Latest news with #UnionofConcernedScientists
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists issue warning after making troubling discovery in waters off Antarctica: 'Could be more unstable'
A recent discovery by a team of Australian scientists reveals that an ocean current, which acts as a safeguard by protecting Antarctica from warm water that would otherwise melt the region's ice, is at risk of failing. Relatively little is known about the Antarctic Slope Current (ASC), but scientists do understand its importance in acting as Antarctica's last line of defense from preventing warm water from invading the region. New research that was recently published in Geophysical Research Letters looks at how this current, which acts as a vital barrier, "will respond to changes in wind, heating, and meltwater under climate change." "We found meltwater from Antarctica is speeding up the current, known as the Antarctic Slope Current," the authors of the study wrote in an article for the Conversation, per "And it's set to become even faster by mid-century." "A faster current could be more unstable," added the researchers. "This means eddies of warm water could eat away at Antarctica's ice, posing a major concern for the stability of Earth's climate system." The team of scientists warned that "humanity must act now" to protect this natural buffer, which is helping to keep Antarctica's ice shelves from vanishing. The study's authors point out that in vulnerable low-lying coastal regions, even a minimal sea-level rise of just a few centimeters can double the likelihood of flooding events. Rising sea levels allow saltwater to encroach further inland, contaminating freshwater supplies and impacting crop yields. The Union of Concerned Scientists has linked human activity to rising global temperatures that are melting ice sheets and releasing vast volumes of freshwater into the North Atlantic. This invasion of freshwater is disturbing the delicate balance of ocean circulation patterns and contributing to rising sea levels as the relatively less salty and less dense water takes up more space. A study published in May showed that the Northeastern U.S. experienced up to eight days of flooding annually because of the disruption of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The research concluded that up to 50% of the total flooding events at monitored sites in the Northeast might be tied directly to the weakening circulation. Rising sea levels in Charleston, South Carolina, are making what used to be an occasional nuisance for the coastal city into a more routine disruption for the community, as rising tides bring water into homes and businesses. "Humanity must act fast to preserve the current, by cutting carbon emissions," warned the authors of the study on the changes to the ASC. "When it comes to Antarctica, this action isn't optional—it's the only way to hold the line." Transitioning from dirty energy sources to clean, renewable options is the most effective way to cut carbon pollution that is overheating our planet. Even relatively small changes we can make in our homes can help. Washing clothes in cold water, upgrading to LED bulbs, and unplugging "energy vampires" can have an impact and make a difference. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
National Observer
12-06-2025
- Automotive
- National Observer
Uber's new shuttles look suspiciously familiar to anyone who's taken a bus
This story was originally published by Grist and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration Every few years, a Silicon Valley gig-economy company announces a 'disruptive' innovation that looks a whole lot like a bus. Uber rolled out Smart Routes a decade ago, followed a short time later by the Lyft Shuttle of its biggest competitor. Even Elon Musk gave it a try in 2018 with the 'urban loop system' that never quite materialized beyond the Vegas Strip. And does anyone remember Chariot? Now it's Uber's turn again. The ride-hailing company recently announced Route Share, in which shuttles will travel dozens of fixed routes, with fixed stops, picking up passengers and dropping them off at fixed times. Amid the inevitable jokes about Silicon Valley once again discovering buses are serious questions about what this will mean for struggling transit systems, air quality, and congestion. Uber promised the program, which rolled out in seven cities at the end of May, will bring 'more affordable, more predictable' transportation during peak commuting hours. 'Many of our users, they live in generally the same area, they work in generally the same area, and they commute at the same time,' Sachin Kansal, the company's chief product officer, said during the company's May 14 announcement. 'The concept of Route Share is not new,' he admitted — though he never used the word 'bus.' Instead, pictures of horse-drawn buggies, rickshaws, and pedicabs appeared onscreen. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was a bit more forthcoming when he told The Verge the whole thing is 'to some extent inspired by the bus.' The goal, he said, 'is just to reduce prices to the consumer and then help with congestion and the environment.' But Kevin Shen, who studies this sort of thing at the Union of Concerned Scientists, questions whether Uber's 'next-gen bus' will do much for commuters or the climate. 'Everybody will say, 'Silicon Valley's reinventing the bus again,'' Shen said. 'But it's more like they're reinventing a worse bus.' Uber's new shuttles look suspiciously familiar to anyone who's taken a bus. #Uber #RouteShare Five years ago, the Union of Concerned Scientists released a report that found ride-share services emit 69 percent more planet-warming carbon dioxide and other pollutants than the trips they displace — largely because as many as 40 percent of the miles traveled by Uber and Lyft drivers are driven without a passenger, something called 'deadheading.' That climate disadvantage decreases with pooled services like UberX Share — but it's still not much greener than owning and driving a vehicle, the report noted, unless the car is electric. Beyond the iffy climate benefit lie broader concerns about what this means for the transit systems in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, and Baltimore — and the people who rely on them. 'Transit is a public service, so a transit agency's goal is to serve all of its customers, whether they're rich or poor, whether it's the maximum profit-inducing route or not,' Shen said. The entities that do all of this come with accountability mechanisms — boards, public meetings, vocal riders — to ensure they do what they're supposed to. 'Barely any of that is in place for Uber.' This, he said, is a pivot toward a public-transit model without public accountability. Compounding the threat, Philadelphia and Dallas have struggling transit systems at risk of defunding. The situation is so dire in Philly that it may cut service by nearly 45 percent on July 1 amid a chronic financial crisis. (That, as one Reddit user pointed out, would be good news for Uber.) Meanwhile, the federal government is cutting support for public services, including transit systems — many of which still haven't fully recovered from COVID-era budget crunches. Though ridership nationwide is up to 85 percent of pre-pandemic levels, Bloomberg News recently estimated that transit systems across the country face a $6 billion budget shortfall. So it's easy to see why companies like Uber see a business opportunity in public transit. Khosrowshahi insists Uber is 'in competition with personal car ownership,' not public transportation. 'Public transport is a teammate,' he told The Verge. But a study released last year by the University of California, Davis found that in three California cities, over half of all ride-hailing trips didn't replace personal cars, they replaced more sustainable modes of getting around, like walking, public transportation, and bicycling. And then there's the fact cities like New York grapple with chronic congestion and don't need more vehicles cluttering crowded streets. During Uber's big announcement, Kansal showed a video of one possible Route Share ride in the Big Apple. It covered about 3 miles from Midtown to Lower Manhattan, which would take about 30 minutes and cost $13. But here's the thing: The addresses are served by three different subway lines. It is possible to commute between those two points, avoid congestion, and arrive sooner, for $2.90. So, yes, Uber Route Share is cheaper than Uber's standard car service (which has gotten 7.2 percent pricier in the past year) — but Route Share is far from the most efficient or economical way to get around in the biggest markets it's launching in. 'If anything,' Shen said, 'it's reducing transit efficiency by gumming up those same routes with even more vehicles.'
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Richard Garwin, designer of the first H-bomb who also paved the way for MRI, GPS and touch-screens
Richard Garwin, who has died aged 97, was an American nuclear scientist who designed the world's first hydrogen bomb and went on to become a presidential adviser on arms control, while helping to lay the groundwork for such technology as magnetic resonance imaging, high-speed laser printers and touch-screen monitors. The Nobel prizewinner Enrico Fermi called him 'the only true genius I have ever met', but he never became a household name: a 2017 biography was subtitled 'The Most Influential Scientist You've Never Heard Of'. Edward Teller is usually credited, in an unattributed phrase, as the 'father of the sweet technology of the H-bomb'. Due to the secrecy surrounding its development, it was only in recent years that historians have become aware of Garwin's role, following the publication in 2001 of a transcript of a recording made by Teller in which, while not eschewing the credit for devising the bomb, the scientist recalled that the 'first design was made by Dick Garwin'. In 1951 Garwin, then a 23-year-old faculty member at the University of Chicago, was working during his summer holidays at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico where, building on Teller's ideas, he designed the 'Mike', an 82-ton sausage-shaped test device, after working out how to direct the radiation from the atomic device to initiate a fusion reaction in the hydrogen – what he called 'the match for the nuclear bonfire'. 'The shot was fired almost precisely according to Garwin's design,' Teller recalled, on Enewetak Atoll on November 1 1952. The power of the blast – 450 times that of Nagasaki – stunned even those who had watched previous bomb tests, with a mushroom cloud five times the height of Everest and 100 miles wide. Teller subsequently became famous for destroying the career of Robert Oppenheimer, who had run the Los Alamos lab in the Second World War, giving birth to the atomic bomb, but afterwards questioned the morality of devising an even more powerful weapon. When, amid the anti-communist paranoia of the McCarthy years, Oppenheimer had his security clearance removed by the government, Teller was the only member of the scientific community to testify against him. In fact Garwin, a board member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, had a lot of sympathy with Oppenheimer, telling an interviewer that if he could wave a magic wand to make the H- bomb go away, 'I would do that.' But as the clock could not be wound back, he believed that the best hope for human survival lay in the deterrence doctrine of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) that suggests that a nuclear attack by one superpower would result in a retaliatory nuclear strike, leading to the complete destruction of both attacker and defender. 'The capability for MAD,' Garwin said 'is not a theory, but a fact of life'. In the 1980s, when Teller convinced President Ronald Reagan to invest in a defensive shield that, he claimed, would make it probable that enough Americans would survive a nuclear conflict to ensure the US's continued existence, Garwin was vocal in his criticism of the so-called 'Star Wars' initiative as ineffective and wasteful. He saw a Soviet-American balance of weaponry and arms-control measures as the best way of avoiding nuclear Armageddon. Richard Lawrence Garwin was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 19 1928, the older of two sons of Robert Garwin and Leona, née Schwartz. His father was a high school teacher; his mother a legal secretary. From Cleveland Heights High School Garwin graduated in physics in 1947 from what is now Case Western Reserve University, followed by a master's degree and doctorate under Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago. He joined the faculty, but at Fermi's suggestion spent his summers at the Los Alamos lab, where he returned every year until 1966. For 40 years from the early 1950s Garwin was a researcher at IBM, maintaining a faculty position at Columbia University and advising presidents (excepting Reagan) from Eisenhower to Clinton on nuclear weapons and arms-control issues. As a researcher he contributed to a huge range of scientific discoveries and innovations, and in 2016, when he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama, the president recalled: 'Ever since he was a Cleveland kid tinkering with his father's movie projectors, he's never met a problem he didn't want to solve. Reconnaissance satellites, the MRI, GPS technology, the touch-screen – all bear his fingerprints. He even patented a mussel washer for shellfish: that, I haven't used. The other stuff I have.' In 1991 Garwin chaired a conference to discuss solutions to staunching the Kuwaiti oil leaks during the first Gulf War. He advised the Obama government on dealing with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. From 1993 to 2001 he chaired the State Department's Arms Control and Nonproliferation Advisory Board. His belief in the vital importance of nuclear balance led him to oppose any policy that might upset that balance. In 2007, in evidence to the British Commons Defence Select Committee, he described Prime Minister Tony Blair's claim that work must start soon on replacing the ageing Vanguard-class subs of Britain's nuclear submarine fleet as 'highly premature''. The subs' working life could be extended to 45 years or more, he argued, putting off the need for a replacement into the late 2030s or beyond. In 2021 he was one of 700 signatories to an open letter to President Biden, asking him to pledge that the US would never be the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict and calling for curbs on his role as sole authority in ordering the use of nuclear weapons – as 'an important safeguard against a possible future president who is unstable or who orders a reckless attack'. The plea fell on deaf ears. In 1947 Richard Garwin married Lois Levy. She died in 2018, and he is survived by two sons and a daughter. Richard Garwin, born April 19 1928, died May 13 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nuclear watchdogs, scientists question need for SC plutonium plant amid environmental study
The Savannah River Site has a total of 51 waste tanks. Eight of those tanks have been operationally closed. (From Savannah River Site fact sheet, May 2022, U.S. Department of Energy) South Carolina's federal nuclear site is part of a plan to replace the plutonium cores of bombs in the country's nuclear arsenal. But now the federal government is taking a closer look at the environmental impacts of such a venture — or whether it's even necessary. A $25 billion factory planned for the Savannah River Nuclear Site in western South Carolina would mean new investment and lots of new jobs for the area — an estimated 1,000 new positions over the next several years. But anti-nuclear and environmental groups sued in 2021 saying the U.S. Department of Energy, the federal agency that manages the country's nuclear stockpile, didn't follow national environmental law in developing its plans and failed to account for disposal of excess radioactive material. In a settlement in January, the government agreed to redo the necessary study. The public has until July 14 to weigh in on the scope and factors they think the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Energy Department's nuclear arm, should consider in its review. 'A rushed program will likely increase the risks to the workers and frontline communities who bear still unaddressed burdens from the production of nuclear weapons during the Cold War,' Dylan Spaulding, senior scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote in a recent report. The Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration did not respond to emails sent by the SC Daily Gazette. 3 SC colleges could split $120M to educate students for jobs at nuclear laboratory Plutonium decays over centuries. The recycling of spheres of plutonium, called pits, used in nuclear weapons has become a priority over the past couple decades as the country's nuclear stockpile has aged. In response, scientists at Savannah River, as well as those at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, have been charged with salvaging usable plutonium from old pits and recycling it into new ones. Savannah River was expected to make 50 pits per year by 2030, though that timeline was considered ambitious to begin with. It likely will be further delayed by the legal settlement, which halted some of the proposed construction work and equipment installation. The 310-square-mile complex, known to locals as the 'bomb plant,' produced weapons-grade plutonium and tritium for the U.S. nuclear arsenal from the 1950s through the end of the Cold War and nuclear arms race between the United States and Russia. All radioactive production at the site that covers parts of Barnwell, Aiken, and Allendale counties ceased in 1992, when its mission shifted to cleanup and research. Federal scientists have said they have no way of knowing how long the nuclear weapons pits will remain usable. But the Union of Concerned Scientists argues new pits aren't necessary to maintain the existing U.S. nuclear fleet. 'The claim that we need new pits just to maintain a safe and reliable arsenal just doesn't hold water,' Spaulding wrote. 'The reality is NNSA has thousands of existing plutonium pits in reserve and should investigate options for re-use before one more pit is produced.' Tom Clements, director of Savannah River Site Watch, is a longtime nuclear watchdog whose organization helped bring the federal lawsuit against the pit program. He also pointed to statements in the NNSA's own study of pit aging, which says plutonium pits have reliable lifetimes of at least 100 years. The average age of the country's current pits is now around 42 years. 'While public rationales for the program often emphasize a need to replace aging pits, the national laboratories have offered no evidence that the nation's existing pits are anywhere near the end of their service lives,' Spaulding wrote. 'Moreover, the national laboratories can use existing capabilities to monitor any potential for aging effects without reviving pit production.' Both Clements and the Union of Concerned Scientists are calling for a new independent assessment of pit lifetimes, an inventory of existing pits, as well as an assessment of all potential pit recycling and waste disposal sites, beyond those just considering Savannah River and Los Alamos. Defense package includes $2.7B for SRS in 2024 South Carolina has long wrestled with tons of weapons-grade plutonium that have accumulated at Savannah River, suing in 2016 over the federal government's inability to meet deadlines for its promised removal. Much of the surplus plutonium from sites across the country was brought to South Carolina in 2002 and stored inside the reactor that once produced the radioactive metal. It was supposed to be turned into fuel for commercial nuclear reactors — mixed-oxide fuel, or MOX — as part of a nonproliferation agreement with Russia in 2000. But with the plant to convert the plutonium years behind schedule and billions over budget, the Obama administration tried repeatedly to scrap it. However, South Carolina's delegation balked, and Attorney General Alan Wilson sued, keeping the project going. The fatal blow came from the Trump administration, which continued with his predecessor's plans, and another effort by South Carolina officials to revive the project failed. The project was officially terminated in 2018. That left 11.5 metric tons of plutonium underground at SRS, enough to build the bomb dropped on Nagasaki nearly 2,000 times over, The Post and Courier reported. A $600 million settlement with the state in fall 2020 gave the U.S. Department of Energy an additional 15 years, until 2037, to get rid of all the plutonium it shipped to SRS. Even if doesn't, South Carolina can't sue again until 2042, as per the settlement's terms. The proposed pit production factory is meant to be developed at the site of that failed fuels plant. The state already has invested heavily to prepare for the future of both the Savannah River Site and its associated national laboratory. Last year, the Legislature allocated $60 million in the budget to fund faculty, student scholarships, lab upgrades and a control room simulator at the University of South Carolina, Clemson University and South Carolina State University, as well as a workforce center at USC's four-year campus in Aiken.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Researchers issue warning after new study reveals powerful phenomenon causing flooding along coast: 'Poses threats to both lives and infrastructure'
New research indicates that a climate-change weakened network of ocean currents is a cause of a significant portion of flooding along the northeast coast of the United States. A vital ocean system, referenced by some as the Earth's "cardiovascular system," is shifting and contributing to flooding events. CNN reported that a new study, published in mid-May by Science Advances, showed that from 2005 to 2022 the U.S. Northeast experienced up to eight days of flooding annually due to sea level changes driven by a slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. This means roughly 20% to 50% of total flooding events at monitored sites could be linked to the weakening AMOC. While extreme weather like flooding has always occurred, human activities are intensifying it. As a 2024 post from the Union of Concerned Scientists explained, human activity has caused temperatures to rise globally, melting ice sheets and dumping huge amounts of freshwater into the North Atlantic. "Because of this," according to the UCS, "the ocean waters in the north are less salty and less dense than before," upending delicately balanced circulation patterns. Less dense and warmer water takes up greater space, leading sea levels to rise along with the temperatures. This research is part of a growing body of work demonstrating how a weakening AMOC can strengthen flooding events. Higher sea levels can supercharge floods and storm surges, causing powerful waters to reach further inland. They can also make flooding more frequent by setting the baseline much closer to flood status — just as a mostly full glass of water is more likely to spill over with just a little added on top. Study co-author Liping Zhang, who is also a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told CNN that flooding in the Northeast coastal states can "reshape the coastal environment … (and) poses threats to both lives and infrastructure in coastal regions." That could mean sudden basement floods in homes never before prone to such issues or washed-out roads delaying commutes and cutting off vital services to those in need. Public works and recreational areas could also sustain dangerous and costly destruction, threatening human health and safety too. Do you think your city has good air quality? Definitely Somewhat Depends on the time of year Not at all Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Such hazards could end up forcing some residents and even whole communities to relocate, with marginalized populations facing disproportionate impacts. High sea levels can also displace barrier islands and critically damage wildlife habitats. The NOAA has called for a cost-effective and enhanced observation network across the Atlantic Ocean to spot where AMOC changes originate. Meanwhile, experts at a January 2025 JPI Climate meeting agreed to complete a report covering potential tipping points, consequences, and mitigation strategies. Research like this new study can arm experts with the information they need to understand the coming dangers and plan for how to help communities counter and navigate them. In the U.S., efforts to prevent Northeast flooding are underway, including marsh restoration and flood resilience initiatives. Eco-friendly practices could help limit further disruption of the AMOC by mitigating temperature rise, and one option for homeowners is to reduce the production of heat-trapping pollution by leveraging a clean, renewable source like solar energy. Installing solar panels together with a battery system comes with added benefits, like ensuring a home's access to power in the wake of weather-related grid outages and significantly lowering energy bills. Resources like the free tool from EnergySage can also help residents compare vetted local installers, with the potential to save homeowners up to $10,000. Helping whole communities to learn about the benefits of cleaner options can multiply the effect and galvanize actions close to home with the possibility of far-reaching impacts. Organizing local walking and biking groups, for example, and supporting public transit can help cut back on planet-warming gases. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
