Arctic warming: scientists alarmed by 'crazy' temperature rises

An alarming heatwave in the sunless winter Arctic is causing blizzards in Europe and forcing scientists to reconsider even their most pessimistic forecasts of climate change.

Although it could yet prove to be a freak event, the primary concern is that global warming is eroding the polar vortex, the powerful winds that once insulated the frozen north.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/27/arctic-warming-scientists-alarmed-by-crazy-temperature-rises

Article courtesy of The Guardian by Jonathan Watts

Could a gondola system be coming to Boston’s Seaport District?

The idea of a gondola whisking thousands of commuters over the traffic-clogged South Boston Waterfront once seemed fanciful to many in the city, a transportation pipe dream, of sorts. https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/02/27/altered-route-has-backers-seaport-gondola-system-feeling-that-they-gaining-momentum/gZyiNHJjYvROG7jwRIlrlK/story.html?et_rid=684625379&s_campaign=todaysheadlines:newsletter
Article courtesy of The Boston Globe by Jon Chesto

Europe Takes First Steps in Electrifying World’s Shipping Fleets

Container ships, tankers, freighters, and cruise liners are a significant source of CO2 emissions and other pollutants. Led by Norway, Europe is beginning to electrify its coastal vessels – but the task of greening the high seas fleet is far more daunting.  http://e360.yale.edu/features/europe-takes-first-steps-in-electrifying-worlds-shipping-fleets
Article courtesy of Yale Environment 360 by Paul Hockenos

ELECTRIC BIKES WANT TO TAKE ON EVERYONE—EVEN UBER

The e-bike was better than a regular bike, obvi. But it might be better than the bus, too. And better than another awkward conversation with an Uber driver. At $2 for 30 minutes, it might be cheaper, faster, and easier, too. That's because Jump runs a dockless bike-share service, the kind that has been hoovering venture capital like a Dyson run amok.  https://www.wired.com/story/shared-electric-bikes-take-on-everyone/
Article courtesy of WIRED by Aarian Marshall

Scientists: Rhode Island is sinking and sea levels continue to rise

During the Ice Age, a two-mile-thick ice sheet stretched across Canada and parts of the United States. Its weight pushed down on the middle of the continent, while the coast lifted up. The ice sheet has retreated and now portions of the coast are sinking.  http://wpri.com/2018/02/19/scientists-rhode-island-is-sinking-and-sea-levels-continue-to-rise/
Article courtesy of WPRI Eyewitness News by T. J. Del Santo

How Crushed Volcanic Rock in Farm Soil Could Help Slow Global Warming — and Boost Crops

A new study explores how planet-warming carbon dioxide could be absorbed using ‘enhanced rock weathering,’ a natural process sped up to fight climate change.  https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20022018/global-warming-solutions-carbon-storage-farm-soil-crushed-volcanic-rock-research

Article courtesy of Inside Climate Change by Georgina Gustin

A top-secret US military base will melt out of the Greenland ice sheet

Camp Century was shut down in 1967, and the site was abandoned as Project Iceworm wound down. Back then, military planners assumed the hazardous stuff buried at Camp Century—including diesel fuel, PCBs, and some radioactive coolant—would stay locked up in the Greenland ice sheet, essentially forever. But now Greenland is warming because of climate change. Dangerous contaminants threaten to re-emerge from the ice, potentially putting people in Greenland and maybe as far away as Arctic Canada (400 km offshore) at risk. https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/d3wdb7/cold-war-era-nuclear-base-camp-century-melting-climate-change-greenland

Article courtesy of Motherboard by Kate Lunau

Will India become a Hyperloop pioneer?

A transport startup backed by Richard Branson has inked a deal to build a Hyperloop system between the Indian cities Mumbai and Pune. It's unclear, though, if the technology addresses India's infrastructure bottlenecks.  http://www.dw.com/en/will-india-become-a-hyperloop-pioneer/a-42657679
Courtesy of DW made for minds by Srinivas Mazumdaru

How Bill Gates aims to clean up the planet

It’s a simple idea: strip CO2 from the air and use it to produce carbon-neutral fuel. But can it work on an industrial scale?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/04/carbon-emissions-negative-emissions-technologies-capture-storage-bill-gates

Article courtesy of The Guardian by John Vidal

California governor pushes for 5 million zero-emission cars

SACRAMENTO, Calif.  — Gov. Jerry Brown outlined a $2.5 billion plan Friday to help Californians buy electric vehicles and expand a network of charging stations as part of a goal of getting 5 million zero-emission cars on the road by 2030.  http://www.rgj.com/story/news/2018/01/28/california-governor-pushes-5-million-zero-emission-cars/1073322001/
Article courtesy of Reno Gazette Journal by Jonathan J. Cooper / Associated Press

Qantas uses mustard seeds in first ever biofuel flight between Australia and US

The 15-hour flight used a blended fuel that was 10% derived from the brassica carinata, an industrial type of mustard seed that functions as a fallow crop – meaning it can be grown by farmers in between regular crop cycles.  Compared pound for pound with jet fuel, carinata biofuel reduces emissions by 80% over the fuel’s life cycle. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/30/qantas-uses-mustard-seeds-in-first-ever-biofuel-flight-between-australia-and-us
Article courtesy of The Guardian by Naaman Zhou 

HOW LONG BEACH IS TRYING TO COOL DOWN

Over the past few years, Long Beach has broken a slew of temperature records. In May 2015, the city reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature last recorded in 1967; a 93-degree day in November 2016 broke a 1996 record. Last month, the mercury hit 104 degrees, surpassing 1965’s 99-degree high. By 2050, average temperatures in Long Beach are expected to increase between 2.3 and 2.7 degrees.
https://www.wired.com/story/how-long-beach-is-trying-to-cool-down/
Article courtesy of Wired by Lucy Sherriff

The world's first 'smog vacuum cleaner' can suck up air pollution and turn it into jewellery

In 2015, a Dutch designer invented an air purifier to help fight air pollution. First, it came to Rotterdam and four Chinese cities. Now, it's going to Poland.

On high-smog days in Krakow, Poland, the city's air pollution can reach six times that of safe levels. And in the United States, about four in 10 people live in counties that have unhealthy levels of either ozone or particle pollution, according to the American Lung Association. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/smog-vacuum-cleaner-air-pollution-daan-roosegaarde-netherlands-china-poland-a8183236.html
Article courtesy of Independent News by Leanna Garfield and Cadie Thompson