Consciousness has long intrigued thinkers, from ancient philosophers to contemporary neuroscientists. It is a complex phenomenon we encounter daily, yet we often find it difficult to fully define or comprehend.



This elusive aspect of our existence encompasses our thoughts, emotions, perceptions, and self-awareness. 



Despite significant advancements in fields like cognitive science and psychology, the true nature of consciousness remains one of humanity's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/panpsychism-what-if-all-things-humans-plants-atoms-have-universal-consciousness/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most profound mysteries</a>.



Researchers are actively investigating how consciousness emerges from brain activity, the distinctions between conscious and unconscious states, and the broader implications of consciousness on our understanding of reality and existence.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hyperdimensional-paradigm">Hyperdimensional paradigm</h2>



Michael Pravica, a physics professor at the <a href="https://www.unr.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Nevada</a>, offers a fresh perspective on the age-old mystery of consciousness. 



He proposes that understanding this <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/understanding-human-consciousness-through-eureka-moments/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">complex phenomenon</a> may require us to look beyond our familiar dimensions.



Central to his theory is the concept of hyperdimensionality -- the intriguing possibility that our universe harbors more dimensions than the four we can perceive (three spatial dimensions and one of time).



Could this expanded view open new pathways for exploring the nature of consciousness? 



By examining these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/where-in-the-brain-does-consciousness-reside-scientists-think-they-might-know/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">broader dimensions</a>, we may uncover insights that have significant implications for our understanding of the universe and our place within it.



"The sheer fact we can conceive of higher dimensions than four within our mind, within our mathematics, is a gift... It's something that transcends biology," Pravica told Popular Mechanics. 



He believes that our ability to imagine and mathematically describe dimensions beyond <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-do-babies-start-gaining-their-consciousness/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">our physical experience</a> hints at a deeper connection between consciousness and the fabric of the universe.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-string-theory-and-higher-dimensions">String theory and higher dimensions</h2>



String theory is an ambitious framework in physics that seeks to unify all fundamental forces and particles into a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/radical-new-theory-finally-unites-gravity-spacetime-and-the-quantum-realm/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">single theoretical model</a>. It proposes that the basic building blocks of the universe aren't point-like particles but tiny, one-dimensional "strings" that vibrate at specific frequencies. 



These vibrations correspond to different particles, much like how different musical notes come from vibrations of a guitar string. To make the mathematics of string theory work, scientists have found that it requires additional spatial dimensions. 



These new dimensions extend beyond the three we experience daily. In some versions of the theory, there are up to ten or eleven dimensions in total.



The extra dimensions aren't easily observed because they might be compactified or curled up at scales so small they're beyond our current ability to detect. Imagine dimensions folded in on themselves like tiny loops at every point in space. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dimension-of-consciousness">Dimension of consciousness</h2>



While the concepts of hyperdimensionality and string theory have received overwhelming acceptance from physicists, attributing a link between higher dimensions and consciousness can stir up a tempest in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/meditation-reveals-common-altered-states-of-consciousness/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">scientific teapot</a>.



Interestingly, Pravica, an Orthodox Christian with a PhD from <a href="https://www.harvard.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harvard</a>, harnesses hyperdimensionality to bridge the gap between his scientific understanding and religious faith. He posits a fascinating theory: Jesus could be a hyperdimensional entity.



Pravica explained his perspective by citing a Biblical event. "According to the Bible, Jesus ascended into heaven 40 days after being on Earth. How do you ascend into heaven if you're a four-dimensional creature?" he pondered.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-science-fiction-or-fact">Science fiction or fact?</h2>



Not everyone in the scientific field is convinced by Pravica's approach. Some argue that linking consciousness to hyperdimensionality -- and by extension, to religious concepts -- blurs the line between empirical science and personal belief. 



One scientist commented that such theories are bordering "on science fiction." <a href="https://www.fordham.edu/academics/departments/physics-and-engineering-physics/faculty-and-staff/stephen-holler/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stephen Holler</a>, an associate professor of physics at <a href="https://www.fordham.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fordham University</a> in New York, shares this skepticism. 



He emphasizes the importance of acknowledging gaps in our scientific knowledge without resorting to non-scientific explanations. 



"Gaps in scientific knowledge are attributed to divine intervention, rather than being seen as opportunities for further inquiry and understanding," Holler told Popular Mechanics.



He further expresses concern that this approach might <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-consciousness-and-you-what-happens-when-machines-become-sentient/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hinder scientific progress</a>. "It's a poor explanation mechanism that arguably stifles the inquisitive nature required for good science and teaches that it’s not okay to say, 'I don’t know'," Holler added. 



His viewpoint highlights the delicate balance between remaining open to new ideas and maintaining rigorous scientific standards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dimension-of-consciousness-0">Dimension of consciousness</h2>



The debate sparked by Pravica's theory brings to light the broader conversation about how we explore consciousness. Could considering extra dimensions <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mindfulness-can-lead-to-altered-states-of-consciousness/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">offer new insights</a>, or does it complicate the matter further? 



While hyperdimensionality is a well-established concept in theoretical physics, its application to consciousness is relatively uncharted territory.



This discussion also touches on how personal beliefs can influence scientific exploration. Throughout history, many scientists have drawn inspiration from their philosophical or religious views. 



The key challenge lies in ensuring that such influences encourage curiosity rather than limit it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-consciousness-research">Future of consciousness research</h2>



As we continue to investigate the nature of consciousness, it's essential to keep an open mind while adhering to scientific principles. 



Theories like Pravica's invite us to think creatively and consider possibilities beyond conventional wisdom. They remind us that much about the human mind -- and the universe -- remains unknown.



Advancements in technology, such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/quantum-connection-behind-brain-signals-and-human-consciousness/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">quantum computing</a> and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-will-outsmart-humans-when-we-crack-the-neural-code/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">artificial intelligence</a>, may soon provide new tools to study consciousness. 



These developments could help us understand how cognitive processes might interact with dimensions we have yet to explore fully.



The quest to comprehend consciousness is far from over. Ideas that challenge the status quo, like the hyperdimensional paradigm, play a crucial role in pushing the boundaries of knowledge. 



Whether or not such theories withstand scientific scrutiny, they provoke valuable discussions that drive progress.



-----



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Consciousness may stem from unseen dimensions beyond our reality

Consciousness has long intrigued thinkers, from ancient philosophers to contemporary neuroscientists. It is a complex phenomenon we encounter daily, yet we often find it difficult to fully define or comprehend. This elusive aspect of our existence encompasses our thoughts, emotions, perceptions, and self-awareness. Despite significant advancements in fields like cognitive science and psychology, the true nature of consciousness remains one of humanity's most profound mysteries. Researchers are actively investigating how consciousness emerges from brain activity, the distinctions between conscious and unconscious states, and the broader implications of...

Hydrogen Gas to Blame for Rhode Island Beach Blast. Hydrogen Gas to Blame for Rhode Island Beach Blast. A mysterious blast on a Rhode Island beach likely was caused by the combustion of hydrogen gas buildup because of a corroded copper cable under the sand, investigators announced Friday.
Officials have spent nearly two weeks trying to figure out what happened on July 11 at Salty Brine Beach in Narragansett, when witnesses heard a large boom and a woman from Connecticut was sent flying through the air into a jetty. <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/san-francisco-facial-recognition-technology/">Police</a> almost immediately ruled out an explosive device or intentional act, but scientists were stumped about what could have caused the blast.
Janet Coit, director of the state Department of Environmental Management, said Friday that scientists at the University of Rhode Island had pinpointed it to hydrogen built up by the corrosion of an abandoned copper cable that previously was used by the U.S. Coast Guard and runs under the sand.
Coit said scientists took core samples of the beach, and the sand where the blast occurred had unusually high levels of hydrogen gas.
Arthur Spivack, an oceanographer with expertise in geo-chemistry at URI's Graduate School of Oceanography who worked on finding the cause, said hydrogen combustion is about the simplest chemical reaction there is. Hydrogen Gas to Blame for Rhode Island Beach Blast
"All you need is hydrogen and oxygen in the right mixture and it can combust," he said. "Everything we observed is consistent with hydrogen combustion."
Coit said they tested the beach for <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=hydrogen&amp;cvid=b5651a49a84d493187da7225b03440e0&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">hydrogen</a> on Friday, took 10 samples and hydrogen wasn't detected.
Kathleen Danise, 60, of Waterbury, Connecticut, suffered two fractured ribs and bruises in the blast. The beach fully reopened on Tuesday.
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Hydrogen Gas to Blame for Rhode Island Beach Blast

Hydrogen Gas to Blame for Rhode Island Beach Blast. Hydrogen...

New Study Compares Global Energy Consumption to Population Growth. New Study Compares Global Energy Consumption to Population Growth. Lincoln, Neb., July 24th, 2015 -- If you've lived between the year 1560 and the present day, more power to you. Literally.

That's one of several conclusions reached by University of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/historic-flooding-nebraska-iowa/">Nebraska</a>-Lincoln ecologist John DeLong, who has co-authored the first study to quantify the relationship between human population growth and energy use on an international scale.

The study compiled several centuries' worth of data from Great Britain, the United States and Sweden to profile the dynamics between a skyrocketing population and its consumption of energy from fossil fuels and renewable sources. New Study Compares Global Energy Consumption to Population Growth

The data showed that energy use has generally outpaced population growth over the last few hundred years. Each generation has thus produced more energy per person than its predecessor, the study reported, even as the population has climbed from about 500 million to more than 7 billion in the 450 years analyzed by the authors.

This increasing per capita energy supply has also hiked up Earth's carrying capacity - the number of people it can sustain at equilibrium - and allowed the population to grow at an ever-faster, or exponential, rate.

"Broadly speaking, no one's really (quantified) this," said DeLong, assistant professor of biological sciences. "But it was important, because there are studies going back decades that assume this kind of positive feedback loop: We grow, we expand our capacity to extract energy, and then we grow some more."

However, DeLong and colleague Oskar Burger also found that this dynamic has shifted in the decades following 1963, when the world's population was growing faster than ever before or since.

During the subsequent half-century, the ratio between energy increases and population growth has narrowed, with the former now aligning more closely to the latter. A 1:1 ratio would theoretically limit the planet's population to a linear rather than exponential growth rate.

"I do think this should challenge our assumptions about future population growth," DeLong said. "The study supports conventional wisdom to a degree, but it also reminds us that (abundant energy) is maybe not something that we can count on indefinitely.

"Our study sort of plays into a deep cultural philosophy that we have the creativity and ability to solve whatever problem comes our way. The evidence shows that, from an energy point of view, we've done that a lot. But maybe that's not a guarantee."

While analyzing the data, the researchers also spotted unexpected fluctuations in the population-energy relationship at certain points in history. After closer scrutiny, they discovered that per capita energy yields fluctuated during times of socio-economic and environmental upheaval: the Little Ice Age, the Industrial Revolution, World War I and II, the oil crises of the 1970s.

Though DeLong emphasized that the data will not allow researchers to determine whether this instability actually drove changes in energy use - or vice versa - he acknowledged that the overlaps warrant further study.

"It's a cautionary tale, perhaps," DeLong said. "The human socio-economic system is a complex one with a lot of moving parts. Those things are really unpredictable, but generally speaking, we think about complex systems as relying on a stable throughput of energy.

"I think the timing of those peaks in variability tells us that we should be thinking about this in two ways: how what other countries do influences the energy supply, and how to maintain those flows without generating downstream problems."

DeLong said the study's insights might also help inform and refine population projections. The United Nations currently projects, with 95 percent confidence, that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cyanobacteria-may-shed-new-light-on-the-history-of-life-on-earth/">Earth's</a> population in the year 2100 will sit between 9 billion and 13 billion people.

"In the back of our minds, it definitely is a goal to make better, more mechanistic forecasts," said DeLong. "What we're saying is: Every other population on the planet depends on energy to fuel their activities and maintain their bodies. Ours must, too."

---

<a href="http://www.unl.edu">University of Nebraska - Lincoln</a>

New Study Compares Global Energy Consumption to Population Growth

New Study Compares Global Energy Consumption to Population Growth. New...

Florida Everglades Oil Boom Raises Environmental Concerns. Renewed hunts for oil in sensitive Florida ecosystems have environmental groups raising questions about the state's regulation of the oil and gas industry.
A <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=miami&amp;cvid=10fdbc244bcf4171aeee61f1da92c828&amp;pglt=43&amp;FORM=ANNTA1&amp;PC=HCTS">Miami</a> company, Kanter Real Estate LLC, has submitted a permit application to drill an exploratory oil well on the eastern edge of the Florida Everglades.
Meanwhile, federal approval is pending for a seismic survey meant to locate new areas for drilling in the Big Cypress National Preserve, a freshwater swamp whose health is vital to the neighboring Everglades and to native wildlife, including the endangered <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/striking-antisolar-rays-over-florida/">Florida</a> panther. Florida Everglades Oil Boom Raises Environmental Concerns
The state recently issued a wetlands activity permit to Fort Worth, Texas-based Burnett Oil Co. Inc. for the survey that would cover 110 square miles within the preserve. Florida and the National Park Service are requiring a number of steps to ensure minimal harm to wildlife and the environment, but the proposal worries critics who have complained that lax oversight of previous drilling operations left ecologically sensitive areas vulnerable to contamination.
From 2012 to 2014, Florida issued three environmental violations for oil and gas operations in the state, according to violations data analyzed by The Associated Press.
The three violations occurred in 2014 after Collier County officials raised concerns about another Texas oil company's use of a fracking-like oil recovery practice at a well near panther habitat.
The Department of Environmental Protection - the state's oil and gas regulator - say the number doesn't show lax law enforcement, but rather that Florida's strict inspections keep well operators in compliance.
"During the 2014 calendar year, DEP's inspectors conducted 2,472 inspections on the 160 active wells in the state. Due to the frequency of these inspections, potential problems are identified and remedied before a violation occurs or a compliance action is required," said DEP spokeswoman Lauren Engel said in a statement.
Environmental groups argue that Florida's regulations currently only cover conventional drilling methods, not the "acid stimulation" that prompted last year's violations or other advanced extraction techniques.
"We've learned that Florida's oil and gas laws are extremely antiquated and rudimentary and don't address new techniques such as fracking," said Jennifer Hecker, director of natural resource policy for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
Drilling has been a part of the Big Cypress since before it became a national preserve in 1974. The first wells were dug in the 1940s, and drilling continues to this day, as new technologies may improve the efficiency of extracting oil from deposits running underground from Fort Myers to Miami.
The Burnett survey would be scheduled for Florida's winter dry season and produce vibrations created by plates attached to thumper trucks driving across a grid.
The state has gone on record opposing some methods of seismic testing, but it has not objected to the Burnett project.
DEP sent a letter to the Obama administration opposing new rules allowing seismic surveys for oil and gas off the state's Atlantic coast because not enough was known about the surveys' effects on marine life. The seismic survey in the Big Cypress, however, has to comply with Florida laws, said Engel.
"With onshore seismic, we have regulatory authority through this permitting program," she said.
Burnett says it's prepared to address concerns about the survey's environmental impact. The wetlands activity permit issued by DEP requires the company to restore "using hand tools" any habitat damaged by the survey vehicles, and it encourages crews to remove any invasive plant species they encounter.
The survey trucks' wide, balloon tires will be less damaging than off-road vehicle tires, said Burnett spokesman Ryan Duffy.
The survey would cover an area between active well fields in the eastern and northwestern parts of the preserve, far from recreational areas. In addition to the state permit, the park service could impose additional stipulations on Burnett to mitigate any environmental damage, said Ron Clark, the preserve's chief resource manager.
Drilling has been a rarity east of the Big Cypress. In 1985, a Texas company drilled in western Broward County, but that well was plugged and abandoned the same year, according to DEP.
The Kanter permit application calls for a 5-acre operation to drill down 11,800 feet.
In a statement, John Kanter said the application is "one of the first steps in a long-term plan that includes proposed mining, as well as water storage and water quality improvement components that have the potential for assisting with Everglades Restoration."
His family has owned the Broward County property slated for exploratory drilling for over 50 years. "As stewards of this land, we are fully invested in ensuring this project provides maximum public benefit while also providing Florida with solutions for water storage and treatment in South Florida," he said.
Environmental groups and some local elected officials say any drilling expansion threatens the region's water supply and Everglades restoration plans.
"Florida law asks the driller to do the best job possible, but it doesn't say you can't drill for oil in wetlands, in the Everglades, in panther habitat," said Matt Schwartz, executive director of the South Florida Wildlands Association.
In Miramar, the city 5 miles from the where Kanter wants to drill, the mayor and city commission recently voted to oppose the plan because of the threat to their drinking water.
Bonita Springs is over 30 miles from the Big Cypress and hasn't been a target for drilling, but the city council last week unanimously approved an ordinance banning fracking within city limits.
---
Dearen reported from Gainesville, Florida.
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Florida Everglades Oil Boom Raises Environmental Concerns

Florida Everglades Oil Boom Raises Environmental Concerns. Renewed hunts for...

The deep oceans span more than half the globe and their frigid depths have long been known to contain vast, untapped deposits of prized minerals. These treasures of the abyss, however, have always been out of reach to miners.
But now, the era of deep sea mining appears to be dawning fueled by technological advances in robotics and dwindling land-based deposits. Rising demand for copper, cobalt, gold and the rare-earth elements vital in manufacturing smartphones and other high-tech products is causing a prospecting rush to the dark seafloor thousands of meters (yards) beneath the waves.
With authorities at the Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority issuing exploration contracts, alarmed conservationists are warning that the deep ocean's fragile biodiversity must be protected and not nearly enough is known about the risks of extracting minerals from seabeds.
"The pace of activity has increased dramatically over the last five years," said Michael Lodge, deputy secretary-general of the obscure U.N. body in Kingston that acts as a global steward of the deep seafloor and is tasked with regulating this new mining frontier. "We're seeing the private sector invest in a big way."
The U.N. agency, known by its initials ISA, presides over seabed outside the exclusive territorial waters of individual countries. So far, it has issued 27 exploration contracts, the large majority of them since 2011. The 15-year contracts allow for mineral prospecting on over 1 million square kilometers (over 390,000 sq. miles) of seabed in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Governments and private companies have been moving so rapidly to stake claims and assess deposits that insiders forecast that commercial deep-sea mining could start within the next five years using robotic collectors equipped with cameras and sonar sensors along with pipe systems that can siphon crushed minerals to ships.
During a gathering this month in Jamaica of representatives from nearly 170 member states, ISA has started drafting a framework to regulate commercial exploitation of seafloor metals and minerals. The session ended Friday.
A group of international scientists, in a July 9 article in the journal Science, urged ISA to temporarily halt authorization of new mining contracts until networks of "marine protected areas" are established around areas targeted for mining.
"We owe it to future generations to ensure that we think before we act and gain a thorough understanding of the potential impacts of mining in the deep sea before any mining is permitted," said Matthew Gianni, co-founder of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, which sent observers to ISA's 21st session in Kingston.
But despite the warnings, in recent days ISA authorized its latest exploration contract, a 72,745 square kilometer (28,087 sq. mile) permit in the Pacific to China Minmetals Corp., sponsored by Beijing. China now has the most permits from the U.N. body with four.
ISA was launched in 1994 and operates under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. The only major maritime power that has not ratified the convention is the United States, where lawmakers have argued it could impinge on U.S. economic and military sovereignty. The Department of the Interior has granted exploration licenses in the Pacific to Lockheed Martin Corp., a U.S. company that has also partnered with the United Kingdom, an ISA member, by setting up a deep-sea mining subsidiary there.
So far, most of ISA's contracts have been issued for the deep abyssal plains of the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, a sprawling area of the Pacific Ocean off Mexico and the U.S. At depths of 4,000 to 6,000 meters, it is known to be rich in nodules containing copper, cobalt, manganese and significant concentrations of rare-earth elements. As part of an environmental plan, ISA has set aside nine areas in this zone, prohibiting them to contractors.
Other coveted exploration areas contain copper-rich sulphides formed around hydrothermal vents and black cobalt crusts created along the slopes of seamounts and volcanic mountain ranges. These biologically complex areas are found in the Western Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. ISA literature estimates that one site could provide up to 25 percent of the annual global market for cobalt.
"The concentrations of minerals that you find in the seabed are very much richer than what's left on land. So demand is only going to increase," Lodge said.
Douglas McCauley, an ecologist and conservation biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said seabed mining and other industrial activities like ocean-based power generation and farming indicates that mankind is on the cusp of launching a "marine industrial revolution."
Current proposals for the oceans over the next several decades "look uncomfortably similar to what we did to land in the 1700s and 1800s," he said, adding that the onset of the land-based industrialization was associated with a spike in animal extinction rates.
But there are basic things humanity can do to approach seabed mining intelligently, he said. First, learn what biodiversity is down there before we mine. Second, go slowly on exploitation contracts and study the impacts of this mining as it is happening. Third, set up systems of protected areas before, not after, mining starts.
"The terrestrial industrial revolution happened before we had the tools to manage goals for development and goals for sustaining biodiversity. You can't really blame people in the 1700s for the damage they did to the environment..." he said. "But we certainly are to blame if we don't do seabed mining properly."
---
David McFadden on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/dmcfadd" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/dmcfadd</a>
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Next Environmental Issue? Deep Sea Mining

The deep oceans span more than half the globe and...

Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan. Hillary Rodham Clinton is detailing new energy plan in Iowa to address climate change. She calls global warming one of the "most urgent threats of our time."
But she's still not taking a position on the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
The <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=democratic&amp;cvid=853c3c467ca94439835c43cedb331e3a&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Democratic</a> presidential contender is proposing that every home in the United States be powered by renewable sources by 2027. Her plan calls for installation of 500 million solar panels over four years.
Clinton laid out clean-energy ideas during a tour of a regional bus station in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday. Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan
When asked about the Keystone XL oil pipeline opposed by environmental activists, she would not comment except to say she wants a State Department review of the project to run its course.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton says climate change is real and people are "just not paying attention" if they don't acknowledge it.
Addressing this issue Sunday, Clinton touted a program that would combat climate change at least in part by changing the tax code to promote renewable energy.
"This is not complicated folks," the former secretary of state told more than 200 people at Iowa State University. "I'm just a grandmother with two eyes and a<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/research-confirms-that-covid-19-enters-the-brain/"> brain</a>. And I know we're facing huge problem."
Climate change has become a key issue in the Democratic presidential primary, where Clinton is the heavy favorite. Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan
Clinton was scheduled to discuss the plan in detail during a public event in Des Moines Monday morning.
Billionaire Tom Steyer has led an effort to promote the issue. The California-based Steyer hosted a fundraiser for Clinton in May.
Clinton proposes, through tax incentives, to increase the amount of power derived from renewable sources to support every home in the United States within 10 years.
For instance, Clinton said she supports renewing the wind energy tax credit as part of over time shifting the U.S. energy system from one based on fossil fuels.
"We need to get the incentives fixed in our tax system which as you know are too heavily weighted toward fossil fuels," Clinton said during a day of campaigning in central Iowa.
Clinton also hinted that her plans would impose changes on the coal industry, though she also pledged the government's help for workers to make the transition.
"We can make a transition over time from a fossil fuel economy, predominantly, to a clean renewable energy economy, predominantly," Clinton said later during an event at a central Iowa rural home.
Weaning the country off of coal is a tricky political position in key places on the political battleground map. Southeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania are regions of states that have been pivotal in recent elections. And they remain the home of key coal-producing areas.
Crediting coal-miners for having "created an industrial revolution," Clinton said "it is important that we help them transition to a new economy."
Clinton's plan also includes the goal of installing 500 million solar panels within four years.
It would also increase capacity to the nation's power grid with a combination of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal.
The plan's estimated cost is about $60 billion over 10 years, and would be paid for by eliminating tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, also seeking the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, noted Sunday that he unveiled a climate change plan in Iowa that addresses not just consumer energy use, but industrial and transportation, as well.
As governor, O'Malley doubled Maryland's renewable fuel production, and reduced greenhouse gases in the state by 10 percent during his two terms.
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Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan

Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan. Hillary...

Bonneville Salt Flats Rapidly Declining. A small city of tents, trailers and thousands of visitors appears almost every August in the Utah desert to watch cars, motorcycles and anything with wheels rocket across gleaming white sheets of salt at speeds of 400 mph.
But wet weather has forced the cancellation of Speed Week for the second straight year and revived a debate about whether nearby mining is depleting the Bonneville <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/great-salt-lake-in-northern-utah/">Salt</a> Flats of their precious resource.
Racers say they have worried for decades that mining is draining an aquifer that helps replenish the flats each year, leaving smaller amounts of the smooth, hard salt that makes for a nearly glass-like surface for cars hurtling across the landscape. Bonneville Salt Flats Rapidly Declining
Federal land managers who oversee the flats say they don't have any evidence that the salt is being depleted and point to the anomaly of heavy rains around the time of the event this year and last year.
"The main international racetrack used to be 13 miles in length," said Stuart Gosswein with Save the Salt, a group of race aficionados that has raised the alarm. "Now we can't even find 7 miles."
The white, treeless landscape rimmed by purple mountains has served as a backdrop for films like "Independence Day," countless car commercials, TV shows and photo shoots. The flats, composed almost entirely of common table salt, have also attracted racers for more than 100 years with the hope that the hard, smooth track will help them beat the clock.
It's where David Abbott "Ab" Jenkins set an endurance record in 1940 with his vehicle, the "Mormon Meteor." It's also where New Zealand racer Burt Munro set speed records on his modified bike, including a 1967 record of 183.58 mph, which still stands today. The feat was later depicted in the 2005 Anthony Hopkins movie, "The World's Fastest Indian" - also filmed at the flats.
The annual Speed Week race in late summer is the largest annual racing event, drawing hundreds of teams and filling restaurants and hotel rooms in the nearby border cities of Wendover, Utah, and West Wendover, Nevada, with spectators and pit crews.
Wendover Mayor Mike Crawford, who owns an auto-parts shop in town, said the decision by race organizers to cancel this year's event while it is still weeks away will be a bigger economic blow than last year, when a monsoon storm left standing water on the track on the eve of the race. The event's organizer, the Southern California Timing Association, canceled the 2014 event after racers and fans had already arrived at their hotels.
"Nobody's going to go out of business, nobody's going to lay off people," Crawford said. But "it gives you a little bit of cushion to go through the winter, which is slow in Wendover."
Over six decades, organizers have canceled the race periodically due to weather. Before last year, the last time it was scuttled was in the 1990s.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the flats, doesn't believe the flats are shrinking but is still requiring the mining company to pump brine onto the flats every winter and launch a detailed study of the salt crust later this year. Both are requirements of the company's permit issued in 2012, said Kevin Oliver, the manager of the BLM's west desert district.
Driving or racing doesn't damage the salt as long as the flats are dry and hard, according to the BLM.
Gosswein said his Save the Salt coalition doesn't want to wait for another study of the salt crust. They want to truck in dry salt to thicken the flats and are pressuring Utah's congressional delegation over management of the area.
"This thing has been studied to death," Gosswein said. "It's time to do something."
Timing association president Bill Lattin said he's seen the salt thick and thin over the 40-plus years he's been coming to Bonneville, but he's never seen as much mud covering the course as there is this year, with the spread not even sparing enough decent salt for organizers to scrape out a short 3-mile course.
Lattin suspects the brine that's pumped over the flats with the hope of rebuilding salt levels each year has instead trapped and pickled mud dumped from earlier storms, leaving the salt thin and rough.
Racers may be able to make up their time trials at an abbreviated event later this year, but it's entirely up to Mother Nature, he said.
"Man can't heal the salt the way it is. It needs time to just collect more salt, have more rain and do what it does naturally," Lattin said.
---
Follow Michelle L. Price at <a href="https://twitter.com/michellelprice" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://twitter.com/michellelprice</a> .
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Bonneville Salt Flats Rapidly Declining

Bonneville Salt Flats Rapidly Declining. A small city of tents,...

Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan. Hillary Rodham Clinton is detailing new energy plan in Iowa to address climate change. She calls global warming one of the "most urgent threats of our time."
But she's still not taking a position on the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
The Democratic presidential contender is proposing that every home in the United States be powered by renewable sources by 2027. Her plan calls for installation of 500 million solar panels over four years.
Clinton laid out clean-energy ideas during a tour of a regional bus station in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday.
When asked about the Keystone XL <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/permafrost-soils-are-collapsing-under-rising-temperatures/">oil</a> pipeline opposed by environmental activists, she would not comment except to say she wants a State Department review of the project to run its course.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton says climate change is real and people are "just not paying attention" if they don't acknowledge it.
Addressing this issue Sunday, Clinton touted a program that would combat climate change at least in part by changing the tax code to promote renewable energy.
"This is not complicated folks," the former secretary of state told more than 200 people at Iowa State University. "I'm just a grandmother with two eyes and a brain. And I know we're facing huge problem."
Climate change has become a key issue in the Democratic presidential primary, where Clinton is the heavy favorite.
Clinton was scheduled to discuss the plan in detail during a public event in Des Moines Monday morning.
Billionaire Tom Steyer has led an effort to promote the issue. The California-based Steyer hosted a fundraiser for Clinton in May. Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan
Clinton proposes, through tax incentives, to increase the amount of power derived from renewable sources to support every home in the United States within 10 years.
For instance, Clinton said she supports renewing the wind energy tax credit as part of over time shifting the U.S. energy system from one based on fossil fuels.
"We need to get the incentives fixed in our tax system which as you know are too heavily weighted toward fossil fuels," Clinton said during a day of campaigning in central Iowa.
Clinton also hinted that her plans would impose changes on the coal industry, though she also pledged the government's help for workers to make the transition.
"We can make a transition over time from a fossil fuel economy, predominantly, to a clean renewable energy economy, predominantly," Clinton said later during an event at a central Iowa rural home.
Weaning the country off of coal is a tricky political position in key places on the political battleground map. Southeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania are regions of states that have been pivotal in recent elections. And they remain the home of key coal-producing areas.
Crediting coal-miners for having "created an industrial revolution," Clinton said "it is important that we help them transition to a new economy."
Clinton's plan also includes the goal of installing 500 million solar panels within four years.
It would also increase capacity to the nation's power grid with a combination of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal.
The plan's estimated cost is about $60 billion over 10 years, and would be paid for by eliminating tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, also seeking the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, noted Sunday that he unveiled a climate change plan in Iowa that addresses not just consumer energy use, but industrial and transportation, as well.
As governor, O'Malley doubled Maryland's renewable fuel production, and reduced greenhouse gases in the state by 10 percent during his two terms.
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 Hilary Clinton Acknowledges Global Warming And Offers Energy Plan. Hillary...

Mexico Seaweed

Mexico Struggles To Clean Huge Seaweed Surge From Cancun Beaches.Authorities on Mexico's Caribbean coast said Monday they are redoubling efforts to remove tons of sargassum seaweed surge that has been washing ashore in recent weeks.
The state government of Quintana Roo, where the resort of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mexico-struggles-to-clean-huge-seaweed-surge-from-cancun-beaches-2/">Cancun i</a>s located, said there have been no reports of tourists cancelling visits because of the problem.
Gov. Roberto Borge said the seaweed removal efforts will focus on much of the coast, from Holbox in the north down past Tulum to the south. Mexico Struggles To Clean Huge Seaweed Surge From Cancun Beaches
Photos issued by the Cancun city government show piles of brown seaweed on some normally pristine white beaches. By last week, the city said it had raked or shoveled up 500 cubic meters of sargassum.
Borge said the cause of the invasion is still unknown, though it could be due to high levels of nutrients in ocean water or changes in ocean temperatures, currents or wind patterns.
Authorities have to be careful, because there are two groups of visitors they don't want to disturb with overly aggressive removal efforts: nesting sea turtles that return to the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=Caribbean&amp;cvid=85980c2a66cd47e49cc74800e604c2ce&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Caribbean</a> beaches to lay their eggs, and tourists.
Borge said the effort would take care not to cause erosion on the beaches, which has been a problem in Cancun in the past.
The government announced the formation of a task force of naval and environmental authorities to study the problem. Authorities are also researching ways to use or dispose of the seaweed mounds.
Sargassum is an algae that grows in the Sargasso Sea, a large body of warm water in the mid-Atlantic.
Officials in the Caribbean island of Barbados have also struggled with seaweed washing ashore, and large piles of sargassum washed up on the shore in Galveston, Texas, in 2014 after drifting into the Gulf of Mexico.
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Mexico Struggles To Clean Huge Seaweed Surge From Cancun Beaches

Mexico Struggles To Clean Huge Seaweed Surge From Cancun Beaches.Authorities...

First US Offshore Wind Farm Should Boost The Industry. Construction has begun off Rhode Island's coast on the nation's first offshore wind farm, a milestone that federal and state officials say will help the fledgling U.S. industry surge ahead.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said Monday that lenders, regulators and stakeholders can now see a path forward.
"It's great to witness a pioneering moment in U.S. history," she said during a boat tour of the site. "We are learning from this in what we do elsewhere. I think it will help the country understand the potential that exists here."First US Offshore Wind <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/using-a-real-world-laboratory-to-resolve-cheetah-farmer-conflict/">Farm</a> Should Boost The Industry
Deepwater Wind is building a five-turbine wind farm off Block Island, Rhode Island, which it expects to power 17,000 homes as early as next year. It began attaching the first of the steel foundations to the ocean floor Sunday. The first one touching the seabed is known in the industry as the "first steel in the water."
Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski said it was a "spectacular" moment. The company took officials and project supporters to the site by boat Monday to celebrate.
They saw the first of two steel pieces for the first foundation in the water. It has four legs and braces like a stool and rises about 30 feet above the waterline. An installation barge with a large crane was next to it, and two barges carrying additional foundation components were nearby. The foundations will be installed by mid-September, Grybowski said.
The wind farm should be operational in the third quarter of 2016, Grybowski said. Deepwater Wind also plans to build a wind farm of at least 200 turbines between Block Island and Martha's Vineyard.
"We want to build more and larger offshore wind projects, up and down the East Coast," Grybowski said.
Gov. Gina Raimondo said Rhode Island is a leader in a fast-growing industry that is creating jobs.
"It's the beginning of something great in Rhode Island," Raimondo said.
The offshore wind industry is far more advanced in Europe. Developers and industry experts say it has been slow to start in the U.S. because of regulatory hurdles, opposition from fossil fuel interests and the trials and tribulations of doing something for the first time.
Cape Wind received approval five years ago to build the nation's first offshore wind farm, a 130-turbine project off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. That project stalled after opponents challenged it in court.
While there have been setbacks, Jewell said the federal government has now sold nine leases for offshore wind projects in federal waters. The government is poised to auction a new lease off New Jersey this year and is assessing potential sites off multiple states. The Block Island wind farm is in state waters.
"This is an important first step, important momentum. A lot is happening across the country," said Abigail Ross Hopper, director if the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
One hurdle, however, is that the renewable energy industry has to fight, regularly, to keep the tax credits and incentives it has, while the well-established oil and gas industry has tax credits it no longer needs, Jewell said. She said that should change.
Several environmental leaders also made the trip. Collin O'Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said it was overwhelming to see the start of construction.
"To see it in American waters fills me with patriotic pride," he said. "This idea that we could create a new industry and tens of thousands of jobs, spur manufacturing and protect wildlife, it's just an incredible opportunity."
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First US Offshore Wind Farm Should Boost The Industry

First US Offshore Wind Farm Should Boost The Industry. Construction...

Washington DC Is Sinking Fast Adding To Sea Level Rise Threat. First-ever detailed estimate from geological drilling shows US capital faces half-foot drop by 2100

New research confirms that the land under the Chesapeake Bay is sinking rapidly and projects that Washington, D.C., could drop by six or more inches in the next century--adding to the problems of sea-level rise.

This falling land will exacerbate the flooding that the nation's capital faces from rising ocean waters due to a warming climate and melting ice sheets--accelerating the threat to the region's monuments, roads, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/some-cat-owners-care-about-their-pets-impact-on-wildlife-conservation/">wildlife</a> refuges, and military installations. Washington DC Is Sinking Fast Adding To Sea Level Rise Threat

For sixty years, tide gauges have shown that sea level in the Chesapeake is rising at twice the global average rate and faster than elsewhere on the East Coast. And geologists have hypothesized for several decades that land in this area, pushed up by the weight of a pre-historic ice sheet to the north, has been settling back down since the ice melted.

The new study--based on extensive drilling in the coastal plain of Maryland--confirms this hypothesis, and provides a firm estimate of how quickly this drop is happening. Additionally, the researchers' detailed field data make clear that the land sinking around Washington is not primarily driven by human influence, such as groundwater withdrawals, but instead is a long-term geological process that will continue unabated for tens of thousands of years, independent from human land use or climate change.

The new research was conducted by a team of geologists from the University of Vermont, the U.S. Geological Survey, and other institutions. The results were presented online July 27 in the journal GSA Today.

GEOLOGICAL WATERBED

Washington's woes come from what geologists call "forebulge collapse." During the last ice age, a mile-high North American ice sheet, that stretched as far south as Long Island, N.Y., piled so much weight on the Earth that underlying mantle rock flowed slowly outward, away from the ice. In response, the land surface to the south, under the Chesapeake Bay region, bulged up. Then, about 20,000 years ago, the ice sheet began melting away, allowing the forebulge to sink again.

"It's a bit like sitting on one side of a water bed filled with very thick honey," explains Ben DeJong, the lead author on the new study, who conducted the research as a doctoral student at UVM's Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources with support from the U.S. Geological Survey, "then the other side goes up. But when you stand, the bulge comes down again."

The new research provides the first high-resolution data from the same latitude as Washington, D.C., DeJong said, of how this forebulge has subsided--and will continue to. "Until recently, the age of the thing was really poorly constrained," he said.

To design the study, DeJong and others drilled seventy boreholes, many up to a hundred feet deep, in and around the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, near Washington, on the Chesapeake's eastern shore. Then he examined layers of sediment in these deep cores, using a suite of techniques to calculate the age of the sand, other rocks, and organic matter in each layer.

Combining this data with high-resolution LiDAR and GPS map data allowed the team--that included scientists from UVM, the US Geological Survey, Utah State University, Berkeley Geochronology Center, and Imperial College, London--to create a detailed 3D portrait of both the current and previous post-glacial geological periods in the Chesapeake, stretching back several million years. This longer view gives the geologists confidence that they have a "bullet-proof" model, DeJong says, showing that the region today is early in a period of land subsidence that will last for millennia.

WET FEET

"Right now is the time to start making preparations," said DeJong. "Six extra inches of water really matters in this part of the world," he says--adding urgency to the models of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that project roughly one to three or more feet of global sea-level rise by 2100 from global warming.

"It's ironic that the nation's capital--the place least responsive to the dangers of climate change--is sitting in one of the worst spots it could be in terms of this land subsidence," said Paul Bierman, a UVM geologist and the senior author on the new paper. "Will the Congress just sit there with their feet getting ever wetter? What's next, forebulge denial?"

---

<a href="http://www.uvm.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">University of Vermont</a>

Washington DC Is Sinking Fast Adding To Sea Level Rise Threat

Washington DC Is Sinking Fast Adding To Sea Level Rise...

Court: EPA Must Redo Smokestack Emissions Limits. A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to relax some limits it set on smokestack emissions that cross state lines and taint downwind areas with air pollution from power plants.
At the same time, the court upheld the EPA's right to impose the clean-air standards, rejecting an argument by states and industry groups that the rule was overly burdensome.
The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit orders the EPA to redo sulfur-dioxide and nitrogen-oxide standards for 13 states, mostly in the South and Midwest, that contribute to soot and smog along the East Coast.
Texas and South Carolina would see limits for both forms of pollution adjusted, while new limits for either sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxide would be set in 11 other states: Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
The ruling follows a Supreme Court decision last year upholding the so-called Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which blocks states from adding to air pollution in other states.
The April 2014 ruling was an important victory for the Obama administration and capped a decades-long effort by the EPA to ensure that states are good neighbors and don't contribute to pollution problems elsewhere. Court: EPA Must Redo Smokestack Emissions Limits
Industry groups and many of the affected states have cast the rule as an attempt to step on states' rights and shut down aging coal-fired power plants as part of what many Republicans call a "war on coal" by the Obama administration.
An EPA spokeswoman said the agency was pleased that the court decision keeps the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule in place "so that it continues to achieve important public health protections."
The EPA remains committed to working with states and power companies as it moves to implement the rule, spokeswoman Melissa Harrison said. "We are reviewing the decision and will determine any appropriate further course of action once our review is complete," she said.
The Supreme Court said the EPA, under the Clean Air Act, can implement federal plans in states that do not adequately control downwind pollution. But the court also ruled that the EPA can consider the cost of pollution controls and does not have to require states to reduce pollution by the precise amount they send to downwind states.
The appeals court, in its ruling, said the EPA's rule imposed overly strict limits on the 13 upwind states. As a practical matter, the limits would result in downwind states "overachieving" air quality standards for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, the court said.
Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, an environmental advocacy group, scoffed at the idea that the EPA rule was overly strict.
"The reality is we need more pollution control of power plants, not less," he said, noting that the pollution standards used by the EPA were developed in the 1990s.
"The targets involved in this case are so outmoded that they are almost irrelevant," O'Donnell said.
"We know in reality that these power plants are going to have to clean up even more to meet modern standards," O'Donnell added, referring to new EPA rules on soot and smog expected in the next few months.
The EPA says the Cross-State Pollution Rule would cost power-plant operators about $800 million a year. Those investments would be far outweighed by the hundreds of billions of dollars in health-care savings from cleaner air, the agency said. The rule could prevent more than 30,000 premature deaths and hundreds of thousands of illnesses each year, the EPA said.
---
Follow Matthew Daly: <a href="http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC</a>
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Court: EPA Must Redo Smokestack Emissions Limits

Court: EPA Must Redo Smokestack Emissions Limits. A federal appeals...

Most People Are Unaware Of Dangerous Mercury Levels In Some Fish. It's midday and the white bucket balanced on the rocky shore at Mountha Uppasay's feet holds five or six white bass, moving sluggishly in the water she scooped from the Des Moines River.
She and her husband, who are immigrants from Laos, have been fishing since shortly after dawn and plan to catch enough to make a tasty stew to share with their children and grandchildren. Asked about possible health issues with the fish, Uppasay flashes a surprised look and says, "They're all safe." Most People Are Unaware Of Dangerous Mercury Levels In Some Fish
She's right, to a point. The bass are nutritious, but they probably contain dangerous mercury levels, a toxic substance especially harmful to pregnant women and children that collects in varying levels in most fish throughout the country. Limiting consumption, particularly for those in the higher risk groups, is recommended.
Uppasay's lack of awareness appears to be shared by many anglers who fish in rivers and lakes near urban areas, and it illustrates how many government-issued health warnings about fish fail to reach those who most need to hear them: low-income families and immigrants, some of whom fish daily or weekly for their family meals.
Most health advisories are posted directly on packages, like tobacco and alcohol, or displayed on billboard or TV ads. Iowa, like most states, posts information on its websites, and that's where the warnings stop.
"People are starving for information," said Joanna Burger, an ecologist at Rutgers University who has worked in several states to help minimize the problem. "People want the information, but they want to be given it in a way to make their own risk decisions."
Mercury, which occurs naturally in fish, seeps into waterways everywhere, with some local hotspots scattered across the country linked to coal-burning power plants, old mines or industries.
Studies show that up to 10 percent of women of child-bearing age have mercury levels that exceed federal standards. Mercury can be devastating for the neurological development of fetuses and children. For adults, longer-term problems include vision loss and difficulty walking.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says adults can eat as much as they want of some fish, but for many species the agency recommends only a serving or two a week, less for pregnant women or children. The stricter limits are suggested for predator species like white bass - fish that eat other fish - and older, larger fish more likely to exceed 0.47 parts of mercury per million.
Environmental officials agree that immigrants and low-income people dominate many urban riverbanks and lakes where fish are likely to have higher levels.
Tong Vang, who works as a community liaison in Minnesota, said Southeast Asians in the upper Midwest are especially devoted to fishing and have an affinity for white bass, a fish similar to kinds they ate in their homeland.
Vang said he thinks many in the community have not heard the warnings or don't take them seriously.
"Some people are stubborn," Vang said.
Though mercury levels can vary, some of the most popular fish in a region can be the riskiest.
In Pennsylvania, fishermen line the banks of the Susquehanna River near York, where a top attraction is flathead catfish that can grow to 50 pounds or more.
Michael Helfrich, leader of a conservation group on the Lower Susquehanna, said he sees many immigrants casting lines.
"They don't understand that bigger is not better," he said.
On Alabama's Coosa River, volunteers have been interviewing anglers to learn how often they fish and what they catch. In an area with double-digit poverty levels, people rely on largemouth spotted bass and catfish, both predator fish, and other varieties for dinner.
"A lot of people have no idea that there is any kind of contamination in fish," said Justinn Overton, executive director of the Coosa Riverkeeper conservation group. "It just breaks my heart. The river is part of our community in Alabama."
Experts don't want to discourage people from eating fish, which contains omega-3 fatty acids that are beneficial for the heart. Still, they believe governments should do more to inform anglers about simple ways to lessen dangers. Popular low-risk fish that can be eaten frequently include sunfish, crappie and perch.
In California, especially San Francisco Bay and parts of the Sacramento River, health information is being posted in fishing areas. Parks officials in Akron, Ohio, are explaining guidelines at Asian community events and circulating advisories in four languages.
"We want people to come to the park. We want people to fish," but to understand health guidelines, said parks director Mike Johnson.
But word hasn't arrived yet for many Hmong immigrants who frequent the Des Moines River.
On this steamy summer day, several dozen anglers toss lines into the water while their families relax on blankets shaded by trees behind them.
Boun Lovan, who works for a marble installation company, said he fishes for white bass and walleye two or three times a week. For him and his family, the more he catches, the better.
"A lot of people like fish better than red meat," he said.
---
Follow Scott McFetridge at: <a href="https://twitter.com/smcfetridge" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://twitter.com/smcfetridge</a> .
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Most People Are Unaware Of Dangerous Mercury Levels In Some Fish

Most People Are Unaware Of Dangerous Mercury Levels In Some...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Santiago, Chile in South America

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes why experts are studying zebrafish to gain a better understanding of how the immune system responds to injury. Zebrafish have the ability to repair and regenerate organs.



“Organ regeneration offers an exciting opportunity for studying the immune system and to inquire why some species can regenerate organs like the heart or missing limbs while others like humans cannot,” explained Dr. Tatjana Piotrowski.



Zebrafish sensory organ hair cells are an ideal system to investigate the pathways and cell types involved in regeneration since they are easily destroyed with antibiotics and begin regenerating within five hours. This enabled the researchers to identify the exact timing and genetic programs for each anti-inflammatory macrophage activation state.&nbsp;



“Our hypothesis is that human macrophages do not receive the proper chemical activation 'cocktail' to instruct pro-regenerative processes,” said Dr. Nicolas Denans. “Identifying the molecular recipe of macrophage activation in zebrafish may one day enable us to design regenerative immunotherapies in humans.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The new evidence is a valuable resource for comparative studies on the genetic programs involved in macrophage-mediated repair and regeneration. In other words, different types of injuries may induce different kinds of inflammatory responses. We want to decipher whether this 'language' is universal or if there are a variety of dialects."



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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How the immune system responds to injury

[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Stowers...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

[sendtonews key="3UUsNkFOuS-2487333-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...