All posts tagged: environmental

US refuses to budge on environmental impact of tech, regulating Big Tech at G7 – POLITICO

US refuses to budge on environmental impact of tech, regulating Big Tech at G7 – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The environmental impact of AI specifically, as it consumes huge amounts of energy, has become a talking point in Europe, with the European Environment Agency warning earlier this month that the “the rapid expansion of AI presents a growing challenge to achieving climate neutrality.” But an emphasis on combating the environmental impact of tech is “a red line for the United States,” a digital ministry representative, granted anonymity due to French protocol, told reporters, adding that France respects its “partners’ red lines.”  Environmental issues have been “the most complicated” to get a consensus among the G7 countries, the same representative added, saying that the wording of that part of the declaration may only be endorsed by the “G7 presidency,” i.e. France.  “This is a step back from the initial ambitions,” the same representative admitted, adding that France “knew it would be complicated.”   More broadly, “discussing the regulation of industry players is something the United States is not ready to do,” the French digital ministry representative said, adding that “in Europe, we will conclude that regulation is necessary, and we will take the extra step that …

Wealthy people with environmental ideals are the biggest emitters

Wealthy people with environmental ideals are the biggest emitters

Published by skeptic

Private jets are the most carbon-intensive way to travel Steve Allen / Alamy People who care the most about the environment also do the most environmental damage with their jet-setting lifestyle, at least among those with the highest income and education. But rather than being a critique of environmentalism, this finding shows that changing policy is more important than changing values when it comes to halting the climate and biodiversity crises, scientists say. “We do not want to suggest that individuals are solely responsible for their carbon footprints”, since low-carbon alternatives to activities like flying are often still hard to find, says Malte Dewies at the University of Cambridge, one of the researchers behind the new work. In fact, the term “carbon footprint” was popularised by BP to shift responsibility to consumers. It’s long been known that a person’s footprint tends to increase with their income. This study, however, brought personal beliefs into the equation. Researchers first asked 5000 people across Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US about their income, wealth, education …

The Environmental Movement Needs to Touch Grass

The Environmental Movement Needs to Touch Grass

Published by Sam Flores

Donald Trump is the most anti-environment president since “environmentalism” emerged in America. He has rescinded the “endangerment finding,” meaning that the government no longer accepts the basic truth that climate change is bad for people. He is rolling back regulations that would have protected American skies and waters from pollutants such as mercury, arsenic, “forever chemicals,” soot, and methane. And he is working to demote conservation as a priority use for the 245 million acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The environmental movement—green-minded politicians, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, writers, volunteers, and advocacy organizations—has seemed ill-equipped to respond. Environmental-news headlines get little attention, court challenges play out in obscurity, and when people do protest, our air, water, forests, and oceans seem like afterthoughts amid so many other worthy causes. How did the movement lose its vibrancy? More screen time, less wild habitat available to visit, and a shift to urban living have made Americans less viscerally connected to the splendor of planet Earth. Even conservation scientists have been trapped indoors, thanks to the falling …

Kenya cancer cluster sparks ‘environmental genocide’ claims over oil waste | Al Jazeera

Kenya cancer cluster sparks ‘environmental genocide’ claims over oil waste | Al Jazeera

Published by Sam Flores

A group of 298 petitioners from remote villages of Marsabit County in northern Kenya is suing BP and the Kenyan government over oil exploration waste from the 1980s that it says is causing a cancer cluster that has killed hundreds. Residents and local health workers say cancer cases and deaths have risen steadily, with more than 500 people reported dead from cancers affecting the digestive system, particularly the oesophagus and stomach. Many were from villages where access to medical care remains limited. They believe rising cancer cases are linked to toxic waste left behind during oil exploration in the 1980s. Six years ago, doctors diagnosed Maisan Chamuset, 74, with throat cancer and told him he might never speak normally again. Today, Chamuset communicates through a small pipe inserted in his throat, and his voice comes out strained and mechanical, a reminder of the effect the disease had on his life. Chamuset’s experience reflects a growing trend in the desert settlement of Kargi, where death tolls are on the rise, including his wife, who died of …

Russian Black Sea Town Plunged Into Environmental Catastrophe After 4th Drone Strike On Oil Complex

Russian Black Sea Town Plunged Into Environmental Catastrophe After 4th Drone Strike On Oil Complex

Published by Jenni Sidey

Russia’s Tuapse on the Black Sea can’t catch a break as it has been hit by Ukrainian drones for the fourth time within only a month, after a series of devastating attacks in April which unleashed large fires. On Friday another fire broke out at a marine terminal in Tuapse after this latest Ukrainian drone strike, regional emergency officials have confirmed. Over 100 fire-fighting personnel are battling the blaze. Tuapse has already been under a state of emergency for several days, when a Ukrainian drone strike triggered a massive refinery fire, forcing evacuations and spilling oil into coastal waters. 2026 Vantor/NBC via Getty Images That prior fire was only extinguished Thursday, and only 24 hours later the next drone strike hit. The town there has already been facing environmental disaster, with even black rain reported due to the constant thick black smoke hanging high above. Russia’s consumer safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor warned residents to limit time outdoors, keep windows closed, and wear masks due to elevated benzene levels – a highly toxic carcinogen – following repeated drone attacks. …

Goldman Environmental Prize winner aims to heal her environment : NPR

Goldman Environmental Prize winner aims to heal her environment : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Theonila Roka Matbob of Papua New Guinea is one of this year’s Goldman Environmental Prize winners. She is being recognized for her efforts to repair environmental and social harms caused by a copper and gold mine. Goldman Environmental Prize hide caption toggle caption Goldman Environmental Prize Theonila Roka Matbob was born in what should have been a lush rainforest. Her family’s home is near the center of the largest island in Papua New Guinea’s Autonomous Region of Bougainville in the Pacific Ocean. Instead, she says, the mountains around her were mostly rock and sand. “You have to go miles — into another region and territory — to find the trees, the forest,” says Roka Matbob, who is now 35. She grew up hearing constant warnings about the environment. “From our grandparents and parents, the advice you always get is: Don’t go near the water. Don’t go near the river. It is poisonous. Do not eat anything that falls onto the ground,” she recalls. “And they don’t tell you why.” Roka Matbob started asking questions and, …

how the planet’s climate has changed since the photo that inspired the environmental movement

how the planet’s climate has changed since the photo that inspired the environmental movement

Published by skeptic

A new Earthset image has been captured by the crew of Artemis II, 58 years since the iconic Earthrise photograph taken by the crew of Apollo 8. Over these past six decades, the climate has changed dramatically. “Oh my God, look at that picture over there! There’s the Earth comin’ up. Wow, is that pretty.” That was Nasa astronaut Bill Anders’ reaction to seeing the Earth appearing to rise above the lunar horizon as their Apollo 8 spacecraft came around the Moon on Christmas Eve 1968. Theirs were the first human eyes to see our planet at such a distance and from another celestial body. As fellow astronaut Jim Lovell said a few hours later: “The Earth from here is a grand oasis in the big vastness of space.” That original Earthrise image is widely credited with helping to set the mainstream environmental movement in motion. Although I wasn’t born when the Apollo 8 photo was taken, a framed print of it hangs above my desk as a reminder of the beauty and fragility of …

Designing electric motors for lower environmental impact

Designing electric motors for lower environmental impact

Published by skeptic

MAXIMA redesigns electric motors so circularity guides design, use, and end‑of‑life recovery. As Europe accelerates towards large-scale electrification of road transport, electric machines are becoming a backbone of the clean mobility transition. Yet, each high-performance motor still concentrates metals like copper, aluminium, iron, and critical raw materials that are difficult to replace if they end up dissipated instead of recovered. MAXIMA (Modular AXIal flux Motor for Automotive), a Horizon Europe project launched in 2023, is tackling this challenge by combining advanced design tools, new materials, and life cycle assessment to develop a modular axial flux motor with lower environmental impact and reduced dependence on critical rare earth elements. Its ambition is not only to create a better motor, but to prove that reduction of environmental impact can guide decisions across the entire value chain, from raw materials to end of life recovery. Putting life cycle thinking at the heart of design Within MAXIMA, Work Package 6 (Life Cycle Management) acts as a transversal backbone that connects design, materials development, manufacturing, and system integration. The goal …

Environmental groups and states sue EPA over Trump’s emissions rollback

Environmental groups and states sue EPA over Trump’s emissions rollback

Published by Sam Flores

Last year, 7 million people around the world, 600,00 of them children, died from a slow-moving, silent and largely invisible killer: air pollution. In the U.S. alone, that number was 135,000 people, roughly the population of Dayton, Ohio. Poor air quality also accrues an economic cost of about $800 billion each year. And of course pollutants get trapped in the atmosphere, causing global heating and climate change that threatens to upend all life on the planet. Critics are now warning that deregulation at the federal level threatens to make this issue even worse. One of President Donald Trump’s very first acts in his second term was to repeal long-established environmental protections aimed at protecting public health and mitigating climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to roll back the “endangerment finding,” which allowed the organization to regulate motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions has drawn outrage from a panoply of parties. On March 19, 24 Democratic-majority states, plus D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and 12 cities and counties filed a lawsuit against the EPA, joining nearly …

The effects of the Iran war on environmental and human health, according to an expert : NPR

The effects of the Iran war on environmental and human health, according to an expert : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

As the war in Iran enters its fourth week, the costs are adding up. NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe talks to Doug Weir, with the Conflict and War Observatory, about impacts to human health and the environment. AYESHA RASCOE, HOST: Since the start of the war in Iran three weeks ago, images of destruction have filled our screens – black smoke billowing over the skyline of Tehran, flames leaping from gas fields in the Gulf. Doug Weir is director of the Conflict and Environment Observatory, and he’s been documenting the impacts of the war on ecosystems and human health in the region. Thank you for being with us. DOUG WEIR: Thanks for having me. RASCOE: So there was a major escalation in the war last week with strikes directly targeting oil infrastructure. How big of a concern is that from your perspective when it comes to the environment? WEIR: Typically, these attacks on oil facilities and infrastructure are some of the most environmentally damaging incidents that we see. We see pollution to the air, pollution to the …