 Air
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Oops They Did It Again - Nissan Admits Emissions Tampering
Nissan admitted Monday in a statement that at its inspection plants in Japan, company inspectors used “altered measurement values” on emissions inspection reports, and that the tests also “deviated from the prescribed testing environment.” Nissan, which twice in its statement called the "misconduct" regrettable, said it is undertaking an internal investigation and has reported the issue to the Japanese government. Volkswagen came under fire in 2015 for a similar issue regarding incorrectly measuring emissions and fuel economy. And then just a month ago, Daimler Corporation admitted to using software that allowed it to sell diesel fuel cars that were emitting far more toxic air pollution in real-world driving than during testing procedures.
This is the second major faux pas for Nissan in less than a year. Last October, Nissan admitted that it used unauthorized employees to conduct final safety checks on Nissan vehicles for nearly three decades. That scandal caused the company to recall up to 1.2 million vehicles in Japan. Both issues impacted only vehicles bound for sale in Japan.
Why This Matters: The public needs government to hold corporations accountable when they deceive the public and try to skirt the rules on our health and safety. Nissan did not admit to similar violations for vehicles being sold in the U.S. but it certainly makes one wonder. Unfortunately, we doubt the Trump Administration, which is busy trying to roll back U.S. regulations governing fuel economy, will look hard to make sure they did not similarly cut corners here.
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 Water
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U.S. Water Company Helps to Save Trapped Thai Soccer Team
Bloomberg News reports that in addition to Elon Musk, another U.S. CEO has lent his company's expertise to assist with the rescue operations for the Thai soccer team trapped in the cave for two weeks now. Eight boys have made it out by the end of operations on Monday, with four more plus their coach still stranded. Patrick Decker, CEO of Xylem, Inc., sent a team of engineers who were able to make recommendations to improve pumping power to assist with taking water out of the cave, boosting pumping power by 40%. Xylem Inc., one of the world’s top water technology firms, Decker spent much of last week reaching out to Thai officials and mobilizing his company of 17,000 employees to help.
Xylem has a history of assisting in rescue efforts like this one -- they previously helped in rescue operations after mine collapses in Pennsylvania and Chile. Decker, whose wife is Thai, maintains that the company will be there to the end of the operation -- which will pick up again today. According to Decker, the current rescue might be the most complicated of all they have assisted because it involves such tight spaces, low oxygen levels and limited availability of electricity. Rescuers believe that they are running out of time -- desperately working to rescue all of those stranded before fresh rains complicate the task or cut off access by increasing flooding in the cave.
Why This Matters: While the U.S. President may take an "America first" attitude toward the rest of the world, fortunately, there are other leaders who do not. This kind of corporate heroics may be increasingly needed as climate change amps up the number of natural disasters across the globe. Our government mobilized to assist countries in need of our technology and expertise at times like this. Corporations are increasingly filling the gap left by the U.S. government.
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 Land
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Photo: Hawaii National Guard/Flickr
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Kilauea Eruptions, Two Months In
Since Hawaii's Kilauea volcano began erupting in early may, the lava has destroyed neighborhoods, roads, forests and even evaporated the island's largest lake in a matter of hours. But the turbulent eruptions and tragedy of people losing their homes have come with a surprising side effect: the lava has grown the Big Island's land mass.
Kilauea's fissure 8, has been providing a steady and rapid flow of lava which has made its way to the ocean at Kapoho. As Eric Mack reported for Forbes, a few months ago, there was a picturesque half-moon bay at this spot, but since then lava has completely filled in the bay and begun forming a brand new lava delta. As of last Friday, the eruption had laid down a total of 585 acres of new land where previously there was only ocean. That's almost an entire square mile of added land mass, and each day it grows further. Take a look at the USGS image below to get a sense of where the former coastline used to lie:
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Why This Matters: Kilauea's eruption has put on display the violent destruction and creation caused by volcanic activity and with the use of drones, satellite imagery, and high-res photos shared on social media we've had an incredibly detailed account of this phenomenon like never before. Hopefully, all the imagery can inspire a new generation of Earth scientists to study volcanoes!
Go Deeper: While all this new beachfront real estate may seem prime for development, the law says all those new acres belong to the Hawaiian state government. But don't expect new state parks or beaches any time soon, the lava flow is showing no signs of slowing down and cooling.
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 Energy
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Solar Energy Powered by Bacteria
Bacteria have converted sunlight into energy for millennia and while scientists have often tried to isolate the chemical in bacteria that allows photosynthesis to occur, they have not been successful until now. Recently, researchers at the University of British Columbia developed solar panels that use the entire bacteria to generate solar energy. As Popular Mechanics reported, the researchers bred E. coli bacteria to grow large amounts of the photosynthetic chemicals and then covered those bacteria with semiconducting materials to produce electricity. This new method allowed the researchers to gain a big advantage over other bacteria-based solar cells, nearly doubling the amount of electricity collected.
Why This Matters: While the bacteria solar cells can't quite compete with traditional solar panels yet, they do have advantages that could help them more commercially viable in the future. In particular, the photosynthetic chemicals used by the E. coli in the solar cell work just as well in low light as in bright, direct sunlight, meaning they can still generate plenty of electricity on cloudy days. In addition, these solar cells are made without the expensive materials and complicated manufacturing required for conventional solar panels, which mean these should be cleaner and cheaper to produce.
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 People
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Judge Brett Kavanaugh Is Trump's Pick To Replace Justice Kennedy
Judge Kavanaugh is no Friend of the Planet. The major environmental groups began issuing statements in opposition immediately after his nomination was announced. We will bring you more detailed coverage tomorrow.
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 Sustainability
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Starbucks Vows to Eliminate All Plastic Straws by 2020
Starbucks announced yesterday that it will eliminate single-use plastic straws from its 28,000 stores around the world by making strawless lids and alternative-material straw options available to customers. Starbucks, the largest food and beverage retailer to make such a global commitment, anticipates the move will eliminate more than one billion plastic straws per year from Starbucks stores. Customers in Seattle and Vancouver will be the first to see the strawless lids implemented, starting this fall, with phased rollouts within the U.S., Canada, and Europe to follow in 2019 and beyond. The new drink design has been likened to an "adult sippy cup" and the design will become the standard for all iced coffee, tea, and espresso drinks. Buzzfeed noted that Frappuccino drinks will be served with the new eco-friendly straws, but customers may request the other cups if they'd prefer no straw at all.
Why This Matters: This move by Starbucks can mean the beginning of moving away from single-use plastics and can normalize consumer behavior to avoid unnecessary packaging. Hopefully, people can begin to think about reducing other plastic packaging in their daily lives, like takeout containers and single-use plastic bags while shopping. Starbucks has 28,000 stores in 76 countries and generates over 85 million business transactions each week, that's an immense amount of people that could be influenced to think about disposable plastic and where it ends up.
Go Deeper: While Starbucks is the largest company to examine its packaging, smaller brands are working on environmentally-friendly as well as well. Take for example Saltwater Brewery in Delray Beach, Florida, that recently released edible six-pack rings for its beers. These six-pack rings are 100 percent biodegradable and edible—constructed of barley and wheat ribbons from the brewing process. This packaging can actually be safely eaten by animals that may come into contact with the refuse. (h/t to reader and friend Vonnie Hampel for sending us this story!)
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 Oceans
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One Cool Thing: Seeing Sea Level Rise
The engineer and artist Andreco uses the latest science to inform his art and moves it into public spaces as a way to help communicate climate change to the public. Scientists often have a difficult time translating research into language that the public can understand. But not Andreco -- he has painted various works around Venice, including the one above, to visualize how climate change will impact the city. Andreco believes that “[a]rtwork can change the perception of the environmental problem” and he hopes that by engaging in popular culture he can influence behavior. We need some art like this here in U.S. cities! To see more of his work -- in Paris and Bologna -- click here.
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