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...

Study: Air Pollution Kills 4000 People Per Day In China. Air pollution is killing about 4,000 people in China a day, accounting for 1 in 6 premature deaths in the world's most populous country, a new study finds.
Physicists at the University of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/californias-rainy-season-has-been-pushed-forward-by-a-month/"> California</a>, Berkeley, calculated that about 1.6 million people in China die each year from heart, lung and stroke problems because of incredibly polluted air, especially small particles of haze. Earlier studies put the annual Chinese air pollution death toll at 1 to 2 million, but this is the first to use newly released <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=chinese&amp;cvid=d7084361acc4445b88304ea3ee8511d8&amp;pglt=43&amp;FORM=ANNTA1&amp;PC=HCTS">Chinese</a> air monitoring figures.
The study released Thursday blamed emissions from the burning of coal, both for electricity and heating homes. The study, to be published in the journal PLOS One, uses real air measurements and then computer model calculations that estimate heart, lung and stroke deaths for different types of pollutants.
Study lead author Robert Rohde said that 38 percent of the Chinese population lives in an area with a long-term air quality average that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calls "unhealthy."
"It's a very big number," Rohde said Thursday. "It's a little hard to wrap your mind around the numbers. Some of the worst in China is to the southwest of Beijing." Study: Air Pollution Kills 4000 People Per Day In China
To put Chinese air pollution in perspective, the most recent American Lung Association data shows that Madera, California, has the highest annual average for small particles in the United States. But 99.9 percent of the eastern half of China has a higher annual average for small particle haze than Madera, Rohde said.
"In other words, nearly everyone in China experiences air that is worse for particulates than the worst air in the U.S.," Rohde said.
In a 2010 document, the EPA estimates that between 63,000 and 88,000 people die in the U.S. from air pollution. Other estimates range from 35,000 to 200,000.
Unlike the U.S., air pollution in China is worst in the winter because of burning of coal to heat homes and weather conditions that keeps dirty air closer to the ground, Rohde said. Beijing will host the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Outside scientists praised the research. Jason West at the University of North Carolina said he expects "it will be widely influential."
Allen Robinson at Carnegie Mellon University said in an email that parts of the United States, like Pittsburgh, used to have almost as bad air but have become much cleaner "through tough regulations combined with large collapse of heavy industry (it moved to Asia)."
As China starts to clean up its air, limiting coal use, it will also reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the chief global warming gas, Rohde said.
---
Seth Borenstein can be followed at <a href="http://twitter.com/borenbears" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://twitter.com/borenbears</a>
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Study: Air Pollution Kills 4000 People Per Day In China

Study: Air Pollution Kills 4000 People Per Day In China....

Study Shows How Climate Change Threatens Human Health. Gulf Coast, Northeast and West Coast of US at high risk

Researchers at Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) and the University of<a href="http://www.earth.com/image/mount-rainier-in-washington/"> Washington</a> have published a new study focused on the public health implications of climate change. The article explores climate change impacts on human health in the U.S. Gulf Coast and has implications for this and other coastal regions that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. The study appears in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (August 11, 2015). The Open Access article is available here: <a href="http://bit.ly/1gAVqVe" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://bit.ly/1gAVqVe</a>

This new review of available data comes on the heels of President Obama's announcement of the requirement for reduced carbon emissions by the power industry as part of the Clean Power Plan. The Obama administration has fully acknowledged the human health impacts of the country's fossil fuel energy production and the immediate need to mitigate and adapt the nation's energy policies.

Climate variability and change present substantial threats to physical and mental health, and may also create social instability, potentially leading to increased conflict, violence, and widespread migration away from areas that can no longer provide sufficient food, water, and shelter for the current populations. Coastal areas, where a large proportion of U.S. residents live, are particularly vulnerable to impacts of climate change due to hazards such as changing water use patterns, shoreline erosion, sea level rise and storm surge. Study Shows How Climate Change Threatens Human Health

According to Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University's Earth Institute, "The science of climate change and the threat to human and population health is irrefutable - and the threat is evolving quickly." Dr. Redlener, also a professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, added, "Unfortunately, we are now at a point where simply slowing climate change, while critical, is not enough. We need to simultaneously develop and deploy ways of mitigating the impact and adapting to the consequences of this environmental disaster."

Public health impacts in the U.S. Gulf Coast may be severe as the region is expected to experience increases in extreme temperatures, sea level rise, and possibly fewer but more intense hurricanes. Through myriad pathways, climate change is likely to make the Gulf Coast less hospitable and more dangerous for its residents, and may prompt substantial migration from and into the region. Public health impacts may be further exacerbated by the concentration of vulnerable people and infrastructure, as well as the region's coastal geography.

The new paper provides an overview of potential public health impacts of climate variability and change on the Gulf Coast, with a focus on the region's unique vulnerabilities, and outlines recommendations for improving the region's ability to minimize the impacts of climate-sensitive hazards.

"Climate change may amplify existing public health impacts, such as heat-related morbidity and mortality, malnutrition resulting from droughts, and injury and deaths following exposure to floods," said Dr. Elisa Petkova of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness. "Although future trends are difficult to project, climate change may also facilitate the re-introduction of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever to the Gulf Coast and other vulnerable coastal regions."

Based on this research NCDP's key recommendations include:
<ul>
 	<li>The Federal government should establish a multi-agency permanent task force on the human and population impacts of climate change, charged with identifying innovative adaptation strategies. This task force should include relevant government agencies, as well as relevant private sector stakeholders.</li>
 	<li>Funds should be made available for the simultaneous implementation of adaptation strategies to improve individual, public health system, and infrastructure resilience.</li>
 	<li>Adaptation efforts should follow a course set by the Federal taskforce and should attempt to integrate hazard-specific adaptation measures into city, state and regional level emergency management plans, particularly in high-risk regions.</li>
 	<li>Further explore the linkage between weather events and infectious disease with an aim to enhance surveillance and intervention efforts.</li>
</ul>
###
About NCDP The National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at the <a href="http://www.earth.columbia.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Earth Institute</a> works to understand and improve the nation's capacity to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters. NCDP focuses on the readiness of governmental and non-governmental systems; the complexities of population recovery; the power of community engagement; and the risks of human vulnerability, with a particular focus on children.

Study Shows How Climate Change Threatens Human Health

Study Shows How Climate Change Threatens Human Health. Gulf Coast,...

Gulf Waters Eating Away At Small Towns Outside Of New Orleans Levees. Rocky Morales is watching his small Louisiana town of Delacroix slowly melt into the water. The woods where he played hide-and-seek as a boy are gone. It's all water and mud back there now. So, too, is the nearby marsh where townsfolk once trapped for muskrat, otter and mink.
Many of the fishermen who once lived here - his friends and relatives - have disappeared as well, fleeing behind the levees protecting New Orleans out of fear one more hurricane will send the rest of Delacroix into the sea.
Ten years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast - killing more than 1,830 people and causing more than $150 billion in damage in the nation's costliest disaster - New Orleans has been fortified by a new $14.5 billion flood protection system. But outside the iconic city, efforts have lagged to protect small towns and villages losing land every year to erosion. And as that land buffer disappears, New Orleans itself becomes more vulnerable.
In the past century, more than 1,880 square miles of Louisiana land has turned into open water - an area nearly the size of Delaware. And the loss continues, with an average 17 square miles disappearing annually, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Cemeteries are disappearing into the Gulf. Entire barrier island chains, Andrew Jackson-era brick forts, Jean Lafitte's pirate colony, lighthouses, bridges, roads, schools and entire towns have been washed away.
"We're losing the cultural fabric of south Louisiana," said Jessica Schexnayder, a researcher with the Louisiana State University Sea Grant program. "It's not just whether the land will disappear, it's about when it's going to be gone."
Hurricanes speed that up and Morales, one of the few remaining fisherman living here, knows another Katrina could be the end of Delacroix.
"It will run us all inside the protection levees," the 51-year-old crabber and shrimper said from his perch on his 16-foot-high front porch.
Neighboring homes stand either on massive stilts that lift them two stories above ground or sit on wheels that would let them flee before a new storm. Gulf Waters Eating Away At Small Towns Outside Of New Orleans Levees
Mud flats and open water extend into the horizon.
"All that was solid land. There weren't all these lakes," Morales said. "Katrina tore it all up."
Loss has been a dominant theme since Hurricane Betsy clobbered <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=new+orleans&amp;cvid=9d1e44275e394969b590964e2ecc83db&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">New Orleans</a> on Sept. 9, 1965, flooding many of the same places Katrina did 40 years later. Scientists say many factors - most of them man-made - have caused the rapid loss of wetlands.
There's sea-level rise (estimates of 3 feet or more in the next century), the natural sinking of the delta (about 1 inch a year in places), ongoing damage from oil drilling (more than 10,000 miles of oil canals crisscross the coast), and repeated hurricane damage (six <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/hurricanes-are-now-maintaining-more-strength-after-landfall/">hurricanes</a> have ravaged Louisiana's coast in the past decade).
Add to that: clear-cut logging that wiped out the swamp forests at the end of the 1800s, oyster dredging that ruined a delta-wide reef world, the spaghetti-like network of gas pipelines and wetlands loss due to urban development.
"The best hope for these communities, and this includes New Orleans, is getting behind a very aggressive delta restoration program," said Jim Tripp, a senior counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund who sits on panels exploring coastal restoration plans.
Since the early 1990s, the government has spent billions on coastal works to slow land loss, but the Gulf inexorably advances.
Katrina itself caused about 190 square miles of land erosion in just days, the loss of an area bigger than New Orleans itself.
Since then, Louisiana has sought to ramp up efforts to save the coast. It established new agencies focused on coastal restoration, launched pilot projects to reclaim open water by pumping in mud and developed a 50-year, $50 billion master plan to reverse land loss.
None of it has worked so far.
Along the 150-mile-wide delta, people are leaving generations-old homesteads and moving behind the newly fortified levees.
Since Katrina, Henry Martin, a 71-year-old dock and boat owner in the fishing town of Hopedale, has been running his seafood business out of 18-wheeler trailers where he stores tools, piles of oyster sacks and paperwork. When a hurricane threatens, he drives his business out of danger.
"This is dead for sure," he said of his bayou town, which has been largely abandoned by its residents.
Some say Louisiana can't win its fight with the sea.
"You have got to retreat," said Edward P. Richards, a law scholar at Louisiana State University who specializes in disasters.
Scientists say Katrina was especially destructive because of the disappearance of all the buffer land, which helped keep a deadly hurricane that landed a century ago from flooding New Orleans.
Out beyond New Orleans' new flood protection system, the fight for survival is a daily reality.
Lester Ansardi, a 66-year-old crabber who moved behind the floodwalls, points to the rising height of the stilts that Delacroix houses sit on to avoid flooding.
"When we grew up, there were no houses higher than 10 feet off the ground," Ansardi said. "After Betsy houses went up 12 foot. Now, they're 20 feet high."
Morales and his family aren't giving up.
"Only one way he's going to leave, is when they force him to leave," Suzie Guidroz, his longtime companion, said as the couple went for a spin in his white shrimp boat.
Morales smiled as he steered past docks, nets, boats and fish splashing in the bayou, darkening to an emerald green in the sunset. "I guess the water's in the blood," he said.
He waved to an uncle living in one of the 12 houses left in Delacroix, a town settled by Canary Islanders in the late 1700s.
When he was a kid, about 500 people lived in Delacroix. Each evening, people would gather to talk, he said.
"You don't have that anymore. Now they're all up the road more," he said.
Behind the levees.
<a id="d3711d96-7542-413a-ad0b-8b15426e935a" href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_KATRINA_RISING_SEAS_ABRIDGED?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT#d3711d96-7542-413a-ad0b-8b15426e935a" rel="item-license">© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</a> Learn more about our <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/privacy">Privacy Policy</a>and <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/terms">Terms of Use</a>.

Gulf Waters Eating Away At Small Towns Outside Of New Orleans Levees

Gulf Waters Eating Away At Small Towns Outside Of New...

EPA Tightens Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rules At Landfills. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has tightened standards for the <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/refrigerants-are-powerful-heat-trapping-greenhouse-gases/">greenhouse</a> gas emissions rules at nation's landfills to reduce methane and other harmful air pollutants.
EPA estimates the new rules announced Friday as part of President Obama's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_variability_and_change">Climate</a> Action Plan will reduce methane from decomposing household waste by about 480,000 tons a year by 2025.
Landfills rank as the third-largest human-related source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming at 25 times the rate of an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. Landfills also emit such toxic gasses as benzene, toluene and vinyl chloride. EPA Tightens Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rules At Landfills
EPA says implementing the new standards will cost about $55 million over the next decade.
A spokeswoman for the Solid Waste Association of North America said the industry group is studying the new standards before responding.The climate system receives nearly all of its energy from the sun. The climate system also radiates energy to <a title="Outer space" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_space">outer space</a>. The balance of incoming and outgoing energy, and the passage of the energy through the climate system, determines <a title="Earth's energy budget" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_energy_budget">Earth's energy budget</a>. When the incoming energy is greater than the outgoing energy, earth's energy budget is positive and the climate system is warming. If more energy goes out, the energy budget is negative and earth experiences cooling.
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EPA Tightens Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rules

EPA Tightens Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rules At Landfills. The U.S....

Study Shows How Climate Change Threatens Human Health. Gulf Coast, Northeast and West Coast of US at high risk

Researchers at Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) and the University of <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/mount-rainier-in-washington/">Washington</a> have published a new study focused on the public health implications of climate change. The article explores climate change impacts on human health in the U.S. <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=gulf+coast&amp;cvid=153d0e6244294768b5738af6b3d23ec5&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Gulf Coast</a> and has implications for this and other coastal regions that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. The study appears in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (August 11, 2015). The Open Access article is available here: <a href="http://bit.ly/1gAVqVe" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://bit.ly/1gAVqVe</a>

This new review of available data comes on the heels of President Obama's announcement of the requirement for reduced carbon emissions by the power industry as part of the Clean Power Plan. The Obama administration has fully acknowledged the human health impacts of the country's fossil fuel energy production and the immediate need to mitigate and adapt the nation's energy policies.Study Shows How Climate Change Threatens Human Health

Climate variability and change present substantial threats to physical and mental health, and may also create social instability, potentially leading to increased conflict, violence, and widespread migration away from areas that can no longer provide sufficient food, water, and shelter for the current populations. Coastal areas, where a large proportion of U.S. residents live, are particularly vulnerable to impacts of climate change due to hazards such as changing water use patterns, shoreline erosion, sea level rise and storm surge.

According to Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University's Earth Institute, "The science of climate change and the threat to human and population health is irrefutable - and the threat is evolving quickly." Dr. Redlener, also a professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, added, "Unfortunately, we are now at a point where simply slowing climate change, while critical, is not enough. We need to simultaneously develop and deploy ways of mitigating the impact and adapting to the consequences of this environmental disaster."

Public health impacts in the U.S. Gulf Coast may be severe as the region is expected to experience increases in extreme temperatures, sea level rise, and possibly fewer but more intense hurricanes. Through myriad pathways, climate change is likely to make the Gulf Coast less hospitable and more dangerous for its residents, and may prompt substantial migration from and into the region. Public health impacts may be further exacerbated by the concentration of vulnerable people and infrastructure, as well as the region's coastal geography.

The new paper provides an overview of potential public health impacts of climate variability and change on the Gulf Coast, with a focus on the region's unique vulnerabilities, and outlines recommendations for improving the region's ability to minimize the impacts of climate-sensitive hazards.

"Climate change may amplify existing public health impacts, such as heat-related morbidity and mortality, malnutrition resulting from droughts, and injury and deaths following exposure to floods," said Dr. Elisa Petkova of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness. "Although future trends are difficult to project, climate change may also facilitate the re-introduction of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever to the Gulf Coast and other vulnerable coastal regions."

Based on this research NCDP's key recommendations include:
<ul>
 	<li>The Federal government should establish a multi-agency permanent task force on the human and population impacts of climate change, charged with identifying innovative adaptation strategies. This task force should include relevant government agencies, as well as relevant private sector stakeholders.</li>
 	<li>Funds should be made available for the simultaneous implementation of adaptation strategies to improve individual, public health system, and infrastructure resilience.</li>
 	<li>Adaptation efforts should follow a course set by the Federal taskforce and should attempt to integrate hazard-specific adaptation measures into city, state and regional level emergency management plans, particularly in high-risk regions.</li>
 	<li>Further explore the linkage between weather events and infectious disease with an aim to enhance surveillance and intervention efforts.</li>
</ul>
###
About NCDP The National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at the <a href="http://www.earth.columbia.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Earth Institute</a> works to understand and improve the nation's capacity to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters. NCDP focuses on the readiness of governmental and non-governmental systems; the complexities of population recovery; the power of community engagement; and the risks of human vulnerability, with a particular focus on children.

Critics Of New Carbon Regulations Use Gold King Mine Spill To Attack EPA. Authorities say rivers tainted by last week's massive spill from an abandoned <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=colorado&amp;cvid=f7362ff5786d4b0fb84ea6f24fa50307&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Colorado</a> Gold King Mine are starting to recover, but for the Environmental Protection Agency the political fallout from the disaster could linger.
The federal agency's critics are already seeking to use its much-maligned handling of the mine spill to undercut the Obama administration's rollout of major regulations aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions at the nation's power plants. Members of oversight committees in both the House and Senate say they are planning hearings after Congress returns from its August recess. Critics Of New Carbon Regulations Use Gold King Mine Spill To Attack <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/gentoo-penguins-are-not-one-species-but-four/">EPA</a>
"The EPA is supposed to help prevent environmental catastrophes, not cause them," said Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., a member of the House leadership and the Energy and Commerce Committee. "But, sadly, President Obama's EPA has been too busy threatening American jobs with radical regulations instead of focusing on what should be their core mission."
EPA and contract workers accidentally unleashed 3 million gallons of contaminated wastewater as they inspected the idled Gold King mine on Aug. 5, just two days after Obama unveiled his Clean Power Plan during an event at the White House.
The timing could hardly be worse for the beleaguered regulatory agency, a frequent target for congressional Republicans and pro-industry groups. Attorneys general for at least 15 states say they plan to sue over the new carbon restrictions, and such coal-mining backers as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are urging states to simply ignore new carbon rules from Washington.
Over the last week, even Democrats representing states affected by the spill have publicly criticized the agency's response as anemic. That has forced top administration officials off-message just as they were launching an effort to sell the new carbon rules to the American people.
On Tuesday, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy gave a policy speech about the new carbon-reduction program at an event in Washington. But at a news conference afterward, every question was about the mine spill. McCarthy said her agency takes full responsibility for the accident and expressed deep sorrow for the environmental harm caused to the Animas and San Juan rivers.
Following bipartisan pressure from the congressional delegations of Colorado and New Mexico, the EPA chief then departed Washington for a two-day fence-mending trip out West aimed at showing that her agency is responsive and competent.
For Republicans, it was an opportunity to put the EPA on the defensive.
"I think we have seen what happens when the EPA comes after private industry - they come after them with heavy hand," said Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo. "Now, the shoe is on the other foot, and we have seen a lack of communication and coordination. ... This goes to the core competency of the EPA."
Bob Deans, a spokesman for the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, predicted that people would see efforts to link the spill to regulations aimed at addressing climate change for what it is - political theater.
"The public wants action on climate change and we expect our waters to be protected from mining waste," Deans said. "We count on the EPA to do both. This tragic accident hasn't changed that. If anything, it's highlighted the risks we take and the price we pay when we allow environmental threats to fester."
Still, the EPA's handling of the Gold King spill is likely to remain an issue of political debate for months to come.
"The House will continue to monitor the situation and the appropriate committees will conduct rigorous oversight to make sure the administration is assessing the damage the EPA has caused and taking action to clean it up," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "Now that his EPA has accepted full responsibility, I expect President Obama to demand full accountability for what happened here."
---
Follow Associated Press writer Michael Biesecker at Twitter.com/mbieseck
---
This story has been corrected to show the name of the organization is the Natural Resources Defense Council, not the National Resources Defense Council.
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Critics Of New Carbon Regulations Use Gold King Mine Spill

Critics Of New Carbon Regulations Use Gold King Mine Spill...

Animus River In Colorado Reopens As Toxic Spill Moves To Lake Powell. A river in Colorado that was turned sickly yellow by a mine waste spill reopened Friday after the now-diluted toxic plume passed through and reached Lake Powell - a huge reservoir 300 miles downstream that feeds the <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/cameron-peak-fire-is-now-the-largest-in-colorados-recorded-history/">Colorado</a> River and supplies water to the Southwest.
Water officials, however, said the plume that includes lead, arsenic and other heavy metals now presents little danger to users beyond Lake Powell - such as the city of Las Vegas - because the contaminants will further settle out and be diluted in the reservoir along the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=utah&amp;cvid=3a1db3d0279b4d1f80fbca4a015b5631&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Utah</a>-Arizona border.
"We're kind of at the end of the road," said Erica Gaddis, assistant director of the Utah Division of Water Quality. Animus River In Colorado Reopens As Toxic Spill Moves To Lake Powell


[caption id="attachment_2383762" align="alignleft" width="150"]<a href="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/08/15152549/river-animus-colorado-spill_1big_ap.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2383762" src="http://cff1.greenatom.net/uploads/2015/08/15152549/river-animus-colorado-spill_1big_ap-150x150.jpg" alt="Animus river in Colorado. Credit: AP" width="150" height="150" /></a> Animus river in Colorado. Credit: AP[/caption]
The initial spill involved more than 3 million gallons of waste from the Gold King Mine into the Animus River, but that amount is dwarfed by the 10 trillion gallons of water in the Colorado River system, said Corey Enus, a spokesman for the Southern Nevada Waste Authority.
His agency estimates the wastewater will make it out of Lake Powell in about two weeks amid extra testing to monitor the contaminants.
The picturesque reservoir is a hotspot popular among tourists for fishing and other recreation.
Utah's state fish biologist Richard Hepworth said he's not expecting fish to die off, but there could be long-term effects on species such as striped bass.
"My concern is, can people still eat these fish?" he said.
The man-made reservoir doesn't have the same diversity of species seen in naturally occurring bodies of water, said Mark Anderson, aquatic ecologist at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
But some native fish, like the razorback sucker, are re-populating, and there are fears the recovery could be in danger because of the contaminants.
Aquatic ecologist Chuck Hawkins at Utah State University compared the long-term effects of the spill to smoking.
"If I smoke every day of my life, I may only live to 50 or 60 vs. 70 years," he said. "Even low concentrations when experienced over many days and weeks and years could have an effect."
U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said the spill poses a serious threat to the environment and the economy. Bishop, who chairs the House Committee on Natural Resources, plans to visit Lake Powell on Monday.
Meanwhile, some businesses in the river-based economy near the spill site in Colorado might not recover this year, even with the re-opening of the Animas River to rafting and kayaking on Friday, said Tom O'Keeffe, owner of Durango Rafting Co.
"Your average soccer mom is going to be scared off," he said, adding that nervous rafters will probably just pick another river.
"My phone stopped ringing four or five days ago," he said.
In New Mexico, officials lifted a precautionary ban on water from private wells throughout the Animas River valley but kept in place warnings not to drink water from the river or give it to livestock.
Gov. Susana Martinez also formed a special team charged with monitoring the spill's long-term effects.
"As the river begins to clear up, there are still many questions left unanswered by the EPA," she said. "New Mexicans deserve to know the long-term effects this environmental catastrophe will have on our communities, our agriculture and our wildlife."
On the Navajo Nation, tribal officials continued to warn residents and farmers not to use water from the San Juan River, which was also polluted as a result of the spill.
The tribe has set up fresh water stations for residents and water was being delivered for farmers and livestock.
---
AP writers Ivan Moreno in Denver and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.
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Animus River In Colorado Reopens As Toxic Spill Moves To Lake Powell

Animus River In Colorado Reopens As Toxic Spill Moves To...

Wildfires Are Raging Across The Western US. Winds in the West are helping stoke wildfires sweeping across the Northern Rocky Mountains, <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/noumea-in-the-south-pacific-archipelago-of-new-caledonia/">Pacific</a> Northwest and elsewhere, posing problems for firefighters trying to contain the flames fed by drought.
Firefighters across the Pacific Northwest are working to protect property from fast-moving wildfires that destroyed multiple homes in eastern Oregon, cut off power in <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=washington&amp;cvid=d83a745dbdda4e0a82fcb7a019622c12&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Washington</a> and forced thousands of evacuations throughout the region. Wildfires Are Raging Across The Western US
Drought conditions, winds and dry brush are combining to fuel wildfires throughout the West.
A look at conditions:
---
OREGON
Two large fires in Oregon have burned through buildings and forced evacuations as strong winds pick up, sending guests of a resort fleeing.
A fire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in rural central Oregon exploded to more than 50 square miles Friday, forcing evacuations of a rural subdivision and a resort that had 400 guests booked Thursday night.
The fire was expected to keep growing as strong winds push it through dry grassland. Sparks from a passing vehicle started the flames earlier this week that destroyed three structures, including a mobile home.
In eastern Oregon, a 34-square-mile, lightning-sparked fire Friday burned 20 to 25 structures south of Canyon City and forced evacuations of residents in the area, while others were warned to be ready to leave quickly, KTVZ-TV in Bend reported.
---
IDAHO
A 70-year-old woman was killed when she fell while preparing to flee from a wildfire expanding quickly east of Lewiston, the Idaho County Sheriff's Department said Saturday.
Cheryl Lee Wissler of Adams Grade died Friday from a head injury she sustained when she fell, authorities said.
An estimated 30 homes and 75 other structures were lost to the blaze, the sheriff's department said. The fire is surrounding the small town of Kamiah, about 60 miles east of Lewiston, and burned to the edge of Clearwater River, directly across the water from downtown.
More than 750 people were assigned to fight several fires that together have charred more than 50 square miles in the area near Kamiah.
The region was already struggling after severe drought damaged wheat harvests, with farmers watching as their normally plump wheat kernels grew pinched and stunted from the lack of water. Though most of the wheat had been cut before the fires started, bone-dry stubble still covers the prairie and the forests surrounding Kamiah are parched.
---
NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAINS
Smoke from wildfires has prompted the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to issue an air quality alert for counties in the southwest part of the state, including Missoula.
The alert was in effect until 4 p.m. Saturday.
Large fires are burning in western Montana forests and grasslands, sending up heavy smoke. Fires are burning in several national forests, including Glacier National Park, the state's biggest.
Some rain on Friday fell around the wildfire, which has burned nearly 21 square miles in Glacier.
Meantime, red flag warnings have been posted for much of northern Montana, including Great Falls and Helena.
Cooler weather is moving into the state, which should help ease the fire threat.
---
CALIFORNIA
Crews contained a blaze that threatened Southern California homes, but a second blaze remained out of control after destroying several cabins and nearly four square miles of forest near Los Angeles.
A half-dozen campgrounds remained evacuated in the Angeles National Forest above the Los Angeles suburbs of Glendora and Azusa, where a fire burned nearly 1,500 acres, four cabins and an outbuilding on Friday.
Fire crews clambered along rocky ridges in triple-digit temperatures on Saturday. Six were treated for heat exhaustion, dehydration and injuries.
Firefighters were mopping up a 189-acre fire that erupted Friday in Simi Valley, northwest of Los Angeles.
The blaze, which burned on rolling hills close to subdivisions containing 500 homes, was contained overnight without any building damage.
In Northern California, firefighters made more gains against a wildfire 100 miles north of San Francisco that forced mountain-town dwellers to evacuate for the second time in days. Winds shifts sent smoke from the fire all the way to the San Francisco Bay Area, where residents turned to social media to report the haze. The National Weather Service said smoky conditions were likely to remain in the area throughout Saturday.
Two fires have charred dry Lower Lake, the most recent burning 39 square miles of thick brush and oak trees in Lake and Napa counties. It was 80 percent contained by Saturday.
An earlier, larger fire in the same area was fully contained Friday more than two weeks after it broke out. The blaze destroyed 43 homes.
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Wildfires Are Raging Across The Western US

Wildfires Are Raging Across The Western US. Winds in the...

Critics Of New Carbon Regulations Use Gold King Mine Spill To Attack EPA. Authorities say rivers tainted by last week's massive spill from an abandoned <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=colorado&amp;cvid=089ce30168ba4d2bbcd96f4bbb25705e&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Colorado</a> Gold King Mine are starting to recover, but for the Environmental Protection Agency the political fallout from the disaster could linger.
The federal agency's critics are already seeking to use its much-maligned handling of the mine spill to undercut the Obama administration's rollout of major regulations aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions at the nation's power plants. Members of oversight committees in both the House and Senate say they are planning hearings after Congress returns from its August recess. Critics Of New Carbon Regulations Use Gold King Mine Spill To Attack <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/gentoo-penguins-are-not-one-species-but-four/">EPA</a>
"The EPA is supposed to help prevent environmental catastrophes, not cause them," said Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., a member of the House leadership and the Energy and Commerce Committee. "But, sadly, President Obama's EPA has been too busy threatening American jobs with radical regulations instead of focusing on what should be their core mission."
EPA and contract workers accidentally unleashed 3 million gallons of contaminated wastewater as they inspected the idled Gold King mine on Aug. 5, just two days after Obama unveiled his Clean Power Plan during an event at the White House.
The timing could hardly be worse for the beleaguered regulatory agency, a frequent target for congressional Republicans and pro-industry groups. Attorneys general for at least 15 states say they plan to sue over the new carbon restrictions, and such coal-mining backers as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are urging states to simply ignore new carbon rules from Washington.
Over the last week, even Democrats representing states affected by the spill have publicly criticized the agency's response as anemic. That has forced top administration officials off-message just as they were launching an effort to sell the new carbon rules to the American people.
On Tuesday, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy gave a policy speech about the new carbon-reduction program at an event in Washington. But at a news conference afterward, every question was about the mine spill. McCarthy said her agency takes full responsibility for the accident and expressed deep sorrow for the environmental harm caused to the Animas and San Juan rivers.
Following bipartisan pressure from the congressional delegations of Colorado and New Mexico, the EPA chief then departed Washington for a two-day fence-mending trip out West aimed at showing that her agency is responsive and competent.
For Republicans, it was an opportunity to put the EPA on the defensive.
"I think we have seen what happens when the EPA comes after private industry - they come after them with heavy hand," said Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo. "Now, the shoe is on the other foot, and we have seen a lack of communication and coordination. ... This goes to the core competency of the EPA."
Bob Deans, a spokesman for the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, predicted that people would see efforts to link the spill to regulations aimed at addressing climate change for what it is - political theater.
"The public wants action on climate change and we expect our waters to be protected from mining waste," Deans said. "We count on the EPA to do both. This tragic accident hasn't changed that. If anything, it's highlighted the risks we take and the price we pay when we allow environmental threats to fester."
Still, the EPA's handling of the Gold King spill is likely to remain an issue of political debate for months to come.
"The House will continue to monitor the situation and the appropriate committees will conduct rigorous oversight to make sure the administration is assessing the damage the EPA has caused and taking action to clean it up," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "Now that his EPA has accepted full responsibility, I expect President Obama to demand full accountability for what happened here."
---
Follow Associated Press writer Michael Biesecker at Twitter.com/mbieseck
---
This story has been corrected to show the name of the organization is the Natural Resources Defense Council, not the National Resources Defense Council.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Critics Of New Carbon Regulations Use Gold King Mine

Wildfires Are Raging Across The Western US. Winds in the West are helping stoke wildfires sweeping across the Northern Rocky Mountains, <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=pacific&amp;cvid=55576106902e4f5e88db86ff53c5faf5&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Pacific</a> Northwest and elsewhere, posing problems for firefighters trying to contain the flames fed by drought.
Firefighters across the Pacific Northwest are working to protect property from fast-moving wildfires that destroyed multiple homes in eastern Oregon, cut off power in <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=washington&amp;cvid=df35ad64cc7244b4b049eb656d03a9aa&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Washington</a> and forced thousands of evacuations throughout the region. Wildfires Are Raging Across The Western US
Drought conditions, winds and dry brush are combining to fuel wildfires throughout the West.
A look at conditions:
---
OREGON
Two large fires in Oregon have burned through buildings and forced evacuations as strong winds pick up, sending guests of a resort fleeing. Wildfires Are Raging Across The Western US
A fire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in rural central Oregon exploded to more than 50 square miles Friday, forcing evacuations of a rural subdivision and a resort that had 400 guests booked Thursday night.
The fire was expected to keep growing as strong winds push it through dry grassland. Sparks from a passing vehicle started the flames earlier this week that destroyed three structures, including a mobile home.
In eastern Oregon, a 34-square-mile, lightning-sparked fire Friday burned 20 to 25 structures south of Canyon City and forced evacuations of residents in the area, while others were warned to be ready to leave quickly, KTVZ-TV in Bend reported.
---
IDAHO
A 70-year-old woman was killed when she fell while preparing to flee from a wildfire expanding quickly east of Lewiston, the Idaho County Sheriff's Department said Saturday.
Cheryl Lee Wissler of Adams Grade died Friday from a head injury she sustained when she fell, authorities said.
An estimated 30 homes and 75 other structures were lost to the blaze, the sheriff's department said. The fire is surrounding the small town of Kamiah, about 60 miles east of Lewiston, and burned to the edge of Clearwater River, directly across the water from downtown.
More than 750 people were assigned to fight several fires that together have charred more than 50 square miles in the area near Kamiah.
The region was already struggling after severe drought damaged wheat harvests, with farmers watching as their normally plump wheat kernels grew pinched and stunted from the lack of water. Though most of the wheat had been cut before the fires started, bone-dry stubble still covers the prairie and the forests surrounding Kamiah are parched.
---
NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAINS
Smoke from wildfires has prompted the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to issue an air quality alert for counties in the southwest part of the state, including Missoula.
The alert was in effect until 4 p.m. Saturday.
Large fires are burning in western Montana forests and grasslands, sending up heavy smoke. Fires are burning in several national forests, including Glacier National Park, the state's biggest.
Some rain on Friday fell around the wildfire, which has burned nearly 21 square miles in Glacier.
Meantime, red flag warnings have been posted for much of northern Montana, including Great Falls and Helena.
Cooler weather is moving into the state, which should help ease the fire threat.
---
CALIFORNIA
Crews contained a blaze that threatened Southern California homes, but a second blaze remained out of control after destroying several cabins and nearly four square miles of forest near Los Angeles.
A half-dozen campgrounds remained evacuated in the Angeles National Forest above the Los Angeles suburbs of Glendora and Azusa, where a fire burned nearly 1,500 acres, four cabins and an outbuilding on Friday.
Fire crews clambered along rocky ridges in triple-digit temperatures on Saturday. Six were treated for heat exhaustion, dehydration and injuries.
Firefighters were mopping up a 189-acre fire that erupted Friday in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/uncanny-valley-unsettled-robots/">Simi Valley</a>, northwest of Los Angeles.
The blaze, which burned on rolling hills close to subdivisions containing 500 homes, was contained overnight without any building damage.
In Northern California, firefighters made more gains against a wildfire 100 miles north of San Francisco that forced mountain-town dwellers to evacuate for the second time in days. Winds shifts sent smoke from the fire all the way to the San Francisco Bay Area, where residents turned to social media to report the haze. The National Weather Service said smoky conditions were likely to remain in the area throughout Saturday.
Two fires have charred dry Lower Lake, the most recent burning 39 square miles of thick brush and oak trees in Lake and Napa counties. It was 80 percent contained by Saturday.
An earlier, larger fire in the same area was fully contained Friday more than two weeks after it broke out. The blaze destroyed 43 homes.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

India Saltwater Garden

Salt-Tolerant Plants Offer Hope For Farmers As <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=global+sea&amp;cvid=10f9d03ddf5046b8aa5bc7ab251313f7&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Global Sea</a> Levels Rise. On a sun-scorched wasteland near India's southern tip, an unlikely garden filled with spiky shrubs and spindly greens is growing, seemingly against all odds.
The plants are living on saltwater, coping with drought and possibly offering viable farming alternatives for a future in which rising seas have inundated countless coastal farmlands.
Sea rise, one of the consequences of climate change, now threatens millions of poor subsistence farmers across <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/east-asia-may-be-permanently-locked-into-hotter-and-drier-climate/">Asia</a>. As ocean water swamps low-lying plots, experts say many could be forced to flee inland. Salt-Tolerant Plants Offer Hope For Farmers As Global Sea Levels Rise
"It's hard to imagine how farmers will live," said Tapas Paul, who as a World Bank official helped channel about $100,000 to help build the small garden a decade ago in a swampy, seaside town dominated by salt flats in southern Tamil Nadu state. "In the places subject to inundation and sea level rise, there are few options." Salt-Tolerant Plants Offer Hope For Farmers As Global Sea
A team of Indian scientists is searching for solutions to what they describe as a fast-approaching agricultural crisis. Their neatly plotted rows of naturally salt-tolerant plants, known as halophytes, could be a part of the answer. The scientists from the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation are also trying other approaches: tweaking genes and cross-breeding plants by conventional means to discover which might grow and even flourish.
"Sea level rise is inevitable, and we are not prepared," said Swaminathan, who pioneered high-yield wheat and rice varieties for India in the 1960s. "The biggest problem in India is just the very large population. We can say people can relocate, but where could we even accommodate all those who need to move inland?"
---
Saltwater for a farmer long meant certain crop failure. Wartime foes sowed enemy fields with salt to ensure social collapse. Natural disasters such as the 2004 Asian tsunami left countless plots unproductive for years.
Asia's coastal farmers, including millions impoverished in India, now face such problems. Climate change will bring stronger storms and warmer temperatures that expand ocean waters and melt ice caps and glaciers. As a result, seas are set to rise up to 1 meter (3.2 feet) in this century, according to the latest scientific forecasts.
Chellammal, a graceful, 65-year-old farming housewife in the Tamil Nadu village of Tetakudi, knows the nightmare of farming on salt-contaminated land too well.
"I struggled so long to get things to grow, but nothing worked," said Chellammal, who goes by one name. "Every year just got worse until there was nothing left," she said, crouched in a bright pink sari by her fields.
The land her family had saved for decades to buy went completely barren about five years ago, after a neighboring village took up shrimp farming when flooding from a nearby ocean canal salted their lands. The shrimp ponds were never lined properly, so their saltwater seeped into surrounding soils.
The farmland lost by Tetakudi's 200 households now supports little more than a vast expanse of salt-tolerant shrubs called Suaeda maritime along with succulents called Salicornia brachiata, known to locals as "chicken feet."
To the villagers, the bright green bushes are no better than weeds. Already, 12 families have boarded up their homes and left.
But scientists say suaeda is good for firewood. And salicornia species, which can tolerate nearly twice the salinity of seawater, have enormous potential as a biofuel crop, with seeds containing high concentrations of oil.
The problem, however, lies in realizing profits. For any crop to work on a large scale, inexpensive methods and machinery for harvesting will have to be developed. Then processing plants, production lines and markets would need to be built. As of now, none of that exists.
Chellammal is dubious, but interested.
"If we can make money from what we grow, we'll try it. Why not?" she said. "Maybe all is not lost."
---
The timing for an agricultural crisis due to sea rise couldn't be worse. India's poor farmers already struggle with frequent flooding, drought and soils degraded by agrochemical overuse. Those on the coast are also hit by storms, with at least 27 of the 35 deadliest cyclones in history barreling through the Bay of Bengal before slamming into either India or Bangladesh.
India's freshwater sources are also in peril, with over-tapped groundwater reserves so low the country is expected to have only half the water it needs by 2030. Grain production, meanwhile, has stalled around 260 million tons in recent years, despite global pressure for India to boost yields, eliminate waste and eradicate widespread poverty and malnutrition.
To feed its growing 1.26 billion population, India must increase food production 45 percent by 2050, for which experts say it may need to cultivate more land. Instead, about 1.2 million hectares (3 million acres) of its coastal farmland has been degraded by salt, according to India's Central Soil Salinity Research Institute.
Inland, India has lost another 5.5 million hectares of arable farmland, out of its nationwide total of 163 million hectares, though India's soil salinity troubles are exacerbated by industrial salt flats, a growing number of shrimp farms and the depletion of groundwater reserves. The trend will only continue as seawater creeps onto low-lying lands along the 7,500-kilometer (4,700-mile) coast that outlines the country along the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
"Saltwater agriculture is considered a futuristic area. But it really shouldn't be," said marine biologist V. Selvam, the M.S. Swaminathan foundation's mustachioed director of coastal research. "Very soon there won't be enough land and water to meet our needs."
And India is not alone. Countries including Egypt, Bangladesh and much of Southeast Asia also face heavy saltwater intrusion and loss of farmland. Already, 62 million hectares, or 20 percent, of the world's total 300 million hectares of irrigated farmland has been salinized to some extent. Another 50 centimeters (1.6 feet) of sea rise, which is just half of what's expected by 2100, would swamp up to 1.9 million more hectares, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said.
That will undermine the world's ability to find the additional 120 million hectares of farmland it needs for a staggering 70 percent increase in food production to feed the world by 2050, according to the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization.
Experts say there will be little choice but to grow some non-food crops along the coasts.
The world's irrigated acreage could be increased by about 50 percent by reusing saline water and salinized crop fields for halophytes, said University of Arizona environmental sciences professor Edward Glenn.
"As with aquaculture replacing wild fisheries, it is inevitable that halophytes will have their day," he said.
---
Sesuvium portulacastrum. Paspalum vaginatum. Prosopis juliflora.
These are just a few of the 350 known species of salt-tolerant plants that are candidates to become crops for the future. Saltwater plants are unlikely to become staple foods, because while often high in nutrients they're also very salty and so should be eaten in moderation.
Species such as Salicornia europaea, also known as glasswort or samphire, are already sold in European markets as a fancy salad addition or side dish. The bright purple-and-white blossoms of Limonium are a florist's delight, while another species called Atriplex or saltbush is eaten by sheep.
Supporters note a host of potential uses to make harvests profitable, including firewood, decorative flowers, kitty litter, nutritional supplements, cooking oil and biofuel. Cattle fodder is another possibility, and Indian herders already graze their cattle on thorny shrubbery by the sea.
Despite the potential, saltwater agriculture is still seen as a fringe topic, even after decades of research by universities worldwide along with studies and pilot projects in countries including Mexico, Pakistan, Jordan and Eritrea. The aviation company Boeing is also researching biofuels from saltwater plants.
India's scientists aren't waiting for markets to develop. Nor are they relying on just the halophyte garden to offer up new options.
They're scouring coasts for wild grain species that might naturally tolerate some salinity, and using arduous breeding methods to create new salt-tolerant strains.
The foundation has also developed genetically modified rice using genes from mangrove trees. It says the resulting plant can tolerate salt concentrations of 12-15 grams per liter. Seawater is typically two to three times saltier, but that's still a major improvement from currently cultivated rice varieties, which can handle only up to 3 grams per liter.
Genetic modification is considered the most difficult approach, because salt tolerance is a trait that involves numerous genes. But the molecular biologist leading the development of GM halophytic rice believes it's essential.
"Conventional breeding just takes too long, and this problem is urgent," said Ajay Parida, the foundation's executive director. His work stalled in 2007 under an effective moratorium on field testing GMOs, but the Indian government is considering shifting its GM testing policy and Parida now expects his trials to start soon.
"We could eventually be cultivating wastelands and places considered entirely unsuitable," he said. "But it's only after crisis hits that people realize the magnitude of the problem and start pushing for an answer."
---
Follow Katy Daigle: twitter.com/katydaigle
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Salt-Tolerant Plants Offer Hope For Farmers As Global Sea

Salt-Tolerant Plants Offer Hope For Farmers As Global Sea Levels...

Urban Grime Releases Air Pollutants. In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers have determined that natural sunlight triggers the release of smog-forming nitrogen oxide compounds from the urban grime that typically coats buildings, statues and other outdoor surfaces in urban areas. The finding confirms previous laboratory work using simulated sunlight and upends the long-held notion that nitrates in urban grime are "locked" in place.

The scientists will present their findings based on field studies conducted in Leipzig, Germany, and Toronto, <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/the-fall-rhapsody-in-ottawa/">Canada</a>, at the 250th National Meeting &amp; Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society. The meeting features more than 9,000 reports and is being held here through Thursday.Urban Grime Releases Air Pollutants

"The current understanding of urban air pollution does not include the recycling of nitrogen oxides and potentially other compounds from building surfaces," says James Donaldson, Ph.D. "But based on our field studies in a real-world environment, this is happening. We don't know yet to what extent this is occurring, but it may be quite a significant, and unaccounted for, contributor to air pollution in cities."

Urban grime, according to Donaldson, is a mixture of thousands of chemical compounds spewed into the air by automobiles, factories and a host of other sources. Among these compounds are nitrogen oxides. When in the air, these compounds may combine with other air pollutants -- known as volatile organic compounds -- to produce ozone, which is the main component of smog. But scientists had long suspected that nitrogen oxides become inactive when they are trapped in grime and settle on a surface.

However, Donaldson and his colleagues at the University of Toronto have collected data that are inconsistent with this theory. In previous work, they discovered that nitrate anions disappeared from grime at faster rates than could be explained by wash-off due to rainfall. And, in a subsequent laboratory comparison, they found that nitrate disappeared from grime 10,000 times faster than from a water-based solution when both were exposed to artificial sunlight. In yet another study, they exposed grime to either artificial sunlight or kept it in the dark. The grime exposed to a "solar simulator" shed more nitrates than the grime left in the dark, suggesting that light can chemically convert nitrogen compounds back into active forms that can return to the atmosphere.

Intrigued, Donaldson set out to test this concept in the real world. Working with colleagues in Germany, he set up a six-week field study in Leipzig and a similar year-long study in Toronto. The researchers placed grime collectors containing glass beads throughout both cities. The beads create more surface area for grime to gather on than a flat surface, such as a window.

Some of the collection devices were left in the sun; others were intentionally put in the shade, but had adequate air flow so that grime could collect on their surfaces. The Toronto study is ongoing and the data are still being analyzed. But in Leipzig, the researchers found that grime in shaded areas contained 10 percent more nitrates than grime exposed to natural sunlight, which was consistent with the team's laboratory findings.

"If our suspicions are correct, it means that the current understanding of urban air pollution is missing a big chunk of information," Donaldson says. "In our work, we are showing that there is the potential for significant recycling of nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere from grime, which could give rise to greater ozone creation."

Interestingly, Donaldson notes that Leipzig has far more grime than Toronto, based on the amount of material gathered at collection stations in both cities so far. This difference could have a significant influence on the city's air quality. "The fact that Leipzig appears to have 20 times more grime than Toronto suggests that there is a potential for 20 times more recycling of nitrogen oxides into the local atmosphere," Donaldson says.

To test this idea, his team hopes to conduct field experiments in someplace that is "really grubby" and someplace that is "really clean." They also plan to examine the effects of humidity, grime levels and various amounts of illumination on the recycling of nitrates back into the atmosphere.

---

<a href="http://www.acs.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">American Chemical Society</a>

Urban Grime Releases Air Pollutants

Urban Grime Releases Air Pollutants. In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers...

<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.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



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.

<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://youtu.be/XYgiPzmNBTU?si=eFYY7gPHU1JznLvU
</div></figure>



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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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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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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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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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

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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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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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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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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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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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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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Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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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...

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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...

Closeup,Of,Fresh,Green,The,Napier,Bush,Grass,As,Animal

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="http://www.ntu.edu.sg/">NTU Singapore</a> reveals that some plants can remove toxic heavy metals from soil.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed samples of various tropical plant species to test for levels of heavy metals and metalloids. The study showed that there are existing plants with high levels of these contaminants, which means that these species are great candidates for drawing pollutants out of the soil.&nbsp;



Among the plants examined in the study, 12 species had accumulated several types of heavy metals and metalloids. These plants are widely available, including species that are native to Singapore.



“In a small nation like Singapore, land may be repurposed to support new development plans, so it is important that we have a green and sustainable way to remediate land that is contaminated," said Professor Lam Yeng Ming.



"We set out to uncover how to better make use of tropical plants to do phytoremediation and through advanced characterization techniques, we showed how some of these tropical plant species can be an environmentally friendly and literally a 'green' way to remove contaminants in soil."&nbsp;



"Phytoremediation also has benefits of cost effectiveness, simplicity of management, aesthetic advantages, and long-term applicability and sustainability. The strategy prevents erosion and metal leaching by stabilizing or accumulating heavy metals, so that helps reduce the risk of contaminant spread.”



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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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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Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

[sendtonews key="6SdlLLbt0t-1988946-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NTU...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes why herbicides are not as effective in killing weeds anymore. In the 20th century, chemical companies developed thousands of herbicides. The most commonly used herbicide was glyphosate, which was introduced in 1974.



Over the past few decades, dozens of species of weeds have evolved resistance to glyphosate. Depending on the site of action, the part of the plant that an herbicide interacts with, weeds may even be resistant to herbicides that have not been developed yet.&nbsp;



With increasing resistance to glyphosate and other herbicides, weeds are - once again - becoming a major concern for farmers.&nbsp;



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&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



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

[sendtonews key="gRpsplpwpe-2251464-12187" 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.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> (JPL) describes a dust storm on Mars that was nearly twice the size of the United States. As the storm covered the southern hemisphere of the planet, some of NASA’s explorers had to delay their normal activities.



NASA’s Insight lander put itself in a "safe mode" for 11 days to conserve battery power because solar power was disrupted by the dust. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter postponed flights until conditions improved.



"A fleet of NASA orbiters monitor Martian dust storms like this one and serve as lifelines to Earth by relaying data from the rovers and lander on the ground back to the team. This includes the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, and Odyssey," reports JPL.



"Dust storms like this recent one start close to the ground and are spread by wind as they rise – warming the cold Martian atmosphere."



The images in the video were captured by NASA’s Curiosity as the dust rolled in. A fleet of orbiters monitored the dust storm from above, relaying data from Mars’ explorers back to scientists on Earth.



Video &amp; Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS



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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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NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

[sendtonews key="eAVLRk51oJ-1826888-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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