Paris global warming targets could be exceeded sooner than expected because of melting permafrost, study finds

The world is on course to exceed global warming limits set out in the Paris climate agreement much earlier than previously thought, scientists have warned, following the first comprehensive study of the impact of melting permafrost.  https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-paris-agreement-permafrost-melting-carbon-emissions-a8541686.html
Article courtesy of Independent by Tom Batchelor

World's first hydrogen train rolls out in Germany

Commuters in Germany now have a chance to ride the world's first hydrogen train as the country moves to replace old diesel-powered engines. Instead of exhaust fumes, hydrogen trains produce only water.  https://www.dw.com/en/worlds-first-hydrogen-train-rolls-out-in-germany/a-45525062
Article courtesy of DW.com

Guilt-Free on the Sea?

Western Norway’s rustic port village of Flåm, a remote goat-farming hamlet and summer escape set deep among the region’s icy fjords and towering, snow-capped peaks, seems an unlikely launch site for the future of sustainable nautical travel.  https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/guilt-free-sea/

Article courtesy of Hakai Magazine by Paul Hockenos

Norfolk company's flood sensors could help save people, property

Jim Gray has seen too many cars enter flooded underpasses in Hampton Roads. The reason, he says, is often because drivers don’t know how deep the water really is. When they attempt it, the vehicle stalls, becomes stuck and ends up totaled.

So, in an effort to save both people and property, Gray founded Green Stream, a Norfolk company that aims to provide residents with real-time data of water inundating streets. https://pilotonline.com/news/local/environment/article_17f0c17e-ba90-11e8-9097-4fce90d35d67.html

Article courtesy of The Virginian Pilot by Peter Coutu

Hospitals Take Aim At ‘The Greatest Health Threat Of The 21st Century’

One of the larger themes at this week’s massive Global Climate Action Summit taking place in San Francisco is the relationship between climate change and human health.

“Health is the best way to relate to human beings on the issue,” former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said Friday during a session titled “Health is where climate change hits home.” “Let’s put a face on climate.” https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hospitals-take-aim-at-the-greatest-health-threat-of-the-21st-century_us_5b9fc42de4b013b0977d3080

Article courtesy of The Huffington Post by Justine Calma Grist

How Self-Driving Cars Could Ruin the American City

Earlier this summer, I went to Mountain View, California, to visit the headquarters of Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company that spun off from Google, and get driven around in one of its cutting-edge cars. The model waiting for me in the parking lot was deceptively fuddy-duddy: a white Chrysler Pacifica, outwardly distinguished from the typical minivan by a small black dome on the roof, which houses a family of cameras, sensors, radars, and lasers. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/how-self-driving-cars-could-ruin-the-american-city/569518/
Article courtesy of The Atlantic by Derek Thompson

Large wind and solar farms in the Sahara would increase heat, rain, vegetation

Wind and solar farms are known to have local effects on heat, humidity and other factors that may be beneficial—or detrimental—to the regions in which they are situated. A new climate-modeling study finds that a massive wind and solar installation in the Sahara Desert and neighboring Sahel would increase local temperature, precipitation and vegetation. Overall, the researchers report, the effects would likely benefit the region.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-09-large-solar-farms-sahara-vegetation.html#jCp
Article courtesy of Phys.org Provided by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Giant Trap Is Deployed to Catch Plastic Littering the Pacific Ocean

The 2,000-foot-long unmanned structure was the product of about $20 million in funding from the Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit that aims to trap up to 150,000 pounds of plastic during the boom’s first year at sea. Within five years, with the creation of dozens more booms, the organization hopes to clean half of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.   https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/09/science/ocean-cleanup-great-pacific-garbage-patch.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience
Article courtesy of The New York Times by Christina Caron

Scientists Are Retooling Bacteria to Cure Disease

In a study carried out over the summer, a group of volunteers drank a white, peppermint-ish concoction laced with billions of bacteria. The microbes had been engineered to break down a naturally occurring toxin in the blood.   https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/health/synthetic-biology-pku.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront

Article courtesy of the New York Times by Carl Zimmer

Hundreds of Seals Have Died in Maine

Since July 1, more than 460 dead seals have washed up on beaches and islands in Maine, New Hampshire, and northern Massachusetts. Another 137 coughing, sneezing, and sick seals have stranded themselves, overwhelming marine animal rescuers.  https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/hundreds-of-seals-have-died-in-maine/
Article courtesy of Hakai Magazine by Dan Zukowski

Indonesia, a top plastic polluter, mobilizes 20,000 citizens to clean up the mess

Indonesia is the world’s second-largest plastic polluter, after China. It produces 3.2 million tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste a year, 1.29 million tonnes of which ends up in the sea.  https://news.mongabay.com/2018/09/indonesia-a-top-plastic-polluter-mobilizes-20000-citizens-to-clean-it-up/
Article courtesy of Mongabay adapted by Cory Rogers

A Pipeline To Capture Carbon Dioxide And Store It Underground

Capturing carbon emissions and locking them away deep underground could be a viable means of beginning to combat climate change. But, the industry needs a little help, researchers find.  http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2018/09/04/carbon-capture-sequestration-storage-pipeline/#.W5EZ9M5KjIU
Article courtesy of Discover by Natanial Scharping