#environmental research

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

RFK Jr. Vowed to Find the Environmental Causes of Autism. Then He Shut Down Research Trying to Do Just That.

While touting a $50 million initiative to identify the causes of autism, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is helping lead an administration that is rol

[evergreen-pumpkin]

the irony of being forced to use AI at my natural sciences job... I literally told the head researcher that I'd actually prefer to do all the work myself rather than use AI, but she told me no. This is a temporary, part-time job... But after being out of work for so long, I have to take whatever I can get, so here we are. My streak of having never used AI has now ended and I feel so dirty

[transcendragon]

Urban Heat Island Survey

The following is a short survey to determine general knowledge of the Urban Heat Island Effect in the United States. The estimated time to complete it is 5-10 minutes. This survey is from a small group of graduate students at Indiana University Bloomington for a class project. It is not sponsored research. Privacy Note: for this survey, your email will be collected. This will be used to send one follow-up email and then your contact will be deleted from our records. No personal or identifying information in this survey will be shared. All responses will be kept anonymous in the results. This survey will be open from March 31 to April 7 of 2021.

As part of a class project I’m a part of, we’re releasing a survey.  It only takes 5-10 minutes. Getting participation is crucial and I’d really appreciate it if you’d take it if you have the time. Whether or not you can take it, please feel free to share with others! 

[pinoyscientists]

Meet Michael Arieh Medina, environmental researcher

1) What do you do?

I work as an assistant professor of environmental science at the Department of Environmental Science - College of Forestry and Environmental Science in Central Mindanao University, an agricultural state university in Mindanao, Philippines.

Half of my workload involves teaching courses under our BS in Environmental Science and MS in Environmental Management degree programs. Specifically, I teach courses in environmental systems modeling and simulation, corporate environmental management, program monitoring and evaluation, and environmental resource governance, among others-- in both the undergraduate and graduate programs offered by our department.

My research focuses on topics in line with climate change adaptation and mitigation and climate-related disaster risk reduction and management. In general, my scientific work is geared towards the development of community-level initiatives in mitigating climate change as well as the promotion of climate resilience in marginalized communities.

2) Where do you work?

Central Mindanao University (CMU), was built by Americans in 1910 as an agricultural elementary school in Bukidnon, Philippines and was later transformed into a university in 1965. I live within the university campus with my family amidst the distinct blend of academic and rural life.

I am a faculty member of the College of Forestry and Environmental Science (CFES), one of the nine colleges in CMU. CFES has been awarded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as Center of Excellence in Forestry Education and also as Center of Development in Environmental Science.

3) Tell us about the photos!

[Left:] In one of our extension programs in Lake Apo, Valencia City, Bukidnon, I talked to farmers about the consequences of climate change on the agricultural sector and how they can counteract its effects through existing adaptation technologies.

[Right:] Though a lot of my time is taken up by university work, I always try to make up for lost family time. This was taken during one of our family outings.

4) Tell us about your academic career path so far.

I am a product of Catholic education in both my elementary and high school years from the Immaculate Heart of Mary Academy in Mati, Davao Oriental. I have an undergraduate degree in environmental science from CMU. After completing a Master’s degree in Environmental Planning at the University of Mindanao (UM), I took up a doctorate degree in Development Research Administration at the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP). 

I consider myself lucky to have an academically-diverse field of discipline. I practically stand at the interface between the biophysical sciences and the social sciences. This gives me a wider perspective on our current environmental problems and heightens my insights on what scientific solutions can be applied to address it.

5) Anything else you’d like to share?

I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, so it’s not unusual that I am a fan of alternative music. I’m not ashamed to say that I got emotional when I found out that Kurt Cobain died and that the Eraserheads disbanded. Deep inside, I still long to play in a band and write rock song lyrics instead of scientific articles. 

[rjzimmerman]

What Could We Lose if a NASA Climate Mission Goes Dark?

Researchers are racing to replace the pioneering Grace satellites, which are threatened by both dying batteries and Trump-era budget cuts.

Long article, but worth the read. Particularly if we’re honestly concerned about trump and republican proposed cuts to science and technology budget cuts affecting NOAA and NASA.

Excerpt:

Grace’s two spacecraft have been circling Earth every 90 minutes for the past 15 years at an altitude of 300 miles or so. On a dark, clear night, you can sometimes look up and see them for a brief moment: two bright, blurry dots, rushing by at a velocity of about 17,200 miles per hour. They chase each other around the sky, one pursuing the other like cat and mouse (hence their nicknames, Tom and Jerry). By monitoring how their positions in space are affected by gravity, the scientists at NASA can draw a number of conclusions about what’s happening on Earth, especially to our freshwater resources.

Yet Grace also illustrates how tenuous the golden age of data really is. The two craft, which were launched in 2002, were originally expected to orbit the planet for five years. They are now dying, and in fact the batteries on one of the satellites are so depleted that it periodically goes to sleep. Since 2010, NASA has been planning and building replacements, and if all goes well, they will be in orbit early next year. But if Grace goes dark or perishes before then, there will be a break in NASA’s continuous observation of Earth’s gravity field and water dynamics. Climate researchers will be confronted with what’s known as a “data gap,” which can leave them at a loss for drawing scientific conclusions about environmental trends.

The White House asked that NASA drop four climate-related missions in its Earth-sciences division, which accounts for about 10 percent of NASA’s $19 billion annual budget. It also unveiled a plan to cut 18 percent from NOAA’s annual spending on satellites, which would force a huge reduction in the agency’s climate work.

At this point, an ax has been sharpened but not yet swung. In the coming weeks, as the 2018 budget is debated in Congress, the two chambers will try to work out a deal. If the House gets its way — it has mostly endorsed the White House plan and calls for reducing NASA’s Earth-sciences budget by $217 million, while the Senate has proposed restoring the cuts — missions will most likely be scuttled and holes will open in the data-collection records. Even if our science agencies avoid the worst, however, the Trump administration’s intent to slash funding on technology that helps make planetary surveys possible — much of it obscure to the public — signals an embattled future for this type of research.

[greenfue]

باحثون يحذرون: إطارات السيارات مصدر خفي لتلوث التربة والمحاصيل الزراعية دراسة جديدة تكشف أن جزيئات متآكلة من إطارات السيارات تطلق مواد كيميائية تتسرب إلى التربة وتصل إلى المحاصيل الغذائية.... https://greenfue.com/%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%ad%d8%ab%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d8%b0%d8%b1%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%a5%d8%b7%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d9%85%d8%b5%d8%af%d8%b1-%d8%ae%d9%81/

باحثون يحذرون: إطارات السيارات مصدر خفي لتلوث التربة والمحاصيل الزراعية

[greenfue]

ضوضاء المرور ليلًا ترتبط بارتفاع الكوليسترول ودهون الدم

ضوضاء المرور ليلًا ترتبط بارتفاع الكوليسترول ودهون الدم