📰 EwA News Digest: Returning Sea Lions, New Technology to Clean up Oil Spills, and Law against Fossil Fuel Companies
sherry yan
Hi everyone!
Sherry here with my last news digest. I hope everyone is staying warm and healthy as winter approaches!
To begin with some news about a lovely marine mammal, the endangered New Zealand sea lions have recently returned to their native shores, spurring different reactions from the locals, from worry to amusement. There are local efforts trying to integrate the animals into local life, and watch out for where their presence could cause problems. Among those, a new research constructs a model to predict where the sea lions could turn up and to predict their suitable habitats. Read more on the Washington Post.
Now let’s transition from the coast to more interior parts of the ocean. A study at UC Riverside designed a kind of soft robot which could be trained to clean up oil spills in the ocean or remove drinking water contaminants. This robot is powered by only sunlight and water, so it can infinitely replenish its energy sustainably. Its bendable structure enables it to go to locations that other approaches have a hard time to reach. Explore more about this technology here.
Besides water purification, new technologies also emerged in other fields. An international research team developed a new sensing method to study elusive flying bats. This method called “bat point counts” combines several sensing technologies - including thermal, ultrasonic, and near-infrared - to detect and count all bats flying around in a defined area. This new non-invasive approach enables researchers to evaluate bat behavior and populations with less systematic errors than some traditional methods. Read more about bat research at Phys.org.
I have heard about how the supply chain of the fashion industry causes environmental justice problems around the world. However, I did not know that the industry can also harm the local environment by illegal logging until I read this article about Cambodian factories. Out of the 600 garment factories registered in Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC), about a third depend on illegal forest wood to generate electricity. These factories are said to burn an average of 562 tons of wood every day, accelerating the deforestation process in Cambodia.
To end with some local news, the new Boston mayor Michelle Wu signed a landmark law standing against fossil fuel companies. The new regulation prohibits the city’s Treasury Department from using public money to invest in companies where more than 15 percent of their total revenues comes from tobacco and fossil fuel businesses, or from prison facilities. Learn more about this policy at Boston.com.
That is all for this year’s last news digest. I hope you enjoy the article selection!
Best,
Sherry
Claire O'Neill
Cheers! - Claire
Earthwise Aware | Executive Director
✉ claire...@earthwiseaware.org
✆ +1 781-883-5970 | LinkedIn Profile
Earthwise Aware | Executive Director
✉ claire...@earthwiseaware.org
✆ +1 781-883-5970 | LinkedIn Profile
Nature Conservation as a Way Of Life
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