World’s Largest Wildlife Crossing Gets First Layers of Soil Across California Freeway

The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing — the largest wildlife crossing of its kind in the world — has reached a new milestone, as workers laid the first layers of soil on the historic California overpass on Monday.

The crossing stretches over California’s 101 freeway and is designed to help bobcats, mountain lions, deer and other creatures safely traverse the busy, 10-lane road.

“I imagine a future for all the wildlife in our area where it’s possible to survive and thrive and the placement of this first soil on the bridge means another step closer to reality,” Annenberg, philanthropist and president of nonprofit the Annenberg Foundation, said in a statement, as the Los Angeles Times reported. “This extraordinary structure will serve not only animals, but it will reconnect an entire ecosystem and protect this global biodiversity hotspot — this moment marks another wonderful milestone toward that goal.”

Located in Agoura Hills, between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills, the wildlife passage will allow mountain lions and other animals to expand their ranges to find food and mates.

“Time is running out for these mountain lions, and the National Wildlife Federation is so grateful to the Annenberg Foundation for showing extraordinary leadership to help make this crossing a reality,” said Beth Pratt, the California regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), in a press release from the Annenberg Foundation.

The 101 freeway has isolated small populations of pumas, and their offspring have been showing indications of having birth defects.

“Wildlife crossings restore ecosystems that had been fractured and disrupted. They reconnect lands and species that are aching to be whole. I believe these crossings go beyond mere conservation, toward a kind of environmental rejuvenation that is long overdue,” Annenberg said on the wildlife crossing’s website.

First conceptualized over three decades ago, construction on the wildlife overpass started in 2022 and is projected to be finished next year. The bridge spans 200 by 165 feet and stands 21 feet, eight inches above the 101 freeway. The Annenberg Foundation was a major contributor to the $92-million project.

“There’s been a growing awareness in California as we’re working to protect our nature, our biodiversity, that we can’t just restore and protect habitat. We actually have to build connectivity between habitats,” said Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Agency secretary, when the project was announced, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Annenberg Foundation

Workers began placing a mixture of sandy loam and lightweight volcanic aggregate on the crossing Monday morning. It is expected that the process will take several weeks and an enormous amount of soil — 6,000 cubic yards — over roughly one acre.

Once the soil is placed, native plants such as wild grape, buckwheat, coastal sage, wildflowers and milkweed will be planted. Other plants and trees like oaks will be planted on a dozen acres flanking each side of the new passageway.

“Wallis Annenberg’s grant will protect this global biodiversity hotspot — recognized as one of only 36 biodiversity hotspots worldwide — and ensure that California’s iconic mountain lions and other wildlife can find the food and mates they need to survive by reconnecting the Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills and beyond,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of NWF, in the press release.

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More Than 1,900 Scientists Warn That U.S. Science Is ‘Being Annihilated’ Under Trump

More than 1,900 scientists who are members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) have signed a letter warning the American public of the “danger” of Trump administration attacks on science.

The administration’s attack on scientific institutions in the United States has included cancellations of federal grants to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions; the firing of NASA, NOAA and other government employees; investigations and threats to private universities; resignations; and censorship, reported The Guardian.

“We see real danger in this moment. We hold diverse political beliefs, but we are united as researchers in wanting to protect independent scientific inquiry. We are sending this SOS to sound a clear warning: the nation’s scientific enterprise is being decimated,” the scientists stated in the letter.

Established by Congress in 1863 — during the administration of Abraham Lincoln — as the National Academy of Sciences, today the organization is a nonprofit and includes the National Academies of Engineering and Medicine. Together, the academies have over 6,800 peer-elected members.

“The quest for truth – the mission of science – requires that scientists freely explore new questions and report their findings honestly, independent of special interests. The administration is engaging in censorship, destroying this independence,” the letter stated. “It is using executive orders and financial threats to manipulate which studies are funded or published, how results are reported, and which data and research findings the public can access. The administration is blocking research on topics it finds objectionable, such as climate change, or that yields results it does not like, on topics ranging from vaccine safety to economic trends.”

The signatories are all elected members of NASEM and represent some of the top scientists in the country. The letter describes researchers removing scientifically accurate terminology from papers and grant proposals to comply with federal agencies; removing their own names from work; and abandoning studies, The Washington Post reported.

Richard Aslin, Yale School of Medicine senior scientist and an author of the letter, said the scientists wanted “to make sure the American public is aware that this is not just about us losing our jobs. It’s about the whole country losing a tremendously valuable resource that has made us, honestly, the envy of the world,” reported The Washington Post.

The Trump administration’s upheaval of scientific institutions has some wondering if the cuts are a precursor to privatization, The Guardian reported.

“The administration is slashing funding for scientific agencies, terminating grants to scientists, defunding their laboratories, and hampering international scientific collaboration. The funding cuts are forcing institutions to pause research (including studies of new disease treatments), dismiss faculty, and stop enrolling graduate students — the pipeline for the next generation’s scientists,” the letter said.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced last week that the administration plans to reduce the HHS workforce by 20,000 — about a quarter of its employees. Agencies on the chopping block include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Peter Marks, who was the FDA’s director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, resigned last weekend, citing the administration’s “unprecedented assault on scientific truth.”

“It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary,” Marks’ resignation letter stated. “But rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

In an unprecedented attack on environmental science, the administration also sought to dissolve the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development by firing more than 1,100 scientists.

“The nation’s scientific enterprise is being annihilated and the silence of too many of our scientific leaders is only making the ongoing catastrophe worse,” said Dr. Robert Steinbrook, director of the Health Research Group at nonprofit consumer rights advocacy organization Public Citizen, a think tank based in Washington, DC, as reported by The Guardian.

“The ‘SOS’ signal from 1,900 scientists must be a wake-up call for our leading scientific and medical organizations to show courage and speak out at this critical moment,” Steinbrook said. “If scientists and scientific and medical organizations will not forcefully speak out in defense of science and public health, who will? There is no alternative.”

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New Scorecard Ranks Food Packaging Options by Sustainability

A newly launched guide, called the UP Scorecard, helps consumers and companies identify more sustainable packaging options. 

The scorecard tool ranks food packaging based on six main sustainability factors, including water use required for manufacturing, recoverability, chemicals used in manufacturing, plastic pollution, sourcing and climate impacts.

“With the launch of the UP Scorecard, businesses and consumers now have a powerful tool at their fingertips to help navigate the complex world of food packaging sustainability and safety,” said Plastic Pollution Coalition, which was involved with the scorecard development. “By using the UP Scorecard, you can make informed decisions that reduce your environmental impact while also protecting human health.”

Each of the six factors receives a score out of 100, with 100 being the best possible sustainability score. Then, those factors are aggregated into a final score.

For example, when comparing product choices for cups designed to hold hot liquids, like coffee, that will be sold in the U.S., users can compare steel tumblers, ceramic mugs, PLA-lined paper cups, PE-lined paper cups, insulated PLA-lined paper cups and EPS foam cups. 

In this scenario, a ceramic mug has the highest summary score of the bunch at 66. It earned 100 marks for sourcing, recoverability, and plastic pollution, but scored lower for water use, chemicals of concern, and climate impact. EPS foam cups scored the lowest in this scenario, with a 20 summary score. It earned just one point each for sourcing, recoverability, and plastic pollution, with higher scores in water use and climate impact.

Understanding Packaging (UP) Scorecard

The tool was first announced in 2021 and has been in beta testing. Its fully launched version has been updated to make it more comprehensive by extending the range of materials and container types included in the scorecard, expanding the list of chemicals of concern based on up-to-date scientific data and introducing product portfolio comparisons for users to compare different products. The chemicals of concern are included based on multiple risk factors, including carcinogenicity, bioaccumulation, reproductive toxicity and endocrine disruption, among others.

The new updates also allow users to track their progress in switching to more sustainable packaging options and even check forecasts to see how their switches can influence their “eco footprints.”

Another part of the latest update is a new benchmark, where users can compare their food packaging choices against a fictional model city, called Ecoville. This region serves as a sustainable benchmark that users can look to when trying to make more sustainable packaging choices.

Users can test the tool with a guest profile or save their searches and track progress by creating an account.

UP Scorecard was developed as a collaboration among NGOs, food service companies and technical experts, which were coordinated by the Food Packaging Forum Foundation. This nonprofit coalition is dubbed the Single-Use Material Decelerator, or SUM’D.

The creators will continue to update the UP Scorecard with additional regions, product types, materials and chemicals of concern, along with adjustments based on user feedback.

“As the packaging landscape evolves, the UP Scorecard will continue to evolve with it — providing transparency and a path toward a more sustainable future,” the Plastic Pollution Coalition said.

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Plant-Based Leather Alternative Contains Zero Plastics

Alt. Leather, a startup based in Melbourne, Australia, has designed an entirely eco-based leather alternative made from natural fibers and agricultural waste that provides an animal-free option using zero plastics.

The new material looks and feels like leather and is meant to replace conventional leather products used in the footwear, fashion, upholstery and automotive industries, a press release from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) said.

“Our material scientists have developed an innovative formula that meets global ISO standards for strength, abrasion resistance, flexibility and colour fastness,” Alt. Leather said on its website. “10% of our ingredients are upcycled from textiles and cellulose destined for landfill or incineration. 100% of our ingredients are derived from regenerative plants available in abundance globally. Designed with end-of-life in mind, we are currently testing the degradability and recyclability of our material.”

The leather substitute is designed to be “a high-performance yet sustainable and circular solution” to lower the environmental impact of traditional leather production.

“Every ingredient we choose is carefully considered to ensure that we are tapping into regenerative and abundant resources globally. Polysaccharides like cellulose and starches, recycled and natural fibres, and plant-derived resins are all part of our solution. We have screened thousands of plant-based ingredient combinations to develop our world-first technology,” Alt. Leather said.

Founded by Tina Funder, Alt. Leather identified a market gap for alternatives to synthetic and animal leathers. But the startup lacked access to the specialized equipment it needed to refine its material production processes, so it contacted CSIRO for help.

“Tina saw an opportunity to tap into Australia’s abundance of regenerative plants and leading research facilities to transform the leather industry,” the press release said. “The team began by testing their material on small-scale extruders, machines that shape and form material by forcing it through a mould. Once the material performed well, they moved to a larger extruder, which allowed them to test the feasibility of scaling up production.”

Funder explained that these trials were essential to determine the best processing methods.

“The structured approach of Kick-Start allowed us to test our material in a real-world setting and confirm that it could be scaled up,” Funder said in the press release.

Through CSIRO’s India Australia RISE Accelerator program and Circular Economy cohort, Alt. Leather was able to gain direct access to Indian manufacturers Chennai and Noida, where their footwear and handbags were produced. They were also able to get one-on-one support from industry experts and program facilitators in India and Australia.

“For Alt. Leather, this support has been pivotal in unlocking the commercial readiness of their sustainable, circular solution – an essential alternative as businesses face increasing pressure to reduce their environmental impact,” the press release said.

Alt. Leather is working to improve the performance and composition of their material through regular formulation testing. It is also looking at partnering with international and Australian brands that want to incorporate a sustainable leather alternative into their products.

“We’ve learned how to navigate international supply chains and manufacturing landscapes, positioning us well for global expansion,” Funder added.

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‘Fossil Fuels Are Killing Us’: Major Study Details How Fossil Fuels Are Driving Climate, Health and Biodiversity Crises

In a new review published in the journal Oxford Open Climate Change, scientists have issued an urgent warning that the fossil fuel industry and its products are driving intertwined crises threatening humans, wildlife and our shared future on this planet.

The collaborative review by scientists from the Center for Biological Diversity and several universities synthesizes scientific evidence that shows fossil fuels and the industry are behind many harms to public health, biodiversity and environmental justice, while contributing to the agrochemical pollution, plastics and climate crises, a press release from the Center for Biological Diversity said.

“The science can’t be any clearer that fossil fuels are killing us,” said lead author of the report Shaye Wolf, the Center for Biological Diversity’s climate science director, in the press release. “Oil, gas and coal will continue to condemn us to more deaths, wildlife extinctions and extreme weather disasters unless we make dirty fossil fuels a thing of the past. Clean, renewable energy is here, it’s affordable, and it will save millions of lives and trillions of dollars once we make it the centerpiece of our economy.”

The review’s focus is on the United States — the largest producer of oil and gas in the world and the biggest contributor to the fossil fuel crises. The study provides solutions that are already available for the phaseout of fossil fuel use and extraction while transitioning quickly and “fairly” to affordable renewable, clean energy and materials throughout the economy.

“Fossil fuel pollution impacts health at every stage of life, with elevated risks for conditions ranging from premature births to childhood leukemia and severe depression,” said co-author of the review David J.X. González, an assistant environmental health sciences professor at University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health, in the press release. “We’ve got to work fast to end fossil fuel operations near our homes, schools and hospitals and trade fossil fuel infrastructure for healthy, clean energy.”

Fossil fuels are responsible for roughly 90 percent of all human-caused carbon emissions that are causing global heating, ocean acidification and fueling unparalleled climate disasters.

To limit damages caused by the climate crisis, the authors encouraged governments to immediately cease the expansion of fossil fuels and to phase out current fossil fuel development.

The review also detailed the disproportionate harms fossil fuel use, extraction and processing inflict upon low-income communities and communities of color.

“Decades of discriminatory policies, such as redlining, have concentrated fossil fuel development in Black, Brown, Indigenous and poor white communities, resulting in devastating consequences,” said Robin Saha, an associate professor of environmental studies at the University of Montana, in the press release. “For far too long, these fenceline communities have been treated as sacrifice zones by greedy, callous industries. The most polluted communities should be prioritized for clean energy investments and removal and cleanup of dirty fossil fuel infrastructure.”

Climate change and pollution caused by fossil fuel use are also accelerating animals’ risk of extinction. As much as a third of plants and animals could become extinct over the next half-century if fossil fuel use continues unabated.

The review emphasized the need for increased protection of essential carbon-storing ecosystems and the incorporation of renewable energy infrastructure into the built environment, among other measures.

It also stressed the increased production of plastics by the fossil fuel industry, which creates pervasive pollution that contaminates our water, air, soil and food systems.

The scientists recommended ambitious targets to reduce the production of primary plastics and accompanying “chemicals of concern,” while at the same time incentivizing sustainable and safe plastics alternatives and substitutes, along with sustainable agricultural practices that limit petrochemical pollution from fertilizers and pesticides fueled by fossil fuels.

The review discussed a major barrier to the transition to clean energy: the longstanding, multibillion-dollar disinformation campaign by the fossil fuel industry to cover up the hazards of its products while blocking policies that support the phasing out of fossil fuels.

“The fossil fuel industry has spent decades misleading us about the harms of their products and working to prevent meaningful climate action,” said Naomi Oreskes, a Harvard University professor of the history of science, in the press release. “Perversely, our governments continue to give out hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to this damaging industry. It is past time that stops.”

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New EV Solar Charger Can Supply Enough Power for Short Daily Trips

GoSun, a solar technology company, is accepting deposits for its new EV solar charger. The device mounts onto the roof rack of the car, unfolds over the length of the electric vehicle and plugs into the charging port to turn solar energy into power for the car.

According to GoSun, the 1,100-watt charging device is ideal for providing enough power for daily commutes just with solar power, and it offers peace of mind for those with range anxiety over finding a charging station. The device is also designed to allow people to skip the lines and costs at public chargers when they just need a small power boost.

The charger doesn’t take the place of traditional EV charging infrastructure, but it can provide a boost of up to 20 miles per day. The company recommends keeping the panels clean and in direct sunlight to get the most energy possible, with the average amount provided ranging between 10 to 15 miles daily.

As Car and Driver reported, home charging remains one of the most affordable refueling options for vehicles, with costs coming in even lower than gas-powered cars. This can be especially true for areas that offer lower utility costs during non-peak hours. 

However, for people living in multifamily housing or anyone that makes use of public chargers, charger access may be limited, and costs have been rapidly rising. According to Car and Driver, charging costs at Electrify America chargers has increased 30% and Tesla Supercharger rates have increased 38% to 112% from 2021 to 2024.

“Solar EV battery chargers supply a reputable, affordable, and green solution for electrical vehicle owners, specifically those who reside in apartment or condos or places without committed billing stations,” GoSun said on its website.

The solar charger mounts on any EV or hybrid, so long as it has a luggage or roof rack. The panels weigh 70 pounds, and take about 20 minutes for two people to install. When driving, the device is folded up and sits on the roof rack, and is designed to withstand harsh weather and driving speeds up to 100 miles per hour. When the car is parked and the device is unfolded for charging, the panels are designed to withstand winds up to 30 miles per hour.

GoSun

GoSun is accepting $100 deposits for the device, which will cost $2,999 in total. According to the product website, the solar charger may be eligible for up to 30% of the cost in federal tax credits along with locally available incentives.

GoSun expects deliveries of the chargers to begin sometime in 2025.

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411 Fungi Species Face Extinction Worldwide: IUCN

There are now more than 1,000 fungi species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of Threatened Species. Deforestation, urban development and agricultural expansion are driving their global decline.

There are currently 169,420 species on the Red List, 47,187 of which face extinction, a press release from IUCN said. Recently added to the list are 482 fungi species, bringing their total to 1,300, at least 411 of which are threatened with extinction.

“Fungi are the unsung heroes of life on Earth, forming the very foundation of healthy ecosystems – yet they have long been overlooked. Thanks to the dedication of experts and citizen scientists, we have taken a vital step forward: over 1,000 of the world’s 155,000 known fungal species have now been assessed for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the most comprehensive source of information on extinction risk. Now, it’s time to turn this knowledge into action and safeguard the extraordinary fungal kingdom, whose vast underground networks sustain nature and life as we know it,” said IUCN Director General Dr. Grethel Aguilar in the press release.

Fungi habitats have been replaced by the rapid expansion of urban and agricultural areas, threatening 279 fungi species with extinction. Fertilizer runoff and engine pollution threaten an additional 91 species. In Europe, these are significant threats that impact well-known traditional countryside species like the fibrous waxcap (Hygrocybe intermedia), which is listed as vulnerable.

Illegal logging, deforestation for timber production and forest clearing for agriculture threaten at least 98 other fungi species.

“Clear-cutting of old-growth forests is especially damaging, destroying fungi that do not have time to re-establish with rotation forestry. Thirty per cent of old-growth pine forests across Finland, Sweden and Russia have been cut down since 1975, pushing species such as giant knight (Tricholoma colossus) to become Vulnerable,” IUCN said.

Climate change is also impacting fungi. More than 50 species are threatened with extinction in the United States because of changes in fire patterns, which have altered forest compositions. For example, the high Sierra Nevada mountains have become dominated by fir trees since 1980, reducing the habitat of endangered Gastroboletus citrinobrunneus.

“While fungi mainly live hidden underground and inside wood, their loss impacts the life above-ground that depends on them. As we lose fungi, we impoverish the ecosystem services and resilience they provide, from drought and pathogen resistance in crops and trees to storing carbon in the soil,” said Professor Anders Dahlberg, the IUCN SSC Mushroom, Bracket and Puffball Specialist Group’s Red List authority coordinator, who arranged the latest assessment. “It is important that more old-growth forests are protected. Forestry practices should consider fungi, for example leaving dead wood and scattered trees, and proactive forest management can help manage fire intensity.”

Scaly wood mushrooms (Agaricus augustus) on a tree trunk in London, England on Oct. 22, 2024. Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images

Fungi make up their own kingdom, distinct from plants and animals. They are the second largest kingdom after animals, with approximately 2.5 million species, including roughly 155,000 that have been named.

Fungi support all other ecosystems. Most plants cannot survive without them, partnering up with fungi to absorb nutrients.

Many species of fungi are edible and used in fermentation, food and drink; as the basis for medicines; and to help with cleanup efforts at contaminated sites through bioremediation.

“Fungi are a vital yet often invisible part of biodiversity, supporting ecosystems in ways we are only beginning to understand. The addition of 1,000 fungal species to the IUCN Red List highlights their importance — and the urgent threats they face. With better data, we can take meaningful action to protect fungi, ensuring the health of the plants, animals, and ecosystems that depend on them,” said Dr. Anne Bowser, CEO at nonprofit NatureServe.

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2025 Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Record Low Maximum Extent

Scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) have said that Arctic sea ice most likely reached its yearly maximum extent on March 22, at 5.53 million square miles.

The maximum sea ice extent for 2025 is the lowest in a satellite record going back 47 years, falling short of the last record low set in March of 2017.

“This new record low is yet another indicator of how Arctic sea ice has fundamentally changed from earlier decades,” said Walt Meier, NSIDC senior research scientist, in a press release from NSIDC. “But even more importantly than the record low is that this year adds yet another data point to the continuing long-term loss of Arctic sea ice in all seasons.”

Scientists from NSIDC stressed that the measurement of Arctic sea ice extent was preliminary. Weather conditions could alter the total maximum ice extent for the year. NSIDC’s full analysis will be issued in early April.

“In the dark and cold of winter, sea ice forms and spreads across Arctic seas. But in recent years, less new ice has been forming, and less multi-year ice has accumulated. This winter continued a downward trend scientists have observed over the past several decades. This year’s peak ice cover was 510,000 square miles (1.32 million square kilometers) below the average levels between 1981 and 2010,” a press release from NASA said.

Antarctic sea ice hit a near-record-low minimum extent on March 1, at 764,000 square miles, tying the second-lowest yearly minimum on record.

That’s 30 percent lower than the 1.1 million square miles of typical Antarctic sea ice extent prior to 2010. Sea ice extent is the total ocean area with a minimum of 15 percent ice concentration.

Warming temperatures are what’s causing the ice to decline,” Meier said, as The Associated Press reported. “You know, sea ice in particular is very sensitive… 31 degrees is ice skating and 33 degrees it’s swimming.”

Reduced sea ice extent in both polar regions marked another milestone — the planet’s total sea ice has reached an all-time low. Ice coverage globally in mid-February was more than one million square miles below the average before 2010.

“We’re going to come into this next summer season with less ice to begin with,” said Linette Boisvert, a NASA ice scientist based at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in the NASA press release. “It doesn’t bode well for the future.”

The Arctic is warming at four times the rate of the rest of the planet, and it impacts weather all over the world, reported The Associated Press. As temperature and pressure differences shrink between north and south, the jet stream becomes weaker. This causes it to dip further south, bringing storms and cold temperatures that frequently get stuck, dumping more rain and snow.

“The warming winter atmosphere above the Arctic Circle does impact large-scale weather patterns that do influence those of us outside the Arctic,” said Julienne Stroeve, a University of Manitoba ice scientist.

Ice scientists mostly rely on measurements of Earth’s microwave range radiation by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. The natural radiation is distinct for sea ice and open water, with ice cover appearing bright on satellite images.

“It’s not yet clear whether the Southern Hemisphere has entered a new norm with perennially low ice or if the Antarctic is in a passing phase that will revert to prior levels in the years to come,” Meier said.

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NYC Gas Ban for New Buildings Upheld by Federal Judge

In New York City, a ban on natural gas in new buildings has been upheld in federal court, the first case to go against a previous, similar ban in Berkeley, California that was struck down in court.

New York City first adopted a phaseout of fossil fuels in new buildings in 2021, while the state of New York became the first U.S. state to ban natural gas in some new buildings in 2023. The city legislation sets an emissions target, where combustion in a building cannot emit more than 25 kilograms or more of carbon dioxide per million British thermal units of energy, rather than outright banning natural gas installations in new buildings.

By comparison, the law that was struck down in Berkeley specifically banned gas piping in new construction, a law that was struck down in 2023. That decision was again upheld in early 2024, Grist reported.

“It’s a clear win in that regard, because the 9th Circuit decision has had a really chilling effect on local governments,” Amy Turner, director of the Cities Climate Law Initiative at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, told Mother Jones. “Now there’s something else to point to, and a good reason for hope for local governments that may have back-burnered their building electrification plans to bring those to the forefront again.”

The New York City ban was challenged by industry groups and unions, who argued that the city’s law was preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), a similar argument used in court against the ban in Berkeley.

However, the court disagreed with the challenge, noting that the EPCA preemption clause was not applicable in this case.

District Judge Ronnie Abrams, for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, wrote, “Further, as discussed, the Law affects the type of fuel that covered products may use in certain settings, not the performance standards applicable to covered products, and thus it neither ‘acts immediately and exclusively upon’ EPCA’s regime of uniform national standards, nor makes ‘the existence of’ such standards ‘essential to [its] operation.’”

The judge also noted that regulations on certain fuels and appliances are important parts of city building and fire codes, and if the argument that the gas ban was preempted by EPCA, that could also mean similar preemptions for other safety codes, which would be an “absurd result.”

The court decisions on Berkeley’s gas ban had slowed or prevented other cities from moving forward with similar legislation. Because the decision came from the 9th Circuit court, gas bans are illegal across the entire 9th Circuit region spanning the western U.S.

New York state’s gas ban is facing similar legal challenges, and Mother Jones reported that trade groups behind the challenge to the New York City gas ban plan to appeal the latest court decision.

However, experts said this decision could better encourage other local legislation against fossil fuels in new buildings to move forward.

Turner told Mother Jones, “Even if the air emissions route is not right for a city for whatever reason, other variations of a building electrification requirement or incentive could pass muster.”

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‘Microlightning’ Between Water Droplets May Have Sparked Life, Research Finds

Stanford University researchers have discovered that small bursts of electricity — which they call microlightning, created by oppositely charged water droplets interacting in the early Earth, likely created the first organic compounds that later led to life.

For decades, one of the leading hypotheses for the origin of life has been the Miller-Urey hypothesis. In 1952, renowned chemist Harold Urey observed that most planets in the solar system were dominated by nitrogen and methane, and posited that early Earth’s atmosphere likely did as well.

However, as Richard Zare, the study’s senior author and head of Stanford University’s Zare lab where the experiment was conducted, told EcoWatch, life needs carbon-nitrogen bonds to form essential molecules like DNA and RNA, and these bonds would have been completely absent from the early Earth. 

Urey, later that same year, along with Stanley Miller, carried out an experiment to test whether Earth could have created these bonds. They used an apparatus with a glass bulb to simulate Earth’s atmosphere, composed of nitrogen, methane and other gases. Then, using a spark plug, they simulated lightning in the atmosphere, and successfully created carbon-nitrogen-bonded organic molecules in the apparatus, thought to be precursors to life.

While the results were groundbreaking, they were not without objections, Zare told EcoWatch. “One of them is that lightning is intermittent and unpredictable,” he said. “And I believe that’s true. And if lightning makes compounds in the atmosphere, the atmosphere is a big thing. They never get concentrated… we need to concentrate these building blocks because we’re making small building blocks.”

But what if Earth didn’t need large lightning strikes at all to create these compounds? That’s the question Zare et al. set out to answer. The study’s lead author, Yifan Meng, carried out the experiment, similar to the Miller-Urey experiment, but on a much smaller scale, still using gases present on early Earth roughly 4.5 billion years ago, but using microlightning created by water droplets rather than big sparks. 

“We have repeated what Miller and Urey did before, but they did it with big lightning, in a bulb. We’ve done it with water droplets,” Zare said. “And so we propose that this is a new mechanism for the prebiotic synthesis of molecules that constitute the building blocks of life.”

The researchers suspended a large droplet of water in air using sound waves. When the sound wave generator was turned off, the levitated water droplet fell and struck a plastic sheet below, causing the water droplet to split into smaller droplets, creating a splash of droplets that interacted with one another, creating sparks of microlightning. 

When that microlightning was created in the presence of gases present on early Earth, the electrical discharge interacted with gas and successfully created organic compounds with carbon-nitrogen bonds.

Zare said these interactions are happening constantly in our world, creating microlightning and organic compounds, but are much less consequential than the first time this microlightning created organic molecules billions of years ago.

He added that he wants to continue researching how water droplets interact, and hopes that they can one day be used to clean up our atmosphere. 

“I actually am very interested in possibly removing pollutants in our atmosphere with water droplets,” Zare said, “such as can we bubble air through water and remove things like carbon dioxide and methane and turn them into something else? I’m interested in all this. So you ask, what is the future? Many, many futures here.”

Micron-sized water droplets could also provide a sustainable way to create ammonia, which is important for fertilizer and combating global hunger. Zare said that we may be able to scale up the gas-droplet experiment, which creates ammonia as a byproduct, and in doing so, we could replace the Haber-Bosch process of creating ammonia, which is harmful to the environment. 

“The Haber-Bosch process takes nitrogen and hydrogen and and combines it to make NH3. That’s ammonia. And where does the hydrogen come from? They get it from natural gas, from methane, by treating it with steam, with hot water vapor under high pressure, high temperature. And the result is the natural gas turns [in part] into CO2,” Zare said. 

“And so, believe it or not, 2% or so of the CO2 that you and I now breathe comes from the Haber-Bosch process in the atmosphere. That’s how big this has been. If you could clean up the Haber-Bosch process, you would really make a difference in terms of climate change as we understand it.”

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