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Why detecting methane is difficult but crucial work

From handheld to space-based, new methane detectors are making it easier to track the greenhouse gas.

Why detecting methane is difficult but crucial workChristine RoTechnology ReporterHelen GebregiorgisHandheld devices can detect methane and other gasesIn and around Washington DC, volunteers and activists have been walking through streets and homes to see how healthy the air is.They're armed with industry-grade monitors that detect the presence of several gases. The devices look a bit like walkie-talkies.But they are equipped with sensors that reveal the extent of methane, turning this invisible gas into concrete numbers on a screen.Those numbers can be worrying. In a 25-hour period, neighbourhood researchers found 13 outdoor methane leaks at concentrations exceeding the lower explosive limit. They have also found methane leaks within homes.A key concern has been health. Methane and other gases, notably nitrogen oxide from gas stoves, are linked to higher risks of asthma.Djamila Bah, a healthcare worker as well as a tenant leader for the community organisation Action in Montgomery, reports that one out of three children have asthma in the homes tested by the organisation."It's very heartbreaking and alarming when you're doing the testing and then you find out that some people are living in that condition that they can't change for now," Ms Bah says.Methane might be a hazard to human health, but it is also powerful greenhouse gas.While it has a much shorter lifespan in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO2), methane is much better at trapping heat and it accounts for about one-quarter of the rise in global temperature since industrialisation.Methane emissions come from a diverse array of sectors. Chief among these are fossil fuels, waste and agriculture.But methane is not always easy to notice.It can be detected using handheld gas sensors like the ones used by the community researchers. It can also be visualised using infrared cameras, as methane absorbs infrared light.Monitoring can be ground-based, including vehicle-mounted devices, or aerial, including drone-based measurement. Combining technologies is especially helpful."There is no perfect solution," says Andreea Calcan, a programme management officer at the International Methane Emissions Observatory, a UN initiative.There are trade-offs between the cost of technologies and the scale of analysis, which could extend to thousands of facilities.Thankfully, she has seen an expansion of affordable methane sensors in the past decade. So there is no reason to wait on monitoring methane, at any scale. And the world needs to tackle both the small leakages and the high-emitting events, she says.Carbon MapperThe Tanager-1 satellite is designed to spot large methane emissionsAt a larger scale, satellites are often good at pinpointing super-emitters: less frequent but massively emitting events, such as huge oil and gas leaks. Or they can detect the smaller and more spread-out emitters that are much more common, such as cattle farms.Current satellites are typically designed to monitor one scale of emitter, says Riley Duren, the CEO of the Carbon Mapper, a not-for-profit organisation that tracks emissions.He likens this to film cameras. A telephoto lens offers higher resolution, while a wide-angle lens allows a larger field of view.With a new satellite, Carbon Mapper is focusing on high resolution, high sensitivity and rapid detection, to more precisely detect emissions from super-emitters. In August 2024 Carbon Mapper launched the Tanager-1 satellite, together with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Earth imaging company Planet Labs.Carbon MapperA methane plume from a Texan oilfield spotted in September 2024 by Tanager-1Satellites have struggled to spot methane emissions in certain environments, such as poorly maintained oil wells in snowy areas with lots of vegetation. Low light, high latitudes, mountains and offshore areas also present challenges.Mr Duren says that the high-resolution Tanager-1 can respond to some of these challenges, for instance by essentially sneaking peeks through gaps in cloud cover or forest cover."In an oil and gas field, high resolution could be the difference between isolating the methane emissions from an oil well head from an adjacent pipeline," he says. This could help determine exactly who is responsible.Carbon Mapper began releasing emissions data, drawing on Tanager-1 observations, in November.It will take several years to build out the full constellation of satellites, which will depend on funding.Tanager-1 isn't the only new satellite with a focus on delivering methane data. MethaneSAT, a project of the Environmental Defense Fund and private and public partners, also launched in 2024.With the increasing sophistication of all these satellite technologies, "What was previously unseeable is now visible," Mr Duren says. "As a society we're still learning about our true methane footprint."It's clear that better information is needed about methane emissions. Some energy companies have sought to evade methane detection by using "enclosed combustors" to obscure gas flaring.Translating knowledge into action isn't always straightforward. Methane levels continue to rise, even as the information available does as well.For instance, the Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) uses satellite data to detect methane emissions notify companies and governments. The MARS team gathered a large quantity of methane plume images, verified by humans, to train a machine learning model to recognise such plumes.In all the locations that MARS constantly monitors, based on their history of emissions, the model checks for a methane plume every day. Analysts then scrutinise any alerts.Because there are so many locations to be monitored, "this saves us a lot of time," says Itziar Irakulis Loitxate, the remote sensing lead for the International Methane Emissions Observatory, which is responsible for MARS.In the two years since its launch, MARS has sent out over 1,200 alerts for major methane leaks. Only 1% of those have led to responses.However, Ms Irakulis remains optimistic. Some of those alerts led to direct action such as repairs, including cases where emissions ceased even though the oil and gas operator didn't officially provide feedback.And communications are improving all the time, Ms Irakulis says. "I have hope that this 1%, we will see it grow a lot in the next year."At the community level, it's been powerful for residents, such as those in the Washington DC area, to take the air pollution readings themselves and use these to counter misinformation. "Now that we know better, we can do better," says Joelle Novey of Interfaith Power and Light.More Technology of Business

Activism
Agriculture
Business

He was born navy blue': Real-life stories behind Toxic Town Netflix series

The drama tells the story of how families fought for justice over their children's birth defects.

'He was born navy blue': Real-life stories behind Toxic Town Netflix seriesJames GrantBBC News, NorthamptonshireGetty ImagesFamilies won a landmark legal battle in 2009 after being exposed to toxic chemicals in CorbyNetflix's new drama Toxic Town revisits one of the UK's biggest environmental scandals: the Corby toxic waste case. The series tells the story of families fighting for justice after children in the Northamptonshire town were born with birth defects, believed to be caused by industrial pollution.Corby's steel and iron industry expanded rapidly in the 1930s with the construction of Stewarts and Lloyds' steelworks. By the 1970s, half the town worked in the mills, but when the steelworks closed in the 1980s, toxic waste from the demolition process was mishandled, leading to widespread contamination.Getty ImagesThe steel industry was a major employer in Corby for decades In 2009, after a long legal battle, the High Court ruled Corby Borough Council was negligent in managing the waste. Families affected won an undisclosed financial settlement in 2010, held in trust until the children turned 18.Alongside the drama, a BBC Radio Northampton podcast series offers a deeper look into the real-life events, using original court transcripts and newly uncovered documents. Hosted by George Taylor, 32, who was born with an upper limb defect linked to the case, the podcast features testimony and interviews with those directly impacted.Here are some of the key voices behind the story.'The first person you are going to blame is yourself'Kate Bradbrook/BBCGeorge Taylor, one of those affected, narrates the BBC podcast In Detail: The Toxic Waste ScandalGeorge Angus Taylor was born on 11 March 1992 to parents Fiona and Brian, in Corby. Brian had worked at the Stewart and Lloyds steel plant, a job that left him covered in dust and debris at the end of each shift. Fiona, a former Boots No7 beauty consultant, vividly remembers George's birth, an event that would change their lives forever.Born "navy blue" as a result of pre-foetal circulation issues, he was immediately ventilated and placed in intensive care.It was then Fiona noticed something unusual."I remember just seeing his little hand; his pinkie ring finger and middle finger," she says."It was like a fist; you know how babies make a fist? Then his index finger; his thumb was sticking out."I just kept thinking, 'He's here because of me,' and you just look for blame. You look, and the first person you are going to blame is yourself."Tim Wheeler/BBCGeorge narrates the BBC podcast In Detail: The Toxic Waste ScandalAt 14, doctors discovered a tumour in George's hand so large that amputation became a real possibility. The surgery, experimental at the time, was gruelling. "When I woke up, I was so full of morphine," he remembers."They said it was like climbing Everest with no practice – my body just shut down." The experience, particularly the smell, left lasting memories. "They burn flesh as they [operate]: very quiet sizzling, like sausages in a pan. And that's the smell that still comes to you from time to time."Despite everything, George was determined to move forward. "The first time I saw my hand, I wasn't shocked; I wasn't sad. It was better than before."But George was not alone. Other children in Corby were born with similar conditions.'Did I do this?'SuppliedSimone Atkinson (left) was born with three fingers because of her mother Lisa's exposure to the dust at the Corby steelworksLisa Atkinson was a security guard at the Corby steel mills, where her duties involved outside patrols, checking parking permits, and often having to move dust that had settled over everything.On 27 June 1989, she gave birth to her daughter, Simone, at Kettering General Hospital. Simone was born with three fingers on each hand.Doctors reassured Lisa, saying the only thing she would not be able to do was play the piano.Just as Fiona Taylor did with George, Lisa initially questioned whether she was responsible for her daughter's condition. "There was probably part of me that sat there and went, 'What did I do? Did I do this?'" she says."Because I've had a couple of miscarriages before Simone... I always thought maybe I was lucky; maybe I was given Simone... but she wasn't quite perfect. But I was lucky to have had that baby and not the two previous ones."SuppliedSimone Atkinson (right) initially hid her disability from her husband Despite her initial self-doubt, Lisa "knew" she had done nothing wrong, as she had neither drunk nor smoked during pregnancy. She recalls the lack of follow-up care or investigation into her daughter's condition."You're let out into the world with a child that's a little bit different," she says."But there was nowhere to go. There was no follow-up or anything; no 'We're going to look into it.' So you just deal with it. And you did, because you had to."Lisa quickly adjusted to life with Simone's condition, saying: "It shocked other people more than it shocked me. I got used to it really, really quickly."Winning the subsequent legal case against the borough council brought with it overwhelming attention."I'm not famous, but I feel like that's how famous people must feel... it was crazy."Lisa Atkinson worked as a security guard in Corby's steel millsGrowing up, Simone, now 35, faced relentless bullying. "I had a great family and friends... but [school] was hard. I wasn't a very confident child, and I was an easy target," she remembers. Simone coped by using humour. She would joke that her mum had chopped off her fingers or that she was part alien, turning her differences into something entertaining. "It was a bit of a front, because if I make a joke about myself, nobody else can. Just accept that's who you are; it's not going to change."At 18, she was offered surgery to reshape her hands, but declined. "They admitted they didn't really know if it would help. By then, I'd adapted. I live with daily pain, but I didn't want to risk making things worse."Meeting her now-husband, she initially hid her hands, subtly positioning herself to avoid detection. Eventually, she told him - through a long message and sending him a link to the 2020 Horizon documentary about the case. His response? "It's really not a big deal."Today, she is grateful for the legal battle her family fought. "It set me up for life," she says."I was able to start my own life, and I went to university. I've got my own house and my daughter had the best start in life."'It felt like we were an inconvenience'University of NorthamptonLewis Waterfield says school was tough for him; writing was difficult and classmates often had questions about his handsLewis Waterfield was born in 1994 with deformities to both hands. His father worked near the contaminated site as a roofer, and his pregnant mother often visited him there."My dad noticed something wasn't right straight away," Lewis recalls.As a child, he endured disruptive hospital stays, including an unsuccessful attempt to graft a toe on to his hand to create a functioning finger. "I've had extensive surgery, but there are limits to what can be done."During the legal battle, Lewis's parents fought to prove a link between industrial pollution and birth defects. "The council, I remember, was dismissive. It felt like we were an inconvenience to them."Now a senior lecturer in public health at the University of Northampton, Lewis acknowledges how his experiences shaped him. "Every now and then, someone asks about my hands, and it takes me right back." he says."But I don't mind. It's part of who I am."University of NorthamptonLewis Waterfield said the settlement from Corby Borough Council "doesn't alleviate" his disabilityCorby Borough Council ceased to exist in 2021 when it merged with other authorities to become North Northamptonshire Council.In 2010, its then chief executive Chris Mallender issued a formal apology over the scandal."The council extends its deepest sympathy to the children and their families," it said."Although I accept that money cannot properly compensate these young people for their disabilities and for all that they've suffered to date and their problems in the future, the council sincerely hopes that this apology, coupled with today's agreement, will mean they can now put their legal battle behind them and proceed with their lives with a greater degree of financial certainty."BBC Radio Northampton's eight-part documentary series In Detail: The Toxic Waste Scandal, is for download from BBC Sounds.

Chemicals
Health
Pollution

Threatened species: court asked to compel Australian ministers to create recovery plans

The Wilderness Society launches legal action in hope of helping animals on brink of extinctionFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne of Australia’s largest conservation organisations has launched legal action alleging that successive federal environment ministers failed to meet their obligation to create recovery plans for native species threatened with extinction.The Wilderness Society (TWS) filed the proceedings in the federal court on Monday.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

One of Australia’s largest conservation organisations has launched legal action alleging that successive federal environment ministers failed to meet their obligation to create recovery plans for native species threatened with extinction.The Wilderness Society (TWS) filed the proceedings in the federal court on Monday.Eleven endangered species, including the greater glider (Petauroides volans), the ghost bat (Macroderma gigas) and the Baudin’s cockatoo (Zanda baudinii), will feature in the case.Recovery plans set out action needed to bring species back from the brink of extinction and put them on a better trajectory.TWS, represented by Environmental Justice Australia, will allege that the failure by environment ministers to make recovery plans for threatened plants and animals that had been identified as requiring them was unlawful.“This case will shine a light on the legal and moral duties of current and future environment ministers to do their job to help Aussie wildlife beat extinction,” said the TWS biodiversity policy and campaign manager, Sam Szoke-Burke.“For decades, government after government has failed to make recovery plans for hundreds of threatened species that are in dire need of better care.”The case is asking the court to compel the environment minister to make recovery plans for the 11 species named in the application.Under Australia’s national environmental laws, the minister decides whether a species requires a recovery plan or not. If the minister decides a species does require one, the plan must usually be made within three years.Once a recovery plan is enacted, the minister must not make decisions that would be considered contrary to its goals and actions.The legal challenge follows long-held concerns about a backlog of unfinished and undeveloped plans for species including the greater glider, which has required a recovery plan since 2016 but has no plan in place.“Recovery plans are legally required,” Szoke-Burke said.Guardian Australia has reported extensively on the failure by successive governments to make recovery plans within the required time frames. An auditor general’s report in 2022 found only 2% of recovery plans had been completed within their statutory timeframe since 2013.In 2020 the federal environment department told a Senate estimates hearing that 170 plants, animals and habitats were waiting for recovery plans.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionTo reduce the backlog, the previous Coalition government had the threatened species scientific committee reassess whether some species still required a plan and, in 2022, scrapped the requirement for almost 200 plants, animals and habitats.The golden sun moth was one of the species the minister at that time decided still required a recovery plan. The moth has been identified as requiring a plan since 2009. The government’s threatened fauna list shows that plan still has not been made.In addition to the greater glider, the ghost bat and the Baudin’s cockatoo, eight other species will feature in the TWS case: the Australian grayling, the Australian lungfish, Carnaby’s black cockatoo, the forest red-tailed black cockatoo, the red goshawk, the sandhill dunnart and the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle.Some of these species previously had plans but those plans have expired and new ones have not been adopted.“Too many of Australia’s most iconic and threatened species simply don’t have recovery plans,” said an Environmental Justice Australia senior specialist lawyer, Ellen Maybery, adding: “Our client hopes this case will set a precedent that compels all future environment ministers to create recovery plans and pull these unique species back from the brink of extinction.”The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, said she could not comment on details of the case because the matter is before the federal court.With an election looming, Plibersek claimed Labor had a stronger record than the Coalition when it came to protecting nature and acting on climate change.

Animals
Conservation
Extinction

Lawsuit Accuses Atlanta Police of Illegally Targeting 'Stop Cop City' Protesters

A federal lawsuit accuses Atlanta police of systemically targeting critics of a police and firefighter training center

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta police have for years illegally targeted critics of a police and firefighter training center, according to a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of a protester who is one of dozens of “Stop Cop City” activists facing domestic terrorism and racketeering charges.The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Jamie Marsicano, alleges that authorities view any critic of the training center as a would-be criminal and have repeatedly made arrests without cause, depriving protesters of their First Amendment rights and their civil rights protections against false arrest and malicious prosecution. The long-brewing controversy over the training center erupted in January 2023 after state troopers who were part of a sweep of the South River Forest killed an activist who authorities said had fired at them. Numerous protests ensued, with masked vandals sometimes attacking police vehicles and construction equipment to stall the project and intimidate contractors into backing out. Though the training center is nearly complete, dozens of defendants, including Marsicano, are facing a state racketeering charge that critics have decried as heavy-handed attempts to silence the movement, which emerged in the wake of the 2020 racial justice protests. Environmental activists and anti-police demonstrators argued that uprooting acres of trees for the facility would exacerbate environmental damage in a flood-prone, majority-Black area while serving as an expensive staging ground for militarized officers to be trained in quelling social movements.Marsicano, 31, was among 23 people arrested near a music festival in DeKalb County in March 2023, hours after a group of more than 150 masked festivalgoers trekked about three-quarters of a mile (1.2 kilometers) through the South River Forest and stormed the training center's construction site, with some lighting equipment on fire as others threw objects at retreating officers. The group then returned to the festival to blend in with the crowd. According to an arrest warrant, authorities said Marsicano, who uses they/them pronouns, was taken into custody because they had on “muddy clothing” from crossing through the woods and possessed a shield, assertions that Marsicano's attorneys say are false. Marsicano's attorneys say their client was not among the group that attacked the construction site and never left the festival grounds until they were arrested while walking back to their vehicle after police ordered everyone to disperse. Marsicano was caught up in an “indiscriminate mass arrest of legitimate festival attendees” that was part of a pattern spearheaded by Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum of authorities targeting the “Stop Cop City” movement, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Feb. 24.Marsicano was subsequently charged with domestic terrorism and, months later, was one of 61 charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO.Marsicano was banned from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus after their arrest and completed their law degree remotely but has had difficulty finding a job and securing housing because of the charges, according to the lawsuit.Marsicano was “publicly broadcast to the world as a ‘domestic terrorist’ and ‘RICO co-conspirator,’ forever tarnishing Plaintiff’s personal and professional life,” the lawsuit said. The lawsuit lists more than a dozen instances in which authorities “pretextually charged individuals deemed to be at or around Stop Cop City,” including after a May 2022 protest where three people “walking home were selectively stopped for carrying Stop Cop City signs,” and taken into custody. Those arrests, as well as others, have led to civil lawsuits that are pending. Marsicano's lawsuit names various law enforcement officials as well as the city of Atlanta, which it accuses of having made a “custom and practice” of targeting critics of the training center.Neither the Atlanta Police Department nor a spokesperson for the city immediately responded to a request for comment. City officials say the $115 million, 85-acre (34-hectare) campus will replace outdated, far-flung facilities and boost police morale amid hiring and retention struggles. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has also said that the facility will teach the “most progressive training and curriculum in the country” and that officials have repeatedly revised their plans to address environmental concerns.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

Activism
Forests

Pesticides, microplastics may threaten sea star recovery, study finds

A new study shows that exposure to pesticides and microplastics could set back the recovery of sunflower sea stars.

A new study shows that exposure to pesticides and microplastics could set back the recovery of sunflower sea stars, marine creatures once common in the tide pools along Oregon’s coast but now nearly extinct. The starfish, a keystone species native to the Northwest, have been decimated by a mysterious wasting disease over the past decade. As they died off, purple sea urchins – staples of starfish diet – have multiplied and devoured kelp forests off the Oregon coast, leaving ​​lifeless zones covered with purple urchins and nothing else. Oregon has seen an increase in the sightings of sunflower sea stars over the past few years, giving hope for their recovery. But the study by researchers at Portland State University and the University of Washington has shown that human-made contaminants such as pesticides and microplastics could hurt the stars’ comeback.The researchers subjected larval sunflower sea stars to the insecticide imidacloprid and to polyester microfibers in concentrations that are typically found in coastal areas. Both contaminants have migrated via runoff into streams, rivers and oceans. Imidacloprid is widely used to control fleas, bedbugs, flies, roaches and termites as well as to treat seeds before they are planted to protect against wireworms and seed maggots. The insecticide has been found to adversely affect some organisms such as bees. Polyester microfibers are a type of microplastic now commonly found in the environment, including marine organisms such as salmon. Hundreds of thousands of microfiber strands are shed from clothes during each washing and drying cycle. The study found that the insecticide caused gut malformations in the starfish and other signs of stress such as accelerated growth and higher mortality rates at early developmental stages, which could impact the stars’ long-term survival, researchers said. “Sunflower stars have enough to deal with right now, with their particular sensitivity to a syndrome that is still present in the wild,” Jason Hodin, researcher at the University of Washington and study coauthor, said in a statement. “The least we can do is to reduce additional stressors on marine ecosystems, such as pesticide inputs and plastic contamination.” Scientists still don’t know the cause of the star wasting disease, though they say it was accelerated by an extreme heat wave in the Pacific Ocean that started in late 2013 and lasted for more than 700 days. Researchers said the study underscores the urgent need to understand the effects of contaminants on marine species. “The implications of our study go beyond the sunflower sea star,” said Allie Tissot, the study’s lead researcher and a doctoral candidate at Portland State University. “As marine ecosystems continue to face the multiple threats of climate change and diverse anthropogenic pollutants, the ability to predict and mitigate the impacts of contaminants on marine life will be crucial for the future of biodiversity conservation.”— Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com or 971-421-3154.

Climate
Conservation
Energy

Markus Buehler receives 2025 Washington Award

Materials scientist is honored for his academic leadership and innovative research that bridge engineering and nature.

MIT Professor Markus J. Buehler has been named the recipient of the 2025 Washington Award, one of the nation’s oldest and most esteemed engineering honors. The Washington Award is conferred to “an engineer(s) whose professional attainments have preeminently advanced the welfare of humankind,” recognizing those who have made a profound impact on society through engineering innovation. Past recipients of this award include influential figures such as Herbert Hoover, the award’s inaugural recipient in 1919, as well as Orville Wright, Henry Ford, Neil Armstrong, John Bardeen, and renowned MIT affiliates Vannevar Bush, Robert Langer, and software engineer Margaret Hamilton.Buehler was selected for his “groundbreaking accomplishments in computational modeling and mechanics of biological materials, and his contributions to engineering education and leadership in academia.” Buehler has authored over 500 peer-reviewed publications, pioneering the atomic-level properties and structures of biomaterials such as silk, elastin, and collagen, utilizing computational modeling to characterize, design, and create sustainable materials with features spanning from the nano- to the macro- scale. Buehler was the first to explain how hydrogen bonds, molecular confinement, and hierarchical architectures govern the mechanics of biological materials via the development of a theory that bridges molecular interactions with macroscale properties.His innovative research includes the development of physics-aware artificial intelligence methods that integrate computational mechanics, bioinformatics, and generative AI to explore universal design principles of biological and bioinspired materials. His work has advanced the understanding of hierarchical structures in nature, revealing the mechanics by which complex biomaterials achieve remarkable strength, flexibility, and resilience through molecular interactions across scales.Buehler's research included the use of deep learning models to predict and generate new protein structures, self-assembling peptides, and sustainable biomimetic materials. His work on materiomusic — converting molecular structures into musical compositions — has provided new insights into the hidden patterns within biological systems.Buehler is the Jerry McAfee (1940) Professor in Engineering in the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and Mechanical Engineering. He served as the department head of CEE from 2013 to 2020, as well as in other leadership roles, including as president of the Society of Engineering Science.A dedicated educator, Buehler has played a vital role in mentoring future engineers, leading K-12 STEM summer camps to inspire the next generation and serving as an instructor for MIT Professional Education summer courses.His achievements have been recognized with numerous prestigious honors, including the Feynman Prize, the Drucker Medal, the Leonardo da Vinci Award, and the J.R. Rice Medal, and election to the National Academy of Engineering. His work continues to push the boundaries of computational science, materials engineering, and biomimetic design.The Washington Award was presented during National Engineers Week in February, in a ceremony attended by members of prominent engineering societies, including the Western Society of Engineers; the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers; the American Society of Civil Engineers; the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; the National Society of Professional Engineers; and the American Nuclear Society. The event also celebrated nearly 100 pre-college students recognized for their achievements in regional STEM competitions, highlighting the next generation of engineering talent.

Nature
Education
Sustainable

Global Warming Will Weaken Earth’s Strongest Ocean Current

Fresh water from melting Antarctic ice is projected to weaken the world’s most powerful ocean current by 20 percent in the next quarter century, an international team of scientists concluded in a study published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters. A weakening of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current—one of Earth’s strongest climate engines—would have dire […]

The slowdown of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current could have 'dire' consequences, including greater climate variability and accelerated global warming.By Bob BerwynFresh water from melting Antarctic ice is projected to weaken the world’s most powerful ocean current by 20 percent in the next quarter century, an international team of scientists concluded in a study published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

Climate
Water

A new tool for communities near Shell’s plastics plant in Pennsylvania provides air quality insights

PITTSBURGH — A local advocacy group has launched a new, real-time air monitoring website for communities impacted by air pollution from Shell’s massive petrochemical complex and other industrial sites in western Pennsylvania. The website, launched by the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC), and dubbed Eyes on Air, includes data from five new air monitors the group placed in communities throughout Beaver County, which is home to the petrochemical complex Shell Polymers Monaca. The Eyes on Air website also displays data from PurpleAir monitors put up by residents throughout Beaver County. The PurpleAir monitors continuously measure particulate matter pollution with the goal of providing real-time air quality information to residents throughout the county. The project was paid for through a $5 million community fund created from a $10 million settlement between the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Shell after the company violated its air pollution permit and exceeded air quality standards. A screenshot from the Eyes on Air website displays real-time air quality data from 6 new air monitoring sites for Beaver County (screenshot captured on 3/3/25) Via Eyes On Air “The public having access to this data is important — people could bring reports generated on [the Eyes on Air website] to their doctor’s offices to discuss any potential health impacts related to specific pollutants from industries in the region,” Ana Hoffman, director of the air quality program at Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab, which partners with community groups to develop citizen science initiatives, told EHN. (The CREATE Lab was not involved with the Eyes on Air project). Beaver County is also home to other industrial polluters, including chemical and electronics manufacturing, and steel processing plants. Beaver County received a “C” grade for particulate matter pollution on the American Lung Association’s 2024 “State of the Air” report, which grades counties throughout the U.S. on various measures of air pollution that can impact lung health. That report also found that 13,579 adults and 3,149 children with asthma live in Beaver County, along with 10,588 people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 15,616 people with cardiovascular disease, all of whom face additional risk from exposure to air pollution. Shell’s western Pennsylvania complex turns ethane from fracked gas into polyethylene nurdles, which are used to make many consumer products, including single-use plastic packaging and bags. Emissions from the plant include particulate matter pollution, volatile organic compounds like benzene and toluene, and a long list of other hazardous air pollutants. Exposure to these types of emissions is linked to acute health problems like heart attacks, asthma exacerbation, and miscarriages. Longer-term problems include respiratory and heart disease, cancer, and brain, liver, and kidney issues. A screenshot from the Eyes on Air website displays community air monitoring data in Beaver County (screenshot captured on 3/3/25)Via Eyes On Air Eyes on Air aims to fill gaps left by existing air monitoring programs in the region, which include Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection air monitoring stations in Beaver Falls, Brighton Township, and Hookstown and fenceline monitoring at Shell’s industrial complex. Shell agreed to conduct fenceline air monitoring on its property for certain chemicals linked to health harms in 2017, as part of a lawsuit settlement with environmental advocacy groups. Data from these monitors is publicly available, but it isn’t provided in real time, according to Hoffman.“The number one goal when communities do this kind of data collection work is to provide as close to real-time as possible air quality information to the public,” Hoffman said. “This data offers insights into what you can do hour to hour to protect your health, like when it’s safest to go for a run or let your kids play outside, or when to turn on an air filter at home.” The new monitors are located in Beaver, Brighton Township, Center Township, Raccoon Township, and Rochester. In March, BCMAC plans to launch a mobile air monitor for targeted testing of hazardous pollutants like benzene and 1,3-butadiene, which are linked to cancer risk. Residents can sign up to host the monitor on their property for two weeks. BCMAC said the Eyes on Air project will continue to evolve in response to community feedback. “Through focus groups, surveys, and social media discussions, residents shared what they needed in an air quality resource, and we built this platform together,” Hilary Starcher-O'Toole, executive director of BCMAC, said in a statement. “As someone born and raised in Beaver County, it’s been rewarding to co-create a tool that truly reflects the concerns and hopes of my neighbors.”Editor’s note: The CREATE lab and EHN both receive funding from the Heinz Endowments.

PITTSBURGH — A local advocacy group has launched a new, real-time air monitoring website for communities impacted by air pollution from Shell’s massive petrochemical complex and other industrial sites in western Pennsylvania. The website, launched by the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC), and dubbed Eyes on Air, includes data from five new air monitors the group placed in communities throughout Beaver County, which is home to the petrochemical complex Shell Polymers Monaca. The Eyes on Air website also displays data from PurpleAir monitors put up by residents throughout Beaver County. The PurpleAir monitors continuously measure particulate matter pollution with the goal of providing real-time air quality information to residents throughout the county. The project was paid for through a $5 million community fund created from a $10 million settlement between the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Shell after the company violated its air pollution permit and exceeded air quality standards. A screenshot from the Eyes on Air website displays real-time air quality data from 6 new air monitoring sites for Beaver County (screenshot captured on 3/3/25) Via Eyes On Air “The public having access to this data is important — people could bring reports generated on [the Eyes on Air website] to their doctor’s offices to discuss any potential health impacts related to specific pollutants from industries in the region,” Ana Hoffman, director of the air quality program at Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab, which partners with community groups to develop citizen science initiatives, told EHN. (The CREATE Lab was not involved with the Eyes on Air project). Beaver County is also home to other industrial polluters, including chemical and electronics manufacturing, and steel processing plants. Beaver County received a “C” grade for particulate matter pollution on the American Lung Association’s 2024 “State of the Air” report, which grades counties throughout the U.S. on various measures of air pollution that can impact lung health. That report also found that 13,579 adults and 3,149 children with asthma live in Beaver County, along with 10,588 people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 15,616 people with cardiovascular disease, all of whom face additional risk from exposure to air pollution. Shell’s western Pennsylvania complex turns ethane from fracked gas into polyethylene nurdles, which are used to make many consumer products, including single-use plastic packaging and bags. Emissions from the plant include particulate matter pollution, volatile organic compounds like benzene and toluene, and a long list of other hazardous air pollutants. Exposure to these types of emissions is linked to acute health problems like heart attacks, asthma exacerbation, and miscarriages. Longer-term problems include respiratory and heart disease, cancer, and brain, liver, and kidney issues. A screenshot from the Eyes on Air website displays community air monitoring data in Beaver County (screenshot captured on 3/3/25)Via Eyes On Air Eyes on Air aims to fill gaps left by existing air monitoring programs in the region, which include Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection air monitoring stations in Beaver Falls, Brighton Township, and Hookstown and fenceline monitoring at Shell’s industrial complex. Shell agreed to conduct fenceline air monitoring on its property for certain chemicals linked to health harms in 2017, as part of a lawsuit settlement with environmental advocacy groups. Data from these monitors is publicly available, but it isn’t provided in real time, according to Hoffman.“The number one goal when communities do this kind of data collection work is to provide as close to real-time as possible air quality information to the public,” Hoffman said. “This data offers insights into what you can do hour to hour to protect your health, like when it’s safest to go for a run or let your kids play outside, or when to turn on an air filter at home.” The new monitors are located in Beaver, Brighton Township, Center Township, Raccoon Township, and Rochester. In March, BCMAC plans to launch a mobile air monitor for targeted testing of hazardous pollutants like benzene and 1,3-butadiene, which are linked to cancer risk. Residents can sign up to host the monitor on their property for two weeks. BCMAC said the Eyes on Air project will continue to evolve in response to community feedback. “Through focus groups, surveys, and social media discussions, residents shared what they needed in an air quality resource, and we built this platform together,” Hilary Starcher-O'Toole, executive director of BCMAC, said in a statement. “As someone born and raised in Beaver County, it’s been rewarding to co-create a tool that truly reflects the concerns and hopes of my neighbors.”Editor’s note: The CREATE lab and EHN both receive funding from the Heinz Endowments.

Chemicals
Health
Pollution

Get first bite at Oregon’s new shark-infested license plate

The “Vibrant Ocean” specialty plate, available soon, features three shark species commonly found in Oregon.

Feeling a little down lately?Maybe it’s time for a new license plate that shouts fearlessness, tenacity and resilience.The “Vibrant Ocean” specialty plate features three shark species commonly found in Oregon. Proceeds from sales of the plates will benefit Oregon State University’s Big Fish Lab, which focuses on shark research. The lab, established in 2019, is based at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. Proceeds will be used to better understand the role sharks play in Oregon’s coastal marine ecosystem, to conduct outreach and education efforts and hold trainings for students and staff. Oregon State hopes anyone interested will sink their teeth into the $40 pre-sale vouchers for the plate. They’re available from the university, with $35 going directly to the research lab. The lab must sell 3,000 vouchers before the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles starts making the plates. Sharks aren’t the mindless killers of Hollywood, said Taylor Chapple, an assistant professor and founder of the Big Fish Lab. They’re apex predators responsible for regulating the abundance, distribution and diversity of other species, he said. Sharks also are threatened due to overfishing, habitat loss, climate change and pollution.Fifteen species of sharks live off the Oregon coast.“Sharks are not delicious or cuddly but they’re critically important,” Chapple said. The license plate was designed by Natalie Donato, a third-year undergraduate student from Folsom, California who is studying marine biology and ecology at OSU’s College of Science. Donato’s design features a salmon shark in the center, with two blue sharks on the left and a common thresher shark on the right. The shark plate is the most recent in a series of specialty license plates benefiting Oregon State . They include the bee plate, which launched in 2023, and the gray whale plate, which launched in 2019. The DMV will also issue a new Beaver plate, which supports the university’s athletics and marketing initiatives, starting April 7. — Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com or 971-421-3154.Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com.

Climate
Education
Energy

Electric Vehicle Fires May Raise Cancer Risk for Communities

By India Edwards HealthDay ReporterMONDAY, March 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- As electric vehicles (EVs) become more common on roads, they bring new...

By India Edwards HealthDay ReporterMONDAY, March 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- As electric vehicles (EVs) become more common on roads, they bring new health concerns for firefighters and the community, new research shows.Researchers at the University of Miami's Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center found that EV fires expose firefighters, vehicle owners and community residents to dangerous, heavy metals.“While all fires pose exposure risks, EV fires elevate the risk to firefighters, owners and the nearby community because they are powered by massive batteries containing high concentrations of heavy metals,” Dr. Alberto Caban-Martinez, deputy director of Sylvester’s Firefighter Cancer Initiative (FCI), said in a news release. “Many of these metals are associated with increased cancer risk due to their potential to cause DNA damage, oxidative stress and genetic alterations.”Batteries used in EVs contain several metals that may cause cancer, such as:Arsenic: Linked to lung, bladder, skin, liver and kidney cancers Cadmium: Linked to lung, prostate, kidney, pancreatic and breast cancers Chromium: Linked to lung, nasal and sinus cancers Nickel: Linked to lung, nasal and laryngeal cancers Lead: Linked to brain, kidney, stomach and lung cancers In response, Sylvester launched its firefighter cancer program in 2015.“There’s a recognition at Sylvester that we have the scientific and clinical expertise, and firefighters have the day-to-day occupational expertise. If we want to ask the right questions and get the best answers, we need to incorporate their perspectives and insights into what we do. That partnership is saving lives, and it will continue to save lives,” Erin Kobetz, director and principal investigator of the FCI, said in a news release.As part of the first-ever case study focused on EV fires, researchers staged a controlled EV fire to monitor air and environmental contamination. They found:EV battery fires burn much hotter than regular car fires. Exploding EV batteries can send projectiles flying up to 40 feet. Extinguishing an EV fire can require up to 30,000 gallons of water, while a typical car fire requires about 750 gallons of water to extinguish. Levels of cancer-causing chemicals, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), increased in the ground around the vehicle after the fire. As such, researchers emphasized that decontamination efforts are crucial after EV fires to reduce the cancer risk to firefighters and anyone nearby.“If we do our research correctly in line with our mission,” Caban-Martinez said. “We can reduce the cancer burden for current and future firefighters and the communities they serve.”The National Human Genome Research Institute has more on carcinogens.SOURCE: Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, news release, Feb. 27, 2025Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Health
Chemicals
Water

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