Last Friday, December 20, 2024, the Sabin Center submitted an amicus brief to the New York State Court of Appeals - the state's highest court - in support of the City of New York in Glen Oaks Village Owners, Inc., et al. v. City of New York. At issue in the case is whether New York City's Local Law 97 of 2019, the City's building performance standards aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its largest buildings, is preempted by New York State's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).

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The author discusses the essential role of culture in fighting climate change....

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This has been an interesting year, 2024. I started traveling more, and I did a lot more just looking around as I patrol the town on foot. I've especially been savoring the sky.

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For the first time in over a year, lava is flowing inside the summit caldera of K?lauea....

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The Art of Doing Fieldwork on the Moon. This fresh look at the idea of fieldwork takes readers to the Moon and back as a new generation of planetary scientists and astronauts learns how to do fieldwork by proxy.--Jennifer Schmidt, Managing Editor

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This image is of a Cladophlebis denticulata (Brongn, 1828) plant fossil. The plant existed in the Jurassic Period. Fossil was discovered in Scarborough, England, United Kingdom. Fossil was on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhisto...

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One of my favourite pairs of earrings are a simple set of pearls. I have worn them pretty much every day since 2016 when I received them as a gift. What is it about pearls that makes them so appealing? I am certainly not alone in this. A simple ...

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With my accumulated years, the deepening gloom of late December brings a lassitude, an ebbing of motivation.  Writing a new blog post at year's end seems a daunting challenge.  In his old age, Walt Whitman acknowledged that, even as his heart still beat (hurrah) and the forces long celebrated in his poetry still moved him, he felt a "strange inertia/falling pall-like round me."  (A Carol Closing Sixty-Nine, Sands at Seventy, included in late editions of Leaves of Grass as an "annex.")

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The state treasurer who oversaw the pool was impeached.

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Newly out in VAMP: Danison, Andy D., Wedel, Mathew J., Barta, Daniel E., Woodward, Holly N., Flora, Holley M., Lee, Andrew H., and Snively, Eric. 2024. Chimerism of specimens referred to Saurophaganax maximus reveals a new species of Allosaurus ...

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These pictures show an unidentified shark tooth fossil. It was found in the Salem Limestone of Hardin County, Kentucky USA. The fossils date to the Mississippian Period. Thanks to Kenny for the image....

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For the second time in the fiscal year 2025 appropriations cycle, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have agreed to a short-term funding measure to avert a government shutdown. 

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I was talking to Eric Kuhn Thursday (write a book together - bonded for life) who pointed out that the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center has started running its models for 2025 runoff. They don't look good.

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An astronaut photographed the structure of a burgeoning cumulus congestus near the shore of the Persian Gulf. Read More......

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There's a pedestrian alley in my neighborhood that provides an important link for the low-stress version of my bike commute.

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Climate School faculty traveled to Baku, Azerbaijan, for this year's U.N. Climate Change Conference. In this Q&A, they share their experiences at the annual conference....

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In the last post I estimated the expected sea level rise along the eastern USA from the year 2000 to the year 2050, based on extrapolating the present trend forward in time. But I incorrectly stated that this 50-year period ... Continue reading ??'...

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By making small changes to how we celebrate and gather with loved ones, we can minimize our environmental footprints during the holidays....

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Perseverance makes it to the Jezero Crater rim, and we're antsy to start another year of space exploration....

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In 2021, a network of ground-based telescopes scanning the sky spotted a Sun-like star dimming rapidly. An amateur astronomer looking at the same system in data from NASA's now-decommissioned space-based NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) telescope noticed that it had brightened by 4% at infrared wavelengths just a few years before.

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Over the last five years, at least 25 states have expressly preempted local governments from enacting requirements, or even incentives, to construct new buildings that do not rely on natural gas as a fuel source. On December 6, 2024, two local governments finally fought back in court. Seattle and King County, Washington, along with various nonprofit and individual plaintiffs, brought suit against the state of Washington in Climate Solutions v. State of Washington. In their complaint, plaintiffs argue that the state's recent ballot initiative, Initiative Measure 2066 (I-2066) is unconstitutional and should be enjoined from taking effect. If successful, the effort would represent the first time a state's preemption law on natural gas restrictions for buildings was overturned or repealed for any reason, litigation included.

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Engineers & Scientists Acting Locally (ESAL) is transforming the way STEM professionals engage with their communities. Despite the challenges faced by scientists like time constraints and uncertainty about how to get involved, ESAL tackles this with storytelling, educational resources, and actionable tools like their Local Engagement Checklist. This blog aims to inspire our community in Europe to adopt similar approaches and recognises the untapped potential of STEM expertise in driving local change. When I learned about ESAL, I was impressed with the work they do to help scientists and engineers overcome barriers, act locally, and shape a brighter, more inclusive future. Today I am sitting with Gwendolyn Bogard at the Walter E. Convention Center while attending AGU'S 2025 Annual Meeting. Gwendolyn is on the Workshops Team, which hosts hands-on workshops for groups interested in local engagement. She is also the Senior Government Relations Officer at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, where she focuses on national policy making.

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Vijay Modi, Dan Steingart and Alan West will join Climate School faculty in 2025....

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I rarely watch videos about fighting climate change unless they're specifically about the science, but I decided to take a look at this one and I'm glad I did. If you choose to watch, I suggest you skip (the boring ... Continue reading ??'...

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 These pictures show a Petalodus (Hall, 1858) shark tooth fossil. They were found in the Salem Limestone of Hardin County, Kentucky USA. The fossils date to the Mississippian Period. Thanks to Kenny for the images. ...

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