Maryland Senate gives final approval to fracking ban

A Maryland bill that bans hydraulic fracturing cleared its final hurdle Monday night when the Senate approved the measure with a 35-to-10 vote.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/maryland-senate-gives-final-approval-to-fracking-ban/2017/03/27/362649d8-1349-11e7-833c-503e1f6394c9_story.html?utm_term=.b8f7c26ccd50
Article courtesy of the Washington Post by Ovetta Wiggins and josh Hicks

Senior ministers at odds over readiness of new coal-fired power stations

Senior Turnbull government ministers are publicly at odds over the timing of new investment in coal-fired power – with the resources minister suggesting Asian and domestic investors “are very interested” and could build a plant within three years, and the energy minister arguing any investment would be “a long way off.”  https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/mar/27/senior-ministers-at-odds-over-readiness-of-new-coal-fired-power-stations
Article courtesy of The Guardian by Katharine Murphy

A Dream of Clean Energy at a Very High Price

SAINT-PAUL-LEZ-DURANCE, France — At a dusty construction site here amid the limestone ridges of Provence, workers scurry around immense slabs of concrete arranged in a ring like a modern-day Stonehenge.

It looks like the beginnings of a large commercial power plant, but it is not. The project, called ITER, is an enormous, and enormously complex and costly, physics experiment. But if it succeeds, it could determine the power plants of the future and make an invaluable contribution to reducing planet-warming emissions. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/science/fusion-power-plant-iter-france.html?_r=0

Article courtesy of The New York Times by Henry Fountain

US Scientists Launch World's Biggest Solar Geoengineering Study

US scientists are set to send aerosol injections 20km up into the earth’s stratosphere in the world’s biggest solar geoengineering programme to date, to study the potential of a future tech-fix for global warming.  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/24/us-scientists-launch-worlds-biggest-solar-geoengineering-study
Article courtesy of The Guardian by Arthur Neslen

California Upholds Auto Emissions Standards, Setting Up Face-Off With Trump

California’s clean-air agency voted on Friday to push ahead with stricter emissions standards for cars and trucks, setting up a potential legal battle with the Trump administration over the state’s plan to reduce planet-warming gases.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/24/business/energy-environment/california-upholds-emissions-standards-setting-up-face-off-with-trump.html?_r=0
Article courtesy of The New York Times by Hiroko Tabuchi

Crop Scientists Are Racing to ID the Wild Relatives of Common Food Crops to Create a Climate Change-Resilient Agriculture

Across the globe, botanists are working to identify what scientists call "crop wild relatives"—the weedy cousins of our staple foods.


The threat from climate change to food production is at the center of this new urgency. As droughts, extreme rainstorms, and other erratic weather patterns intensify, farmers will need crops that can cope with such stresses. And plants that are wild or weedy—proven survivors—have the traits to meet those challenges.  http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2017-2-march-april/feature/crop-scientists-are-racing-id-wild-relatives-common-food-crops
Article courtesy of sierraclub.org by Jason Mark

Hey Mr. Green! Should receipts be recycled?

Q: Can paper cash-register receipts be safely recycled? What about added to compost? I've read that receipts have high levels of bisphenol A (BPA), which is an endocrine disruptor.  


A: The short answer is no to both. Most receipts are "thermal" paper, printed via a heat process instead of with old-fashioned ink. The paper requires a fairly large infusion of BPA for the numbers to appear. When it gets recycled with other kinds of paper, it potentially ends up in products like shopping bags—or even toilet paper—which give you a more intimate contact with the chemical than you want. Organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, the Mayo Clinic, and even the American Chemical Society warn that BPA may be harmful, especially to children and developing fetuses.  http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2017-2-march-april/enjoy/hey-mr-green-should-receipts-be-recycled?mostpopular=true
Article courtesy of sierraclub.org by Bob Schildgen

Abnormal El Nino In Peru Unleashes Deadly Downpours;More Flooding Seen

The sudden and abnormal warming of Pacific waters off Peru, has unleashed the deadliest downpours in decades, with landslides and raging  rivers sweeping away people, clogging the highway and destroying crops. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-peru-floods-idUSKBN16O2V5
Article courtesy of Reuters by Mitra Taj

Bayview-Hunters Point Leads the Charge Against a Rising Tide of Pollution

Rising waters. Water-borne illnesses. Mental-health issues. Respiratory problems. A recent Department of Public Health report on how climate change will affect the city reads like a guide to the apocalypse, complete with floods and plagues of mosquitoes, ticks, and rodents. http://www.sfweekly.com/topstories/bayview-hunters-point-leads-the-charge-against-a-rising-tide-of-pollution/
Article courtesy of SFWeekly by Nuala Sawyer

Humans may learn to survive climate change

LONDON, 13 March, 2017 – Climate science faces a challenge to become more effective by thinking harder about the human ability to change, researchers say. Our descendants are likely to be better able to adapt to a warmer world, and climatologists need to acknowledge this.  http://climatenewsnetwork.net/humans-earn-survive-climate-change/?utm_source=Climate+News+Network&utm_campaign=5e5c47b5ad-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_03_13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1198ea8936-5e5c47b5ad-38798465
Article courtesy of Climate Change Network by Alex Kirby

Sierra snowpack: As world’s climate warms, California’s most important water source becomes less reliable

This winter's bumper crop of snow- on the heals of the worst drought in 500 years-underscores the threat to this central source of water for western Nevada County and  most of California.  http://www.sierrasun.com/news/environment/sierra-snowpack-as-worlds-climate-warms-californias-most-important-water-source-becomes-less-reliable/
Article courtesy of Sierra Sun by Trina Kleist

China creates world's first coal-to-ethanol production line

Created by Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum and the academy's Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics in Liaoning province, the production line went into operation in January and has the capacity to make more than 100,000 metric tons of pure ethanol every year, according to Liu Zhongmin, the institute's deputy director.
By 2020, China would build a factory capable of producing one million tons of ethanol each year using the same technology, he added.  https://www.geo.tv/latest/134770-China-creates-worlds-first-coal-to-ethanol-production-line
Article courtesy of Geo News 

Climate Change Needs to Be Tackled for Better Health, Medical Groups Urge

Heatstroke. Asthma. Zika. Climate change is helping illness and disease spread and become more common, a new consortium of medical groups said Wednesday.   http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/climate-change-needs-be-tackled-better-health-medical-groups-urge-n733906
Article courtesy of NBC News by Maggie Fox

Google-Levi's digital jacket: The next big thing in tech?

March 13, 2017 —At first glance, the latest advancement in wearable technology appears to be nothing more than a humble denim jacket.
But take a closer look, and you'll find that the first product from Project Jacquard is in fact the result of years of technological innovation from Google's best and brightest.   http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2017/0313/Google-Levi-s-digital-jacket-The-next-big-thing-in-tech?cmpid=ema:nws:Daily%2520Newsletter%2520%2803-14-2017%29&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20170314_Newsletter:%20Daily&utm_term=Daily
Article courtesy of The Christian Science Monitor by Gretel Kauffman

Carbon Tax Floated As Possible Replacement To Inslee's 'Clean Air Rule'

Polluting industries in Washington state don’t like Gov. Jay Inslee’s cap on carbon emissions — and they don’t think it’s legal.

Inslee’s clean air rule was unveiled last September and went into effect in October. It’s been called a first-of-its-kind rule that caps and reduces carbon pollution by requiring polluters to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions over time.  http://www.opb.org/news/article/washington-state-climate-change-carbon-tax-clean-air-rule/
Article courtesy of OPB News by Austin Jenkins

How to Have a Green Vacation

Many properties include green efforts on their websites, or you can ask the concierge or reservations department about the hotel’s green programs.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/travel/how-to-have-a-green-vacation.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fearth&action=click&contentCollection=earth&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront
Article courtesy of the New York Time by Shivani Vora

Trump to Undo Vehicle Rules That Curb Global Warming

The regulatory rollback on vehicle pollution will relax restrictions on tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide and will not require action by Congress. It will also have a major effect on the United States auto industry.  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/us/politics/trump-vehicle-emissions-regulation.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0
Article courtesy of the New York Times by Coral Davenport

Want to cut carbon emissions? Try growing cement bricks with bacteria

To make bricks, bioMASON engineers start by pouring a pitcher of primed bacteria into a mixer full of foundation material, such as sand or pebbles. Paddles churn the concoction, so the bacteria slip evenly in-between the particles of the rocky material.Next, the tank holding the brew tips upward, and the goop slides into machine called “the hopper.” The wet biocement funnels into the hopper’s brick molds, and a hydraulic plate covers them. Flip a switch, and the plate presses into the material while vibrating furiously.  http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/carbon-emissions-growing-cement-bricks-bacteria-biomason/
Article courtesy of PBS Newshour by Nsikan Akpan and Matt Ehrichs

Why are pandas black and white? Science offers an answer.

The researchers discovered that the coloring could be tied to two main functions: crypsis (camouflage) and communication. The researchers realized that, unlike some other types of bears, pandas have to be active year-round without hibernation. The scarceness of bamboo, the only food pandas are capable of digesting, means that pandas need to be able to cross a wide range of habitats in search of a meal, from dense, warm rainforests to snowy, mountainous regions. The white parts of their fur helps pandas to blend in with snowy surroundings, and the black portions help them hide in shady forests.  http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2017/0305/Why-are-pandas-black-and-white-Science-offers-an-answer?cmpid=ema:nws:Daily%2520Newsletter%2520%2803-06-2017%29&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20170306_Newsletter:%20Daily&utm_term=Daily
Article courtesy of The Christian Science Monitor by Weston Williams

Norway Has Discovered the Future of Snowmaking

The snow machine would work a bit like your refrigerator, Eikevik says. The machine, essentially an enormous heat pump, would cool water inside an internal refrigeration plant, then shoot out frigid snow. But the process, which is familiar to anyone with a freezer, produces a significant amount of hot air. It’s here, however, that the machines can be made sustainable, researchers say. Instead of blowing the hot air outside the machine, Eikevik says his team will aim to achieve “100 percent heat recovery,” which could then be used to heat nearby buildings and facilities. A single snow machine, which produces an industry standard 200 cubic meters of snow per day, could provide enough heat to warm between 50 and 100 homes, he estimates. With enough machines, you could heat whole resorts and neighborhoods.   https://www.outsideonline.com/2160346/future-snowmaking-happening-Norway
Article courtesy of outside by David Ferry

SpaceX plans to send humans around the moon in 2018. Can they pull it off?

February 27, 2017 —Two private citizens have booked a trip around the moon scheduled for 2018, according to a SpaceX announcement Monday afternoon.
Yes, you read that right. The commercial spaceflight company that has yet to fly any crewed missions into space plans to send two non-astronauts beyond Earth's orbit next year. Is that really possible?
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/Spacebound/2017/0227/SpaceX-plans-to-send-humans-around-the-moon-in-2018.-Can-they-pull-it-off?cmpid=ema:nws:Daily%2520Newsletter%2520%2802-28-2017%29&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20170228_Newsletter:%20Daily&utm_term=Daily
Article courtesy of The Christian Science Monitor by Eva Botkin-Kowaski             

Boston Dynamics new robot is kind of scary

The Google-owned robotics company rolled out its two-wheeled, four-legged hybrid robot, named “Handle,” in a video uploaded to YouTube on Monday. With the ability to travel at 9 miles per hour and jump 4 feet vertically, Handle offers new possibilities for what robots could become.  http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2017/0228/Boston-Dynamics-new-robot-is-kind-of-scary-video?cmpid=ema:nws:Daily%2520Newsletter%2520%2802-28-2017%29&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20170228_Newsletter:%20Daily&utm_term=Daily
Article courtesy of The Christian Science Monitor by Mengqi Sun