The world’s current climate pledges are insufficient to keep the goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement firmly within grasp. Global warming will likely surpass the 1.5-degree Celsius limit. We are going to overshoot. But countries can curb time spent in a warmer world by adopting more ambitious climate pledges and decarbonizing faster, according to new … Read more
The World Health Organization’s most recent estimates (2016) are that over 4.2 million people die prematurely each year due to long-term exposure to fine particulate outdoor air pollution (often referred to as PM2.5,). A recent study involving McGill researchers now suggests that the annual global death toll from outdoor PM2.5 may be significantly higher than … Read more
Researchers from King’s College London explored the link between the rate of eclampsia (a serious condition during pregnancy where high blood pressure results in life-threatening seizures) and the number of deaths caused by indoor household pollution. Indoor household pollution is more commonly seen in low- and middle-income countries because of cooking and heating with solid … Read more
The United Nations is being urged to make a bold pledge and set a target of zero for new plastic pollution by 2040 in its upcoming Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution. Plastic production and subsequent pollution are key drivers of climate change, the focus of discussion at COP27 in Egypt this week. In an … Read more
When fields of oilseed rape are exposed to diesel exhaust and/or ozone — both found in emissions from diesel burning vehicles and industry — the number of parasitic insects available to control aphids drops significantly, according to research published today. The team, led by scientists from the University of Reading, used special equipment to deliver … Read more
In a new high for absurdity in city Democratic politics, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards indirectly accused City Councilman Robert Holden, a fellow Democrat, of racism for . . . attacking congestion pricing. Yes, that’s right: Being against the MTA plan that will hurt the city’s (far more diverse) outer-borough residents and, per the MTA’s … Read more
The promise for American agriculture is tantalizing: healthier soil, more carbon kept in the ground, less fertilizer runoff, and less need for chemicals. The reality of planting cover crops during the off-season — a much-touted and subsidized approach to climate change mitigation — is more complicated, according to new Stanford University-led research. The study, published … Read more
Several neighborhoods were evacuated, and others were told to shelter in place after multiple explosions and a fire were reported at the Symrise Chemical Plant in Brunswick, Georgia, early Monday morning. According to the Glynn County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, emergency crews received a report just before 4 a.m. about a fire at the chemical plant. … Read more
Although much of the discourse on reducing vehicle emissions centres on electric vehicles (EV), their sales remain low — with EV vehicles accounting for a mere 1% of car purchases in Japan in 2021. Meanwhile, the European Union is expected to pass stricter emission standards in the near future. This makes improving the performance and … Read more
Nighttime skywatchers from East Asia to North America will be treated to the rare spectacle of a “Beaver blood moon” on Tuesday, weather permitting, as the Earth, moon and sun align to produce a total lunar eclipse for the last time until 2025. Here are some key facts about the upcoming celestial display, unfolding in … Read more