Environment

LANL’s Top 10 Science Stories Of The Year

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Scientists Aditya Mohite, left, and Wanyi Nie are perfecting a crystal production technique to improve perovskite crystal production for solar cells at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Looking back on 2015 … Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Top 10 Science Stories of the Year. From supercomputers and climate modeling, to cybersecurity and cancer treatments, Los Alamos National Laboratory worked hard in 2015 to advance science that helps address many of the most pressing challenges.

“Our commitment to delivering science and technology for the public good Read More

LANL Study Forecasts Disappearance Of Conifers

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Los Alamos scientist Nate McDowell discusses how climate change is killing trees with PBS NewsHour reporter Miles O’Brien. Courtesy/LANL
 
LANL News:
 
A new study, led by Los Alamos National Laboratory, suggests that widespread loss of a major forest type, the pine-juniper woodlands of the Southwestern U.S., could be wiped out by the end of this century due to climate change, and that conifers throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere may be on a similar trajectory.
 
New results, reported in a paper released today in the journal Nature Climate Change, suggests
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Secretary Moniz Announces Dr. Phil Sharp As 2015 Recipient Of Schlesinger Medal For Energy Security

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Dr. Phil Sharp
 
DOE News:
 
WASHINGTON ― U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz has announced Dr. Phil Sharp as the second recipient of the James R. Schlesinger Medal for Energy Security.
 
Dr. Sharp is president of Resources for the Future and a former U.S. Congressman from Indiana. Dr. Sharp will receive the medal at a ceremony at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 20, at the Department of Energy headquarters (1000 Independence Ave. Washington, D.C. 20585).
 
“Phil Sharp has been a fixture in energy security and clean energy progress in every possible
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Midday Solstice Celebration At PEEC Today

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Dave Yeamans on the human sundial. Photo by Rebecca Shankland

PEEC NEWS:

Stop by the Los Alamos Nature Center at noon today and enjoy a midday solstice celebration.

Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) will get out its measuring sticks and mark shadow lengths on the human sundial to document the longest midday shadows of the year. This short celebration will be the first in a series of measurements to see how shadow lengths change over the course of a year.

PEEC was founded in 2000 to serve the community of Los Alamos. It offers people of all ages a way to enrich their lives by strengthening Read More

Commission For Environmental Cooperation Taps Brumwell To Chair Joint Public Advisory Committee

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CEC News:
 
MONTREAL — The Commission for Environmental Cooperation’s (CEC) Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) has chosen Canadian JPAC member Lindsay Brumwell as committee chair for 2016.

She will succeed Mexican JPAC member Gustavo Alanís-Ortega, a lawyer and university professor at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, who has been chair during 2015.

“The Commission for Environmental Cooperation is increasingly relevant as a force for trinational cooperation on environmental issues,” Brumwell said. “I look forward to working

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PEEC Events For January 2016

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PEEC News:
 
Saturday, Jan. 2
Feature Film: Sea Monsters, A Prehistoric Adventure
See prehistoric sea creatures come to life and follow fossil hunters to remote locations as they excavate the remains of some of the most awe-inspiring creatures of all time. 2 p.m. Suitable for ages 4 and up. $6 per adult, $4 per child. More information at peecnature.org.
 
Sunday, Jan. 3
Feature Film: Sea Monsters, A Prehistoric Adventure
See prehistoric sea creatures come to life and follow fossil hunters to remote locations as they excavate the remains of some of the most awe-inspiring creatures
Read More

Udall, Heinrich, Luján Include Provision To Support Gold King Mine Monitoring In Year End Legislation

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Congressional News:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich and U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján announced that they included a provision in the end-of-year appropriations bill that encourages the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct long-term monitoring efforts following the Gold King Mine blowout.

The accident spilled toxic wastewater into the Animas and San Juan rivers in New Mexico and Colorado. The provision directs the EPA to coordinate with Read More

DOE: Largest Energy-Saving Standard In History

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DOE News:

  • Commercial Air Conditioner and Furnace Standards Will Save Businesses $167 Billion and Cut Carbon Emissions by 885 Million Metric Tons

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy today announced historic new efficiency standards for commercial air conditioners and furnaces. Developed with industry, utilities, and environmental groups, these standards will save more energy than any other standard issued by the Department to date.

Over the lifetime of the products, businesses will save $167 billion on their utility bills and carbon pollution will be reduced by 885 million Read More

LANL’s New Model More Accurately Tracks Gases For Underground Nuclear Explosion Detection

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This model sequentially couples a hydrodynamic rock damage code to a gas transport simulator via a translation between damage results and hydrogeologic parameters and stochastic sampling for uncertain hydrogeologic parameters. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a new, more thorough method for detecting underground nuclear explosions (UNEs) by coupling two fundamental elements—seismic models with gas-flow models—to create a more complete picture of how an explosion’s evidence (radionuclide gases) seep to the surface.

Their Read More