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Yale Environment 360
Pandemic Drop in Air Pollution Boosted Himalayan Snowpack, Study Finds
A drop in air pollution at the height of the coronavirus pandemic slowed the melting of snow in the Himalayas, a new study finds. More than a billion people in South Asia depend on the steady melt of snow and ice in the Himalayas through the spring and summer for fresh water. Pollution from cars, trucks, factories, and power plants in South Asia is wafting over the mountain range, disrupting this process. Soot darkens snow and ice, causing it to absorb more of the sun’s energy and melting faster.
As the Sea Rises, Will a Prized National Seashore Wash Away?
On a recent spring morning, Dave Hallac probably should have been at his desk in the regional offices of the National Park Service in Manteo, North Carolina, reading mail and going over budgets. But this was no ordinary time for the superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which encompasses 67 miles of rolling sand dunes, pristine beaches, and sprawling salt marshes and is considered one of the jewels in the nation’s network of over 400 national parks, seashores, and other sites.
Thought Extinct in the Wild, Earless Dragon Rediscovered in Australia
The Victorian grassland earless dragon, not seen in the wild since 1969, has been rediscovered in Australia, officials said. “This is an amazing discovery and offers an opportunity for us to recover a species once thought lost to our state and the world,” Victoria’s environment minister, Ingrid Stitt, said in a statement.
U.S. Officials Block Lithium Mining in Desert Flat Used to Calibrate Satellites
Federal officials have blocked lithium mining in the heart of Nevada’s Railroad Valley, a dry lakebed that NASA says is needed to calibrate satellites used for, among other things, forecasting weather and studying climate change. Since 1993, NASA has used the lakebed to accurately gauge the time it takes...
In Namibia, a Lauded Community Conservation Model Is at Risk
In the starkly beautiful desert landscape of Namibia, on the southwest coast of Africa, I have followed behind as Khoisan trackers conducted a second-by-second forensic reconstruction of a murder scene. (The victim was a young giraffe pounced on by a leopard half its weight.) I have climbed mountainous red sand dunes to watch beetles doing handstands, so fog off the Atlantic could run down their backs to their mouths. And I have listened as a Namibian wildlife guide snapped off the pipe-like branch of a Euphorbia bush and explained how the nearby rhinos had evolved, in the absence of finer foods, to thrive on its milky, poisonous flesh.
In Rush for Key Metals, Canada Ushers Miners to Its Fragile North
In the wilderness north of Great Slave Lake, in Canada’s Northwest Territories, mining companies are eyeing a potential treasure trove of critical minerals as demand for lithium, nickel, graphite, and copper has risen sharply to meet the needs of the burgeoning electric vehicle and solar power industries. The cost...
The Fastest-Warming Continent, Europe Has Already Heated by More Than 2 Degrees C
Europe is warming faster than any other continent, with rising temperatures fueling increasingly severe heat waves, floods, and wildfires, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service. The Paris Agreement set a goal of halting warming at 2 degrees C, such...
Algae-Based Biofuel May Have Bigger Carbon Footprint Than Diesel, Analysis Shows
New research using real-world data casts doubt on the energy efficiency of diesel alternatives that come from phytoplankton. Biofuels made from algae have had their time in the sun, with years of highly publicized investments from fossil fuel companies, such as Exxon and Chevron, and studies showing potential for the energy source to replace fossil fuels. New research suggests, however, that biodiesel derived from microalgae may actually emit more carbon during production and use than petroleum-based diesel.
Humans Have Pumped Enough Groundwater to Change the Tilt of the Earth
By pumping groundwater, humans have shifted the distribution of the water on Earth enough to alter the planet’s tilt, a new study finds. Previous research estimated that, between 1993 to 2010, humans pumped more than 2 trillion tons of groundwater. That water flowed to cities and farms before emptying out to sea, raising global sea levels by around a quarter of an inch, the study suggested.
Can We Mine the World’s Deep Ocean Without Destroying It?
Few people know the deep ocean as intimately as Lisa Levin, an ecologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Not content with doing pure science, Levin, who has participated in more than 40 oceanographic expeditions, founded the Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative, a global network of more than 2,000 scientists, economists, and legal experts that seeks to advise policymakers on managing the ocean’s depths.
Rooftop Solar Grew Nearly 50 Percent Globally Last Year
Global rooftop solar capacity grew by 49 percent in 2022, an industry report finds. Overall, installed rooftop solar grew from 79 gigawatts to 118 gigawatts last year and is projected to reach 159 gigawatts by the end of this year, according to SolarPower Europe, an industry trade group. Total installed...
As Africa Loses Forest, Its Small Farmers Are Bringing Back Trees
For decades, there have been reports of the deforestation of Africa. And they are true — the continent’s forests are disappearing, lost mainly to expanding agriculture, logging, and charcoal-making. But the trees? Maybe not, according to new satellite data analyzed by artificial intelligence and a growing body of on-the-ground studies. This new research is finding ever more trees outside forests, many of them nurtured by farmers and sprouting on their previously treeless fields.
Fossil Fuels Now Account for Less Than Half of Chinese Power Capacity
Fossil fuels now account for less than half of China’s power capacity, state media said Monday. In 2021, China set a goal for renewable capacity — including wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear power — to exceed fossil capacity by 2025, a target that it has hit two years ahead of schedule, Reuters reports. Renewable sources now make up 50.9 percent of total installed capacity.
Satellite Images Show Spread of Wildfire Smoke Across Eastern U.S.
Satellite imagery shows the vast extent of wildfires in Canada and the lingering veil of smoke over the Eastern U.S. A heavy haze grounded flights and spurred “Code Purple” air quality alerts in eastern cities this week as wildfires gave rise to record levels of air pollution. While air quality is slowly improving, smoky conditions persist, as shown in satellite images from Colorado State University’s Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
How Warming Ruined a Crab Fishery and Hurt an Alaskan Town
On a normal winter day on St. Paul, an island in the Bering Sea some 300 miles off the Alaskan coast, the community would be humming with activity. At the Trident Seafood crab processing plant, the diesel engines of commercial crab boats would be gurgling, and lifts would be running nonstop, transferring thousands of pounds of snow crab into the plant. “Those sounds are a reminder that money is coming in,” St. Paul’s city manager, Phil Zavadil, said in February from his office in city hall. But instead, St. Paul, a mostly Aleut community of just under 500, was silent. From “an environmental aesthetic point of view,” Zavadil admitted, the quiet was nice. “But it translates into the real-world [budget] cuts we’re experiencing now.”
Destruction of Ukraine’s Kakhovka Dam Has Decimated Wildlife
The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine has decimated riparian wildlife, according to a Ukrainian conservation group. The Kakhovka dam, which straddles Russian- and Ukrainian-held territorities, was destroyed Tuesday, with each country blaming the other for the attack. The breach let loose a cascade of floodwater from the massive Kahovka reservoir, a waterbody the size of Utah’s Great Salt Lake, draining the reservoir and flooding areas downstream.
Wealthy Nations Vastly Overstating Climate Aid, Report Finds
While wealthy nations are reportedly on track to provide the billions in climate finance they promised to the developing world, official figures obscure the amount of donor money that is actually going to climate projects, a new report finds. In 2009, rich countries set a goal of mobilizing $100 billion...
Youth Climate Lawsuit Against Federal Government Headed for Trial
A federal judge has ruled that a high-profile climate lawsuit, brought by a group of Oregon youth against the U.S. government, can finally go to trial. “These young people have a right to access their courts and, after several long years, finally have their evidence of climate harm caused by their own government — and how to stop it — heard in open court,” Julia Olson, attorney for the youth plaintiffs, said in a statement.
As Plastics Keep Piling Up, Can ‘Advanced’ Recycling Cut the Waste?
Bob Powell had spent more than a decade in the energy industry when he turned his attention to the problem of plastic waste. “I’m very passionate about the environment,” he says. To him, the accumulating scourge of irresponsibly discarded plastic ranks high on the list of environmental issues, “right behind global warming and drought.” In 2014, he found what he considers a solution: a suite of technologies that uses chemicals and heat to turn plastic into oil to manufacture more plastic.
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Yale Environment 360 is an online magazine offering opinion, analysis, reporting, and debate on global environmental issues.
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