Environment

Climate Tipping Points Paper Adds No New Research To IPCC Reports- We Have Not Erased The CO2 Budget For 1.5 °C

This is in response to a “Nature comment” Climate tipping points — too risky to bet against which is scaring people. There are no new research findings in it and nothing to overturn the IPCC's conclusions. Of course it is important to look carefully ...

Article - Robert Walker - Dec 1 2019 - 11:34am

North Sea Dogger Bank Wind Turbine Project Could Supply More Power To The EU By 2045 Than Coal Does Now

This is a plan for a wind turbine hub in the North Sea on Dogger Bank, that could up to 180GW by 2045 in time to help Europe achieve net zero emissions. The “Dogger Bank”, is the sunken Doggerland, a region of the North Sea that used to be above the sea i ...

Article - Robert Walker - Dec 2 2019 - 5:14am

"Food Evolution": A Tale Of Two Cities

Last night was the premiere of "Food Evolution", a documentary on the science in our dinner, and I saw it with a large audience for the second time. Wait, premiere? Second time? Which is it? It's both. And that is how it became a tale of two ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Dec 3 2019 - 11:22am

At 386 Million Years Old, New York Has The World's Oldest Forest

Scientists have discovered remnants of the world's oldest fossil forest in of all places, a sandstone quarry in Cairo, New York. It is believed the extensive network of trees is around 386 million years old and spread into Pennsylvania and beyond. ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 19 2019 - 9:26pm

Another Day, Another Statistical Claim About Pesticides And 'Risk' Of Death

To future scholars, the 2020s may be the decade that the public discovered epidemiologists don't understand the difference between a hazard, absolute risk, and relative risk. And that skepticism in the next decade will have resulted from too many shod ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Dec 31 2019 - 2:03pm

Genetically Rescued Organism: A GM Poplar That Produces Less Isoprene But Grows Just As Fast

Poplars have become popular for use in products like paper, pallets, plywood, furniture frames- even as a biofuel- because they grow quickly. But being natural doesn't mean being good for the environment. Poplars are a natural source of isoprene, whic ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 7 2020 - 10:53am

What Is Stevia And What Is The Science Behind It?

Stevia rebaudiana is part of the sunflower family (Asteraceae), like the daisy. It is native to Brazil and Paraguay, where the local populations have used it as a sweetener for as long as written records have been kept. ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 9 2020 - 9:43am

How Restricting Legal Trade In Endangered Species Backfires

Every year humans buy and sell hundreds of millions of wild animals and plants around the world. Much of this commerce is legal, but illegal trade and over-harvesting have driven many species toward extinction. One common response is to adopt bans on trad ...

Article - The Conversation - Jan 13 2020 - 11:24am

Finally, EPA Is Ending Regulation By 'Secret Sauce'- And Activists Are Livid

In 1984, activist groups won a stunning victory for political allies they had placed inside the Federal government. Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 gave "deference" to agencies when interpreting statu ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Jan 20 2020 - 3:01pm

Aflatoxins, Pesticides, GMOs And Cancer

As it turns out, there is a well-established relationship between pesticides, GMO crops, cancer and any number of other diseases, but it’s probably not the link that most people assume-- and certainly not what you read in the press these days. ...

Article - James Njoroge - Jan 28 2020 - 10:47am