Environmental Science Bulletin Board – 31 May 2021

Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Lab being refurbished at cost of $170M

·        https://www.yahoo.com/news/powerful-us-nuclear-test-reactor-204700216.html

US Federal Judge orders Dakota Access pipeline can remain open during new environmental review

·        https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-judge-orders-dakota-access-191154967.html

Monster Wels catfish invading Europe – was illegally introduced into Spain – outcompeting native fish

·        https://www.yahoo.com/news/fishermen-beg-tackle-invasion-monstrous-160054216.html

Container homes – small, affordable, reuse of containers

·        https://www.yahoo.com/news/idaho-company-received-big-attention-110000862.html

Navajo Nation is now largest in US with Cherokee Nation now number 2 in population

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/navajo-surpasses-cherokee-to-become-largest-native-american-tribe-enrollment-numbers-show/ar-AAKgL7K

Changing demographics – “the era of high fertility is ending” – Population exceeds carrying capacity

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/how-the-coming-population-bust-will-transform-the-world/ar-AAKh95s

Time-lapse video of urban population growth

·        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v74_mf2usc0

Wolves are apex predators – kill deer in Wisconsin reducing likelihood of human-deer accidents

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/an-unexpected-benefit-of-living-with-wolves/ar-AAKkFyt

Black female jaguar cub born at sanctuary in Kent, England

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/adorable-female-black-jaguar-cub-born-at-a-big-cat-sanctuary-in-kent/ar-AAKkbxt

Technological hazard: mining cobalt for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries is killing children - lawsuit

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/are-children-dying-like-dogs-in-effort-to-build-better-batteries/ar-AAKja1Q

·        Report: https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/AFR6231832016ENGLISH.PDF

?Remember that skepticism is a fundamental principle of science – “man-made global warming” is not settled

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/settled-enough-climate-science-skepticism-and-prudence/ar-AAKl3Zq

Like all viruses the 1918 pandemic flu virus also mutated

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/a-clue-to-why-the-1918-pandemic-came-back-stronger-than-before/ar-AAKkduD

·        Paper pre-print: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.14.444134v1.full.pdf

Legacy of nuclear testing in the Australian Outback – leaking plutonium

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/australian-outback-could-be-leaking-plutonium-60-years-after-testing/ar-AAKlebg

·        Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-89757-5

Human-monkey chimera cell creations go beyond any bounds of reasonable ethics

·        https://www.wsj.com/articles/creation-of-first-human-monkey-embryos-sparks-concern-11619442382?st=ek3ghtuw6arw7gi&mod=sbacq

Magnitude of the impact of coal burning on the Yangtze River in China

·        https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/impact-of-coal-burning-on-yangtze-river-is-comparable-to-natural-processes

Melting glaciers in Greenland releasing accumulations of trapped air-borne mercury pollution into rivers & fjords – will likely bioaccumulate in food web

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/greenland-s-melting-glaciers-are-polluting-coasts-with-shocking-amounts-of-mercury/ar-AAKnkkz

·        Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00753-w

Visualizing copper intensity of renewable energy – so called “clean energy technologies” – demand greatly exceeds supply – supply chain susceptible to disruptions – mines closed – lower grade ores

·        https://www.visualcapitalist.com/copper-intensity-of-renewable-energy/

As consumption drops O&G companies shift to renewable energy & derived petrochemicals

·        https://theconversation.com/oil-companies-are-going-all-in-on-petrochemicals-and-green-chemistry-needs-help-to-compete-153598

Emerging cicadas may be noisy but few excuses for using insecticides to kill them – let animals eat them

·        https://www.treehugger.com/cicadas-bugging-you-put-away-insecticide-5186018

Perspective: $260M Little Island Park built on old Pier 55 in Manhattan is a waste of money

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/nyc-s-260-million-little-island-park-is-a-waste-of-money-opinion/ar-AAKn9xN

·        Park: https://littleisland.org/visit-us

More than two-thirds of flooding incidents in Maryland take place outside FEMA-identified flood zones

·        https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2021/05/25/new-study-reveals-impact-of-flooding-on-marylands-transportation-infrastructure

·        Link to download report: https://www.icf.com/insights/transportation/flooding-impacts-maryland-transportation

Corcoran Bowl fastest-sinking area in US – excessive groundwater withdrawal in San Joaquin Valley

·        https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/25/us/corcoran-california-sinking.html

Invasive species are hitchhiking with bloodworms – used for fishing bait

·        https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/hitchhiking-with-bloodworms/

Seven Tasmanian devils born at Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary – part of DevilComeback project

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a-special-kind-of-baby-boom-tasmanian-devils-born-in-mainland-australia-for-first-time-in-3-000-years/ar-AAKpuVR

Evolution of Tasmanian Devils in response to transmissible facial cancer

·        https://phys.org/news/2021-05-ongoing-evolution-tasmanian-devils-response.html

·        Paper: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.0577

Public response to carbon storage methodologies is based on perception of “naturalness”

·        https://phys.org/news/2021-05-people-natural-strategies-atmospheric-carbon.html

They keep saying global warming is based on science – but there is discrepancy of about 5 gigatons of CO2 per year in net land-use emissions between global models (IPCC) and national GHG inventories

·        https://phys.org/news/2021-05-good-decisions-climate-policymaking-critical.html

Persistent toxic human-made PFAS chemical process through wastewater treatment facilities

·        https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210526115551.htm

Sand is valuable and like all other natural resources is limited in supply – demand exceeds supply

·        https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Scientists_consider_true_costs_of_sand_call_for_sustainability_effort_999.html

On the 10th anniversary of the Solyndra scandal – government-backed solar panel firm was disaster

·        https://www.ehn.org/solyndra-biden-energy-2653062026/fossil-fuels-subsidies

381 pesticides becoming increasingly toxic for pollinators and aquatic invertebrates over past 2 decades

·        https://www.ehn.org/pesticide-toxicity-2652983639.html

2021 Hurricane Season has begun & spurs hog waste worries in North Carolina

·        https://www.ehn.org/north-carolina-hurricanes-hog-farms-2652972415.html

Census Bureau creating “synthetic data” – inventing imaginary threats to confidentiality to reduce public access to data – but much data was not collected for all the population – all it did was “count” people

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/census-bureau-s-use-of-synthetic-data-worries-researchers/ar-AAKrWY5

Endangered Amur Tiger has litter of 3 cubs

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/animals/endangered-amur-tiger-births-three-adorable-cubs/vi-AAKoYXc

Construction underway on $3B Red River flood diversion project in Fargo-Moorhead area

·        https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/05/20/fargomoorhead-diversion-project-construction-picks-up-pace

Note to all “global warming alarmists” - warming effect of GHG “has been overestimated” – i.e., the modern climate models are wrong

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/warming-effect-of-greenhouse-gases-has-been-overestimated/ar-AAKumKV

·        Paper: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/22/eabc1379

US Army COE may take more than one year to review appeal by Pebble Limited mine on Bristol Bay

·        https://apnews.com/article/hi-state-wire-donald-trump-alaska-technology-business-046f3e4ae2556d8c830b761d2379a237

Cheboygan, Michigan, getting new rain garden to help control excess storm water

·        https://www.cheboygannews.com/story/news/2021/05/25/downtown-cheboygan-getting-new-rain-garden-water-street-parking-lot/7426943002/

Genetically modified salmon will be on the menu – though not identified as such – “huge threat to any vision of a healthy food system” – “escape is unlikely”

·        https://www.yahoo.com/news/genetically-modified-salmon-head-us-203523173.html

Super bloom season for Saguaro cactus in Sonoran Desert

·        https://www.yahoo.com/news/extremely-rare-phenomenon-reported-among-124108652.html

Technological hazard: Big Brother is watching and his name is Google

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/apple-is-eating-our-lunch-google-employees-admit-in-lawsuit-that-the-company-made-it-nearly-impossible-for-users-to-keep-their-location-private/ar-AAKuUAK

Ethanol plant near Mead, Nebraska, has been spewing array of pesticides into atmosphere for years – advertised as “green recycling” location but is threatening human and wildlife health

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/outrage-as-regulators-let-pesticides-from-factory-pollute-us-town-for-years/ar-AAKvzkI

CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus COVID-19 statistics by country (click on USA to get State statistics) & CDC tracker

·        https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

·        https://time.com/5800901/coronavirus-map/

·        interactive map s: https://geodacenter.github.io/covid/map.html

·        CDC Weekly Tracker: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/

“fact-check” retracted – new evidence that virus originated in Wuhan Lab

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/politifact-retracts-wuhan-lab-theory-fact-check/ar-AAKgsZg

Fauci on the origin of the virus – another reason why they call him “flip-flop”

·        May 2020: https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/05/politics/fauci-trump-coronavirus-wuhan-lab/index.html

·        Jan 2021: https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/coronavirus/dr-fauci-interview-part-3/

·        Feb 2021: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/politifact/2021/02/09/covid-dr-anthony-fauci-did-not-fund-research-tied-creation/4450338001/

·        Mar 2021: https://nypost.com/2021/03/26/fauci-refutes-ex-cdc-directors-claim-that-covid-came-from-lab/

·        Mar 2021: https://www.eatthis.com/news-fauci-covid-wuhan-lab/

·        May 2021: https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/24/politics/fauci-donald-trump-coronavirus/index.html

·        May 2021: https://www.9news.com/article/news/nation-world/dr-fauci-not-convinced-coronavirus-origins/507-a2cb1347-1a88-420b-9b45-7dde970dec8f

·        https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/global-event-news/dr-fauci-now-not-convinced-covid-19-developed-naturally-calls-for-origin-to-be-probed.html

Wuhan Lab researchers sought hospitalization for virus symptoms in November 2019 – WHO to reinvestigate

·        https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/china/wuhan-lab-researchers-sought-hospital-care-months-before-covid-19-disclosure-report.html

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/china-who-probe-coronavirus-investigators-pinpoint-overlooked-chinese-data-for-further-study-source-says/ar-AAKluJX

Timeline – lab-leak theory – Fauci’s statements

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/coronavirus/timeline-how-the-wuhan-lab-leak-theory-suddenly-became-credible/ar-AAKlIOr

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/how-the-liberal-media-dismissed-the-lab-leak-theory-and-smeared-its-supporters/ar-AAKl4Ti

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/timeline-of-what-dr-fauci-has-said-about-the-wuhan-lab-and-covid-s-origins/ar-AAKn3P3

Fauci no longer guaranteeing that Wuhan Lab did not use US funds for gain-of-function research

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/why-is-anthony-fauci-hedging-on-the-origins-of-the-coronavirus/ar-AAKkmw7

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/fauci-impossible-to-guarantee-u-s-didn-t-fund-gain-of-function-research-at-wuhan-lab/ar-AAKpBkE

“My body, my choice” – “medical freedoms” and personal choice – “vaccine victimhood”

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/op-ed-how-my-body-my-choice-came-to-define-the-vaccine-skepticism-movement/ar-AAKgbrC

Herd immunity in this stage of the trials of the experimental vaccines

·        https://currently.att.yahoo.com/lifestyle/getting-closer-covid-herd-immunity-120800408.html

Why case numbers are dropping – not just vaccines but also previous infections & natural immunity

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/the-sneaky-reason-why-vaccinations-aren-t-causing-all-the-covid-19-cases-to-drop/ar-AAKp4EU

What if the pandemic (i.e., the virus) was man-made?

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/what-if-the-pandemic-was-man-made/ar-AAKk0Pp

US Senate unanimously passes ban on funding of gain-of-function research in China

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/senate-chamber-cheers-after-paul-s-amendment-banning-funding-of-gain-of-function-research-in-china-passes-unanimously/ar-AAKplL0

Immunity may persist for years

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/immunity-to-the-coronavirus-may-persist-for-years-scientists-find/ar-AAKppGv

Wuhan Lab, old copper mine, bat cave & guano

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/the-wuhan-lab-leak-question-a-disused-chinese-mine-takes-center-stage/ar-AAKkBwZ

Investigating whether myocarditis is delayed side effect of the vaccine – in younger male patients

·        https://currently.att.yahoo.com/lifestyle/cdc-now-investigating-delayed-covid-122403181.html

Vaccine mandate breaks Nuremberg Code – forcing employees to be human ‘guinea pigs’

·        https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/texas-hospital-staff-says-vaccine-mandate-breaks-nuremberg-code/ar-AAKuDR9