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...

EPA To Change Diesel Emissions Tests After Volkswagen Scandal. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans sweeping changes to the way it tests for diesel emissions after getting duped by clandestine software in Volkswagen cars for seven years.
Chris Grundler, head of the EPA's office of transportation and air quality, indicated the agency would add on-road testing to its regimen. VW's sophisticated software allowed its cars to pass tests in the lab and then spew pollution into the atmosphere while on the highway. EPA To Change Diesel Emissions Tests After Volkswagen Scandal
The revelations meant unwanted scrutiny for the EPA. Its testing procedures have been criticized for being predictable and outdated, making it relatively easy for VW to cheat. What's more, the EPA did not initially uncover the problem; researchers at West Virginia University did, using on-road testing.
Grundler says the changes are designed to detect software and other methods automakers might use to rig a test.
The EPA and the California Air Resources Board have engineers who are "developing clever ways in which these things can be detected," Grundler says.
He also notes that testing of diesel engines, which make up only 1 percent of the vehicles on U.S. roads, wasn't the top priority for the EPA. The agency did have on-road testing equipment - but it was assigned to monitor automaker gas mileage estimates and heavy-duty diesel trucks, where cheating had been uncovered in the past.
Grundler, who has been with the EPA for more than three decades, says the lack of on-road testing for diesels "might change in the future." An announcement of the changes could come on Friday.
VW has admitted to installing software on Volkswagen and Audi cars with four-cylinder diesel engines that switches on pollution controls when they are being tested. When the software, called a "defeat device," determines that the cars are back on real roads, the controls are turned off. The EPA says about 500,000 U.S. cars including the Jetta, Golf, Beetle, Passat and<a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=audi&amp;cvid=5a607decb56444cc8055e4092a6d9f19&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS"> Audi</a> A3 have the cheating software, and VW says a total of 11 million cars have it worldwide.
VW was able to fool the EPA because the agency only tested the cars on treadmill-like devices called dynamometers and didn't use portable test equipment on real roads. The software in the cars' engine-control computers checked the speed, steering wheel position, air pressure and other factors to determine when dynamometer tests were under way. It then turned on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ocean-pollution-threatens-the-health-of-more-than-three-billion-people/">pollution</a> controls that reduced the output of nitrogen oxide, an ingredient in harmful ozone, the EPA has said.
VW started the scheme with the 2009 model year, and may not have been caught without testing performed at West Virginia University on behalf of the International Council on Clean Transportation, a nonprofit group that advises governments on regulations. EPA and California regulators confronted VW with those findings to VW in May 2014. The automaker eventually did a recall late last year, without much improvement, the EPA says.
Only when the EPA and CARB refused to approve VW's 2016 diesel models for sale did the company admit what it had done.
The EPA announced the violations a week ago and said VW could face billions in fines. The agency said the cars are safe to drive but VW will have to pay to recall and fix them. The agency also is going to test diesels from other manufacturers to make sure they don't have similar devices.
Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida is frustrated that regulatory agencies such as the EPA are failing to protect the public. "Seven years is way too long a time that the EPA has been asleep at the switch," he says.
He says the VW case has similarities to those involving General Motors ' defective ignition switches and Takata Corp.'s exploding air bag inflators, where it also took years before those problems were disclosed to consumers.
"When there is this kind of deception, we've got to get these agencies to be able to cut through it and catch it," Nelson says.
It's not the first time the EPA has had to change testing to make sure automakers are playing by the rules. Earlier this year the agency updated gas mileage tests after some automakers were caught with inflated window sticker estimates.
Grundler disputes the notion that EPA would never have caught VW without the outside help. European regulators were looking into VW's on-road diesel emissions as far back as 2012, and since diesels make up half the cars there, the EPA decided to let Europe take the lead, he says.
"I don't think it's fair to say that this would never have been uncovered," he says. "Do I wish we had uncovered it sooner? Absolutely."
----
Daly reported from Washington, D.C.
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EPA To Change Diesel Emissions Tests After Volkswagen Scandal

EPA To Change Diesel Emissions Tests After Volkswagen Scandal. The...

INDIA FESTIVAL

India: Poverty Is Key Source Of Global Pollution. India will confirm plans next week for a fivefold increase in renewable energy by 2020, the environment minister said. But it will continue to champion poor countries in their demand that industrialized nations assume the brunt of responsibility for decades of climate-warming emissions.
Describing poverty as a key source of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/planting-trees-could-slow-global-warming-but-it-wont-be-cheap/">global</a> pollution, Prakash Javadekar told The Associated Press on Thursday that nations hoping to reach a global climate pact in Paris in December must commit to a world where all 7 billion-plus inhabitants have equal rights and access to electricity, opportunity and justice. India: Poverty Is Key Source Of Global Pollution
"Poverty is, in a way, a real polluting factor," Javadekar said, adding that India's top priority is elevating hundreds of millions of Indians still living on less than $2 a day. At the same time, expanding the economy and building infrastructure will cause carbon emissions to grow, as the country relies on burning coal to fuel most of the 254 GW of electricity it generates today.
"But today, I see the carbon space occupied by the developed world," he said. "We are asking the developed world to vacate the carbon space to accommodate us. That carbon space demand is climate justice. It's our right as a nation. It's our right as people of India, and we want that carbon space."
India is one of the last major polluters yet to submit its plans for combating and coping with climate change to the United Nations, before the world's nations attempt to nail down a global climate pact in December. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi joins other world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly meeting Friday, experts and officials are eager for India's climate commitments.
Already, countries and territories accounting for at least 60 percent of global emissions have announced their targets, including the world's No. 1 and 2 polluters, China and the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=United+States.&amp;cvid=4d2471a71de6483bba2bc696a34d5de3&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">United States.</a> But experts say the pledges so far fall short of what's needed keep temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius by mid-century - a level beyond which scientists say we'd see extreme climate changes, including sizzling hot summers, much higher sea levels, torrential storms and more severe droughts. Current national pledges put us on track for a 2.9 to 3.1 degree temperature rise.
On Thursday, Indonesia submitted its pledge to the U.N., vowing to strengthen forest protection and increase renewable energy production to account for at least 23 percent of the Southeast Asian island nation's total capacity by 2025.
Experts have worried that India's position could doom global efforts to limit the rise in temperatures.
"India for a long time has been resistant to the notion of developing countries taking targets at all," former U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer said Thursday in Paris. "Modi has indicated he wants to make a very big push on the economy, focus more on manufacturing. There's a lot of coal in India so the logical fuel for him to choose in driving that growth is coal. If he takes an ambitious climate target, that means he wants to balance that growth with climate ambitions."
Javadekar said the Indian pledge on climate action will be released Oct. 1, and will include targets not only for increasing renewable energy but also for curbing its emissions intensity, or how much carbon dioxide the country produces divided by its GDP. In 2009, India said it could cut emissions intensity by 20 to 25 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. Javadekar indicated the new intensity target would be more ambitious, but he would not give details.
The pledge will not include targets for cutting overall emissions, and it will not include a projection for when India's emissions growth might peak.
"Nobody has actually asked us for this ... because they know India's particular situation," the minister said, alluding to India's relatively low emissions rate of 1.6 tons per capita compared with a U.S. rate that is about 10 times higher. While the U.S. and China, emitting around 7 tons per capita, pledged to bring theirs to a common 12 tons per capita by 2030, India "will never reach there," Javadekar said. "I don't see going beyond 10 any time soon."
India's plans for a fivefold boost in renewable energy, from about 34 GW today to 175 GW by 2020, had been promised earlier by Modi as he vowed to bring universal electricity access to India's 1.2 billion people by 2020. The 175 GW goal includes 100 GW of new solar power, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from biomass and 5 GW from small hydropower dams.
It's an astonishing pledge, considering where India is today. A quarter of the country, or 300 million people, still has no access to electricity, while hundreds of millions more make do with just a few hours a day. Blackouts are so common that hospitals and many businesses are forced to use diesel generators, while about a quarter of the 254 GW being produced today is lost in grid leakages and theft.
Experts estimate it will cost at least $150 billion for India to sort out its electricity woes and meet the renewable energy target - funding India does not have. Instead, it will rely on building business opportunities, and will hope for international commitments in waiving high intellectual property costs for technologies that can help India improve its energy production and efficiency.
"We definitely will expect a good amount of technology, affordable technology," Javadekar said. "Why people should profit from disaster? They should actually help India to build this huge program, making it a reality."
---
Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.
---
Follow Katy Daigle on Twitter at twitter.com/katydaigle
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India: Poverty Is Key Source Of Global Pollution

India: Poverty Is Key Source Of Global Pollution. India will...

China Plans To Launch A Cap-And-Trade System To Reduce Pollution. China is preparing to announce plans to launch a national cap-and-trade system to limit greenhouse gases and force industries to purchase pollution credits,<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/epa-plan-mercury-emissions/"> Obama</a> administration officials said Thursday.
Beijing plans to put the system known as cap-and-trade into place in 2017 as part of measures aimed to address climate change in cooperation with the U.S. and others.
A joint statement to be released following Friday's summit between President Barack Obama and his <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=chinese&amp;cvid=7b8db410f3e24ed19f477219230c1f61&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Chinese</a> counterpart Xi Jinping aims to flesh out how their two countries plan to achieve targets for cutting emissions set at a bilateral summit in Beijing last year.China Plans To Launch A Cap-And-Trade System To Reduce Pollution
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity so they wouldn't pre-empt China's official announcement, said it's hoped the announcement will give impetus to a broader global treaty on climate change at a Paris conference in December.
The announcement will also cover components of the cap-and-trade strategy, including the individual sectors covered under the plan, which range from power production to papermaking, the officials said. Those sectors produce "a substantial percentage of China's climate pollution," one official said.
Cap-and-trade sets an annual limit on the amount of pollution that can be produced, then requires firms to obtain permission to pollute by purchasing credits from less polluting industries.
Other parts of China's announcement will include prioritizing low-carbon and efficient electricity production.
Under last year's groundbreaking agreement, Obama set a goal to cut U.S. emissions between 26 percent and 28 percent by 2025, compared with 2005 levels.
China, the world's biggest polluter, relies heavily on coal for power generation. It will set a target for its emissions to peak by about 2030 or earlier, after which they would then start falling. That marks an unprecedented step for Beijing, which has been reluctant to be boxed in on climate by the global community.
The European Union has also said it would cut its emissions 40 percent by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. Taken together, the U.S, China and the EU account for more than half of global emissions.
Friday's announcement will also commit Beijing and Washington to aligning their views on key negotiating positions at Paris, along with providing greater funding for research and development on low-carbon technologies and financial assistance to help poor countries build low-pollution infrastructure.
China, one of the world's biggest builders of infrastructure, will also offer a "very substantial financial commitment" to help poor nations transition to low-pollution technologies, the U.S. officials said, without releasing the exact figure.
Three decades of breakneck economic growth have left China's cities clogged in dense smog and sent cancer rates soaring. That's prompted it to drop its insistence that developed nations bear most of the responsibility for reducing carbon emissions, producing a rare area of cooperation with Washington.
Lu Kong, the spokesman for Xi's delegation, declined to discuss the joint statement, but said climate change was "an area where China and the U.S. could work together and we did make some good progress in our joint efforts.
"Maybe this time we could make further progress in demonstrating to the outside world at large that China and the U.S. are committed to further efforts in dealing with climate change in a comprehensive way," Lu said.
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China Plans To Launch A Cap-And-Trade System To Reduce Pollution

China Plans To Launch A Cap-And-Trade System To Reduce Pollution....

Dealing With Life Without Snow In The French Alps. The French Alps are the birthplace of downhill skiing and a crucible for mountain climbing - but now the French government is trying to help their winter tourist towns adapt to a warming world.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls was visiting the Mer de Glace (the Sea of Ice) Friday on Mont Blanc, where the retreating glacier has been documented for more than a century, through water colors painted before the invention of the still camera, black-and-white photos depicting a then-modern <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/europe-coal/">coal</a> train chuffing alongside the ice and today's high-definition satellite photos. Dealing With Life Without Snow In The French Alps
Researchers say the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=sea&amp;cvid=39e17a4caaa94e169a8c07534fa1b6ba&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Sea</a> of Ice is only the most accessible example of a problem the entire Alpine region is facing as warming mountainsides become more unstable and snowfall more inconsistent, threatening jobs and lives in a region heavily dependent on adventure tourism.
Scientists have drilled the Mont Blanc region with sensor-equipped boreholes in recent years, hoping that measuring temperatures in the permafrost will give a sense of how quickly the problem is accelerating and which areas are most in peril.
The town of Lanslevillard already knows firsthand, said Xavier Bodin, a researcher for France's elite CNRS research center who specializes in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/alpine-butterflies-threatened-by-climate-induced-ecosystem-changes/">Alpine</a> permafrost. A debris flow touched off by an unstable rock glacier swept down the slope, crushing snow equipment.
In another part of the southeast French region, pylons for a ski lift had to be re-planted because the foundation grounds were melting. Elsewhere, retreating glaciers have exposed climbers to new, untested and potentially risky routes, he said.
"The rising temperatures in the mountains strongly modify the way people approach the high altitudes," Bodin said.
In a study released this year in the Journal of Alpine Research, researchers documented 350 rock falls from 2007 to 2014 compared with almost none from 1855 to 1936. They found that of 1,769 pieces of infrastructure - including huts, ski lifts and pipelines - about 10 percent were at high risk of rock fall damage, including Mont Blanc's popular Aiguille du Midi cable car.
Valls is visiting the region to highlight France's role as host in the global summit on climate change at the end of this year.
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Dealing With Life Without Snow In The French Alps

Dealing With Life Without Snow In The French Alps. The...

India: Poverty Is Key Source Of Global Pollution. India will confirm plans next week for a fivefold increase in renewable energy by 2020, the environment minister said. But it will continue to champion poor countries in their demand that industrialized nations assume the brunt of responsibility fo decades of climate-warming emissions.
Describing poverty as a key source of global pollution, Prakash Javadekar told The Associated Press on Thursday that nations hoping to reach a global climate pact in Paris in December must commit to a world where all 7 billion-plus inhabitants have equal rights and access to electricity, opportunity and justice. India: Poverty Is Key Source Of Global Pollution
"Poverty is, in a way, a real polluting factor," Javadekar said, adding that India's top priority is elevating hundreds of millions of Indians still living on less than $2 a day. At the same time, expanding the economy and building infrastructure will cause carbon emissions to grow, as the country relies on burning coal to fuel most of the 254 GW of electricity it generates today.
"But today, I see the carbon space occupied by the developed world," he said. "We are asking the developed world to vacate the carbon space to accommodate us. That carbon space demand is climate justice. It's our right as a nation. It's our right as people of India, and we want that carbon space."
India is one of the last major polluters yet to submit its plans for combating and coping with climate change to the United Nations, before the world's nations attempt to nail down a global climate pact in December. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi joins other world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly meeting Friday, experts and officials are eager for India's climate commitments.
Already, countries and territories accounting for at least 60 percent of global emissions have announced their targets, including the world's No. 1 and 2 polluters, <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=china&amp;cvid=de57c1aa77944d2e8e402f0237237c52&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">China</a> and the United States. But experts say the pledges so far fall short of what's needed keep temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius by mid-century - a level beyond which scientists say we'd see extreme climate changes, including sizzling hot summers, much higher sea levels, torrential storms and more severe droughts. Current national pledges put us on track for a 2.9 to 3.1 degree temperature rise.
On Thursday, Indonesia submitted its pledge to the U.N., vowing to strengthen forest protection and increase renewable energy production to account for at least 23 percent of the Southeast Asian island nation's total capacity by 2025.
Experts have worried that India's position could doom global efforts to limit the rise in temperatures.
"India for a long time has been resistant to the notion of developing countries taking targets at all," former U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer said Thursday in Paris. "Modi has indicated he wants to make a very big push on the economy, focus more on manufacturing. There's a lot of coal in India so the logical fuel for him to choose in driving that growth is coal. If he takes an ambitious climate target, that means he wants to balance that growth with climate ambitions."
Javadekar said the Indian pledge on climate action will be released Oct. 1, and will include targets not only for increasing renewable energy but also for curbing its emissions intensity, or how much carbon dioxide the country produces divided by its GDP. In 2009, India said it could cut emissions intensity by 20 to 25 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. Javadekar indicated the new intensity target would be more ambitious, but he would not give details. India: Poverty Is Key Source Of Global Pollution
The pledge will not include targets for cutting overall emissions, and it will not include a projection for when India's emissions growth might peak.
"Nobody has actually asked us for this ... because they know India's particular situation," the minister said, alluding to India's relatively low emissions rate of 1.6 tons per capita compared with a U.S. rate that is about 10 times higher. While the U.S. and China, emitting around 7 tons per capita, pledged to bring theirs to a common 12 tons per capita by 2030, India "will never reach there," Javadekar said. "I don't see going beyond 10 any time soon."
India's plans for a fivefold boost in renewable energy, from about 34 GW today to 175 GW by 2020, had been promised earlier by Modi as he vowed to bring universal electricity access to India's 1.2 billion people by 2020. The 175 GW goal includes 100 GW of new solar power, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from biomass and 5 GW from small hydropower dams.
It's an astonishing pledge, considering where India is today. A quarter of the country, or 300 million people, still has no access to electricity, while hundreds of millions more make do with just a few hours a day. Blackouts are so common that hospitals and many businesses are forced to use diesel generators, while about a quarter of the 254 GW being produced today is lost in grid leakages and theft.
Experts estimate it will cost at least $150 billion for India to sort out its electricity woes and meet the renewable energy target - funding India does not have. Instead, it will rely on building business opportunities, and will hope for international commitments in waiving high intellectual property costs for technologies that can help India improve its energy production and efficiency.
"We definitely will expect a good amount of technology, affordable technology," Javadekar said. "Why people should profit from disaster? They should actually help India to build this huge program, making it a reality."
---
Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.
---
Follow Katy Daigle on Twitter at twitter.com/katydaigle
© 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.

Dealing With Life Without Snow In The French Alps. The French Alps are the birthplace of downhill skiing and a crucible for mountain climbing - but now the French government is trying to help their winter tourist towns adapt to a warming world.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls was visiting the Mer de Glace (the Sea of Ice) Friday on Mont Blanc, where the retreating glacier has been documented for more than a century, through water colors painted before the invention of the still camera, black-and-white photos depicting a then-modern coal train chuffing alongside the ice and today's high-definition<a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=satellite&amp;cvid=cfc7e712609f49dbbb39182a048cd24d&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS"> satellite</a> photos.
Researchers say the Sea of Ice is only the most accessible example of a problem the entire Alpine <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/wine-grapes-in-dry-regions-have-a-strategy-to-conserve-water/">region</a> is facing as warming mountainsides become more unstable and snowfall more inconsistent, threatening jobs and lives in a region heavily dependent on adventure tourism. Dealing With Life Without Snow In The French Alps
Scientists have drilled the Mont Blanc region with sensor-equipped boreholes in recent years, hoping that measuring temperatures in the permafrost will give a sense of how quickly the problem is accelerating and which areas are most in peril.
The town of Lanslevillard already knows firsthand, said Xavier Bodin, a researcher for France's elite CNRS research center who specializes in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/alpine-butterflies-threatened-by-climate-induced-ecosystem-changes/">Alpine</a> permafrost. A debris flow touched off by an unstable rock glacier swept down the slope, crushing snow equipment.
In another part of the southeast French region, pylons for a ski lift had to be re-planted because the foundation grounds were melting. Elsewhere, retreating glaciers have exposed climbers to new, untested and potentially risky routes, he said.
"The rising temperatures in the mountains strongly modify the way people approach the high altitudes," Bodin said.
In a study released this year in the Journal of Alpine Research, researchers documented 350 rock falls from 2007 to 2014 compared with almost none from 1855 to 1936. They found that of 1,769 pieces of infrastructure - including huts, ski lifts and pipelines - about 10 percent were at high risk of rock fall damage, including Mont Blanc's popular Aiguille du Midi cable car.
Valls is visiting the region to highlight France's role as host in the global summit on climate change at the end of this year.
© 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.

Ancient Coral Reveals Earth's Past CO2 Levels. Until now, researchers haven't had a reliable way to measure the behavior of the ancient ocean over brief timescales.

Modeling Earth's past CO2 levels and climate can help scientists better understand today's climate and what rising CO2 levels might mean for the future of the planet.

But clues to the makeup of Earth's early <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/earths-atmosphere-beyond-moon/">atmosphere</a> aren't easy to find. Recently, researchers at the University of Bristol went to the bottom of the ocean for a climatic glimpse back in time. Deep sea corals, in turns out, are the ideal time machine for paleoclimate scientists. Ancient Coral Reveals Earth's Past CO2 Levels.

Ice cores show that between 18,000 and 11,000 years ago Earth experienced its last deglaciation period. The broader rise in CO2 levels, melting ice caps and rising seas was marked by three sharp bursts in CO2 levels.

Researchers believe a pattern of deepwater upwelling called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation may be closely associated with the rising temperatures and CO2 spikes that precipitated the last glaciation.

But until now, researchers haven't had a reliable way to measure the behavior of the ancient ocean over brief timescales. Deep-sea coral fossils are helping scientists solve this problem.

By radiocarbon dating ancient corals retrieved from the Atlantic and Southern oceans, researchers are able plot the changing levels of radiocarbon in the ancient ocean. Radiocarbon is introduced at the surface of the ocean and slowly makes its way deeper. Fluctuations in radiocarbon reveal patterns of ocean circulations and upwelling events. Ancient Coral Reveals Earth's Past CO2 Levels

Analysis of the coral fossils showed that the middle depths of the equatorial Atlantic and the Drake Passage experienced two significant transient events, during which water layers were neutralized and large levels of radiocarbon were introduced. These events correspond with the last two CO2 bursts revealed by ice core samples.

The new research -- carried out by scientists from Bristol, as well as the University of St. Andrews and University of California, Irvine -- was published in the journal Science.

"Our radiocarbon data are consistent with two transient and enhanced deep Atlantic overturning events which flushed out respired carbon in the deep water, causing a rapid rise of atmosphere CO2 concentration and abrupt warming of the high latitude North Atlantic," lead author Tianyu Chen, Bristol earth scientist and author of the new study, said in a news release.

---

Credit: UPI

Ancient Coral Reveals Earth's Past CO2 Levels

Ancient Coral Reveals Earth's Past CO2 Levels. Until now, researchers...

Ancient Coral Reveals Earth's Past CO2 Levels. Until now, researchers haven't had a reliable way to measure the behavior of the ancient ocean over brief timescales.

Modeling Earth's past CO2 levels and climate can help scientists better understand today's climate and what rising CO2 levels might mean for the future of the planet.

But clues to the makeup of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-temperature-has-been-steadily-rising-since-the-1850s/">Earth's</a> early atmosphere aren't easy to find. Recently, researchers at the University of Bristol went to the bottom of the ocean for a climatic glimpse back in time. Deep sea corals, in turns out, are the ideal time machine for paleoclimate scientists. Ancient Coral Reveals Earth's Past CO2 Levels

Ice cores show that between 18,000 and 11,000 years ago Earth experienced its last deglaciation period. The broader rise in CO2 levels, melting ice caps and rising <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=sea&amp;cvid=39e17a4caaa94e169a8c07534fa1b6ba&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">seas</a> was marked by three sharp bursts in CO2 levels.

Researchers believe a pattern of deepwater upwelling called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation may be closely associated with the rising temperatures and CO2 spikes that precipitated the last glaciation.The corals that form reefs in tropical waters today first appeared in the Middle Triassic Period, about 240 million years ago. Paleozoic coral reefs are known from North America, northern South America

But until now, researchers haven't had a reliable way to measure the behavior of the ancient ocean over brief timescales. Deep-sea coral fossils are helping scientists solve this problem.

By radiocarbon dating ancient corals retrieved from the Atlantic and Southern oceans, researchers are able plot the changing levels of radiocarbon in the ancient ocean. Radiocarbon is introduced at the surface of the ocean and slowly makes its way deeper. Fluctuations in radiocarbon reveal patterns of ocean circulations and upwelling events.

Analysis of the coral fossils showed that the middle depths of the equatorial Atlantic and the Drake Passage experienced two significant transient events, during which water layers were neutralized and large levels of radiocarbon were introduced. These events correspond with the last two CO2 bursts revealed by ice core samples.

The new research -- carried out by scientists from Bristol, as well as the University of St. Andrews and University of California, Irvine -- was published in the journal Science.

"Our radiocarbon data are consistent with two transient and enhanced deep Atlantic overturning events which flushed out respired carbon in the deep water, causing a rapid rise of atmosphere CO2 concentration and abrupt warming of the high latitude North Atlantic," lead author Tianyu Chen, Bristol earth scientist and author of the new study, said in a news release.

---

Credit: UPI

Iceland's Bardarbunga Volcano Emit More Gas Than Europe's Factories. Sulfur dioxide can cause acid rain and respiratory problems, but man-made emissions have been declining since the 1990s.

In 2014, Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano spewed more than 130,000 tons of sulfur dioxide gas per day at the outset of its eruption.

The volcano spewed lava and fumes for six months; and though its toxic emissions slowed toward the end of its historic run, its total output was astounding. Iceland's Bardarbunga Volcano Emit More Gas Than Europe's Factories

According to a new study on the subject -- published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, Atmospheres -- the volcano's toxic emissions bested the average amount of sulfur dioxide produced by European industry, and by a large margin.

In 2010, Europe's industrial sulfur dioxide emissions totaled just 13,000 tons per day.

In total, Bardarbunga's output was three times that of all European industry combined. In the first several weeks of its eruption, the <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/newberry-volcano-in-the-cascade-mountains/">volcano</a> was producing eight times as much sulfur dioxide.

"When the eruption ended, it had produced enough lava to cover an area the size of Manhattan," Anja Schmidt, an earth scientist at Leeds, said in a press release. "In the study, we were concerned with the quantity of sulphur dioxide emissions, with numbers that are equally astonishing."

Sulfur dioxide can cause acid rain and respiratory problems, but manmade emissions have been declining since the 1990s.

To see how Bardarbunga compared to European factories, researchers from the Universities of Leeds and Edinburgh, as well as the Met Office, used satellite data to map the volcano's expanding cloud of toxic gas.

"This eruption produced lava instead of ash, and so it didn't impact on flights -- but it did affect air quality, said John Stevenson, a researcher at Edinburgh's School of Geosciences. "These results help scientists predict where pollution from future eruptions will spread."

---

Credit: UPI

Iceland's Bardarbunga Volcano Emit More Gas Than Europe's Factories

Iceland's Bardarbunga Volcano Emit More Gas Than Europe's Factories. Sulfur...

Pouring Water Into Glass On Blue Background

Drinking Water Systems In America Are Failing. Deep inside a complex of huge tanks, drinking water for Iowa's capital city is constantly cleansed of the harmful nitrates that come from the state's famously rich farmland.
Without Des Moines Water Works, the region of 500,000 people that it serves wouldn't have a thriving economy that has become a magnet for tech companies such as Microsoft. But after decades of ceaseless service, the utility is confronting an array of problems: Water mains are cracking open hundreds of times every year. Rivers that provide its water are more polluted than ever. And the city doesn't know how it will afford a $150 million treatment plant at a time when revenues are down and maintenance costs are up?
"We're reaching the end of the life cycle of some of the most critical assets we've got," said Bill Stowe, CEO and general manager of the utility, which has a downtown treatment plant that was built in the 1940s, long before nitrates, which can harm infants, became a pressing concern. He said the industry is getting "all kinds of these warning alarms that we haven't heard before." Drinking Water Systems In America Are Failing
A similar crisis is unfolding in cities across the country. After decades of keeping water rates low and deferring maintenance, scores of drinking water systems built around the time of World War II and earlier are in need of replacement. The costs to rebuild will be staggering. The costs of inaction are already piling up. The challenge is deepened by drought conditions in some regions and government mandates to remove more contaminants.
At stake is the continued availability of clean, cheap drinking water - a public health achievement that has fueled the nation's growth for generations and that most Americans take for granted.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency projects that it will cost $384 billion over 20 years to maintain the nation's existing drinking water systems, which will require tens of thousands of miles of replacement pipe and thousands of new or renovated plants. The American Water Works Association, an industry-backed group, puts the price even higher - $1 trillion to replace all outdated pipes and meet growth over the next quarter-century.
"The future is getting a little dark for something as basic and fundamental as water," said Adam Krantz of the Water Infrastructure Network, a lobbying group that is fighting cuts to key federal water programs.
---
A HIDDEN CRISIS, A SHORTAGE OF MONEY
Unlike pothole-scarred roads or crumbling bridges, decaying water systems often go unnoticed until they fail.
"Buried infrastructure is out of sight, out of mind. We take it for granted. We turn on the faucet and we get good, clean, quality water," said Will Williams, head of asset management for the engineering firm Black &amp; Veatch and an expert on water infrastructure.
When failures happen, help can be hard to come by.
Without big changes in national policy, local governments and their ratepayers will be largely on their own in paying for the upgrades. The amount of federal money available for drinking-water improvements is just a drop in the bucket.
Cities and utilities have historically been reluctant to raise rates sharply or to incur high levels of debt to pay for them, although both are increasingly happening.
"That's the key that Americans have to understand: If they want this system, they are going to have to be willing to finance it, to pay for it," said Greg DiLoreto, past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The group's 2013 report warned of a looming funding crisis and a future with more equipment failures that will disrupt water service, transportation and commerce.
"Not meeting the investment needs of the next 20 years risks reversing the environmental, public health and economic gains of the last three decades," the report said.
The largest source of federal assistance is the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which goes largely to small towns and mid-sized cities. Some communities that need the most help shun the program because it offers mostly loans, not grants. A new program authorized by Congress to attract private investment in larger, big-city projects has yet to get off the ground.
---
THE IMPORTANCE OF PIPES
More than a million miles of underground pipes distribute water to American homes, and maintaining that network remains the largest and costliest long-term concern.
Some pipes date back to the 1800s. As they get older, they fail in different ways. Some split and rupture, with an estimated 700 main breaks occurring around the U.S. every day. The most devastating failures damage roadways, close businesses and shut off service for hours or days. If pipes are particularly bad, they can contaminate water.
Utilities have long struggled to predict when to replace pipes, which have vastly different life cycles depending on the materials they are made from and where they are buried. Some might last 30 years, others more than 100. Sophisticated computer programs are helping some water systems prioritize the order in which pipes should be replaced, but tight budgets often mean the fixes don't come until it's too late.
Replacing a single mile of water main can cost from $500,000 to more than $1 million, but doing so is far more disruptive to customers if it fails first. Experts say a peak of up to 20,000 miles of pipe will need to be replaced annually beginning around 2035, up from roughly 5,000 miles currently. <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=Des+Moines&amp;cvid=438b69974ab843499d77a46df5187a1e&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Des Moines</a> Water Works alone has 1,600 miles of distribution pipes.
The Philadelphia water department, the nation's oldest, is already spending tens of millions of dollars more per year to replace its worst pipes. Yet the city saw more than 900 water main breaks in the most recent budget year. In June, two massive breaks forced evacuations and damaged cars, homes and businesses.
New Orleans once boasted about not raising water rates for two decades. But in 2012, the city approved 10 percent increases on water bills for eight straight years as part of a plan to fix a crumbling system. The average household's monthly water-and-sewer bill will climb to $115 by 2020. The extra money will help replace deteriorating mains damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
The massive main break that flooded the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/animals-with-higher-genetic-variation-are-much-more-adaptable/">UCLA</a> campus in Los Angeles in 2014 - ruining its basketball court and inundating buildings and fields with millions of gallons of water - was widely seen as a wakeup call for failing infrastructure. But a year later, the city's response illustrates how large of a problem many systems face.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is moving from a 300-year replacement cycle to a 250-year cycle for its 7,200-mile water distribution system, still far slower than the 100-year cycle many experts recommend. The department is proposing a 3.8 percent annual water rate increase for five years, which would go largely toward system improvements and gradually raise the typical household water bill by $12.30 per month. Heavier users would face steeper increases.
---
MORE UNAVOIDABLE COSTS
Pipes aren't the only components in need of big investments. Many water-treatment plants are 70 to 100 years old and need to be replaced or rebuilt with new systems at a cost of tens of millions of dollars even in small cities. Adding to the price will be new valves to control water flow, new pumping stations to keep up pressure and new tanks to store water.
To make matters worse, the need for new investment comes as revenue is falling, in large part because Americans are using less water and installing more efficient toilets and showerheads.
Many households affected by drought have cut their usage, either voluntarily or because of mandatory orders. Even after the drought ends, their old habits often never return. That is good for conservation but means less money for water systems, which charge customers based on the amount used.
To deal with the loss of income, many water districts have been forced to raise rates. So in essence, customers are paying more for using less.
Some big cities and small towns are losing residents too, further contributing to the declining number of paying water customers.
Costs are also rising to accommodate federal regulations that require removal of more potentially harmful contaminants, including arsenic and disinfectant byproducts.
Add it up, and customers' water bills will need to climb rapidly across the country to keep the current level of service. Experts say the trend, which will disproportionately hurt the low-income, is likely to continue in coming decades.
"Infrastructure is the new frontier. Everybody knows there are issues, but it's like, `What are we going to do?'" said Ed Moreno, water superintendent in Iowa City, where rates went up 5 percent this year to pay for infrastructure. "Because it's not going to be inexpensive."
---
THE DILEMMA IN DES MOINES
Many of these pressures are on stark display in Des Moines, where the decaying infrastructure is contributing to a planned rate hike for customers of about 10 percent for next year.
The biggest challenge for Des Moines Water Works has been nitrate levels that are far above the federal standard for safety in the two rivers that provide the utility's source water. The utility and scientists argue that the nitrates are largely the result of farm runoff that is tainted with fertilizer and manure.
Cleaning the water is expensive because nitrates are not addressed in the normal treatment process. Instead, the utility has to operate a separate nitrate-removal system, which recently ran a record 148 straight days this year at a cost of $1.5 million because of continued high levels in the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers.
The water agency has taken the unprecedented step of suing three major Iowa farming counties in federal court to try to limit the farm discharges. But the litigation provoked an intense backlash from Iowa's powerful agricultural industry, which argues that farmers are already taking voluntary measures to address the problem. A trial is set for next year.
If the problems persist, the plant's general manager said it will have to spend $150 million to build a nitrate-removal plant to replace the aging tanks and outdated technology currently in use. Officials worry that on a hot summer day during peak demand, the utility will be unable to treat enough water, forcing a temporary shutdown that would require customers to use bottled water. The existing nitrate-removal system can treat only about 10 million gallons a day, a fraction of what the region needs.
The treatment costs also leave less money to replace Des Moines' aging pipes. The utility budgeted this year for 345 main breaks, up from 285 last year. It spends about $6 million per year on maintenance, a figure Stowe said is less than half the amount needed.
The effects are felt by residents such as Mario Tumea, whose family's Italian restaurant was closed in May for a day and a half after a 12-inch cast-iron main from 1938 split and sent water gushing into the street. The restaurant's parking lot was damaged, and eight businesses were left without water.
"It's frustrating," he said. "But when you have old pipes and stuff like that, it's going to happen. We weren't happy with it, but we had no choice."
© 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.

Drinking Water Systems In America

Drinking Water Systems In America Are Failing. Deep inside a...

Drinking Water Systems In America Are Failing. Deep inside a complex of huge tanks, drinking water for Iowa's capital city is constantly cleansed of the harmful nitrates that come from the state's famously rich farmland.
Without Des Moines Water Works, the region of 500,000 people that it serves wouldn't have a thriving economy that has become a magnet for tech companies such as Microsoft. But after decades of ceaseless service, the utility is confronting an array of problems: Water mains are cracking open hundreds of times every year. Rivers that provide its water are more polluted than ever. And the city doesn't know how it will afford a $150 million treatment plant at a time when revenues are down and maintenance costs are up? Drinking Water Systems In America Are Failing
"We're reaching the end of the life cycle of some of the most critical assets we've got," said Bill Stowe, CEO and general manager of the utility, which has a downtown treatment plant that was built in the 1940s, long before nitrates, which can harm infants, became a pressing concern. He said the industry is getting "all kinds of these warning alarms that we haven't heard before."
A similar crisis is unfolding in cities across the country. After decades of keeping water rates low and deferring maintenance, scores of drinking water systems built around the time of World War II and earlier are in need of replacement. The costs to rebuild will be staggering. The costs of inaction are already piling up. The challenge is deepened by drought conditions in some regions and government mandates to remove more contaminants.
At stake is the continued availability of clean, cheap drinking water - a public health achievement that has fueled the nation's growth for generations and that most Americans take for granted.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency projects that it will cost $384 billion over 20 years to maintain the nation's existing drinking water systems, which will require tens of thousands of miles of replacement pipe and thousands of new or renovated plants. The American Water Works Association, an industry-backed group, puts the price even higher - $1 trillion to replace all outdated pipes and meet growth over the next quarter-century.
"The future is getting a little dark for something as basic and fundamental as water," said Adam Krantz of the Water Infrastructure Network, a lobbying group that is fighting cuts to key federal water programs.
---
A HIDDEN CRISIS, A SHORTAGE OF MONEY
Unlike pothole-scarred roads or crumbling bridges, decaying water systems often go unnoticed until they fail.
"Buried infrastructure is out of sight, out of mind. We take it for granted. We turn on the faucet and we get good, clean, quality water," said Will Williams, head of asset management for the engineering firm Black &amp; Veatch and an expert on water infrastructure.
When failures happen, help can be hard to come by.
Without big changes in national policy, local governments and their ratepayers will be largely on their own in paying for the upgrades. The amount of federal money available for drinking-water improvements is just a drop in the bucket.
Cities and utilities have historically been reluctant to raise rates sharply or to incur high levels of debt to pay for them, although both are increasingly happening.
"That's the key that Americans have to understand: If they want this system, they are going to have to be willing to finance it, to pay for it," said Greg DiLoreto, past president of the American Society of Civil <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/engineers-develop-materials-softness/">Engineers</a>.
The group's 2013 report warned of a looming funding crisis and a future with more equipment failures that will disrupt water service, transportation and commerce.
"Not meeting the investment needs of the next 20 years risks reversing the environmental, public health and economic gains of the last three decades," the report said.
The largest source of federal assistance is the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which goes largely to small towns and mid-sized cities. Some communities that need the most help shun the program because it offers mostly loans, not grants. A new program authorized by Congress to attract private investment in larger, big-city projects has yet to get off the ground.
---
THE IMPORTANCE OF PIPES
More than a million miles of underground pipes distribute water to American homes, and maintaining that network remains the largest and costliest long-term concern.
Some pipes date back to the 1800s. As they get older, they fail in different ways. Some split and rupture, with an estimated 700 main breaks occurring around the U.S. every day. The most devastating failures damage roadways, close businesses and shut off service for hours or days. If pipes are particularly bad, they can contaminate water.
Utilities have long struggled to predict when to replace pipes, which have vastly different life cycles depending on the materials they are made from and where they are buried. Some might last 30 years, others more than 100. Sophisticated computer programs are helping some water systems prioritize the order in which pipes should be replaced, but tight budgets often mean the fixes don't come until it's too late.
Replacing a single mile of water main can cost from $500,000 to more than $1 million, but doing so is far more disruptive to customers if it fails first. Experts say a peak of up to 20,000 miles of pipe will need to be replaced annually beginning around 2035, up from roughly 5,000 miles currently. Des Moines Water Works alone has 1,600 miles of distribution pipes.
The Philadelphia water department, the nation's oldest, is already spending tens of millions of dollars more per year to replace its worst pipes. Yet the city saw more than 900 water main breaks in the most recent budget year. In June, two massive breaks forced evacuations and damaged cars, homes and businesses.
New Orleans once boasted about not raising water rates for two decades. But in 2012, the city approved 10 percent increases on water bills for eight straight years as part of a plan to fix a crumbling system. The average household's monthly water-and-sewer bill will climb to $115 by 2020. The extra money will help replace deteriorating mains damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
The massive main break that flooded the UCLA campus in Los Angeles in 2014 - ruining its basketball court and inundating buildings and fields with millions of gallons of water - was widely seen as a wakeup call for failing infrastructure. But a year later, the city's response illustrates how large of a problem many systems face.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is moving from a 300-year replacement cycle to a 250-year cycle for its 7,200-mile water distribution system, still far slower than the 100-year cycle many experts recommend. The department is proposing a 3.8 percent annual water rate increase for five years, which would go largely toward system improvements and gradually raise the typical household water bill by $12.30 per month. Heavier users would face steeper increases.
---
MORE UNAVOIDABLE COSTS
Pipes aren't the only components in need of big investments. Many water-treatment plants are 70 to 100 years old and need to be replaced or rebuilt with new systems at a cost of tens of millions of dollars even in small cities. Adding to the price will be new valves to control water flow, new pumping stations to keep up pressure and new tanks to store water.
To make matters worse, the need for new investment comes as revenue is falling, in large part because Americans are using less water and installing more efficient toilets and showerheads.
Many households affected by drought have cut their usage, either voluntarily or because of mandatory orders. Even after the drought ends, their old habits often never return. That is good for conservation but means less money for water systems, which charge customers based on the amount used.
To deal with the loss of income, many water districts have been forced to raise rates. So in essence, customers are paying more for using less.
Some big cities and small towns are losing residents too, further contributing to the declining number of paying water customers.
Costs are also rising to accommodate federal regulations that require removal of more potentially harmful contaminants, including arsenic and disinfectant byproducts.
Add it up, and customers' water bills will need to climb rapidly across the country to keep the current level of service. Experts say the trend, which will disproportionately hurt the low-income, is likely to continue in coming decades.
"Infrastructure is the new frontier. Everybody knows there are issues, but it's like, `What are we going to do?'" said Ed Moreno, water superintendent in Iowa City, where rates went up 5 percent this year to pay for infrastructure. "Because it's not going to be inexpensive."
---
THE DILEMMA IN DES MOINES
Many of these pressures are on stark display in Des Moines, where the decaying infrastructure is contributing to a planned rate hike for customers of about 10 percent for next year.
The biggest challenge for Des Moines Water Works has been nitrate levels that are far above the federal standard for safety in the two rivers that provide the utility's source water. The utility and scientists argue that the nitrates are largely the result of farm runoff that is tainted with fertilizer and manure. Also Drinking Water Systems In America Are Failing
Cleaning the water is expensive because nitrates are not addressed in the normal treatment process. Instead, the utility has to operate a separate nitrate-removal system, which recently ran a record 148 straight days this year at a cost of $1.5 million because of continued high levels in the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers.
The water agency has taken the unprecedented step of suing three major Iowa farming counties in federal court to try to limit the farm discharges. But the litigation provoked an intense backlash from Iowa's powerful agricultural industry, which argues that farmers are already taking voluntary measures to address the problem. A trial is set for next year.
If the problems persist, the plant's general manager said it will have to spend $150 million to build a nitrate-removal plant to replace the aging tanks and outdated technology currently in use. Officials worry that on a hot summer day during peak demand, the utility will be unable to treat enough water, forcing a temporary shutdown that would require customers to use bottled water. The existing nitrate-removal system can treat only about 10 million gallons a day, a fraction of what the region needs.
The treatment costs also leave less money to replace <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=Des+Moines&amp;cvid=22addc99291644fd877ba6fc59e55b30&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Des Moines</a>' aging pipes. The utility budgeted this year for 345 main breaks, up from 285 last year. It spends about $6 million per year on maintenance, a figure Stowe said is less than half the amount needed.
The effects are felt by residents such as Mario Tumea, whose family's Italian restaurant was closed in May for a day and a half after a 12-inch cast-iron main from 1938 split and sent water gushing into the street. The restaurant's parking lot was damaged, and eight businesses were left without water.
"It's frustrating," he said. "But when you have old pipes and stuff like that, it's going to happen. We weren't happy with it, but we had no choice."
© 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.

Drinking Water Systems In America Are Failing

Ancient Coral Reveals Earth's Past CO2 Levels. Until now, researchers haven't had a reliable way to measure the behavior of the ancient ocean over brief timescales.

Modeling Earth's past CO2 levels and climate can help scientists better understand today's climate and what rising CO2 levels might mean for the future of the planet.

But clues to the makeup of Earth's early atmosphere aren't easy to find. Recently, researchers at the University of Bristol went to the bottom of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/elephant-island-in-the-southern-ocean/">ocean</a> for a climatic glimpse back in time. Deep sea corals, in turns out, are the ideal time machine for paleoclimate scientists. Ancient Coral Reveals Earth's Past CO2 Levels

Ice cores show that between 18,000 and 11,000 years ago Earth experienced its last deglaciation period. The broader rise in CO2 levels, melting ice caps and rising seas was marked by three sharp bursts in CO2 levels.

Researchers believe a pattern of deepwater upwelling called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation may be closely associated with the rising temperatures and CO2 spikes that precipitated the last glaciation. Ancient Coral Reveals Earth's Past CO2 Levels

But until now, researchers haven't had a reliable way to measure the behavior of the ancient ocean over brief timescales. Deep-sea coral fossils are helping scientists solve this problem.

By radiocarbon dating ancient corals retrieved from the Atlantic and Southern oceans, researchers are able plot the changing levels of radiocarbon in the ancient ocean. Radiocarbon is introduced at the surface of the ocean and slowly makes its way deeper. Fluctuations in radiocarbon reveal patterns of ocean circulations and upwelling events.

Analysis of the coral fossils showed that the middle depths of the equatorial Atlantic and the Drake Passage experienced two significant transient events, during which water layers were neutralized and large levels of radiocarbon were introduced. These events correspond with the last two CO2 bursts revealed by ice core samples.

The new research -- carried out by scientists from Bristol, as well as the University of St. Andrews and University of California, Irvine -- was published in the journal Science.

"Our radiocarbon data are consistent with two transient and enhanced deep Atlantic overturning events which flushed out respired carbon in the deep water, causing a rapid rise of atmosphere CO2 concentration and abrupt warming of the high latitude North Atlantic," lead author Tianyu Chen, Bristol earth scientist and author of the new study, said in a news release.

---

Credit: UPI

<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.



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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



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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

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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



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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