Environmental News Bits

Environmental News Bits

@envnewsbits.bsky.social

Browsing environmental news so you don't have to.

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Environmental News Bits
@envnewsbits.bsky.social

New public Zotero group: As Seen on Environmental News Bits I've created a public Zotero group that includes all publications and tools posted on Environmental News Bits (starting with 2023). Click the Group Library link at the top of the group page to see all entries to date. The collection is…

envnewsbits.infoNew public Zotero group: As Seen on Environmental News BitsI've created a public Zotero group that includes all publications and tools posted on Environmental News Bits (starting with 2023). Click the Group Library link at the top of the group page to see all entries to date. The collection is organized into folders for each posting year. I intend to compile the 2026 citations into a PDF bibliography, which will be available in early 2027.
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Ancient buffalo DNA lays out a roadmap to rehabilitating healthy herds Read the full story at Anthropocene Magazine. The North American plains bison stands as a symbol of both rampant devastation wrought by colonizing powers and of the potential to bring a species back from the brink of…

envnewsbits.infoAncient buffalo DNA lays out a roadmap to rehabilitating healthy herdsRead the full story at Anthropocene Magazine. The North American plains bison stands as a symbol of both rampant devastation wrought by colonizing powers and of the potential to bring a species back from the brink of extinction. The legacy of that destruction, and the promise and perils of the recovery, are indelibly etched in the DNA of the survivors and their ancestors, according to…
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What a data center developer’s community benefits agreement could mean for McLean County Read the full story from WGLT. In communities like those in McLean County, a community benefits agreement may either be a tool to hold data centers accountable or a list of empty promises. A community benefits…

envnewsbits.infoWhat a data center developer’s community benefits agreement could mean for McLean CountyRead the full story from WGLT. In communities like those in McLean County, a community benefits agreement may either be a tool to hold data centers accountable or a list of empty promises. A community benefits agreement is a document which can legally require data centers to commit to the investment of specific projects, programs or upgrades within a community.
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In a first, probiotics helped real coral survive a real heatwave Read the full story at Anthropocene Magazine. Probiotics are a popular dietary supplement, promising to boost people’s health by populating their guts with healthy microbes. People trying to help coral endure heatwaves might soon be…

envnewsbits.infoIn a first, probiotics helped real coral survive a real heatwaveRead the full story at Anthropocene Magazine. Probiotics are a popular dietary supplement, promising to boost people’s health by populating their guts with healthy microbes. People trying to help coral endure heatwaves might soon be reaching for something similar. Infusions of a special probiotic cocktail helped coral stay healthier as they stewed in overheated water in the Red Sea near Saudi Arabia, scientists…
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U.S. companies are dropping climate targets, Harvard data reveals Read the full story at Trellis. The number of U.S. companies with climate targets peaked in 2022 and has fallen since, according to a newly released database compiled by Harvard University researchers. Estimates of corporate climate…

envnewsbits.infoU.S. companies are dropping climate targets, Harvard data revealsRead the full story at Trellis. The number of U.S. companies with climate targets peaked in 2022 and has fallen since, according to a newly released database compiled by Harvard University researchers. Estimates of corporate climate action often report growth in the number of companies setting goals — the Science Based Targets initiative, for instance, said earlier this year that it had validated its 10,000th pledge, with companies in close to 100 countries participating.
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Biologists compete over North America’s largest crayfish Read the full story from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. When Caitlin Bloomer wrestled the massive Crawzilla crawdad — yes, that’s its actual common name — out of the muck during a bio-survey event in Kentucky, she was convinced…

envnewsbits.infoBiologists compete over North America’s largest crayfishRead the full story from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. When Caitlin Bloomer wrestled the massive Crawzilla crawdad — yes, that’s its actual common name — out of the muck during a bio-survey event in Kentucky, she was convinced it was the largest crayfish ever recorded. “I thought, ‘There's no doubt I have caught the biggest crayfish anyone's ever seen!’ I brought it back to campus to show my colleague, naturally bragging about having caught the biggest-ever crayfish.
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Packaging design in low- and middle-income countries Download the paper. The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Plastic Waste Coalition of Action has today released a paper showing how packaging design changes can improve recycling outcomes, reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in the…

envnewsbits.infoPackaging design in low- and middle-income countriesDownload the paper. The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Plastic Waste Coalition of Action has today released a paper showing how packaging design changes can improve recycling outcomes, reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in the environment and raise living standards for sector workers in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).
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Conduct regulation for artificial intelligence: Why the U.S. should learn from China Werbach, K. (2026). Conduct regulation for artificial intelligence: Why the U.S. should learn from China. SSRN. Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) systems increasingly make decisions, mediate transactions, and…

envnewsbits.infoConduct regulation for artificial intelligence: Why the U.S. should learn from ChinaWerbach, K. (2026). Conduct regulation for artificial intelligence: Why the U.S. should learn from China. SSRN. Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) systems increasingly make decisions, mediate transactions, and sustain relationships with people. It has been evident for years that such systems generate significant harms, including discrimination, privacy violations, deception, and psychological injury. Yet the U.S. has failed to adopt any AI regulation at the national level, and state laws are patchy even if they survive federal preemption attempts.
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New device captures carbon dioxide by pumping it across a battery Read the full story at Ars Technica. Equipment to capture carbon dioxide from ambient air or smokestacks generally works through a sort of reversible filter. Air is passed through granules or a liquid that absorbs the CO2, then that…

envnewsbits.infoNew device captures carbon dioxide by pumping it across a batteryRead the full story at Ars Technica. Equipment to capture carbon dioxide from ambient air or smokestacks generally works through a sort of reversible filter. Air is passed through granules or a liquid that absorbs the CO2, then that CO2-loaded substance undergoes a process (usually heating) that causes it to let go of all that CO2. The resulting gas can be collected in a separated stream.
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A border town’s drinking water hangs in the balance of a proposed U.S. mine Read the full story at Circle of Blue. The Trump administration’s push for mining near the Boundary Waters at the international border is stalled for now. But north of the border, opponents are still wondering when Canada…

envnewsbits.infoA border town’s drinking water hangs in the balance of a proposed U.S. mineRead the full story at Circle of Blue. The Trump administration’s push for mining near the Boundary Waters at the international border is stalled for now. But north of the border, opponents are still wondering when Canada will step in.
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Clothes that cool you, warm you—and make power as you move Read the full story from Anthropocene Magazine. In a world of rising temperatures and growing energy needs, a new material made by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign could be just the answer. The printable…

envnewsbits.infoClothes that cool you, warm you—and make power as you moveRead the full story from Anthropocene Magazine. In a world of rising temperatures and growing energy needs, a new material made by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign could be just the answer. The printable textile cools while also generating electricity by harvesting energy from human motion. The advance paves the way toward smart fabrics that can keep people cool while also reducing the need for external power sources.
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In global first, a next-gen geothermal plant goes live at utility scale Read the full story at Canary Media. The geothermal startup Fervo Energy is now selling power to the grid from its Cape Station project in Utah — marking the first time a utility-scale, next-generation geothermal facility has…

envnewsbits.infoIn global first, a next-gen geothermal plant goes live at utility scaleRead the full story at Canary Media. The geothermal startup Fervo Energy is now selling power to the grid from its Cape Station project in Utah — marking the first time a utility-scale, next-generation geothermal facility has achieved such a feat worldwide. The Houston-based firm turned on an initial 33-megawatt unit late last week and has been testing and ramping up output since then. On Thursday, Fervo will officially begin commercial operations, supplying carbon-free electricity to Shell Energy, a retail power provider in California.
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Champaign County Board members can no longer sign NDAs regarding county business Read the full story from Illinois Public Media. Champaign County Board members are officially barred from signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) regarding county business. The unanimous vote approving the ordinance…

envnewsbits.infoChampaign County Board members can no longer sign NDAs regarding county businessRead the full story from Illinois Public Media. Champaign County Board members are officially barred from signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) regarding county business. The unanimous vote approving the ordinance took place at the county board meeting Thursday night. Effective immediately, county board members are barred from signing NDAs regarding any county business, except when dealing with confidential information or legal settlements.
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A scuff on your bag, a dent in your mug – and suddenly it feels like time for a new one Would this bother you? 500px/Getty Images by Rebecca Walker Reczek, The Ohio State University; Aprajita Gautam, Texas A&M University, and Rajagopal Raghunathan, The University of Texas at Austin Imagine you…

envnewsbits.infoA scuff on your bag, a dent in your mug – and suddenly it feels like time for a new oneWould this bother you? 500px/Getty Images by Rebecca Walker Reczek, The Ohio State University; Aprajita Gautam, Texas A&M University, and Rajagopal Raghunathan, The University of Texas at Austin Imagine you have a bag you really like. It felt like “the one” when you bought it. Over time, it starts to look worn. There are some scuffs on it.
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This U of I environmental scientist hopes his research will help farmers build sustainable practices Read the full story from Illinois Public Media. Research on climate and the environment, fueled by mathematical modeling and artificial intelligence, could help scientists understand how climate…

envnewsbits.infoThis U of I environmental scientist hopes his research will help farmers build sustainable practicesRead the full story from Illinois Public Media. Research on climate and the environment, fueled by mathematical modeling and artificial intelligence, could help scientists understand how climate change will impact agriculture, crop production and everyday life. That’s according to Kaiyu Guan, an environmental scientist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who was recently named a 2026 MacArthur fellow — one of 20 scientists who will receive $800,000 over the next five years to help fund their research.
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AI slop coming to a library near you Read the full story at Inside Higher Ed. Truth is, university faculty and librarians interact infrequently, perhaps to wrangle obscure research material or to provide newbies with a library introduction. But now that collaboration must deepen on behalf of…

envnewsbits.infoAI slop coming to a library near youRead the full story at Inside Higher Ed. Truth is, university faculty and librarians interact infrequently, perhaps to wrangle obscure research material or to provide newbies with a library introduction. But now that collaboration must deepen on behalf of anyone who cares about authentic knowledge. As a faculty member at the University of California, Irvine, I was recently shocked to learn that AI slop had breached our carefully curated—and expensive—library holdings.
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Companies may be held liable when AI harms their clients and customers When AI messes up on a tax return or in a court filing, it’s no laughing matter. DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images by Sarah Webber, University of Dayton and Kaitlin Newkirk, Xavier University Artificial intelligence has moved…

envnewsbits.infoCompanies may be held liable when AI harms their clients and customersWhen AI messes up on a tax return or in a court filing, it’s no laughing matter. DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images by Sarah Webber, University of Dayton and Kaitlin Newkirk, Xavier University Artificial intelligence has moved quickly from a novelty on the job to a common workplace tool. Gallup found that 52% of U.S. employees and 68% of professional services workers were using AI by February 2026.
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Webinar: Data Centers in Champaign County: What’s at Stake? Oct. 28, 2026, 7-8 pm CTJoin the Zoom meeting on October 28 or view the recording afterwards Andrew Rehn, Climate Policy Director at Prairie Rivers Network and a member of the Data Center Task Force, will discuss what a large data center…

envnewsbits.infoWebinar: Data Centers in Champaign County: What’s at Stake?Oct. 28, 2026, 7-8 pm CTJoin the Zoom meeting on October 28 or view the recording afterwards Andrew Rehn, Climate Policy Director at Prairie Rivers Network and a member of the Data Center Task Force, will discuss what a large data center could mean for Champaign County and how the latest proposed zoning regulations could mitigate or discourage the construction of large data centers locally. Join us for this timely discussion. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Champaign County.
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Wendell Berry’s water Intelligence Read the full story at Circle of Blue. In the shadow of wooded hills near the confluence of the Kentucky and Ohio rivers is Lanes Landing, the 125-acre farm where Wendell Berry tended the land and published the most trenchant appeals in American letters to tame…

envnewsbits.infoWendell Berry’s water IntelligenceRead the full story at Circle of Blue. In the shadow of wooded hills near the confluence of the Kentucky and Ohio rivers is Lanes Landing, the 125-acre farm where Wendell Berry tended the land and published the most trenchant appeals in American letters to tame the damage from industrial agriculture.
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How earlier toilet training could help stem the tide of plastic waste Read the full story at Anthropocene Magazine. Kids leave diapers behind nearly a year later than they did in the 1950s. With 300,000 disposable diapers tossed every minute, a new study maps three ways out. See also Porte, E., &…

envnewsbits.infoHow earlier toilet training could help stem the tide of plastic wasteRead the full story at Anthropocene Magazine. Kids leave diapers behind nearly a year later than they did in the 1950s. With 300,000 disposable diapers tossed every minute, a new study maps three ways out. See also Porte, E., & Miodownik, M. (2026). Research priorities for addressing global absorbent hygiene product waste. Nature Sustainability, 9(10), 1512–1516.
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Is my chatbot poisoned by disinformation? Read the full story from the Columbia Journalism Review. Q: I’ve heard that chatbots can be “poisoned” by fake facts, sometimes spread by influence campaigns or other nefarious sources. What can journalists do about that?

envnewsbits.infoIs my chatbot poisoned by disinformation?Read the full story from the Columbia Journalism Review. Q: I’ve heard that chatbots can be “poisoned” by fake facts, sometimes spread by influence campaigns or other nefarious sources. What can journalists do about that?
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Grant supports geothermal planning for Chicago neighborhood Read the full story from the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Prairie Research Institute researchers are partnering on a grant-funded project to develop a community geothermal energy plan for…

envnewsbits.infoGrant supports geothermal planning for Chicago neighborhoodRead the full story from the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Prairie Research Institute researchers are partnering on a grant-funded project to develop a community geothermal energy plan for Trumbull Park Homes on the south side of Chicago. The Illinois Finance Authority, in its role as the Illinois Climate Bank, recently announced $731,575 in Community Geothermal Planning Grant awards to three organizations advancing innovative, community-scale geothermal heating and cooling projects across Illinois: City of Vandalia, Elevate, and Oak Park Residence Corporation.
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Budding food scrap businesses want your coffee grounds and eggshells Read the full story in the Los Angeles Times. Every Monday, Ricky Blanding drives his Ford Ranger pickup truck around Detroit along a carefully planned route. Blanding hops in and out of the truck, grabbing buckets of food scraps…

envnewsbits.infoBudding food scrap businesses want your coffee grounds and eggshellsRead the full story in the Los Angeles Times. Every Monday, Ricky Blanding drives his Ford Ranger pickup truck around Detroit along a carefully planned route. Blanding hops in and out of the truck, grabbing buckets of food scraps from porches and restaurants, piling those scraps into bins in the truck bed and driving them to a composting site. Blanding is the CEO of Scrap Soils, one of the many budding food waste collection services across the country helping to divert food from landfills and make composting more accessible.
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What large venues and waste pros are saying about the shift to sustainable cups and plates Read the full story at Waste360. A single U.S. sports stadium can burn through tens of thousands of single-use plastic cups per showdown. Combined with the mountains of foodservice ware and other concession…

envnewsbits.infoWhat large venues and waste pros are saying about the shift to sustainable cups and platesRead the full story at Waste360. A single U.S. sports stadium can burn through tens of thousands of single-use plastic cups per showdown. Combined with the mountains of foodservice ware and other concession debris, game day leaves behind an avalanche of trash. To curb this massive footprint, eco-conscious venues are swapping traditional plastics for recyclable, compostable, and reusable alternatives. With a dizzying array of materials and designs to choose from, they weigh environmental, economic, and operational factors to find the best fit.
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Over 90% of common household items contain hazardous plastic chemicals Read the full story from CNN. Nearly 93% of known plastic chemicals used to wrap food and make clothes, toys, and other common household and personal care products pose a high risk to human health, according to a new…

envnewsbits.infoOver 90% of common household items contain hazardous plastic chemicalsRead the full story from CNN. Nearly 93% of known plastic chemicals used to wrap food and make clothes, toys, and other common household and personal care products pose a high risk to human health, according to a new investigation provided exclusively to CNN. Potential health harms include cancer, genetic changes, and endocrine, reproductive and organ toxicity, said Naima Fenderl, lead author of “Poison Plastics: How Chemicals in Everyday Plastics are Harming Your Health,” released Wednesday. See also Fenderl, N. (2026). Poison plastics: How chemicals in everyday plastics are harming your health. Environmental Justice Foundation.
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The little girl with the radioactive backyard Read the full story in the New York Times (gift article). The little blue ranch house in Niagara, N.Y., was supposed to be a suburban oasis for Ms. Hawk, 24, and her partner, Trevor Bradley, 26. They had lived much of their lives in the toxic minefield…

envnewsbits.infoThe little girl with the radioactive backyardRead the full story in the New York Times (gift article). The little blue ranch house in Niagara, N.Y., was supposed to be a suburban oasis for Ms. Hawk, 24, and her partner, Trevor Bradley, 26. They had lived much of their lives in the toxic minefield of nearby Niagara Falls, a small city where Love Canal — the site of perhaps America’s most…
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The cognitive bias behind bad climate math Read the full story at Anthropocene Magazine. Before people can reduce their carbon footprint, they need to know what actions will most help them do so. Research has shown that this domain of knowledge, known as “carbon competence,” is relatively low…

envnewsbits.infoThe cognitive bias behind bad climate mathRead the full story at Anthropocene Magazine. Before people can reduce their carbon footprint, they need to know what actions will most help them do so. Research has shown that this domain of knowledge, known as “carbon competence,” is relatively low among the general public. But until recently there hasn’t been much investigation of why, or how to improve it.
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Meta tries to scapegoat staff who downloaded torrents to spare execs Read the full story at Ars Technica. In copyright lawsuits over AI training, Meta has spent weeks blaming staff for downloading torrents. The company has now been ordered to name executives who authorized decisions to pirate…

envnewsbits.infoMeta tries to scapegoat staff who downloaded torrents to spare execsRead the full story at Ars Technica. In copyright lawsuits over AI training, Meta has spent weeks blaming staff for downloading torrents. The company has now been ordered to name executives who authorized decisions to pirate books from shadow libraries like Anna’s Archive and LibGen, TorrentFreak reported. In a discovery order impacting a class action raised by book authors—including Richard Kadrey and Sarah Silverman—as well as a lawsuit from publisher Entrepreneur Media, Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixon largely agreed that Meta must clearly identify key decision-makers.
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The fix for EV battery waste isn’t recycling. It’s geography. Read the full story at Anthropocene Magazine. An integrated, nationwide system for recycling and reusing old EV batteries could save 6.1 billion tons of carbon emissions and 3.9 trillion Chinese Yuan over 30 years, according to a new…

envnewsbits.infoThe fix for EV battery waste isn’t recycling. It’s geography.Read the full story at Anthropocene Magazine. An integrated, nationwide system for recycling and reusing old EV batteries could save 6.1 billion tons of carbon emissions and 3.9 trillion Chinese Yuan over 30 years, according to a new study. The savings depend on resolving a conceptually simple but logistically profound problem: a geographic mismatch between where old batteries get switched out of EVs and where they could be reused.
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How to stick up for renewable energy projects near you Read the full story at Canary Media. Showing up at local government hearings to support a proposed wind, solar, or battery project could be the most effective climate action you ever take. See also Canary Media's series Power Struggle:…

envnewsbits.infoHow to stick up for renewable energy projects near youRead the full story at Canary Media. Showing up at local government hearings to support a proposed wind, solar, or battery project could be the most effective climate action you ever take. See also Canary Media's series Power Struggle: Building Clean Energy in Rural America.
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Fashioning the future of our environment: Social impact prediction (SIP) markets Saad, E., & Laufer, W. S. (2026). Fashioning the future of our environment: Social impact prediction (SIP) markets. SSRN. Abstract Environmental law runs on forecasts. Agencies predict outcomes under acknowledged…

envnewsbits.infoFashioning the future of our environment: Social impact prediction (SIP) marketsSaad, E., & Laufer, W. S. (2026). Fashioning the future of our environment: Social impact prediction (SIP) markets. SSRN. Abstract Environmental law runs on forecasts. Agencies predict outcomes under acknowledged uncertainty, courts review those predictions deferentially, and the field’s most consequential judgment is a single centralized estimate. Corporate environmental commitments sit in the same condition. They are asserted, rated by intermediaries that disagree with one another, and verified long after the period in which they mattered.
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Mushroom leather may finally be ready for mass production Read the full story at Anthropocene Magazine. Researchers in Finland have developed a way to make leather-like fabrics from fungi at large scale using industrial equipment. This is a key advance towards vegan plastic-free leather…

envnewsbits.infoMushroom leather may finally be ready for mass productionRead the full story at Anthropocene Magazine. Researchers in Finland have developed a way to make leather-like fabrics from fungi at large scale using industrial equipment. This is a key advance towards vegan plastic-free leather alternatives for the mass market. See also Ahokas, P., Arias-Barrantes, M., Valtonen, A., Kärkkäinen, E., Kunnari, V., Vikman, M., Mattila, H., Penttilä, M., & Szilvay, G. R. (2026). Production of mycelium-based nonwoven fabrics via submerged fermentation. ACS Applied Bio Materials, acsabm.6c00471.
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With help from data, art museums are reframing the visitor experience Read the full story at Ars Technica. Museums take this educational role seriously, and many institutions understand the need to sustain and broaden their appeal. “They used to be these big ivory towers of knowledge and history…

envnewsbits.infoWith help from data, art museums are reframing the visitor experienceRead the full story at Ars Technica. Museums take this educational role seriously, and many institutions understand the need to sustain and broaden their appeal. “They used to be these big ivory towers of knowledge and history and thought and art,” said Hilary Knight, director of Change& in London and former director of digital at Tate. “Museums themselves are changing their role to be centers for discussion and encounter and to be much more participatory.”
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What are data centers, and why do they need so much power? An expert explains Read the full story from the University of Chicago Energy Policy Research Institute. Americans are increasingly concerned about AI and data centers, and the impact of computing on climate change. A September poll by the…

envnewsbits.infoWhat are data centers, and why do they need so much power? An expert explainsRead the full story from the University of Chicago Energy Policy Research Institute. Americans are increasingly concerned about AI and data centers, and the impact of computing on climate change. A September poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago found that 53% are extremely or very concerned about the environmental impacts of AI—and that the majority of both Democrats and Republicans support policies including requiring data centers to use clean energy and pay for grid upgrades.
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Every expert we spoke to said storing your avocados this way is ruining them Read the full story at Food & Wine. Grabbing fresh avocados from the produce aisle is easy because they’re so versatile. Buy one for sandwiches, a second for guacamole, a third for pasta sauce — and in the blink of an…

envnewsbits.infoEvery expert we spoke to said storing your avocados this way is ruining themRead the full story at Food & Wine. Grabbing fresh avocados from the produce aisle is easy because they’re so versatile. Buy one for sandwiches, a second for guacamole, a third for pasta sauce — and in the blink of an eye, you have a half-dozen avocados in your kitchen. However, you may want to think twice before throwing them all into your refrigerator or setting them in your fruit bowl.
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Scientists make a seaweed coating that beats the fridge for cutting food waste Read the full story at Anthropocene Magazine. A self-assembling coating made from seaweed and zinc can keep fruit fresher and lasting longer than even the cool interior of a fridge. This invention, described in a new…

envnewsbits.infoScientists make a seaweed coating that beats the fridge for cutting food wasteRead the full story at Anthropocene Magazine. A self-assembling coating made from seaweed and zinc can keep fruit fresher and lasting longer than even the cool interior of a fridge. This invention, described in a new paper from a team of Canadian scientists, enabled even delicate strawberries to survive at room temperature for four days without molding. It strikes two sustainability targets at once: reducing food waste, and limiting dependence on carbon-intensive cold chains.
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The odd, tidy story of rabbit domestication that is also completely false Read the full story in Smithsonian Magazine. Few domesticated animals have as neat an origin story as the pet bunny. As the story goes, around 600 A.D. Pope Gregory the Great issued an edict declaring that rabbit fetuses,…

envnewsbits.infoThe odd, tidy story of rabbit domestication that is also completely falseRead the full story in Smithsonian Magazine. Few domesticated animals have as neat an origin story as the pet bunny. As the story goes, around 600 A.D. Pope Gregory the Great issued an edict declaring that rabbit fetuses, called laurices, were not meat but fish. This meant they could be eaten during Lent, a Christian period of repentance in preparation for the Easter holiday.
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Funding shortages and growing demand stall Illinois conservation efforts Read the full story at Investigate Midwest. After a temporary boost in state funding, the state’s 97 soil and water conservation districts are back to operating on tighter budgets, leaving employees searching for other ways…

envnewsbits.infoFunding shortages and growing demand stall Illinois conservation effortsRead the full story at Investigate Midwest. After a temporary boost in state funding, the state’s 97 soil and water conservation districts are back to operating on tighter budgets, leaving employees searching for other ways to help farmers protect their land.
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Medieval manuscripts are “biological time capsules” for deadly sheeppox virus Read the full story in Ars Technica. Sheeppox is a highly contagious, often fatal viral disease that was largely eradicated from much of European livestock in the 20th century. But there is still the occasional regional…

envnewsbits.infoMedieval manuscripts are “biological time capsules” for deadly sheeppox virusRead the full story in Ars Technica. Sheeppox is a highly contagious, often fatal viral disease that was largely eradicated from much of European livestock in the 20th century. But there is still the occasional regional outbreak, such as the one that afflicted many flocks of sheep in Greece last year. In order to reconstruct how the virus has evolved over the last 3,500 years, scientists extracted and sequenced sheeppox DNA preserved in the animal skins used for the parchment of numerous medieval manuscripts.
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Kroger bakery leftovers don’t get thrown out: here’s where they toss ’em instead Read the full story at The Takeout. Kroger's bakery department regularly churns out a variety of baked goods, from muffins and cookies to custom cakes and artisan breads, but have you ever wondered what happens to all…

envnewsbits.infoKroger bakery leftovers don’t get thrown out: here’s where they toss ’em insteadRead the full story at The Takeout. Kroger's bakery department regularly churns out a variety of baked goods, from muffins and cookies to custom cakes and artisan breads, but have you ever wondered what happens to all the unsold bread and pastries at the end of the day? It's easy to assume they all get thrown out and end up contributing to America's ballooning food waste problem, but fortunately this is not the case.
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Intensive farming may yield a bumper crop of drug-resistant pathogens Read the full story in Anthropocene Magazine. When people imagine the front line of antibiotic resistance, they may see a hospital where antibiotics are overprescribed, or a feed lot where cattle are pumped full of these drugs.…

envnewsbits.infoIntensive farming may yield a bumper crop of drug-resistant pathogensRead the full story in Anthropocene Magazine. When people imagine the front line of antibiotic resistance, they may see a hospital where antibiotics are overprescribed, or a feed lot where cattle are pumped full of these drugs. They probably won’t picture a cornfield. But a new study suggests that crop fields may be an important battleground for fighting antibiotic resistance. And the way we farm will decide who wins.
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When it comes to Beatles references, scientists can’t let it be Read the full story at Ars Technica. Scientists have an indisputable playful side, evidenced by frequent allusions to popular culture in their research publications. That includes popular song lyrics. And the most popular musical…

envnewsbits.infoWhen it comes to Beatles references, scientists can’t let it beRead the full story at Ars Technica. Scientists have an indisputable playful side, evidenced by frequent allusions to popular culture in their research publications. That includes popular song lyrics. And the most popular musical group, in terms of how frequently their songs and lyrics appear in the scientific literature, is The Beatles, according to a new paper published in the journal PLoS ONE.
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A dolphin named Bubbles makes fish vomit, then eats upchuck Read the full story at Ars Technica. Staff at the Lady Elliott Island Eco Resort off the southern Great Barrier Reef in Australia are well acquainted with the shenanigans of a male bottlenose dolphin they’ve nicknamed Bubbles. Bubbles has…

envnewsbits.infoA dolphin named Bubbles makes fish vomit, then eats upchuckRead the full story at Ars Technica. Staff at the Lady Elliott Island Eco Resort off the southern Great Barrier Reef in Australia are well acquainted with the shenanigans of a male bottlenose dolphin they’ve nicknamed Bubbles. Bubbles has been around since at least 2017 and regularly harasses local bigeye trevally, chasing a fish around and stressing it so much that the fish throws up what it has consumed.
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Lessons for the 21st century from a 200‑year‑old book by ‘Frankenstein’ author Mary Shelley What if there was just one person left on the planet? David Wall/Moment via Getty Images by Eileen Hunt, University of Notre Dame Even if you have never read it, you know the story of Mary Shelley’s second…

envnewsbits.infoLessons for the 21st century from a 200‑year‑old book by ‘Frankenstein’ author Mary ShelleyWhat if there was just one person left on the planet? David Wall/Moment via Getty Images by Eileen Hunt, University of Notre Dame Even if you have never read it, you know the story of Mary Shelley’s second great work of political science fiction after “Frankenstein.” “The Last Man,” published in 1826 but set in the late 21st century, tells the tale of a lethal contagion spread by human conflict and war that sweeps the world and seemingly leaves one sole human survivor.
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What kind of animal is Gonzo? Read the full story in Popular Science. In the 1981 film The Great Muppet Caper, the Muppets get shipped across the Atlantic in crates stenciled with the species inside. Kermit’s says FROG. Fozzie’s says BEAR. Gonzo’s says WHATEVER. If you’re unfamiliar, Gonzo is the…

envnewsbits.infoWhat kind of animal is Gonzo?Read the full story in Popular Science. In the 1981 film The Great Muppet Caper, the Muppets get shipped across the Atlantic in crates stenciled with the species inside. Kermit’s says FROG. Fozzie’s says BEAR. Gonzo’s says WHATEVER. If you’re unfamiliar, Gonzo is the blue one with the long drooping nose. He’s covered in fuzz, has a feathery tuft on his head, three fingers on each hand, and a girlfriend named Camilla, who is a…
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Meta’s new commercial terms will allow the scraping of news sites, legal experts say Read the full story at Nieman Lab. Meta can use web scrapers to crawl and collect content from websites “associated with” business accounts on its platforms, according to its new commercial terms of use. The…

envnewsbits.infoMeta’s new commercial terms will allow the scraping of news sites, legal experts sayRead the full story at Nieman Lab. Meta can use web scrapers to crawl and collect content from websites “associated with” business accounts on its platforms, according to its new commercial terms of use. The update, set to go into effect on October 30, will include news publishers with business accounts. These accounts allow companies or public figures to manage Facebook pages, Messenger accounts, Instagram profiles, or WhatsApp channels from one place.
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The lucrative world of literary scams Read the full story at The Dial. I’m not the only author to have found myself stuck in a Zoom book club with fake readers. Countless writers with published books have been receiving invitations from reading communities that start to unravel after a basic…

envnewsbits.infoThe lucrative world of literary scamsRead the full story at The Dial. I’m not the only author to have found myself stuck in a Zoom book club with fake readers. Countless writers with published books have been receiving invitations from reading communities that start to unravel after a basic Google search. As often happens with scams, most invitations sound too good to be true — thousands of members, incredible Goodreads clout, and, at times, something even more alluring for an author: a deep understanding of their book. Many authors spot red flags from the first email onward, but not all.
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‘It ain’t no unicorn’: meet the researchers who’ve interviewed 130 Bigfoot hunters Frame 352 from the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film in 1962. wikipedia by Jamie Lewis, Cardiff University and Andy Bartlett, University of Sheffield It was the image that launched a cultural icon. In 1967, in the…

envnewsbits.info‘It ain’t no unicorn’: meet the researchers who’ve interviewed 130 Bigfoot huntersFrame 352 from the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film in 1962. wikipedia by Jamie Lewis, Cardiff University and Andy Bartlett, University of Sheffield It was the image that launched a cultural icon. In 1967, in the northern Californian woods, a seven foot tall, ape-like creature covered in black fur and walking upright was captured on camera, at one point turning around to look straight down the lens.
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Why fall yard care could start with doing less – but not nothing Leaves on the ground are part of the natural cycle of nutrients. Manjot Sidhu, CC BY-SA by Manjot Kaur Sidhu, University of Maine Every autumn, homeowners and gardeners tend to engage in a familiar ritual. As trees shed their leaves,…

envnewsbits.infoWhy fall yard care could start with doing less – but not nothingLeaves on the ground are part of the natural cycle of nutrients. Manjot Sidhu, CC BY-SA by Manjot Kaur Sidhu, University of Maine Every autumn, homeowners and gardeners tend to engage in a familiar ritual. As trees shed their leaves, people drag out rakes, leaf blowers and lawn bags to strip their yards bare before winter arrives. It is a tidy habit rooted in aesthetics, but ecologically, clearing away fallen leaves strips the very foundation of local ecosystems.
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Modern electric vehicle and battery manufacturing boomtowns: A just transition? Carley, S., Lepley, S., Lane, C., Adams, J., & Reina, V. (2026). Modern electric vehicle and battery manufacturing boomtowns: A just transition? Energy Research & Social Science, 140, 104960. Abstract As many U.S.…

envnewsbits.infoModern electric vehicle and battery manufacturing boomtowns: A just transition?Carley, S., Lepley, S., Lane, C., Adams, J., & Reina, V. (2026). Modern electric vehicle and battery manufacturing boomtowns: A just transition? Energy Research & Social Science, 140, 104960. Abstract As many U.S. fossil fuel communities are contracting and experiencing economic hardship, recent U.S. investments in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing are leading to rapidly expanding communities across the battery belt.