Global Geneva: NuseReal

This new type of silent Dutch wind turbine, the Liam F1, is the end of solar panels: 1500 kWh from your garden and electricity for free. — 25 November 2024 (LINK)

— Households in tests generated up to 1,500 kWh of electricity per year, which is about a third of the average household's energy consumption.

— The two models are not harmful to birds and bats since they operate at a frequency of below 45 dB. The bigger version has a 1.5-m rotor diameter and a smaller version has a 0.75-m rotor diametre. The larger one has a net rated power of 550 W, and the smaller one only has 100 W.

Unlike old styles of wind turbines, the Liam F1 combines lift forces with drag forces, hence increasing its wind power capture. As for noise, Liam F1 generates sound at about 45 dB during operation and, as such, is much quieter than typical turbines that are noisy and disruptive in residential environments. This makes the Liam F1 particularly suitable in urban areas.

W. Australian plant will have 25 million solar panels and 3,000 turbines: it is expected to displace fossil fuels in numerous sectors, including maritime, steel, and other industries. — 17 November 2024 (LINK)

— The panels and turbines are anticipated to provide a constant flow of power to produce green hydrogen, which doesn't release greenhouse gases during utilization. The WGEH project is planned to start its first production by 2025 and reach its maximum capacity by 2032. The Mirning Traditional Lands Aboriginal Corporation, representing the Mirning people, has a 10% interest in the project. Any economic benefits generated by the project can be shared with communities.

Switzerland's innovative floating solar panels: the 35 platforms generating photovoltaic energy would recover the energy investment in just over two years with a significant reduction in carbon footprint. From January through May, as water levels recede, the platforms rest on the lakebed at Lac des Toules. — 7 November 2024 (LINK)

Silicon solar panels are hitting their limit. This UK lab is making perovskite the next big thing. — 3 November 2024 (LINK)

Switzerland exploring new form of burial: Werde Erde, which means become soil, proposes a process similar to composting. Tests being carried out at the University of Lausanne using dead pigs. — 1 November 2024 (LINK)

— Cremation, the choice of 90%, consumes a similar amount of energy to what someone would consume domestically in one month. Emissions add around 400 kg of CO2 to the atmosphere along with pollutants such as the mercury contained in dental fillings.

— The person's remains are laid on a bed of wood chips and straw and then covered with green plants. The bed provides carbon while the green plants provide nitrogen, the two key ingredients required to compost the body. The process takes place in an enclosed container over a period of 30 to 40 days. Microorganisms present on the skin and in the plants transform the body into soil. Like cremation, only the bones remain. These are then ground and added to the soil.

— Traditional burial does not compost. The microorganisms that stimulate decomposition are missing deep under ground at the dep

IKEA U.S. used trauma-informed design to create a comfortable, welcoming space for formerly homeless seniors in San Antonio. — 30 October 2024 (LINK)

— The team met with some of the residents of the new community, a neighborhood under construction that will eventually include around 200 tiny houses, RVs, and apartments on the site of a former drive-in movie theater. The neighborhood is designed for seniors who have been homeless for at least a year, have disabilities such as chronic illnesses, and who have typically been living in encampments.

— In addition to housing, the community includes on-site counseling, health clinics, meals and a food pantry, recreation space, and other services. Ikea's donated 365-square-foot home is only a single house in the community — but the company is hoping it can inspire similar work.

— Their prototype of a one-bedroom home sat in an Ikea store so that residents could visit in person and give more feedback. A key theme was making the home feel safe, something that went beyond having secure windows and doors. "What someone who has been housed their entire life feels is safe, it turns out, isn't necessarily the same for someone who hasn't always had a door to lock or windows to close," says Susannah Munson, an interior designer at Ikea.

— It was important to have clear sight lines. If someone is relaxing in their living room, for example, they want to be able to see if someone is approaching their home. At the same time, they don't want to feel exposed. The original design called for large windows to bring in as much light as possible, but residents wanted more privacy. In the final design, the windows are smaller—tall but narrow—with multiple layers of curtains so residents can choose how much they want to screen the view.

— Inside the bedroom, layers of drapery give an adjustable level of privacy from the living room. (Other than the bathroom, which has a door, the home uses curtains to separate spaces visually.) "You can essentially add layers of cocooning around yourself as you get closer to the back part of the house, which is where the bedroom portion is located," Munson says. "You can add to that sort of feeling of being protected and a little bit of privacy, but also just as important was that was how you could transform the space over time as you potentially become more comfortable seeing a little more of what's around you, maybe allowing others to see a little bit more of your life. So you can really conceal or reveal as it suits your comfort at any given time."

— Giving residents a sense of control is another principle of trauma-informed design. While tiny houses or RVs often include built-in furniture to maximize the use of space, "that doesn't allow for that element of choice and sort of self-determination," Munson explains. "So we actually took the approach of making the layout as flexible as possible." The furniture is lightweight and easy to move around, but durable. The living room can be arranged for relaxing, with an armchair in front of the TV, or entertaining, with an extendable dinner table that can fit six people.

— The bathroom has a tub, something that was a request from residents. "For a lot of these folks who have experienced homelessness, most of the time what they are able to access is maybe a stall shower at a shelter or day center," Eisenman says. "It's something that they have to be quick about, not necessarily feel that sense of safety or luxury. For them to say, 'I want a bathtub in my home where I can sit and I can relax and I can feel the sense of calm and peace,' was powerful for us. So the home has a bathtub in it — we made sure that was on our must-have list."

Scientists warn of possible collapse "in the next few decades" of Atlantic currents which could have catastrophic consequences for the Nordic countries. — 28 October 2024 (LINK)

— There is no consensus on when this is likely to happen. The sixth assessment report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), expressed "medium confidence that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation will not collapse abruptly before 2100". However, the signatories of the open letter to the Nordic Council argued that new research indicated that the risk had so far been "greatly underestimated", and the "passing of this tipping point is a serious possibility already in the next few decades."

UC Berkeley scientists invent compound that can pull CO2 out of the air — 24 October 2024 (LINK)

— Zihou Zhou, a fourth year graduate student in the Department of Chemistry, pushed air with CO2 in it through a filter with the new powder. The material is a new type of material made out of microscopic pores called a covalent organic framework or COF for short. Zhou tested the compound in a special device by packing the powder into a straw-like cylinder to filter the air. The high CO2 levels immediately dropped down to zero. Half a pound removes as much carbon dioxide from the air as a full-grown tree in a year.

— 10 years ago, Professor Omar Yaghi created a material that could suck water out of desert air. Now, thanks to his grad student, the Yaghi lab has now designed a material that quickly sucks carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Hurricane-resistant, net-zero Florida Hunters Point community near Tampa Bay survived a direct hit from Milton: solar panels and living quarters over garage, 4m above ground: the innovation comes at a price — 17 October 2024 (LINK)

— Even if a storm surge does reach the second level, the living space is also equipped with vents to let floodwaters pass through the house instead of getting trapped inside. Every Hunters Point home is also held down by steel-reinforced straps that run from the foundation to the roof. Even the solar panels are fixed to the roof so they are protected from extreme winds and highly resistant to being blown off.

— Homes are available in Hunters Point, but they are listed between $1.4 million and $1.9 million, roughly two to three times the average home price for the area.

Mexico Beach, Florida domed homes survived category 5 hurricanes — 17 October 2024 (LINK)

— Of the 5,500 domed and rounded homes Deltec has constructed, only one has sustained damage from high winds, according to its records, despite facing some of the country's most powerful hurricanes on record, including Irma, Michael, Katrina, Dorian and, most recently, Milton. Deltec says it has heard from dozens of homeowners and none have reported damage from Hurricane Milton.

— A circular shape means the home is more aerodynamic, with Deltec president Steve Linton claiming the round design leads to significantly less pressure building up on the outside of the home. The design means the home can absorb and distribute the energy better than a traditional house, regardless of the direction of the wind force, he adds. "This works much like the spokes on a wheel," Linton says.

— The domed form also has an advantage, Landolf Rhode-Barbarigos, an associate professor in the University of Miami's civil, architectural and environmental engineering department and associate director of the Climate Resilience Institute, explains, because the homes don't resist the flow of the wind around them. "A regular house with edges like a box, and a flat roof, that creates a certain obstacle to the flow of the wind," he explains. "When you have a house that's round, by default it receives less force from the wind. It's not only the engineering but also the architecture that can affect the [wind] load. "[These homes] are resistant. They're not affected by the strong winds that we have with hurricanes," says Rhode-Barbarigos.

— In the past, Deltec houses were only available in custom designs. A new line of pre-designed models are "hurricane ready", designed to withstand wind speeds up to 190 miles (307km) per hour, and 25% cheaper than the custom builds. Deltec provides the "shell" of the house, while the site prep, roof shingles, insulation and drywall are completed by the buyer's own builder. The shells cost, on average, one-third of the total house cost, and ranges from $45,900 (£35,000) for a 515 sq ft (48 sq m) home to $132,500 (£101,000) for a 2,070 sq ft (192 sq m) home.

Earth's 2nd-warmest September on record: 2024 is virtually certain to surpass 2023 as Earth's warmest year on record — 15 October 2024 (LINK)

AI's exploited workforce: Here's how to make supply chains ethical — 11 October 2024 (LINK)

— Many companies are cutting costs, which affect those at the very bottom of the AI supply chain who are often highly vulnerable: data labelers. Earlier this year nearly 100 data labelers and AI workers from Kenya who do work for companies like Facebook, Scale AI and OpenAI published an open letter to United States President Joe Biden in which they said: Our working conditions amount to modern day slavery.

— Self-driving cars, for example, rely on labeled video footage to distinguish pedestrians from road signs. Large language models such as ChatGPT rely on labeled text to understand human language. Tech giants like Meta, Google, OpenAI and Microsoft outsource much of this work to data labeling factories in countries such as the Philippines, Kenya, India, Pakistan, Venezuela, and Colombia. China is also becoming another global hub for data labeling.

— Outsourcing companies that facilitate this work include Scale AI, iMerit, and Samasource. These are very large companies in their own right. For example, Scale AI, which is headquartered in California, is now worth US$14 billion. An hourly rate for AI data labelers in Venezuela ranges from between 90 cents and US$2. In comparison, in the United States, this rate is between US$10 to US$25 per hour.

— Many data labelers work in overcrowded and dusty environments which pose a serious risk to their health. They also often work as independent contractors, lacking access to protections such as health care or compensation. The mental toll of data labeling work is also significant, with repetitive tasks, strict deadlines and rigid quality controls. Data labelers are also sometimes asked to read and label hate speech or other abusive language or material, which has been proven to have negative psychological effects.

— One answer: companies can apply a human right-centreed design, deliberation and oversight approach to the entire AI supply chain. They must adopt fair wage policies, ensuring data labelers receive living wages that reflect the value of their contributions. Clear payment systems and recourse mechanisms will ensure workers are treated fairly. Instead of busting unions, as Scale AI did in Kenya in 2024, companies should also support the formation of digital labour unions or cooperatives. This will give workers a voice to advocate for better working conditions.

Almost half of UK higher education institutions experience a cyberattack every week — 11 October 2024 (LINK)

Flooding in Nepal's capital kills at least 66 people and 69 missing — 28 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 158 media reports (LINK)

North Carolina's Asheville devastated after Helene's damage cuts power, floods roads: at least 10 dead — 28 September 2024 (LINK)

BBC: Advice on avoiding mid-flight rows over seat use — 28 September 2024 (LINK)

Climate goal to triple global renewable energy by 2030 within reach, IEA says — 24 September 2024 (LINK)

At the UN, world leaders try to lay out a vision for the future — and actually make it happen — 22 September 2024 (LINK)

— The U.N. General Assembly adopted a 42-page "Pact for the Future" to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Now comes the hard part: uniting the world's divided nations to move quickly to implement its 56 actions.

— U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres thanked the 193-member world body for approving the pact and unlocking the door for nations to join forces to tackle challenges ranging from climate change and artificial intelligence to escalating conflicts and increasing inequality and poverty — and improve the lives of the world's more than 8 billion people.

— "We are here to bring multilateralism back from the brink," he said. "Now it is our common destiny to walk through it. That demands not just agreement, but action."

— Russia proposed an amendment that would have significantly watered down the pact. "No one is happy with this pact," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said.

— But Africa's 54 nations opposed Russia's amendments and speaking on their behalf, the Republic of Congo countered with a motion not to vote on the amendments. Mexico supported the Africans, and in a vote on their motion, the Africans got support from 143 countries, with only six countries supporting Russia — Iran, Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua, Sudan and Syria. 15 countries abstained.

— In a rare move at a high-level U.N. meeting where leaders often exceed the announced time limit, Yang announced at the start of their speeches that they would be muted after five minutes. Among those who kept talking after their mics were silenced: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Sabah and Irish President Michael Higgins.

— Guterres singled out a number of key provisions in the pact and its two accompanying annexes, a Global Digital Compact and Declaration on Future Generations. The pact commits world leaders to reform the 15-member Security Council, to make it more reflective of today's world and "redress the historical injustice against Africa," which has no permanent seat, and to address the under-representation of the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America. It also "represents the first agreed multilateral support for nuclear disarmament in more than a decade," Guterres said, and it commits "to steps to prevent an arms race in outer space and to govern the use of lethal autonomous weapons."

The cities creating a blueprint for climate-resilient and net-zero urban life: Rotterdam, Toronto, San Francisco — 22 September 2024 (LINK)

SpaceX makes history with first spacewalks ever by private citizens — 12 September 2024 (LINK)

— It was yet another major milestone for SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk in 2002. Since then, SpaceX has grown into a powerhouse that in 2020 beat aerospace giant Boeing in delivering a spaceship to provide rides for NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.

— Prior to the hatch opening, the crew underwent a "prebreathe" procedure to remove nitrogen from their bloodstream, preventing decompression sickness. Cabin pressure was then gradually lowered to align with the vacuum of space.

— Leader fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman and crewmate Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX engineer, took turns outside the vehicle, spending a few minutes performing mobility tests on SpaceX's next-generation suits that boast heads-up displays, helmet cameras and enhanced joint mobility systems — before returning inside. Extravehicular activity officially ended after an hour and 46 minutes, following cabin re-pressurization.

— While it marked a first for the commercial sector, the spacewalk fell short of the daring feats from the early space era. Early spacewalkers, including the first, Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov in 1965, floated tethered to their spacecraft, while a select few Space Shuttle astronauts used jetpacks to fly completely untethered.

— The spacewalk followed an audacious first phase of the mission, during which the Dragon spacecraft reached a peak altitude of 870 miles – three times higher than the International Space Station, in a region teeming with dangerous, high-energy particles. All four underwent more than two years of training in preparation for the landmark mission, logging hundreds of hours on simulators as well as skydiving, scuba diving and summiting an Ecuadoran volcano.

— Upcoming tasks include testing laser-based satellite communications between the spacecraft and the vast Starlink satellite constellation, and completing dozens of experiments, including tests on contact lenses with embedded microelectronics to monitor changes in eye pressure and shape in space.

— Polaris Dawn is the first of three missions under the Polaris program, a collaboration between Isaacman and SpaceX. Financial terms of the partnership remain under wraps, but Isaacman, the 41-year-old founder and CEO of Shift4Payments, reportedly poured $200 million of his fortune into leading the 2021 all-civilian SpaceX Inspiration4 orbital mission.

UN experts call for global system to trace critical minerals — 11 September 2024 (LINK)

— The committee put forward seven guiding principles. They include: putting human rights at the heart of the production chain; protecting the integrity of the planet; and ensuring that benefits are shared.

— More concretely, the experts, citing disparate existing initiatives, recommended the establishment of "global traceability, transparency and accountability framework along the entire mineral value chain — from mining to recycling." They called for the system to provide an independent assessment of the environmental and social performance of companies involved in the trade — for example, their respect for human and labour rights, levels of corruption, level of greenhouse gas emissions, and so on.

— They also suggested the creation of a global fund, financed by governments and companies, to fund the aftermath of mining operations — particularly land rehabilitation and support for local communities.

— And, with the IEA fearing global supplies of such minerals are running out, the UN experts also called for investment in innovation and recycling to reduce the quantities needed.

— The NGO coalition Climate Action Network, represented on the committee, welcomed the report.

— Too often, "production of these minerals leaves a toxic cloud in its wake: pollution; wounded communities, childhoods lost to labor and sometimes dying in their work," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said when he announced the committee in April. Developing countries and communities have also not reaped the benefits of their production, he said, adding: "This must change."

Study: World pumps out 57 million tonnes of plastic pollution a year with over two-thirds originating from the Global South — 6 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 55 media reports (LINK)

— Lagos, Nigeria, emitted the most plastic pollution of any city. The other biggest plastic-polluting cities are New Delhi; Luanda, Angola; Karachi, Pakistan; and Al Qahirah, Egypt. India leads the world in generating plastic pollution, producing 10.2 million tons a year (9.3 million metric tons), far more than double the next big-polluting nations, Nigeria and Indonesia. China, often villainized for pollution, ranks fourth but is making tremendous strides in reducing waste. Other top plastic polluters are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia and Brazil.

Iceland's last remaining whaling company, Hvalur hf, has been granted a licence to kill up to 128 fin whales this summer "blatantly in contravention of Iceland's own Animal Welfare Act" — 6 September 2024 (LINK)

'A crisis entirely of humanity's making': UN chief issues climate SOS on trip to Pacific — 27 August 2024 (LINK)

— Sea-surface temperatures in the south-west Pacific have risen three times faster than the global average since 1980, according to a regional report compiled by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It also found that marine heatwaves in the region had roughly doubled in frequency since 1980 and become more intense and longer-lasting. The report said 34 mostly storm or flood-related "hydrometeorological hazard events" in the south-west Pacific last year led to more than 200 deaths and affected more than 25 million people.

Coating clothes with chalk-based innovation could cool your body by up to 8 degrees — 25 August 2024 (LINK)

— The coating developed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst was able to both reflect the sun's energy back into the atmosphere, as well as allow the wearer's natural body heat to escape. The coating can be applied to nearly any commercially available fabric and can also be put through the washing machine, the scientists say.

— "We start with your cotton T-shirt and we just apply this coating on either one or both faces of the fabric," Trisha L. Andrew, a chemist and materials scientist at UMass, told CNN. "The coating is entirely surface level. It does not penetrate or change the cotton fibers," she added.

Nutritionist debunks three common supplement myths: on vitamin D, multivitamins and magnesium — 24 August 2024 (LINK)

Evaluation of 1500 climate policy measures over two decades finds many have failed to achieve necessary emissions reductions, identifies the 63 most effective — 22 August 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 18 media reports (LINK)

Carbon pricing works for developed countries — but not developing ones
Carbon pricing and incentives work together
Subsidies are most effective when combined with pricing, regulation or both

Glacier decline is speeding up in the French Alps — 15 August 2024 (LINK)

Scientists unlock the secrets to an Alpine flower's survival by adapting its genes to local habitats. "This discovery has important implications for the protection of ecosystems under threat" — 8 August 2024 (LINK)

The world's population can thrive economically and sustainably, study finds — 6 August 2024 (LINK)

— New study by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) and the London School of Economics and Political Science, published in World Development Perspectives:

— Currently, around 80% of humanity lacks access to essential goods and services, living below the threshold for "decent living". By reviewing recent empirical research, the researchers find that ending mass deprivation and providing decent living standards for 8.5 billion people would require only 30% of current global resource and energy use. This leaves a significant surplus for additional consumption, public luxury, scientific advancement, and other social investments.

— To achieve this future, development strategies should not focus on capitalist growth and increased aggregate production. Instead, they should increase specific types of production necessary to improve capabilities and meet human needs at a high standard. Universal access to key goods and services should be ensured through public provisioning and decommodification.

— In the Global South, this means using industrial policy to increase economic sovereignty, develop industrial capacity, and organize production around human well-being. In high-income countries, less-necessary production (like mansions, SUVs, private jets, and fast fashion) must be scaled down to enable faster decarbonization and help bring resource use back within planetary boundaries, as suggested by degrowth scholarship.

Inside the political struggle at the IPCC that will determine the next six years of climate science — 26 July 2024 (LINK)

— The success of the IPCC's previous assessment cycle (its sixth) is already marking the seventh. At the current meeting in Bulgaria, which runs until August 2, governments need to decide a timeline for the seventh assessment cycle — its next major round of reports. The reports will need to be completed by 2028 at the latest to inform the second global stocktake.

— If the timeline is delayed, and the seventh assessment cycle does not inform the international response to climate change and increase collective ambition, what is its purpose? Establishing this in Bulgaria will be central to determining the success of the IPCC in future.

Inside the political struggle at the IPCC that will determine the next six years of climate science — 26 July 2024 (LINK)

Empowering the future: how WEF's Global Shapers are advancing the youth agenda — 10 July 2024 (LINK)

— The Annual Summit of under-30 Global Shapers 2024 took place in Geneva, Switzerland, under the theme 'Dare to Innovate'. 500 young innovators, activists, and local changemakers took part from over 150 countries and territories. The programme has 370 volunteer-led projects.

Nearly 90% of youth surveyed in the Global Shapers Community consider climate change to be a top concern. Young changemakers in the Global Shapers Community have delivered more than 100 grassroots projects and solutions to reduce emissions, conserve nature and accelerate sustainability in the last 12 months. Young innovators from Morelia, Mexico were invited to showcase the satellite surveillance tool they created to track deforestation. Activists from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were sccheduled to scale their work to enhance agricultural capacity through the construction of urban greenhouses and gardens. And changemakers from Malmö, Sweden, were asked to share their youth employment action plan to promote green jobs and local sustainability champions.
In the Global Shapers network, young changemakers are piloting new models for collective action to empower 1 million people with better education, skills and economic opportunities by 2030 to contribute to the Forum's Reskilling Revolution. advocates from London were invited to display their model to help young people from diverse backgrounds enter and thrive in the cybersecurity workforce. Global Shapers from Prague will illustrate new curricula on urban innovation, design and advocacy, and leaders from Phnom Phen were asked to share ways youth can better budget and save to overcome historical and cultural barriers, via their financial literacy hackathon, which has empowered 4,000 young people in Cambodia so far.
Expanding digital access and literacy: innovators from Dar es Salaam were invited to profile their model for expanding internet access and mobile learning centres across Tanzania, while Global Shapers in Amsterdam were scheduled to pilot a new navigation app to help people with reduced mobility identify accessible walking routes in their city. Activists from Karachi were asked to showcase the power of their replicable AI-powered chatbot to equip women with knowledge about their legal protections against harassment. Global Shapers from Nairobi were slated to showcase a 12-week programme to teach girls to code and create mobile apps to solve real-world problems. In three years, their programme has reached 170 girls in Kenya, expanding from 17 to 55 students per cohort.

We waste two-thirds of the energy in fossil fuels — cleantechnica — 1 July 2024 (LINK)

— The incredibly poor energy efficiency of fossil fuels is partly by design. For a century, the global economy primarily prioritized energy volume-add, not value-add, and invested in boosting energy sales, not the value each unit of energy adds. We invest mostly in energy quantity, not quality and efficiency.

Most marine protection measures are not working — a new, more flexible approach is needed: research assessed the effectiveness of 50 marine protected areas in 24 countries — phys.org — 30 June 2024 (LINK)

— The 50 MPAs scored a low average of 2/5 for effectiveness — a lot of protective conservation measures were in place on paper but they were not effective in reducing the harmful effects of certain human activities to protect marine wildlife. One clear overall trend was that a more diverse mix of management approaches resulted in greater reduction of the effects of fishing, tourism and other human activities.

List of threatened species grows by 1,000: a staggering 82% of species at risk now threatened with extinction, a significant jump from 55% in 2013, but conservation efforts bring hope for some animals — AP — 29 June 2024 (LINK)

— Over 45,000 species are now threatened with extinction — 1,000 more than last year — according to IUCN that blames pressures from climate change, invasive species and human activity such as illicit trade and infrastructural expansion. The risk list now includes 163,040 species, an increase of about 6,000 from last year.

— The list revealed the “staggering” decline of endemic reptiles — the giant lizard and skink — on the Canary Islands and Ibiza due to predation by the invasive snakes. The 2024 update also highlights the Asian elephant in Borneo as an endangered species. It is estimated that only about 1,000 Bornean elephants remain in the wild.

— In a contrasting tale, conservation efforts have revived the Iberian lynx from the brink of extinction, with the population increasing from 62 mature individuals in 2001 to 648 in 2022 and more than 2,000 now.

Global surge in infectious diseases as over 40 countries report outbreaks 10-fold over pre-pandemic levels: measles, whooping cough, tuberculosis and polio, as well as dengue and cholera — Airfinity and Bloomberg News — 16 June 2024 (LINK)

The blood of exceptionally long-lived people reveals crucial differences: on the whole, those who made it to their hundredth birthday tend to have lower levels of glucose, creatinine and uric acid from their sixties onwards — sciencealert — 16 June 2024 (LINK)

South Florida condo owners are dumping their homes after getting slapped with six-figure special assessments — and now the once-hot market is floundering — moneywise.com — 13 June 2024 (LINK)

Universal basic income can double global GDP while combatting climate change — thebrighterside.news — 9 June 2024 (LINK)

Researchers crack the genetic code of Restless Leg Syndrome — thebrighterside.news — 9 June 2024 (LINK)

For first time in history, more aquatic animals were farmed than fished in 2022, FAO report finds — AP — 7 June 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 30 media reports (LINK)

Panama prepares to evacuate first island and 300 families in face of rising sea levels: 63 communities along Panama’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts expected to be forced to relocate by rising sea levels in the coming decades — AP — 1 June 2024 (LINK)

Scientists raise concerns as world's most powerful water current, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, accelerates — and consequences could be disastrous — thecooldown.com — 5 June 2024 (LINK)

Small Island Developing States can lead in digital transformation for climate resilience: 5 opportunities and lessons — weforum.org — 31 May 2024 (LINK)

— There are 50 non-SIDS countries with similar population sizes; what did they do to grow and how can that be applicable to SIDS? Could SIDS who are LDCs have lessons to offer for development pathways to the other 45 non-SIDS?

Avoid vendor lock–in, e.g. through Digital public goods (DPGs)
Co-design solutions with ecosystem players
Invest in resilience building
Deploy evidence-based governance: SIDS are often data poor and understudied
Collaborate

Mexico is so hot that monkeys, birds and bats are falling dead from trees — euronews — 28 May 2024 (LINK)

Enhancing SIDS Trade: Data insights for future pathways: ITC's monthly briefs on the global state of trade — ITC — 27 May 2024 (LINK)

— Between 2017 and 2022, SIDS exported on average 1,146 distinct products, while other developing and developed countries exported more than twice as many products during the same period.2 Not only did SIDS export less products, but their export revenues also concentrated in few of those: during this period, SIDS exported on average 9 equivalent products, other developing countries 20 and developed countries 41.3.

— Travel represents a much larger share of SIDS' (25.5%) than of other developing countries' exports (3.1%) or of the exports of developed countries (4.1%).

— Untapped export potential in SIDS: 53% ($30.3 billion) of the export potential of SIDS in 2028 is currently untapped. Potential: products of metals or minerals ($10.9 billion), but also in less traditional sectors, such as apparel and textile products ($1.3 billion).

UNEP for World Environment Day, 5 June: Seven ways to restore land, halt desertification and combat drought — UNEP — 23 May 2024 (LINK)

— "Governments and businesses have a leading role to play in reversing the damage humanity has done to the Earth. But everyday people also have a vital role to play in restoration, which is crucial to our future as a species."

Practical guide — worldenvironmentday — (LINK)

More than third of Amazon rainforest struggling to recover from drought, study finds — The Guardian UK ● — 20 May 2024 (LINK)

16-year-old student Grace Sun from Lexington (Kentucky) wins $75,000 for what could be a medical breakthrough: improvement on an implantable medical device that could work inside the body to help diagnose and treat health problems. — kentucky.com — 19 May 2024 (LINK)

— "To overcome the problems that have previously prevented such devices from working effectively inside the body, Grace developed a new way of chemically treating their organic components, which greatly improved their laboratory performance," according to the news release.

The type of transistor Grace worked with can detect signals that naturally occur in the body — then amplify them. She said an implanted version could one day help regulate heartbeat or monitor blood-sugar levels, Science News Explores reported. Bioelectronic devices have been under development for years but aren't for sale yet because of their current performance issues, she said. They've proven unstable in the body and slow to move electrical signals. Grace added a salt to the polymer that makes up the device, the magazine reported. "This changes the molecular structure and properties of the polymer. And that greatly improved the device's performance," the Science News Explores magazine said.

"Because these [electrical devices] are so cost-effective, and versatile," Grace was quoted as saying in the magazine, "I hope to provide more accurate, safer, as well as cheaper medical diagnostics and treatment for a variety of diseases."

Economic damage from climate change six times worse than thought: A 1C increase in global temperature leads to a 12% decline in world gross domestic product, researchers have found — report — The Guardian UK ● — 17 May 2024 (LINK)

— A 3C tempe

— A 3C temperature increase will cause "precipitous declines in output, capital and consumption that exceed 50% by 2100" the paper states. This economic loss is so severe that it is "comparable to the economic damage caused by fighting a war domestically and permanently", it adds. "There will still be some economic growth happening but by the end of the century people may well be 50% poorer than they would've been if it wasn't for climate change."

Thirsty in paradise: Water crises are a growing problem across the Caribbean islands: Trinidad worst drought in recent memory, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Vincent, St. Kitts, Barbados — theconversation.com — 13 May 2024 (LINK)

Revolutionary new drug could extend human lifespans by 30%, study finds — thebrighterside.news — 13 May 2024 (LINK)

Scientists explain how blood types differ in impact — thebrighterside.news — 12 May 2024 (LINK)

Renewables covered 95% of Portugal's power needs last month — euronews — 10 May 2024 (LINK)

Over 76% of world’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target to at least 2C: Guardian survey — ground.news main source: Guardian, 7 media reports — 8 May 2024 (LINK)

Planet is headed for at least 2.5C of heating with disastrous results for humanity, poll of hundreds of scientists finds — Guardian — (LINK)

Ember think tank: renewable power reaches record 30% of global electricity: mainly hydro — ground.news: 51 media reports — 8 May 2024 (LINK)

Groundbreaking research reveals the hidden cause of Parkinson's disease: "For the first time, we can show that mitochondria, the vital energy producers within brain cells, particularly neurons, undergo damage, leading to disruptions in mitochondrial DNA. This initiates and spreads the disease like a wildfire through the brain" — thebrighterside.news — 9 May 2024 (LINK)

— Described as a "chronic ailment" disrupting the central nervous system, Parkinson's impacts over 10 million individuals worldwide.

Switzerland records 600 MW of subsidized photovoltaic projects in Q1 — pv-magazine — 7 May 2024 (LINK)

Copernicus: Switzerland says it can't afford to take part in EU climate change monitoring programme — euronews.com — 2 May 2024 (LINK)

A guide for organizations supporting businesses in the agrifood sector, with a look at small island developing States — ITC — 29 April 2024 (LINK)

— Needed: support to plan for business continuity or pivot their business model in terms of preparedness and better planning to minimize the impact on business operations. Moreover, improved infrastructure, fiscal incentives for disaster resilience and accurate weather monitoring are needed to minimize the impact on economic activities. Meeting new green market requirements or finding new niche markets in the green space is also a high priority for businesses and shows the value of business support organizations in the climate space.

IMF expects growth in Latin America to average about 2% per year in the next five years, below its already low historical average. These projections are also considerably weaker than those for other emerging market economies across Europe and Asia, which are also expected to slow but still grow by 3% and 6% annually. This weaker outlook partly reflects long-standing challenges of low investment and slow productivity growth. The additional challenge this time is that the demographics are turning, and the labor force won't grow as fast as before — IMF — 26 April 2024 (LINK)

Europe had worst wine harvest in 62 years: climate change + impacts blamed: wine consumption also at its lowest level since 1996 because of price increases from inflation and a sharp drop in wine drinking in China due to economic slowdown — euronews — 26 April 2024 (LINK)

While most of the world still runs on dirty fossil fuels, Costa Rica has generated nearly all of its electricity from renewable sources of energy for nearly a decade — it's still not enough... (For comparison, the US generates just over 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources) — theverge — 24 April 2024 (LINK)

— "In the winter, like a six-month period from June to December, many of the hydropower plants get surplus flows. That's when we have low wind, but we have more hydropower. And then in the summer, like from December to May perhaps, we get low hydropower, so the other sources of energy complement that electricity supply — mainly wind power, biomass, and geothermal."

"In the long term, what we see is an increase in hydropower production — but in the west and south of the country, mainly because rains will get heavier, more intense in that region. We’ve got a problem because hydropower does not have the same variability as solar wind. So, if we get more solar and more wind, our system will have more variability."

Question: There has been opposition to large hydroelectric dams because they harm river ecosystems and displace people from their homes. How do you think about those risks?

"From the start of the project, we get the communities and all the stakeholders involved in the project. We know that perhaps this will be a little more expensive. However, with this perspective the project will be held with lower risk and we can fulfill our environmental and social requirements."

Ocean floor a 'reservoir' of plastic pollution, world-first study finds — ground.news: 20 media reports — 5 April 2024 (LINK)

Researchers from EPFL and HES-SO Valais Wallis have published a study emphasizing the importance of local energy solutions, and the role of decentralized photovoltaic systems for community empowerment in a more sustainable energy future for Switzerland: this could reduce annual system costs by 10% and elevate self-consumption rates to 68%. — see_link — 5 April 2024 (LINK)

— "With an investment of 1260 CHF/year per capita in local energy communities, districts can produce about half of the total energy needs of Switzerland by using around 60% of the available roof surface."

Global water crisis fuelling more conflicts, UNESCO report warns — Al Jazeera — 22 March 2024 (LINK)

— Girls and women are the first victims of a lack of water, said the report, published by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), especially in rural areas where they have the primary responsibility of collecting supplies.

Only seven countries in the world breathe safe air, says Swiss study: Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and New Zealand: Puerto Rico, Bermuda and French Polynesia also fell within safe levels — euronews — 20 March 2024 (LINK)

FAO warns of climate change impact on farms and rural households run by women in poor countries — ground.news main source: AP, 21 media reports — 4 March 2024 (LINK)

Hot seawater killed most of cultivated coral in Florida Keys in setback for restoration effort — AP — 16 February 2024 (LINK)

Global warming is making Greenland 20% more green: Parts of Greenland's ice sheet and glaciers that melted over the past three decades have been replaced by wetlands, shrub vegetation and areas of barren rock, according to a new study that used satellite images to track changes since the 1980s — ground.news: 8 media reports — 13 February 2024 (LINK)

UK startup Seabound can capture 95% of a ship's carbon emissions — thenextweb — 8 February 2024 (LINK)

— Late last year, Seabound installed a prototype of its device on a huge cargo vessel owned by British shipping giant Lomar. The pilot was funded by a £1.2mn grant under the UK government's £60mn Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. Over the course of two months on a route between Turkey and the Persian Gulf, the device captured 78% of carbon emissions and 90% of sulphur dioxide from one of the ship's auxiliary engines.

An extra 3 billion people will have a scarcity of clean water by 2050 due to pollution in waterways, scientists predict — Forbes ● — 6 February 2024 (LINK)

Scientists propose a Category 6 as hurricanes gain in intensity with climate change: would include hurricanes with wind speeds greater than 192mph (308kmph) — ground.news: 42 media reports — 5 February 2024 (LINK)

The small canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland unveiled a creative new way to generate solar power: outfitting a roadside retaining wall with vertical solar panels: 'we will probably see more of these things' — thecooldown.com — 23 January 2024 (LINK)

Drought has forced authorities to further slash traffic by 36% in Panama Canal, disrupting global trade — ground.news main source: AP, 43 media reports — 17 January 2024 (LINK)

Something weird is happening to these Alpine goats. Scientists say it's an ominous sign. Climate change and other human impacts are turning some animals nocturnal: Wolves — the main predator of ibexes in this region — typically hunt under the cover of darkness. Plus, these goats don't see well in the dark and live in highly treacherous terrain. — vox — 17 January 2024 (LINK)

Who are Western Europeans? New study reveals true origins: based on genomic analysis of about 1,600 ancient people: nomads of the Yamnaya culture riding out of the Pontic steppe 5,000 years ago, on the newly domesticated horse. And they brought an elevated genetic risk for multiple sclerosis. — haaretz — 16 January 2024 (LINK)

An unprecedented flu strain is attacking hundreds of animal species. Humans could be next. An avian flu strain has struck some 320 bird and mammal species, including elephant seals. — adn — 16 January 2024 (LINK)

In 2023, the world's oceans took up an enormous amount of excess heat, enough to "boil away billions of Olympic-sized swimming pools," according to NOAA annual report — phys.org — 11 January 2024 (LINK)

Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire, Academy award winner Oliver Stone, Pulitzer prize winner Chris Hedges and 400 around the world demand decolonization of Okinawa — see_link — 6 January 2024 (LINK)

— Dr. Katherine Muzik, a marine biologist conducting coral research throughout the tropical Atlantic and Pacific, dived in the Ryukyu Islands during the years 1981-1988 and 2007-2015. She reports that "the astonishing diversity of marine life in Oura Bay, rare and unique worldwide, would certainly be suffocated and destroyed by continuing this appalling military project."

Evolution is not as random as previously thought, finds new study: the evolutionary trajectory of a genome may be influenced by its evolutionary history, rather than determined by numerous factors and historical accidents — phys.org — 3 January 2024 (LINK)

— "The implications of this research are nothing short of revolutionary," said ProfessorJames McInerney, the lead author of the study. "By demonstrating that evolution is not as random as we once thought, we've opened the door to an array of possibilities in synthetic biology, medicine, and environmental science."

Scientists finally figure out why pee is yellow — "Now that we've identified this enzyme, we can start investigating how the bacteria in our gut impact circulating bilirubin levels and related health conditions like jaundice," said study co-author Xiaofang Jiang. "This discovery lays the foundation for understanding the gut-liver axis." — usnews — 3 January 2024 (LINK)