https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/30/us-electric-vehicles-save-lives-public-health-costs-study By Nina Lakhani , The Guardian .  Excerpt: ...Analysis by the American Lung Association highlights the public health damage caused by the world’s dependence on dirty fossil fuels, and provides a glimpse into a greener, healthier future – should political leaders decide to act. According to the report, swapping gas vehicles for zero-emission new cars and trucks in the US would lead to 110,000 fewer deaths, 2.8m fewer asthma attacks and avoid 13.4m sick days by 2050. The shift would lead to a 92% fall in greenhouse gases by 2050, generating $1.7[trillion] in climate benefits by protecting ecosystems, agriculture, infrastructure from rising sea levels and catastrophic weather events including drought and floods.…

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/25/climate/east-antarctica-ice-shelf-collapse.html By Henry Fountain , The New York Times.  Excerpt: For the first time since satellites began observing Antarctica nearly half a century ago, an ice shelf has collapsed on the eastern part of the continent, scientists said. The collapse of the 450-square-mile Conger ice shelf in a part of the continent called Wilkes Land occurred in mid-March. It was first spotted by scientists with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and appeared in satellite images taken on March 17, according to the National Ice Center in the United States. ...Several very  large glaciers in West Antarctica  are already flowing faster and if their ice shelves were to collapse completely, sea levels could rise on the order of 10 feet over centuries.…  See also article in The Guardian .

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/28/special-series/befriending-trees-to-lower-a-citys-temperature.html By Peter Wilson , The New York Times.  Excerpt: New York, Denver, Shanghai, Ottawa and Los Angeles have all unveiled Million Tree Initiatives aimed at greatly increasing their urban forests because of the ability of trees to reduce city temperatures, absorb carbon dioxide and soak up excess rainfall. Central Melbourne, on the other hand, lacks those cities’ financial firepower and is planning to plant a little more than 3,000 trees a year over the next decade. Yet it has gained the interest of other cities by using its extensive data to shore up the community engagement and political commitment required to sustain the decades-long work of building urban forests. ...Called the  Urban Forest Visual , the map displayed each of the 80,000 trees in its parks and streets, and showed each tree’s age, species and health. It also gave each tree its own email address so that people could help to

https://eos.org/articles/warmer-nights-are-adding-fuel-to-nighttime-fires By Jennifer Schmidt , Eos/AGU.  Excerpt: Wildland firefighters battling record-setting blazes are noticing that the game is changing. Where crews once gained ground in the evening hours, when fires naturally die down, some on the front lines now say they often are facing a sustained battle. A  new study published in  Nature  showed just how accurate these reports are, particularly in the western United States.…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccZR9Np3vWI [Youtube video] By Solar Cookers International.  Excerpt: ...Approximately 2.6 billion people cook over open fires around the globe and women and girls carry the greatest burdens of this cooking method. Gathering fuel and cooking over open fires increases the risks of rape, premature deaths, burns, and disability. Solar cooking frees women from those burdens with an affordable, healthy, sustainable, off-grid solution. SCI advocates for the adoption of solar cooking to empower women and their families to live healthier and more sustainable lives while alleviating climate change.…

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/27/climate/manchin-coal-climate-conflicts.html By Christopher Flavelle  and Julie Tate , The New York Times.  Excerpt: At every step of his political career, Joe Manchin helped a West Virginia power plant that is the sole customer of his private coal business. Along the way, he blocked ambitious climate action. ...While  the fact  that  Mr. Manchin owns  a  coal business  is  well-known , an examination by The New York Times offers a more detailed portrait of the degree to which Mr. Manchin’s business has been interwoven with his official actions. He created his business while a state lawmaker in anticipation of the Grant Town plant, which has been the sole customer for his gob for the past 20 years, according to federal data. At key moments over the years, Mr. Manchin used his political influence to benefit the plant. ...As the pivotal vote in an evenly split Senate,  Mr. Manchin has blocked legislation  that would speed the country’s transition to wind

https://www.science.org/content/article/dirty-bomb-ingredients-go-missing-chornobyl-monitoring-lab By Richard Stone, Science Magazine.  Excerpt: Insecure radioactive materials are the latest worry as Russia continues occupation of infamous nuclear reservation. ...When the lights went out at Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant on 9 March, the Russian soldiers holding Ukrainian workers at gunpoint became the least of Anatolii Nosovskyi’s worries. More urgent was the possibility of a radiation accident at the decommissioned plant. If the plant’s emergency generators ran out of fuel, the ventilators that keep explosive hydrogen gas from building up inside a spent nuclear fuel repository would quit working, says Nosovskyi, director of the Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants (ISPNPP) in Kyiv. So would sensors and automated systems to suppress radioactive dust inside a concrete “sarcophagus” that holds the unsettled remains of Chornobyl’s Unit Four reactor, which melted down in th

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/24/climate/methane-leaks-new-mexico.html By Maggie Astor , The New York Times.  Excerpt: Startlingly large amounts of methane are leaking from wells and pipelines in New Mexico, according to a new analysis of aerial data, suggesting that the oil and gas industry may be contributing more to climate change than was previously known. The study, by researchers at Stanford University, estimates that oil and gas operations in New Mexico’s Permian Basin are releasing 194 metric tons per hour of methane, a planet-warming gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide. That is more than six times as much as the latest estimate from the Environmental Protection Agency. The number came as a surprise to Yuanlei Chen and Evan Sherwin, the lead authors of the study, which was  published Wednesday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology . ...The largest previous assessment of methane emissions from oil and gas in the United States,  published in 2018 , re

https://www.codot.gov/news/2022/march/colorado-welcomes-arrival-of-zero-emissions-big-rigs By Colorado Department of Transportation.  Excerpt: New all-electric trucks will help Colorado meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals and save consumers money. Roads in Colorado will soon be seeing green 18-wheelers — big trucks with plenty of power but zero emissions. ...Colorado Energy Office Director Will Toor and Colorado Department of Transportation Office of Innovative Mobility Chief Kay Kelly on Tuesday joined officials from Nikola, Wagner Equipment and the Colorado Motor Carriers Association to hail the arrival of the electric big rigs. A Nikola Tre truck, on display at the Capitol Tuesday, is a fully battery-electric vehicle (BEV) offering a range of up to 350 miles. Beginning in 2023, Wagner will also include the Nikola Tre hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles as part of its portfolio of trucks. “Colorado recently released a draft Clean Truck Strategy, which is among the most comprehen

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/19/nyregion/clean-air-idle-car.html By Michael Wilson , The New York Times.  Excerpt: ... Citizens Air Complaint Program , a public health campaign that invites — and pays — people to report trucks that are parked and idling for more than three minutes, or one minute if outside a school. Those who report collect 25 percent of any fine against a truck by submitting a video just over 3 minutes in length that shows the engine is running and the name of the company on the door. The program has vastly increased the number of complaints of idling trucks sent to the city, from just a handful before its creation in 2018 to more than 12,000 last year.…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/03/18/antarctica-heat-wave-climate-change/ By Jason Samenow  and  Kasha Patel , The Washington Post.  Excerpt: The coldest location on the planet has experienced an episode of warm weather this week unlike any ever observed, with temperatures over the eastern Antarctic ice sheet soaring 50 to 90 degrees above normal. The warmth has smashed records and shocked scientists.… See also The Guardian article, Heatwaves at both of Earth’s poles alarm climate scientists - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/20/heatwaves-at-both-of-earth-poles-alarm-climate-scientists .

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/business/electric-vehicle-ev-design.html By Paul Stenquist , The New York Times.  Excerpt: The internal combustion engine is exiting stage left. While it provided great transportation and performance thrills for many years, it will no longer play a leading role. In its place under the hood will be, well, very little. Ready or not, the curtain is going up on electric vehicles, and most of their mechanical components don’t sit where fossil-fuel engines once performed. Electric motors — far smaller than gasoline engines — are mounted between the wheels. A large transmission no longer gobbles up passenger space. No drive shaft is needed, thus no tunnel in the middle of the floor. The rear seat doesn’t have to be positioned to provide room for a fuel tank. The E.V.’s power source — the battery — is heavy and large but of minimal height. Situated within the area protected by the wheels, it serves as part of the chassis — a structural member. Nearly all the

https://www.nsta.org/blog/15degc-may-not-seem-much-its-really-big-deal-heres-why By Ann Reid, Executive Director, National Center for Science Education.  Excerpt: In 2015, recognizing the existential threat posed by global climate change and the need for coordinated action, nearly 200 nations adopted the  Paris Agreement , a framework for addressing the climate threat on an international scale. A central goal of the agreement was this: Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change. ...That still might not seem like much, but there are certainly times when a 2.7°F increase would be a cause for concern. For example, if one of my children had a fever of 101.3°F, 2.7°F above normal, it would certainly get my attention.  Fever is just one instance of a small

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28953-x By Aaron Hodges et al, Nature Communications.  Abstract: Renewable, or  green , hydrogen will play a critical role in the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors and will therefore be important in limiting global warming. However, renewable hydrogen is not cost-competitive with fossil fuels, due to the moderate energy efficiency and high capital costs of traditional water electrolysers. Here a unique concept of water electrolysis is introduced, wherein water is supplied to hydrogen- and oxygen-evolving electrodes via capillary-induced transport along a porous inter-electrode separator, leading to inherently  bubble-free  operation at the electrodes. An alkaline  capillary-fed electrolysis  cell of this type demonstrates water electrolysis performance exceeding commercial electrolysis cells, with a cell voltage at 0.5 A cm −2  and 85 °C of only 1.51 V, equating to 98% energy efficiency, with an energy consumption of 40.4 kWh/kg hydroge

https://www.wric.com/news/virginia-news/ga-price-school-district-expands-electric-school-bus-fleet-amid-gas-price-increases/ By Christy Matino , ABC8 News.  Excerpt: FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (WDVM) — Fairfax County Public Schools are going green in hopes of saving some green. Parents and officials gathered on Monday to celebrate the addition of new electric school buses to their fleet. This brings the county one step closer to its goal of obtaining all-electric school buses by 2035. Dropping diesel for electric buses is a trend seen in school districts across the DMV, and the soaring cost of gas makes it the perfect time to switch over. “Higher prices at the pump highlight the need accelerate our transition to a clean energy economy, and offer affordable and convenient transportation options that are less vulnerable to these price spikes,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.… See also Battle of the Buses: Diesel vs. Electric (youtube)

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/14/world/arctic-seafloor-holes-permafrost-scn/index.html By Katie Hunt , CNN .  Excerpt: Marine scientists have discovered deep sinkholes -- one larger than a city block of six-story buildings -- and ice-filled hills that have formed "extraordinarily" rapidly on a remote part of the Arctic seafloor. Mapping of Canada's Beaufort Sea, using a remotely operated underwater vehicle and ship-mounted sonar, revealed the dramatic changes, which the researchers said are taking place as a result of thawing permafrost submerged underneath the seabed. ...On land, thawing permafrost has led to radical shifts in the Arctic landscape, including ground collapses, the formation and disappearance of lakes, the emergence of mounds   called pingos, and  craters formed by blowouts of methane gas  contained in the permafrost. These extreme features   have affected infrastructure such as roads and pipelines. ...Many of the landscape changes seen on terrestrial permaf

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2022/03/08/texas-prairie-solar-panels-climate-change By Mary Beth Gahan, The Washington Post.  Excerpt: A solar facility on a 3,594-acre tract of land has environmental groups searching for a way to save what they consider a living museum ...“We recognize the importance of this native prairie ecosystem,” said Daniel Willard, a biodiversity specialist at Orsted. “One of the best ways to protect biodiversity is the development of clean energy, and we are taking several steps to ensure that development is done in balance with nature.”…

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/climate/amazon-rainforest-climate-change-deforestation.html By Henry Fountain , The New York Times.  Excerpt: The Amazon is losing its ability to recover from disturbances like droughts and land-use changes, scientists reported Monday, adding to concern that the rainforest is approaching a critical threshold beyond which much of it will be replaced by grassland, with vast consequences for biodiversity and climate change. The scientists said their research did not pinpoint when this threshold, which they described as a tipping point, might be reached. “But it’s worth reminding ourselves that if it gets to that tipping point, that we commit to losing the Amazon rainforest, then we get a significant feedback to global climate change,” said one of the scientists, Tim Lenton, director of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter in England. Losing the rainforest could result in up to 90 billion tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide getting pu

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/07/climate/trucks-pollution-rules-epa.html By Coral Davenport , The New York Times.  Excerpt: The Biden administration on Monday proposed strict new limits on pollution from buses, delivery vans, tractor-trailers and other heavy trucks — the first time in more than 20 years that tailpipe standards have been tightened for the biggest polluters on the road. The new draft rule from the Environmental Protection Agency would require heavy-duty trucks to reduce emissions of nitrogen dioxide by 90 percent by 2031. Nitrogen dioxide is linked to lung cancer, heart disease and premature death. The E.P.A. also announced plans to slightly tighten truck emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that is driving climate change. The new rules for nitrogen oxide pollution would apply to trucks beginning with the model year 2027, while the carbon dioxide rules would apply to trucks starting with the model year 2024.…

https://eos.org/articles/forest-edges-are-more-not-less-productive-than-interior-forest By Jenessa Duncombe , Eos/AGU.  Excerpt: The boundaries of northeastern U.S. forests suck in more carbon dioxide than previously thought.…

https://issuu.com/nrdc/docs/naturesvoice-spring-2022 By Nathanael Greene, Nature's Voice (NRDC).  Excerpt: Clean power just keeps winning in the marketplace. According to the federal Energy Administration, wind and solar made up 62 percent of new electric generating capacity in 2019, and 76 percent in 2020. The reason is clear…wind and solar are simply less expensive than dirty fossil fuels. And costs for wind, solar, and battery technologies continue to fall. …In 2021 more than 10,000 megawatts of utility-scale solar projects came online—triple the amount just five years before. …here's more good news: the Energy Department also found that the disturbed lands that are suitable for solar use—that is, lands denuded or contaminated by prior use, impacted by invasive species, or good for rooftop solar—are about eight times what is needed to decarbonize the whole country….