Just Another Day on Aerosol Earth

Take a deep breath. Even if the air looks clear, it is nearly certain that you will inhale millions of solid particles and liquid droplets. These ubiquitous specks of matter are known as aerosols, and they can be found in the air over oceans, deserts, mountains, forests, ice, and every ecosystem in between.



If you have ever watched smoke billowing from a wildfire, ash erupting from a volcano, or dust blowing in the wind, you have seen aerosols. Satellites like Terra, Aqua, Aura, and Suomi NPP “see” them as well, though they offer a completely different perspective from hundreds of kilometers above Earth’s surface. A version of a NASA model called the Goddard Earth Observing System Forward Processing (GEOS FP) offers a similarly expansive view of the mishmash of particles that dance and swirl through the atmosphere.



Just Another Day on Aerosol Earth

Federal Judge Strikes Down Administration’s Clean Water Act Attack | Clean Water Action

Charleston, S.C. – A federal judge in South Carolina today struck down the administration’s effort to strip away crucial clean water protections from rivers, lakes, streams and other waters that feed drinking-water sources for nearly 20 million people in the South and 117 million people across the country. Today’s decision follows a legal challenge filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. The ruling ends the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ suspension of clean water protections under the Clean Water Act, one of the nation’s bedrock environmental laws, and puts the Clean Water Rule back in effect for more than half of the country. This ruling does not apply to 24 states where other legal challenges are pending.





Federal Judge Strikes Down Administration’s Clean Water Act Attack | Clean Water Action

Federal agency halts all work on Atlantic Coast Pipeline after judges revoke permits - The Washington Post

A federal agency has ordered a halt to all work on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline after a panel of judges suspended two key permits for the massive project to bring natural gas from West Virginia through central Virginia.


Trees are downed along Peters Mountain in Monroe County, W. Va, to make way for the Mountain Valley Pipeline route. (Erica Yoon/Roanoke Times/AP)



Federal agency halts all work on Atlantic Coast Pipeline after judges revoke permits - The Washington Post

Court Rules Trump Administration Must Conduct Further Review for Keystone XL Pipeline | Indigenous Environmental Network

NATIVE AMERICAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS WIN COURT RULING REQUIRING PRESIDENT TRUMP TO CONDUCT FURTHER KEYSTONE PIPELINE REVIEW



Court Rules Trump Administration Must Conduct Further Review for Keystone XL Pipeline | Indigenous Environmental Network

Serenity Soular: ​Bringing Solar Jobs To North Philly

Serenity Soular: ​Bringing Solar Jobs To North Philly


SERENITY SOULAR

Serenity Soular is an initiative to make solar energy affordable for North Philadelphia households and train local residents for jobs in the green economy.  In the long run, Serenity Soular plans to launch a worker-owned solar installation company that would employ neighborhood residents to install solar in North Philadelphia.

We promote social justice and environmental sustainability through community solar education and our apprenticeship program. By preparing young adults to be job ready to participate in the opportunities of the green economy we advance the lives and welfare of North Philadelphians.

Serenity Soular - Serenity Soular - About

Closing coal, oil power plants leads to healthier babies | Berkeley News

NEWS.BERKELEY.EDU

Closing coal, oil power plants leads to healthier babies

Preterm birthrates dropped 20-25 percent when nearby power plants closed, providing an argument for replacing fossil fuel plants with renewable energy sources

https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/187/8/1586/4996680

Carbon pricing could be on the ballot in Washington state - Citizens' Climate Lobby

Carbon pricing could be on the ballot in Washington state - Citizens' Climate Lobby

Hothouse Earth: here's what the science actually does – and doesn't – say

Hopefully it is not as dire but we MUST act fast anyway. We need to mitigate carbon: leaving it in the ground (no more fossil fuels NOW), in peat, and in forests - and regenerate forests and other natural ecosystems on a large scale. Our agriculture MUST change to restorative practices, we need to change our diet and lifestyle, and control human population. Then we might have a chance – if we wisely adapt to what will be inevitable already…


Global map of potential tipping cascades, with arrows showing potential interactions.  Steffen et al / PNAS

Hothouse Earth: here's what the science actually does – and doesn't – say

Domino-effect of climate events could move Earth into a ‘hothouse’ state | Environment | The Guardian

We have very limited time to act!

Domino-effect of climate events could move Earth into a ‘hothouse’ state

Leading scientists warn that passing such a point would make efforts to reduce emissions increasingly futile

Jonathan Watts

Tue 7 Aug 2018 02.21 EDTFirst published on Mon 6 Aug 2018 15.00 EDT

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 Polar bears on sea ice: the loss of the Greenland ice sheet could disrupt the Gulf Stream, which would in turn raise sea levels and accelerate Antarctic ice loss. Photograph: Paul Goldstein/Cover Images

A domino-like cascade of melting ice, warming seas, shifting currents and dying forests could tilt the Earth into a “hothouse” state beyond which human efforts to reduce emissions will be increasingly futile, a group of leading climate scientists has warned.

Full story: Domino-effect of climate events could move Earth into a ‘hothouse’ state | Environment | The Guardian

EPA is now allowing asbestos back into manufacturing - Archpaper.com

Another example for America - not Number 1 but backwards...This is pure murder!




The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has enacted a SNUR (Significant New Rule) allowing companies to use new asbestos-containing products on a case-by-case basis. (Courtesy Mesothelioma + Asbestos Awareness Center)



One of the most dangerous construction-related carcinogens is now legally allowed back into U.S. manufacturing under a new rule by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Fast Company recently reported that on June 1, the EPA authorized a “SNUR” (Significant New Use Rule) which allows new products containing asbestos to be created on a case-by-case basis.



EPA is now allowing asbestos back into manufacturing - Archpaper.com

Production of methane and ethylene from plastic in the environment

Plastic Is Even Worse for the Earth Than We Thought

We already knew plastic waste releases toxic chemicals into the environment and can injure and kill marine life. Now, scientists say decomposing plastic does this, too.



Production of methane and ethylene from plastic in the environment

Capitalism Killed Our Climate Momentum, Not “Human Nature”

A small but important correction of the NY Times story I shared earlier well written by Naomi Klein. The small difference actually changes the whole perspective from us not acting on climate change because humans are too stupid to very avoidable if we chose a better system than capitalism.




The skyline of Manhattan at sunset in New York, May 23, 2018. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images



Capitalism Killed Our Climate Momentum, Not “Human Nature”

Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change - The New York Times

Hope we will not lose another decade!

This narrative by Nathaniel Rich is a work of history, addressing the 10-year period from 1979 to 1989: the decisive decade when humankind first came to a broad understanding of the causes and dangers of climate change. Complementing the text is a series of aerial photographs and videos, all shot over the past year by George Steinmetz. With support from the Pulitzer Center, this two-part article is based on 18 months of reporting and well over a hundred interviews. It tracks the efforts of a small group of American scientists, activists and politicians to raise the alarm and stave off catastrophe. It will come as a revelation to many readers — an agonizing revelation — to understand how thoroughly they grasped the problem and how close they came to solving it.

Full Story: Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change - The New York Times

Why L.A. is coating its streets with material that hides planes from spy satellites - The Washington Post

Hope that the asphalt-based coating is non-toxic. That’s the problem with technofixes…



limate change conjures up distant images of rising seas and cracking ice sheets, but in cities across the United States the effects of global warming are apparent as soon as you step outside.



It’s known as the “urban heat island effect,” and it refers to the pockets of intense heat captured by the concrete, asphalt, dark roofs and the dearth of foliage that define many American cityscapes.




Image from https://www.wkbn.com/local-news/why-do-roads-buckle-in-the-summer-heat_20180416111420615/1124909506



Why L.A. is coating its streets with material that hides planes from spy satellites - The Washington Post

Europe heatwave: All-time temperature could be broken - BBC News

So it goes...



Europe is experiencing a further heatwave this summer, with forecasters say the all-time temperature record could be broken in the coming days.




Pictures show shrunken lakes and dry riverbeds, along with people cooling off with water fountains and beach umbrellas, including the coastal town of Benidorm in Spain. REUTERS



Europe heatwave: All-time temperature could be broken - BBC News

Summary of Solutions by Overall Rank | Drawdown

The 80 most important strategies to reduce climate change - some will surprise you...







Summary of Solutions by Overall Rank

This table provides the detailed results of the Plausible Scenario, which models the growth solutions on the Drawdown list based on a reasonable, but vigorous rate from 2020-2050. Results depicted represent a comparison to a reference case that assumes 2014 levels of adoption continue in proportion to the growth in global markets.



NOTE: Energy Storage (utility-scale & distributed), Grid Flexibility, Microgrids, Net Zero Buildings, and Retrofitting were not modeled independently to avoid double counting impacts from other solutions.



Summary of Solutions by Overall Rank | Drawdown

Single-use plastic bag sales fall 86% since introduction of 5p charge | The Independent

Incentives work!



Campaigners are now calling for charges on plastic bottles and disposable coffee cups in the hope of producing a similar effect




Friends of the Earth hailed the legislation for making reusable shopping bags the ‘new norm’ ( AFP/Getty )



Single-use plastic bag sales fall 86% since introduction of 5p charge | The Independent

Environmental Health Perspectives – Estimated Effects of Future Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations on Protein Intake and the Risk of Protein Deficiency by Country and Region

Crops grown under elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (eCO2) contain less protein. Crops particularly affected include rice and wheat, which are primary sources of dietary protein for many countries.Under eCO2, rice, wheat, barley, and potato protein contents decreased by 7.6%, 7.8%, 14.1%, and 6.4%, respectively. Consequently, 18 countries may lose >5% of their dietary protein, including India (5.3%). By 2050, assuming today’s diets and levels of income inequality, an additional 1.6% or 148.4 million of the world’s population may be placed at risk of protein deficiency because of eCO2. In India, an additional 53 million people may become at risk.


Figure 3. Risk of protein deficiency as defined by protein intake below estimated average protein requirements (EAR). Estimates of (A) current percentage of the population at risk of deficiency, (B) percent of the population newly at risk of deficiency under elevated carbon dioxide (eCO2), and (C) millions of people estimated to be newly at risk of deficiency under eCO2, based on 2050 population projections. Data were plotted using the Rworldmap package in R (version 3.2.4; R Development Core Team).

Environmental Health Perspectives – Estimated Effects of Future Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations on Protein Intake and the Risk of Protein Deficiency by Country and Region