If an extraterrestrial civilization existed with technology comparable to ours, would they be able to detect Earth and recognize evidence of human activity? If so, what signals would be most visible, and from how far away?



These thought-provoking questions have been explored in a new study led by Dr. Sofia Sheikh of the SETI Institute.



Using a theoretical, model-based approach, this research is the first to analyze multiple types of technosignatures - the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/searching-for-technosignatures-from-intelligent-life-in-the-cosmos/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">indicators</a> of advanced technology - together, rather than examining them separately. 



The results suggest that radio signals, particularly planetary radar emissions from the now-defunct Arecibo Observatory, would be the most detectable human-made signatures. These signals are potentially visible from as far as 12,000 light-years away.



Other signals, such as atmospheric pollutants, could also be detected, though at significantly shorter distances.&nbsp;



As observational technology continues to improve, scientists may be able to identify similar signatures on distant exoplanets, offering new ways to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earth-s-most-detectable-signals">Earth’s most detectable signals</h2>



Among all of the potential signals emanating from Earth, radio transmissions appear to be the most prominent on a galactic scale.&nbsp;



Radio telescopes remain the primary tool for <a href="https://www.seti.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SETI</a> (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) research, as scientists scan the skies for unnatural radio waves that might originate from advanced civilizations.&nbsp;



Given the strength of Earth's planetary radar emissions, researchers hypothesize that if extraterrestrials use similar technology to search for signals, Earth might stand out as a detectable world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exploring-atmospheric-technosignatures">Exploring atmospheric technosignatures</h2>



Beyond radio waves, the study explored atmospheric technosignatures, including <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-will-increase-dramatically-in-a-hotter-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pollutants</a> such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) - a byproduct of industrial activity.&nbsp;



Recent advances in space-based instruments, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and the upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), could enable astronomers to detect such gases in exoplanet atmospheres.



According to the study’s findings, extraterrestrials equipped with similarly advanced telescopes could detect Earth's atmospheric pollutants from a maximum distance of 5.7 light-years, just beyond Proxima Centauri, the closest known exoplanetary system.



This suggests that industrial emissions could serve as an indirect way of identifying advanced civilizations. If scientists were to detect unusual levels of pollutants in an exoplanet’s atmosphere, it might hint at the presence of a technologically developed society.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-would-aliens-detect-on-earth">What would aliens detect on Earth?</h2>



As an observer approaches our planet, additional technosignatures become detectable. At closer distances, extraterrestrial astronomers would begin to detect multiple forms of human activity on Earth. 



City lights from urban centers could be visible from space. High-powered laser emissions used for communication, military applications, and scientific research would also be detectable. 



The thermal signature of cities, where artificial structures retain more heat than surrounding natural landscapes, would reveal urban heat islands. Additionally, the growing number of satellites and debris in Earth's orbit could be observed by advanced extraterrestrial telescopes.



Taken together, these overlapping signals would paint a compelling picture of an industrialized world, potentially making Earth one of the most recognizable planets to an alien observer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-using-earth-as-a-cosmic-mirror">Using Earth as a cosmic mirror</h2>



The experts emphasized that understanding Earth’s own technosignatures is critical for refining the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. By identifying which of our own signals are most detectable, researchers can better anticipate what kinds of signatures to look for on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exoplanet-discovery-nasa-identifies-over-5500-distant-worlds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">exoplanets</a>.



Study co-author Macy Huston is a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley’s Department of Astronomy.



“Our goal with this project was to bring SETI back 'down to Earth' for a moment and think about where we really are today with Earth's technosignatures and detection capabilities,” explained Huston.&nbsp;



“In SETI, we should never assume other life and technology would be just like ours, but quantifying what 'ours' means can help put SETI searches into perspective.”



Sheikh echoed a similar sentiment, emphasizing that studying Earth's own impact on its environment can provide valuable insights into how extraterrestrial civilizations might be identified.



“One of the most satisfying aspects of this work was getting to use SETI as a cosmic mirror: what does Earth look like to the rest of the galaxy? And how would our current impacts on our planet be perceived?” said Sheikh.



“While of course we cannot know the answer, this work allowed us to extrapolate and imagine what we might assume if we ever discover a planet with, say, high concentrations of pollutants in its atmosphere.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-technosignature-research">The future of technosignature research</h2>



SETI research has long focused on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/are-aliens-sending-radio-signals-to-each-other/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">radio signals</a> as the primary method for detecting extraterrestrial intelligence, but this study demonstrates the importance of a multi-wavelength approach - examining different forms of technosignatures across the electromagnetic spectrum.



Current and future telescopes will improve detection sensitivity, allowing scientists to expand the search for life beyond Earth. Advanced observatories may eventually identify new atmospheric technosignatures, such as alternative industrial pollutants or artificial climate alterations.



Additionally, long-term studies tracking the evolution of Earth's technosignatures may provide fresh insights into how civilizations modify their environments over time.



As new space-based observatories come online and human activities continue to reshape Earth’s atmospheric composition, periodic reassessments of the planet's detectability could refine our approach to discovering extraterrestrial life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-of-the-nbsp-study">Implications of the&nbsp;study</h2>



Ultimately, this study highlights both the strengths and limitations of current SETI efforts. While Earth is highly detectable via radio waves, other technosignatures - such as pollution - would require relatively close proximity for extraterrestrials to observe.&nbsp;



As astronomers continue their search, understanding these limitations will help shape strategies for identifying distant technological civilizations.



Whether or not intelligent extraterrestrial beings are currently observing Earth, this research emphasizes the importance of looking outward to understand our place in the cosmos.



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If aliens could detect Earth from their planet, what would they see?

If an extraterrestrial civilization existed with technology comparable to ours, would they be able to detect Earth and recognize evidence of human activity? If so, what signals would be most visible, and from how far away? These thought-provoking questions have been explored in a new study led by Dr. Sofia Sheikh of the SETI Institute. Using a theoretical, model-based approach, this research is the first to analyze multiple types of technosignatures - the indicators of advanced technology - together, rather than examining them separately.  The results suggest...

California Oil Pipeline Spill Was Badly Corroded. A pipeline rupture that spilled an estimated 101,000 gallons of crude oil near Santa Barbara last month occurred along a badly corroded section that had worn away to a fraction of an inch in thickness, according to federal regulators.
The preliminary findings released Wednesday by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration point to a possible cause of the May 19 spill that blackened popular beaches and created a 9-mile slick in the Pacific Ocean.
The agency said investigators found corrosion at the break site had degraded the pipe wall thickness to 1/16 of an inch, and that there was a 6-inch opening near the bottom of the pipe. Additionally, the report noted that the area that failed was close to three repairs made because of corrosion found in 2012 inspections.
The findings indicate 82 percent of the metal pipe wall had worn away.
"There is pipe that can survive 80 percent wall loss," said Richard Kuprewicz, president of Accufacts Inc., which investigates pipeline incidents. "When you're over 80 percent, there isn't room for error at that level."
The morning of the spill, operators in the company's Houston control center detected mechanical issues and shut down pumps on the line. The pumps were restarted about 20 minutes later and then failed, prompting another shutdown of the line.
Restarting the pumps could have led to a rupture, or a break in the line could have caused the pumps to fail, but Kuprewicz cautioned it's still too soon to determine what caused the failure.
In either case, a hole that size would have leaked at a high rate - even with the pumps off - and may not have been quickly detected by remote operators.
The agency documents said findings by metallurgists who examined the pipe wall thickness at the break site conflicted with the results of inspections conducted May 5 for operator Plains All <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/shift-in-american-diets-could-greatly-benefit-the-environment/">American</a> Pipeline. Those inspections pinpointed a 45 percent loss of wall thickness in the area of the pipe break, meaning they concluded the pipe was in far better condition.
Government inspectors "noted general external corrosion of the pipe body during field examination of the failed pipe segment," the report said.
Investigators found "this thinning of the pipe wall is greater than the 45 percent metal loss which was indicated" by the recent Plains All American inspections.
The agency ordered the company to conduct additional research and possible repairs on the line, which has been shut down indefinitely. California Oil Pipeline Spill Was Badly Corroded
Plains All American said in a regulatory filing that there is no timeline to restart the line, which runs along the coast north of Santa Barbara. A company spokeswoman said there's no estimate yet of the cost of cleanup, which involves nearly 1,200 people.
The agency also ordered restrictions on a second stretch of pipeline, which the company had shut down May 19, restarted, then shut down again on Saturday.
That second line had similar insulation and welds to the line that spilled oil last month. It cannot be started until the company completes a series of steps, including testing.
The company said in a statement that it is committed to working with federal investigators "to understand the differences between these preliminary findings, to determine why the corrosion developed and to determine the cause of the incident."
Plains said it won't know the cause until the investigation, including the metallurgical analysis, is concluded.
The company has come under fire from California's U.S. senators, who issued a statement last week calling the response to the spill insufficient and demanding the pipeline company explain what it did, and when, after firefighters discovered the leak from the company's underground 24-inch pipe.
A commercial fisherman sued Plains in federal court Monday, alleging the environmental disaster would cause decades of harm to the shore. He is seeking class-action status and damages for business owners who have lost money because of the spill.
As of Tuesday, 36 sea lions, 9 dolphins and 87 birds in the area have died, officials said. Another 32 sea lions, 6 elephant seals and 58 birds were rescued and were being treated.
Popular state beaches and campgrounds polluted by the spill are closed until at least June 18.
Plains All American and its subsidiaries operate 17,800 miles of crude oil and natural gas pipelines across the country, according to federal regulators
The spill is also being investigated by federal, state and local prosecutors for possible violations of law.
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California Oil Pipeline Spill Was Badly Corroded

California Oil Pipeline Spill Was Badly Corroded. A pipeline rupture...

California Lawmakers Advance Aggressive Climate Change Plans. California lawmakers on Wednesday pushed through an ambitious climate change package to further reduce the state's carbon footprint and boost the use of renewable energy to 50 percent in 15 years.
The state Senate passed proposals to enact Gov. Jerry Brown's call to curb greenhouse gas emissions by setting what the administration calls the most aggressive benchmark in <a href="http://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/perennial-vegetables-to-grow-in-north-america/">North America</a> over the objection of Republicans who characterized such regulation as coastal elitism that would kill working-class jobs.
California aims to boost statewide renewable electricity use to 50 percent, have drivers use half as much gasoline and make buildings twice as efficient under the proposal by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles. His bill, SB350, advanced to the Assembly on a 24-14 vote.
"California has demonstrated our global climate leadership over the last decade," de Leon said, adding, "These policies will further cement our leadership, further strengthen our economy while protect the health of our communities."
Senate Democrats also approved an overarching proposal to further reduce California's greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
The goal is a mile marker on the way to cutting emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050 that was set by Brown's predecessor, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
SB32 by Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, passed the Senate on a 22-15 vote.
"It is a big number - science-based number, however," Pavley said, "what we have to do without reaching the tipping point regarding global climate change."
California, which already has an aggressive plan to combat global warming, currently is on track to meet a goal of cutting carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, partly by forcing companies to pay for their pollution.
The state's cap-and-trade program, launched nearly three years ago, offers one of the few real-world laboratories on how to reduce heat-trapping emissions. It expanded this year to levy fees on companies that produce gasoline and other fuels, prompting predictions that consumers will see a spike in prices to cover the costs.
Pavley's bill incorporates an executive order Brown issued in April to further emissions reductions - the equivalent of taking 36 million cars off the road, more than all the vehicles registered in California last year.
While the executive order lacked details, state officials have said it would require accelerated development of renewable energy and alternative fuel sources, and getting more electric cars and zero-emission heavy-duty trucks on the road. California Lawmakers Advance Aggressive Climate Change Plans
GOP members said the package would mean the government will pick economic winners and losers, raise utility and gasoline prices, and drive out good-paying jobs just so California can feel good about leading an environmental fight.
They also said there is inadequate oversight of the rule-setting process.
"This is really a stab in the dark, and it's unknown," said Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar. "Every new technology that has driven California has been when government got out of the way."
Democrats argued that it's not a choice between jobs and the environment. Rather, they say fostering clean-energy jobs will mean more people will drive electric vehicles and have solar panels on their homes.
Pavley, who authored the state's 2006 global warming law, said more than $30 billion in venture capital has flowed into California as a result of establishing a marketplace for the private sector to compete.
The California Assembly also moved Wednesday on two climate change bills that are narrower in scope.
One bill, AB1288, would allow the state Air Resources Board to continue conducting market-based regulations beyond its 2020 authority, while the other, AB645, called for the state to require at least half of all energy come from wind, solar and other renewable sources by 2050.
---
Associated Press writer Julia Horowitz contributed to this report.
---
This story has been corrected to show that California imposes fees, not fines, on its cap-and-trade program.
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California Lawmakers Advance Aggressive Climate Change Plans

California Lawmakers Advance Aggressive Climate Change Plans. California lawmakers on...

California Oil Spill-Things to Know

Fishermen Sue Company Over California Oil Pipeline Spill. A commercial fisherman sued the owner of the oil pipeline that spilled thousands of gallons of crude on the Santa Barbara coast, alleging the environmental disaster would cause decades of harm to the shore and hurt many businesses.
Stace Cheverez said in the suit filed Monday in Los Angeles federal court that Plains All American Pipeline has a poor safety record and didn't have proper equipment to prevent a spill, such as valves that automatically would have shut down the pipeline if there was a leak.
The suit alleging negligence and liability under state and federal laws does not specify damages but said they will exceed $5 million. Fishermen Sue Company Over California Oil Pipeline Spill
A Plains spokeswoman said the company does not comment on legal matters, but it is addressing claims filed against it. Company officials have apologized for the spill and defended its safety record.
Cheverez is seeking class-action status for fishermen and other businesses losing income because of the May 19 spill that dumped at least 101,000 gallons of oil, fouled beaches and killed at least 140 marine mammals and birds.
Cheverez, who grew up on the beaches in Santa Barbara County diving for urchin and lobsters, said the spill will cause years of damage to the scenic coast and waters that "serve as the backbone of the local economy."
The spill has discouraged tourists from visiting, he said, noting that Refugio State Beach, where the oil spilled onto the beach, and another state park were closed for Memorial Day weekend and would be closed at least through June 18. One kayak touring company reported 25 cancellations after the spill, causing a $3,000 loss.
"Tourists come to these beaches to enjoy the unspoiled sand and water," the lawsuit said. "People support themselves and their families by harvesting <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/gill-development-and-water-temperatures-limit-fish-growth/">fish</a> and shellfish from these waters. All that has been damaged by this spill, and that damage will likely last for decades."
The cause of the spill from an underground pipe carrying crude from offshore rigs to inland refineries has not been determined and the damage has not been tallied. About 800 people were mopping up the mess left on beautiful beaches this week and 22 boats continued skimming oil from the waters.
The death toll through Tuesday included 36 sea lions, nine dolphins and 87 birds, officials said. Another 32 sea lions, six elephant seals and 58 birds were rescued and being treated.
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Fishermen Sue Company Over California Oil Pipeline Spill

Fishermen Sue Company Over California Oil Pipeline Spill. A commercial...

Fracking Hasn't Caused Major Harm to Drinking Water...Yet. Hydraulic fracturing activities have not led to widespread harm to drinking water in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/severe-fire-threat-continues-in-the-western-united-states/">United States</a>, but the controversial drilling technique could affect drinking water if safeguards are not maintained, the government said Thursday.
A draft report released by the Environmental Protection Agency found several specific instances where poorly constructed drilling wells and improper wastewater management affected drinking water resources. But it also said the number of cases was small compared to the large number of wells that use hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking. Fracking Hasn't Caused Major Harm to Drinking Water...Yet.
The assessment tracked water used throughout the fracking process, from acquiring the water to mixing chemicals at the well site and injecting so-called "fracking fluids" into wells, to collection of wastewater, wastewater treatment and disposal.
The report identified several vulnerabilities to drinking water resources, including fracking's effect on drought-stricken areas; inadequately cased or cemented wells resulting in below-ground migration of gases and liquids; inadequately treated wastewater discharged into drinking water resources; and spills of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=hydraulic&amp;cvid=af6b582af13044b3a1b2f339436ec840&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">hydraulic</a> fluids and wastewater.
Improved drilling techniques have led to a surge in fracking in recent years that has fueled a nationwide boom in production of oil and natural gas, as fracking wells sprout up from California to Pennsylvania. Fracking involves pumping huge volumes of water, sand and chemicals underground to split open rocks to allow oil and gas to flow.
Improved technology has allowed energy companies to gain access to huge stores of oil and natural gas underneath states from coast to coast but has raised widespread concerns that it might lead to groundwater contamination and even earthquakes. Fracking Hasn't Caused Major Harm to Drinking Water...Yet.
EPA officials said the draft assessment will give state regulators, tribes, local communities and industry an important resource to identify how best to protect public health and drinking water resources.
---
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Fracking Hasn't Caused Major Harm to Drinking Water

Fracking Hasn't Caused Major Harm to Drinking Water...Yet. Hydraulic fracturing...

Beach Goo

Oily Goo Closes More California Beaches. A 4-mile stretch of beach in south Los Angeles County was closed Thursday after tar balls washed ashore - the latest Southern California coastline to shut down due to oily goo, authorities said.
The Long Beach Fire Department ordered the closure Wednesday night over concerns the material could cause skin irritation or other adverse health effects.
The closure was continued after authorities assessed the beach Thursday afternoon and determined tar balls were still washing up on shore.
"We ask that people stay off the beach and out of the water for now," agency spokesman Jake Heflin said.
By Thursday morning, crews scooped up about 55 gallons of the sticky substance from the shoreline about 25 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, Heflin said. Tar was not readily apparent on the sand at midmorning, between low tide and high tides.
"Various amounts of `tar balls' continue to wash up on shore and create a public and environmental health concern," the Long Beach Fire Department said in a statement.
Clean-up operations were expected to continue, with volunteers and contractor Ocean Blue working at area beaches.
The U.S. Coast Guard will test samples to try to determine the source of the tar balls. The material did not appear related to oil and gas extraction operations in the area, Heflin said.
The beach is adjacent to the massive <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/loggerhead-turtles-warming-climate/">Long Beach</a>-Los Angeles port complex.
Tar balls also led to recent beach closures in nearby Manhattan Beach and farther northwest in Ventura County. Oily Goo Closes More California Beaches
Nothing has been ruled out, including last month's spill of thousands of gallons of crude on the Santa Barbara County coast, about 140 miles to the northwest. Two beaches there remain closed.
The city of Seal Beach also reported an increase Thursday in the number of tar balls found on the beach. The Coast Guard determined there was no need to close the beach and suggested letting the tar balls dissipate naturally, city officials said.
Public works employees will pick up the tar balls during daily beach cleaning operations.
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Oily Goo Closes More California Beaches

Oily Goo Closes More California Beaches. A 4-mile stretch of...

Hands hold Green Energy

Sustainable Investing Market Still Working Through Kinks. Sometimes it takes more to be good than just not being bad.
That's the logic behind a shift within the surging sustainable investing market. For years, the default way to invest responsibly was simply to ignore the companies and industries that some find distasteful, such as <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tobacco-industry-raising-prices/">tobacco</a> companies or casino operators. It's still the world's most popular approach, based on total dollars, but a more nuanced approach to sustainable investing is growing even more quickly. Sustainable Investing Market Still Working Through Kinks
Instead of barring a list of industries from consideration, more mutual funds are taking into account how well companies do on environmental, social and governance issues. Does the company have a history of emitting a lot of carbon dioxide? Does it pay its executives excessively? Is its accounting trustworthy?
Managers of so-called ESG-integrated funds consider the answers alongside more traditional measures, such as how much profit a company makes and how quickly it's growing. Adding that layer of questioning is a way to reduce risk for long-term <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=investments&amp;cvid=7fa16295de1f4ff1bd58f3c86f13e87a&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">investments</a>, proponents say, in part because companies that score well on ESG issues are less likely to blow up in scandals or face big regulatory fines.
Sustainable investing in general is surging. Assets in the category leapt to $21.4 trillion worldwide at the start of 2014 from $13.3 trillion two years earlier, according to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. It's growing faster than the overall market and represents 30.2 percent of all professionally managed assets, up from 21.5 percent in 2012.
Under the sustainable umbrella, ESG-integrated investing is providing some of the fastest growth. Its assets more than doubled from 2012 to 2014, hitting $12.9 trillion, and demand has been so strong that new ESG mutual funds are being rolled out seemingly every month.
Consider the Matthews Asia ESG fund, which launched on April 30. It focuses on Asian stocks and its lead manager, Vivek Tanneeru, says the region is ripe for an ESG approach given environmental concerns in the region and the rapid ascendance of many families out of poverty.
"We're not setting out to exclude anything," Tanneeru says. "We're looking for companies that do the right things."
Banks in India that target women and low-income customers are not only helping on social issues, for example, they're also delving into big, profitable markets. Tanneeru emphasizes that finding companies with strong financial prospects remains his priority, and that considering ESG issues comes later in the process.
That's because many of these ESG-integrated funds want investors to be able to depend on them as core holdings, rather than as just nice side investments.
"We aren't there just to love the environment," says Nicholas Kaiser, chief investment officer of Saturna Capital. "We certainly respect the environment, but the goal is the shareholder and his investment for the long term. The real goal is to reduce risk."
The influx of new funds means that many don't have a track record. But a recent study by the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing found that investors interested in sustainable funds generally don't have to sacrifice returns.
After looking at the performance of 10,228 mutual funds over seven years, the institute found sustainable stock funds posted returns that were as good or better than the median traditional fund in nearly two thirds of time periods measured.
Saturna opened its Sustainable Equity fund and Sustainable Bond fund in late March after seeing demand rising for responsible investment through the Amana mutual funds that it manages. These funds screen out certain investments according to Islamic principles -- such as companies that charge interest or are involved in the liquor or pornography industries.
Kaiser says he's not sure about the exact percentage, but estimates that less than 20 percent of the Amana funds' investors are Muslim, showing the widespread hunger for responsible investments.
Columbia Threadneedle Investments also saw a wave of demand for responsible investments when the Threadneedle U.K. Social Bond fund launched in January 2014. The fund invests in bonds issued by organizations looking to help society and economic development, and U.S. investors were quickly calling to see if they could get in.
They couldn't, but the demand led to the launch of the Columbia U.S. Social Bond fund in March. The U.S. fund focuses on municipal bonds geared toward low-income communities, school systems and the environment, among other areas. Among its investments are bonds backing a low-income housing project in Bellemont, Louisiana, that also helps provide job-training and other services to its residents.
"There are plenty of investors out there who want to feel better about what they're doing, invest in a way they can feel good about," says James Dearborn, one of the fund's managers. "Sitting at my own dinner table with my teenage boys, they're very interested it. It makes me very happy."
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Sustainable Investing Market Still Working Through Kinks

Sustainable Investing Market Still Working Through Kinks. Sometimes it takes...

California Drought Showers to Flowers

California Drought Prompting Water Recycling At Home. Showering during California's drought is a guilt-free experience for homeowners Catarina Negrin and Noah Friedman.
The Berkeley couple - she runs a preschool, he's an architect - are early adopters of a home plumbing do-over that's becoming more popular during California's record four-year dry stretch.
California, like many states, long required all water used in homes to be piped out with the sewage, fearing health risks if water recycling is done clumsily.
Since 2010, however, the increasingly dry state has come around, and now even encourages the reuse of so-called gray water, which typically includes the gently-used runoff from bathroom sinks, showers, bathtubs and washing machines.
As mandatory conservation kicked in statewide this month, forcing many of California's 38 million people to face giving up on greenery, these recycling systems have become attractive options in new homes, right along with granite countertops. <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=california&amp;cvid=9c98704d716c4143b753ad588d2b3a21&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">California</a> Building Industry Association executive Robert Raymer rattles off the drought-conscious top builders that now routinely offer in-home water recycling.
And California's building codes are catching up as well, allowing owners of existing homes to create the simplest systems for the safest gray water without a permit.
So while others think about hauling buckets to catch stray drips from their sinks and tubs, Negrin and Friedman can relax: Each gallon they use in the shower means another for the butterflies that duck and bob over their vegetable garden, for the lemon tree shading the yard, and for two strutting backyard <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/genetically-modified-chickens-cancer-therapies/">chickens</a> busily investigating it all.
"I love a lush garden, and so it seems like why not, right? I could have a lush garden if it doesn't go into the sewer system," Negrin said. "So, yes, "I'm going to take a shower."
Because pathogens swimming in untreated gray water can transmit disease if humans ingest them, most modern health and building codes have long made recycling it impractical. Many families did it anyway, without official oversight or permits. Greywater Action, a group that promotes household water recycling and trains families and installers on the do's and don'ts, estimates that more than a million Californians had illegal systems before plumbing codes were updated.
But interest in doing it the right way has soared since April 1, when Gov. Jerry Brown ordered a 25-percent cut in water use by cities and towns. Palo Alto gray-water system installer Sassan Golafshan saw his website crash within a day from the surge in traffic.
"There's huge interest," said Laura Allen, a co-founder of Greywater Action. Contractors "told us they're getting so many more calls than before."
Water savings could be significant. A 2009 study by the University of California at Los Angeles found that if everyone in the southern part of the state recycled the water that currently goes down drains from their showers and washing machines, there would be enough to satisfy Southern California's entire outdoor residential water use needs.
At the California Water Resources Board's recycled water unit, chief Randy Barnard is fielding many calls from homeowners desperate to save their beloved lawns and gardens. "If they've got a prize fruit tree they've been babying for years, they don't want to lose that tree," he said.
But for many, he has some bad news to share. Recycling water at home is not as easy as just hooking your shower up to the lawn sprinklers, and recycled water probably won't save the lawn.
"Just like there's no one sure way to fight the drought, there's no one sure way for gray-water treatment," the state gray-water chief said. "Everybody has to look at all the options and figure out what works for them."
Water from toilets is considered "black" water and sent straight to wastewater treatment plants. Many states also bar water from kitchen sinks, since homeowners may have contaminated it by washing raw meat.
In California, homeowners are now allowed to irrigate with untreated water straight from bathroom sinks, washing machines and bathtubs, as long as - among other requirements - the water lines run beneath soil or mulch, so as not to come in contact with people. That rules out using untreated gray water on lawns, which typically need above-ground spray heads or sprinklers.
Gray water can even go to vegetable gardens like Negrin's and Friedman's, as long as it doesn't touch root vegetables or any other plant part that's eaten. Tomatoes are fine, but forget about carrots.
The latest plumbing-code changes have enabled families to install these straightforward laundry-to-landscape systems without a permit, sending wash water into the yard with a valve to divert it back into the sewage system when needed. A handy homeowner can do it with no more than a couple hundred of dollars of piping and parts.
More complicated systems, involving automation, filters and pumps, can top out at $30,000, contractors said.
About 20 states now allow gray-water recycling, and around the country, Arizona has some of the friendliest laws. California still has more to do, Allen and other advocates say. Raymer, at the building trade group, hopes for more legal changes in the coming years to align state gray-water codes with the rules of hundreds of cities and towns.
---
AP Video journalist Haven Daley contributed to this report.
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California Drought Prompting Water Recycling At Home

California Drought Prompting Water Recycling At Home. Showering during California's...

UN: Climate To Make Pledge For Climate Treaty. China is expected this month to formally submit its pledge for a global climate treaty that countries are seeking to finalize by December, the United Nations' top adviser on climate change said Thursday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a letter to Ban Ki-moon last week about the issue, U.N. assistant secretary-general Janos Pasztor told The Associated Press. Pasztor did not give details.
China is the world's biggest emitter of heat-trapping <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ocean-carbon-dioxide-sink/">carbon dioxide</a>, and its pledge for the global treaty is highly anticipated. The United States made its own pledge in March, committing to a 26 percent to 28 percent cut in greenhouse gas <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=emissions&amp;cvid=3a6343af61e04082a83e31b6e749def2&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">emissions</a> by 2025 from 2005 levels. UN: Climate To Make Pledge For Climate Treaty
The climate treaty is supposed to be adopted at a Paris summit late this year. It would mark the first time all countries agree to do something to limit emissions of global warming gases, primarily carbon dioxide, from the burning of coal, oil and gas. France has pushed for a legally binding treaty, but that would have virtually no chance of being ratified by the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress.
Pasztor said 154 countries still have not made their pledges.
Xi last year said China will stop the growth in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and clean up its polluted air. He also has promised to double the percentage of renewable energy in China's energy sources by that year.
China is the world's biggest coal-consuming nation, using roughly half of all of the global coal production for power generation, heating and industry. But the government has said coal production and imports are dropping this year as it pushes to reduce carbon emissions.
So far, other countries that have made formal pledges for the climate summit include Canada, which last month said it plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The EU has a target of 35 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, and Japan is proposing to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by up to 26 percent by 2030.
"What has been agreed by parties is that there will be no backsliding," Pasztor said. "Whatever countries put on the table, they should not be going backwards."
This week's U.N. negotiations in Bonn, Germany, are seen as a test of how close or far countries are from a climate deal. Pasztor didn't indicate any breakthroughs. "They're not going to negotiate away all the big issues at this session," he said.
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UN: Climate To Make Pledge For Climate Treaty

UN: Climate To Make Pledge For Climate Treaty. China is...

Japan's Renewable Energy Plan for G-7 Not Green Enough. Japan may find itself the odd man out when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe presents his government's blueprint for combating climate change at this weekend's summit of the world's leading industrialized democracies.
The Group of Seven host, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/porpoises-are-steadily-declining-in-the-german-north-sea/">German</a> Chancellor Angela Merkel, has indicated she supports a pledge of eventual zero carbon emissions. Japan favors coal, gas and nuclear power over green energy despite rapid growth of investment in renewables since all its nuclear reactors were taken offline following the 2011 disaster in Fukushima. <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=japan&amp;cvid=32c17997bcf24055b31c56a47629c405&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Japan's</a> Renewable Energy Plan for G-7 Not Green Enough
Curbing global warming will be among many items on the agenda when G-7 leaders meet Sunday and Monday at Schloss Elmau, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Munich.
Japan is the world's No. 3 economy and its fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Abe plans to explain to fellow leaders its target of a 26 percent reduction from 2013 levels of carbon emissions by 2030.
That compares with an intended 26-28 percent cut by 2025 from 2005 levels for the U.S., and the European Union's target of a 40 percent reduction from 1990 levels, or 35 percent from 2005.
Japanese officials defend their plan as comparable to or even exceeding the goals set by other major economies.
"Some committee members said it was too ambitious and they said it could not be done, but it was decided to set this target," said Masakazu Toyoda, a government adviser and chairman of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan.
Solar and wind power generation are too unstable and costly to provide more than marginal power generation capacity, especially given the need to extend power grids from major cities like Tokyo to more remote areas considered most suitable for wind power, he says.
As for zero emissions, the world's carbon dioxide pollution level hit a record 396 parts per million in 2014, way above the 350 ppm level of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere seen by some scientists and environmental groups as a safe level.
In Toyoda's view, limiting emissions to 450 ppm by 2050, would be "very difficult to achieve."
"With additional effort to introduce advanced technology, the realistic target should be 550 ppm," he said in a briefing Thursday.
Japan's long-term energy plan is evolving and actual trends will depend on various factors, including nuclear plant restarts, the pace of decline in the population, changes in technology and expanded use of solar panels and other renewable energy by households and businesses.
The country does face unique challenges, as an island nation with scant conventional energy resources. Unlike European countries, it cannot draw from and feed into regional electricity grids.
Abe's government is seeking restarts of reactors that meet upgraded safety standards, and in the meantime fossil fuels remain the preferred option for bridging energy supply gaps.
Japan could do far better, given the trend toward wider, ad-hoc adoption of renewable energy in the private sector, said Tomas Kaberger, chairman of the Japan Renewable Energy Foundation and a former head of Sweden's energy agency.
"It's just a matter of very costly delays to an industrial development that will be inevitable for global competition reasons. Japan cannot be the last fossil country in the world," he said.
During climate change talks in Bonn, Germany, this week, the NGO Climate Action Network announced Japan as the winner of its "Fossil of the Day" award for "doing the most to block progress on climate action."
At a time when many countries, including China, are reducing reliance on cheap, plentiful but heavily polluting coal, Japan is viewing it with newfound enthusiasm.
Its current plan calls for coal to account for about 26 percent of total power generation in 2030; natural gas for 27 percent and oil for about 3 percent. Renewable energy would provide up to 24 percent of power and nuclear up to 22 percent, according to a document from the government's Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy.
That plan would raise Japan's total energy self-sufficiency rate to about 24 percent from the current 6 percent, it says.
More than 40 coal-fired power plants are planned or under construction in Japan. Abe's government is also promoting financing of such plants in its infrastructure development aid.
Critics contend the latest "energy mix" strategy is delaying an inevitable shift to renewable sources, while creating a raft of potentially obsolete, or "stranded" assets.
"These guys are risking a whole lot of public finance on something that may be overtaken by the accelerating cheapening of renewables," said Andrew DeWit, a professor at Tokyo's Rikkyo University.
Japanese local governments increasingly are investing in smart-city technologies such as high-tech electricity meters, heat recycling and other clean and renewable energy options, encouraged by efforts to decentralize power production to help boost sagging local economies.
Generating capacity from renewable energy, including solar, wind, hydroelectric and geothermal power was rising at an average annual rate of about 9 percent before 2012, and then jumped 32 percent in 2013 with the introduction of higher feed-in tariffs, mostly due to a boom in installation of solar panels.
But In October, major power companies suspended access to their electricity grids for renewable energy, saying further increases would make them too unstable.
And moves to reduce higher feed-in tariffs for solar and wind power, introduced after the Fukushima disaster, are deterring investors who need greater certainty over potential returns on projects, said Yasuyo Yamazaki, president of Kuni Umi Asset Management, a company that invests in solar and biomass energy projects.
Like many in Japan, he believes that reforms that eventually will separate power generation from transmission will help.
"Japan should be able to rely entirely on renewable energy for all of its needs," he said. "But there is a certain pathway we have to get through to get to our goal."
---
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Japan's Renewable Energy Plan for G-7 Not Green Enough

Japan's Renewable Energy Plan for G-7 Not Green Enough. Japan...

Study: Global Warming Has Not Stopped Or Even Slowed. Global warming has not stopped or even slowed in the past 18 years, according to a new federal study that rebuts doubters who've claimed that that heating trends have paused.
Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration readjusted thousands of weather data points to account for different measuring techniques through the decades. Their calculations show that since 1998, the rate of warming is about the same as it has been since 1950: about two-tenths of a degree Fahrenheit a decade.
The so-called hiatus has been touted by non-scientists who reject mainstream climate science. Those claims have resonated; two years ago, the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change felt the need to explain why the Earth was not heating up as expected, listing such reasons as volcanic eruptions, reduced solar radiation and the oceans absorbing more heat.
"The reality is that there is no hiatus," said Tom Karl, director of the National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, North Carolina. He is the lead author of a study published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal Science
One key to claims of a hiatus is the start date: 1998. That year there was a big temperature spike; some of the following years were not as hot, though even hotter years followed in 2005, 2010 and 2014, according to NOAA, NASA and temperature records kept in England and Japan. This year is on pace to break last year's global heat record.
Scientists keep updating the way they measure Earth's temperatures. This study focuses on the effects of the way ocean temperatures are taken. The old way, going back generations, is with ships. Sometimes people would dip a bucket in the way; other times they'd measure water that came into the engine. They also did it at various times of day.
The new way is on buoys at the same time of day. Karl said the buoy measurements are more accurate, but can't be compared directly to the ship measurements for a trend without making adjustments, because that would be comparing apples and oranges. So to come up with a trend using comparable numbers, NOAA increases the buoy temperatures a bit.
A few years ago NOAA made similar adjustments to make land temperatures more comparable decade-to-decade. But that also caused some non-scientists who reject climate change to cry tampering.
Several outside scientists contacted by The Associated Press said the new and previous adjustments are sound. Kevin Trenberth, climate analysis chief at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said the new work was "good and careful analysis" but only confirms what most scientists already knew, that there was no such hiatus.
A few years ago, a group out of University of California Berkeley - funded in part by the Charles Koch Foundation, whose founder is a major funder of climate doubter groups and the tea party- took what was initially billed as a skeptical look at the previous NOAA data. But they pronounced the earlier adjustments legitimate. The same scientists now say the new NOAA adjustments are also proper.
"NOAA is confirming what we have been saying for some time that the `hiatus' in global warming is spurious," Berkeley team chief and physicist Richard Muller said in an email. Muller said global warming continues but in "many fits and spurts."
John Christy of the University of <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/tornado-track-tuscaloosa-alabama/">Alabama</a> Huntsville, one of the minority of scientists who dispute the magnitude of global warming, said the Karl paper "doesn't make sense" because satellite data show little recent warming. "You must conclude the data were adjusted to get this result" of no warming pause, Christy wrote in an email. "Were the adjustments proper? I don't know at this point."
Others who reject warming, especially non-scientists, point to satellite records by Remote Sensing Systems that appear to show no change in temperature since 1998. Satellites measure a different part of Earth's atmosphere than ground and ocean monitors that NOAA, NASA and others use.
Carl Mears, senior research scientist for RSS, said those rejecting climate change based on his work or any one dataset are wrong and "seek to deny the reality of human-induced climate change by grasping at straws." Mears said the overall data consistently show long-term global warming and that it really hasn't stopped recently. The NOAA adjustments make sense, he said. Study: Global Warming Has Not Stopped Or Even Slowed
Karl said NOAA didn't adjust datasets in the <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=arctic&amp;cvid=6943ae33ae8e4bcc9de685eb17342755&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">Arctic</a>, where it is warming even faster, because there is a lack of reliable long-term records to compare. Had NOAA made those adjustments, the recent warming trend would be slightly larger, he said.
---
Online:
Science: <a href="http://sciencemag.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://sciencemag.org</a>
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information: <a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov</a>
---
Seth Borenstein can be followed at <a href="http://twitter.com/borenbears" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://twitter.com/borenbears</a>
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Study: Global Warming Has Not Stopped Or Even Slowed

Study: Global Warming Has Not Stopped Or Even Slowed. Global...

California Pipeline Break "Extremely Unlikely" According to Texas Firm. A Texas company whose ruptured pipeline created the largest coastal oil spill in <a href="http://www.earth.com/image/tule-fog-across-californias-central-valley/">California</a> in 25 years had assured the government that a break in the line while possible was "extremely unlikely" and state-of-the-art monitoring could quickly detect possible leaks and alert operators, documents show.
Nearly 1,200 pages of records, filed with state regulators by Plains All American Pipeline, detail a range of defenses the company established to guard against crude oil spills and, at the same time, prepare for the worst should a spill occur. California Pipeline Break "Extremely Unlikely" According to Texas Firm
The company acknowledged the potential for <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=oil&amp;cvid=16742b90ecb44fc991776cfc4d1053b4&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">oil</a> to leak from the 24-inch, 10.6-mile-long pipeline west of Santa Barbara. A team of experts organized by the company, however, assessed that risk as remote, according to the records, known as a spill response plan, and were released under the state's public records act.
"The pipeline and its operation are state-of-the-art," asserted the analysis submitted to the state. "Spills are still possible, though extremely unlikely."
On May 19, a 6-inch breach along a badly corroded section of the line caused up to 101,000 gallons of oil to spill, blackening beaches and creating a 9-mile ocean slick. The breach and the environmental damage have challenged the company's conclusions about safe operation and rigorous monitoring.
Last year, federal regulators endorsed the plan but the company is facing questions about whether it followed its own blueprint, or if it was outdated or inadequate. The analysis assessing the potential for a spill was initially conducted in 1994 and 1995, although sections have been modified as recently as last year.
Plains All American spokeswoman Meredith Matthews said it would be inappropriate to comment because of the ongoing federal investigation.
Kristen Monsell, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said the plan's list of endangered species is at least 20 years outdated and the company fell short in following through with its requirements. "It grossly understates the potential for an oil spill," Monsell said.
Members of Congress also want answers.
"We need to find out if the company lived up to the promises of its oil spill response plan," Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said in a statement. "I'm concerned that they may not have moved quickly enough to detect and report the spill, which could have exacerbated the environmental damage."
The cause of the break has not been determined. But preliminary information released by federal regulators suggests that corrosion was the culprit.
Plains All American took a series of steps to ward off corrosion - the pipeline was treated with a urethane coating, as well as covered with foam insulation and an outer wrap. It was also shielded by what is known as cathodic protection, a low-level electric current that is run through the pipeline to inhibit corrosion.
An analysis concluded that the potential for a leak due to corrosion was "adequately mitigated."
Yet documents released by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration after the spill said testing conducted in early May found extensive external corrosion in some areas, although Plains said it had not received those results prior to the spill.
Additionally, federal inspectors said the area near the break had earlier been repaired because of corrosion. At the break point, over 80 percent of the wall thickness of the pipeline had been eaten away.
In 2010, the company agreed to spend over $40 million to prevent corrosion and improve leak detection on its pipelines as part of a settlement with federal officials, stemming from spills in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kansas.
The Santa Barbara County pipeline, completed in 1990, is part of a network that moves crude oil to inland refineries. A handful of prior spills have taken place on the line, the largest about 1,200 gallons.
The plan repeatedly stresses the importance of notifying the government immediately of a leak. Under federal regulations, the company was to notify the National Response Center, a clearinghouse for reports of hazardous material releases, "at the earliest practicable moment." State law requires immediate notification of any release, or a threatened release.
Company calculations assume it should take no more than 15 minutes to discover a release and shut down the flow.
On May 19, an employee first confirmed the spill at 1:30 p.m. - two hours after the pipeline was shut down remotely. Despite its own plan calling for notifying the response center within an hour of a spill, Plains didn't contact the response center for nearly 90 minutes.
By then, the federal response led by the Coast Guard was underway, but the lag may reveal lapses in the company's planning, said Gerald Emison, a former deputy regional EPA administrator.
"It sounds like the company may not have followed its own protocol," said Emison. "The question is: Why didn't they?"
Company records describe an extensive system scrutinizing pipeline pressure and flow, which is controlled in Texas and set to trigger alarms if something goes awry.
However, it's not clear if it worked.
Pumps at an inland station were shut down at 10:45 a.m., but then restarted within 10 minutes. They were shut down again 20 minutes later. By 11:30 a.m., a Plains operator remotely shut down the entire pipeline because of what the company called pressure anomalies.
But it wasn't until 12:30 p.m. that Plains dispatched a worker to do a visual inspection. By that time, firefighters responding to a call about a petroleum smell near Refugio State Beach had discovered the spill.
---
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California Pipeline Break "Extremely Unlikely" According to Texas Firm

California Pipeline Break "Extremely Unlikely" According to Texas Firm. A...

Congress Forests

Republicans Resurrect Efforts to Increase Logging in National Forests. Drought has killed about 12 million trees in California's national forests. In the Rocky Mountain region, an epidemic of pine beetles has damaged trees over a stretch of 32 million acres. Altogether, up to 40 percent of the entire national forest system is in need of treatment to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire and disease.
As the national forests suffer from drought, density and infestation, House Republicans are resurrecting efforts to thin more quickly millions of acres and take down dead trees.
It's not a new battle by any means, but this time some of their proposals are winning positive feedback from the Obama administration, even as some environmental groups and House Democrats express concerns.
House Republicans have long sought more aggressive tree removal from national forest lands. Legislation in the last Congress would have required the government to increase significantly the amount of timber it offers for sale each year. The lawmakers say more aggressive timbering would make for a healthier forest and improve rural economies. But such mandates went nowhere in the Senate and prompted a veto threat from the White House.
This year, the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/young-republicans-climate-change-2/">Republican</a>-led push is focused on slimming down and streamlining environmental reviews for projects and by making a lawsuit to stop a project potentially much more expensive to file.
The goal is to speed up timber harvests and the removal of underbrush the U.S. Forest Service deemed necessary. The House Natural Resources Committee is expected to vote on the bill on Wednesday.
When the U.S. Forest Service currently wants to undertake major work on a national forest, it talks with stakeholders such as the timber industry, local residents and environmental groups to develop a plan that addresses their concerns and uses the best science available. But, the process often takes too long and ends in a lawsuit, said a memorandum written by Republican staff for the House Natural Resources Committee. Republicans Resurrect Efforts to Increase Logging in National Forests
"These policies may be making environmental law firms rich, but they are killing our national forest," said Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees federal lands issues.
Democrats say they worry the legislation will reduce public participation and allow major projects to go forward without adequate review of the effect on the environment.
Under the proposed legislation, many projects fewer than 15,000 acres would be eligible for the streamlined review if the projects were designed to reduce hazardous fuel loads and disease, protect watersheds or improve critical habitat. That's five times the current limit of 3,000 acres.
Also, groups suing the federal government over a thinning project would often have to buy an insurance bond in the event they lose so that the federal government could recoup the expense of defending itself in court.
Tom Tidwell, chief of the U.S. Forest Service, did not take a position on the legislation during a hearing last week, but said he was encouraged by some goals of the bill.
Robert Bonnie, an undersecretary who oversees the Forest Service, told The Associated Press that some of the GOP's approaches are "interesting and we want to engage in the conversation."
But both men emphasized that the biggest problems they face are budgetary. Fires are eating up so much of the agency's budget that it has 39 percent fewer employees than it had nearly two decades ago.
"We're taking people out of the field that put together the projects to reduce fire in the first place," Bonnie said. "So even if you give the Forest Service a bunch of new tools and tool boxes, we don't have enough people on the ground to reach the type of scale we need. So we have to fix the fire budget."
Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., said that limiting environmental reviews can help in specific situations, "but this bill goes too far."
Nearly three dozen environmental groups wrote McClintock and Tsongas to oppose the bill, including the Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society and Defenders of Wildlife. "Under the pretext of `forest health' and `collaboration,' the bill does the opposite by moving toward analysis-free, high-risk production-based logging on our national forests and reducing collaboration," the groups wrote.
Kyle Tisdel, an attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center, said groups that end up suing the federal government to stop a project must take part in an extensive public participation process before they can go to court. He said the additional hurdle of requiring an insurance bond would have a substantial chilling effect on the public's ability to engage the government and take their case to a final arbiter.
"These organizations operate on shoestring budgets for the most part," Tisdel said.
The USDA's Bonnie also expressed concern about requiring groups suing the department to acquire a surety bond.
"It's important the public still have the ability to access the courts," Bonnie said. "The best approach we have to reduce litigation is these collaborative efforts on the ground."
---
This story has been corrected to show that projects would undergo a less extensive and detailed type of environmental review rather than be excluded from a review.
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Republicans Resurrect Efforts to Increase Logging in National Forests

Republicans Resurrect Efforts to Increase Logging in National Forests. Drought...

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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

[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



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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?

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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

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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



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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

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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



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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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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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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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