https://eos.org/features/critical-minerals-for-a-carbon-neutral-future By Douglas C. Kreiner ,  Jane Hammarstrom  and  Warren Day , Eos/AGU. Excerpt: Imagine driving an electric car past a solar farm ...below a ridge of wind turbines. Or ...changing a thermostat to cool or heat your home, ...not ...increasing greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. Transitioning to carbon-neutral economies and lifestyles will  require substantial sources of mineral commodities ...including the cobalt, nickel, lithium, manganese, germanium, gallium, indium, and graphite needed for EV batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, and energy storage.... In some cases, supplier countries have histories of poor environmental, social, or governance practices.... In 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in partnership with the Association of American State Geologists and other federal, state, and private-sector organizations,  initiated  the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative ( Ea...

https://www.science.org/content/article/hurricane-otis-smashed-mexico-and-broke-records-why-did-no-one-see-it-coming By PHIE JACOBS , Science. Excerpt: Early Wednesday morning, Hurricane Otis became the strongest storm in recorded history to strike the Pacific coast of Mexico. The Category 5 hurricane made landfall near Acapulco, where its heavy rain and 265-kilometer-per-hour (kph) winds unleashed massive landslides and knocked out power lines, killing at least 2 dozen people and causing widespread devastation. But just 2 days earlier, meteorologists doubted whether Otis—then a tropical storm—would even achieve hurricane status. Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center expected the storm to undergo “ gradual strengthening ,” with most computer models predicting maximum wind speeds of about 100 kph. Instead, as Otis careened toward Mexico’s coastline, its winds increased by 180 kph in 24 hours, a record amount of “rapid intensification.” ...ocean waters have been “unusually wa...

https://www.science.org/content/article/can-indigenous-knowledge-and-western-science-work-together-new-center-bets-yes By JEFFREY MERVIS , Science. Excerpt: Last month, NSF [funded] a 5-year, $30 million grant designed to weave together traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and Western science. Based at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst,  the Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science  (CBIKS) aims to fundamentally change the way scholars from both traditions select and carry out joint research projects and manage data. The center will explore how climate change threatens food security and the preservation of cultural heritages through eight research hubs in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. ...Each hub will also serve as a model for how to braid together different knowledge traditions, or what its senior investigators call “two-eyed seeing” through both Indigenous and Western lenses....

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/business/energy-environment/exxon-chevron-oil-mergers-peak.html By Clifford Krauss , The New York Times. Excerpt: Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the two largest U.S. oil companies, this month committed to spending more than $50 billion each to buy smaller companies in deals that would let them produce more oil and natural gas for decades to come. But a day after Chevron announced its acquisition, the International Energy Agency released an exhaustive report concluding that demand for oil, gas and other fossil fuels would peak by 2030 as sales of electric cars and use of renewable energy surged. The disconnect between what oil companies and many energy experts think will happen in the coming years has never been quite this stark....

https://eos.org/articles/arctic-warming-triggers-abrupt-ecosystem-shift-in-north-americas-deepest-lake By Cheryl Katz , Eos/AGU. Excerpt: Great Slave Lake looks like a giant goose winging across Canada’s Northwest Territories. Spanning an area the size of Belgium and reaching depths of up to 614 meters, it’s the 10th largest freshwater lake in the world and  North America’s deepest.  Its huge mass of cold water helped shield Great Slave Lake from the climate impacts that have upended the ecosystems of shallower lakes in high northern latitudes. But no longer, according to a new study in  Proceedings of the Royal Society B . Spurred by accelerating Arctic warming, the microscopic algae, or phytoplankton, at the foundation of this massive lake’s food web have made a radical regime shift since the turn of the century. ...Great Slave Lake’s abrupt transformation corresponds to accelerating Arctic climate change, said the study’s lead author, Queen’s University paleolimn...

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/24/travel/chumash-marine-sanctuary-morro-bay-california.html By Lauren Sloss , The New York Times. Excerpt: The proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary could create a new model for Native collaborative management of public lands. But the sanctuary faces headwinds with a last-minute boundary change to accommodate a wind farm....

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/22/world/europe/spain-drought-water.html By Rachel Chaundler , The New York Times.  Excerpt: ...Spain has been blighted by a long-running drought, caused by record-high temperatures in 2022, a string of heat waves in 2023, and almost three years of reduced rainfall. Throughout the country, reservoirs have been depleted; in the worst-affected areas, they are at less than 20 percent of their capacity. ...Pozoblanco, a village of about 18,000 in southern Spain, where the daily struggle for drinkable water has become a glimpse of what may lie ahead for parts of Europe where drought and extreme heat have become increasingly common. ...Pozoblanco and 22 other villages in this traditional pig- and cattle-farming area north of the city of Córdoba have needed deliveries of fresh water since April, when the Sierra Boyera reservoir, which supplies the area, completely dried up. ...If precipitation levels remain low this winter, the southernmost region of Spain,...

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abq3542 By YUYA FUKANO et al, Science. Abstract: Prevalence of impervious surface and resulting higher temperatures in urban areas, known as urban heat islands, comprises prominent characteristics in global cities. However, it is not known whether and how urban plants adapt to such heat stress. This study ...examined whether the leaf color variation is associated with urban heat stress. Field observations revealed that green-leaved plants were dominant in green habitats, and red-leaved individuals were dominant in urban habitats.... Growth and photosynthesis experiments demonstrated that red-leaved individuals performed better under heat stress, while green-leaved individuals performed better under nonstressful conditions. ...the red leaf may have evolved multiple times from the ancestral green leaf. Overall, the results suggest that the red leaves of  O. corniculata  observed in cities worldwide are evidence of plant adaptive e...

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/19102023/inside-clean-energy-15-cent-rule-residential-solar-adoption-electricity-rates/ By   Dan Gearino , Inside Climate News. Excerpt: About 5 percent of U.S. households have rooftop solar, a share that may seem like a lot, but it looks low compared to places like Germany (about 20 percent) and Australia (about 30 percent). One of the big reasons that the United States lags some of those other countries is that electricity is unusually cheap here, so it makes less sense on a financial basis for someone to buy rooftop solar. But this is changing. Utilities across the country have been raising their electricity rates by leaps and bounds.... This is fueling demand for rooftop solar, the technology that many utilities view as competition. At what point is a customer’s electricity rate high enough to justify rooftop solar on a financial basis? ...let’s simplify things and I’ll throw out a number: 15 cents. This rate, 15 cents per kilowatt-hour, trans...

https://www.fastcompany.com/90966491/what-is-biochar-why-an-ancient-farming-technique-could-help-fight-climate-change By ADELE PETERS , Fast Company.  Excerpt: On a site  next to a sawmill in Waverly, Virginia , a startup takes sawdust and offcuts from the mill and heats it up to turn it into biochar, a material that can store carbon for hundreds or thousands of years. The project, which recently began operating, will capture a little more than 10,000 metric tons of CO2 each year. Microsoft will buy the carbon removal credits as part of its plan to become a  carbon negative company . It’s one of a growing number of biochar production plants. The potential is big: A new study calculated that if biochar production scales up as much as possible globally, it could capture as much as 3 billion metric tons of CO2 a year, or 6% of global emissions. ...When organic waste (like wheat stalks or manure from a farm, or sawdust from forestry) is heated up to extremely high temper...

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/atlantic-hurricanes-are-more-likely-to-power-up-quickly-180983104/ By Brian Handwerk , Smithsonian Magazine. Excerpt: ... a new study , published Thursday in  Scientific Reports , found that in recent decades Atlantic hurricanes were far more likely to dial up from weak Category 1 to major Category 3 or higher storms in only 24 hours. Storms from 2001 to 2020 did so at more than twice the rate as the same types of storms between 1970 and 1990. ...While the study did not include an analysis that attempts to firmly identify the cause or causes of the more quickly intensifying storms, Garner interprets the results as a warning call on how climate change is raising sea surface temperatures. ...Hurricanes are  fueled by warm surface water . ...since reliable global satellite data began to be collected in the 1980s, there has been a remarkably consistent average of about  80 tropical cyclones each year . Most current research sugges...

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf6035 By CODY S. SZUWALSKI et al, Science. Editor's summary: Marine heatwaves, a component of our impact on the Earth’s climate, can bring both expected and unexpected environmental change. Between 2018 and 2021, after a period of historically high crab abundance and a series of marine heatwaves, the population of snow crab in the Bering Sea declined by 10 billion. Szuwalksi  et al . used survey data to model the potential drivers of the decline in this ecologically and commercially important species. They found that the temperature of the water was not above the species’ thermal limits, but it did increase their caloric needs considerably (see the Perspective by Kruse). This increase, in conjunction with a restriction in range, led to an unexpected mass starvation event. —Sacha Vignieri. See also Are crabs in hot water? by GORDON H. KRUSE .

https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.add2915 By KATHERINE S. LAUCK et al, Science.  Summary: For several weeks after hatching, baby birds that live in nests are largely immobile, unable to feed themselves or even regulate their body temperature, making them vulnerable to extreme heat. ...agricultural landscapes are often 10°C hotter than neighboring forests, researchers ...examined more than 150,000 nesting attempts spanning 23 years by 58 bird species in forests, grasslands, farms, and cities across the continental United States. They found that, during periods of extreme heat, the probability of a nest successfully fledging at least one young bird dropped a whopping 46% in agricultural settings. And birds already considered endangered, such as the oak titmouse, were particularly vulnerable. Surprisingly, extreme heat modestly increased the reproductive success of forest-dwelling birds—though the team says these results don’t indicate that climate change is good...

https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/scientists-discover-deepest-known-evidence-of-coral-reef-bleaching By Alan Williams, University of Plymouth.  Excerpt: Scientists have discovered the deepest known evidence of coral reef bleaching, more than 90 metres below the surface of the Indian Ocean. The damage – attributed to a 30% rise in sea temperatures caused by the Indian Ocean dipole – harmed up to 80% of the reefs in certain parts of the seabed, at depths previously thought to be resilient to ocean warming. ...The findings, highlighted in a study published in  Nature Communications , were discovered by researchers from the University of Plymouth.... 

https://www.iea.org/reports/electricity-grids-and-secure-energy-transitions By International Energy Agency (IEA).  Excerpt: First-of-its-kind global study finds the world must add or replace 80 million km of grids by 2040, equal to all grids globally today, to meet national climate targets and support energy security. ...Achieving all national climate and energy goals will require adding or replacing 80 million kilometres of power lines by 2040 – an amount equal to the entire existing global grid – according to a detailed country-by-country analysis carried out for the report. Major changes to how grids operate and are regulated are also essential, while annual investment in grids, which has remained broadly stagnant, needs to double to more than USD 600 billion a year by 2030....  See also the Oct 19 article US invests $3.5 billion to bolster power grid, deploy clean energy by Timothy Gardner , Reuters. 

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/amazon-rainforest-port-records-lowest-water-level-121-years-amid-drought-2023-10-16/ By Bruno Kelly  and  Jake Spring , Reuters. Excerpt: Rapidly drying tributaries to the mighty Amazon have  left boats stranded , cutting off food and water supplies to  remote villages , while high water temperatures are suspected of killing more than 100  endangered river dolphins . ...The port of Manaus ...recorded 13.59 meters (44.6 ft) of water on Monday compared to 17.60 a year ago, according to its website. That is the lowest level since records began in 1902, passing a previous all-time low set in 2010. ...Some areas of the Amazon have seen the least rain from July to September since 1980, according to the Brazilian government disaster alert center, Cemaden. ...Brazil's Science Ministry blames the drought on this year's onset of the  El Nino climate phenomenon , which is driving extreme weather patterns globally. In a statement ...

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/13/opinion/climate-change-excessive-heat-2023.html By Zeke Hausfather , The New York Times Opinion piece.  Excerpt: Data from  Berkeley Earth  released on Wednesday shows that September was an astounding 0.5 degree Celsius (almost a full degree Fahrenheit) hotter than the prior record, .... ...while many experts have been cautious about acknowledging it, there is increasing evidence that global warming has accelerated over the past 15 years rather than continued at a gradual, steady pace.... 

https://www.science.org/content/article/u-s-hands-out-7-billion-hydrogen-hubs By KATHERINE BOURZAC , Science.  Excerpt: President Joe Biden’s administration today announced $7 billion in funding for seven regional “hubs” to produce hydrogen, which produces water as exhaust when combusted. If made cleanly, hydrogen could help fight global warming by replacing fossil fuels in the fertilizer and steel industries, and in tricky-to-electrify vehicles such as long-haul trucks. ...Hydrogen has had a “chicken and egg” problem, says Keith Wipke, program manager for fuel cell vehicles at DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. “Nobody will start large-scale production until there are customers,” he says. And customers are reluctant to switch to hydrogen without a steady and cheap supply of the gas. “It’s the same story as we’ve seen with solar and wind. The more you build, the cheaper it becomes,” says Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a researcher at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy P...

https://eos.org/articles/plants-worldwide-reach-a-stomata-stalemate By Emily Shepherd , Eos/AGU.  Excerpt: The underside of a leaf is equipped with many thousands of stomata—microscopic pores that act as pathways for carbon dioxide and water vapor. As climate change causes temperatures to rise, stomata are narrowing, reducing plants’ ability to take in carbon, according to a new study published in  Science .... 

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/05/1200788439/wind-power-cargo-ships-carbon-emissions By Scott Neuman , NPR. Excerpt: Well over a century after the Age of Sail gave way to coal- and oil-burning ships, climate change concerns are prompting a new look at an old technology that could once again harness wind to propel commercial cargo ships — this time with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Imagine what looks like Boeing 747 wings with movable flaps, set vertically on a ship's deck. The vessel cruises under minimum power from its giant engine as computerized sensors adjust the fiberglass wings to take advantage of the wind's speed and direction. This wind-assisted propulsion saves a substantial amount of fuel and reduces the carbon belching from the ship's stack. Many experts think the idea has the potential to navigate the notoriously dirty shipping industry toward a greener future. ...About 90% of the world's goods — everything from soybeans to sneakers — are tra...

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2307850 By Rosemary K. Sokas, M.D., M.O.H.,  and Emily Senay, M.D., M.P.H., New England Journal of Medicine. Excerpt: Efforts to implement heat-safety protections for workers are falling short. Given these gaps, clinicians can help support their patients who may be at risk for heat-related illness. [Hear 14 min interview with first author Rosemary Sokas ] See also New York Times article Workers Exposed to Extreme Heat Have Few Protections .

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh5007 By JEFFREY S. PIGATI et al, Science. Excerpt: Traditionally, researchers believed that humans arrived in North America around 16,000 to 13,000 years ago. Recently, however, evidence has accumulated supporting a much earlier date. In 2021, fossilized footprints from White Sands National Park in New Mexico were dated to between 20,000 and 23,000 years ago, providing key evidence for earlier occupation, although this finding was controversial. Pigati  et al . returned to the White Sands footprints and obtained new dates from multiple, highly reliable sources (see the Perspective by Philippsen). They, too, resolved dates of 20,000 to 23,000 years ago, reconfirming that humans were present far south of the ice sheets during the Last Glacial Maximum. —Sacha Vignieri....

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2395586-why-chinas-clean-energy-tech-will-determine-our-climate-future/ By James Dinneen , New Scientist. Excerpt: As the world’s biggest carbon emitter and the largest producer of clean energy tech, China is crucial to our climate future, .... In 2023, which will be a record year for global development of renewable energy, more than half of all new wind and solar capacity is set to be installed in China. It is also adding more new nuclear power and hydropower than anywhere else, and in August overtook Europe as the largest builder of offshore wind. In June, two years ahead of schedule, fossil fuels made up less than half of China’s electricity generating capacity, though coal remains a big and growing part of its energy mix. ...China boasts record adoption of electric vehicles too, with these making up more than a fifth of all new vehicles sold in China in 2022, as well as the world’s largest high-speed train syste...

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/03/carbon-tree-planting-schemes-threaten-tropical-biodiversity-aoe By Patrick Greenfield , The Guardian. Excerpt: Monoculture tree-planting schemes are threatening tropical biodiversity while only offering modest climate benefit, ecologists have said, warning that ecosystems like the Amazon and Congo basin are being reduced to their carbon value. Amid a boom in the planting of single-species plantations to capture carbon, scientists have urged governments to prioritise the conservation and restoration of native forests over commercial monocultures, and cautioned that planting swathes of non-native trees in tropical regions threatens important flora and fauna for a negligible climate impact. Writing in  the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution , ecologists said the increasing popularity of commercial pine, eucalyptus and teak plantations in the tropics for carbon offsetting is having unintended consequences, such as drying out na...

https://eos.org/articles/arctic-ice-loss-could-shorten-winter-feeding-time-for-zooplankton By Veronika Meduna , Eos/AGU.  Excerpt: Hauke ... Flores , a polar ecologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany, has coauthored a  study  warning that ongoing ice loss in the Arctic could force copepods and other zooplankton to stay at depth for longer, cutting their winter feeding time by up to a month. The Arctic has been losing sea ice at a rate of almost 13% per decade since the start of satellite monitoring. As ice floes shrink and thin, more sunlight reaches deeper into the ocean. ...“Any negative repercussions for the zooplankton will have impacts on the whole food web because the zooplankton is the switch that transmits the carbon to higher predators,” he explained....