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☆ Widespread drought expected to persist across the West this winter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Little relief is expected for farmers, ranchers and reservoirs this winter in the Western U.S., as extreme drought is forecast to continue plaguing the region. That’s according to forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who predict "widespread extreme drought to persist across much of the West," according to Jon Gottschalck, chief of the operational prediction branch at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. Nearly 50% of the U.S. is in drought, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System, and more than one-third of the country’s population lives in areas affected by drought. Drought conditions have already drained reservoirs critical for drinking water supply, forced cutbacks on water use in the Colorado River and threatened farmers’ livelihoods. That should help relieve drought conditions in those areas.

Seattle and Portland, Oregon, were first and second, respectively, in the global ranking of places with the poorest air quality, according to IQAir, a Swiss company that measures air pollution. Air quality issues have persisted for about a month because of the prolonged fires burning west of the Cascades. That’s what’s been contributing to the persistent air quality issues we’ve had." Sports and other outdoor activities in the Pacific Northwest have been called off due to the poor air quality. The problem is worst in the West, where rising air pollution levels due to smoke have reversed decades of improvements in overall air quality.

☆ Endangered species protections kick in too late, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The study suggests that the Endangered Species Act, a bedrock tool of conservation, has become bogged down by delays and inaction that are hampering its mission. Decisions on whether species should be listed are supposed to take two years, according to Noah Greenwald, the endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Species are slipping through the cracks.”The new study builds upon research that began decades ago in a study that analyzed species listed from 1985 through 1992. Although few species have fully recovered and been delisted, it’s important to remember that the Endangered Species Act has been instrumental in preventing extinction, Greenwald said. “99% of species protected under the Endangered Species Act still survive, which is highly significant,” he said.

Many of the most destructive and potentially deadly impacts of a hurricane — including storm surge, flooding and rainfall — are not accounted for in a storm's category number. "Hurricane Ian is a very large, slow-moving hurricane. "There have been several alternative scales proposed over the years and none have gained enough attention or traction by the National Hurricane Center," Collins said. "It is important to have such evidence before even proposing to the National Hurricane Center that this should be considered as a replacement." Kantha said the National Hurricane Center acts conservatively and carefully with changes, particularly those with legal implications.

☆ ‘I’ve always wanted to be a tree’: Human composting starts to catch on
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

The bill took cues from Washington state, where lawmakers in 2019 became the first in the U.S. to legalize human composting and where a nascent industry is growing. Four Washington state funeral facilities are now licensed to perform natural organic reduction, according to Rob Goff, the executive director of the Washington State Funeral Directors Association. California’s law will give regulators with the state’s Cemetery and Funeral Bureau until 2027 to create regulations for a human composting program. The know-how behind human composting began in ranchers’ fields. Human composting could instead help soils sequester carbon and provide nutrients for plant life.

☆ Once unthinkable, Pakistan's record rainfall could now happen once a century
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Climate change made the unprecedented monsoon rainfall that left one-third of Pakistan underwater last month far more likely, according to a team of scientists who analyzed the event. They also looked at the heaviest five-day period of monsoon rainfall in hard-hit Sindh and Balochistan. The study found that climate change had inflated the chances of heavy rainfall for both geographies and time periods. As much as one-third of the rainfall that fell during the most intense period in Sindh and Balochistan could be attributed to climate change, it found. Researchers performed an attribution analysis of the heat wave and found it was made 30 times more likely to have been due to climate change, according to Fahad Saeed, an Islamabad-based researcher at the Center for Climate Change and Sustainable Development.

☆ Patagonia founder gives away company, ensuring profits go to fight climate change
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The founder of the outdoor brand Patagonia has relinquished his ownership in the business and directed its profits to fight climate change. "Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth, we are using the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source. The company expects to contribute roughly $100 million to the Holdfast Collective through an annual dividend depending on the businesses' success. The Patagonia brand, Hayes noted, charges a premium, in part, because of the values it represents. Hayes said businesses in manufacturing or extractive industries in a capitalist economy that requires growth ultimately run into conflicts with environmental and climate values.

☆ Millions still without sense of smell or taste after Covid-19
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-27 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Still struggling with your sense of smell after a bout with Covid-19? About three quarters of those affected by loss of taste or smell regained those senses within 30 days. “You could track the pandemic across the globe” by analyzing Google searches about smell loss, Patel said. Patients who suffered smell loss after Covid-19 make up a unique subset, said Dr. “I’m now, in my clinic, starting to see an uptick again.”Treatments are available for people who have lost their sense of taste and smell due to Covid-19.

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