Aruga Technologies, a Pennsylvania start-up, has developed a technology platform that allows surfaces to self-wipe and remain continuously clean throughout contact with depositing fluids. The technology is inspired by how some natural surfaces, such as arteries, dolphin skin, and mussel use dynamic surface wrinkles to renew. Mimicking this phenomenon in synthetic surfaces decreases fouling and results in an optimized and …
Inequality blocks climate action, as does lack of safety and shared sacrifice
Sunday, December 16, 2018 by Sam Pizzigati on Inequality.org Can an Unequal Earth Beat Climate Change? Some 250 million years ago, life on Earth survived an existential climate crisis. But that Earth had a distinct advantage. No rich. Excerpt …The last time climate on Earth saw nearly as drastic and rapid a climate shift, scientists relate in another new study published in the journal Science, came some …
CIEL: Story of industry knowledge of harms and climate change goes back at least to 1958
In the past year, we’ve uncovered more evidence of the fossil fuel industry’s early knowledge of climate change. Since the 1950s and 60s — more than half a century ago — companies like ExxonMobil and Shell have been researching climate change and acknowledging climate risks internally. By the 1970s, oil companies were using that knowledge to protect their own investments …
Scientists call for eight steps to increase soil carbon for climate action and food security
December 4, 2018 University of Vermont Read Science Daily coverage here Leading scientists call for action to increase global soil carbon, in advance of the annual climate summit of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Katowice, Poland (COP24) and World Soil Day (5 Dec). The amount of carbon in soil is over twice the amount of carbon …
Kids suffering from air pollution: 40 percent of the burden of environmentally related disease and about 90 percent of the burden of climate change is borne by children under five, although that age group constitutes only 10 percent of the global population
A new study led by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH) organizes the available scientific evidence on the effects of air pollution on children’s health. The paper in the journal Environmental Research is the first comprehensive review of the associations between various fossil fuel combustion pollutants and multiple health effects in children in the context of …
Optimizing Restoration Can Deliver an Eightfold Increase in Cost-Effectiveness
A new study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution presents a novel approach to identify optimal priority areas for restoration, considering multiple criteria such as biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and reduction of costs. In a context of multiple local, national and global targets for ecosystem restoration, the study presents a flexible tool capable of increasing restoration cost-effectiveness by up to eight …
Risks of ‘domino effect’ of tipping points greater than thought, study says
Scientists warn policymakers not to ignore links, and stress that ‘every action counts’ Jonathan Watts Thu 20 Dec 2018 Policymakers have severely underestimated the risks of ecological tipping points, according to a study that shows 45% of all potential environmental collapses are interrelated and could amplify one another. The authors said their paper, published in the journal Science, highlights how overstressed and overlapping natural …
Black lung disease is still killing miners. The coal industry doesn’t want to hear it
On the Ground: reporting from all corners of America Kentucky Today’s black lung rates are higher than 50 years ago, affecting men as young as their 30s, and in Kentucky their right to decent healthcare is being curtailed By Elyssa East, Thu 13 Dec 2018 A chest x-ray in the office of Dr Brandon Crum in Pikeville, Kentucky. Photograph: Jeff Swensen/Jeff …
From freecycling to Fairphones: 24 ways to lead an anti-capitalist life in a capitalist world
We asked readers for their thoughts on ‘non‑capitalist living’ and were deluged with replies. Here are their ideas for everyday ways to buck the system By John Harris, Mon 10 Dec 2018 Set up a collective bike workshop … and learn to fix bikes while engaging with your community. As the new Amazon advert goes, can you feel it? Amid the encroaching …
Guaranteed basic income demonstration projects
28-year-old Mayor Michael Tubbs is building the first city-led guaranteed income demonstration in the U.S, the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration. The combination of innovative government action and provocative concept drew the national spotlight to Stockton, which Mayor Tubbs proudly describes as “a city on the rise.” Over the course of 2018, SEED grew from an idea to a full-fledged study …