Daily ED: December 13th, 2021
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News snippets from The Environmental Digest
A series of destructive tornadoes have ascended on the United States’ Midwest this weekend. The storms spawned at least 50 tornadoes reported across eight states and left at least 100 people dead, according to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.
Tornadoes develop from severe thunderstorms in warm, moist, unstable air along and ahead of cold fronts. While this natural disaster can happen in different places around the world (including Japan, New Zealand, and Italy), tornadoes are most common in United States.
The tornado alley (or most commonly referred dixie alley) is an area of Central United States that averages around 350 “twisters” a year and can destroy communities and livelihoods of hundreds of people.
Daily ED: United States
Manatees are Hungry
As manatee deaths spike and Florida rescue centers fill up with malnourished animals, federal and state wildlife officials are trying something new in an urgent effort to help the species through the winter: They will provide food, as needed, at a key location on the state’s east coast where hundreds of manatees cluster when water temperatures drop.
Safest Route to Avoid Pollution
Researchers at 3 Michigan univeristies received $2.7 million grant to create a miniature air pollution monitor that is portable and potentially wearable. The mini-monitors could also map pollution hotspots in cities and give researchers precise, hyperlocal data to study pollution exposure and health effects.
Waste No More
California will soon undergo the biggest shift in its waste management system since recycling began in the 1980s, state officials say. On Jan. 1, all state jurisdictions must show that they are on a path toward reducing organic waste by 75% by 2025 and must have programs in place to collect organic waste from residents and businesses separately from recyclables and landfilled trash, to ensure that edible food is not wasted but rather diverted to people in need. If the state can achieve its goal, CalRecycle, the state agency overseeing implementation of the new rule, estimates that the climate impact will be equivalent to taking 1.7 million cars off of the road for a year.
Daily ED International
Stories from Hell
Climate change is upon us and already started to change the world around us. The New York Times have published a series of 193 examples of how climate change affected communties around the globe. Follow this link to read them or stay tuned for our weekend editions where we unpack one story at a time.
Plants as Insulation
Many buildings in the U.K. are constructed with walls made of two layers of stone, with a hollow center. To improve heat retention, the cavity can be filled with insulation like plastic-based polystyrene, but putting a green wall on the outside of the building could have the same effect. Heat loss from an exterior wall covered with plants in a half-century-old building was 31% less than a wall without plants in the same building, according to the new study.
A Sustainable Vision
Ryan Gilbert, Patagonia’s new CEO, expressed concerns over climate change and promised to pivot the brand towards a sustainable route in an interview with New York Times. “Let’s be ruthlessly honest about the fact that everything we do as humans has some impact on the planet. And on behalf of Patagonia, I try to really challenge ourselves on the notion of growth.”
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