The inclusion of fiber in the diet has been linked to a variety of health perks for decades. The body needs this essential nutrient to keep digestion running smoothly and maintain steady blood sugar levels.&nbsp;



Most experts recommend at least 25 grams per day for women and 38 grams for men, yet many adults in the United States barely reach half that goal. But there is more to this story than a happy belly or balanced glucose.&nbsp;



A recent study in Nature Metabolism shows that fiber may also leave a mark on our genes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-fiber-still-matters">Why fiber still matters</h2>



Fiber comes in many forms, from the crunchy stems of leafy greens to the chewy shells of beans and nuts. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/want-to-lose-weight-try-eating-more-protein-and-fiber/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dietary fiber</a> travels to the large intestine, where friendly bacteria feast on it.&nbsp;



This feast produces short-chain fatty acids, including propionate and butyrate, which have gained attention recently for their effects on gut health.



Researchers have been eager to see whether these acids from fibers impact genes beyond basic energy production.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fiber-gut-and-fatty-acids">Fiber, gut, and fatty acids</h2>



The science behind short-chain fatty acids and genes has intrigued experts for years, and now <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/michael-snyder" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michael Snyder</a>, Stanford B. Ascherman Professor of Genetics at <a href="https://www.stanford.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stanford University</a>, has shed more light on it through this project. 



His team traced the biological footprints of propionate and butyrate in both <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fiber-rich-diets-reduce-antimicrobial-resistance-in-the-gut/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">normal cells</a> and cancer cells. 



The aim was to see how these acids might switch genes on or off in ways that influence the growth and survival of cells.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-fiber-impacts-genes-nbsp">How fiber impacts genes&nbsp;</h2>



Short-chain fatty acids are generated when gut microbes break down fiber. They move into the bloodstream and can reach different tissues.&nbsp;



The study found that propionate and butyrate attach to certain sites on histones - which are proteins that act like spools for DNA - causing direct modifications on genes related to cell division and cell death.



“We found a direct link between eating fiber and modulation of gene function that has anti-cancer effects,” said Snyder.



Instead of simply describing fiber’s link to good health, the researchers pinpointed the exact molecular changes behind those benefits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preventing-uncontrolled-cell-growth">Preventing uncontrolled cell growth</h2>



Cancer often begins when cells lose their usual checks and balances. Normal cells are expected to grow, specialize, and sometimes self-destruct if there’s a problem.&nbsp;



When those processes go haywire, mutated cells can survive too long or multiply too fast. The study uncovered how certain chemical markers on genes for cell regulation might switch in a protective way when these short-chain fatty acids are around.



It is generally the case that people’s diets are very poor in fiber. Adjusting meal plans to include foods like beans, nuts, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/certain-vegetables-protect-us-from-illness-by-strengthening-the-lung-barrier/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cruciferous vegetables</a>, or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eating-one-avocado-each-day-can-add-years-to-your-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">avocados</a> may promote the production of more of these acids, potentially offering some defense against abnormal cell growth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-gut-and-genes-might-need-more-fiber">Why gut and genes might need more fiber</h2>



A diet that skimps on fiber starves the microbes that produce these beneficial fatty acids. Low levels can reduce the supply of butyrate and propionate.



That could leave you short on important chemical signals that appear to help keep unwanted cellular behavior under control.&nbsp;



According to the <a href="https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/carbohydrates/fiber/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a>, most Americans only consume around 15 grams of fiber daily, which falls short of <a href="https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/carbohydrates/fiber/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recommended amounts</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cancer-risk-and-fiber-s-gene-protective-role">Cancer risk and fiber’s gene-protective role</h2>



Colon cancer is a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-cooking-oils-in-your-diet-may-be-linked-to-cancer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">concern for many adults</a>. The <a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Cancer Society</a> estimates that about 1 in 23 men and 1 in 25 women will be diagnosed with colon cancer at some point in their lifetime. 



This new study provides a window into how the byproducts of fiber breakdown might influence gene behavior in the colon, and possibly other tissues, in a helpful way.



“By identifying the gene targets of these important molecules we can understand how fiber exerts its beneficial effects,” said Snyder.&nbsp;



Although more work is needed to confirm how each type of fiber interacts with the gut and the rest of the body, this adds to growing evidence that diet and cancer risk are tightly woven together.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-connection-between-diet-gut-and-genes">Connection between diet, gut, and genes</h2>



The research highlights the importance of diet as a modulator of genetic signals. 



It also emphasizes potential opportunities for personalized strategies that combine better eating habits with therapies aimed at correcting harmful gene activity.&nbsp;



Many clinicians see fiber as a key feature of a balanced diet, and these findings may prompt more specific guidelines on how much and which types of fiber are most valuable for long-term health.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-foods-can-boost-fiber-intake">What foods can boost fiber intake?</h2>



Whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes remain <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ketogenic-diet-may-help-the-body-kill-cancer-cells/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">top options</a> for boosting your daily fiber count. Vegetables like Brussels sprouts and broccoli, as well as fruits such as raspberries, also offer generous amounts.&nbsp;



Even small shifts like opting for a whole-wheat tortilla instead of a white-flour tortilla can push your numbers up. 



For individuals who struggle to reach recommended targets, talking with a healthcare provider or a registered dietitian can point the way to practical changes that nourish both you and your gut bacteria.



People sometimes balk at the thought of adding more plant-based foods to their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/which-dietary-changes-are-best-for-cancer-prevention/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diet</a>. But a gradual introduction may help your gut adjust without uncomfortable bloating or gas.&nbsp;



Your digestive system, along with your genes, could benefit from these simple swaps, especially as ongoing research on fiber clarifies the links between short-chain fatty acids and various cellular pathways.



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



All signs suggest that fiber is more than just a helper for digestion. These insights about short-chain fatty acids may prompt further collaboration between nutrition science and genetics.&nbsp;



By paying attention to what our microbes need, we may discover fresh paths to protect our cells from harm. The study is published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42255-024-01191-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Metabolism</a>.



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Eating enough fiber prevents cancer in a surprising way

The inclusion of fiber in the diet has been linked to a variety of health perks for decades. The body needs this essential nutrient to keep digestion running smoothly and maintain steady blood sugar levels.&nbsp; Most experts recommend at least 25 grams per day for women and 38 grams for men, yet many adults in the United States barely reach half that goal. But there is more to this story than a happy belly or balanced glucose.&nbsp; A recent study in Nature Metabolism shows that fiber may...

What do you do when you have 30 million young salmon ready for their big journeys downstream, but drought and development have dried your riverbeds to sauna rocks? In California this year, you give the fish a ride.
State and federal wildlife agencies in California are deploying what they say is the biggest fish-lift in the state's history through this month, rolling out convoys of tanker trucks to transport a generation of hatchery salmon downstream to the San Francisco Bay. California is locked in its driest four-year stretch on record, making the river routes that the salmon normally take to the Pacific Ocean too warm and too shallow for them to survive.
"It's huge. This is a massive effort statewide on multiple systems," said Stafford Lehr, chief of fisheries for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which since February has been rolling out four to eight 35,000-gallon tanker trucks filled with baby salmon on their freeway-drive to freedom.
"We're going to unprecedented drought," Lehr said. "We're forced to extreme measures."
Drought and heavy use of water by farms and cities have devastated key native fish in California. Last year, for example, 95 percent of the state's winter-run of Chinook salmon died. The fish is vital for California's fishing industries and for the food chain of wildlife.
For the first time, all five big government hatcheries in California's Central Valley for fall-run Chinook California salmon - a species of concern under the federal Endangered Species Act - are going to truck their young, release-ready salmon down to the Bay, rather than release them into rivers to make the trip themselves.
And California's wild native fish should pack a sandwich and something to read; they'll be spending a lot of the summer on the road too.
"Bone dry. Bone dry," said fish biologist Don Portz of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, who is six years into an effort to restore the southernmost salmon stream in the U.S., the Central Valley's San Joaquin River.
Drought, a dam and heavy use of the river's water for irrigation have dried 60 miles of the San Joaquin. For the young salmon, whose life cycle for millions of years has involved travel from the river back and forth to the San Francisco Bay, that now means a 1 1/2-hour ride down California Highway 99 in a pickup-mounted fish tank.
"You give them that taxi ride down, they make it to the ocean, and come back" in a few years for trapping and a taxi ride back up to spawning grounds, Portz said.
The rolling fish rescues occurring up and down the West Coast haven't always gone smoothly. In January, Oregon authorities charged a trucker with drunken driving after he hit a pole and flipped 11,000 juvenile salmon out on the roadway, where they died.
For some of California's native fish, the rescue from drought often is by bucket, not truck.
Near the town of Lagunitas, in Northern California's Marin County, watershed biologist Preston Brown stood ankle-high in a coastal tributary, searching for endangered California coastal Coho salmon and other, native fish. Decades ago, so many coho salmon filled the water that the noise of their jumping kept people in nearby houses up at night. On this day, Brown and his team find none.
Starting in June, months earlier than usual because of the drought, Brown and others with local environment group Salmon Protection and Watershed Network, will search the waterway. In cooperation with wildlife agencies, they will try to rescue coho and other fish stuck in drying pools of water 4- or 5 inches deep.
Sometimes, Brown said, the bucket brigades get there too late for the stranded salmon. "If they survived the raccoons" and other predators, "they dried up and died," Brown said.
Lehr, the fisheries chief, expects some individual steelhead trout in Southern California will get truck rides two or three times this summer, as parts of rivers and creeks disappear.
As a last resort, when some rivers have no pools of water left to shelter fish, wildlife officials will remove survivors to a hatchery to wait out the drought. Two such isolated native species from dried-up waterways have been living in government hatcheries since last year, snacking on flies that rangers catch in bug-zappers for them, Lehr said, and waiting for wetter times.
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California Salmon Have To Hitch A Ride Thanks To Drought

What do you do when you have 30 million young...

<div class="inside"></div>
Al Gore Confident In Global Climate Pact Evironmentalist and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is optimistic that world leaders will reach a crucial deal this year on fighting climate change.
Gore met Monday with French President Francois Hollande, who will be hosting a major U.N. <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=climate&amp;cvid=e6d446f5affb44a7a4a73a407f79e12f&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">climate</a> conference in Paris on Nov. 30-Dec. 11.
After the meeting, Gore said, "this conference is the one where the world will say yes to an agreement to reduce global warming and pollution." Al Gore Confident In Global Climate Pact
Gore negotiated for the U.S. at the 1997 conference that produced the Kyoto <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/kyoto-protocol-report-card-100-percent-compliance/">Protocol</a> to reduce global warming. That treaty has been largely ineffective because it only required rich countries to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
The Paris conference is aiming at a new, larger framework, but many differences remain about which countries should do what.
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Al Gore Confident In Global Climate Pact

Al Gore Confident In Global Climate Pact Evironmentalist and former...

Study Examines Ecological Impact Of Sea-Ice Changes.The grounding of a giant iceberg in Antarctica has provided a unique real-life experiment that has revealed the vulnerability of marine ecosystems to sudden changes in sea-ice cover.

UNSW Australia scientists have found that within just three years of the iceberg becoming stuck in Commonwealth Bay - an event which dramatically increased sea-ice cover in the bay - almost all of the seaweed on the sea floor had decomposed, or become discoloured or bleached due to lack of light.

"Understanding the ecological effect of changes in sea-ice is vital for understanding the future impacts of climate change, but it is impossible to manipulate sea-ice at the scale we need to conduct experiments," says the study's lead author, UNSW's Dr Graeme Clark.

"Luckily, the grounding of an iceberg in Commonwealth Bay in 2010 provided us with a perfect natural experiment to carry out research on this important issue.

"Historically, the winds coming down from the Antarctic ice cap have kept the bay free of sea-ice for most of the year. But since the massive iceberg got stuck, the bay has been covered in sea-ice several metres thick, all year round," he says.

The study is published in the journal Polar Biology.

The scientists travelled to Commonwealth Bay in the east of the continent in December 2013, as part of the UNSW-led Australasian Antarctic Expedition 2013-2014, which retraced the route of Sir Douglas Mawson's scientific expedition a century before.

Dr Clark and team member, Dr Ezequiel Marzinelli, drilled through the sea ice in the bay and used underwater cameras to survey the seabed.

The UNSW team, led by Professor Emma Johnston, also examined the historical records made by Sir Douglas Mawson, who established his research station in Commonwealth Bay. Mawson's expedition used dredge hauls to survey the bay, which was then rarely covered in ice, in five locations during a two-year period from 1912 to 1913.

The UNSW researchers also compared their survey results with footage taken in the area in 2008 by underwater photographer Erwan Amice.

"After three years of sea-ice cover, the forests of healthy seaweeds that previously dominated the seabed were in a severe state of decline," says Professor Johnston, of the UNSW School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences. Study Examines Ecological Impact Of Sea-Ice Changes

"About three quarters were decomposing, while the remainder were discoloured or bleached. However, darkness-adapted vertebrates such as brittle stars and fan worms were starting to colonise the bay."

Dr Marzinelli says: "This is the first time a shift from an algae-dominated ecosystem to an invertebrate-dominated one has been observed with a known start date. Continued sampling at the site would allow the rate at which this transition is occurring to be worked out."

Sea-ice not only affects how much light reaches the animals and plants living on the seabed, it regulates the amount of disturbance from drifting icebergs that scour the bottom, and determines the amount of detritus and vegetation that settles there.

---

<a href="http://www.unsw.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of New South Wales</a>

Study Examines Ecological Impact Of Sea-Ice Changes

Study Examines Ecological Impact Of Sea-Ice Changes.The grounding of a...

Arctic OffShore Drilling

Arctic Drilling Protesters Block Oil Rig Entry Into Seattle Port. A few hundred critics of oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean blocked the entrances Monday to a seaport terminal in Seattle, where Royal Dutch Shell's massive floating oil rig will be loaded up before heading to the waters off Alaska this summer.
Protesters holding banners and flags marched across a bridge to Terminal 5, temporarily closing the road during Monday morning's commute. Once at the terminal, they spread out across the entrances.
Organizers say they plan to engage in civil disobedience to stop work on the drill rig, the latest protest of the 400-foot Polar Pioneer's arrival in Seattle. Protesters greeted the rig Thursday and then hundreds of activists in kayaks and other vessels turned out Saturday for a protest dubbed the "Paddle in Seattle."
Shell, which hopes to use the rig to explore for oil off Alaska's northwest coast, said it was planning to release a statement Monday.
Police say arrests are possible, but they expect the demonstration to be peaceful. A few dozen officers followed the march on foot and bicycle and kept watch at the terminal.
There were minimal operations at Terminal 5 "so there's not much to block," Port of Seattle spokesman Peter McGraw said. The operator of Terminal 18, a major hub of port activity where the march began, closed those gates in anticipation of the demonstration, he said.
Officials have been urging people to exercise their First Amendment rights safely, and "that's what we've been seeing so far," McGraw said.
The activists say they are concerned about the risk of an oil spill in the remote Arctic waters and the effects that tapping new frontiers of oil and gas reserves will have on global warming. Officials in Alaska have touted the economic benefits that drilling could bring there and to the Pacific Northwest.
On Monday, protesters of all ages sang, rapped and danced at the vehicle gate of Terminal 5. They chanted and held signs saying "Climate Justice For All" and "You Shell Not Pass."
Lisa Marcus, 58, a musician who participated in Saturday's protest, turned up with her "Love the planet" sign for another day of activism Monday.
"We've got to wake up" to the dangers of human-caused climate change, she said, ticking off a list of environmental problems that the world is facing. "Shell is trying to make it worse and that's not acceptable."
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Arctic Drilling Protesters Block Oil Rig Entry Into Seattle Port

Arctic Drilling Protesters Block Oil Rig Entry Into Seattle Port....

Global Warming And Population Shift Combining As The Perfect Heat Storm. The combination of global warming and shifting population means that by mid-century, there will be a huge increase in the number of Americans sweating through days that are extremely hot, a new study says.
People are migrating into areas - especially in the South - where the heat is likely to increase more, said the authors of a study published Monday by the journal Nature Climate Change. The study highlighted the Houston-Dallas-San Antonio and Atlanta-Charlotte-Raleigh corridors as the places where the double whammy looks to be the biggest. Global Warming And Population Shift Combining As The Perfect Heat Storm
"It's not just the climate that is changing in the future," said study co-author Linda Mearns, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. "It is many things: how many people and where people are that affects their exposure to climate changes."
In a unique study looking at the interplay of projected changes in climate and population, scientists tried to characterize the number of people who will feel temperatures of 95 degrees or higher and how often they will feel it. They used a figure called person days for the extreme heat to reflect both the length of time heat waves continued and how many people felt it by multiplying people affected by how many days they felt the heat.
Between 1970 and 2000, the U.S. averaged about 2.3 billion person days of extreme heat each year. But between 2040 and 2070 that number will be between 10 and 14 billion person days a year, according to the study.
The biggest projected increases in person days is the Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas census region where by mid-century heat exposure will increase by 2.7 billion person days. Right behind is south Atlantic region of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C., where heat exposure is projected to increase by 2.2 billion person days. New England gets off the easiest with an increase of only 71 million person days.
The scientists used 11 different climate models based on current trends of heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions and matched those with demographic trends. Both the increased heat and population shifts had about equal effects but together they made matters even worse, said lead author Bryan Jones, a population geographer at the City University of New York. Global Warming And Population Shift Combining As The Perfect Heat Storm
The question is, will be people adapt by changing their lifestyle, such as staying indoors and using more air conditioning, or will they move to cooler climates. Jones said it is unlikely that people will move to cooler areas to escape the heat, saying historically people tend to move away from colder areas and into warmer areas like Florida, Arizona and North Carolina.
The scientists chose a threshold of 95 degrees because "at 95 people really, really start feeling it," Mearns said. "Even in a dry climate and I'm sitting here in Boulder, Colorado."
Several outside scientists praised the study. University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd said the problem is likely even worse when you take into consideration the fact that cities get hotter than rural areas.
--
Online:
Nature Climate Change: <a href="http://www.nature.com/nclimate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.nature.com/nclimate</a>
---
Seth Borenstein can be followed at <a href="http://twitter.com/borenbears" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://twitter.com/borenbears</a>
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Global Warming And Population Shift Combining As The Perfect Heat Storm

Global Warming And Population Shift Combining As The Perfect Heat...

Pouring Water Into Glass On Blue Background

California Expands Efforts To Protect Drinking Water. California regulators on Monday expanded their list of thousands of state-permitted oil and gas wells where below-ground injections may be contaminating drinking-water reserves.
State water officials already have acknowledged that improperly permitted oilfield operations have contaminated underground aquifers that are federally protected because they hold current or potential sources of drinking water.
An ongoing state review ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has yet to break that down into whether any Californian is drinking contaminated water as a result of the improperly authorized oilfield operations, a state water official said.
"We don't really know yet," and the answer "is not going to be tomorrow," John Borkovich, chief of the state water board's groundwater monitoring section, told reporters. "There's a lot of data to collect."
The review by state oil and gas regulators identified in 2014 more than 2,500 oilfield wells that were injecting brine and other production and waste fluids into the federally protected water aquifers. State regulators this year and last ordered oil companies to shut 23 central California oilfield injection wells - 22 in Kern County and one in Tulare County - that officials said posed the biggest potential threat to nearby public water wells.
On Monday, regulators released a state letter sent Friday to the U.S. EPA identifying an additional 30 oilfield injection sites as high-priority potential risks to nearby water wells. State officials told reporters they believed many or all of the threatened water wells were not currently being used for drinking water or irrigation, however.
Unlike in the previous 23 oilfield operations closed by emergency state orders, regulators will wait for the oil companies in charge of those 30 drilling sites to completely assess the threat to local water wells before officials decide whether to shut those immediately as well.
For the first time, state regulators also disclosed that regulators have allowed 3,604 oil-industry wells to carry out cyclic-steam injection - a production method that repeatedly injects steam underground at high pressure -outside the approved boundaries of oilfields.
Environmental groups and some state lawmakers contend those cyclic-steam injection wells are illegal. In an email, Steven Bohlen, state oil and gas supervisor, said it was doubtful those 3,604 wells would raise any additional concerns about groundwater because they were injecting into underground areas that already contained hydrocarbon.
Bohlen added that "a higher level of scrutiny on such wells may be called for in the future."
Federal officials have approved a state timeline that would stop all oilfield injection into federally protected water aquifers in <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/tule-fog-across-californias-central-valley/">California</a> by February 2017.
"We are making good progress in addressing concerns about water quality that we all share," said Bohlen. California Expands Efforts To Protect Drinking Water
Some environmental organizations want the state to stop all oilfield injection into federally protected water aquifers immediately.
"I think it's remarkable that the extent of this crisis just keeps growing and yet state officials are doing essentially nothing to address it," said Kassie Siegel, senior counsel at the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity. "The commonsense first step is to stop the ongoing damage."
California is the country's third-biggest petroleum-producing state. Injection wells are involved in up to 85 percent of the state's production, the oil industry says.
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California Expands Efforts To Protect Drinking Water

California Expands Efforts To Protect Drinking Water. California regulators on...

New Texas Law Bans Cities From Banning Fracking. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed into law a prohibition on cities and towns imposing local ordinances preventing fracking and other potentially environmentally harmful oil and natural<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/giant-animals-vanished-from-madagascar-after-humans-arrived/"> gas</a> activities.
The much-watched measure sailed through the GOP-controlled Legislature after voters in Denton, a university town near <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=dallas&amp;cvid=1de2205b39ba4fadbb0f19e5cdc97278&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Dallas</a>, banned hydraulic fracturing locally in November.
The new law limits not only the Denton ban but other actions communities could take limiting energy industry activities. It was backed by oil and gas concerns. New <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=texas&amp;cvid=73d7c3aa22734886947fb3e2a71a9626&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Texas</a> Law Bans Cities From Banning Fracking
Abbott said Monday he was protecting private property rights from the "heavy hand of local regulation."
He saw no contradiction in new state regulations superseding local voters' will, saying he believes "individuals have a much better idea how to run their own lives than do a bunch of government officials." Without an act of Congress, the President could not issue an outright ban on fracking across the US. There are, however, a number of regulatory and executive actions an administration could take to prevent or shrink the use of fracking technology, particularly on federal land.
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New Texas Law Bans Cities From Banning

New Texas Law Bans Cities From Banning Fracking. Republican Texas...

New Texas Law Bans Cities From Banning Fracking. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed into law a prohibition on cities and towns imposing local ordinances preventing <a href="https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&amp;ccid=eAPN9YEZ&amp;id=11B9B035B9AC85DFD1FC8AA4363D588103F4C417&amp;thid=OIP.eAPN9YEZ-5O7v1jV1nZ_OAHaFO&amp;mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR7803cdf58119fb93bbbf58d5d6767f38%3frik%3dF8T0A4FYPTakig%26riu%3dhttp%253a%252f%252fmarketbusinessnews.com%252fwp-content%252fuploads%252f2017%252f04%252fImpact-of-Air-Pollution-on-Human-Health.jpg%26ehk%3dq8n1kIt%252fLPbpAYtoQWGNOnURL4zPyjHXLAPrmSa6n6s%253d%26risl%3d%26pid%3dImgRaw&amp;exph=661&amp;expw=937&amp;q=Fracking+Harms+Air+Quality+And+Human+Health&amp;simid=608002520309366936&amp;ck=2DF15059B364C2EB7DF91F4B5D75B791&amp;selectedIndex=2&amp;FORM=IRPRST&amp;ajaxhist=0">fracking</a> and other potentially environmentally harmful oil and natural gas activities.
The much-watched measure sailed through the GOP-controlled Legislature after voters in Denton, a university town near Dallas, banned hydraulic fracturing locally in November.
The new law limits not only the Denton ban but other actions communities could take limiting energy industry activities. It was backed by <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/fruit-eating-mammals-fertilize-the-soil-in-tropical-forests/">oil</a> and gas concerns. New Texas Law Bans Cities From Banning Fracking
Abbott said Monday he was protecting private property rights from the "heavy hand of local regulation."
He saw no contradiction in new state regulations superseding local voters' will, saying he believes "individuals have a much better idea how to run their own lives than do a bunch of government officials."Hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, fracing, hydrofracking, fraccing, frac'ing, and hydrofracturing, is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "fracking fluid" (primarily water, containing sand or other proppants suspended with the aid of thickening agents) into a wellbore to create cracks in the deep-rock formations through which natural gas, petroleum, and brine will flow more freely. When the hydraulic pressure is removed from the well, small grains of hydraulic fracturing proppants (either sand or aluminium oxide) hold the fractures open.
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California Expands Efforts To Protect Drinking Water. California regulators on Monday expanded their list of thousands of state-permitted <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=oil&amp;cvid=5c0910e0a09347979e3b50cffc334168&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">oil</a> and gas wells where below-ground injections may be contaminating drinking-water reserves.
State water officials already have acknowledged that improperly permitted oilfield operations have contaminated underground aquifers that are federally protected because they hold current or potential sources of drinking water.
An ongoing state review ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has yet to break that down into whether any <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/oroville-dam-californian-catastrophe/">Californian</a> is drinking contaminated water as a result of the improperly authorized oilfield operations, a state water official said.
"We don't really know yet," and the answer "is not going to be tomorrow," John Borkovich, chief of the state water board's groundwater monitoring section, told reporters. "There's a lot of data to collect."
The review by state oil and gas regulators identified in 2014 more than 2,500 oilfield wells that were injecting brine and other production and waste fluids into the federally protected water aquifers. State regulators this year and last ordered oil companies to shut 23 central California oilfield injection wells - 22 in Kern County and one in Tulare County - that officials said posed the biggest potential threat to nearby public water wells.
On Monday, regulators released a state letter sent Friday to the U.S. EPA identifying an additional 30 oilfield injection sites as high-priority potential risks to nearby water wells. State officials told reporters they believed many or all of the threatened water wells were not currently being used for drinking water or irrigation, however.
Unlike in the previous 23 oilfield operations closed by emergency state orders, regulators will wait for the oil companies in charge of those 30 drilling sites to completely assess the threat to local water wells before officials decide whether to shut those immediately as well.
For the first time, state regulators also disclosed that regulators have allowed 3,604 oil-industry wells to carry out cyclic-steam injection - a production method that repeatedly injects steam underground at high pressure -outside the approved boundaries of oilfields.
Environmental groups and some state lawmakers contend those cyclic-steam injection wells are illegal. In an email, Steven Bohlen, state oil and gas supervisor, said it was doubtful those 3,604 wells would raise any additional concerns about groundwater because they were injecting into underground areas that already contained hydrocarbon.
Bohlen added that "a higher level of scrutiny on such wells may be called for in the future."
Federal officials have approved a state timeline that would stop all oilfield injection into federally protected water aquifers in California by February 2017.
"We are making good progress in addressing concerns about water quality that we all share," said Bohlen.
Some environmental organizations want the state to stop all oilfield injection into federally protected water aquifers immediately.
"I think it's remarkable that the extent of this crisis just keeps growing and yet state officials are doing essentially nothing to address it," said Kassie Siegel, senior counsel at the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity. "The commonsense first step is to stop the ongoing damage."
California is the country's third-biggest petroleum-producing state. Injection wells are involved in up to 85 percent of the state's production, the oil industry says.
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Arctic Oil Drilling Preparations Continue Despite Protests. Neither a protest by hundreds of demonstrators nor a permit violation notice from the city will halt Royal Dutch Shell's use of a Seattle seaport terminal as it prepares for exploratory oil drilling in the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=arctic+ocean&amp;cvid=d6543451de434e0ea018823d85e01f28&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Arctic Ocean</a>, spokesmen say.
The violation notice issued Monday by the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/wildfire-smoke-seattle-air-dangerous/">Seattle</a> Department of Planning and Development said use of Terminal 5 by a massive floating drill rig was in violation of the site's permitted use as a cargo terminal. The 400-foot Polar Pioneer and its support tug Aiviq must be removed from the terminal or Shell's host, Foss Maritime, must obtain an appropriate permit, the city indicated. Arctic Oil Drilling Preparations Continue Despite Protests
Possible fines start at $150 per day and can rise to $500 per day. The notice said the violation must be corrected by June 4. The companies can appeal and-or request extensions.
"It remains our view that the terms agreed upon by Shell, Foss and the Port of Seattle for use of Terminal 5 are valid, and it's our intention to continue loading-out our drilling rigs in preparation for exploratory drilling offshore Alaska," Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said.
"Terminal 5 is permitted to tie up ships while they are being loaded and unloaded," Foss Maritime spokesman Paul Queary said. "That is exactly what Foss is doing there."
Queary noted that both Foss and the Port of Seattle are appealing an earlier determination by the city that the use of Terminal 5 was not permitted. Monday's violation notice followed that determination.
Earlier Monday, protesters spent several hours blocking entrances to the terminal where the rig will be loaded before heading to waters off Alaska this summer.
Holding banners and flags, demonstrators marched across a bridge to Terminal 5, temporarily closing the road during Monday morning's commute. Once at the terminal, they spread out across the entrances and rallied, danced and spoke for several hours before leaving the site in the early afternoon.
Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant was among the speakers. She said political leaders had failed to deal with climate change and called for "an escalating series of mass nonviolent civil disobedience until this madness is stopped," The Seattle Times reported.
Organizers had prepared to engage in civil disobedience to stop work on the drill rig, but Seattle police said Monday afternoon that no one had been arrested and the demonstration remained peaceful. A few dozen officers followed the march on foot and bicycle and kept watch at the terminal.
"I'm not planning to get arrested," protester Jennifer Jones told The Times. "It would be very inconvenient to get arrested in Washington state. We're from Portland."
The mass demonstration was the latest protest of the Polar Pioneer's arrival in Seattle. Protesters greeted the rig Thursday, and then hundreds of activists in kayaks and other vessels turned out Saturday for a protest dubbed the "Paddle in Seattle."
Smith said in an email Monday that the "activities of the day were anticipated and did not stop crews from accomplishing meaningful work in preparation for exploration offshore Alaska this summer."
There were minimal operations at Terminal 5, "so there's not much to block," Port of Seattle spokesman Peter McGraw said. The operator of Terminal 18, a major hub of port activity where the march began, closed those gates in anticipation of the demonstration, he said.
Officials have been urging people to exercise their First Amendment rights safely, and "that's what we've been seeing so far," McGraw said.
The activists say they are concerned about the risk of an oil spill in the remote Arctic waters and the effects that tapping new frontiers of oil and gas reserves will have on global warming. Officials in Alaska have touted the economic benefits that drilling could bring there and to the Pacific Northwest.
On Monday, protesters of all ages sang, rapped and danced at the vehicle gate of Terminal 5. They chanted and held signs saying "Climate Justice For All" and "You Shell Not Pass."
Lisa Marcus, 58, a musician who participated in Saturday's protest, turned up with her "Love the planet" sign for another day of activism Monday.
"We've got to wake up" to the dangers of human-caused climate change, she said, ticking off a list of environmental problems that the world is facing. "Shell is trying to make it worse, and that's not acceptable."
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Arctic Oil Drilling Preparations Continue Despite Protests

Arctic Oil Drilling Preparations Continue Despite Protests. Neither a protest...

The Sunniest States Are Lagging Behind On Solar Power Production.Residents of the Sunshine State are finding that harnessing Florida's abundant solar power is no simple task.
With its bounty of sunny days, Florida ranks third in the nation in rooftop solar energy potential but 13th in the amount of solar energy generated, according to industry estimates.
The industry views Florida as a sleeping giant that could rival California in solar potential, but renewable energy experts say the state lags behind because old laws favor utilities over private enterprise.
"The rules are set up so there isn't competition right now, and competition could be healthy," said James Fenton, director of the Solar Energy Center at the University of Central Florida.
This has made unlikely allies of groups like the Sierra Club and the tea party, who view the lack of consumer choice as harmful to the environment and an infringement on personal freedom. The groups are working on a 2016 ballot initiative that would change Florida's constitution to allow businesses other than utilities to sell solar power to consumers.
Utilities say solar, with 2 percent of the market, is growing slowly in Florida because energy costs are 30 percent lower than the national average, making it a bad financial choice.
They say Florida's energy mix - dominated by natural gas (62 percent), coal (21 percent) and nuclear (12 percent) - is cheaper than solar power generated from rooftop panels.
Florida is one of only four states that require solar energy be sold exclusively by utilities, banning sales from companies that install rooftop solar panels at little or no cost and then sell the energy generated to the property owner. The result is limited options for going solar and increased upfront financial commitment for consumers.
The state also taxes commercial property owners who install solar arrays, further hurting investment potential.
Scott McIntyre of Tampa-based Solar Energy Management, a panel installer, said the company has lost large projects from shopping centers and other commercial real estate owners. He said companies come to him wanting to build solar on their rooftops so they can sell energy to their tenants but drop the idea when they learn about the legal limits on electricity sales.
"We're trying to provide Floridians with solar power," McIntyre said. "But there are no incentives for commercial solar in Florida. None."
California and other successful solar states allow companies to lease rooftop solar arrays to homeowners and bill them monthly for the electricity created. This lets homeowners get into the market for little or no money down and pay as they go.
Florida also trails in other areas, like wind, because it has yet to pass laws mandating that utilities to create more renewable energy - a tactic used by 30 other states and Washington.
The utilities benefit from rules established generations ago that made them "regulated monopolies."
Florida Power and Light Co., the state's largest electric company with 4.7 million customers, has built three large-scale solar developments and is planning at least four more, including one at Daytona International Speedway. Florida's Duke Energy is also planning to build large solar power plants by 2024.
"Large-scale solar investment remains the most economical and fairest way to advance solar energy for our customers while keeping our rates low," FPL spokesman Mark Bubriski said in an email. "We also plan to triple our use of solar energy before the end of 2016."
Florida's utilities favor large-scale solar power plants as a way to stay financially viable in a changing energy market, said Fenton of the solar energy center.
For people who want to wean themselves off the utilities, few options are left. State utilities were mandated to offer rebates for a few years, but after the mandate ended, FPL chose not to offer them any longer.
Self-described "tree hugger" Cynthia Schaefer, a financial planner who lives near Miami, said the $34,000 solar panel project installed on her rooftop was not financially feasible. Still, her goal of reducing her environmental impact drove her to figure out how to make it work. In the end - and after two years of trying - she got an FPL rebate for $18,500, which shaved off more than half the upfront cost.
"It wouldn't have made financial sense to do it without the rebate," Schaefer said.
In the first month, the installation cut her electric bill by about $110 a month to $9.
FPL ended the rebates this year after the state program approved by regulators ended. The utility also said it believes they are unfair.
"It just doesn't make sense to provide customers a cash incentive - that's paid for by the rest of our customers," Bubriski said about the rooftop solar panel rebates.
FPL and Tampa Electric said they wouldn't comment on the initiative, which has about 100,000 of the 700,000 signatures needed to qualify for the 2016 election. A Duke spokesman said the company is studying it closely.
"If the initiative takes off, then the solar industry will take off," McIntyre said.
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The Sunniest States Are Lagging Behind On Solar Power Production

The Sunniest States Are Lagging Behind On Solar Power Production.Residents...

France And Germany Commit To Global Climate Protection. France And Germany Commit To Global Climate Protection. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande confirmed their commitment to global climate protection Tuesday, gathering with others in Berlin to prepare for this year's U.N. Climate Change Conference.
Merkel and Hollande said in a joint statement that both countries "are firmly decided to take all efforts to reach an ambitious, comprehensive and binding U.N. climate agreement by the end of this year in Paris."
The preparatory talks in Berlin involve 35 countries. The <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=paris&amp;cvid=fad06b959f934720b0e85dcaabe0ea38&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Paris</a> summit in December aims to curb climate change and rising <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/the-window-to-avoid-dangerous-global-warming-is-narrowing/">global</a> temperatures, which scientists say are largely driven by carbon emissions.
The European two leaders said they "are committed to the goal of limiting global temperature increases at least to below 2°C compared with pre-industrial levels."
To achieve this goal, they said a fundamental shift of investment into low-carbon infrastructure and technologies is needed as well as climate-friendly land use.
They also said countries already threatened by "unavoidable risks and damage arising from climate change" need to be strengthened in their resilience.
Merkel has made climate protection one of the key goals of her political agenda, and Germany wants to focus on it at the G-7 summit next month in Bavaria. Under Merkel's lead, Germany began to phase out nuclear power after Japan's 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan and has since then invested heavily in renewable energy.
For some critics, those reforms do not go far enough.
Activists from Greenpeace and other environmental groups protested Tuesday in Berlin, placing a model of Paris' Eiffel Tower converted into a wind turbine in front of the city's Brandenburg Gate. They demanded a faster energy transition away from nuclear power and coal and toward the use of 100 percent renewable energies by 2050.
The German government plan is one of the world's most ambitious, calling for renewable energies, including wind and sun, to make up 40-45 percent of Germany's energy mix by 2025, compared with just under a quarter now, and 55-60 percent by 2035.
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France And Germany Commit To Global Climate Protection

France And Germany Commit To Global Climate Protection. France And...

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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;



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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.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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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

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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



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.

Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

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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

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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



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.

How does salt makes things taste better?

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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



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.

Santiago, Chile in South America

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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

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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



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.

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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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



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.

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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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



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.

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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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



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.

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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



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.

How the immune system responds to injury

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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

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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



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.

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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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



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.

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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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.

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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