One fewer barrier for farmers who want to cover fields with solar panels

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By Ian James, Los Angeles Times. 

Excerpt: A newly passed California bill would let farmers in water-stressed regions convert fallowed fields to solar arrays without paying steep exit fees on long-standing farmland protection contracts. The measure targets Central Valley and Central Coast lands facing strict groundwater pumping limits, offering a lifeline for growers as climate change deepens droughts. Supporters say shifting unproductive cropland to clean energy will help California meet its 100% renewable power goal, while farm groups warn of losing valuable agricultural land.... 

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New Lessons from Old Ice: How We Understand Past (and Future) Heating

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By Mariana Mastache-Maldonado , Eos/AGU.  Excerpt: Fragments of blue ice up to 6 million years old—the oldest ever found—offer key insights into Earth’s warming cycles. Researchers are using these ancient data to refine models of our future climate. ...In Antarctica...rare formations known as blue ice areas may offer a distinct look into that deep past. These areas, which make up barely 1% of the continent, form where strong winds strip away surface snow. ...The Allan Hills region, situated on the edge of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.... Here researchers have discovered ice up to 6 million years old—the oldest yet found. Their  study  of the ice, published in  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America , revealed that parts of it formed during periods far warmer than today—times when sea levels were higher and open forests and grasslands covered much of the planet. ...studying the atmospheric remnants trapped in blue ice, the rese...
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E.P.A. Delays Requirements to Cut Methane, a Potent Greenhouse Gas

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By Lisa Friedman  and  Maxine Joselow , The New York Times.  Excerpt: The Environmental Protection Agency announced on Wednesday that it would delay a requirement that the oil and gas industry limit emissions of methane, a powerful planet-warming gas. Under the requirement, which dates to the Biden administration, oil and gas companies were supposed to start this year reducing the amount of methane they release into the atmosphere. Instead, the Trump administration is giving them until January 2027 and is considering repealing the measure altogether. The move dealt a blow to any remaining effort by the United States to slow Earth’s dangerous warming. It came after the Trump administration  boycotted the United Nations climate summit  this month, the first time that the United States was not present since the annual meetings began 30 years ago....  Full article at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/climate/epa-delays-methane-oil-gas.html . 
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A cool, salty solution

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By Science Advisor.  Excerpt: By the 1990s, the world had achieved a striking victory: largely banning chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), compounds used as refrigerants but destructive to the ozone layer. Unfortunately, their replacements, while safer for ozone, are still potent greenhouse gases; they contribute a few percent to emissions globally. Alternatives to compressible liquid coolants have so far suffered from inefficient heat transfer and the inability to scale. In a typical refrigerator or air conditioner, cooling is achieved by transporting heat away from the system using a fluid that absorbs heat, evaporates into a gas, and gets condensed back into a liquid. Researchers probed a different way to cool down:  adding ions to water to improve its ability to absorb heat  , similar to how we spread salt on the roads to melt snow in the winter. The team ...determined that the cooling process was three times more efficient than conventional systems and could reduce electrici...
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