Report rare species

MA Division of Fisheries and Willife

"If you see any of the 400+ species listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act, or if you find a seasonal wetland area that may be a vernal pool, MassWildlife would like to hear about it. Please share your observations using our Heritage Hub. Your reports are critical to the continued success of population trend monitoring and conservation efforts. [...] Another way to support rare species conservation and management is to learn which populations live near you. Use the Rare Species Viewer to search by town name or by species name to view records of rare animals and plants that have already been observed and confirmed. Once you can recognize more of these rare species and their habitats, you can contribute more of your observations." Read More

A Maine forest offers decades of data on the ability of trees to remove carbon from the air

Susan Sharon | Maine Public

"For decades, scientists from around the world have been visiting a mature forest just off the interstate, about 30 miles north of Bangor. They've undertaken groundbreaking studies on acid rain, forest ecology and soil health. NASA used it for a remote sensing project. And at one point the 550-acre Howland Research Forest was the most photographed place on the planet — from space. On top of all that, Howland's best-kept secret is one of the longest, continuous records of atmospheric carbon and of the role forests play in the fight against climate change. At the research forest, carbon and other greenhouse gas measurements are continuously recorded from the top of several meteorological towers that soar above a lush canopy of spruce, hemlock and white pine. [...] Lee and other researchers are especially interested in carbon flux. That's the exchange of carbon between the atmosphere and, in this case, the forest. They can measure what's going in and what's going out as part of a natural cycle. [...] And trees, it turns out, offer the best carbon capture technology in the world. During photosynthesis, they pull carbon out of the air and store it. When they decompose, the carbon is gradually released. [...] U.S. forests stored nearly 60 billion metric tons of carbon in 2020 according to the Environmental Protection Agency's inventory. More than 90% was contained in the forest ecosystem, especially soils. The rest was in harvested wood products. And they collectively serve as a net carbon sink, absorbing more carbon out of the atmosphere than they release. [...] Carbon storage in the forest differs by location, climate, disturbance history and tree species. And Dave Hollinger of the Northeast Climate Hub says there are still questions about whether places like Howland Forest will be able to keep up the pace if and when a certain climate tipping point is reached." Read More

Gray Treefrogs' Self-cleaning Toe Pads

Mary Holland | Naturally Curious

"Scientists have discovered that the angle of the toe pads and a secretion of mucus are involved in a treefrog’s ability to stick to wet, smooth leaves, rough, dry trees and other surfaces. They also allow the toes to 'self-clean.' To make their feet sticky treefrogs secrete mucus. They increase their adhesion by moving their feet against the surface of what they are clinging to in order to create friction. As a frog moves across a surface, its feet accumulate dirt, which impedes its ability to stick to the surface it’s walking on. Scientists have discovered that the mucus combined with this friction-creating movement not only allows the frog to adhere to the surface but simultaneously rids their feet of accumulated dirt and debris as they walk. This remarkable adaptation may provide a design for self-cleaning sticky surfaces, which could be useful for a wide range of products, especially in contaminating environments such as medical bandages and long-lasting adhesives." Read More

FERC proposes expanded 'duty of candor' obligation to increase market integrity, but pushback expected

Ethan Howland | Utility Dive

"The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [...] proposed a broad 'duty of candor' obligation that would require people who communicate with the agency, regional transmission organizations and other FERC-related entities to be truthful and not misleading. [...] Accurate information is key to FERC’s decision-making, according to Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s energy program. 'FERC makes rulings based upon the evidence provided before it in the docket,' Slocum said Friday. 'That puts a pretty big premium on what you write and what you claim before FERC, and anything FERC can do to ensure that those claims and those statements are truthful is going to improve the service of the public interest.' [...] The proposal seeks, among other things, comments on whether there are types of people or organizations who should be exempt from duty of candor obligations, [FERC Commissioner Allison] Clements said. 'We have to "right size" it,' FERC Commissioner Willie Phillips said. FERC Commissioner James Danly voted against the proposal, saying it was overly broad and unconstitutional. [...] Comments on the proposal are due 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register." Read More

Hidden Menace: Massive methane leaks speed up climate change

Michael Biesecker and Helen Wieffering | AP News

"To the naked eye, the Mako Compressor Station outside the dusty West Texas crossroads of Lenorah appears unremarkable, similar to tens of thousands of oil and gas operations scattered throughout the oil-rich Permian Basin. What’s not visible through the chain-link fence is the plume of invisible gas, primarily methane, billowing from the gleaming white storage tanks up into the cloudless blue sky The Mako station, owned by a subsidiary of West Texas Gas Inc., was observed releasing an estimated 870 kilograms of methane – an extraordinarily potent greenhouse gas — into the atmosphere each hour. That’s the equivalent impact on the climate of burning seven tanker trucks full of gasoline every day. But Mako’s outsized emissions aren’t illegal, or even regulated. And it was only one of 533 methane 'super emitters' detected during a 2021 aerial survey of the Permian conducted by Carbon Mapper, a partnership of university researchers and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. [...] Carbon Mapper identified the spewing sites only by their GPS coordinates. The Associated Press took the coordinates of the 533 'super-emitting' sites and cross-referenced them with state drilling permits, air quality permits, pipeline maps, land records and other public documents to piece together the corporations most likely responsible. Just 10 companies owned at least 164 of those sites, according to an AP analysis of Carbon Mapper’s data. West Texas Gas owned 11." Read More

Pollution: 'Forever chemicals' in rainwater exceed safe levels

Matt McGrath | BBC News

"New research shows that rainwater in most locations on Earth contains levels of chemicals that "greatly exceed" safety levels. These synthetic substances called PFAS are used in non-stick pans, fire-fighting foam and water-repellent clothes. [...] The study's findings lead the authors to conclude that a planetary boundary has been crossed - that there simply is no safe space on Earth to avoid these substances. [...] While this is undoubtedly cause for concern, there are some provisos. Many of these safety levels in place are advisory, meaning they are not legally enforceable. Other scientists take the view that action on these chemicals should wait until the health risks are more clearly proven. Much research has been carried out on the health risks posed by PFAS, and scientists say that exposure to high levels may be associated with an increased risk of some cancers, fertility issues and developmental delays in children. However, such associations don't prove cause and effect and other studies have found no connection between PFAS and disease. [...] The key challenge with these chemicals is their persistence, rather than their toxicity, say the study authors. While some harmful PFAS were phased out by manufacturers two decades ago, they persist in water, air and soil. [...] The research has been published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology." Read More