Although models have suggested that the volume of Arctic sea ice is in long-term decline, we know now that it can recover by a significant amount if the melting season is cut short.”

Launched in 2010, CryoSat measures the height of ice – both of that floating in the polar oceans and of the vast ice sheets covering Greenland and Antarctica. This information is essential for working out the thickness of the ice and how it is changing and, ultimately, how the volume of Earth’s ice is being affected by the climate.

The volume of Arctic ice has been steadily falling since the late 1970s, but was difficult to assess accurately before CryoSat.

[caption id="attachment_2383010" align="alignleft" width="150"]<a href="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/07/20121935/arctic-sea-ice-spring_1big_esa.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2383010" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/07/20121935/arctic-sea-ice-spring_1big_esa-150x150.jpg" alt="Spring average" width="150" height="150" /></a> Spring average[/caption]

Rachel added, “Until CryoSat was launched, it was tricky to measure the volume of Arctic sea ice as the pack drifts and measurements could not be taken across the whole region.

“Together with maps of sea-ice extent, our measurements of sea-ice thickness now complete the picture because they reveal what’s going on below the water, where most of the action happens.”

The team say although the first five years of CryoSat measurements have revealed important information on the state of Arctic sea ice, the record is still short to establish a long-term trend.

Professor Andrew Shepherd, Director of CPOM, said, “Understanding what controls the amount of Arctic sea ice takes us one step closer to making reliable predictions of how long it will last, which is important because it is a key component of Earth’s climate system.

“Although the jump in volume means that the region is unlikely to be ice free this summer, we still expect temperatures to rise in the future, and so the events of 2013 will have simply wound the clock back a few years on the long-term pattern of decline.

[caption id="attachment_2383009" align="alignleft" width="150"]<a href="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/07/20121929/cryosat_10big_esa.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2383009" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/07/20121929/cryosat_10big_esa-150x150.jpg" alt="Cryosat satellite" width="150" height="150" /></a> Cryosat satellite[/caption]

“Our goal is to make sure we do not lose this unique capability to monitor Arctic sea ice when the mission ends.”

The team now plans to use CryoSat’s measurements of changing sea-ice thickness to help improve the models that are used to predict future climate change, and also to assist maritime activities in the Arctic region, which can be dangerous and costly to navigate.

Tommaso Parrinello, ESA’s CryoSat Manager, said, “CryoSat has been in orbit for over five years now and still continues to demonstrate excellence by delivering the precise data that scientists need to advance polar science – we remain very proud of our satellite.”

---

<a href="http://www.esa.int" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">European Space Agency</a>

Arctic Sea Ice Has Increased Since 2013

Arctic Sea Ice Has Increased Since 2013. Measurements from ESA’s...

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response

Update: Vatican Climate Meetings. The latest developments at the Vatican's meeting of mayors on fighting climate change and human trafficking. All times local.
---
12:15 p.m.
The mayor of Stockholm says climate negotiators at Paris talks later this year must "exclude fossil fuels" as an option and focus on long-term sustainable energy sources. Update: Vatican Climate Meetings
Mayor Karin Wanngaard says she had "great expectations" for the outcome but also was fully aware of the challenges. Stockholm is one of the world's leaders in using renewable energy sources: 75 percent of the city's public transport network runs on renewable energy. Wanngaard's goal is to make the Swedish capital fossil fuel-free by 2040.
"Climate negotiators must dare to push boundaries and exclude fossil fuels as an option and reward solutions that are long-term sustainable and recyclable," she told a Vatican conference on climate Tuesday.
---
11:55 a.m.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced new greenhouse gas emissions targets for the Big Apple at a Vatican summit aimed at keeping up the pressure on national leaders ahead of climate talks in Paris later this year.
De Blasio is a founding member of an alliance of cities around the world that have committed to reducing their emissions by 80 percent by 2050 or sooner.
At the Vatican conference Tuesday, De Blasio said New York was taking an interim step, committing to reducing its emissions by 40 percent by 2030.
"The Paris summit is just months away," De Blasio said. "We need to see it as the finish line of a sprint, and take every local action we can in the coming months to maximize the chance that our national governments will act boldly."
---
11:25 a.m.
The governor of California is denouncing global warming deniers who are "bamboozling" the public with propaganda and putting "troglodytes" into office rather than environmentally responsible leaders.
Gov. Jerry Brown was one of the keynote speakers Tuesday at a conference of eco-friendly mayors at the Vatican. California has enacted the toughest greenhouse gas emissions standards in North America.
To rousing applause, Brown denounced the "fierce opposition and blind inertia" in the U.S. by climate skeptics who he says are seeking to "falsify the scientific record" and convince politicians, scientists and the general public that global warming isn't happening.
Brown, a former Jesuit seminarian, urged the mayors to not be complacent in opposing them. He said climate deniers are spending "billions on trying to keep from office people such as yourselves and elect troglodytes and other deniers of the obvious science."
The mayors are expected to sign a Vatican declaration urging world leaders to take bold action at Paris climate talks this December.
---
11:00 a.m.
Environmentally friendly mayors from around the world are gathering at the Vatican for a two-day conference rallying momentum ahead of Paris climate negotiations later this year.
Pope Francis is expected to address the meeting later Tuesday. He's a new hero to the environmental movement, thanks to his recent encyclical denouncing the world's fossil fuel-based economy that he says exploits the poor and destroys the Earth.
The mayors are expected to sign a declaration at the end of the day demanding that their national leaders approve a "bold climate agreement" at Paris talks in December that keeps global warming at a safe limit for humanity.
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Update: Vatican Climate Meetings

Update: Vatican Climate Meetings. The latest developments at the Vatican's...

Desert woman thirsty dehydrated in Death Valley

Earth dialed the heat up in June 2015, smashing warm temperature records for both the month and the first half of the year.
Off-the-charts heat is "getting to be a monthly thing," said Jessica Blunden, a climate scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. June was the fourth month of 2015 that set a record, she said.
"There is almost no way that 2015 isn't going to be the warmest on record," she added.
NOAA calculated that the world's average temperature in June hit 61.48 degrees Fahrenheit (16.33 Celsius), breaking the old record set last year by 0.22 degrees (.12 degrees Celsius). Usually temperature records are broken by one or two one-hundredths of a degree, not nearly a quarter of a degree, Blunden said.
And the picture is even more dramatic when the half-year is considered.
The first six months of 2015 were one-sixth of a degree warmer than the old record, set in 2010, averaging 57.83 degrees (14.35 Celsius).
The old record for the first half of the year was set in 2010, the last time there was an El Nino - a warming of the central Pacific Ocean that changes weather worldwide. But in 2010, the El Nino petered out. This year, forecasters are predicting this El Nino will get stronger, not weaker.
"If that happens, it's just going to go off the charts," Blunden said.
June was warm nearly all over the world, with exceptional heat in Spain, Austria, parts of Asia, Australia and South America. Southern Pakistan had a June heat wave that killed more than 1,200 people - which, according to an international database, would be the eighth deadliest in the world since 1900. In May, a heat wave in India claimed more than 2,000 lives and ranked as the fifth deadliest on record. Earth dialed the heat up in June 2015, smashing warm temperature records for both the month and the first half of the year.
May and March also broke monthly heat records, which go back 136 years. Initially NOAA figured February 2015 was only the second hottest February on record, but new data came in that made it too the hottest, Blunden said. Earth has broken monthly heat records 25 times since the year 2000, but hasn't broken a monthly cold record since 1916.
"This is what anthropogenic global warming looks like, just hotter and hotter," said Jonathan Overpeck, co-director of the Institute of the Environment at the University of Arizona.
---
Online:
NOAA June global analysis: <a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201506" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201506</a>
---
Seth Borenstein can be followed at <a href="http://twitter.com/borenbears" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/borenbears</a>
---
This story has been corrected with new data showing June was the fourth record-setting month of 2015, not the third.
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June 2015: Hottest Month On Record

Earth dialed the heat up in June 2015, smashing warm...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXXGGiynIjs
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the opposite.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-contrasting-climate-response">A contrasting climate response</h2>



Most coastal towns are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sinking-land-will-intensify-the-effects-of-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">preparing for higher sea levels</a>, but <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-no-longer-has-to-worry-about-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Greenland presents</a> a different scenario during climate change. The ground there is rising at a remarkable rate. Over the past decade, some areas have lifted about 20 centimeters, which translates to roughly 2 meters per century. This rate significantly exceeds current projections for sea level rise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-geological-rebound-process-through-climate-change">Geological rebound process through climate change</h2>



The mechanism behind this phenomenon is straightforward. As the ice sheet melts, the immense weight is removed from the bedrock, causing the land to rebound upward. This process resembles the way compressed material springs back when pressure is released.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-monitoring-networks">Scientific monitoring networks</h2>



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.dtu.dk/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Technical University of Denmark</a> are documenting this uplift using the GNET network, consisting of 61 GPS stations positioned around Greenland's coast. These sensors can detect movement with millimeter precision, providing detailed measurements of the ongoing changes.



The data reveal that current uplift rates exceed the gradual rebound occurring since the last ice age ended approximately 12,000 years ago. This acceleration corresponds directly with increased ice sheet melting rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coastal-transformation">Coastal Transformation</h2>



This uplift is actively reshaping Greenland's coastline. New islands and rocky formations, called "skerries," are emerging as previously submerged land surfaces rise above the water level. This represents a notable contrast to global concerns about rising seas.



The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, demonstrates the varied regional impacts of climate change. While many locations face rising water levels, Greenland's bedrock is literally rising above the surrounding seas.



The full study was recently published in <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2023GL104851" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



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Greenland's ground rises while coasts worldwide face higher seas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXXGGiynIjs Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to implement the latest AI Agent building platform.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-agent-training-transforms-the-workplace-fear-factor-into-a-competitive-advantage">AI agent training transforms the workplace 'fear factor' into a competitive advantage</h2>



Organizations that offer comprehensive artificial intelligence training to their workers find remarkable value that extends well beyond basic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mind-wandering-might-be-more-productive-than-you-think/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">productivity improvements</a>. Emerging research demonstrates that carefully crafted AI training programs <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-does-not-replace-human-creativity-but-enhances-it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">enhance</a> corporate performance, lower operational costs, and dramatically improve employee psychological well-being by turning workplace uncertainty into professional empowerment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-addressing-the-widespread-ai-anxiety-crisis-among-us">Addressing the widespread 'AI anxiety' crisis among us</h2>



A staggering 53% of employees expressed concern that the use of AI tools to automate work tasks could make them appear disposable to their employers, according to <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft</a>'s 2024 workplace survey. Such pervasive worry about being substituted by machines has caused what researchers have termed "AI technostress" – a psychological state that can result in occupational burnout and poorer mental well-being.



Data published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a> showed that belief in AI learning ability was a moderator in the link between technology adoption and work pressure, and higher confidence significantly lowered negative psychological responses. Workers provided ample training to become competent with AI software have significantly lower stress.



Companies like <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a> have platforms for building what are known as "AI Agents". In essence, AI Agents are simply tools that employees can build for themselves or their teams quickly and inexpensively. MindStudio will even train entire companies, from the CEO on down, at no cost. By letting MindStudio empower employees, companies avoid hiring more IT staff, buying more software, and implementing solutions to problems that do not exist.



MindStudio even has partners locally for companies, like <a href="http://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dominnus</a> with offices in the Carolinas, California, and Denver, to help build AI Agents and support employees as they become resident AI experts for their organization. The training provided by MindStudio is applicable across other AI Agent building platforms as well.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-productivity-through-focused-learning">Revolutionary productivity through focused learning</h2>



Organizations that implement large-scale AI training programs achieve dramatic outcomes. Employees performed tasks significantly better when they utilized AI support compared to when they didn't, according to <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nielsen Norman Group</a> research findings. Their study documented productivity increases of 66% for a variety of professional tasks.



Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis research finds workers record 33% higher productivity in time working with generative AI tools. The benefit is equivalent to 5.4% of work time savings for AI users – around 2.2 hours per week for full-time workers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-psychological-well-being-benefits-through-ai-competence">Psychological well-being benefits through AI competence</h2>



The emotional transformation when employees are provided with proper technology training is a fundamental transformation from fear to professional confidence. A survey of 600 employees across industries, carried out by ScienceDirect, proved that AI capabilities strengthen work environment commitment and improve job satisfaction.



A <a href="https://www.lut.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LUT University</a> study discovered that AI adoption has no direct effect on workers' well-being but does so indirectly through working conditions like task optimization and safety protocols. Strategically deployed AI that involves correct training can actually increase workplace mental well-being.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-replacement-anxiety-to-partnership-confidence">From 'replacement anxiety' to 'partnership confidence'</h2>



Although 35% of those interviewed in recent McKinsey studies were concerned about workforce displacement, firms with large-scale training initiatives witness such fears dissipate quickly. The World Economic Forum found that two out of three respondents believe AI competencies will enhance their career prospects and job marketability.



This shift from fear to trust has measurable implications for job satisfaction. Applied Sciences research indicates AI can create tailored wellness programs based on individual employee requirements.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-financial-benefits-of-increased-retention">Financial benefits of increased retention</h2>



The mental health advantages of AI learning have a direct impact on organizational bottom lines in the form of a positive feedback cycle with high retention of employees. Recent ROI research validates that artificial intelligence learning has a beneficial impact on employee turnover and satisfaction levels.



PriceWaterhouseCoopers' research documents 20% to 30% improvements in productivity, market speed, and revenue in organizations that attempt systematic AI adoption through comprehensive training.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-environmental-advantages-of-ai-enabled-teams">Environmental advantages of AI-enabled teams</h2>



AI training has unforeseen environmental benefits as it makes the work environment more efficient. According to a study in Scientific Reports, the carbon footprint in writing and illustrating work is significantly lower when AI performs it compared to humans. AI software produces 130 to 1,500 times less CO2 equivalent per page of text created than human authors.



In addition, AI-driven remote work functionality significantly reduces environmental impact. Research by Cornell University and Microsoft indicates that remote workers reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 54% by not commuting daily to offices. Hybrid workers working remotely two to four days a week can reduce their carbon footprint by 11% to 29%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cumulative-organizational-advantages">Cumulative organizational advantages</h2>



The compounding gains of better mental well-being, reduced turnover, increased productivity, and environmental benefits flow to enterprises from the pairing. McKinsey analysis estimates the long-term AI potential at $4.4 trillion in incremental productivity growth opportunity from business use cases.



As of now, 75% of knowledge workers globally utilize generative AI, mirroring widespread adoption patterns. Organizations that provide organized training and assistance see the most favorable results in productivity, worker satisfaction, and ecological sustainability.



The research overwhelmingly indicates that companies that invest in proper AI education, like that offered through <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a>, establish win-win scenarios where employees are both more empowered and less stressed, and companies enjoy the gains of increased productivity, reduced turnover, and improved mental health outcomes throughout their workforce.



For more on MindStudio's free AI training for companies, visit the website's of MindStudio and Dominnus from the links below.



The research was published across a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a>, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/artificial-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence</a>, and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci">Applied Sciences</a>.



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MindStudio.AI: <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.mindstudio.ai</a>



Dominnus: <a href="https://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.dominnus.com</a>

AI agent training boosts mental health and profits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDXqTGEmi4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-natural-solution-to-disease-through-crop-modification">A natural solution to disease through crop modification.</h2>



The agricultural industry stands at a crossroads between productivity and environmental responsibility, and crop modification often carries a negative connotation. While chemical pesticides have long been the go-to solution for crop protection, their harmful effects on ecosystems and human health have prompted scientists to seek alternatives. The recent breakthrough by <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Southampton</a> researchers offers a promising path forward through the precise manipulation of plant-associated microbial communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-science-behind-microbial-partnerships">The science behind microbial partnerships</h2>



Plants naturally harbor diverse ecosystems of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms that function as biological allies. These microscopic partners contribute to disease resistance, nutrient absorption, and stress tolerance. However, until now, scientists lacked the tools to deliberately reshape these communities to enhance crop protection.



The Southampton team's approach centered on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/engineered-plant-microbiomes-the-future-of-crop-protection/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modifying lignin biosynthesis genes in rice plants</a>. This strategic intervention altered the plant's metabolic output, creating conditions that favored beneficial bacterial populations while suppressing harmful ones. The result was a living defense system embedded within the plant itself.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-global-food-security">Implications for global food security</h2>



The successful demonstration against Xanthomonas oryzae, the pathogen responsible for bacterial blight in rice, represents more than a laboratory achievement. Rice feeds nearly half the world's population, and bacterial blight causes devastating crop losses annually. Traditional control methods rely heavily on pesticides that contaminate soil and water systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-beyond-disease-resistance">Looking Beyond Disease Resistance</h2>



While disease protection represents the immediate application, the research framework opens doors to broader agricultural improvements. Future developments could engineer microbiomes to enhance nutrient uptake, reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers. This dual benefit addresses both crop productivity and environmental sustainability.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-path-forward">The path forward</h2>



As this technology advances from laboratory to field applications, it promises to reshape sustainable agriculture. The ability to program plants with their own biological defense systems could herald a new era where crops protect themselves naturally, reducing chemical inputs while maintaining yields necessary for global food security.



The study is published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44335-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Revolutionizing agriculture through microbiome engineering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDXqTGEmi4 Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease A natural...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-don-t-we-ever-hear-about-acid-rain-anymore-the-environmental-crisis-that-was-solved">Why don't we ever hear about "acid rain" anymore? The environmental crisis that was solved</h2>



Remember the 1980s when acid rain dominated headlines? Dire warnings about rain eating buildings, killing fish, and destroying forests filled every news cycle. Then, almost like magic, acid rain vanished from public discourse. What happened? Did we actually solve one of the late 20th century's most pressing environmental challenges?



The answer might surprise you. Unlike many environmental issues that drag on indefinitely, acid rain represents one of modern history's most successful ecological recovery stories. It's a tale of science, politics, and technology working together to tackle what seemed impossible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was acid rain?</h2>



Acid rain isn't regular rain having a bad day – it's precipitation that became significantly more acidic due to air pollution. When power plants, factories, and vehicles burn fossil fuels, they release sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The science behind it</h2>



Think of acid rain as nature's chemistry experiment gone wrong. These compounds react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When mixed with water vapor in clouds, they create precipitation with dangerously low pH levels.



While clean rain has a pH of about 5.6, acid rain could drop as low as 4.2 to 4.4 – roughly as acidic as tomato juice or coffee. According to US Geological Survey documentation, Scottish chemist Angus Smith first coined "acid rain" in 1872, but it didn't become a household phrase until the 1960s and 1970s when Swedish scientist Svante Odén documented its devastating effects on Scandinavian lakes and European forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The crisis at its peak</h2>



During the height of public concern, environmental damage was both widespread and visible. This wasn't some abstract future threat – people could see destruction happening in real-time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Environmental devastation</h2>



The most dramatic impacts were impossible to ignore. Research documented by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shows that in the Adirondack Mountains, more than 200 lakes became so acidic they couldn't support fish life. The Adirondack Council reports that 409 lakes once supported brook trout, but many lost their fish populations due to acid rain.



By 1976, when scientists cataloged all acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, researchers found that half of the lakes over 2,000 feet above sea level had no fish, according to studies published in environmental journals. The acidification process worked like a slow-motion disaster. As acid rain fell into watersheds, it gradually lowered pH levels. Fish couldn't survive in acidic water, and their food sources died off too.



Trees at high elevations showed stress directly linked to acid rain. It weakened them by leaching nutrients and making them susceptible to disease. Historical records show Germany's Black Forest saw nearly half its trees damaged by the mid-1980s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Economic impact</h2>



Acid rain wasn't just environmental – it was expensive. Acidic precipitation corroded infrastructure, buildings, and monuments. Historic stone structures deteriorated at accelerated rates. Tourism suffered as lakes became fishless and forests declined. EPA economic analyses from the period documented repair costs mounting into billions annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The solution: government action and technology</h2>



Transformation from crisis to success required unprecedented cooperation between governments, industries, and environmental groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Clean Air Act of 1990</h2>



The turning point came with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. This represented a fundamentally new approach to environmental regulation, as documented in EPA historical records.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cap-and-trade success</h2>



Instead of mandating specific technologies, the 1990 amendments introduced something revolutionary: a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide emissions. EPA program documentation shows this market-based approach set overall limits but allowed companies to trade emission allowances.



The genius was harnessing market forces to find cost-effective pollution reduction. Companies reducing emissions cheaply could sell excess allowances to those facing higher costs. Research published in environmental economics journals and EPA progress reports shows this resulted in dramatic SO2 reduction at a fraction of projected costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technology advances</h2>



Policy provided the framework, but technology made reductions possible. Studies in atmospheric science journals document the widespread adoption of flue gas desulfurization systems ("scrubbers") that removed sulfur dioxide before it reached the atmosphere. By the 2000s, new installations could remove over 95% of SO2 emissions, according to EPA technical reports.



The push coincided with cleaner energy development. Natural gas produces fewer sulfur compounds than coal. Wind and solar, emerging in the 1990s, captured growing market share, reducing reliance on high-sulfur coal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-don-t-hear-about-it-today">Why we don't hear about it today</h2>



Why did acid rain disappear from headlines? Simple: the problem was largely solved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Success doesn't make news</h2>



There's an old journalism saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." Environmental success stories don't generate urgency like crisis reporting. Media attention shifted to other challenges: climate change, plastic pollution, and biodiversity loss. There's only so much environmental anxiety the public can absorb, and newer concerns replaced acid rain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mission accomplished</h2>



The primary reason is beautifully simple: interventions worked. EPA monitoring data shows sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990. Academic research published in environmental science journals confirms pH levels in formerly affected areas returned closer to normal. This represents one of history's most dramatic environmental recoveries. Studies by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation show fishless lakes now support healthy populations. Forests recovered, and building damage slowed dramatically.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-really-gone">Is it really gone?</h2>



The crisis is largely resolved, but monitoring data shows the problem isn't completely eliminated – it's managed to acceptable levels. Some areas still experience occasional events during high pollution periods. International environmental research indicates that rapidly industrializing Asian countries face similar problems to what we experienced decades ago, though they're implementing successful strategies.



EPA research shows nitrogen oxide emissions proved more challenging than sulfur dioxide, coming from vehicles and mobile sources. Climate science studies suggest changing weather patterns add complexity to how acid rain forms and falls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What this teaches us</h2>



The acid rain experience proves that seemingly intractable environmental problems can be solved with scientific understanding, political will, and technological innovation. Environmental monitoring data shows recovery speed was remarkable – within a decade, measurable improvements appeared in air quality and ecosystem health.



Success came from bipartisan support across party lines. Policy analysis studies show the market-based approach appealed to those preferring economic incentives while achieving environmental goals. This support created lasting policy surviving political changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2>



Acid rain's disappearance from public consciousness represents environmental science's greatest success stories. Through effective regulation, technological innovation, and international cooperation, we transformed an overwhelming crisis into a manageable challenge.



Today's silence isn't because we forgot – it's because we solved it. The 1990 Clean Air Act, combined with technology and energy market changes, reduced acid rain emissions over 90%, according to comprehensive EPA data analysis.



This success offers hope for current challenges. It proves complex problems can be solved when science, policy, and technology work together. As we face climate change and plastic pollution, acid rain reminds us that dramatic positive change is possible.



Next time someone asks whether environmental regulations work, remember acid rain. It's proof that sometimes, we get it right.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Sources: This article draws from EPA official documentation and progress reports, peer-reviewed research published in environmental and atmospheric science journals, historical data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation records, US Geological Survey publications, policy analysis studies, and environmental monitoring data collected over three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



1. Is acid rain completely gone? No, but EPA monitoring shows it's reduced to manageable levels. US sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990, making acid rain much less severe than the 1980s crisis.



2. How long did solving take? Environmental monitoring data shows significant improvements began within 5-10 years of 1990s emission controls. Full ecosystem recovery took longer – some areas need 20-30 years for complete recovery.



3. What made the solution successful? Clear scientific understanding, visible damage motivating action, bipartisan support, available technology, and innovative market-based policies like cap-and-trade.



4. Do other countries have acid rain problems? Yes, particularly rapidly industrializing Asian countries. However, international environmental research shows many implement similar successful control strategies.



5. Could acid rain return? Potentially, if regulations weaken or we return to high-sulfur coal without controls, though effects would take years to become severe according to environmental projections.



6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"? The United States Environmental Protection Agency produced a wonderful teacher's guide for ages 14 and under that you can find on the EPA website here: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf</a>



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The environmental problem we actually solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk Acid rain and a crisis solved. Why don't we...

Green,Ecoduct,Over,An,Empty,Highway,During,Sunset.

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https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU
</div></figure>



A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that wildlife tunnels significantly reduce amphibian road mortality during seasonal migrations. 



Frogs and salamanders often cross roads to reach breeding ponds each spring, but many are killed by vehicles. 



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a>, in collaboration with local citizens and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, installed two underpass tunnels in 2015. 



Over a 12-year monitoring period, they observed an 80.2% reduction in amphibian deaths, and up to 94% for non-climbing species like salamanders. 



The study used a before-after-control-impact design and documented more than 5,200 amphibians, highlighting the tunnels’ effectiveness even in nearby buffer zones.



Funded at $342,397 - far cheaper than wildlife crossings for large mammals - the project showcased the power of community-led conservation.



Local groups initiated the effort after observing mass amphibian deaths. Wildlife cameras later captured over 2,200 amphibians using a tunnel in just one spring, along with other species like raccoons and bobcats, indicating wider ecosystem benefits.



This marks the first peer-reviewed, long-term data set in the northeastern U.S. confirming amphibian-specific underpasses work. 



The study urges transportation departments to incorporate these designs into road planning and highlights how community action, thoughtful infrastructure, and persistence can make a real difference for biodiversity.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1617138125000780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal for Nature Conservation</a>.



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes how Earth is unique in our solar system for its ability to sustain liquid water on its surface. But now, the water cycle is shifting as the climate warms, and scientists must find ways to predict how these changes will affect water availability.



Overall, 96 percent of Earth's water is saltwater, and nearly all of freshwater is found in ice and groundwater. These sources of water are linked as it passes through solid, liquid and gas phases.



In a warmer climate, the water cycle will be transformed. It will be easier for water to evaporate and form clouds, and storms will become more frequent and intense. Some regions will get too much water, while others will be left without enough water. In addition, soil moisture will be lost - which threatens food security.



Scientists are using satellite data from over the last 40 years to track changes that are happening in the water cycle. This will ultimately help us prepare for extreme events and better manage our water resources, according to ESA.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> features images of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The photographs capture the start of the mysterious "spoke season" on Saturn - when unexplained features appear on its rings. 



According to NASA, both the cause of the spokes and their seasonal variability have yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.



"Like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its axis and therefore has four seasons, though because of Saturn's much larger orbit, each season lasts approximately seven Earth years. Equinox occurs when the rings are tilted edge-on to the Sun," explains NASA.



"The spokes disappear when it is near summer or winter solstice on Saturn. (When the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest latitude in the northern or southern hemisphere of a planet.) As the autumnal equinox of Saturn's northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, draws near, the spokes are expected to become increasingly prominent and observable."



Experts believe that the spokes may be a product of the planet's variable magnetic field. When magnetic fields interact with solar wind, an electrically charged environment is created. This phenomenon is visible on Earth as the northern lights.&nbsp;



"Scientists think that the smallest, dust-sized icy ring particles can become charged as well, which temporarily levitates those particles above the rest of the larger icy particles and boulders in the rings," says NASA.



The spokes were first observed in the early 1980s by NASA's Voyager mission. Depending on the angle of the rings, the spokes can appear dark or light.



"Thanks to Hubble's OPAL program, which is building an archive of data on the outer solar system planets, we will have longer dedicated time to study Saturn’s spokes this season than ever before," said NASA senior planetary scientist Amy Simon, head of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.



"Despite years of excellent observations by the Cassini mission, the precise beginning and duration of the spoke season is still unpredictable, rather like predicting the first storm during hurricane season."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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Closeup,Of,Fresh,Green,The,Napier,Bush,Grass,As,Animal

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="http://www.ntu.edu.sg/">NTU Singapore</a> reveals that some plants can remove toxic heavy metals from soil.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed samples of various tropical plant species to test for levels of heavy metals and metalloids. The study showed that there are existing plants with high levels of these contaminants, which means that these species are great candidates for drawing pollutants out of the soil.&nbsp;



Among the plants examined in the study, 12 species had accumulated several types of heavy metals and metalloids. These plants are widely available, including species that are native to Singapore.



“In a small nation like Singapore, land may be repurposed to support new development plans, so it is important that we have a green and sustainable way to remediate land that is contaminated," said Professor Lam Yeng Ming.



"We set out to uncover how to better make use of tropical plants to do phytoremediation and through advanced characterization techniques, we showed how some of these tropical plant species can be an environmentally friendly and literally a 'green' way to remove contaminants in soil."&nbsp;



"Phytoremediation also has benefits of cost effectiveness, simplicity of management, aesthetic advantages, and long-term applicability and sustainability. The strategy prevents erosion and metal leaching by stabilizing or accumulating heavy metals, so that helps reduce the risk of contaminant spread.”



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes why herbicides are not as effective in killing weeds anymore. In the 20th century, chemical companies developed thousands of herbicides. The most commonly used herbicide was glyphosate, which was introduced in 1974.



Over the past few decades, dozens of species of weeds have evolved resistance to glyphosate. Depending on the site of action, the part of the plant that an herbicide interacts with, weeds may even be resistant to herbicides that have not been developed yet.&nbsp;



With increasing resistance to glyphosate and other herbicides, weeds are - once again - becoming a major concern for farmers.&nbsp;



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> (JPL) describes a dust storm on Mars that was nearly twice the size of the United States. As the storm covered the southern hemisphere of the planet, some of NASA’s explorers had to delay their normal activities.



NASA’s Insight lander put itself in a "safe mode" for 11 days to conserve battery power because solar power was disrupted by the dust. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter postponed flights until conditions improved.



"A fleet of NASA orbiters monitor Martian dust storms like this one and serve as lifelines to Earth by relaying data from the rovers and lander on the ground back to the team. This includes the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, and Odyssey," reports JPL.



"Dust storms like this recent one start close to the ground and are spread by wind as they rise – warming the cold Martian atmosphere."



The images in the video were captured by NASA’s Curiosity as the dust rolled in. A fleet of orbiters monitored the dust storm from above, relaying data from Mars’ explorers back to scientists on Earth.



Video &amp; Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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