Author: Tom Wright
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As Trump’s Climate Denial Continues, Experts Take Flight to France
Many East Coasters will be returning to work today in bitter cold conditions after the second-coldest New Year on record. The low temperatures over the festive period did not go unnoticed by President Donald Trump who tweeted in late December: “In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record. Perhaps we…
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Why healthy soils and forests are key to climate protection and prosperity
What links climate change, poverty and migration? The Global Landscapes Forum addresses how land-use is central to global challenges that are more interconnected than many of us realize. http://www.dw.com/en/why-healthy-soils-and-forests-are-key-to-climate-protection-and-prosperity/a-41873961
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Author Says Soil Is Key To Addressing Effects of Climate Change
In 2013 the United Nations declared Dec. 5 to be World Soil Day, a recognition of the significance of healthy soil in both improving food security and nutrition, and mitigating the effects of climate change, including drought, flood, soil erosion and sea level rise. This year the U.N. held a conference at its New York headquarters…
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Latest Monsanto GMO seeds raises worries of monopoly
The rapid growth of Monsanto’s new GMO seeds resistant to the controversial herbicide dicamba has revived worries about the company’s stranglehold over farming during a period of industry consolidation. Long a producer of dicamba, Monsanto last year introduced genetically-modified cotton and soybean seeds that can resist the weed killer. http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/consumer/latest-monsanto-gmo-seeds-raises-worries-of-monopoly
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Divest Responsibly
Barnard unveils criteria it will use to evaluate whether a fossil fuel company is a good or bad actor worthy of its investment. An emphasis is on climate science. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/12/13/barnard-announces-criteria-evaluating-fossil-fuel-companies-investment-worthiness
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GREEK YOGURT WASTE COULD BE USED IN JET FUEL AND LIVESTOCK FEED
Your Greek yogurt creates food waste that could one day be used in jet fuel. That’s right—when Greek yogurt is made, it leaves behind liquid whey, which is the watery remains after protein is strained from milk. A process that mixes this waste with thousands of species of bacteria and some heat transforms the whey into…
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Climate Change Has Come for Los Angeles
The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is meant to be, in Southern California, the start of rainy season. Not this year. The Thomas Fire, the worst of those roiling the region this last week, grew 50,000 acres on Sunday alone; it has now burnt 270 square miles and forced 200,000 people from their homes. There is…
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How big oil is tightening its grip on Donald Trump’s White House
How big oil is tightening its grip on Donald Trump’s White House The oil industry has stalled action on climate change from the inside and sold America on fossil fuels – and its influence goes back further than people realize by Jie Jenny Zou of the Center for Public Integrity https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/12/big-oil-white-house-century-of-influence
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When and how to use the term ‘zero waste’ — and when to avoid it
As cities across the country, from Los Angeles to New York City, take “zero waste” pledges, it is clear that “zero waste” is transforming from a trend into a movement. From a sustainability perspective, the central goal of most “zero waste” initiatives — achieving 90 percent diversion — is a clear winner. But from a…
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How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds — from a Magician and Google’s Design Ethicist
I’m an expert on how technology hijacks our psychological vulnerabilities. That’s why I spent the last three years as Google’s Design Ethicist caring about how to design things in a way that defends a billion people’s minds from getting hijacked. When using technology, we often focus optimisticallyon all the things it does for us. But I…