Category: 9. Environment
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Using urine to make sub-Saharan city region food systems more sustainable
Application of organic matter in the fields, Maradi Region, Niger. Credit: Bachirou Bodo Installing urine collection systems in sub-Saharan city regions would make those conurbations more sustainable. This was demonstrated by a study by four researchers from CIRAD, IRD, Boubakar Bâ University of Tillaberi (Niger) and Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), published in the…
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Biden’s strategy for cutting carbon emissions could extend the lives of fossil fuel power plants
Credit: The Conversation On May 11, 2023, the Biden administration proposed new regulations to curb carbon pollution from existing power plants. The new rules replace the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which was proposed in 2015 but ran into multiple legal challenges and never took effect. Nonetheless, in a high-profile 2022 ruling, West Virginia v.…
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Toxic chemicals in cosmetics and care products remain in our bodies, environments for a very, very long time
Chemicals in sunscreen can be absorbed through the skin, leading to a build-up of PFAS or PFOA in the body. Credit: Shutterstock Cosmetics and personal care products enhance the way we look and feel. During the pandemic, I started a self-care facial routine. It helped me cope with lockdown orders, while simultaneously adjusting to my…
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5.5 magnitude earthquake, large aftershock hit Northern California; minor damage reported
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Earthquakes have rattled a large area of Northern California this week, but only minor damage was immediately reported. A magnitude 5.5 quake centered in the Sierra Nevada’s Lake Almanor resort region struck at 4:19 p.m. Thursday and a magnitude 5.2 aftershock occurred at 3:18 a.m. Friday, according to the U.S. Geological…
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There’s good and bad news with California’s electric vehicle program
A worldwide gearshift from fossil fuel–powered cars to electric vehicles could significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that humans emit to the atmosphere. But current strategies for vehicle electrification can also shift some pollution to communities already suffering under higher economic, health and environmental burdens, researchers warn. California, which leads the United States by…
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Hundreds of thousands to be evacuated as Bangladesh and Myanmar brace for severe cyclone
This satellite image provided by India Meteorological Department shows storm Mocha intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm. Authorities in Bangladesh and Myanmar prepared to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people Friday, warning them to stay away from coastal areas as a severe cyclonic storm churned in the Bay of Bengal. The storm is expected…
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Biden’s strategy for cutting carbon emissions from electricity generation could extend the lives of fossil fuel power plants
On May 11, 2023, the Biden administration proposed new regulations to curb carbon pollution from existing power plants. The new rules replace the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which was proposed in 2015 but ran into multiple legal challenges and never took effect. Nonetheless, in a high-profile 2022 ruling, West Virginia v. EPA, the U.S.…
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On the border of Colombia and Venezuela, illegal gold mining unites armed forces
On the border between Colombia and Venezuela, just a few kilometers from Colombia’s Guainía department, illegal mining shakes the region’s economy while devastating the environment. The absence of the government is obvious. According to witnesses and photographs, the areas around Yapacana Hill are full of improvised billiard halls, restaurants, ice cream shops, brothels, grocery stores,…
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From palm oil waste to cellulosic ethanol: Indonesia’s opportunity (commentary)
Many Indonesian farmers say they haven’t seen benefits from the country’s biofuel program. Cellulosic ethanol could help fix the problem, a new op-ed says. Tenny Kristiana of the International Council on Clean Transportation argues Indonesia could develop a domestic cellulosic ethanol industry that would use leftover plant residues such as palm trunks, empty palm fruit…
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Amazon Rainforest loss could reach new height in just 5 years, study says
A recent study has found that in the five-year period between 2021 and 2025, the Amazon could lose half the total forest cover it lost in the previous 20 years, amounting to a further loss of 237,058 square kilometers (91,529 square miles). From 2001-20, the rainforest lost more than 500,000 km2 (200,000 mi2) of forest…