Climate

Climate change is one of the main concerns of the Swiss population. However, most citizens don’t want to invest more money in the ecological transition, as shown by their rejection of the climate fund initiative on Sunday.

On Sunday 71% of voters rejected the initiative calling for up to 1% of gross domestic product to be invested annually in measures to protect the climate and nature.

As the effects of climate change worsen, more people are wondering how it’s going to affect them personally. How is temperature and weather changing where you live? Is your home at risk from natural disasters, like wildfires and floods? And how will warming affect things like the economy, energy, health, and population trends?

We’ve gone through dozens of climate risk maps to identify the 5 regions of America which are facing the most overall risk. This is a quick way to check whether you’re sitting in the line of fire, so you can take steps to mitigate (or avoid) those threats.

The paper is here

Jeffrey B. Clark oversaw the dismantlement of government restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions and water and air pollution. He had also faced a criminal probe in connection with the 2020 election.

Archived copy of the article

The paper is here

If there is a readily accessible hydrocarbon to metabolize, life will evolve a way to metabolize it. Bacteria, fungi, and even some insects have already shown scientists they have figured out how to do this with certain types of plastic. Where does this lead?

One great thing this leads to is an eventual future where microplastics are cleaned up by the tiny organisms beneath our notice. Yay the pollution will clean itself up. Unfortunately, that also means that those hydrocarbons will be broken down, turned into CO2 or Methane, added to the atmosphere. Will this be a significant amount? I am unable to answer.

More startlingly, the other conclusion i draw is that all plastic in the world will someday be food for bacteria, mold, and grubs. Look around and note where you see plastic. It holds our food, it is the siding on some houses, it could be your building's insulation, it is the insulation on the wires in your house and outside. It holds your car together to varying degrees. It is the structure of many decks, benches, mobility aides etc.

Someday, these items will all be eaten slowly, or perhaps quickly. When will this begin in force? When will it affect our daily lives and health? Will we be able to prepare?

A new device extracts up to 1,000 liters of clean water a day from desert air, offering a potential backup supply when storms or drought disrupt central systems. The machine, developed by 2025 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry Omar Yaghi, is designed to operate in arid conditions with humidity as low as 20%. His company, Atoco, says the unit can function without connection to the power grid.

The system uses a branch of science known as reticular chemistry. Inside the container-sized unit are Metal-Organic Frameworks, synthetic porous materials engineered at the molecular level.

These materials have an extremely large internal surface area. Even a few grams can match the area of a football arena. That structure allows the material to capture moisture from the air and release it as liquid water.