Feeding leftovers to livestock could help curb emissions

Around the world, one-third of all food produced for human consumption never gets eaten. Trashed food often winds up in landfills, where it rots and produces significant amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas. Giving that food waste to farm animals could help curb emissions while also saving the resources it takes to grow food just for livestock, but confusing state and federal laws make the practice difficult. A new guide seeks to simplify the process. InsideClimate News

Toxic nanoparticles found in human brains

A new study of brain tissue from 37 people found abundant quantities of magnetite particles, an iron oxide that comes from industrial air pollution. The finding is particularly worrying because high concentrations of magnetite particles in the brain have been linked to Alzheimer's disease, though more research is needed. The Guardian

The Coastal California gnatcatcher will remain on Endangered Species List

Developers, barred from carving up 197,000 acres of the songbird's critical habitat in Southern California, argued that the gnatcather was not a genetically distinct subspecies and was therefore, undeserving of special protection. This week the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service responded to their petition with its own evaluation: A panel of independent scientists confirmed it was, in fact, its own subspecies and gave the endangered bird a fighting chance. Los Angeles Times

Massive reef found hiding behind Great Barrier Reef

Scientists have known for decades that mysterious geological structures were lurking in the deep waters north of the Great Barrier Reef, and now sea floor mapping has revealed them. This second reef is made up of bioherms—mounds of calcified algae, and researchers are eager to find out how these sensitive organisms are responding to climate change. Christian Science Monitor

Poaching is driving a massive population decline in Africa's savanna elephants

The first ever continent-wide survey of the species finds that 144,000 of the animals, or 30 percent of the total population, were wiped out by poachers between 2007 and 2014. A few pockets, however, had stable or increasing numbers, and new populations were found in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Botswana. The Guardian

A lead crisis strikes an Indiana housing complex

The mayor of East Chicago, Indiana, recently announced the city will raze the West Calumet Housing Complex due dangerously high lead levels in the ground outside. The site is close to a massive former lead smelting plant, and directly on top of a smaller former smelting operation. Comparing the crisis to what happened in Flint, Michigan, residents are asking why the EPA didn't warn them about their toxic environs sooner. New York Times

NASA scientist says recent warming is unprecedented

In the last 30 years we’ve really moved into exceptional territory...It's unprecedented in 1,000 years.

Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, says the pace of global temperature change in recent decades makes it unlikely the world will be able to keep warming below the 1.5-degree threshold agreed on in Paris last year. Meanwhile, President François Hollande says countries are still a long way away from implementing the historic climate deal.

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