Blog Archives

The World Is Finally Losing Its Taste for Meat

7/30/2020

Production is projected to dip for the second year in a row, and there’s reason to believe we’re already falling out of love with beef. - Bloomberg Link

How Marie Tharp Changed Geology Forever

7/30/2020

As discussed in our Geology 110 plate tectonics modules - Forbes Link

Climate Change: Coastal Erosion 'To Threaten More Australian Homes'

7/30/2020

Recent storms on Australia's coast have caused major erosion beneath beachfront homes in New South Wales.
Dr Hannah Power tells the BBC that erosion will be a worsening issue for coastal communities as sea levels rise.- BBC Link

Marie Tharp Pioneered Mapping 6 Decades Ago

7/30/2020

As cover in GLG110's Plate Tectonics module...
July 30 marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Marie Tharp, a geologist and oceanographer who created maps that changed the way people imagine two-thirds of the world. Beginning in 1957, Tharp and her research partner, Bruce Heezen, began publishing the first comprehensive maps that showed the main features of the ocean bottom – mountains, valleys and trenches. - The Conversation Link

Siberia’s ‘Gateway to the Underworld’ Grows as Record Heat Wave Thaws Permafrost

7/30/2020

In half a century, global warming has widened the Batagay megaslump from a small gully to a yawning pit more than 900 meters wide. - Science Link

UK Electricity Network Emissions Could Turn Negative by 2033 Says National Grid

7/30/2020

What fossil fuel interests have been saying is impossible... appears to be possible. "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it."

“Immediate action” to promote cleaner, more efficient power will ensure the UK hits its 2050 net zero target and could even see electricity production emissions turn negative in 13 years if carbon capture and storage technologies are implemented, the National Grid has said. - Independent Link

Critics Blast U.S. Study Finding Huge Alaskan Mine Poses Little Environmental Risk

7/30/2020

A massive mine proposed for the heart of a vast Alaskan wilderness won’t hurt ecosystems there, including the world’s largest run of sockeye salmon, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced today. But opponents of the proposed Pebble Mine, including environmental scientists, say the analysis is deeply flawed. - Science Link

They Tried to Tame the Klamath River. They Filled It With Toxic Algae Instead.

7/29/2020

As we discuss in class, much of geology is a tradeoff, even dams.

A century of development fueled a surge of toxic algae along the Klamath. Now, the Karuk tribe and its allies are trying to undo the damage. - Nexus Link

Destroying a Way of Life to Save Louisiana

7/29/2020

The state’s $50 billion plan to re-engineer its coastline may wash some fishing communities off the map. - NY Times Link

New McDonald's Flagship Runs 100% on Renewable Energy

7/29/2020

McDonald’s completed its first net-zero energy restaurant located that will generate enough renewable energy on-site to cover 100% of its energy needs annually. The restaurant will serve as a hub to test solutions that can reduce energy and water use. The company will leverage its learnings to achieve its global sustainability targets, which include a 36% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. - Dive Link

Note - This is a net yearly offset, not instantaneous. There will be times that more energy comes into the restaurant than they are producing.

Climate Denial Spreads on Facebook as Scientists Face Restrictions

7/29/2020

The company recently overruled its scientific fact-checking group which had flagged information as misleading. - Scientific American Link

25 Years After Returning to Yellowstone, Wolves Have Helped Stabilize the Ecosystem

7/29/2020

New research shows that by reducing populations and thinning out weak and sick animals, wolves have a role in creating resilient elk herds. - Nat Geo Link

New Data Shows an ‘Extraordinary’ Rise in U.S. Coastal Flooding

7/29/2020

Parts of the United States saw record levels of high-tide flooding last year as rising seas brought water further into coastal homes and infrastructure, government scientists reported Tuesday. - NYTimes Link

Fracking Firms Fail, Rewarding Executives and Raising Climate Fears

7/29/2020

Oil and gas companies are hurtling toward bankruptcy, raising fears that wells will be left leaking planet-warming pollutants, with cleanup costs left to taxpayers. - NY Times Link

The History of Trash

7/29/2020

Conservation Law Foundation Link

New E-Mails Show How Energy Industry Moved Fast to Undo Curbs

7/29/2020

The messages, made public in a lawsuit, suggest the E.P.A. rescinded a requirement on methane at the behest of an executive just weeks after President Trump took office. - NYT Link

Meandering Mississippi River

7/29/2020

As the Mississippi River meanders over time, the channels migrate across the floodplain. Due to these changes in the position of the channel, some farms, towns, and rural lands occasionally switch to the opposite banks of the river. For instance, Archer and Bell islands are still official parts of Arkansas, but they are now located east of the Mississippi River. - NASA Link

Japanese Town Goes Waste-Free

7/29/2020

The village of Kamikatsu in Japan has taken their commitment to sustainability to a new level. While the rest of the country has a recycling rate of around 20 percent, Kamikatsu surpasses its neighbors with a staggering 80 percent. After becoming aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide associated with burning garbage, the town instated the Zero Waste Declaration with the goal of being completely waste-free by 2020. - CNN Link

REVIEWS SOUND THE ALARM ON ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS

7/29/2020

Reviews of hundreds of studies show that a growing number of chemicals—in pesticides, flame retardants, and certain plastics—are linked to widespread health problems, including infertility, diabetes, and impaired brain development. - Futurity Link

Learning From the Kariba Dam

7/29/2020

Climate change and neglect have brought the mammoth structure at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe to the brink of calamity — a crisis prefigured in the dam’s troubling colonial history.

Signs of Drought in European Groundwater

7/8/2020

Long-term rainfall deficits, heat waves, and increased evaporation have depleted some of the groundwater supply beneath central and eastern Europe. - NASA Link

Atmospheric CO2 Hits 414 PPM

7/8/2020

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important heat-trapping (greenhouse) gas, released through human activities such as deforestation and burning fossil fuels, as well as natural processes such as respiration and volcanic eruptions. The first graph shows atmospheric CO2 levels measured at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii, in recent years, with average seasonal cycle removed. The second graph shows CO2 levels during the last three glacial cycles, as reconstructed from ice cores. - NASA Link

The World Is Finally Losing Its Taste for Meat

How Marie Tharp Changed Geology Forever

Climate Change: Coastal Erosion 'To Threaten More Australian Homes'

Marie Tharp Pioneered Mapping 6 Decades Ago

Siberia’s ‘Gateway to the Underworld’ Grows as Record Heat Wave Thaws Permafrost

UK Electricity Network Emissions Could Turn Negative by 2033 Says National Grid

Critics Blast U.S. Study Finding Huge Alaskan Mine Poses Little Environmental Risk

They Tried to Tame the Klamath River. They Filled It With Toxic Algae Instead.

Destroying a Way of Life to Save Louisiana

New McDonald's Flagship Runs 100% on Renewable Energy

Climate Denial Spreads on Facebook as Scientists Face Restrictions

25 Years After Returning to Yellowstone, Wolves Have Helped Stabilize the Ecosystem

New Data Shows an ‘Extraordinary’ Rise in U.S. Coastal Flooding

Fracking Firms Fail, Rewarding Executives and Raising Climate Fears

The History of Trash

New E-Mails Show How Energy Industry Moved Fast to Undo Curbs

Meandering Mississippi River

Japanese Town Goes Waste-Free

REVIEWS SOUND THE ALARM ON ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS

Learning From the Kariba Dam

Signs of Drought in European Groundwater

Atmospheric CO2 Hits 414 PPM

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