Because of their proximity to the ocean, Californians get to enjoy locally-sourced oysters, mussels, abalone and clams. Most of the shellfish consumed here come from aquaculture farms along the coast — from San Diego to Humboldt County. And because the animals are filter feeders that siphon tiny plankton out of seawater, growing them is environmentally...
environment
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Upscale Hotels Benefit from EV Charging Stations, Study Shows
Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming increasingly important in the global effort to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, driving massive growth in consumer demand. This demand has wide-reaching impacts, particularly on tourism. In 2021, car rental company Hertz announced its plans to purchase 100,000 Tesla cars for rental. However, the charging station infrastructure needs to be...
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Cutting Air Pollution Emissions Would Save 50,000 Us Lives, $600 Billion Each Year
Eliminating air pollution emissions from energy-related activities in the United States would prevent more than 50,000 premature deaths each year and provide more than $600 billion in benefits each year from avoided illness and death, according to a new study by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers. Published today in the journal GeoHealth, the study reports the health...
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Amazon Deforestation Threatens Newly Discovered Fish Species in Brazil
Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History researcher Murilo Pastana and his colleagues have discovered and described two new species of Amazonian fish—one with striking red-orange fins and the other so small it is technically considered a miniature fish species—in a paper published today, May 16, in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Both species inhabit waters located at...
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How to Avoid Eating the World
“Just shrinking the size of our current food system won’t cut emissions much. Instead, we need to transform the very nature of that global food system.”, says Benjamin Bodirsky, researcher at Potsdam and the World Vegetable Center in Tainan, Taiwan and author of a new study published in Nature Food. “That means on the one...
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Amazon Rainforest Foliage Gases Affect the Earth’s Atmosphere
Plant-foliage-derived gases drive a previously unknown atmospheric phenomenon over the Amazon rainforest, according to a recent study by researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The findings have important applications for atmospheric science and for climate change modeling. “The tropical Amazon rainforest constitutes the lungs of the Earth, and this study connects natural processes in the forest to...
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Plastic Bag Bans May Unintentionally Drive Other Bag Sales
When cities or counties institute plastic bag bans or fees, the idea is to reduce the amount of plastic headed to the landfill. But a new analysis by a University of Georgia researcher finds these policies, while created with good intentions, may cause more plastic bags to be purchased in the communities where they are...
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Properly Managed Fire Enhances Functional Diversity and Carbon Fixation in Savannas
The grasses that grow in tropical savannas evolved some 8 million years ago, in the presence of fire, long before humans emerged on the planet. Fire continues to play a key evolutionary role in this type of biome. The role of fire in savannas has been the subject of articles published by Agência FAPESP since 2017, and is further...
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Poorest People Bear Growing Burden of Heat Waves as Temperatures Rise
People with lower incomes are exposed to heat waves for longer periods of time compared to their higher income counterparts due to a combination of location and access to heat adaptations like air conditioning. This inequality is expected to rise as temperatures increase, according to new research. Lower income populations currently face a 40% higher...
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Toward a More Inclusive Definition of Green Infrastructure
Green infrastructure (GI) refers to a system of interconnected ecosystems, ecological–technological hybrids, and built infrastructures providing contextual social, environmental, and technological functions and benefits. As a planning concept, GI brings attention to how diverse types of urban ecosystems and built infrastructures function in relation to one another to meet socially negotiated goals. Green infrastructure has been...
