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...

Ninety Percent Of Seabirds Have Plastic In Their Guts. As many as nine out of 10 of the world's seabirds likely have pieces of plastic in their guts, a new study estimates.
Previously, scientists figured about 29 percent of seabirds had swallowed plastic, based on older studies. An Australian team of scientists who have studied birds and marine debris for decades used computer models to update those figures, calculating that far more seabirds are affected, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"It's pretty astronomical," said study co-author Denise Hardesty, senior research scientist at the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/australian-bees-adapted-their-vision-to-forage-at-night/">Australian</a> federal science agency. She said the problem with plastics in the ocean is increasing as the world makes more of the stuff. "In the next 11 years we will make as much plastic as has been made since industrial plastic production began in the 1950s."
She combined computer simulations of locations of the garbage and the birds, as well as their eating habits, to see where the worst problems are.
Hardesty's work found that the biggest problem strangely isn't where there's the most garbage, such as the infamous garbage patch in the central north Pacific Ocean. Instead it's where there's the greatest number of different species, especially in the southern hemisphere near Australia and New Zealand.
Areas around North America and Europe are better off, she said. By reducing plastic pellets, Europe is even seeing fewer of those plastic bits in one key bird, the northern fulmar, she said. Some species of albatross and shearwaters seem to be the most prone to eating plastic pieces.
Birds mistake plastic bits for fish eggs, so "they think they're getting a proper meal but they're really getting a plastic meal," Hardesty said.
Usually it's incredibly tiny pieces of plastic, but Hardesty has seen far bigger things, such as an entire glow stick and three balloons in a single short-tailed shearwater bird.
"I have seen everything from cigarette lighters ... to bottle caps to model cars. I've found toys," Hardesty said.
And it's only likely to get worse. By 2050, 99 percent of seabirds will have plastic in them, Hardesty's computer model forecast. That prediction "seems astonishingly high, but probably not unrealistic," said American University environmental scientist Kiho Kim, who wasn't part of the study but praised it.
---
Online:
Journal: <a href="http://www.pnas.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.pnas.org</a>
---
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Ninety Percent Of Seabirds Have Plastic In Their Guts

Ninety Percent Of Seabirds Have Plastic In Their Guts. As...

President Barack Obama is painting a doomsday scenario for the Arctic and beyond if global warming isn't dealt with fast: entire nations submerged underwater, cities abandoned and refugees fleeing in droves as conflict breaks out across the globe.
It's a harrowing image of a future that Obama insists is inevitable unless the world follows his and America's lead by making sweeping cuts to greenhouse gases. Lest his sense of urgency get lost, Obama was to drive the message home on Tuesday by hiking a melting glacier in Alaska.
Obama is counting on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/group-of-alaskan-islands-may-belong-to-a-single-massive-volcano/">Alaska's</a> exquisite but deteriorating landscape to elicit a sense of urgency that his previous calls to action on climate change have not. He opened his three-day trip to the nation's largest state on Monday with a speech to an Arctic climate summit, calling global warming an escalating crisis already disturbing Alaskans' way of life.
"We will condemn our children to a planet beyond their capacity to repair," Obama said. Alluding ironically to the threat of rising seas, he castigated leaders who deny climate change as "increasingly alone - on their own shrinking island."
As he traverses Alaska this week, Obama will become the first sitting president to visit the Alaska Arctic. Amid concerns that the U.S. has ceded influence to Russia in strategic Arctic waters, the White House announced Tuesday that it would ask Congress to speed up construction of new icebreakers. The U.S. currently has two working icebreakers, compared to Russia's 40.
On his first day in Alaska, Obama offered no new policy prescriptions or federal efforts to slow global warming, but said the U.S. is doing its part by working to cut emissions of heat-trapping gases by up to 28 percent over the next decade. Obama set that target as the U.S. commitment to a major global climate treaty to be finalized in December, and has urged fellow leaders to make similarly ambitious pledges as works to secure a cornerstone of his environmental legacy.
Yet by turning to Alaska's majestic mountains and stirring coastlines to make his point on climate, Obama also brought fresh attention to deep and persistent divisions in the U.S. over how to balance the nation's energy and environmental needs.
Heavily dependent on energy revenues, Alaska is suffering economically due to the recent plunge in oil prices, a blow made all the more poignant by the fact that the cost of energy here is exceedingly high. Alaska leaders of all political stripes have implored Obama to open up more of the state to drilling to help alleviate a $3.5 billion budget deficit that has triggered steep cuts to state services - a critical lifeline for poor and rural Alaskans.
"For a population as small as we are, it's pretty significant," Alaska Gov. Bill Walker told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew with Obama to Anchorage.
Yet even Obama, who has elevated global warming as a rallying point in his second term, has a complicated record on energy that has muddied his clarion call on climate.
The president has struggled to explain how his dire warnings square with steps he's taken to expand energy production, even at the risk of higher emissions. Environmental groups took particular offense at the administration's move to allow expanded drilling by Royal Dutch Shell off Alaska's northwest coast - just a few weeks before Obama came to Alaska to preach on climate change.
Obama has defended those decisions by arguing that some fossil fuel development is a necessity as the U.S. undergoes a longer-term shift to clean, renewable fuels that don't cause the planet to get warmer. But that explanation rang hollow for environmental groups, who called the Shell decision a stain on his climate legacy.
"The timing of President Obama's trip to Alaska and the Arctic could not be more ironic, given that his administration just approved dangerous drilling plans that put the region's well-being in serious jeopardy," said Michael Brune, the Sierra Club's executive director.
On a presidential trip more about powerful visuals than words, the high point was to come Tuesday when Obama flies by helicopter to Seward to hike the famed Exit Glacier, a sprawling expanse of ice in Kenai Fjords National Park that's liquefying under warmer temperatures.
Some 700 square miles in the Kenai Mountains are blanketed by glacier ice, remnants of the Ice Age, when roughly a third of the Earth was covered with sheets of ice. One of nearly 40 glaciers springing out from Harding Icefield, Exit Glacier has been receding for decades at an alarming rate of 43 feet a year, according to the National Park Service. Obama Takes Hardest Stance Yet On Global Warming
After hiking the glacier, Obama planned to put his survival skills to the test while taping an episode of the NBC reality TV show "Running Wild with Bear Grylls." Then the president was to board a U.S. Coast Guard vessel to tour the national park before returning late Tuesday to Anchorage.
---
Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP</a>
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Obama Takes Hardest Stance Yet On Global Warming

President Barack Obama is painting a doomsday scenario for the...

Climate Change Will Force Ocean Bacteria Into Irreversible Overdrive. Scientists demonstrate that a key organism in the ocean's foodweb will start reproducing at high speed as carbon dioxide levels rise, with no way to stop when nutrients become scarce

Imagine being in a car with the gas pedal stuck to the floor, heading toward a cliff's edge. Metaphorically speaking, that's what climate change will do to the key group of ocean bacteria known as Trichodesmium, scientists have discovered.

Trichodesmium (called "Tricho" for short by researchers) is one of the few organisms in the ocean that can "fix" atmospheric nitrogen gas, making it available to other organisms. It is crucial because all life -- from algae to whales -- needs nitrogen to grow. Climate Change Will Force Ocean Bacteria Into Irreversible Overdrive

A new study from USC and the Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) shows that changing conditions due to climate change could send Tricho into overdrive with no way to stop -- reproducing faster and generating lots more nitrogen. Without the ability to slow down, however, Tricho has the potential to gobble up all its available resources, which could trigger die-offs of the microorganism and the higher organisms that depend on it.

By breeding hundreds of generations of the bacteria over the course of nearly five years in high-carbon dioxide ocean conditions predicted for the year 2100, researchers found that increased ocean acidification evolved Tricho to work harder, producing 50 percent more nitrogen, and grow faster.

The problem is that these amped-up bacteria can't turn it off even when they are placed in conditions with less carbon dioxide. Further, the adaptation can't be reversed over time -- something not seen before by evolutionary biologists, and worrisome to marine biologists, according to David Hutchins, lead author of the study.

"Losing the ability to regulate your growth rate is not a healthy thing," said Hutchins, professor at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. "The last thing you want is to be stuck with these high growth rates when there aren't enough nutrients to go around. It's a losing strategy in the struggle to survive."

Tricho needs phosphorous and iron, which also exist in the ocean in limited supply. With no way to regulate its growth, the turbo-boosted Tricho could burn through all of its available nutrients too quickly and abruptly die off, which would be catastrophic for all other life forms in the ocean that need the nitrogen it would have produced to survive.

Some models predict that increasing ocean acidification will exacerbate the problem of nutrient scarcity by increasing stratification of the ocean -- locking key nutrients away from the organisms that need them to survive.

Hutchins is collaborating with Eric Webb of USC Dornsife and Mak Saito of WHOI to gain a better understanding of what the future ocean will look like, as it continues to be shaped by climate change. They were shocked by the discovery of an evolutionary change that appears to be permanent -- something Hutchins described as "unprecedented."

"Tricho has been studied for ages. Nobody expected that it could do something so bizarre," he said. "The evolutionary <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sick-endangered-orca-whale/">biologists</a> are interested in it just to study this as a basic evolutionary principle."

The team is now studying the DNA of Tricho to try to find out how and why the irreversible evolution occurs. Earlier this year, research led by Webb found that Tricho's DNA inexplicably contains elements that are usually only seen in higher life forms.

"Our results in this and the aforementioned study are truly surprising. Furthermore, they are giving us an improved, view of how global climate change will impact Trichodesmium and the vital supplies of new nitrogen it provides to the rest of the marine food web in the future." Webb said.

---

<a href="http://www.usc.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Southern California</a>

Climate Change Will Force Ocean Bacteria Into Irreversible Overdrive

Climate Change Will Force Ocean Bacteria Into Irreversible Overdrive. Scientists...

Olympic organizers promised Tuesday to introduce viral testing in the polluted waters in Rio de Janeiro where about 1,400 athletes will compete in next year's games.
The IOC and Brazilian organizers had repeatedly insisted that only bacterial testing was required despite an independent five-month analysis by The Associated Press showing dangerously high levels of viruses from human sewage at all Rio Olympic water venues.
Acknowledging that viral water testing was now necessary, local organizing committee head Carlos Nuzman told the AP that his team was still studying how best to carry out the analysis and what pathogens to search for.
"The viral tests, we will do and we will repeat this because the most important (thing) for us is the health of the athletes," Nuzman said in an interview in London. "We are working with our medical department and looking for this."
If the tests come back positive for viruses, organizers will assess the best way of cleaning up the water rather than abandoning any venues, such as Guanabara Bay, which is the venue for sailing and wind surfing.
Nuzman said he did not know when organizers would be ready to start the testing but indicated it could be by the end of the year.
"We are working daily, on a daily basis to create the test," he said.
Nuzman's comments came as a German sailor who fell ill after competing in a pre-Olympic test event in the filthy waters off Rio said he was recovering from his skin infections.
Erik Heil believes he was infected while competing in a regatta in Marina da Gloria, where he says untreated sewage is allowed to flow into the water. Olympic Organizers To Introduce Viral Testing In Polluted Waters In Rio
Heil needed daily hospital treatment for multiple infections on his legs and hip. The Berlin hospital where he was treated said he had contracted MRSA, a type of bacteria resistant to many antibiotics.
Rio organizers now face a challenge of finding a lab with the equipment and trained professionals who can carry out viral testing of water. Fewer than five such labs exist in Brazil, including just one in Rio de Janeiro at the federal Health Ministry's Oswald Cruz Foundation research center.
The AP's viral testing is being carried out by scientist Fernando Spilki, a board member of the Brazilian Society for Virology and editor of its scientific journal, who is the coordinator of the environmental quality program at Feevale University in southern Brazil.
The AP's testing includes measuring the levels of human adenovirus types 2, 5 and 41 - which are considered "markers" for human sewage pollution of water in Brazil because they're the types most typically found in wastewater in the tropical nation.
The AP is also testing for rotavirus - globally, the biggest cause of gastroenteritis - and enterovirus, the most common cause of upper respiratory infections globally. Additionally, the AP tests include bacterial testing for fecal coliforms.
---
Brooks and AP writer Stephen Wade in Rio de Janeiro, and Nesha Starcevic in Frankfurt, Germany contributed to this report.
---
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Olympic Organizers To Introduce Viral Testing In Polluted Waters In Rio

Olympic organizers promised Tuesday to introduce viral testing in the...

Climate Change Will Force Ocean Bacteria Into Irreversible Overdrive. Scientists demonstrate that a key organism in the ocean's foodweb will start reproducing at high speed as carbon dioxide levels rise, with no way to stop when nutrients become scarce

Imagine being in a car with the gas pedal stuck to the floor, heading toward a cliff's edge. Metaphorically speaking, that's what climate change will do to the key group of ocean bacteria known as Trichodesmium, scientists have discovered.

Trichodesmium (called "Tricho" for short by researchers) is one of the few organisms in the ocean that can "fix" atmospheric nitrogen gas, making it available to other organisms. It is crucial because all life -- from algae to whales -- needs nitrogen to grow.

A new study from USC and the Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) shows that changing conditions due to climate change could send Tricho into overdrive with no way to stop -- reproducing faster and generating lots more nitrogen. Without the ability to slow down, however, Tricho has the potential to gobble up all its available resources, which could trigger die-offs of the microorganism and the higher organisms that depend on it.

By breeding hundreds of generations of the bacteria over the course of nearly five years in high-carbon dioxide ocean conditions predicted for the year 2100, researchers found that increased ocean acidification evolved Tricho to work harder, producing 50 percent more nitrogen, and grow faster.

The problem is that these amped-up bacteria can't turn it off even when they are placed in conditions with less carbon dioxide. Further, the adaptation can't be reversed over time -- something not seen before by evolutionary biologists, and worrisome to marine biologists, according to David Hutchins, lead author of the study.

"Losing the ability to regulate your growth rate is not a healthy thing," said Hutchins, professor at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. "The last thing you want is to be stuck with these high growth rates when there aren't enough nutrients to go around. It's a losing strategy in the struggle to survive."

Tricho needs phosphorous and iron, which also exist in the ocean in limited supply. With no way to regulate its growth, the turbo-boosted Tricho could burn through all of its available nutrients too quickly and abruptly die off, which would be catastrophic for all other life forms in the ocean that need the nitrogen it would have produced to survive. Climate Change Will Force Ocean Bacteria Into Irreversible Overdrive

Some models predict that increasing ocean acidification will exacerbate the problem of nutrient scarcity by increasing stratification of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-icebergs-affect-seawater-and-ocean-currents-far-from-the-continent/">ocean</a> -- locking key nutrients away from the organisms that need them to survive.

Hutchins is collaborating with Eric Webb of USC Dornsife and Mak Saito of WHOI to gain a better understanding of what the future ocean will look like, as it continues to be shaped by climate change. They were shocked by the discovery of an evolutionary change that appears to be permanent -- something Hutchins described as "unprecedented."

"Tricho has been studied for ages. Nobody expected that it could do something so bizarre," he said. "The evolutionary biologists are interested in it just to study this as a basic evolutionary principle."

The team is now studying the DNA of Tricho to try to find out how and why the irreversible evolution occurs. Earlier this year, research led by Webb found that Tricho's DNA inexplicably contains elements that are usually only seen in higher life forms.

"Our results in this and the aforementioned study are truly surprising. Furthermore, they are giving us an improved, view of how global climate change will impact Trichodesmium and the vital supplies of new nitrogen it provides to the rest of the marine food web in the future." Webb said.

---

<a href="http://www.usc.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Southern California</a>

NASA to Study Arctic Climate Change Ecosystem Impacts. As part of a broad effort to study the environmental and societal effects of Arctic climate change, NASA has begun a multi-year field campaign to investigate ecological impacts of the rapidly changing climate in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/group-of-alaskan-islands-may-belong-to-a-single-massive-volcano/">Alaska</a> and northwestern Canada, such as the thawing of permafrost, wildfires and changes to wildlife habitats.

The Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) will bring together on-the-ground research in Alaska and northwestern Canada with data collected by NASA airborne instruments, satellites and other agency programs, including the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), and upcoming Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) and NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) missions. NASA to Study Arctic Climate Change Ecosystem Impacts

Over the next decade, scientists from NASA and other public and private organizations will investigate questions about the formidable region that spans about 2.5 million square miles (6.4 million square kilometers).

"Boreal forests and tundra are critical for understanding the ecological impacts of Earth's changing climate," said Jack Kaye, associate director for research in NASA's Earth Science Division in Washington. "These ecosystems hold a third of the carbon stored on land -- in trees, shrubs and the frozen ground of the permafrost. That's a lot of potential greenhouse gases in play. We need to better understand these ecosystems, and how a warming climate will affect forests, wildlife and communities both regionally and globally."

ABoVE includes three project phases and two seasons of intensive airborne surveys. The research activities will be coordinated with other U.S. and Canadian partner organizations. The 21 projects selected for the first phase will investigate topics such as the impacts of wildfire on ecosystems and insect outbreaks on forest health.

"The region is rapidly changing, and we've already seen a lot of that from field measurements and remote sensing," said Scott Goetz, ABoVE science team lead and deputy director at Woods Hole Research Center in Falmouth, Massachusetts. "It's an area that's warming with climate change, and there's a lot of potential for permafrost degradation, especially with these massive fires burning off the organic soil layer."

The field campaign will provide an opportunity to study how Arctic ecosystems respond to the scorching fires on a regional scale. More than 5 million acres in Alaska and 9.7 million acres in Canada have burned so far this year, making 2015 the second most devastating fire year on record for Alaska, with the most intensive three-week period of burning on record, according to Charles Miller, deputy science team lead for ABoVE at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

ABoVE researchers will survey Alaska's interior forests to better determine how much carbon is stored in these remote regions. They'll investigate the extent and thawing rate of permafrost -- soils that have been frozen for hundreds of thousands of years, locking in carbon-rich plant and organic matter.

"Warming air temperatures can thaw permafrost, which acts like unplugging a deep freezer," said Peter Griffith, ABoVE chief support scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "The vegetation and carbon previously frozen in the soil start to rot and decay -- like food in an unplugged freezer -- releasing methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This increase in greenhouse gases further warms air temperatures, perpetuating the cycle by causing more thawing and more greenhouse gas release."

The ABoVE projects also will study impacts on the wildlife of Alaska and northern Canada, including habitat and migration changes for raptors, songbirds, Dall sheep, moose, caribou, wolves and brown bears.

The socio-ecological impacts of climate change will be a significant focus of the campaign. The Dall sheep study, for example, will examine the effects of their changing habitat on subsistence hunting and tourism. Another research group will work with village residents in the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta of western Alaska to track changes in vegetation, permafrost, fire and lakes.

"More societal impacts of change will be investigated in future projects, with another call for projects scheduled for 12 to 18 months from now," Griffith said. "What's happening in the Arctic is not staying in the Arctic. It certainly matters to the people who live there, but the consequences are far reaching."

The ABoVE field campaign's research agenda was developed through workshops that brought together scientific experts from across the United States and Canada, and builds on ongoing NASA projects including the JPL-managed Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE) and Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS) airborne missions.

For more information about the ABoVE campaign, visit:

<a href="http://above.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://above.nasa.gov/</a>

NASA uses the vantage point of space to increase our understanding of our home planet, improve lives and safeguard our future. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records. The agency freely shares this unique knowledge and works with institutions around the world to gain new insights into how our planet is changing.

For more information on NASA's Earth science activities, visit:

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/earth" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.nasa.gov/earth</a>

NASA to Study Arctic Climate Change Ecosystem Impacts

NASA to Study Arctic Climate Change Ecosystem Impacts. As part...

Olympic organizers promised Tuesday to introduce viral testing in the polluted waters in Rio de Janeiro where about 1,400 athletes will compete in next year's games.
The IOC and Brazilian organizers had repeatedly insisted that only bacterial testing was required despite an independent five-month analysis by The Associated Press showing dangerously high levels of viruses from human sewage at all Rio Olympic water venues.
Acknowledging that viral water testing was now necessary, local organizing committee head Carlos Nuzman told the AP that his team was still studying how best to carry out the analysis and what pathogens to search for.
"The viral tests, we will do and we will repeat this because the most important (thing) for us is the health of the athletes," Nuzman said in an interview in London. "We are working with our medical department and looking for this."
If the tests come back positive for viruses, organizers will assess the best way of cleaning up the water rather than abandoning any venues, such as Guanabara Bay, which is the venue for sailing and wind surfing.
Nuzman said he did not know when organizers would be ready to start the testing but indicated it could be by the end of the year.
"We are working daily, on a daily basis to create the test," he said.
Nuzman's comments came as a German sailor who fell ill after competing in a pre-Olympic test event in the filthy waters off Rio said he was recovering from his skin infections.
Erik Heil believes he was infected while competing in a regatta in Marina da Gloria, where he says untreated sewage is allowed to flow into the water.
Heil needed daily hospital treatment for multiple infections on his legs and hip. The Berlin hospital where he was treated said he had contracted MRSA, a type of bacteria resistant to many antibiotics.
Rio organizers now face a challenge of finding a lab with the equipment and trained professionals who can carry out viral testing of water. Fewer than five such labs exist in Brazil, including just one in Rio de Janeiro at the federal Health Ministry's Oswald Cruz Foundation research center.
The AP's viral testing is being carried out by scientist Fernando Spilki, a board member of the Brazilian Society for Virology and editor of its scientific journal, who is the coordinator of the environmental quality program at Feevale University in southern Brazil.
The AP's testing includes measuring the levels of human adenovirus types 2, 5 and 41 - which are considered "markers" for human sewage pollution of water in Brazil because they're the types most typically found in wastewater in the tropical nation.
The AP is also testing for rotavirus - globally, the biggest cause of gastroenteritis - and enterovirus, the most common cause of upper respiratory infections globally. Additionally, the AP tests include bacterial testing for fecal coliforms.
---
Brooks and AP writer Stephen Wade in Rio de Janeiro, and Nesha Starcevic in Frankfurt, Germany contributed to this report.
---
Rob Harris can be followed at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/RobHarris" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.twitter.com/RobHarris</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/RobHarrisReports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.facebook.com/RobHarrisReports</a>
© 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.

Shell President: Oil Drilling Will Be Necessary For A Very Long Time. The president of Shell Oil Co. said exploratory oil drilling off Alaska's northwest coast is going well despite stormy weather last week that caused the company to halt operations for a few days.
And in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press Marvin Odum said he expects further protests against the company's plans for Arctic drilling like the ones in Seattle and Portland where activists in kayaks tried to block Shell vessels.
Arctic offshore drilling is bitterly opposed by environmental groups that say a spill cannot be cleaned in ice-choked waters and that industrial activity will harm polar bears, walrus and ice seals already harmed by diminished sea ice.
In Seattle, Shell faced protests on the water by "kayaktivists" upset over the company staging equipment in the city. In Portland, Oregon, Greenpeace USA protesters hung from the St. Johns Bridge to delay a Shell support vessel, from heading to the Arctic.
"I think the right assumptions for me to make are, it's not going to go away," Odum said. "We saw quite a bit of very public opposition when we were in the Pacific Northwest."
Odum said he's "110 percent ready" to work with people who want to find ways to improve drilling.
"I do have an issue with those that oppose who use illegal means or put the safety of themselves or the safety of anybody associated with this operation at risk," he said.
Odum said good progress is being made on the first well off Alaska's northwest coast.
"We had a few days in the last week where we couldn't operate because of the weather," he said. "Now we're coming out of that and it looks like we're moving into a time period of good weather."
President Barack Obama this week is in Alaska rallying support for measures to combat climate change, such as limits on carbon emissions.
Odum is staying in the same hotel as the president - the Hotel Captain Cook.
While environmentalists praise the president for curbing greenhouse gases, they pillory him for granting Shell permission to drill in the Chukchi Sea for the first time in 24 years.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Chukchi and Beaufort seas hold 26 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
Oil will continue to be needed as the United States transitions to more renewable energy, Odum said.
"Oil will be required for a long time," Odum said. "Let's take a really close look at developing our own resources, control how it's done and get all the benefits that go along with it." Shell President: Oil Drilling Will Be Necessary For A Very Long Time
Shell in two years of exploratory drilling and with up to six wells hopes to confirm a vast reservoir of oil. If it's found, Shell could apply for production permits and move oil by undersea pipe to the Alaska shore and then overland across northern Alaska to the trans-<a href="http://www.earth.com/image/dust-streams-over-the-gulf-of-alaska/">Alaska</a> pipeline. That could take more than a decade.
Odum is confident exploration can be done safely, and the overriding factor dictating whether Shell completes an exploratory well this year will be safety.
Shell is operating under strict Arctic rules put in place after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Arctic offshore drilling has been scrutinized in the courts in lawsuits brought by drilling opponents, Odum said.
"It's probably fair to say, this is the most scrutinized, analyzed project - oil and gas project - probably anywhere in the world. I'm actually sure of that," he said.
All the scrutiny, along with Shell's own internal review, have gone into safety considerations. It's in the company's best interest, he said.
"We can't afford to have a problem here," Odum said.
© 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.

Shell President: Oil Drilling Will Be Necessary For A Very Long Time

Shell President: Oil Drilling Will Be Necessary For A Very...

Shell President: Oil Drilling Will Be Necessary For A Very Long Time. The president of Shell Oil Co. said exploratory oil drilling off Alaska's northwest coast is going well despite stormy weather last week that caused the company to halt operations for a few days.
And in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press Marvin Odum said he expects further protests against the company's plans for Arctic drilling like the ones in Seattle and Portland where activists in kayaks tried to block Shell vessels.
<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-icebergs-affect-seawater-and-ocean-currents-far-from-the-continent/">Arctic</a> offshore drilling is bitterly opposed by environmental groups that say a spill cannot be cleaned in ice-choked waters and that industrial activity will harm polar bears, walrus and ice seals already harmed by diminished sea ice.
In Seattle, Shell faced protests on the water by "kayaktivists" upset over the company staging equipment in the city. In Portland, Oregon, Greenpeace USA protesters hung from the St. Johns Bridge to delay a Shell support vessel, from heading to the Arctic.
"I think the right assumptions for me to make are, it's not going to go away," Odum said. "We saw quite a bit of very public opposition when we were in the Pacific Northwest."
Odum said he's "110 percent ready" to work with people who want to find ways to improve drilling.
"I do have an issue with those that oppose who use illegal means or put the safety of themselves or the safety of anybody associated with this operation at risk," he said.
Odum said good progress is being made on the first well off Alaska's <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=pacific&amp;cvid=faf7d6ec872040de81efcec843997ca8&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">northwest</a> coast.
"We had a few days in the last week where we couldn't operate because of the weather," he said. "Now we're coming out of that and it looks like we're moving into a time period of good weather."
President Barack Obama this week is in Alaska rallying support for measures to combat climate change, such as limits on carbon emissions.
Odum is staying in the same hotel as the president - the Hotel Captain Cook.
While environmentalists praise the president for curbing greenhouse gases, they pillory him for granting Shell permission to drill in the Chukchi Sea for the first time in 24 years.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Chukchi and Beaufort seas hold 26 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
Oil will continue to be needed as the United States transitions to more renewable energy, Odum said.
"Oil will be required for a long time," Odum said. "Let's take a really close look at developing our own resources, control how it's done and get all the benefits that go along with it."
Shell in two years of exploratory drilling and with up to six wells hopes to confirm a vast reservoir of oil. If it's found, Shell could apply for production permits and move oil by undersea pipe to the Alaska shore and then overland across northern Alaska to the trans-Alaska pipeline. That could take more than a decade.
Odum is confident exploration can be done safely, and the overriding factor dictating whether Shell completes an exploratory well this year will be safety.
Shell is operating under strict Arctic rules put in place after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Arctic offshore drilling has been scrutinized in the courts in lawsuits brought by drilling opponents, Odum said.
"It's probably fair to say, this is the most scrutinized, analyzed project - oil and gas project - probably anywhere in the world. I'm actually sure of that," he said.
All the scrutiny, along with Shell's own internal review, have gone into safety considerations. It's in the company's best interest, he said.
"We can't afford to have a problem here," Odum said.
© 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.

As part of a broad effort to study the environmental and societal effects of Arctic climate change, NASA has begun a multi-year field campaign to investigate ecological impacts of the rapidly changing climate in Alaska and northwestern Canada, such as the thawing of permafrost, wildfires and changes to wildlife habitats.

The Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) will bring together on-the-ground research in Alaska and northwestern Canada with data collected by NASA airborne instruments, satellites and other agency programs, including the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), and upcoming Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) and NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) missions.

Over the next decade, scientists from NASA and other public and private organizations will investigate questions about the formidable region that spans about 2.5 million square miles (6.4 million square kilometers).

"Boreal forests and tundra are critical for understanding the ecological impacts of Earth's changing climate," said Jack Kaye, associate director for research in NASA's Earth Science Division in Washington. "These ecosystems hold a third of the carbon stored on land -- in trees, shrubs and the frozen ground of the permafrost. That's a lot of potential greenhouse gases in play. We need to better understand these ecosystems, and how a warming climate will affect forests, wildlife and communities both regionally and globally."

ABoVE includes three project phases and two seasons of intensive airborne surveys. The research activities will be coordinated with other U.S. and Canadian partner organizations. The 21 projects selected for the first phase will investigate topics such as the impacts of wildfire on ecosystems and insect outbreaks on forest health.

"The region is rapidly changing, and we've already seen a lot of that from field measurements and remote sensing," said Scott Goetz, ABoVE science team lead and deputy director at Woods Hole Research Center in Falmouth, Massachusetts. "It's an area that's warming with climate change, and there's a lot of potential for permafrost degradation, especially with these massive fires burning off the organic soil layer."

The field campaign will provide an opportunity to study how Arctic ecosystems respond to the scorching fires on a regional scale. More than 5 million acres in Alaska and 9.7 million acres in Canada have burned so far this year, making 2015 the second most devastating fire year on record for Alaska, with the most intensive three-week period of burning on record, according to Charles Miller, deputy science team lead for ABoVE at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

ABoVE researchers will survey Alaska's interior forests to better determine how much carbon is stored in these remote regions. They'll investigate the extent and thawing rate of permafrost -- soils that have been frozen for hundreds of thousands of years, locking in carbon-rich plant and organic matter.

"Warming air temperatures can thaw permafrost, which acts like unplugging a deep freezer," said Peter Griffith, ABoVE chief support scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "The vegetation and carbon previously frozen in the soil start to rot and decay -- like food in an unplugged freezer -- releasing methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This increase in greenhouse gases further warms air temperatures, perpetuating the cycle by causing more thawing and more greenhouse gas release."

The ABoVE projects also will study impacts on the wildlife of Alaska and northern Canada, including habitat and migration changes for raptors, songbirds, Dall sheep, moose, caribou, wolves and brown bears.

The socio-ecological impacts of climate change will be a significant focus of the campaign. The Dall sheep study, for example, will examine the effects of their changing habitat on subsistence hunting and tourism. Another research group will work with village residents in the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta of western Alaska to track changes in vegetation, permafrost, fire and lakes.

"More societal impacts of change will be investigated in future projects, with another call for projects scheduled for 12 to 18 months from now," Griffith said. "What's happening in the Arctic is not staying in the Arctic. It certainly matters to the people who live there, but the consequences are far reaching."

The ABoVE field campaign's research agenda was developed through workshops that brought together scientific experts from across the United States and Canada, and builds on ongoing NASA projects including the JPL-managed Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE) and Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS) airborne missions.

For more information about the ABoVE campaign, visit:

<a href="http://above.nasa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://above.nasa.gov/</a>

NASA uses the vantage point of space to increase our understanding of our home planet, improve lives and safeguard our future. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records. The agency freely shares this unique knowledge and works with institutions around the world to gain new insights into how our planet is changing.

For more information on NASA's Earth science activities, visit:

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/earth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.nasa.gov/earth</a>

As part of a broad effort to study the environmental...

Shell President: Oil Drilling Will Be Necessary For A Very Long Time. The president of Shell Oil Co. said exploratory oil drilling off Alaska's northwest coast is going well despite stormy weather last week that caused the company to halt operations for a few days.
And in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press Marvin Odum said he expects further protests against the company's plans for Arctic drilling like the ones in Seattle and Portland where activists in kayaks tried to block Shell vessels.
Arctic offshore drilling is bitterly opposed by environmental groups that say a spill cannot be cleaned in ice-choked waters and that industrial activity will harm polar bears, walrus and ice seals already harmed by diminished sea ice. Shell President: Oil Drilling Will Be Necessary For A Very Long Time
In Seattle, Shell faced protests on the water by "kayaktivists" upset over the company staging equipment in the city. In Portland, Oregon, Greenpeace USA protesters hung from the St. Johns Bridge to delay a Shell support vessel, from heading to the Arctic.
"I think the right assumptions for me to make are, it's not going to go away," Odum said. "We saw quite a bit of very public opposition when we were in the Pacific Northwest."
Odum said he's "110 percent ready" to work with people who want to find ways to improve drilling.
"I do have an issue with those that oppose who use illegal means or put the safety of themselves or the safety of anybody associated with this operation at risk," he said.
Odum said good progress is being made on the first well off Alaska's northwest coast.
"We had a few days in the last week where we couldn't operate because of the weather," he said. "Now we're coming out of that and it looks like we're moving into a time period of good weather."
President Barack Obama this week is in Alaska rallying support for measures to combat <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=climate+change&amp;cvid=9b86354c02ca45f9ab266b835b3ff354&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">climate</a> change, such as limits on carbon emissions.
Odum is staying in the same hotel as the president - the Hotel Captain Cook.
While environmentalists praise the president for curbing greenhouse gases, they pillory him for granting Shell permission to drill in the Chukchi Sea for the first time in 24 years.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Chukchi and Beaufort seas hold 26 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
Oil will continue to be needed as the United States transitions to more renewable energy, Odum said.
"Oil will be required for a long time," Odum said. "Let's take a really close look at developing our own resources, control how it's done and get all the benefits that go along with it."
Shell in two years of exploratory drilling and with up to six wells hopes to confirm a vast reservoir of oil. If it's found, Shell could apply for production permits and move oil by undersea pipe to the Alaska shore and then overland across northern Alaska to the trans-<a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=alaska&amp;cvid=219f9c904b334f669251ad7fb8fa315b&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Alaska</a> pipeline. That could take more than a decade.
Odum is confident exploration can be done safely, and the overriding factor dictating whether Shell completes an exploratory well this year will be safety.
Shell is operating under strict Arctic rules put in place after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Arctic offshore drilling has been scrutinized in the courts in lawsuits brought by drilling opponents, Odum said.
"It's probably fair to say, this is the most scrutinized, analyzed project - <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/permafrost-soils-are-collapsing-under-rising-temperatures/">oil</a> and gas project - probably anywhere in the world. I'm actually sure of that," he said.
All the scrutiny, along with Shell's own internal review, have gone into safety considerations. It's in the company's best interest, he said.
"We can't afford to have a problem here," Odum said.
© 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.

Colorado Gold King Mine Spill Sparks Changes In Warning System. A massive wastewater spill from an old gold mine in Colorado has prompted state officials to expand the list of downstream users they will warn after such accidents.
Last month, Colorado health officials notified only agencies inside the state after 3 million gallons of water tainted with heavy metals gushed out of the Gold King mine near Silverton and eventually reached the Animas, San Juan and Colorado rivers in New Mexico and Utah.
In the future, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will warn downstream states as well, department spokesman Mark Salley said.
Colorado officials didn't know the magnitude of the spill when they issued their warnings, he said.
Officials in New Mexico were unhappy because they say the federal Environmental Protection Agency didn't alerted them when an EPA-supervised crew inadvertently triggered the spill about 70 miles from the New Mexico border.
The crew was trying to enter the mine as part of a cleanup operation and breached a debris pile that was holding back the water.
New Mexico officials first heard about the spill nearly 24 hours after it happened from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, not the EPA, said Chris Sanchez, a spokesman for Gov. Susana Martinez.
The Southern Ute reservation straddles the Animas River in Colorado, and tribal officials had been alerted by the Colorado health department.
New Mexico officials contacted the <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/gentoo-penguins-are-not-one-species-but-four/">EPA</a> after hearing from the Southern Utes, Sanchez said.
"The EPA to this day has not been able to answer why the agency never contacted the state of New Mexico," Sanchez said in an email to The Associated Press.
EPA spokesman David Gray said he spoke to<a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=new+mexico&amp;cvid=8209ebae9db64ad1ae5f652b46b57e00&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS"> New Mexico's</a> Environment Department about the spill at midday Aug. 6, a day after it occurred. Gray, who works in the EPA's Dallas regional office, said that was shortly after he learned about it.
New Mexico is part of a Dallas-based EPA region; Colorado is part of a separate region with headquarters in Denver.
The EPA has come under sharp criticism for causing the spill and for its handling of the aftermath. At least four congressional committee hearings are scheduled, starting Sept. 9. Colorado Gold King Mine Spill Sparks Changes In Warning System
The EPA's inspector general is investigating. The Interior Department, which is separate from the EPA, is also investigating, with the help of the Army Corps of Engineers.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has said the agency accepts responsibility for the spill, calling it tragic and unfortunate.
The EPA has said water quality is returning to pre-spill levels. Colorado health officials said it is safe to eat trout from the Animas River.
---
Follow Dan Elliott at <a href="http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP</a>
© 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.

Colorado Gold King Mine Spill Sparks Changes In Warning System

Colorado Gold King Mine Spill Sparks Changes In Warning System....

<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.

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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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https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
</div></figure>



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



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.

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 



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.

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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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.

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



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.

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



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.

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



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.

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



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.

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



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.

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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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



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.

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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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



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.

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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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

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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



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.

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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