VEN – Good News on Climate Action – Blog
How climate voters could swing the US presidential election
“This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.” In the final days before the presidential election, roughly 2,000 volunteers from all around the country are spending hours calling voters across 19 states. Their objective? Get people who care about climate change to the polls, particularly those who didn’t show…
Read Morethe Buy Nothing Project and Buy Nothing facebook groups
from The Conversation You might have heard about your local Buy Nothing Project group on Facebook. If not, you probably know someone who’s a member. We estimate at least one million Australians are involved as members or live in households with a member (probably their mum). Buy Nothing groups enable people to ask for and…
Read MoreSlime moulds: unsung heroes
What are slime moulds? Step inside Sarah Lloyd’s thriving microscopic world Louise Miolin for Story Stream ABC Northern Tasmania Topic:Nature Sat 26 Oct see article for image Slime moulds are neither plants nor animals. (Supplied: Sarah Lloyd) Deep in the bush of northern Tasmania, there’s a woman with a magnifying glass. She’s crouched over a…
Read MoreClimate threats put cities at financial risk
Image: map of cities at risk from climate change insurance death spiral. From The Hill EHN Curators in Environmental Health News Oct 26, 2024 As climate-driven disasters intensify, cities face a cycle where infrastructure, insurance and financial challenges compound, potentially triggering economic crises across urban America. Saul Elbein reports for The Hill. In short: Increasingly…
Read MoreSpreading crushed rock over farmland can remove CO₂ from the atmosphere if we do it right
Image from: Creating a Global South Inclusive Carbon Dioxide Removal Marketplace: Enhanced Rock Weathering as a Lens December 13, 2023 Yifan Powers, Owen Barder, Kamran Khan Niazi in Precision Development.com Published: October 28, 2024 The Conversation Paul Nelson Associate Professor of Soil Science, James Cook University Wolfram Buss Research fellow, Australian National University Carbon dioxide…
Read More5 key principles of geo-engineering research: Ethical framework aims to counter risks
Pressure for climate intervention may gain momentum as world heats up Date: October 23, 2024 Source: American Geophysical Union Summary: A new report says any research into large-scale interventions in Earth’s climate system must be grounded in sound ethical principles so society can make informed choices about whether to deploy them. FULL STORY As interest…
Read MoreHousehold battery scheme to form part of Labor’s pre-election plan for low- and middle-income earners
By chief digital political correspondent Jacob Greber Wed 16 OctWednesday 16 October ABC news Labor has signalled a renewable energy plan to help households install batteries could be introduced before the election. In short: Labor and the Coalition are both looking at policies to spur household battery adoption. The ABC understands the Albanese government is…
Read MoreClimate change course as part of all degrees: US university new requirement
UC San Diego has added an innovative prerequisite to ‘prepare students for the future they really will encounter’ Katharine Gammon Tue 15 Oct 2024 in The Guardian Melani Callicott, a human biology major at the University of California, San Diego, thinks about the climate crisis all the time. She discusses it with family and friends…
Read More“Deconstruction”: Circular construction could be a huge boon for climate—and jobs
Image Source: Heisel F. et al. (eds.) “Constructing a Circular Economy in New York State: Deconstruction and Building Material Reuse.” Ithaca, NY: Cornell Circular Construction Lab, Cornell Just Places Lab, and CR0WD, 2024. In a new study, the researchers tallied up the substantial economic and ecological benefits of taking buildings apart piece by piece rather…
Read MoreClimate change impacts internal migration worldwide
Image from Roman Hoffmann, Guy Abel, Maurizio Malpede, Raya Muttarak, Marco Percoco. Drought and aridity influence internal migration worldwide. Nature Climate Change, 2024; DOI: 10.1038/s41558-024-02165-1 : Differences in migration impacts of drought and aridity across world regions a, Differences in migration impacts by the geographical location of the subnational regions distinguishing effects across world regions…
Read MoreThe idea of burying wood to store carbon is so simple it almost sounds absurd. But is it?
Researchers made an ancient find that suggests with the right conditions the potential impact of “wood vaults” could be significant. By Anthropocene Team October 17, 2024 Efforts are underway all around the world to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it. Trees, of course, are naturals at this. Over their lifetime, they absorb…
Read MoreArtificial plant guzzles carbon and produces electricity
Image from Maryam Rezaie and Seokheun Choi. Cyanobacterial Artificial Plants for Enhanced Indoor Carbon Capture and Utilization, Advanced Sustainable Systems, 2024.: Operating principle of cyanobacterial artificial plants for indoor carbon capture and utilization. a) An artificial plant converting captured CO2 into O2 and bioelectricity during photosynthesis. b) An artificial plant utilizing indoor light, water, and…
Read MoreCommunity level approach to clean homes brings health and financial benefits
Source: Climateworks Centre In Australia and overseas , it’s clear that homes without gas – running on clean energy – are healthier, have cheaper power bills, and produce lower greenhouse emissions. in The National Tribune Environment 23 Oct 2024 Authors Gill Armstrong Researcher in architecture and urban planning, Climateworks Centre Portia Odell System Lead –…
Read MoreTransitioning away from refrigerants that drive global warming is possible, study says
Image: The GESPA group at IQS and the URV are working together on the STOP-F-GAS project, where they are studying, within the framework of the circular economy, the development of new technologies for absorbing fluorinated gases for their reuse and obtaining new, more sustainable refrigerant products. In the Kigali Amendment of 2016 to the Montreal…
Read More10 tips for bringing climate change solutions into the classroom
OCTOBER 17, 2024 from Project Drawdown by Elizabeth Bagley, Ph.D. I joined Teach For America right out of undergraduate and taught 8th-12th grade science at North Central High School in South Louisiana. During my first year of teaching, part of our school roof came off during Hurricane Irene. Naturally, my students and I were shaken…
Read MoreRoss Garnaut: The time is right for carbon pricing
in The Conversation Australia now has a government and parliament wanting timely transition to net zero. We have a government and parliament wanting to build Australia as the renewable energy superpower of the zero-carbon world economy. For the time being, we have favourable international settings for using our opportunity. The government of Australia has embraced…
Read MoreThe ‘active transport’ ideas from around the world that could make Australians healthier and our cities cleaner
Graham Readfearn Mon 21 Oct 2024 the Guardian Policies such as cash payouts for bicycle commuters have knock-on effects including reduced pollution and better physical and mental health It’s time for a major rethink of transport in Australia, experts say – and, while some new ideas may meet resistance, “these are not ideas from radical…
Read MoreBP pushes back start date for Australia’s biggest renewable energy hub to end of decade – before buy-out was planned for 2024 launch…
Image: Pilbara WA Yuri Renewable Energy Hub project. Original blurb from ‘Engie’: “Scheduled for completion in 2024, the first phase of the Yuri project will produce up to 640 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year as a zero carbon feedstock for Yara Australia’s ammonia production facility in Karratha. This will be key to developing a…
Read MoreThese 5 ‘post-truth’ claims are fuelling the water wars in Australia
in The Conversation Published: October 10, 2024 12.30pm AEDT Authors Quentin Grafton Australian Laureate Professor of Economics, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University John Williams Adjunct Professor in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management, Charles Sturt University, and Adjunct Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The contest between truth and post-truth…
Read MoreResearchers find a new use for biochar: filtering microplastics from farm soils
Figure 8. Plot showing the reduction in each type of microplastic after passing agricultural runoff samples through the pinewood biochar column (A) = BC, (B) = NSD.Removal of microplastics from agricultural runoff using biochar: a column feasibility study. Olubusoye Boluwatife S. , Cizdziel James V. , Wontor Kendall , Heinen Edward , Grandberry Tony ,…
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