Natural,Environment,Climate-neutral,Long-term,Emissions,Strategy,Net,Zero,2050,Carbon

Balancing cleaner air with rising incomes is not a luxury question for developing countries. It is a real-world, and real-life, policy problem that shapes health, jobs, and the future of their cities.



A new <a href="https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S0217590825500304" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a> lays out when zero emissions can go hand in hand with steady <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-temperatures-will-cut-world-gdp-by-a-staggering-40-percent-if-nothing-changes/">growth</a>, even when governments rely on foreign aid.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-zero-emissions-and-economic-growth">Zero emissions and economic growth</h2>



The work comes from <a href="https://tus.elsevierpure.com/en/persons/hideo-noda" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hideo Noda</a> at the Tokyo University of Science (<a href="https://www.tus.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TUS</a>) with coauthor Fengqi Fang, a Ph.D. candidate in Business Administration from the Graduate School of Business Administration at TUS. 



The team builds a simple but testable way to check if a country can hit zero net <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-trade-is-fueling-a-dangerous-rise-in-methane-emissions/">emissions</a> while its economy keeps expanding.



They also verify the model numerically using real world style parameters so it is not just a chalkboard exercise. 



The paper connects theory to a specific United Nations target on decoupling growth from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/limiting-global-warming-to-1-5c-is-almost-certainly-out-of-reach/">environmental damage</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-zero-emissions-models">Zero emissions models</h2>



First, the authors define a zero-emissions <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">policy</a> as keeping net pollution at zero at every point in time, by matching abatement to emissions. That requires money, technology, and clear rules to assign who pays.



They run two versions of the economy. 



One is a public goods <a href="https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/stantcheva/files/lecture8.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">model</a> where government services like roads or schools lift private production for everyone at once, a standard growth <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/261726" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">model</a> introduced by Robert Barro in 1990. 



The second adds <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-will-climate-change-hit-hardest-global-index-reveals-vulnerability/">congestion</a>, where more people share the same public services so the boost per person shrinks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-minimum-income-rule">Minimum income rule</h2>



The key test is whether gross domestic product (<a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GDP</a>) per capita rises above a minimum income threshold so a country can fully clean what it emits. 



The authors call this the kindergarten rule level of abatement, as in: “clean-up what you make dirty.”



"Following the Kindergarten rule means implementing zero emission technologies in either finite time or asymptotically," noted M. Scott Taylor and William Brock in their related <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w9597" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>. 



This frame anchors the new threshold concept for developing countries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aid-supports-clean-income-growth">Aid supports clean income growth</h2>



Many low income governments fund services with official development assistance (<a href="https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/policy-issues/official-development-assistance-oda.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ODA</a>), so the model lets outside aid pay for both cleaning and public services. 



That design reflects classic work showing how aid aimed at productive public services can shift long run growth.



In related <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304387806000290" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">theory</a>, flexible labor and aid tied to public capital influence the path of output and welfare. The new paper extends this logic to pollution control that must be paid for every year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-changing-income-threshold">Changing income threshold</h2>



The threshold depends on clean technology, population size, and how much aid is fixed to environmental <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/expanding-oil-and-gas-fields-threaten-global-climate-goals/">uses</a>. Better abatement technology lowers the income bar because each dollar of cleanup removes more pollution.



Population matters differently across the two models. In the public goods case, a larger labor force can raise growth because services scale with the economy, while in the congestion case that scale effect drops out as services get diluted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-taxes-and-zero-emissions-targets">Taxes and zero emissions targets</h2>



The model also looks at tax policy, focusing on a labor income tax that finances services. 



There is a tax rate that maximizes the growth of income per person, and under both models governments can reach the needed income threshold in finite time if they choose that growth maximizing rate.



Public services that complement private capital are the link. When governments tax and spend on those services efficiently, private firms produce more and the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-action-economies-can-grow-while-cutting-emissions/">economy climbs</a> to the income level that makes full abatement feasible.



"Both models indicate that implementing the zero-emissions policy is compatible with sustainable economic growth," wrote Noda. 



They also show the kindergarten rule threshold is higher with congestion than without it, so crowding of public services slows the crossing.



"We call this threshold the kindergarten rule level of pollution abatement in terms of GDP per capita," wrote Noda. The result gives policymakers a clear income target, not just a slogan about decoupling.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-income-growth-and-sdgs">Income growth and SDGs</h2>



Target 8.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (<a href="https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SDGs</a>) asks countries to decouple growth from environmental degradation. 



The authors argue their framework helps explain when that is possible in practice, and how policy levers change the timing.



The UN defines the <a href="https://metadata.un.org/sdg/8.4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">target</a> as improving resource efficiency and decoupling growth from environmental harm through 2030. The paper’s threshold view fits that mandate with a concrete yardstick.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-results-still-matter">Why results still matter</h2>



Earlier <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652621009112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">work</a> in the same research stream focused on developed, innovation-driven economies and showed that zero emissions could be achieved alongside continued growth. 



That study examined whether sustained economic expansion could occur while also maintaining <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-net-zero-world-will-require-75-trillion-of-investment-and-1-billion-electric-cars/">zero net pollution emissions</a>.



The new paper shows the same compatibility can hold in aid dependent settings where innovation is not the main growth engine. 



That extension fills a real gap, because many low income countries face tighter fiscal and technological limits.



Build or buy cleaner technology so the threshold falls. Treat tied aid for environmental programs as a growth tool and not just a cost center.



Set tax policy to raise the growth rate of income per person, then sustain it long enough to pass the threshold. Guard against congestion by scaling services with population, so gains are not diluted.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S0217590825500304" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Singapore Economic Review</a>.



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Net-zero emissions and rising income levels can both be achieved simultaneously

Balancing cleaner air with rising incomes is not a luxury question for developing countries. It is a real-world, and real-life, policy problem that shapes health, jobs, and the future of their cities. A new study lays out when zero emissions can go hand in hand with steady growth, even when governments rely on foreign aid. Zero emissions and economic growth The work comes from Hideo Noda at the Tokyo University of Science (TUS) with coauthor Fengqi Fang, a Ph.D. candidate in Business Administration from the Graduate School...

Arctic Oil Drilling Preparations Continue Despite Protests. Neither a protest by hundreds of demonstrators nor a permit violation notice from the city will halt Royal Dutch Shell's use of a Seattle seaport terminal as it prepares for exploratory oil drilling in the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=arctic+ocean&amp;cvid=d6543451de434e0ea018823d85e01f28&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Arctic Ocean</a>, spokesmen say.
The violation notice issued Monday by the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-smoke-seattle-air-dangerous/">Seattle</a> Department of Planning and Development said use of Terminal 5 by a massive floating drill rig was in violation of the site's permitted use as a cargo terminal. The 400-foot Polar Pioneer and its support tug Aiviq must be removed from the terminal or Shell's host, Foss Maritime, must obtain an appropriate permit, the city indicated. Arctic Oil Drilling Preparations Continue Despite Protests
Possible fines start at $150 per day and can rise to $500 per day. The notice said the violation must be corrected by June 4. The companies can appeal and-or request extensions.
"It remains our view that the terms agreed upon by Shell, Foss and the Port of Seattle for use of Terminal 5 are valid, and it's our intention to continue loading-out our drilling rigs in preparation for exploratory drilling offshore Alaska," Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said.
"Terminal 5 is permitted to tie up ships while they are being loaded and unloaded," Foss Maritime spokesman Paul Queary said. "That is exactly what Foss is doing there."
Queary noted that both Foss and the Port of Seattle are appealing an earlier determination by the city that the use of Terminal 5 was not permitted. Monday's violation notice followed that determination.
Earlier Monday, protesters spent several hours blocking entrances to the terminal where the rig will be loaded before heading to waters off Alaska this summer.
Holding banners and flags, demonstrators marched across a bridge to Terminal 5, temporarily closing the road during Monday morning's commute. Once at the terminal, they spread out across the entrances and rallied, danced and spoke for several hours before leaving the site in the early afternoon.
Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant was among the speakers. She said political leaders had failed to deal with climate change and called for "an escalating series of mass nonviolent civil disobedience until this madness is stopped," The Seattle Times reported.
Organizers had prepared to engage in civil disobedience to stop work on the drill rig, but Seattle police said Monday afternoon that no one had been arrested and the demonstration remained peaceful. A few dozen officers followed the march on foot and bicycle and kept watch at the terminal.
"I'm not planning to get arrested," protester Jennifer Jones told The Times. "It would be very inconvenient to get arrested in Washington state. We're from Portland."
The mass demonstration was the latest protest of the Polar Pioneer's arrival in Seattle. Protesters greeted the rig Thursday, and then hundreds of activists in kayaks and other vessels turned out Saturday for a protest dubbed the "Paddle in Seattle."
Smith said in an email Monday that the "activities of the day were anticipated and did not stop crews from accomplishing meaningful work in preparation for exploration offshore Alaska this summer."
There were minimal operations at Terminal 5, "so there's not much to block," Port of Seattle spokesman Peter McGraw said. The operator of Terminal 18, a major hub of port activity where the march began, closed those gates in anticipation of the demonstration, he said.
Officials have been urging people to exercise their First Amendment rights safely, and "that's what we've been seeing so far," McGraw said.
The activists say they are concerned about the risk of an oil spill in the remote Arctic waters and the effects that tapping new frontiers of oil and gas reserves will have on global warming. Officials in Alaska have touted the economic benefits that drilling could bring there and to the Pacific Northwest.
On Monday, protesters of all ages sang, rapped and danced at the vehicle gate of Terminal 5. They chanted and held signs saying "Climate Justice For All" and "You Shell Not Pass."
Lisa Marcus, 58, a musician who participated in Saturday's protest, turned up with her "Love the planet" sign for another day of activism Monday.
"We've got to wake up" to the dangers of human-caused climate change, she said, ticking off a list of environmental problems that the world is facing. "Shell is trying to make it worse, and that's not acceptable."
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Arctic Oil Drilling Preparations Continue Despite Protests

Arctic Oil Drilling Preparations Continue Despite Protests. Neither a protest...

The Sunniest States Are Lagging Behind On Solar Power Production.Residents of the Sunshine State are finding that harnessing Florida's abundant solar power is no simple task.
With its bounty of sunny days, Florida ranks third in the nation in rooftop solar energy potential but 13th in the amount of solar energy generated, according to industry estimates.
The industry views Florida as a sleeping giant that could rival California in solar potential, but renewable energy experts say the state lags behind because old laws favor utilities over private enterprise.
"The rules are set up so there isn't competition right now, and competition could be healthy," said James Fenton, director of the Solar Energy Center at the University of Central Florida.
This has made unlikely allies of groups like the Sierra Club and the tea party, who view the lack of consumer choice as harmful to the environment and an infringement on personal freedom. The groups are working on a 2016 ballot initiative that would change Florida's constitution to allow businesses other than utilities to sell solar power to consumers.
Utilities say solar, with 2 percent of the market, is growing slowly in Florida because energy costs are 30 percent lower than the national average, making it a bad financial choice.
They say Florida's energy mix - dominated by natural gas (62 percent), coal (21 percent) and nuclear (12 percent) - is cheaper than solar power generated from rooftop panels.
Florida is one of only four states that require solar energy be sold exclusively by utilities, banning sales from companies that install rooftop solar panels at little or no cost and then sell the energy generated to the property owner. The result is limited options for going solar and increased upfront financial commitment for consumers.
The state also taxes commercial property owners who install solar arrays, further hurting investment potential.
Scott McIntyre of Tampa-based Solar Energy Management, a panel installer, said the company has lost large projects from shopping centers and other commercial real estate owners. He said companies come to him wanting to build solar on their rooftops so they can sell energy to their tenants but drop the idea when they learn about the legal limits on electricity sales.
"We're trying to provide Floridians with solar power," McIntyre said. "But there are no incentives for commercial solar in Florida. None."
California and other successful solar states allow companies to lease rooftop solar arrays to homeowners and bill them monthly for the electricity created. This lets homeowners get into the market for little or no money down and pay as they go.
Florida also trails in other areas, like wind, because it has yet to pass laws mandating that utilities to create more renewable energy - a tactic used by 30 other states and Washington.
The utilities benefit from rules established generations ago that made them "regulated monopolies."
Florida Power and Light Co., the state's largest electric company with 4.7 million customers, has built three large-scale solar developments and is planning at least four more, including one at Daytona International Speedway. Florida's Duke Energy is also planning to build large solar power plants by 2024.
"Large-scale solar investment remains the most economical and fairest way to advance solar energy for our customers while keeping our rates low," FPL spokesman Mark Bubriski said in an email. "We also plan to triple our use of solar energy before the end of 2016."
Florida's utilities favor large-scale solar power plants as a way to stay financially viable in a changing energy market, said Fenton of the solar energy center.
For people who want to wean themselves off the utilities, few options are left. State utilities were mandated to offer rebates for a few years, but after the mandate ended, FPL chose not to offer them any longer.
Self-described "tree hugger" Cynthia Schaefer, a financial planner who lives near Miami, said the $34,000 solar panel project installed on her rooftop was not financially feasible. Still, her goal of reducing her environmental impact drove her to figure out how to make it work. In the end - and after two years of trying - she got an FPL rebate for $18,500, which shaved off more than half the upfront cost.
"It wouldn't have made financial sense to do it without the rebate," Schaefer said.
In the first month, the installation cut her electric bill by about $110 a month to $9.
FPL ended the rebates this year after the state program approved by regulators ended. The utility also said it believes they are unfair.
"It just doesn't make sense to provide customers a cash incentive - that's paid for by the rest of our customers," Bubriski said about the rooftop solar panel rebates.
FPL and Tampa Electric said they wouldn't comment on the initiative, which has about 100,000 of the 700,000 signatures needed to qualify for the 2016 election. A Duke spokesman said the company is studying it closely.
"If the initiative takes off, then the solar industry will take off," McIntyre said.
---
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The Sunniest States Are Lagging Behind On Solar Power Production

The Sunniest States Are Lagging Behind On Solar Power Production.Residents...

France And Germany Commit To Global Climate Protection. France And Germany Commit To Global Climate Protection. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande confirmed their commitment to global climate protection Tuesday, gathering with others in Berlin to prepare for this year's U.N. Climate Change Conference.
Merkel and Hollande said in a joint statement that both countries "are firmly decided to take all efforts to reach an ambitious, comprehensive and binding U.N. climate agreement by the end of this year in Paris."
The preparatory talks in Berlin involve 35 countries. The <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=paris&amp;cvid=fad06b959f934720b0e85dcaabe0ea38&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Paris</a> summit in December aims to curb climate change and rising <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/the-window-to-avoid-dangerous-global-warming-is-narrowing/">global</a> temperatures, which scientists say are largely driven by carbon emissions.
The European two leaders said they "are committed to the goal of limiting global temperature increases at least to below 2°C compared with pre-industrial levels."
To achieve this goal, they said a fundamental shift of investment into low-carbon infrastructure and technologies is needed as well as climate-friendly land use.
They also said countries already threatened by "unavoidable risks and damage arising from climate change" need to be strengthened in their resilience.
Merkel has made climate protection one of the key goals of her political agenda, and Germany wants to focus on it at the G-7 summit next month in Bavaria. Under Merkel's lead, Germany began to phase out nuclear power after Japan's 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan and has since then invested heavily in renewable energy.
For some critics, those reforms do not go far enough.
Activists from Greenpeace and other environmental groups protested Tuesday in Berlin, placing a model of Paris' Eiffel Tower converted into a wind turbine in front of the city's Brandenburg Gate. They demanded a faster energy transition away from nuclear power and coal and toward the use of 100 percent renewable energies by 2050.
The German government plan is one of the world's most ambitious, calling for renewable energies, including wind and sun, to make up 40-45 percent of Germany's energy mix by 2025, compared with just under a quarter now, and 55-60 percent by 2035.
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France And Germany Commit To Global Climate Protection

France And Germany Commit To Global Climate Protection. France And...

Oil Spill Stains California Coastline, Cleanup Efforts Underway. Slicks of oil that spilled into California coastal waters from an onshore pipeline spanned a total of 9 miles Wednesday, and a company official said the line was operating at full capacity when it broke, suggesting much more oil escaped than initially estimated.
The oil that spilled Tuesday off southern Santa Barbara County formed two slicks, said Coast Guard Capt. Jennifer Williams, one of two federal response coordinators.
Before a morning flyover, the oil was estimated to span 4 miles of ocean.
The spill from a Plains All American Pipeline LP pipe was initially estimated at 21,000 gallons, but officials were not relying on that. <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/unhealthy-foods-spoil-the-benefits-of-a-mediterranean-diet/">Oil</a> Spill Stains California Coastline, Cleanup Efforts Underway
Company official Darren Palmer said Wednesday it remained unknown how much oil actually spilled.
But he said the pipeline was running at a rate of 2,000 barrels an hour - equivalent to 84,000 gallons.
The pipe was built in 1991 and underwent integrity testing a few weeks ago, he said.
Palmer said the company took responsibility for the spill and would pay for the cleanup.


[caption id="attachment_2381769" align="alignleft" width="300"]<a href="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/05/oil-spill-clean-up_AP.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2381769" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/05/oil-spill-clean-up_AP-300x201.jpg" alt="Clean up workers place shovels of oil-laden sand in bags while a larger group of workers begin clean up operations at Refugio State Beach, site of an oil spill, north of Goleta, Calif., Wednesday, May 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Michael A. Mariant)" width="300" height="201" /></a> Clean up workers place shovels of oil-laden sand in bags while a larger group of workers begin clean up operations at Refugio State Beach, site of an oil spill, north of Goleta, Calif., Wednesday, May 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Michael A. Mariant)[/caption]
Workers from an environmental cleanup company strapped on boots and gloves and picked up shovels and rakes Wednesday to tackle the gobs of goo stuck to sand and rocks along Refugio State Beach.
The rupture happened on the same stretch of coastline as a 1969 spill that was the largest ever in U.S. waters at the time and is credited with giving rise to the American environmental movement.
Members of the International Bird Rescue organization also were on hand Wednesday to clean any birds that become covered with oil, though none were immediately spotted in the calm seas that produced small waves.
Fan Yang, 26, of Indianapolis, stood on a bluff overlooking the beach, where the stench of petroleum was heavy.
"It smells like what they use to pave the roads," said Yang, who was hoping to find cleaner beaches in Santa Barbara. "I'm sad for the birds - if they lose their habitat."
The broken 24-inch pipeline spewed oil down a storm drain and into the Pacific Ocean for several hours Tuesday before it was shut off.
Authorities responding to reports of a foul smell near Refugio State Beach around noon found a half-mile slick in the ocean, county fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni said.
Plains All American Pipeline said in a statement it was making every effort to limit the environmental impact.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has closed fishing and shellfish harvesting for a mile east and west of the beach.
The area is home to offshore oil rigs, and small amounts of tar from natural seepage regularly show up on beaches. In 1969, several hundred thousand gallons spilled from a blowout on an oil platform and thousands of seabirds and many marine mammals were killed.
The oil industry brings risks, said Bob Deans, spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
"Santa Barbara learned that lesson over 40 years ago when offshore drilling led to disaster," he said in a statement.
The Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center said having the spill occur in a sensitive and treasured environment is devastating to watch. The group was concerned about whales that migrate through the area.
"Oil spills are part of the ugly cost of fossil fuel development, made even worse by aging domestic infrastructure," said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director for the Center for Biological Diversity.
It was unclear how long the cleanup would take and whether Refugio beach and other areas would be reopened in time for Memorial Day weekend.
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Oil Spill Stains California Coastline, Cleanup Efforts Underway

Oil Spill Stains California Coastline, Cleanup Efforts Underway. Slicks of...

Obama Says Climate Change Poses National Security Threat. President Barack Obama has argued for action on climate change as a matter of health, environmental protection and international obligation. On Wednesday, he added national security.
Those who deny global warming are putting at risk the United States and the military sworn to defend it, he told cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Failure to act would be "dereliction of duty," their commander in chief said.
He said climate change and rising sea levels jeopardize the readiness of U.S. forces and threaten to aggravate social tensions and political instability around the globe.
The president's message to climate change skeptics was unequivocal: "Denying it or refusing to deal with it undermines our national security"
"Make no mistake, it will impact how our military defends our country," Obama said on a crisp, sunny morning at Cadet Memorial Field. "We need to act and we need to act now."
Seated before him were 218 white-uniformed graduates, pondering where military service will take them in life.
Obama drew a line from climate change to national security that had multiple strands:
-increased risk of natural disasters resulting in humanitarian crises, with the potential to increase refugee flows and worsen conflicts over food and water.
-aggravating conditions such as poverty, political instability and social tensions that can lead to terrorist activity and other violence.
-new threats to the U.S. economy from rising oceans that threaten thousands of miles of highways, roads, railways and energy facilities.
-new challenges for military bases and training areas from seas, drought and other conditions.
"Around Norfolk, high tides and storms increasingly flood parts of our Navy base and an air base," Obama said of military facilities in Virginia. "In Alaska, thawing permafrost is damaging military facilities. Out West, deeper droughts and longer wildfires could threaten training areas our troops depend on."
Preparing for and adapting to climate change won't be enough, he said. "The only way the world is going to prevent the worst effects of climate change is to slow down the warming of the planet."
He laid out his administration's steps to reduce carbon greenhouse gas emissions, including strict limits on emissions from vehicles and power plants. The government expects those emission reductions to provide the U.S. contribution to a global climate treaty that world leaders are expected to finalize in December. Obama said it doesn't take a scientist to know that climate change is happening.
The evidence is "indisputable," he said.
Without identifying the skeptics or those who resist action on climate change, Obama acknowledged the difficult terrain in Washington. "The politics will be tough, but there is no other way." He repeated: "This will be tough."
Obama's climate change agenda has drawn strong political opposition from the GOP-led Congress and faces a number of legal challenges. Many Republican lawmakers either have denied the science of climate change or have distanced themselves from it, saying they lack the expertise to issue an opinion.
Some of the 2016 GOP presidential candidates have rejected unilateral moves to address the issue, saying it could hurt the U.S. economy.
Obama had a determined and hopeful response to all of that, but one not likely to be fulfilled: "This cannot be subject to the usual politics and the usual rhetoric." Obama Says Climate Change Poses National Security Threat
His message was reinforced by Secretary of State John Kerry, just back from meetings in Asia. Kerry said in a statement that the idea of climate change as a national security issue "was a primary topic of discussion" throughout his conversations with Asian leaders.
Retired Rear Adm. David Titley, of the private Center for Climate and Security, said Obama's "rhetoric is all good," but he was waiting to see if the administration commits enough money to deal with the challenges the president identified.
Obama's appearance at the Coast Guard Academy was his second and last commencement address of the season after speaking earlier in May at a community college in South Dakota. The president traditionally delivers a commencement address every year to one of the service academies.
Later Wednesday, he was visiting Stamford, Connecticut, for a Democratic fundraiser at a private home. About 30 supporters were contributing up to $33,400 each.
---
Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
---
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Obama Says Climate Change Poses National Security Threat

Obama Says Climate Change Poses National Security Threat. President Barack...

California Drought Affects State's Oldest Water Rights Holders.<a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=California&amp;cvid=67241fe5ee1942e8ab3b8c90f08f2f08&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS"> California</a> farmers holding water rights that date as far back as the Gold Rush are bracing for their first state-ordered conservation in decades, as a record drought prompts some of the deepest cuts yet in the country's most productive agricultural state.
After telling cities and towns to slash use by 25 percent and curtailing water deliveries to some farmers and others, state officials said Wednesday they would start mandatory cuts this week to the state's oldest rights holders, historically spared from water restrictions. California Drought Affects State's Oldest Water Rights Holders
Regulators said those first orders Friday will impact holders of century-old water rights in the watershed of the San Joaquin River, which runs from the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sierra-nevada-mountains-taller/">Sierra Nevada</a> mountains to San Francisco Bay and is one of the main water sources for farms and communities.
Meanwhile, a second category of senior rights holders - farmers who hold longstanding claims to water because their land lies along the waterways of the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta - are making a surprise effort to stave off that kind of curtailment order.
They are offering to voluntarily reduce their water use by a quarter. Officials promised a decision Friday on that offer, which would yield on some of the most iron-clad water rights in California, as they try to chart a path forward for a state locked in its driest four-year period on record.
"For me, 25 percent I can handle," said Gino Celli, who farms 5,000 acres of tomatoes, alfalfa and corn in the delta. "Anything more than that, man, I'm done."
It is unclear whether the farmers' offer of voluntary cuts would go far enough to save waterways that are drying up around much of the state, following a winter of below-average rainfall and record-low snows in the Sierra Nevada.
Farmers use 80 percent of all water taken from the land in California. Senior water rights holders alone consume trillions of gallons of water a year, although the state doesn't know exactly how much water they use because of unreliable data collection.
Regulators don't have widespread remote sensors or meters to make sure water isn't diverted.
The cutback orders instead are enforced by honor system and complaints. Only a fifth of junior water rights holders already told to stop pumping from the San Joaquin watershed have confirmed they were complying, a water board official said Wednesday.
Agriculture experts say they expect only modest immediate impact on food prices from any cuts to the senior water-rights holders.
Farmers will likely use their limited water to grow valuable crops - like almonds - and less valuable crops - like alfalfa - will be grown outside of California, said Jay Lund, director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis.
The mandatory cuts scheduled for Friday would be the first to the state's senior-water rights holders overall since the 1970s, and first to senior water-rights holders along the San Joaquin in memory.
"This is challenging. It's not about making everyone happy," said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the state Water Resources Control Board, told participants at a public hearing Wednesday on the drought. "It's about figuring out how to make terrible choices in the most fair and equitable way possible."
Board Director Tom Howard said that whatever he decides on the farmers' offer will apply beyond the river delta to the entire basin of the Sacramento River, which supplies most of the surface water in the food-producing Central Valley and the drinking water to homeowners as far south as San Diego.
That deal would not apply to hundreds of other right holders with claims to water before 1914, among few groups spared cutbacks in four years of record dry, until now.
California's water rights system - which Gov. Jerry Brown acknowledges as "somewhat archaic" - is built around the claims staked in the 19th century. Nearly 4,000 companies, farms and individuals are first in line to receive water because they made claims to water before 1914 or have property touching a waterway.
The ranks of senior water-rights holders include the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles and rural irrigation districts that supply thousands of farms.
Regulators haven't ordered those claimants to stop pumping since 1977, during the state's last major drought. That order applied only to dozens along a stretch of the Sacramento River, and the water board has since gained new power to punish those who illegally take water, including $10,000 daily penalties.
Delta farmer Rudy Mussi already has ordered tomato plants and prepared fields, and said he needs to know how often, or if, he can water them.
"Until the fine print is out, I don't know," Mussi said Wednesday about joining the farmers' offer of 25 percent cuts. "If I can make it work, hey, I'll do my darndest."
Brown has come under criticism for sparing farmers with senior water rights from the mandatory cutbacks. Increasing amounts of the state's irrigation water goes to specialty crops like almonds, whose growers are expanding production despite the drought.
Mandatory orders could put some farmers in the Delta east of San Francisco out of business, said John Herrick, manager of the South Delta Water Agency.
When the state cutback order comes, Herrick said, the farmers will immediately try to block it in court.
"That doesn't mean we'll win," Herrick said. "But that's what we'll do."
---
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California Drought Affects State's Oldest Water Rights Holders

California Drought Affects State's Oldest Water Rights Holders. California farmers...

Examining Climate Impacts of Natural Gas vs Diesel. Some major trucking companies are turning to natural gas to fuel their fleets -- and to earn "green" credit among customers. But celebrating lower emissions could be premature, according to an analysis in the ACS journal Environmental Science &amp; Technology. Researchers have found that converting heavy-duty trucks to run on natural <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/giant-animals-vanished-from-madagascar-after-humans-arrived/">gas</a> could lead to negative climate impacts if steps are not taken to improve engine efficiency and reduce methane emissions from the fuel's supply chain. Examining Climate Impacts of Natural Gas vs Diesel

Burning natural gas emits less carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere than other fossil fuels, but the process of getting natural gas out of the ground and delivering it through pipelines releases methane, a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. So, Jonathan Camuzeaux and colleagues wanted to investigate the climate impacts of switching to natural gas in different types of heavy-duty trucks.

The researchers examined a range of assumptions for methane leakage and several different kinds of commercial, natural-gas truck engines. They calculated that switching heavy-duty truck fleets from diesel to natural gas could lead to worse climate impacts over the next 50 to 90 years than remaining with diesel due to methane's high potency as a greenhouse gas in the near term. But, they added, reducing methane losses from the supply chain and improving natural gas engine efficiency could make switching fuels climate-friendly.

---

Credit: <a href="http://www.acs.org">American Chemical Society</a>

Examining Climate Impacts of Natural Gas vs Diesel

Examining Climate Impacts of Natural Gas vs Diesel. Some major...

California Drought Affects State's Oldest Water Rights Holders. California farmers holding water rights that date as far back as the Gold Rush are bracing for their first state-ordered conservation in decades, as a record drought prompts some of the deepest cuts yet in the country's most productive agricultural state.
After telling cities and towns to slash use by 25 percent and curtailing water deliveries to some farmers and others, state officials said Wednesday they would start mandatory cuts this week to the state's oldest rights holders, historically spared from water restrictions.
Regulators said those first orders Friday will impact holders of century-old water rights in the watershed of the San Joaquin River, which runs from the Sierra Nevada mountains to San Francisco Bay and is one of the main water sources for farms and communities.
Meanwhile, a second category of senior rights holders - farmers who hold longstanding claims to water because their land lies along the waterways of the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta - are making a surprise effort to stave off that kind of curtailment order.
They are offering to voluntarily reduce their water use by a quarter. Officials promised a decision Friday on that offer, which would yield on some of the most iron-clad water rights in California, as they try to chart a path forward for a state locked in its driest four-year period on record.
"For me, 25 percent I can handle," said Gino Celli, who farms 5,000 acres of tomatoes, alfalfa and corn in the delta. "Anything more than that, man, I'm done."
It is unclear whether the farmers' offer of voluntary cuts would go far enough to save waterways that are drying up around much of the state, following a winter of below-average rainfall and record-low snows in the Sierra Nevada.
Farmers use 80 percent of all water taken from the land in California. Senior water rights holders alone consume trillions of gallons of water a year, although the state doesn't know exactly how much water they use because of unreliable data collection.
Regulators don't have widespread remote sensors or meters to make sure water isn't diverted.
The cutback orders instead are enforced by honor system and complaints. Only a fifth of junior water rights holders already told to stop pumping from the San Joaquin watershed have confirmed they were complying, a water board official said Wednesday.
Agriculture experts say they expect only modest immediate impact on food prices from any cuts to the senior water-rights holders.
Farmers will likely use their limited water to grow valuable crops - like almonds - and less valuable crops - like alfalfa - will be grown outside of California, said Jay Lund, director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis.
The mandatory cuts scheduled for Friday would be the first to the state's senior-water rights holders overall since the 1970s, and first to senior water-rights holders along the San Joaquin in memory.
"This is challenging. It's not about making everyone happy," said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the state Water Resources Control Board, told participants at a public hearing Wednesday on the drought. "It's about figuring out how to make terrible choices in the most fair and equitable way possible."
Board Director Tom Howard said that whatever he decides on the farmers' offer will apply beyond the river delta to the entire basin of the Sacramento River, which supplies most of the surface water in the food-producing Central Valley and the drinking water to homeowners as far south as San Diego.
That deal would not apply to hundreds of other right holders with claims to water before 1914, among few groups spared cutbacks in four years of record dry, until now.
California's water rights system - which Gov. Jerry Brown acknowledges as "somewhat archaic" - is built around the claims staked in the 19th century. Nearly 4,000 companies, farms and individuals are first in line to receive water because they made claims to water before 1914 or have property touching a waterway.
The ranks of senior water-rights holders include the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles and rural irrigation districts that supply thousands of farms.
Regulators haven't ordered those claimants to stop pumping since 1977, during the state's last major drought. That order applied only to dozens along a stretch of the Sacramento River, and the water board has since gained new power to punish those who illegally take water, including $10,000 daily penalties.
Delta farmer Rudy Mussi already has ordered tomato plants and prepared fields, and said he needs to know how often, or if, he can water them.
"Until the fine print is out, I don't know," Mussi said Wednesday about joining the farmers' offer of 25 percent cuts. "If I can make it work, hey, I'll do my darndest."
Brown has come under criticism for sparing farmers with senior water rights from the mandatory cutbacks. Increasing amounts of the state's irrigation water goes to specialty crops like almonds, whose growers are expanding production despite the drought.
Mandatory orders could put some farmers in the Delta east of San Francisco out of business, said John Herrick, manager of the South Delta Water Agency.
When the state cutback order comes, Herrick said, the farmers will immediately try to block it in court.
"That doesn't mean we'll win," Herrick said. "But that's what we'll do."
---
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California Oil Spill Becoming Huge Disaster. More than 7,700 gallons of oil has been raked, skimmed and vacuumed from a spill that stretched across 9 miles of California coast, just a fraction of the sticky, stinking goo that escaped from a broken pipeline, officials said.
Up to 105,000 gallons may have leaked from the ruptured pipeline Tuesday, and up to 21,000 gallons reached the sea just north of Santa Barbara, according to estimates. The environmental impact still is being assessed, but so far there is no evidence of widespread harm to birds and sea life.
The early toll on wildlife from the California oil spill included two oil-covered pelicans, officials said. Biologists counted dead fish and crustaceans along sandy beaches and rocky shores.
The spill occurred along a long, rustic coast that forms the northern boundary of the Santa Barbara Channel, home to a rich array of sea life. Whales, dolphins, sea lions, seals, sea otters and birds such as pelicans live along the channel between the mainland and the Channel Islands, five of which are a national park surrounded by waters declared a national marine sanctuary.
Workers in protective suits have shoveled black sludge off beaches, and boats towed booms into place to corral two oil slicks. The cleanup effort continued through the night and additional crew members and boats came out early Thursday, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Jonathan McCormick said.
They could get help from expected light winds and calm seas, said Dr. Sean Anderson, an environmental scientist at California State University, Channel Islands.
"When the water's choppy, the response gets complicated. But since the water's nice and flat, the oil sticks together and it's easier to spot and easier to pick up," he said.
Regulators and workers with Plains All American Pipeline LP, which runs the pipeline, aim to begin excavating the pipe Thursday to get their first look at the breach.
The company's chief executive visited the spill site Wednesday and apologized.
"We deeply, deeply regret that this incident has occurred at all," Chairman and CEO Greg L. Armstrong said at a news conference. "We apologize for the damage that it's done to the wildlife and to the environment."
Crude was flowing through the pipe at 54,600 gallons an hour during the leak, the company said. Company officials didn't say how long it leaked before it was discovered and shut down or discuss how fast the oil escaped.
Federal regulators from the Department of Transportation, which oversees oil pipeline safety, investigated the leak's cause, the pipe's condition and the potential violations.
The 24-inch pipe built in 1991 had no previous problems and was thoroughly inspected in 2012, according to the company. The pipe underwent similar tests about two weeks ago, though the results had not been analyzed yet.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the company accumulated 175 safety and maintenance infractions since 2006, according to federal records. The infractions involved pump failure, equipment malfunction, pipeline corrosion and operator error. The newspaper said a Plains Pipeline spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its regulatory record.
There was no estimate on the cost of the cleanup or how long it might take.
A combination of soiled beaches and the pungent stench of petroleum led officials to close popular campgrounds Refugio State Beach and El Capitan State Beach over the Memorial Day weekend.
Still, tourists pulled off the Pacific Coast Highway to eye the disaster from overlooking bluffs.
"It smells like what they use to pave the roads," said Fan Yang, of Indianapolis, who was hoping to find cleaner beaches in Santa Barbara, about 20 miles away. "I'm sad for the birds - if they lose their habitat."
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife closed fishing and shellfish harvesting for a mile east and west of Refugio beach and deployed booms to protect the nesting and foraging habitat of the snowy plover and the least tern, both endangered shore birds.
Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday night declared a state of emergency, a move that frees up additional state funding to help with the cleanup.
The coastline was the scene of a much larger spill in 1969 - the largest in U.S. waters at the time - that is credited with giving rise to the American environmental movement.
Environmental groups used the spill as a new opportunity to take a shot at fossil fuels and remind people of the area's notoriety with oil spills.
"Big Oil comes with big risks - from drilling to delivery," said Bob Deans, spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Santa Barbara learned that lesson over 40 years ago when offshore drilling led to disaster."
Large offshore rigs still dot the horizon off the coast, pumping crude to shore and small amounts of tar from natural seepage regularly show up on beaches.
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California Oil Spill Becoming Huge Disaster

California Oil Spill Becoming Huge Disaster. More than 7,700 gallons...

Judge: Gulf Oil Leak Details Can't Be Kept Secret. A federal magistrate judge Wednesday rejected a company's bid to preserve the confidentiality of numerous emails and reports about its failed efforts to halt a decade-old Gulf of Mexico oil leak.
The documents could be evidence in a lawsuit that a coalition of environmental groups, led by the New York City-based Waterkeeper Alliance, filed against Taylor Energy Co. The New Orleans-based company owned an oil platform that toppled during Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
An Associated Press investigation recently revealed evidence that the leak at the site of the toppled platform is worse than Taylor or government regulators had publicly reported.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Wells Roby rejected a series of arguments by Taylor lawyers who said the documents contain commercially valuable trade secrets and private information - including research on efforts to stop leaks and geological information about the site.
Wells Roby didn't immediately issue a formal ruling. Once she does, Taylor can ask a district judge to review it before any documents are publicly released.
The AP has filed a public records request for some of the same confidential records.
Attorneys for the environmentalists have access to the information in question. But keeping it confidential would essentially tie attorneys' hands, restricting what they could say about the records or how they could use them at a trial set for later this year.
"It's just not practical to hold this trial in secret," said Adam Babich, a Tulane Environmental Law Clinic lawyer representing the Waterkeeper Alliance.
Documents that the alliance seeks to make public include email correspondence involving the Coast Guard, reports prepared for the government regulators overseeing the leak response efforts, expert reports by scientists and engineers and documents used by those experts in forming opinions about the spill.
The Waterkeeper Alliance sued in 2012. The group said Taylor turned over more than 15,000 pages of documents and initially stamped all but four pages as confidential under a protective order. Roby said she may order changes to the protective order, saying it is overly broad.
The lawsuit seeks penalties against Taylor for violations of the Clean Water Act in connection with the ongoing spill. Judge: Gulf Oil Leak Details Can't Be Kept Secret
A Taylor spokesman declined immediate comment after Wednesday's hearing. Phyllis Taylor, the company's chairman and CEO, declined to be interviewed Wednesday after testifying at a legislative hearing in Baton Rouge on an unrelated matter.
Last year, Taylor presented federal officials with plans for a "final resolution" at the site where a mudslide triggered by Ivan's waves also buried a cluster of oil wells under mounds of sediment. Details of that plan are among the records still under wraps, but the company has said nothing can be done to completely eliminate chronic sheens at the site.
Federal regulators suspect oil is still leaking from at least one of 25 buried wells. In 2012, officials ordered the company to install a new and improved "containment dome" to capture leaking <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/unhealthy-foods-spoil-the-benefits-of-a-mediterranean-diet/">oil</a>, but a Coast Guard document obtained by the AP said the company hadn't finished designing the new dome as of May 1.
AP also obtained a "fact sheet" prepared this month by the Interior Department that says the leak could continue for a century or more "if left unchecked."
But a company official has said that experts agree the "best course of action ... is to not take any affirmative action" due to the risks associated with additional work at the site.
---
Associated Press Writer Michael Kunzelman in Baton Rouge contributed to this story.
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Judge: Gulf Oil Leak Details Can't Be Kept Secret

Judge: Gulf Oil Leak Details Can't Be Kept Secret. A...

California Farmers Agree To Voluntary Water Cuts. California farmers who hold some of the state's strongest water rights avoided the threat of deep mandatory cuts when the state accepted their proposal to voluntarily reduce consumption by 25 percent amid one of the worst droughts on record.
Officials hope the deal agreed upon on Friday will serve as a model for more such agreements with growers in the nation's top-producing farm state, where agriculture accounts for 80 percent of all water drawn from rivers, streams and the ground.
"We're in a drought unprecedented in our time. That's calling upon us to take unprecedented action," Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the state Water Resources Control Board, said in announcing the agreement.
The rare concession from the farmers is the latest indication of the severity of the water shortage in California, which is suffering through its driest four years on record.
California water law is built around preserving the rights of so-called senior rights holders - farmers and others whose acreage abuts rivers and streams, or whose claims to water date back a century or more, as far back as Gold Rush days.
The offer potentially could cover hundreds of farmers in the delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, the heart of California's water system. About 25 percent of all California river water runs through the delta, according to the state's Department of Water Resources.
Some of the farmers made the offer after state officials warned they were days away from ordering the first cuts in more than 30 years to the senior water rights holders' allotments.
The state already has ordered cities and towns to cut their water use by 25 percent, and it has curtailed water deliveries to many other farmers. But in recent weeks, many city dwellers and others have complained that agriculture should be made to share more of the sacrifice.
Rudy Mussi, whose family farms about 4,000 acres in the delta southwest of Stockton, reacted with mixed emotions about state approval of the deal.
"The 25 percent savings, that gives us certainty," Mussi said. "But at the same time I'm being asked to give up 25 percent of my paycheck."
By itself, the delta farmers' offer would not go far enough to save shrinking waterways statewide. But if more farmers sign on across the state, <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=California&amp;cvid=67241fe5ee1942e8ab3b8c90f08f2f08&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">California</a> could save significant amounts of water, since the nearly 4,000 senior water rights holders alone consume trillions of gallons a year.
The agreement "is an illustration of creative practical approaches that water managers in the state of California are taking to help get us all through this devastating drought," said Michael George, state water master for the delta.
California produces nearly half of the fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in the U.S., but agriculture experts say they would expect only modest immediate effects on food prices from any reduction in water for the senior water rights holders. Other regions would be able to make up the difference, economists say.
Under the deal, delta farmers have until June 1 to lay out how they will use 25 percent less water during the summer. That could include irrigating their crops less or leaving some of their land fallow.
In exchange, the state gave assurances to the farmers it will not cut the remaining 75 percent of the water to which they are entitled. California Farmers Agree To Voluntary Water Cuts
"When your back is up against the wall, I guess you'll do anything," said Paul Wenger, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation and an almond grower in the Modesto area, outside of the delta. He said he is skeptical the deal will protect the farmers if the drought worsens.
Senior water rights holders last saw their water cut in 1977, but that move applied only to dozens of people along a stretch of the Sacramento River.
Ellen Hanak, a water policy expert at the Public Policy Institute of California think tank, said senior water rights holders don't necessarily face complete water cutoffs, as people with less venerable claims to water have endured.
"It's important for people to realize that there are haircuts that are partial - they don't necessarily mean shaving everything off," Hanak said.
Any accord with delta farmers would probably rely largely on the honor system. California currently does not require monitoring or meters for superior rights holders.
---
Knickmeyer reported from San Francisco and Smith reported from Fresno. Terry Chea in Stockton and Fenit Nirappil in Sacramento contributed to this story.
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California Farmers Agree To Voluntary Water Cuts

California Farmers Agree To Voluntary Water Cuts. California farmers who...

Beijing Environment Exchange Readies Carbon Market To Fight Climate Change. Beijing Environment Exchange Readies Carbon Market To Fight Climate Change. At first, the numbers and company names flashing on a big board in Beijing's financial district suggest a booming market.
A closer look indicates otherwise: The scrolling list rotates the same dozen or so trades, all from last year.
The lights from the Beijing Environment Exchange - one of seven pilot markets in China for trading carbon - raises questions for the country as it prepares for next year's roll-out of a nationwide system that could help the world's biggest emitter of heat-trapping carbon dioxide rein in its emissions.
A successful carbon offset, or "cap-and-trade," market could play a big part in cutting <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/historic-flooding-has-killed-hundreds-across-china/">China's</a> emissions - and help the world tackle global warming.
Already launched in Europe, California and a few other spots, such carbon offset markets limit how much carbon can be emitted per year by factories and businesses. They then let those businesses that release less carbon than the cap sell to other companies permissions to emit whatever's left.
So far, the pilots have failed to make a noticeable dent in carbon emissions, with about 978 million yuan, or $158 million, traded since their launch in 2013, compared to the 7.2 billion euros, or about $8 billion, of carbon offsets that were traded in the European market in its first year of operation, 2006. Many companies required to buy carbon credits have waited until the last minute of compliance periods to make their trades, which has raised concerns about low liquidity in the market. Some observers question the reliability of data recording how much companies are emitting.
Chinese officials, however, say the pilot markets aren't meant to significantly cut the country's carbon profile yet. Instead, they say they are learning important lessons from their experiments and will use them in what will soon become the world's biggest carbon offset market.
"China is taking this step to accept its responsibility in stopping climate change," said Zhou Cheng, the Beijing exchange's vice president. "This affects industry in a legal, scientific way, and it lets them form their business plans while looking at carbon emissions too."
If anything, the national plan heralds a strategy change for a country that's so far used its one-party system to order everything from factory closures to barbecue bans by giving companies a money-making incentive to cut their carbon emissions, said Jeff Swartz, international policy director at the Geneva-based nonprofit group the International Emissions Trading Association.
For some Chinese companies, selling excess carbon offset credits could bring in millions of dollars a year.
"China is using a number of different policies, both command-and-control but also market policies," Swartz said. "(Emissions trading) will provide a fundamental solution to allow China to peak its emissions."
The past decade, however, has been a spotty one for carbon credit experiments in China.
Five years ago, European Union officials ended a carbon offset plan that paid Chinese companies to destroy the greenhouse gas HFC-23 after learning that the companies were producing the gas only to be paid to destroy it.
Kathy Kong, CEO of Beijing-based trading firm Timing Carbon, said the pilot markets still have a lot of room to grow. For example, the markets still offer only spot trading with no futures markets, which greatly limits the potential market size. Regulators must also step in to prop up falling carbon offset prices and keep prices at other times from reaching unsustainable highs.
"This is still a market created by policy," Kong said. "The policy needs to follow the market at some time."
Starting in 2013, China set up the seven pilot markets in the country's largest cities - Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing and Shenzhen - as well as the industrial provinces of Guangdong and Hubei. Since mid-April, the seven markets have traded a total of 31.2 million tons of carbon. The European market in its first year traded more than 10 times that amount of carbon.
By design, each market has set up its own rules, with an eye for testing approaches for a national market.
In Beijing, any company that emits more than 10,000 tons of carbon a year - equal to the household and vehicle emissions of more than 400 American households - must join the offset market, which means it receives a yearly cap on its emissions and must buy carbon credits if it wants to emit more carbon. Credit prices have generally run from $55 to $75 per ton, and the penalty for exceeding the limit can cost three-to-five times the usual credit price. Around 550 companies in Beijing now take part in the exchange.
Other markets use different methods to set emission targets and determine who has to participate. Five of the seven markets give away carbon credits every year and then let companies auction off their excess credits. Hubei is the country's biggest market by volume of carbon traded.
For state-owned firms such the Chinese capital's largest power utility, Beijing's pilot market has forced business plans to factor in carbon emissions, said Jeremy Guo, executive vice president of the utility's energy investment arm. One result is a higher investment in renewable energy such as solar and the capture and reuse of heat emitted during some industrial processes, he said.
"We want to make our role of carbon asset management a new standard for the group company, not just to buy and sell to get some profit," Guo said.
What comes next year will depend on how the seven pilot markets shape up. They could link up so that a company in Beijing in the north could trade with another in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. Chen said another idea would be to create separate offset markets around specific industries such as steel, cement energy or construction rather than connect the separate pilots operating according to different rules.
Antung Anthony Liu, an economics professor at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business in Beijing, said that if done right, the markets could turn China's epic climate change fight into an international investment opportunity.
"China goes through a process where it tries to experiment with a policy before rolling it out," Liu said. "To my mind, the markets haven't the intended hopeful effect yet but capacity has been built. These markets clearly exist. And hopefully one of them will be chosen as the best one and the nation will go forward from that."
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Beijing Environment Exchange Readies Carbon Market To Fight Climate Change

Beijing Environment Exchange Readies Carbon Market To Fight Climate Change....

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHHxOej4QfE
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Researchers found a correlation between Alzheimer's disease and traffic pollution.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-invisible-threat-in-urban-air">Invisible threat in urban air</h2>



City dwellers face an unseen danger with every breath. New findings from Emory University researchers suggest that fine particulate matter from <a href="http://earth.com/news/traffic-related-air-pollution-might-increase-alzheimers-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vehicle emissions may significantly elevate the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease</a>. The study examined brain tissue samples from 224 individuals who had confirmed diagnoses and volunteered their brains for scientific research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-disturbing-connections-emerge">Disturbing connections emerge</h2>



Scientists analyzed neuritic plaques — protein clusters that characterize Alzheimer's — while mapping each participant's exposure to PM2.5 particles based on residential location and surrounding traffic density. The correlation proved more alarming than anticipated. Individuals experiencing higher pollution exposure showed nearly double the likelihood of elevated plaque accumulation in brain tissue.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-timing-matters">Timing matters</h2>



The research team discovered that pollution exposure during the final year before death demonstrated the strongest association with brain changes. This timeline suggests relatively rapid impacts from environmental toxins on neural health. The connection remained robust even after accounting for various demographic and health factors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-vulnerability-patterns">Genetic vulnerability patterns</h2>



Perhaps most concerning, people lacking the APOE gene—which naturally predisposes individuals to Alzheimer's — exhibited more than twice the susceptibility to pollution-related brain damage. Study author Dr. Anke Huels noted this indicates environmental elements like air contamination could trigger the disease in cases where hereditary factors don't explain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-public-health-implications">Public health implications</h2>



These findings, published in <a href="https://www.neurology.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Neurology</a>, underscore the critical importance of air quality regulations in urban planning. The research suggests that implementing stricter emission controls and promoting alternative transportation could serve as powerful tools in Alzheimer's prevention.



As cities worldwide grapple with growing traffic congestion and aging populations, this study highlights an urgent need for comprehensive approaches to environmental health that protect both our lungs and our minds.



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Traffic fumes may trigger Alzheimer's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHHxOej4QfE Researchers found a correlation between Alzheimer's disease and traffic...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that scientists never expected.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-waters-beneath-ancient-craters">Hidden waters beneath ancient craters</h2>



Scientists have made a startling discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/saturn-moon-mimas-has-remarkably-young-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Saturn's moon Mimas</a>. Beneath the heavily cratered surface that earned it the nickname "Death Star" lies a global ocean that formed just 5 to 15 million years ago—a remarkably young age by cosmic standards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cassini-data-reveals-orbital-secrets">Cassini data reveals orbital secrets</h2>



The discovery, led by Dr. Valéry Lainey of the <a href="https://observatoiredeparis.psl.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Observatoire de Paris</a>, emerged from careful analysis of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>'s Cassini spacecraft data. By studying subtle irregularities in Mimas's orbit around Saturn, researchers detected the gravitational signature of liquid water hidden 20 to 30 kilometers beneath the moon's icy shell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-unlikely-ocean-world">An unlikely ocean world</h2>



At only 400 kilometers in diameter, Mimas seemed like the least likely candidate to harbor a subsurface ocean. Unlike other ocean moons such as Europa and Enceladus, which show clear surface signs of internal activity, Mimas displays no obvious hints of the liquid water beneath its ancient, crater-scarred exterior.



"Mimas is a small moon, and its heavily cratered surface gave no hint of the hidden ocean beneath," explained Dr. Nick Cooper from <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Queen Mary University of London</a>, a study co-author.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-astrobiology">Implications for astrobiology</h2>



The ocean's recent formation makes Mimas a prime target for studying how oceans develop and potentially support life. This discovery adds another member to the exclusive club of ocean worlds in our solar system, each offering unique insights into the conditions necessary for habitability.



The research, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> journal, demonstrates how advanced orbital analysis can reveal hidden features of celestial bodies, opening new possibilities for understanding ocean formation throughout the cosmos.



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Scientists discover unexpected young ocean on Saturn's cratered moon Mimas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0mn5mTvhQ 'Death Star' moon Mimas conceals a 15-million-year-old ocean that...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0DuSr87SHY
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">57 million-year ice age mystery solved by Australian scientists.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-earth-became-a-frozen-wasteland">When Earth became a frozen wasteland</h2>



Imagine Earth as a giant snowball, frozen solid from the North Pole to the equator. This wasn't the plot of a science fiction movie – it was our planet's reality 700 million years ago during an extreme ice age that has puzzled scientists for decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-discovery">The discovery</h2>



Australian researchers from the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Sydney</a> have finally cracked one of geology's greatest mysteries: what caused the Sturtian glaciation and why it persisted for an unprecedented 57 million years. This period occurred long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, when no complex plants or multicellular animals existed.



Dr. Adriana Dutkiewicz, the study's lead author, describes a world completely unlike today's climate. "Imagine the Earth almost completely frozen over," she explained. "The planet was blanketed in ice from poles to equator, and temperatures plunged."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-combination-of-climate-factors">The combination of climate factors</h2>



The research team discovered that this massive freeze resulted from a "double whammy" of geological events. First, plate tectonic activity reduced volcanic carbon dioxide emissions to historically low levels. Volcanic activity typically releases CO2 into the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect that keeps Earth warm.



Simultaneously, weathering of volcanic rocks in what is now Canada actively absorbed atmospheric CO2, further reducing greenhouse gas concentrations. When atmospheric carbon dioxide levels dropped below 200 parts per million – less than half of today's levels – glaciation engulfed the entire planet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-climate-implications">Modern climate implications</h2>



Published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geology</a>, this research provides crucial insights into Earth's climate system. While geological climate changes occur over millions of years, the study emphasizes that human-induced climate change is happening at a pace ten times faster than previously observed natural changes, highlighting the urgent need to understand our planet's delicate climate balance.



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What caused the planet's longest ice age

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0DuSr87SHY 57 million-year ice age mystery solved by Australian scientists....

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXXGGiynIjs
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the opposite.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-contrasting-climate-response">A contrasting climate response</h2>



Most coastal towns are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sinking-land-will-intensify-the-effects-of-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">preparing for higher sea levels</a>, but <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greenland-no-longer-has-to-worry-about-rising-sea-levels/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Greenland presents</a> a different scenario during climate change. The ground there is rising at a remarkable rate. Over the past decade, some areas have lifted about 20 centimeters, which translates to roughly 2 meters per century. This rate significantly exceeds current projections for sea level rise.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-geological-rebound-process-through-climate-change">Geological rebound process through climate change</h2>



The mechanism behind this phenomenon is straightforward. As the ice sheet melts, the immense weight is removed from the bedrock, causing the land to rebound upward. This process resembles the way compressed material springs back when pressure is released.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientific-monitoring-networks">Scientific monitoring networks</h2>



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.dtu.dk/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Technical University of Denmark</a> are documenting this uplift using the GNET network, consisting of 61 GPS stations positioned around Greenland's coast. These sensors can detect movement with millimeter precision, providing detailed measurements of the ongoing changes.



The data reveal that current uplift rates exceed the gradual rebound occurring since the last ice age ended approximately 12,000 years ago. This acceleration corresponds directly with increased ice sheet melting rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coastal-transformation">Coastal Transformation</h2>



This uplift is actively reshaping Greenland's coastline. New islands and rocky formations, called "skerries," are emerging as previously submerged land surfaces rise above the water level. This represents a notable contrast to global concerns about rising seas.



The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, demonstrates the varied regional impacts of climate change. While many locations face rising water levels, Greenland's bedrock is literally rising above the surrounding seas.



The full study was recently published in <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2023GL104851" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



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Greenland's ground rises while coasts worldwide face higher seas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXXGGiynIjs Greenland is not sinking. In fact, it is the...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to implement the latest AI Agent building platform.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ai-agent-training-transforms-the-workplace-fear-factor-into-a-competitive-advantage">AI agent training transforms the workplace 'fear factor' into a competitive advantage</h2>



Organizations that offer comprehensive artificial intelligence training to their workers find remarkable value that extends well beyond basic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mind-wandering-might-be-more-productive-than-you-think/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">productivity improvements</a>. Emerging research demonstrates that carefully crafted AI training programs <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-does-not-replace-human-creativity-but-enhances-it/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">enhance</a> corporate performance, lower operational costs, and dramatically improve employee psychological well-being by turning workplace uncertainty into professional empowerment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-addressing-the-widespread-ai-anxiety-crisis-among-us">Addressing the widespread 'AI anxiety' crisis among us</h2>



A staggering 53% of employees expressed concern that the use of AI tools to automate work tasks could make them appear disposable to their employers, according to <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft</a>'s 2024 workplace survey. Such pervasive worry about being substituted by machines has caused what researchers have termed "AI technostress" – a psychological state that can result in occupational burnout and poorer mental well-being.



Data published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a> showed that belief in AI learning ability was a moderator in the link between technology adoption and work pressure, and higher confidence significantly lowered negative psychological responses. Workers provided ample training to become competent with AI software have significantly lower stress.



Companies like <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a> have platforms for building what are known as "AI Agents". In essence, AI Agents are simply tools that employees can build for themselves or their teams quickly and inexpensively. MindStudio will even train entire companies, from the CEO on down, at no cost. By letting MindStudio empower employees, companies avoid hiring more IT staff, buying more software, and implementing solutions to problems that do not exist.



MindStudio even has partners locally for companies, like <a href="http://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dominnus</a> with offices in the Carolinas, California, and Denver, to help build AI Agents and support employees as they become resident AI experts for their organization. The training provided by MindStudio is applicable across other AI Agent building platforms as well.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-productivity-through-focused-learning">Revolutionary productivity through focused learning</h2>



Organizations that implement large-scale AI training programs achieve dramatic outcomes. Employees performed tasks significantly better when they utilized AI support compared to when they didn't, according to <a href="https://www.nngroup.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nielsen Norman Group</a> research findings. Their study documented productivity increases of 66% for a variety of professional tasks.



Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis research finds workers record 33% higher productivity in time working with generative AI tools. The benefit is equivalent to 5.4% of work time savings for AI users – around 2.2 hours per week for full-time workers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-psychological-well-being-benefits-through-ai-competence">Psychological well-being benefits through AI competence</h2>



The emotional transformation when employees are provided with proper technology training is a fundamental transformation from fear to professional confidence. A survey of 600 employees across industries, carried out by ScienceDirect, proved that AI capabilities strengthen work environment commitment and improve job satisfaction.



A <a href="https://www.lut.fi/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LUT University</a> study discovered that AI adoption has no direct effect on workers' well-being but does so indirectly through working conditions like task optimization and safety protocols. Strategically deployed AI that involves correct training can actually increase workplace mental well-being.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-replacement-anxiety-to-partnership-confidence">From 'replacement anxiety' to 'partnership confidence'</h2>



Although 35% of those interviewed in recent McKinsey studies were concerned about workforce displacement, firms with large-scale training initiatives witness such fears dissipate quickly. The World Economic Forum found that two out of three respondents believe AI competencies will enhance their career prospects and job marketability.



This shift from fear to trust has measurable implications for job satisfaction. Applied Sciences research indicates AI can create tailored wellness programs based on individual employee requirements.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-financial-benefits-of-increased-retention">Financial benefits of increased retention</h2>



The mental health advantages of AI learning have a direct impact on organizational bottom lines in the form of a positive feedback cycle with high retention of employees. Recent ROI research validates that artificial intelligence learning has a beneficial impact on employee turnover and satisfaction levels.



PriceWaterhouseCoopers' research documents 20% to 30% improvements in productivity, market speed, and revenue in organizations that attempt systematic AI adoption through comprehensive training.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-environmental-advantages-of-ai-enabled-teams">Environmental advantages of AI-enabled teams</h2>



AI training has unforeseen environmental benefits as it makes the work environment more efficient. According to a study in Scientific Reports, the carbon footprint in writing and illustrating work is significantly lower when AI performs it compared to humans. AI software produces 130 to 1,500 times less CO2 equivalent per page of text created than human authors.



In addition, AI-driven remote work functionality significantly reduces environmental impact. Research by Cornell University and Microsoft indicates that remote workers reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 54% by not commuting daily to offices. Hybrid workers working remotely two to four days a week can reduce their carbon footprint by 11% to 29%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cumulative-organizational-advantages">Cumulative organizational advantages</h2>



The compounding gains of better mental well-being, reduced turnover, increased productivity, and environmental benefits flow to enterprises from the pairing. McKinsey analysis estimates the long-term AI potential at $4.4 trillion in incremental productivity growth opportunity from business use cases.



As of now, 75% of knowledge workers globally utilize generative AI, mirroring widespread adoption patterns. Organizations that provide organized training and assistance see the most favorable results in productivity, worker satisfaction, and ecological sustainability.



The research overwhelmingly indicates that companies that invest in proper AI education, like that offered through <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MindStudio</a>, establish win-win scenarios where employees are both more empowered and less stressed, and companies enjoy the gains of increased productivity, reduced turnover, and improved mental health outcomes throughout their workforce.



For more on MindStudio's free AI training for companies, visit the website's of MindStudio and Dominnus from the links below.



The research was published across a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including <a href="https://www.nature.com/palcomms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humanities and Social Sciences Communications</a>, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/artificial-intelligence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence</a>, and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci">Applied Sciences</a>.



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MindStudio.AI: <a href="https://www.mindstudio.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.mindstudio.ai</a>



Dominnus: <a href="https://www.dominnus.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.dominnus.com</a>

AI agent training boosts mental health and profits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSM3EVeGHJU Companies like MindStudio help companies train their employees to...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDXqTGEmi4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-natural-solution-to-disease-through-crop-modification">A natural solution to disease through crop modification.</h2>



The agricultural industry stands at a crossroads between productivity and environmental responsibility, and crop modification often carries a negative connotation. While chemical pesticides have long been the go-to solution for crop protection, their harmful effects on ecosystems and human health have prompted scientists to seek alternatives. The recent breakthrough by <a href="https://www.southampton.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Southampton</a> researchers offers a promising path forward through the precise manipulation of plant-associated microbial communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-science-behind-microbial-partnerships">The science behind microbial partnerships</h2>



Plants naturally harbor diverse ecosystems of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms that function as biological allies. These microscopic partners contribute to disease resistance, nutrient absorption, and stress tolerance. However, until now, scientists lacked the tools to deliberately reshape these communities to enhance crop protection.



The Southampton team's approach centered on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/engineered-plant-microbiomes-the-future-of-crop-protection/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">modifying lignin biosynthesis genes in rice plants</a>. This strategic intervention altered the plant's metabolic output, creating conditions that favored beneficial bacterial populations while suppressing harmful ones. The result was a living defense system embedded within the plant itself.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-global-food-security">Implications for global food security</h2>



The successful demonstration against Xanthomonas oryzae, the pathogen responsible for bacterial blight in rice, represents more than a laboratory achievement. Rice feeds nearly half the world's population, and bacterial blight causes devastating crop losses annually. Traditional control methods rely heavily on pesticides that contaminate soil and water systems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-beyond-disease-resistance">Looking Beyond Disease Resistance</h2>



While disease protection represents the immediate application, the research framework opens doors to broader agricultural improvements. Future developments could engineer microbiomes to enhance nutrient uptake, reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers. This dual benefit addresses both crop productivity and environmental sustainability.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-path-forward">The path forward</h2>



As this technology advances from laboratory to field applications, it promises to reshape sustainable agriculture. The ability to program plants with their own biological defense systems could herald a new era where crops protect themselves naturally, reducing chemical inputs while maintaining yields necessary for global food security.



The study is published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44335-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



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Revolutionizing agriculture through microbiome engineering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDXqTGEmi4 Scientists give plants superpowers against bacterial disease A natural...

<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Acid rain and a crisis solved.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-don-t-we-ever-hear-about-acid-rain-anymore-the-environmental-crisis-that-was-solved">Why don't we ever hear about "acid rain" anymore? The environmental crisis that was solved</h2>



Remember the 1980s when acid rain dominated headlines? Dire warnings about rain eating buildings, killing fish, and destroying forests filled every news cycle. Then, almost like magic, acid rain vanished from public discourse. What happened? Did we actually solve one of the late 20th century's most pressing environmental challenges?



The answer might surprise you. Unlike many environmental issues that drag on indefinitely, acid rain represents one of modern history's most successful ecological recovery stories. It's a tale of science, politics, and technology working together to tackle what seemed impossible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What was acid rain?</h2>



Acid rain isn't regular rain having a bad day – it's precipitation that became significantly more acidic due to air pollution. When power plants, factories, and vehicles burn fossil fuels, they release sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The science behind it</h2>



Think of acid rain as nature's chemistry experiment gone wrong. These compounds react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids. When mixed with water vapor in clouds, they create precipitation with dangerously low pH levels.



While clean rain has a pH of about 5.6, acid rain could drop as low as 4.2 to 4.4 – roughly as acidic as tomato juice or coffee. According to US Geological Survey documentation, Scottish chemist Angus Smith first coined "acid rain" in 1872, but it didn't become a household phrase until the 1960s and 1970s when Swedish scientist Svante Odén documented its devastating effects on Scandinavian lakes and European forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The crisis at its peak</h2>



During the height of public concern, environmental damage was both widespread and visible. This wasn't some abstract future threat – people could see destruction happening in real-time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Environmental devastation</h2>



The most dramatic impacts were impossible to ignore. Research documented by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation shows that in the Adirondack Mountains, more than 200 lakes became so acidic they couldn't support fish life. The Adirondack Council reports that 409 lakes once supported brook trout, but many lost their fish populations due to acid rain.



By 1976, when scientists cataloged all acidified lakes in the Adirondack Park, researchers found that half of the lakes over 2,000 feet above sea level had no fish, according to studies published in environmental journals. The acidification process worked like a slow-motion disaster. As acid rain fell into watersheds, it gradually lowered pH levels. Fish couldn't survive in acidic water, and their food sources died off too.



Trees at high elevations showed stress directly linked to acid rain. It weakened them by leaching nutrients and making them susceptible to disease. Historical records show Germany's Black Forest saw nearly half its trees damaged by the mid-1980s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Economic impact</h2>



Acid rain wasn't just environmental – it was expensive. Acidic precipitation corroded infrastructure, buildings, and monuments. Historic stone structures deteriorated at accelerated rates. Tourism suffered as lakes became fishless and forests declined. EPA economic analyses from the period documented repair costs mounting into billions annually.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The solution: government action and technology</h2>



Transformation from crisis to success required unprecedented cooperation between governments, industries, and environmental groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Clean Air Act of 1990</h2>



The turning point came with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, signed by President George H.W. Bush. This represented a fundamentally new approach to environmental regulation, as documented in EPA historical records.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cap-and-trade success</h2>



Instead of mandating specific technologies, the 1990 amendments introduced something revolutionary: a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide emissions. EPA program documentation shows this market-based approach set overall limits but allowed companies to trade emission allowances.



The genius was harnessing market forces to find cost-effective pollution reduction. Companies reducing emissions cheaply could sell excess allowances to those facing higher costs. Research published in environmental economics journals and EPA progress reports shows this resulted in dramatic SO2 reduction at a fraction of projected costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Technology advances</h2>



Policy provided the framework, but technology made reductions possible. Studies in atmospheric science journals document the widespread adoption of flue gas desulfurization systems ("scrubbers") that removed sulfur dioxide before it reached the atmosphere. By the 2000s, new installations could remove over 95% of SO2 emissions, according to EPA technical reports.



The push coincided with cleaner energy development. Natural gas produces fewer sulfur compounds than coal. Wind and solar, emerging in the 1990s, captured growing market share, reducing reliance on high-sulfur coal.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-we-don-t-hear-about-it-today">Why we don't hear about it today</h2>



Why did acid rain disappear from headlines? Simple: the problem was largely solved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Success doesn't make news</h2>



There's an old journalism saying: "If it bleeds, it leads." Environmental success stories don't generate urgency like crisis reporting. Media attention shifted to other challenges: climate change, plastic pollution, and biodiversity loss. There's only so much environmental anxiety the public can absorb, and newer concerns replaced acid rain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mission accomplished</h2>



The primary reason is beautifully simple: interventions worked. EPA monitoring data shows sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990. Academic research published in environmental science journals confirms pH levels in formerly affected areas returned closer to normal. This represents one of history's most dramatic environmental recoveries. Studies by the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation show fishless lakes now support healthy populations. Forests recovered, and building damage slowed dramatically.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-really-gone">Is it really gone?</h2>



The crisis is largely resolved, but monitoring data shows the problem isn't completely eliminated – it's managed to acceptable levels. Some areas still experience occasional events during high pollution periods. International environmental research indicates that rapidly industrializing Asian countries face similar problems to what we experienced decades ago, though they're implementing successful strategies.



EPA research shows nitrogen oxide emissions proved more challenging than sulfur dioxide, coming from vehicles and mobile sources. Climate science studies suggest changing weather patterns add complexity to how acid rain forms and falls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What this teaches us</h2>



The acid rain experience proves that seemingly intractable environmental problems can be solved with scientific understanding, political will, and technological innovation. Environmental monitoring data shows recovery speed was remarkable – within a decade, measurable improvements appeared in air quality and ecosystem health.



Success came from bipartisan support across party lines. Policy analysis studies show the market-based approach appealed to those preferring economic incentives while achieving environmental goals. This support created lasting policy surviving political changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2>



Acid rain's disappearance from public consciousness represents environmental science's greatest success stories. Through effective regulation, technological innovation, and international cooperation, we transformed an overwhelming crisis into a manageable challenge.



Today's silence isn't because we forgot – it's because we solved it. The 1990 Clean Air Act, combined with technology and energy market changes, reduced acid rain emissions over 90%, according to comprehensive EPA data analysis.



This success offers hope for current challenges. It proves complex problems can be solved when science, policy, and technology work together. As we face climate change and plastic pollution, acid rain reminds us that dramatic positive change is possible.



Next time someone asks whether environmental regulations work, remember acid rain. It's proof that sometimes, we get it right.



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Sources: This article draws from EPA official documentation and progress reports, peer-reviewed research published in environmental and atmospheric science journals, historical data from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation records, US Geological Survey publications, policy analysis studies, and environmental monitoring data collected over three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



1. Is acid rain completely gone? No, but EPA monitoring shows it's reduced to manageable levels. US sulfur dioxide emissions dropped over 90% since 1990, making acid rain much less severe than the 1980s crisis.



2. How long did solving take? Environmental monitoring data shows significant improvements began within 5-10 years of 1990s emission controls. Full ecosystem recovery took longer – some areas need 20-30 years for complete recovery.



3. What made the solution successful? Clear scientific understanding, visible damage motivating action, bipartisan support, available technology, and innovative market-based policies like cap-and-trade.



4. Do other countries have acid rain problems? Yes, particularly rapidly industrializing Asian countries. However, international environmental research shows many implement similar successful control strategies.



5. Could acid rain return? Potentially, if regulations weaken or we return to high-sulfur coal without controls, though effects would take years to become severe according to environmental projections.



6. Can you recommend any teaching tools on the subject of "acid rain"? The United States Environmental Protection Agency produced a wonderful teacher's guide for ages 14 and under that you can find on the EPA website here: <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-03/documents/teachersguide.pdf</a>



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The environmental problem we actually solved

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrq8Ql81zk Acid rain and a crisis solved. Why don't we...

Green,Ecoduct,Over,An,Empty,Highway,During,Sunset.

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A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that wildlife tunnels significantly reduce amphibian road mortality during seasonal migrations. 



Frogs and salamanders often cross roads to reach breeding ponds each spring, but many are killed by vehicles. 



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Vermont</a>, in collaboration with local citizens and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, installed two underpass tunnels in 2015. 



Over a 12-year monitoring period, they observed an 80.2% reduction in amphibian deaths, and up to 94% for non-climbing species like salamanders. 



The study used a before-after-control-impact design and documented more than 5,200 amphibians, highlighting the tunnels’ effectiveness even in nearby buffer zones.



Funded at $342,397 - far cheaper than wildlife crossings for large mammals - the project showcased the power of community-led conservation.



Local groups initiated the effort after observing mass amphibian deaths. Wildlife cameras later captured over 2,200 amphibians using a tunnel in just one spring, along with other species like raccoons and bobcats, indicating wider ecosystem benefits.



This marks the first peer-reviewed, long-term data set in the northeastern U.S. confirming amphibian-specific underpasses work. 



The study urges transportation departments to incorporate these designs into road planning and highlights how community action, thoughtful infrastructure, and persistence can make a real difference for biodiversity.



The full study was published in the <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1617138125000780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal for Nature Conservation</a>.



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Wildlife tunnels save millions of amphibians

https://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU A new long-term study in Monkton, Vermont, reveals that...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes how Earth is unique in our solar system for its ability to sustain liquid water on its surface. But now, the water cycle is shifting as the climate warms, and scientists must find ways to predict how these changes will affect water availability.



Overall, 96 percent of Earth's water is saltwater, and nearly all of freshwater is found in ice and groundwater. These sources of water are linked as it passes through solid, liquid and gas phases.



In a warmer climate, the water cycle will be transformed. It will be easier for water to evaporate and form clouds, and storms will become more frequent and intense. Some regions will get too much water, while others will be left without enough water. In addition, soil moisture will be lost - which threatens food security.



Scientists are using satellite data from over the last 40 years to track changes that are happening in the water cycle. This will ultimately help us prepare for extreme events and better manage our water resources, according to ESA.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

[sendtonews key="fxH3eJHEkQ-2010196-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Saturn,-,High,Resolution,3d,Images,Presents,Planets,Of,The

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> features images of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The photographs capture the start of the mysterious "spoke season" on Saturn - when unexplained features appear on its rings. 



According to NASA, both the cause of the spokes and their seasonal variability have yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.



"Like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its axis and therefore has four seasons, though because of Saturn's much larger orbit, each season lasts approximately seven Earth years. Equinox occurs when the rings are tilted edge-on to the Sun," explains NASA.



"The spokes disappear when it is near summer or winter solstice on Saturn. (When the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest latitude in the northern or southern hemisphere of a planet.) As the autumnal equinox of Saturn's northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, draws near, the spokes are expected to become increasingly prominent and observable."



Experts believe that the spokes may be a product of the planet's variable magnetic field. When magnetic fields interact with solar wind, an electrically charged environment is created. This phenomenon is visible on Earth as the northern lights.&nbsp;



"Scientists think that the smallest, dust-sized icy ring particles can become charged as well, which temporarily levitates those particles above the rest of the larger icy particles and boulders in the rings," says NASA.



The spokes were first observed in the early 1980s by NASA's Voyager mission. Depending on the angle of the rings, the spokes can appear dark or light.



"Thanks to Hubble's OPAL program, which is building an archive of data on the outer solar system planets, we will have longer dedicated time to study Saturn’s spokes this season than ever before," said NASA senior planetary scientist Amy Simon, head of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.



"Despite years of excellent observations by the Cassini mission, the precise beginning and duration of the spoke season is still unpredictable, rather like predicting the first storm during hurricane season."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

[sendtonews key="Ccjk8KEMzv-2550719-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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