Global wildfires burned an area of land larger than India in 2024
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“Extreme” wildfires emitted more than 8bn tonnes of carbon dioxide during the 2024-25 “global fire season”, according to a new report. The annual “state of wildfires” report from an international team of scientists finds that fires burned at least 3.7m square kilometres of land – an area larger than India – between March 2024 and […]
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Blending neuroscience, AI, and music to create mental health innovations
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Computational neuroscientist and singer/songwriter Kimaya (Kimy) Lecamwasam, who also plays electric bass and guitar, says music has been a core part of her life for as long as she can remember. She grew up in a musical family and played in bands all through high school. “For most of my life, writing and playing music […]
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Remembering Professor Emerita Jeanne Shapiro Bamberger, a pioneer in music education
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MIT Music and Theater Arts fondly remembers the legacy of Professor Emerita Jeanne Shapiro Bamberger, who passed away peacefully at home in Berkeley, California, of natural causes on Dec. 12, 2024 at the age of 100. For three decades at the Institute, Bamberger found ways to use computers to engage students and help them learn music. […]
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Apple backs 650 MW wind and solar build in Europe
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The group’s renewable energy projects include the newly operational Castaño solar array in Spain. New solar and wind projects will add 650 MW of renewable energy capacity to European electrical grids, “to match the electricity European customers use to power Apple products”, as the consumer electronics giant framed the move, announced on 14 October. The […]
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Analysis: Only half of Chinese provinces finalise key ‘Document 136’ renewable rules
Only half of China’s provinces have finalised new rules for pricing wind and solar power, according to Carbon Brief analysis. Local governments are required to have published final plans to reform the way wind and solar power is priced in their jurisdiction before the end of this year. This follows the release of a central […]
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Scottish Green Energy Awards announces 2025 shortlist
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The awards ceremony will take place in Edinburgh on 4 December. The Scottish Green Energy Awards has announced (on 10 October) the 2025 shortlist for this annual celebration of the renewable energy industry. This year’s awards, organised by industry body Scottish Renewables, will bring together more than 1,650 guests from across the energy spectrum to […]
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From Crisis to Care: Narratives of Repair in the Cordilleras
The reality of L&D is increasingly being recognized in international climate negotiations, academic discourses, and policymaking. Although mitigation strategies and adaptation efforts are being implemented on various scales and in diverse forms around the world, the devastating impacts of the warming climate are already being experienced by numerous communities. Unfortunately, it is historically marginalized sectors […]
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Optimizing food subsidies: Applying digital platforms to maximize nutrition
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Oct. 16 is World Food Day, a global campaign to celebrate the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization 80 years ago, and to work toward a healthy, sustainable, food-secure future. More than 670 million people in the world are facing hunger. Millions of others are facing rising obesity rates and struggle to get healthy […]
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Checking the quality of materials just got easier with a new AI tool
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Manufacturing better batteries, faster electronics, and more effective pharmaceuticals depends on the discovery of new materials and the verification of their quality. Artificial intelligence is helping with the former, with tools that comb through catalogs of materials to quickly tag promising candidates. But once a material is made, verifying its quality still involves scanning it […]
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Helping scientists run complex data analyses without writing code
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As costs for diagnostic and sequencing technologies have plummeted in recent years, researchers have collected an unprecedented amount of data around disease and biology. Unfortunately, scientists hoping to go from data to new cures often require help from someone with experience in software engineering. Now, Watershed Bio is helping scientists and bioinformaticians run experiments and […]
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‘The Scope of Climate Reparation Claims at Future COPs and Beyond’
Climate change is a common concern for humankind. The physical changes in the climate system have devastating impacts on human and natural ecosystems—for example, loss of ecosystems, forced human mobility and displacement, etc. While everyone is impacted to some extent, those living in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) or Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are facing […]
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Hydrogen blending into the high-pressure gas grid marks a UK first
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Hydrogen has been blended into the National Transmission System (NTS), the UK’s high-pressure gas grid, for the first time in a trial completed on 9 October by Centrica (the parent company of British Gas) and National Gas (the operator of the NTS). The trial involved National Gas injecting a 2% blend of green hydrogen into […]
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The Inter-American Court of Human Rights and Climate Justice: The Case for a Race-Conscious Jurisprudence on Climate Reparations
On January 9, 2023, Chile and Colombia requested an advisory opinion from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) regarding the human rights obligations of States in the context of climate change. In response to the Court’s request for amici curiae briefs, three academic researchers and I, on behalf of McGill University’s Faculty of Law […]
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Cap-and-trade preferable to landfill bans, says report by European waste NGO
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A new policy briefing from Zero Waste Europe (ZWE)1 urges the EU to move beyond narrow landfill bans and adopt a cap-and-trade system to cut residual waste under the upcoming Circular Economy Act (CEA). The report, Cap-and-trade on residuals: Proposals for a Circular Economy Act, warns that focusing solely on landfill restrictions risks shifting waste […]
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Northumbrian Water appoints installation partner for smart metering programme
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United Infrastructure and NW Smart Metering personnel. Northumbrian Water has appointed United Infrastructure as its installation partner for a major smart meter transformation programme across the North East of England. Under a three-year contract, with an option to extend for five years, United Infrastructure will help Northumbrian Water install 750,000 smart meters, moving toward a […]
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Pathways to a circular plastic future: RECOUP conference explores options
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The RECOUP Conference was held at the KingsGate Conference Centre in Peterborough on 25 September. The annual conference held by recycling charity RECOUP brought together a range of voices from packaging, recycling, finance, and policy to examine how groups in the UK, and beyond, can move closer to true plastic circularity. (Words: RECOUP). Opening the […]
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Largest UK Dieselgate case begins as campaigners say public no longer trust car makers
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The biggest ever class action in the UK begins today (13 October), issuing a call for diesel cars across the industry to be investigated and recalled because of fears they are cheating diesel emissions tests. It is being brought by law firm Leigh Day, with support from parents and campaign groups, including Mums for Lungs, […]
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Flooding victims need single trusted line to expert help and clear accountability, MPs recommend
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A flooded river bank in Windsor during winter floods in 2014. The Government must set up a single national flood reporting and information service to prevent homes and livelihoods being exposed, a cross-party Committee of MPs has warned. In its report published on 13 October, the cross-party Environmental Audit Committee warns many communities still do […]