The first weekend of September offers two dazzling lunar shows, depending on where you live. Across parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, the skies will host a total lunar eclipse.&nbsp;



For more than five hours, Earth will line up perfectly between the Sun and the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-is-the-black-moon-in-2025-and-why-does-it-occur/">Moon</a>, casting a deep shadow across the lunar surface.&nbsp;



During totality, which will last 82 minutes, only red light will filter through Earth’s atmosphere and reach the Moon. That’s what gives the lunar face its striking copper hue, earning the name “blood moon.”



Here in the United States, the eclipse will stay below the horizon. The wait won’t be long, though. According to <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NASA</a>, the next blood moon lunar eclipse that will be visible from America will occur on March 3, 2026.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understanding-a-total-lunar-eclipse">Understanding a total lunar eclipse</h2>



A total <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/total-lunar-eclipse-will-paint-the-moon-blood-red-tomorrow/">lunar eclipse</a> happens when the Earth moves directly between the Sun and the Moon, casting its shadow across the Moon’s surface. 



Instead of going completely dark, the Moon usually glows a deep red or copper color. That’s because Earth’s atmosphere bends and filters sunlight, letting only the longer, reddish wavelengths reach the Moon. 



It’s the same effect that makes sunsets look red, but in this case the Earth is creating a “sunset glow” that wraps all the way around and paints the Moon.



Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to watch with the naked eye - no special glasses are needed. They also last much longer: totality can stretch for over an hour, compared to just a few minutes for a total solar eclipse. 



Anyone on the night side of Earth can see it, which makes <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/harvest-moon-2024-will-feature-a-partial-lunar-eclipse/">lunar eclipses</a> more common to experience. 



For astronomers, these events are chances to study Earth’s atmosphere, since the way light bends and colors the Moon gives clues about dust, clouds, and even volcanic ash floating around our planet.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-final-full-moon-of-summer">Final full moon of summer</h2>



On Sunday, September 7, the Corn Moon will reach its peak illumination at 2:09 p.m. EDT. That moment takes place below the horizon for U.S. viewers, but the full moon will climb into the eastern sky, glowing bright and round by nightfall.



The Old Farmer’s Almanac notes that the Moon will look nearly full on both the nights before and after September 7. For sky watchers, that means an extended window to catch a glimpse.



Near the horizon, the Moon may appear golden or orange for a while, but as it rises higher, the glow will shift to a clearer white.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-is-it-called-the-corn-moon">Why is it called the Corn Moon?</h2>



The name Corn Moon traces back to the Algonquin tribes in the northeastern United States. 



Late summer was the time to gather their staple crops of corn, beans, pumpkins, squash, and wild rice.&nbsp;The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildlife-vehicle-collisions-surge-during-full-moon-nights/">full moon</a> served as a seasonal marker for this period of abundance and labor.



European traditions gave their own names to the September moon. Some called it the Fruit Moon, marking the ripening of orchard crops.



Others referred to it as the Barley Moon in recognition of the grain harvest. Each name reflects a calendar rooted in the cycles of planting and gathering.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-harvest-moon-is-next">The Harvest Moon is next</h2>



It’s tempting to confuse the Corn Moon with the better-known Harvest Moon, but the two aren’t the same.&nbsp;



The Harvest Moon is the full moon that falls closest to the autumn equinox. In 2025, that moment comes on October 7, which also happens to be the first supermoon of the year.



By contrast, the Corn Moon always comes in September. It marks the bridge between <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/this-weekends-sturgeon-moon-marks-a-turning-point-in-summer/">summer</a> and fall, when fields in the Northern Hemisphere are still heavy with late crops, but the days are growing shorter.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-lunar-calendar-of-2025">The lunar calendar of 2025</h2>



This year’s lunar calendar is a busy one. September’s Corn Moon is the ninth full moon of 2025.



There will be 12 full moons in total, including three supermoons. Two of those full moons will coincide with total lunar eclipses, offering the dramatic blood moon display.



The calendar has long served as a guide for both farmers and sky watchers. Each name tells a story about the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seasonal-timing-can-change-quickly-over-short-distances/">season</a> - what’s ripening, what’s ready, and what’s just around the corner.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-seasonal-marker-in-the-sky">A seasonal marker in the sky</h2>



For the Algonquin and other Native American tribes, September’s full moon was more than a sign of the corn harvest. Some called it the Corn Maker Moon or Corn Harvest Moon.&nbsp;



These names reflected not only the practical importance of gathering food but also the deep connection between community life and the cycles of nature.&nbsp;



The moon served as both a calendar and a cultural marker, guiding traditions that tied the sky to the land.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-symbolic-meaning-of-the-corn-moon">Symbolic meaning of the Corn Moon </h2>



Beyond the fields, the Corn Moon has taken on symbolic meaning. Some traditions frame it as a time of reflection and release - a moment to let go of stagnant energy and welcome change.&nbsp;



September’s full moon is also viewed as a time to embrace growth and intuition as the seasons shift.&nbsp;



The Corn Moon returns each year as summer fades into fall. It serves as a reminder of how the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-one-side-of-the-moon-still-glows-from-within/">Moon</a> has always been more than just a light in the night sky - it’s a companion through the seasons.



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This weekend's "Corn Moon" and total lunar eclipse usher in a beautiful end to summer

The first weekend of September offers two dazzling lunar shows, depending on where you live. Across parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, the skies will host a total lunar eclipse.&nbsp; For more than five hours, Earth will line up perfectly between the Sun and the Moon, casting a deep shadow across the lunar surface.&nbsp; During totality, which will last 82 minutes, only red light will filter through Earth’s atmosphere and reach the Moon. That’s what gives the lunar face its striking copper hue, earning...

North American leaders pledge more reliance on renewable energy. The leaders of the United States, <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/lake-st-clair-of-the-u-s-and-canada/">Canada</a> and Mexico will pledge this week to rely on renewable energy to generate 50 percent of North America's electrical power by 2025, White House officials said Monday.
That's a big jump from last year's 37 percent level. But it's doable through greater efficiency and reliance on solar, wind and other clean energy sources, Brian Deese, senior adviser to President Barack Obama, said.
"The transformation of the American energy sector that's underway is going to continue," Deese said. "That has been driven by some of the policy choices this president has made, but it's also being driven by market forces that are bringing down the cost of clean energy at rates that even the smartest analysts weren't predicting only a couple of years ago."North American leaders pledge more reliance on renewable energy
Deese said the administration's effort to reduce power-plant emissions, dubbed the "Clean Power Plan," is a central component of the effort to get to 50 percent renewable energy. But the Supreme Court earlier this year blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing the plan until certain legal challenges were resolved.
Obama will meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and President Enrique Pena Nieto during Wednesday's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America">North American</a> Leaders' Summit in Ottawa.
Efforts to curb global warming will be a big part of the agenda. On that front, Mexico will also join the United States and Canada in tackling methane emissions. Earlier this year, Obama and Trudeau committed to reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sectors by at least 40 percent over the next decade from 2012 levels. Mexico is also making that commitment this week, Deese said.
Methane is the second most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted in the United States from human activities. While methane's lifeline in the atmosphere is much shorter than carbon dioxide, it's much more efficient at trapping heat from the sun.
Canada is already far ahead in reliance on renewable energy at 81 percent. The United States is at 33 percent, most of that coming from nuclear plants, while Mexico is at 18 percent, according to Cameron Ahmad, a spokesman for Trudeau.
---
Associated Press writer Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.
© 2016 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.

North American leaders pledge more reliance on renewable energy

North American leaders pledge more reliance on renewable energy. The...

Penalty from Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal rises to $15 billion. Volkswagen would repair or buy back polluting diesel vehicles and pay each owner as much as $10,000 under a $14.7 billion deal the car maker has reached to settle lawsuits stemming from its emissions cheating scandal, a person briefed on the settlement talks said Monday.
The figure would be the largest auto scandal settlement in U.S. history and a huge step in Volkswagen's efforts to address the legal fallout from its admission that its vehicles were designed to fool emissions tests.
The deal sets aside $10 billion to repair or buy back roughly 475,000 polluting Volkswagen vehicles with 2-liter diesel engines, and to compensate each owner with an additional payment of between $5,100 and $10,000, the person said. The person asked not to be identified because the deal will not be filed in court until Tuesday, and a judge has ordered attorneys not to talk about it before then.
How VW would repair the vehicles to bring them into compliance with clean air laws has not yet been finalized, the person said.
Owners who choose to have VW buy back their cars would get the clean trade-in value from before the scandal became public on Sept. 18, 2015. The average value of a VW diesel has dropped 19 percent since just before the scandal began. In August of 2015, the average was $13,196, and this May it was $10,674, according to Kelley Blue Book.
The settlement still requires a judge's approval before it can go into effect. Owners can choose to decline Volkswagen's offer and sue the company on their own.
The settlement also includes $2.7 billion for environmental mitigation and another $2 billion for research on zero-emissions technology, the person said.
Don Marron, a banker from Allentown, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania</a>, who owns a 2012 Jetta SportWagen diesel, said he's glad Volkswagen is offering more compensation than earlier reports had suggested. But Marron wants assurance that if Volkswagen fixes his car but he doesn't like the way it performs, the company will still buy it back. And if he keeps his car and saves Volkswagen money, he wants compensation for doing that.
"At this moment, I don't know anything more than I did a couple of months ago," he said.
The scandal erupted in September when it was learned that the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/german-shepherd-health-breeding/">German</a> automaker had fitted many of its cars with software to fool emissions tests and had put dirty vehicles on the road. Investigators determined that the cars emitted more than 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide, which can cause respiratory problems in humans. Car owners and the U.S. Department of Justice sued.
VW is still facing billions more in fines and penalties, a lawsuit by state attorneys general and potential criminal charges.
The $14.7 billion settlement also does not include another roughly 90,000 3-liter Volkswagen diesels, which had another version of cheating software.
VW in April took an $18.2 billion charge to cover the cost of the global scandal, which includes a total of 11 million vehicles worldwide.
The company has admitted developing sophisticated software that determined when the cars were being tested by the EPA on a treadmill-like device called a dynamometer and turned on the pollution controls. Once all wheels began spinning and the steering wheel was turned, the controls were turned off.
The company, which knew the EPA's testing routine, got away with the scam for seven years before being caught by the International Council on Clean Transportation, which hired West Virginia University to test a VW in real roads conditions.
---
Krisher reported from Detroit. Associated Press writer Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit contributed to this report.
© 2016 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.

Penalty from Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal rises to $15 billion

Penalty from Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal rises to $15 billion....

NASA sees wind shear affecting Tropical Cyclone 02A. Tropical Cyclone 02A made its way west across the Arabian Sea and NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the storm when it was just off the coast of Oman. Infrared data showed the storm was beginning to elongate from wind shear.

Infrared data taken from NASA's Aqua satellite on June 27, 2016 at 2159 UTC (5:59 p.m. EDT) showed cold cloud top temperatures in strong storms just off the coast of Oman. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument flies aboard Aqua. AIRS data was made into a false-colored infrared image at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. NASA sees wind shear affecting Tropical Cyclone 02A

The AIRS data showed cold cloud top temperatures near minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53 degrees Celsius) in storms pushed west of the center of circulation, indicating wind shear is affecting the storm from a tropical easterly jet stream. The imagery also showed that the storm had begun to elongate from the wind shear.

On June 28, 2016 the Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted that 02A is turning back to the east and it is not expected to make landfall in Oman.

At 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT) on June 28, 2016 Tropical Cyclone 02A was located about 253 nautical miles east of Masirah Island. Maximum sustained winds were near 35 knots (40 mph/62 kph). 02A has tracked south-southwestward at 4 knots

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center said that 02A will begin making a southeastward turn later in the day on June 28, 2016 "as it interacts with enhanced southwesterly monsoonal flow. The tropical cyclone is forecast to fully dissipate on June 29, 2016 due to unfavorable vertical wind shear conditions."

--

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NASA</a>

NASA sees wind shear affecting Tropical Cyclone 02A

NASA sees wind shear affecting Tropical Cyclone 02A. Tropical Cyclone...

Changes in Arctic carbon emissions are often undetected. A new <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA</a>-led study has found that in at least part of the Arctic, scientists are not doing as good a job of detecting changes in arctic carbon emissions and carbon dioxide during the long, dark winter months as they are at monitoring changes during the short summer. That's a concern, because growing Arctic plants can act as a brake on global warming rates by removing carbon from the atmosphere, but increasing cold-season emissions could overwhelm the braking effect and accelerate global warming.

Led by Nicholas Parazoo of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, the new study compares our ability to observe increases in cold-season emissions of carbon dioxide and increases in warm-season removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The cold-season emissions come mainly from deep soil layers that retain enough summer heat to remain thawed after the soil's surface freezes in the fall. As the climate continues to warm, these buried layers are expected to remain unfrozen later and later into the winter, releasing more and more carbon. It will be important for scientists to track these releases carefully.Changes in Arctic carbon emissions are often undetected

However, it's hard to monitor <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ocean-carbon-dioxide-sink/">carbon dioxide</a> in the Far North. Alaska is more accessible than most of the Arctic, but most of the state is too remote and rugged for ground measurements to be collected. Satellite and airborne measurements fill these geographical gaps, but their higher-altitude measurements capture carbon dioxide that drifted into the state from sources that may be far outside the Arctic, as well as the locally produced gas, making small local changes hard to spot.

Local and long-distance carbon

Parazoo and his co-authors conducted a series of simulations with a global carbon forecast model. First they predicted how carbon dioxide will change as plants grow and deep soil layers thaw, then they simulated how well those changes could be observed if today's airborne and satellite measurements continued unchanged in the future. They used airborne data collected from 2009 to 2013 by NASA's Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network, as well as satellite data from the Japanese Greenhouse Gas Observing Satellite (GOSAT).

The researchers found that all measurements were dominated by carbon that originated elsewhere, with only 10 percent of carbon coming from Alaska sources. Isolating that small amount and then monitoring how it may be changing as the climate changes is difficult. However, because CARVE and NOAA research aircraft collect data at multiple altitudes, the measurements provide information about how carbon dioxide changes with altitude. Removing upper-altitude measurements, the team found that lower-altitude carbon dioxide was about half locally produced. That makes it easier to track changes in the local carbon dioxide. Aircraft also can collect data much later in the year than currently orbiting satellites, which require abundant sunlight to make their measurements. These characteristics mean that aircraft have the potential to monitor increases in cold-season emissions.

Airborne measurements are key

The study suggests that year-round airborne measurements across the state are the key to monitoring carbon changes, but there is no ongoing airborne program currently doing year-round carbon monitoring in Alaska. The scientists concluded that an expanded network of aircraft measurements could provide the temporal and spatial coverage needed to avoid future emissions going unwatched.

Parazoo noted that several large-scale planning efforts are underway for future Alaskan and Arctic observing systems, so now is a critical time to develop new strategies and technologies that focus on these vital cold-season measurements. "We know [the Arctic] has the potential to change through warming and permafrost thaw, and those changes would have global impacts," he said. "We want to have the scientific capability to measure and interpret those changes when and if they happen. Our results suggest we can use aircraft data to detect those changes in as little as 30 years."

A paper on the research, "Detecting Regional Patterns of Changing CO2 Flux in Alaska," is published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

NASA collects data from space, air, land and sea to increase our understanding of our home planet, improve lives and safeguard our future. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records. The agency freely shares this unique knowledge and works with institutions around the world to gain new insights into how our planet is changing.

For more information about NASA's Earth science activities, visit:

<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/earth">http://www.nasa.gov/earth</a>

Changes in Arctic carbon emissions are often undetected

Changes in Arctic carbon emissions are often undetected. A new...

Curbing emissions from palm oil agriculture. As palm oil agriculture expands from Southeast Asia into Central Africa, a new Duke University-led study warns that converting Africa's tropical forests into monoculture palm plantations will cause a significant spike in climate-warming carbon emissions. The authors urge regional governments to enact mandatory policies regulating which forests can be cleared and how much remaining forest must be set aside for conservation.

"Our case study, which focuses on oil palm farming in the nation of Gabon, finds that converting even previously logged forest into oil palm plantations will lead to high carbon emissions," said John R. Poulsen, assistant professor of tropical ecology at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment.Curbing emissions from palm oil agriculture

"Clearing just 11,500 hectares of forest -- or roughly 28,400 acres -- would release about 1.5 million metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere," Poulsen said. "That's equivalent to the annual emissions of some small developing countries."

However, the new study finds that these emissions could be completely offset over 25 years if development were centered on forests that store less carbon and if a portion of every development had conservation set-asides.

Poulsen and his colleagues published their peer-reviewed study June 24 in the journalConservation Letters.

They used field measurements and LiDAR satellite data to calculate forest carbon stocks -- the amount of carbon stored in trees -- and potential carbon emissions at the site of a 50,000-hectare palm oil plantation in Gabon. The plantation is being developed jointly by the Gabonese government and the agribusiness firm Olam International Ltd., to test if low-emissions palm oil development is feasible in the equatorial country on the Atlantic Ocean.

"While Gabon has ambitions of becoming a leading producer of palm oil, it also has made pledges to protect its environment and biodiversity," Poulsen said. "If this site is successful, it could open the door to development at other sites, so it's imperative that our work helps the government strike the right balance between economic development and environmental conservation."

In Southeast Asia, large-scale palm oil development has led to persistent, region-wide emissions problems and widespread deforestation and biodiversity loss, he noted. To prevent the same scenario from playing out in Gabon, the new study proposes a two-phase approach to plantation siting and development.

"First, we recommend establishing a nationwide carbon threshold of 108 to 118 metric tons per hectare. Only forests that store less than this density of carbon will be considered suitable for development," Poulsen said. "Second, palm oil companies will also have to set aside enough land within a plantation -- roughly one acre for every 2.6 acres developed -- to offset emissions.

"The precise set-aside ratio may vary by site, but 2.6 to 1 is generally the point at which carbon storage in the conserved forest will offset carbon loss in the rest of the plantation and achieve net-zero emissions over time," Poulsen explained.

"Although our study considers only forest carbon, and not biodiversity or other ecosystem services, we estimate there is enough low-carbon forest in Gabon to achieve net-zero emissions while still permitting the nation to meet its palm oil production goals," he said.

Allowing industry to voluntarily adhere to these new guidelines or opt out of them is not an option, he stressed. "To succeed, this approach needs to be mandatory and implemented by the government with careful land-use planning and strict enforcement."
###
Support for this research came from Olam Palm Gabon and Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment.

Poulsen conducted the study with Mark E.H. Burton, a 2014 Master of Environmental Management graduate of Duke's Nicholas School. Other co-authors were Michelle E. Lee, Vincent P. Medjibe and Lee J.T. White of Gabon's Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux, and Christopher G. Stewart and Arun Venkataraman of OLAM International Ltd.

CITATION: "Reducing Carbon Emissions from Forest Conversion for Oil Palm Agriculture in Gabon," Mark E.H. Burton, John R. Poulsen, Michelle E. Lee, Vincent P. Medjibe, Christopher G. Stewart, Arun Venkataraman, Lee J.T. White. Conservation Letters, June 24, 2016. DOI: 10.1111/conl.12265

Curbing emissions from palm oil agriculture

Curbing emissions from palm oil agriculture. As palm oil agriculture...

Global ecological disaster occurred 252 million years ago. There have been several mass extinctions in the history of the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/earth-could-be-powered-entirely-by-renewable-energy/">earth</a>. One of the largest known ecological disasters occurred around 252 million years ago at the boundary between the Permian and the Triassic. Almost all sea-dwelling species and two thirds of all reptiles and amphibians died out. Although there were also brief declines in diversity in the plant world, they recovered in the space of a few thousand years, which meant that similar conditions to before prevailed again.

Change in flora within a millennia

Researchers from the Institute and Museum of Paleontology at the University of Zurich have now discovered another previously unknown ecological crisis on a similar scale in the Lower Triassic. The team headed by Peter A. Hochuli and Hugo Bucher revealed that another event altered the vegetation fundamentally and for longer approximately 500,000 years after the major natural disaster at the boundary between the Permian and the Triassic.

The scientists studied sediments towering over 400 meters high from North-Eastern Greenland. <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=carbon&amp;cvid=8059c74fb2d648349b4ca1846067da94&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Carbon</a> isotope curves suggest that the prevalent seed ferns and conifers were replaced by spore plants in the space of a few millennia. To this day, certain spore plants like ferns are still famous for their ability to survive hostile conditions better than more highly developed plants.

Catastrophic ecological upheaval changes plant world

Until now, it was assumed that the environment gradually recovered during the Lower Triassic 252.4 to 247.8 million years ago. "The drastic, simultaneous changes in flora and the composition of the carbon isotopes indicate that the actual upheaval in the vegetation didn't take place until the Lower Triassic, i.e. around 500,000 years later than previously assumed," explains Hochuli.

The researchers didn't just observe the mass death of vegetation in Greenland; they already discovered the first indications of this floral shift a few years ago in sediment samples from Pakistan. Moreover, the latest datings of volcanic ash by Australian scientists show that the most significant change in the plant world did not happen until a few millennia after the Permian/Triassic boundary. During this period, the indigenous glossopteris seed plant group died out, an event that had previously been dated back to the Permian. Thanks to these findings, the sediment sequences of the supercontinent Gondwana in the southern hemisphere now need to be reinterpreted.

Crisis probably triggered by volcanic eruptions

What caused this newly described natural disaster remains unclear. "However, we see a link between this previously unknown global event and the enormous volcanic eruptions we know from the Lower Triassic in what's now Siberia," explains Bucher, Director of UZH's Institute and Museum of Paleontology. Global ecological disaster occurred 252 million years ago

Literature: Peter A. Hochuli, Anna Sanson-Barrera, Elke Schneebeli-Hermann &amp; Hugo Bucher. Severest crisis overlooked - Worst disruption of terrestrial environments postdates the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Nature Scientific Reports. June 24, 2016. Doi: 10.1038/srep28372

--

<a href="http://www.uzh.ch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Zurich</a>

Global ecological disaster occurred 252 million years ago

Global ecological disaster occurred 252 million years ago. There have...

Volkswagen Emission Testing

Volkswagen officially settles emissions scandal lawsuits. Volkswagen will spend up to $15.3 billion to settle consumer lawsuits and government allegations that it cheated on emissions tests in what lawyers are calling the largest auto-related class-action settlement in U.S. history.
Up to $10 billion will go to 475,000 VW or Audi diesel owners, who thought they were buying high-performance, environmentally friendly cars but later learned the vehicles' emissions vastly exceeded U.S. pollution laws. VW agreed to either buy back or repair the vehicles, although it hasn't yet developed a fix for the problem. Owners will also receive payments of $5,100 to $10,000.
The emissions scandal settlement also includes $2.7 billion for environmental mitigation and another $2 billion to promote zero-emissions vehicles. The German automaker also settled claims with 44 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico for about $603 million. It still faces billions more in fines and penalties as well as possible criminal charges.
Volkswagen has admitted that the cars, equipped with 2-liter diesel engines, were programmed to turn on emissions controls during government lab tests and turn them off while on the road. Investigators determined that the cars emitted more than 40 times the legal limit of nitrogen oxide, which can cause respiratory problems in humans. The company got away with the scheme for seven years until independent researchers discovered the scheme and reported VW to the Environmental Protection Agency.
"Using the power of the Clean Air Act, we're getting VW's polluting vehicles off the road and we're reducing harmful pollution in our air - pollution that never should have been emitted in the first place," said Gina McCarthy, administrator of EPA. "It should send a very clear message that when you break the laws designed to protect public health in this country, there are serious consequences."
The settlement still must be approved by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who has set a hearing for preliminary approval on July 26. Final approval is expected in October.
If the settlement is approved, owners who choose to have VW buy back their cars would get the National Automobile Dealers Association clean trade-in value from before the scandal became public on Sept. 18, 2015. That would be $12,500 to $44,000, depending on the model, age, mileage and options on their car, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Models covered by the settlement include the 2009-2015 Jetta and Audi A3, the 2010-2015 Golf, and the 2012-2015 Beetle and Passat, all with 2-liter diesel engines.
Owners can also have VW repair the cars for free - assuming it comes up with a fix. According to court documents filed Tuesday, there currently is no repair that can bring the cars into compliance with U.S. pollution regulations. When VW eventually proposes a repair, it must be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board. VW has to submit proposed fixes to the EPA between November 2016 and October 2017.
Any repair that regulators approve could hurt the cars' acceleration and fuel economy. The EPA said Tuesday that any fix VW develops won't bring the cars in full compliance with clean air laws. The $2.7 billion in environmental mitigation will go toward offsetting the increased pollution, the agency said. Volkswagen marketed the cars as more fuel efficient and better performing that those with regular gasoline engines. If it can't come up with a repair, VW could have to buy back most of the vehicles.
Volkswagen also will pay off customers' loans if they owe more than their car is worth due to rapid depreciation. Owners will have the option of having VW retire loans up to 130 percent of the cars' value before the scandal.
Owners can still decline Volkswagen's offer and sue the company on their own.
The company has to buy back or repair 85 percent of the vehicles by June 30, 2019, or pay even more money into an environmental trust fund. Volkswagen officially settles emissions scandal lawsuits
Elizabeth Cabraser, lead attorney for consumers who sued the company, said negotiations - which were sometimes heated - began in February. She said the agreement holds Volkswagen accountable to consumers and to the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=environment&amp;cvid=64f4d63334764949ada8f2ee8e66ee56&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">environment</a>.
"To be able to do something to repair harm to our environment is a tremendous opportunity," she said. "Sometimes money serves as a proxy for justice."
Lawyers are still working on settlements for another 80,000 vehicles with 3-liter diesel engines. Cabraser said plaintiffs are also pursuing a case against German auto supplier Bosch, which supplied engine control computers for VW diesels.
Volkswagen says the $10 billion consumer settlement assumes that it will buy back all of the cars. Volkswagen officially settles emissions scandal lawsuits
"We take our commitment to make things right very seriously and believe these agreements are a significant step forward," Volkswagen AG CEO Matthias Mueller said in a statement.
VW said in April that it has set aside $18.2 billion to cover the cost of the global scandal, which includes a total of 11 million vehicles worldwide. The scandal has hurt VW-brand sales in the U.S. In the first five months of 2015, before the scandal, Volkswagen sold 144,006 cars in the U.S. In the first five months of this year, the total fell 13 percent to 125,205.
Zandy Hartig, a Los Angeles actress who owns a diesel-powered 2013 Jetta SportWagen, plans to opt for the buyback. She would prefer to keep her car, but doesn't trust Volkswagen to come up with a fix that meets pollution standards.
"It's like having an extremely bad boyfriend that you're still in love with," Hartig said. "I thought I was doing a good thing and did my due diligence. I feel betrayed."
Volkswagen dealer Steve Kalafer of Flemington, New Jersey, says owners will likely welcome the buyback money but the brand's reputation has suffered so much some customers will never come back.
"This was not an honest mistake," he said.
Kalafer says dealerships and their employees are the "biggest losers" in the settlement. Depending on the month, his sales are down 20 percent to 50 percent compared with before and it's hard to keep technicians and salespeople on staff, he said.
The scandal erupted in September when U.S. regulators revealed that the German automaker had fitted many of its cars with software to fool emissions tests and had put dirty vehicles on the road. Car owners and the U.S. Department of Justice sued.
The company, which knew the EPA's testing routine, was finally caught by the International Council on Clean Transportation, which hired West Virginia University to test a VW in real roads conditions. The EPA has since changed its testing to include on-road tailpipe checks.
---
Krisher and Durbin reported from Detroit. Jason Keyser in Chicago and Sudhin Thanawala in San Francisco contributed.
---
This story has been corrected to show that $2 billion of the settlement money will be spent on promotion of zero-emissions vehicles, not research.
© 2016 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.

Volkswagen officially settles emissions scandal lawsuits

Volkswagen officially settles emissions scandal lawsuits. Volkswagen will spend up...

Spawning sockeye salmon, Lake Aleknagik, Alaska, USA

Oil pipelines carrying crude oil to ports in British Columbia may spell bad news for salmon. Oil pipelines carrying crude oil to ports in British Columbia may spell bad news for salmon, according to a new University of Guelph-led study.

Exposure to an oil sands product - diluted bitumen - impairs the swimming ability and changes the heart structures of young <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/pacific-salmon-water-temperatures/">salmon</a>.

The research will be published in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, and is available online now. Oil pipelines carrying crude oil to ports in British Columbia may spell bad news for salmon

It's a timely finding, says U of G post-doctoral researcher and lead author Sarah Alderman. Oil pipelines affect health and fitness of salmon.

The National Energy Board (NEB) recently approved the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project; the federal government is expected to make a final decision by December.

The pipeline stretches from Edmonton to Burnaby B.C. The expansion would double the volume of oil sands products reaching the Pacific coast. It's just one of several trans-Canada pipelines on the NEB's review list.

"The Trans Mountain pipeline already carries diluted bitumen through the Fraser River Watershed and this is prime salmon habitat," Alderman said.

Working with colleagues at Simon Fraser University and the University of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=british+columbia&amp;form=EDGEAR&amp;qs=PF&amp;cvid=bfa8cb4c8a39402ca01ded3b4f01e739&amp;cc=US&amp;setlang=en-US&amp;elv=AY3%21uAY7tbNNZGZ2yiGNjfNcV7JLaCA2lHOMI7gGhmWqA5MZPfqg2r6T6f9y1rzOk3%21wBtw4fSlgtToY5t87Hu2Du%21EG6LQPF2n7w7QFvP4L&amp;plvar=0&amp;PC=HCTS">British Columbia</a>, Alderman exposed fish to small amounts of diluted bitumen for up to four weeks.

She found that salmon exposed to the highest concentration of diluted bitumen suffered a 10 per cent reduction in swimming performance.

"This may not seem like much, but to a young salmon about to head out to the ocean, it's huge," Alderman said.

"These fish are swimming all-out for hours each day, traveling up to 1,000 kilometres to reach the Pacific, and they need a strong heart to do this."

The pipeline stretches from Edmonton to Burnaby B.C. The expansion would double the volume of oil sands products reaching the Pacific coast. It's just one of several trans-Canada pipelines on the NEB's review list. Oil pipelines affect health and fitness of salmon

"The Trans Mountain pipeline already carries diluted bitumen through the Fraser River Watershed and this is prime salmon habitat," Alderman said.

Working with colleagues at Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia, Alderman exposed fish to small amounts of diluted bitumen for up to four weeks.

She found that salmon exposed to the highest concentration of diluted bitumen suffered a 10 per cent reduction in swimming performance.

"This may not seem like much, but to a young salmon about to head out to the ocean, it's huge," Alderman said.

"These fish are swimming all-out for hours each day, traveling up to 1,000 kilometres to reach the Pacific, and they need a strong heart to do this."

The more diluted bitumen fish encounter, and the longer they are exposed to it, the greater the impact on their health and fitness, Alderman said.

"What our study really says is before you build any more pipelines through salmon habitat, you need to make sure that you're building pipelines to the highest possible standard, that you can quickly detect any leaks in the system, and that you have rapid and thorough spill response procedures."

Oil pipelines affect health and fitness of salmon

Oil pipelines carrying crude oil to ports in British Columbia...

Symbiotic relationships are harmed by ocean acidification. A common close partnership which sees baby fish sheltering from predators among the poisonous tentacles of jellyfish will be harmed under predicted ocean acidification, a new University of Adelaide study has found.

Published today in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1146" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>, the researchers say that modification of this baby fish-jellyfish symbiotic relationship is likely to lead to higher mortality among the affected fish species which include some of the common commercial fish. A well-known example of marine symbiosis is the relationship between anemones and clown-fish, popularised in the animated movie, Finding Nemo. Symbiotic relationships are harmed by ocean acidification

"These intricate, interdependent relationships between different species--symbioses--are common in both the marine and terrestrial environments," says study leader Associate Professor Ivan Nagelkerken, in the University of Adelaide's Environment Institute.

"But, apart from the well-known relationship between coral and microalgae and what happens during a bleaching event, little is known about how climate change and predicted ocean acidification will affect such relationships.

"This is the first study that demonstrates how climate change will disturb such a symbiotic relationship between two animals that interact closely for survival."

The juvenile fish of about 80 different species, including important commercial varieties such as pollock, jacks and trevallies, form symbiotic relationships with jellyfish.

The jellyfish blooms are an ideal protective habitat for the baby fish, which would otherwise be unprotected in the open oceans where they are at high risk of being eaten by bigger fish and other marine life. Only one species of fish has known immunity to the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=jellyfish&amp;form=EDGEAR&amp;qs=PF&amp;cvid=e345d63a3b2548af9eca7e273943dfd2&amp;cc=US&amp;setlang=en-US&amp;elv=AY3%21uAY7tbNNZGZ2yiGNjfNcV7JLaCA2lHOMI7gGhmWqtsDwJs%21WtFWRnygFsYOEmnkVPF8vaN7kkYMOwxvohFplH5OH2XnF0fDPsJe%211AlX&amp;plvar=0&amp;PC=HCTS">jellyfish</a> venom. Somehow the baby fish avoid the poisonous tentacles of the jellyfish while swimming among them, while other species stay well away.

The relationship is not straightforward however - sometimes the jellyfish will eat the baby fish. Despite this, the survival odds of the baby fish seem to be increased when sheltering with the jellyfish.

The researchers studied the actions of juvenile fish in an aquarium under high CO2 conditions. Compared to the control group, they spent much less time with the jellyfish host (about three times less), while only 63% (compared to 86%) initiated any relationship at all.

The research is in collaboration with Associate Professor Kylie Pitt at Griffith University. "Shelter is not widely available in open water so juvenile fish rely on the jellyfish for protection against predators," says Associate Professor Pitt. "As shelter providers, the jellyfish could play a role in enhancing the populations of these fish species. Changing ocean conditions are likely to have significant negative impacts on this relationship and therefore, fish populations."
###
Media Contact:

Associate Professor Ivan Nagelkerken. Phone: +61 8 8313 4137, Mobile: +61 (0)477 320 551,<a href="mailto:ivan.nagelkerken@adelaide.edu.au">ivan.nagelkerken@adelaide.edu.au</a>

Robyn Mills, Media Officer. Phone: +61 8 8313 6341, Mobile: +61 (0)410 689 084,<a href="mailto:robyn.mills@adelaide.edu.au">robyn.mills@adelaide.edu.au</a>

Symbiotic relationships are harmed by ocean acidification

Symbiotic relationships are harmed by ocean acidification. A common close...

Impact of the changes to the ice sheet on global ocean circulation

Changes in Antarctic sea ice production impact global ocean circulation. The high sea ice production of Antarctic coastal polynyas is attributable to the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), which is a driving force for global ocean circulation. Sea ice production varies year to year as well as seasonally; however, there are various explanations for the factors that increase or decrease this production, such as wind, temperature, and surrounding ice conditions, which have not been understood till date.Changes in Antarctic sea ice production impact global ocean circulation

Dr Takeshi Tamura at National Institute of Polar Research, Japan, and his research team developed an algorithm for calculating sea ice production from satellite remote sensing data, and were the first in the world to succeed in mapping sea ice production in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions. In this study, this algorithm was used to analyze long-term (1992-2013) sea ice production in the 13 main Antarctic coastal polynyas, and the average values (Figure 2) and annual variability of sea ice production were calculated. Furthermore, the sea ice production volume was verified by bio-logging the data of Elephant seals (Mirounga Lenonina).

These results show that sea ice production decreased in years when major events such as an ice shelf collapse or the collapse of a glacier occurred. The results also indicate that sea ice production increases in polynyas wherein off-shore first-year ice has decreased. Dr Tamura states that "With Antarctic coastal polynyas, changes to surrounding ice such as ice shelves and <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/operation-icebridge-monitors-glaciers-in-alaska/">glaciers</a>, fast ice, and off-shore first-year ice play a more important role in sea ice production than wind and temperature, such as what the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) does."

Furthermore, he comments that, "Antarctic coastal polynyas -- in which there is large annual variability in sea ice production -- are areas of the sea in which ice shelf fusion has accelerated in recent years. There is a possibility that these will have a large impact on changes to<a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=antarctic&amp;form=EDGEAR&amp;qs=PF&amp;cvid=a3eab74eb143479492fbae3a1ad5dde0&amp;cc=US&amp;setlang=en-US&amp;elv=AY3%21uAY7tbNNZGZ2yiGNjfNcV7JLaCA2lHOMI7gGhmWqTdrgJ8wQBDFCbUlusWiwVEkMrBOnU2dPd1XA4XiJXuNxP8%21xTP3*8qUxsVVUia*M&amp;plvar=0&amp;PC=HCTS"> Antarctic</a> Bottom Water (AABW) in the future, and therefore monitoring is essential."
###
Source: National Institute of Polar Research, Japan

Changes in Antarctic sea ice production impact global ocean circulation

Impact of the changes to the ice sheet on global...

Science groups send letter to congress about climate change. Thirty-one of the country's top science organizations are telling Congress that global warming is a real problem and something needs to be done about it.
The groups, which represent millions of scientists, sent the letter Tuesday, saying the severity of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=climate+change&amp;cvid=e5c682771a564575a52de05c91d51823&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">climate change</a> is increasing and will worsen faster in coming decades.
Eighteen groups sent a similar letter in 2009. But Rush Holt, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/the-science-behind-big-80s-hair/">Science</a>, said the climate problem has increased and scientists are even more confident about the harm.
"There is strong evidence that ongoing climate change is having broad negative impacts on society, including the global economy, natural resources and human health," the letter states. It mentions extreme weather, water shortages, heat waves, wildfires, sea level rise, and disruption of ecosystems in the United States.
Those signing the letter include the world's largest scientific society, American Chemical Society, and groups that represent meteorologists, public health experts, biologists, Earth scientists, oceanographers, geologists, crop researchers, bug, fish and reptile experts, as well as mathematicians and statisticians. Science groups send letter to congress about climate change
Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe said the situation is like a doctor telling a patient he has cancer, with the patient saying he doesn't. The doctor then gets every oncologist in the hospital to tell the patient it is cancer, but is treatable. It's up to the patient.
"We told you everything we could," said Hayhoe. "We are like Pontius Pilate, metaphorically washing our hands."
© 2016 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.

Science groups send letter to congress about climate change

Science groups send letter to congress about climate change. Thirty-one...

Crucial peatlands carbon-sink vulnerable to rising sea levels, research shows

Crucial peatlands <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/carbon-is-the-basis-for-all-life-on-our-planet/">carbon</a>-sink vulnerable to rising sea levels, research shows. Rising sea-levels linked to global warming could pose a significant threat to the effectiveness of the world's peatland areas as carbon sinks, a new study has shown.

The pioneering new study, carried out by Geographers at the University of Exeter, examined the impact that salt found in sea water has on how successfully peatland ecosystems accumulate carbon from the atmosphere. Crucial peatlands carbon-sink vulnerable to rising sea levels, research shows

The researchers studied an area of blanket bog - a peat bog that forms in cool regions susceptible to high rainfall - at Kentra Moss, in Northwest <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=scotland&amp;form=EDGEAR&amp;qs=PF&amp;cvid=9f9d96948a5a4f8ca0a6c3c6cd57560c&amp;cc=US&amp;setlang=en-US&amp;elv=AY3%21uAY7tbNNZGZ2yiGNjfNcV7JLaCA2lHOMI7gGhmWqSFpD9bLTM0QIXFzmPsnTacxhwOhw5oQRKrfAaF390Jl0SWss7kvEZIfSY2dKFPB4&amp;plvar=0&amp;PC=HCTS">Scotland.</a>

They discovered that the rate at which the peatland area accumulated carbon was significantly impacted as the concentration of salt rose. Rising sea levels threaten peatlands

The results indicate that rising sea levels, linked to predicted climate change, could pose a serious threat to the future security of the peatlands because they would inundate areas and deposit more salt, further inland.

The findings feature in respected scientific journal, Scientific Reports, on Wednesday, June 29, 2016.

Dr Angela Gallego-Sala, co-author of the paper and a Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography at Exeter said: "Peatland areas play a crucial role in taking carbon from our atmosphere and storing it".

"We know that rising sea levels through global warming can have catastrophic effects on many areas across the globe, and this study shows just how vulnerable some peatland areas are to the same phenomenon.

"The effects of global warming are already being observed, but the longer we wait to act, the quicker changes to our environment, which would have a devastating impact on many regions around the world, will take place."

Rain-fed peatlands are recognised as being a globally important environmental resource because they absorb and store carbon.

Their unique plant communities and their inherent wetness are known to help control their ability to act as carbon stores. However, this new research shows that there is a threshold concentration of salt above which, the plant communities are less successful at absorbing and storing carbon from the atmosphere.

Blanket bogs, such as the one used for the study, are distinctive peatland ecosystems occupying specific coastal, high-latitude areas, making them vulnerable to sea-level change.

The study, which arose from an undergraduate research project carried out by student Alex Whittle and Dr Gallego-Sala, looked at the age and density of carbon that was stored in core samples taken in three specific areas, starting next to the coastline and moving progressively inland.

The samples showed that as salt levels increased, the vegetation that colonise the bogs altered significantly, resulting in a sharp decline in carbon storage. The research suggests that if sea levels rise and blanket bogs receive more salt-water, so the rate at which carbon can be stored will sharply decline.

Alex Whittle, author of the paper and now a research student in the Department of Geography said: "This study highlights the global scale and geographical distribution of peatlands potentially vulnerable to sea-level change. We hope our work will increase awareness of this risk and thereby stimulate future research on this topic".

Dr Gallego-Sala added: "What started out as an undergraduate project has led to a ground-breaking new study, and produced some startling results. Peatland areas are vital for our ecosystems and hopefully this study will help give us a greater understanding of the threats that they are facing in the future."

Vulnerability of the peatland carbon sink to sea-level rise, by Alex Whittle and Angela Gallego-Sala, is published in Scientific Reports.

Rising sea levels threaten peatlands

Crucial peatlands carbon-sink vulnerable to rising sea levels, research shows...

<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=kVywlgRJXsc
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Some children read facial expressions when making food choices.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-other-people-s-reactions-influence-children-s-eating-habits">Other people's reactions influence children's eating habits</h2>



Many children are finicky eaters, but research explains how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-have-learned-why-so-many-kids-dislike-vegetables/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">watching others eat and social modeling</a> influence the eating habits of children.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Study Methodology Demonstrates Social Learning Impact</h2>



Researchers at <a href="https://www.aston.ac.uk/hls/school-of-psychology" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aston University School of Psychology</a> have published findings in Frontiers in Psychology that illuminate the neurobiological foundations of food preference development through observational learning. The investigation employed controlled video stimuli featuring adults consuming raw broccoli while displaying systematically varied facial expressions to measure participant responses.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Asymmetrical Response Patterns Identified</h2>



The research, conducted with 204 female participants, revealed a pronounced asymmetry in social modeling effects. Negative facial expressions during vegetable consumption significantly diminished observer food preference ratings, while positive expressions failed to produce corresponding increases in vegetable appeal. This finding challenges conventional assumptions about the bidirectional nature of social influence in dietary behavior formation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Evolutionary Psychology Framework Applied</h2>



Dr. Katie Edwards and her research team propose that these results reflect adaptive mechanisms developed through evolutionary processes. The heightened sensitivity to disgust expressions likely functions as a protective system, enabling individuals to identify potentially harmful foods through social cues without direct risk exposure.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Clinical and Educational Implications</h2>



These findings carry substantial implications for pediatric nutrition interventions and family meal dynamics. The research suggests that parental expressions of distaste during vegetable consumption may inadvertently reinforce children's existing food aversions through unconscious social transmission pathways.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Future Research Directions</h2>



The study establishes a foundation for expanded investigation into real-time social modeling effects and cross-demographic applicability. Researchers emphasize the necessity for longitudinal studies examining actual consumption behaviors rather than preference ratings alone, particularly within family contexts where social learning occurs most frequently.



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Social modeling affects our food choices

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVywlgRJXsc Some children read facial expressions when making food choices....

<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=JynHpMaNO8A
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Chaotic cancer protein finally controlled after decades of mystery</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cancer-causing-protein-bound-and-blocked">Cancer-causing protein bound and blocked</h2>



In a discovery that can one day revolutionize cancer treatment, researchers at the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of California, Riverside</a> have successfully developed a means of controlling MYC, a notoriously slippery protein that causes approximately <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chaotic-protein-that-fuels-75-of-cancers-can-be-controlled/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">75% of all cancers in humans</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-myc-different">What makes MYC different</h2>



MYC presents a unique challenge when studying cancer. Normally, this protein plays a vital role in healthy cells. It carefully controls transcription - the process that converts genetic information from DNA and RNA into proteins.



However, cancer changes everything. In cancer cells, MYC becomes a destructive force. It operates in overdrive mode with no regulation whatsoever.



Professor Min Xue, who led the research team, explains it simply: "MYC is less like food for cancer cells and more like a steroid. It drives cancer's aggressive growth." This superactive behavior makes MYC involved in three out of every four cancer cases.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-myc-is-hard-to-target">Why MYC is hard to target</h2>



Despite its clear role in cancer, targeting MYC has been one of medicine's biggest challenges. The main problem lies in MYC's unusual structure - or rather, its complete lack of structure.



Professor Xue describes the protein as "basically a glob of randomness." This means conventional drug discovery methods don't work. These traditional approaches rely on sharply defined protein structures. MYC simply doesn't have one.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A New Approach to Fighting MYC</h2>



The UCR research team developed a clever solution. They designed a special peptide molecule that could selectively bind to MYC. More importantly, this peptide could block MYC's destructive activity.



The key was fine-tuning two specific features: the peptide's stiffness and its shape. Through careful adjustments, researchers achieved something remarkable. They reached "sub-micro-molar affinity" - meaning their peptide binds as strongly as antibodies do.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-breakthrough-results">Breakthrough results</h2>



This accomplishment represents a major leap beyond previous attempts. The researchers enhanced their peptide's binding strength by two orders of magnitude. This dramatic improvement brings the work significantly closer to practical drug development goals.



The research opens new possibilities for treating the vast majority of cancers where MYC plays a destructive role.



The researchers are presently optimizing peptide-delivery systems based on lipid nanoparticles that deliver the peptide effectively into cancer cells. The<a href="https://www.nih.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> National Institutes of Health</a> and the <a href="https://www.defense.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. Department of Defense</a> funded the study, which appeared in the Journal of the <a href="https://www.acs.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Chemical Society</a>. This research offers renewed hope against cancer, and it can potentially open a door to more effective cancer therapies for most cancer patients worldwide.



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The protein that fuels 3 out of 4 cancers has been controlled

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JynHpMaNO8A Chaotic cancer protein finally controlled after decades of mystery...

<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=3Y4eLFNYrKE
</div></figure>



On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop and sunlight barely penetrates through the polar winter. It was here, however, that an international team of scientists found <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/predatory-worms-were-terror-beasts-half-a-billion-years-ago/#google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evidence of sea monsters</a> that would change our understanding of ocean life in the past.



This video captures the discovery of Timorebestia fossils that had been hidden for more than 500 million years in the Sirius Passet formation. The "terror beasts," as they are called, are a hidden chapter in the evolutionary history of <a href="https://www.earth.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth</a>, showing that sophisticated predator-prey interactions occurred much earlier than previously envisioned.



Dr. Jakob Vinther and his research team at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Bristol</a>, in collaboration with researchers at the <a href="https://eng.kopri.re.kr/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Korean Polar Research Institute</a>, braved extreme weather conditions at 82.5 north latitude to locate these giant creatures. Using sophisticated electron microprobe analysis, they revealed the detailed anatomy of the animals, including their muscle and nerve tissues.



The find upsets the traditional timeline of sea predators. Although we've long appreciated that Cambrian oceans were at one time ruled by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWI3-UgA3_o&amp;list=PL1QLQMW9MWDwpkFOnvgAmu7wT6rZmYqdJ&amp;index=19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arthropods</a>, these discoveries indicate that relatives of arrow worms were first to dominate the seas. These worms were building sophisticated food webs several million years before other predator groups arose.



Each fossil is a story of ancient hunger, with fossil stomach contents revealing these meter-long beasts dined on heavily armored arthropods regularly, cementing their place as the ocean's first apex predators.



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Worms dominated seas before dinosaurs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y4eLFNYrKE On the unforgiving landscape of North Greenland, temperatures drop...

<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=Ow3JH03PqEQ
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">New York is the site of the world's oldest forest.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-385-million-year-old-trees-discovered">385-million-year-old trees discovered</h2>



Scientists have uncovered something extraordinary just two hours north of New York City. The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/worlds-oldest-forest-discovered-close-to-new-york-city/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">world's oldest forest</a>, dating back 385 million years, offers a window into how Earth's first complex forests shaped our planet's atmosphere.



Located near <a href="https://townofcairo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cairo, New York</a>, in Greene County, these weren't merely primitive plants struggling to survive. These were sophisticated trees with root systems remarkably similar to modern forests. This ancient woodland predates dinosaurs by 140 million years.



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



385 million years ago, upstate New York was a tropical paradise near the equator. Thanks to continental drift, this ancient forest has traveled thousands of miles to its current location.



The fossil forest sits in an abandoned quarry, roughly half the size of a football field. This represents just a slice of what was likely a massive forest system stretching from New York into Pennsylvania.



Charles Ver Straeten, curator of sedimentary rocks at the <a href="https://www.nysm.nysed.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York State Museum</a>, made the discovery in 2009. While scouting the former highway department property, his trained eye spotted wandering patterns in the stone that looked like marine features.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revolutionary-age-and-preservation">Revolutionary age and preservation</h2>



The site contains 385-million-year-old rocks with fossilized woody roots forming horizontal patterns up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide. As Christopher Berry, a paleobotanist at Cardiff University, explains: "You are walking through the roots of ancient trees."



This discovery pushes back advanced tree evolution by millions of years. The research, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a> in December 2019, fundamentally changes our understanding of when complex forests first emerged.



Researchers believe a massive flood buried the forest floor, creating perfect fossilization conditions. Over millions of years, sediment hardened into rock, preserving these root patterns like nature's time capsule.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meet-archaeopteris-the-first-modern-tree">Meet Archaeopteris: the first modern tree</h2>



The star of this ancient forest is Archaeopteris – not to be confused with the feathered dinosaur Archaeopteryx. This tree was far older and more revolutionary.



William Stein from <a href="https://www.binghamton.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binghamton University</a> describes the roots as "strikingly modern, essentially what you'd see outside in my yard right now." These weren't simple root systems you'd expect from ancient plants.



Some fossilized roots are six inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, forming 36-foot-wide (11-meter) patterns. These giants grew up to 65 feet (20 meters) tall with five-foot-diameter (1.5-meter) trunks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-changing-impact">Climate-changing impact</h2>



These trees fundamentally changed Earth's environment. Kevin Boyce, a Stanford University geoscientist, explains how their deep roots triggered "weathering," chemical reactions that pulled carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.



This process dropped atmospheric CO2 levels from 10-15 times higher than today to roughly modern concentrations. These ancient trees helped create atmospheric conditions that made complex life possible.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ancient-forest-ecosystem">Ancient forest ecosystem</h2>



The forest was remarkably diverse. Scientists identified Eospermatopteris, palm tree-like plants with short roots that reached 30 feet (9 meters) tall but lacked woody structure. The forest also housed cladoxylopsids and a mysterious third species still being studied.



All reproduced through spores rather than seeds – millions of years before seeds evolved. This tropical environment had no grass, flowers, or flying insects, just towering trees creating Earth's first complex forest canopy.



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



Before this finding, the Gilboa forest, located 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, held the "oldest forest" title. Cairo's trees are 2-3 million years older, showing that complex forest ecosystems developed much faster than scientists believed possible.



Patricia Gensel, a <a href="https://www.unc.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of North Carolina</a> paleobotanist, notes: "The size of those root systems is really changing the picture. Even 20 years ago, researchers assumed trees with such complex root systems didn't evolve so early."



The Cairo site presents three unique root systems, suggesting Devonian period forests were diverse ecosystems with different trees occupying different environmental niches, much like today's forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-modern-preservation-efforts">Modern preservation efforts</h2>



In 2022, New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey secured a $170,000 grant for the town of Cairo to construct specialized fencing around the fossil forest site. The town plans to conduct a feasibility study exploring the possibility of creating an educational center and working lab on-site.



Joe Hasenkopf, chair of the Cairo Planning Board, hopes to partner with educational institutions to create a research facility serving scientists, students, and the public.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lessons-for-today-s-climate">Lessons for today's climate</h2>



Why does a 385-million-year-old forest matter today? It shows how dramatically forests can change Earth's climate. These ancient woodlands created the atmospheric conditions supporting complex life.



Understanding how prehistoric forests transformed the planet helps us appreciate modern forests' critical role in addressing climate change. Forests remain Earth's most effective carbon capture systems.



These prehistoric trees changed Earth's atmosphere by pulling massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the air. As we face modern climate challenges, this ancient forest reminds us of trees' incredible power to transform our planet's environment.



The next time you walk through a forest, remember you're experiencing an ecosystem whose blueprint was established 385 million years ago in upstate New York. These ancient pioneers didn't just survive – they thrived and changed the world forever.



The full study was published in the journal Current Biology.



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Earth's oldest forest found in the United States

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow3JH03PqEQ New York is the site of the world's oldest...

<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=Veg4HmmRVZY
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Our bodies hits two 'aging cliffs' at these ages.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientists-map-exact-ages-when-your-body-rapidly-ages">Scientists Map Exact Ages When Your Body Rapidly Ages</h2>



Scientists have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-bodies-begin-breaking-down-two-very-precise-ages/#google_vignette">discovered that aging</a> isn't the gradual, steady process many assume it to be. Instead, researchers from Stanford Medicine have found that our bodies undergo dramatic molecular changes at two specific ages: 44 and 60. This research, published in Nature Aging, reveals that aging happens in sudden bursts rather than smooth transitions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-waves-of-rapid-aging">Two waves of rapid aging</h2>



The Stanford study tracked over 135,000 different molecules and microbes in 108 participants aged 25 to 75 over several years. Results showed that 81% of all molecules studied exhibited non-linear changes, meaning they shifted dramatically at certain ages rather than changing gradually over time.



Michael Snyder, chair of genetics at Stanford School of Medicine and the study's senior author, noted significant findings. "We're not just changing gradually over time; there are some really dramatic changes. It turns out the mid-40s is a time of dramatic change, as is the early 60s. And that's true no matter what class of molecules you look at."



The first wave of changes occurs around age 44, affecting molecules related to alcohol metabolism, caffeine processing, lipid <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/age-related-changes-in-metabolism-dont-match-our-expectations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">metabolism</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/heart-disease-remains-the-leading-cause-of-death-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cardiovascular disease</a>, and skin and muscle function. The second wave hits around age 60, involving changes in carbohydrate metabolism, immune regulation, kidney function, and again cardiovascular and muscle health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-during-these-aging-bursts">What happens during these aging bursts</h2>



During the mid-40s transformation, researchers observed significant changes in how the body processes alcohol and fats. This period often coincides with increased stress levels in many people's lives, potentially contributing to lifestyle factors that accelerate these molecular shifts.



"It's possible some of these changes could be tied to lifestyle or behavioral factors that cluster at these age groups, rather than being driven by biological factors," Snyder explained. For instance, alcohol metabolism dysfunction might result from increased consumption during the typically stressful mid-40s period.



The changes at age 60 are perhaps less surprising, as this is when many age-related diseases begin to manifest more prominently. The molecular shifts affect immune function and kidney health, both critical for maintaining overall wellness as we enter our senior years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-latest-research-confirms-aging-patterns">Latest research confirms aging patterns</h2>



Recent 2025 studies have validated these findings. Research examining tissue samples from 76 people found similar aging patterns, noting an "inflection point" between ages 45 and 55.



Scientists discovered that blood vessels, particularly the aorta, age fastest among all body tissues. This vascular aging may drive aging in other body parts, highlighting cardiovascular health's central role in the aging process.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cellular-changes-and-microbiome-shifts">Cellular changes and microbiome shifts</h2>



The Stanford research revealed that these aging bursts affect our microbiome – the trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi living in and on our bodies. These microbial communities undergo substantial shifts during both aging periods, potentially affecting everything from digestion to immune function.



Additionally, researchers found that protein production and gene expression begin to fall out of sync as we age. This breakdown in cellular communication becomes especially pronounced during the two aging waves, contributing to the accumulation of damaged proteins associated with diseases such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/alzheimers-may-not-be-brain-disorder-important-data-was-fabricated/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alzheimer's</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-health-implications-and-longevity-considerations">Health implications and longevity considerations</h2>



Understanding these aging patterns has important implications for healthcare strategies. Research suggests that people should pay particular attention to their health during their 40s and 60s, when these dramatic molecular changes occur.



Snyder emphasized the importance of proactive health measures. "I'm a big believer that we should try to adjust our lifestyles while we're still healthy," he noted. This might include increasing exercise to protect heart health and maintain muscle mass, or reducing alcohol consumption in the 40s as the body's ability to metabolize it declines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-approaches-to-anti-aging-treatment">New approaches to anti-aging treatment</h2>



Aging research has seen notable advances in 2025. Harvard Medical School scientists developed chemical cocktails that reverse cellular aging without genetic modification. These six combinations restored aged cells to youthfulness in under a week, offering safer alternatives to gene therapy.



Researchers identified new biomarkers like "InflammAge," a saliva-based test measuring chronic inflammation associated with aging. This non-invasive approach could change how we monitor aging and intervention.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-directions-in-aging-research">Future directions in aging research</h2>



Emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, cellular reprogramming, and senolytic therapies, are opening new possibilities for extending healthspan. Companies develop treatments targeting aging's fundamental mechanisms rather than just managing age-related diseases.



The Stanford findings provide a roadmap for implementing preventive measures. Rather than waiting for symptoms, people can prepare for and potentially mitigate these predictable aging waves.



As aging understanding evolves, one thing becomes clear: aging isn't inevitable decline, but specific biological events we may learn to prevent or reverse. The key is recognizing when these transitions occur and taking proactive health steps during vulnerable periods.



The study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nataging" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Aging</a>.



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Scientists discover we age in bursts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Veg4HmmRVZY Our bodies hits two 'aging cliffs' at these ages....

<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=PqlF0XKzHY4
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The hidden science behind tickling.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scientists-discover-the-brain-s-tickling-command-center">Scientists discover the brain's 'tickling command center'</h2>



Researchers have finally solved one of humanity's most enduring mysteries: why we can't <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/after-centuries-of-debate-we-still-dont-know-how-tickling-works/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tickle</a> ourselves and what makes some people incredibly ticklish while others barely react? Recent scientific discoveries are revolutionizing our understanding of this peculiar human behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-breakthrough-discovery-in-the-brain">Breakthrough discovery in the brain</h2>



In 2023, Dr. Michael Brecht's team at <a href="https://www.hu-berlin.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humboldt University</a>-<a href="https://www.hu-berlin.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Berlin</a> made a major discovery published in the <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(22)01991-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">journal Neuron</a>. They identified the brain's actual "tickling command center" – specific neurons in a region called the periaqueductal gray that control both tickling responses and play behavior.



When researchers used cutting-edge optogenetic technology to shut down these neurons in laboratory rats, something remarkable happened. The animals completely lost their ability to be tickled or engage in playful behavior.



"We found that global blockade of the rat periaqueductal gray with either muscimol or lidocaine interfered with ticklishness and play," the research team reported in their study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-types-of-tickling-revealed">Two types of tickling revealed</h2>



What we call "tickling" is two completely different phenomena, according to the latest research. Light tickling – that feathery sensation that makes you want to scratch – is essentially your body's sophisticated bug detection system. This alerts you to potential insects or parasites on your skin.



Deep tickling – the kind that makes you laugh uncontrollably – involves complex brain circuits and is fundamentally social. You literally cannot tickle yourself with this type of stimulation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-self-tickling-is-impossible">Why self-tickling is impossible</h2>



Your cerebellum acts like a prediction machine, recent findings show. When you move your own hand to touch yourself, your brain generates precise predictions about what you will feel and then cancels out the tickling sensation through neural inhibition.



When someone else tickles you, your brain can't predict their movements, so the full tickling response activates. It's like your brain's way of distinguishing between self and others.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-individual-differences-explained">Individual differences explained</h2>



Individual differences in ticklishness depend on genetics, psychology, and even trust. Dr. Xinzhong Dong at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Johns Hopkins University</a> notes that people with denser nerve endings tend to be more sensitive.



Psychological factors matter just as much. You respond more strongly when tickled by people you trust, and anxiety completely shuts down tickling responses. This explains why the same physical stimulus can produce completely different reactions depending on who's doing the tickling.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-controlling-your-ticklishness">Controlling your ticklishness</h2>



Science offers answers for controlling your ticklishness. You can reduce tickling sensitivity through systematic desensitization – gradual exposure in controlled settings.



Dr. Konstantina Kilteni's 2025 research, published in <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt0350" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>, reveals another technique: place your hand on the tickler's hand. This allows your brain to partially predict the sensations, reducing the tickling response by up to 90 percent.



"Your brain is essentially learning to override its own reflexes," Kilteni explained in her review of tickling research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolutionary-purpose-discovered">Evolutionary purpose discovered</h2>



From an evolutionary perspective, tickling serves vital functions according to <a href="https://www.umd.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Maryland</a> researcher Dr. Robert Provine's extensive studies. It trains our defense reflexes for vulnerable body areas and facilitates social bonding between family members.



Tickling-induced laughter is actually one of the first forms of communication between infants and caregivers. "Tickle involves a neurological self/nonself discrimination, providing the most primitive social scenario," Provine noted in his research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clinical-applications-emerge">Clinical applications emerge</h2>



Research shows people with autism spectrum disorder perceive touches as more ticklish than people without the condition. Investigating this difference could provide insight into brain differences and help advance autism research.



People with schizophrenia tend to experience self-touches similarly to external tickles, allowing them to essentially tickle themselves. This suggests altered sensory prediction mechanisms in the condition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animal-research-reveals-universal-nature">Animal research reveals universal nature</h2>



Scientists have discovered that many species beyond humans are ticklish. Rats emit ultrasonic "laughs" when tickled, while chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans all respond to tickling stimulation.



This widespread occurrence across species suggests that tickling serves fundamental biological and social functions that evolved long before humans developed complex language and culture.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions</h2>



Dr. Kilteni argues that tickling research deserves more scientific attention. "It is a complex interplay of motor, social, neurological, developmental, and evolutionary aspects," she stated in her recent review.



New haptic technologies and advanced research methodologies now permit scientists to investigate tickle sensation with unprecedented precision. Standardized experimental methods using mechanical tickling devices ensure consistent results across studies.



Recent findings published in Science Advances show that tickling research is opening new doors in neuroscience, potentially leading to a better understanding of social behavior, sensory processing, and neurological conditions.



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Scientists solve the mystery of tickling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqlF0XKzHY4 The hidden science behind tickling. Scientists discover the brain's...

<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=elr4948_uOU
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Dr. Ronald Mallett from the University of Connecticut reveals secret mission to create working time travel device.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-could-an-equation-truly-bend-time-a-physicist-s-decades-long-quest-to-rewrite-reality">Could an equation truly bend time? A physicist's decades-long quest to rewrite reality</h2>



Imagine the impossible: stepping back through time in a time machine, not in fantasy, but through a scientific endeavor driven by profound personal loss. For <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astrophysicist-says-hes-cracked-the-equation-for-time-travel/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Ronald Mallett</a>, a distinguished astrophysicist and professor emeritus at the <a href="https://uconn.edu/">University of Connecticut</a>, this deeply human longing has fueled a lifelong mission. He claims to have discovered the equation that could unlock temporal displacement, pushing boundaries once deemed purely science fiction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-profound-grief-that-forged-a-vision">A profound grief that forged a vision</h2>



Mallett's extraordinary pursuit began with devastating tragedy in 1955. At merely 10 years old, he endured his father Boyd's sudden death—a television repairman whose passion for science had ignited a similar spark in his young son. Boyd Mallett, only 33, succumbed to a heart attack, leaving behind a grief-stricken child searching for solace.



That solace came through H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. Within its pages, Mallett found a captivating concept: "Time is only a kind of Space." These words transformed from a literary phrase into a guiding principle, becoming the driving force behind his unwavering commitment to unraveling time's fundamental mysteries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-humble-beginnings-to-academic-heights">From humble beginnings to academic heights</h2>



Mallett's journey was far from straightforward. After serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War era, he utilized the GI Bill for higher education, earning his Ph.D. in physics from Pennsylvania State University in 1973 at the age of 28.



In 1975, he made history as the first African American professor in the University of Connecticut's physics department, achieving full professorship in 1987 before retiring in 2024 as professor emeritus.



Throughout these successful academic years, Mallett harbored his radical ambition as a closely guarded secret. "I kept my time travel goal a secret," he confessed. "I worried people would think I was nuts." His public research centered on black holes, serving as a "cover story" while he quietly developed his revolutionary time travel theory.



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



His pivotal insight arrived while hospitalized for a heart condition—a profound irony given his father's heart attack started this journey. The breakthrough was elegantly simple yet revolutionary: "If gravity can bend time, and light can create gravity, then light can bend time."



"It turns out that black holes can create a gravitational field that could lead to the creation of time loops that could allow us to go back in time," he explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-blueprint-for-a-temporal-vortex">The blueprint for a temporal vortex</h2>



Mallett's vision for a functioning time machine replicates spacetime-warping phenomena around black holes. He offers a compelling analogy: "Picture a cup of coffee. Stir it with a spoon, and the coffee swirls. A spinning black hole does the same to spacetime."



In Einstein's general relativity, the universe is a dynamic fabric woven from space and time. Massive objects like black holes warp this fabric—an effect we perceive as gravity. Mallett theorizes that an intense, continuous, circulating beam of light from a ring of powerful lasers could replicate this gravitational torsion, effectively twisting time into a loop.



This "time loop" would theoretically allow information—or perhaps matter—to travel backward in time. He detailed this mathematical concept in his 2006 autobiography, Time Traveler: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-published-research-and-recognition">Published research and recognition</h2>



His work, published in respected journals including <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/physics-letters-a" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Physics Letters A</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/10701" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Foundations of Physics</a>, suggests circulating laser light could generate gravitational fields potent enough to create closed timelike curves, enabling time travel for data.



Mallett's research has gained worldwide media attention, featured on <a href="https://www.thisamericanlife.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Public Radio's This American Life</a>, the <a href="https://www.history.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">History Channel</a>, and <a href="https://www.today.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NBC's Today Show</a>. The widespread interest reflects both his compelling personal story and rigorous scientific approach.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-galactic-hurdles-and-persistent-skepticism">The galactic hurdles and persistent skepticism</h2>



While Mallett's equations captivate imagination, the path to reality faces immense obstacles. The energy requirement is staggering—Mallett acknowledges needing "galactic amounts of energy," far beyond current technological capabilities.



There's also a poignant limitation: even if realized, his machine could only send information back to when it was first activated, meaning it couldn't transport him to 1955 to prevent his father's death.



The scientific community remains skeptical. Physicists Ken Olum and Allen Everett argue that Mallett's proposed laser ring would need to be larger than the observable universe to achieve the necessary spacetime distortion. They invoke Stephen Hawking's chronology protection conjecture, suggesting physics may prevent macroscopic time travel.



Astrophysicist Paul Sutter has voiced doubts about Mallett's underlying mathematics, while science writer Brian Clegg finds the concept intriguing enough to warrant experimental investigation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-legacy-that-transcends-time">A legacy that transcends time</h2>



Now approaching 80, Dr. Mallett remains steadfast. "I believe my work will show time travel is possible," he asserts. "Future generations will build on it in ways we can't yet imagine."



His equations, though yet to physically bend time, have bent our collective imagination. Ongoing public interest, evidenced by his continued media appearances and Spike Lee's film adaptation of his memoir, underscores his ideas' profound impact.



More than a scientific pursuit, Mallett's story testifies to human resilience, intellectual courage, and hope's enduring power. Whether his theoretical time machine ever materializes, his legacy is immeasurable—inspiring countless individuals to challenge conventional limits and perceive time not as an unyielding barrier, but as a boundless frontier awaiting exploration.







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Retired professor claims he solved time travel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elr4948_uOU Dr. Ronald Mallett from the University of Connecticut reveals...

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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...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image 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.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



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.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&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.

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.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



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.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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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.

How does salt makes things taste better?

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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