A paint that reduces surface temperature

An innovation that fits under the category of trying to cope with the hotter weather brought on by climate change … A team from the University of Colorado “has developed a passive radiative cooling plastic film.”  This new material, applied as paint to an existing outdoor surface, “could drop cooling costs by up to 15% in some climates.”  Air conditioning accounts for some 17% of…

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Clues to deception; who is telling the truth?

In a highly-cited study from 2003, DePaulo, et al. investigated if “people behave in discernibly different ways when they are lying compared with when they are telling the truth.”  The quest for determining consistent and obvious behavioral cues for deception is longstanding.  In the virtual world we live in today, separating falsehoods from the the truth is even more important. Through a review and analysis…

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Migration due to climate change is already happening in the United States

With more frequent and stronger hurricanes, torrential and extended rainfall, expanding wildfires, increasing heat, inexorable sea level rise, and more, climate migration is already happening in the United States.  “The population shift gathering pace is so sprawling that it may rival anything in U.S. history.” “By the end of this century, sea level rise alone could displace 13 million people, including 6 million in Florida.”…

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Microplastic pollution can be spread by mosquitoes

“There is little doubt that plastic and microplastic pollution is a major environmental concern globally.”  Mosquito larvae, living in ponds and puddles, tend to eat everything in sight (that is small enough for them to ingest) and that includes miniscule pieces of plastic that are present in their environment. Not only do the larvae ingest the plastic, but a recent study found that “microplastics can…

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Using recycled plastic for building roads

As we already know, very little plastic is actually recycled.  “The vast majority ends up being dumped, most of it in landfills.”  Much plastic also ends up as litter, a portion of that gets into waterways and washes out to sea.  The vast amount of plastic fouling the oceans and the many problems it causes is well-documented. Bitumen is a substance that is used to…

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Climate change is impacting airports and air travel

Another impact of climate change–“a quarter of the world’s 100 busiest airports are less than 10 meters/32 feet above sea level.”  “12 of those airports–including hubs in Shanghai, Rome, San Francisco, and New York–are less than 5 meters above sea level.” This makes these airports–and significant amounts of world air traffic–especially vulnerable to rising sea levels and extreme weather. The Kansai International Airport, built on…

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