Ida’s devastation, Airborne forever chemicals, almost a third of trees face extinction, NOAA not doing enough for endangered whales, wind energy...

[View in your browser]( [ecowatch]( Top Posts [ ​In Today's Eco Update - Ida's devastation. - Forever chemicals in our air. - Tree extinction. - NOAA's plan not enough to protect whales. And everything you need to know about wind energy. – summaries below written by [Angely Mercado]( [post_image]( [Ida's Devastation Takes a Heavy Toll on the Most Vulnerable]( The magnitude of Ida's devastation across the northeastern U.S. became clearer Thursday, as the impacts of climate change revealed and exacerbated existing societal inequities. At least 46 people were reported dead as of Friday morning from Maryland to Connecticut, with the vast majority of those drowning in their homes or cars under the — in many places — unprecedented deluge of rain. Climate change caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels is making extreme precipitation events worse and more frequent. The storm dropped 3-4 inches per hour from eastern Pennsylvania to southwest Connecticut — rates so extreme they essentially negate any difference between soil and paved surfaces and [essentially all the rain becomes streamflow](. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Ida's Devastation Takes a Heavy Toll on the Most Vulnerable&body= [post_image]( [Forever Chemicals Are in the Air]( Experts are [sounding the alarm]( about the presence of toxic forever [chemicals]( in drinking water. But a new study shows that they are also in our air. The study was [published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters]( this week and described how researchers developed a new technique for measuring the presence of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances ([PFAS]( in indoor air, and found them in several locations including kindergarten classrooms, offices, laboratories and a home. They put polyethylene sheet samplers to the ceilings of nine carpeted kindergarten classrooms, one home, an outdoor clothing store storage room, two laboratories, five offices, one classroom, one university storage room, one elevator, and two carpet stores to capture the PFAS. They found traces of the forever chemical in almost every location tested. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Forever Chemicals Are in the Air&body= [post_image]( [30% of Tree Species Face Extinction Risk]( Almost a third of the world's trees are at risk of extinction due to agriculture, logging, and, increasingly, the global climate emergency, according to a report by a UK-based conservation group. Botanic Gardens Conservation International's landmark [State of the World's Trees]( report found that more than 17,000 types of trees face the risk of extinction. More than 400 of those at risk species only have less than 50 specimens left in the wild and more than 100 species of trees are extinct in their natural habitat. Madagascar, Brazil and Indonesia have the highest numbers of threatened tree species. To save the trees, officials must target the spread of invasive diseases and pests, the exploitative timber trade, and the loss of habitat to forest clearance. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=30% of Tree Species Face Extinction Risk&body= [post_image]( [​NOAA Plan Might 'Delay' Right Whales Extinction, But Not Save Them]( Conservation groups responded were disappointed with the Biden administration's long-awaited [new rule]( for protecting the endangered North Atlantic right whales from Maine to Florida, siting that they want more decisive action from the government to protect whales. The government predicts that there are less than 370 North Atlantic whales left in the world and fewer every year due to human caused risks like becoming entangled in fishing gear. The [rule]( from the National Marine Fisheries Service — an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also known as NOAA Fisheries — amends the government's [Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan](. This plan aims to reduce death and injury to right whales, fin whales, and humpback, whales, especially near commercial lobstering areas. But advocates say the rule doesn't do enough to address other factors like ship strikes that also kill whales and endanger their numbers. They believe that more aggressive action to protect the whales would help their numbers rebound. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=​NOAA Plan Might 'Delay' Right Whales Extinction, But Not Save Them&body= [post_image]( [Wind Energy 101: Everything You Need to Know]( Capable of ecological impacts as diverse as the gentle pollination of wheat and corn to devastating wind storms that keel over trees and homes, wind is all around us. But what actually makes the wind blow? According to a U.S. Department of Energy [webpage]( wind is technically a form of solar energy, in the sense that uneven heating of the Earth's atmosphere is one of three factors causing it. Irregularities of the Earth's surface — that is, any variation of our topography — and the planet's rotation. Subsequently, those factors influence how fast and in what direction air in the atmosphere is pushed. To harness the power from that air movement into mechanical power, wind energy developers typically install massive turbines that rotate like pinwheels across vast swathes of land or sea. [Read More Button]( [9630b8e6-45a3-4648-9335-a47935d7d092.png](  [twitter](  [linkedin](  [email](mailto:?subject=Wind Energy 101: Everything You Need to Know&body= All rights reserved. [facebook](  [twitter](  [instagram]( [Unsubscribe]( {EMAIL} [Update Profile]( [about our service provider]( Sent by contact@ecowatch.com