Renewable Resources Report
Protecting Bees: EU Set to Completely Ban Outdoor Use of Pesticides Harmful to Bees
On April 27th, 2018, European Union Member States’ representatives in a Standing Committee have backed a proposal by the European Commission to further restrict the use of three active substances (imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam, known as “neonicotinoids”) for which a scientific review concluded that their outdoor use harms bees. The protection of bees is an important issue…
Read MoreNorth Atlantic Right Whales Are Near Extinction. We Can Avert It.
For the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale, the year has begun badly. One young whale that had become entangled in fishing lines was found dead in January off Virginia. Worse, not a single newborn has yet been spotted by scientists flying over the whale’s calving grounds off Florida and Georgia. Last year wasn’t good, either. Only five calves were known…
Read MoreGSA Issues New Position Statement: Geoscience And Energy Policy
GSA’s governing Council approved a new position statement, Geoscience and Energy Policy, at its October 2017 meeting in Seattle, Washington. “This has been a long time coming,” said GSA President Isabel Montañez. “I would like to thank the committee for their thoughtful work and GSA members for their valuable input. We have a document that…
Read MoreHarvard University Tracks Environmental Deregulatory Decisions by Trump Administration
Harvard Environmental Law Program Blog This fall, the Environmental Policy Initiative launched a deregulatory tracker to keep tabs on environmental rollbacks of the Trump administration. The idea for this project came from two high-level environmental law summits we hosted at HLS in the first six months after the 2016 presidential election. At those summits, we…
Read MoreAmerican Meteorological Society Releases First-Ever Report Stating Anthropogenic Climate Change Caused Major Weather Extremes
Last year’s record global heat, extreme heat over Asia, and unusually warm waters in the Bering Sea would not have been possible without human-caused climate change, according to new research in Explaining Extreme Events in 2016 from a Climate Perspective, a report published as a special supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society…
Read MoreU.S. Withdraws from UNESCO Amid Criticism from Leading Scientific Organization
The United States has formally submitted its withdrawal from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Based in Paris, UNESCO director-general Irian Bokova expressed “profound regret” at the Trump Administration’s decision and highlighted key collaborations with “the United States Geological Survey, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with United States professional societies,…
Read More2017 Golden Goose Awards – An Introduction To The Most Unusual Prize In Science
The Golden Goose Awards ceremony took place at the Library of Congress on September 27, 2017– the sixth annual celebration recognizing significant federally funded scientific research. Projects must meet two requirements to receive an award: 1) They must have made a significant and/or unexpected contribution to scientific advancement and 2) The research project must have a…
Read MoreThe World is Facing a Global Sand Crisis
spread across idyllic beaches and endless deserts, they might think of it as an infinite resource. But as researchers discuss in a just-published perspective in the journal Science, over-exploitation of global supplies of sand is damaging the environment, endangering communities, causing shortages and promoting violent conflict. Skyrocketing demand combined with unfettered mining is creating the perfect recipe…
Read MoreModernize or Maintain – What is the Best Way to Improve the Endangered Species Act?
Bald eagle, Florida manatee, and American alligator populations rebounded under the protection of the Endangered Species Act. Photo credit: USFWS. By Orion McCarthy The Endangered Species Act, the landmark U.S. law for protecting imperiled species, has enabled the recovery of iconic species such as the bald eagle, American alligator, and Florida manatee. While lauded by some…
Read MoreFinal TSCA Framework Rules “Significantly Weakened” – EDF
(Washington, D.C. – June 22, 2017) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the final “framework” rules for implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as well as the “scopes” for the first 10 risk evaluations to be conducted, and guidance for third parties who wish to submit their own draft risk evaluations. “EDF’s initial…
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