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Navy Growler jet noise loud enough to reach orca pods even 100 feet underwater, research shows
SEATTLE — On the beaches, in the deepest reaches of the backcountry — even nearly 100 feet underwater — the noise of Navy Growler training jets is unescapable for people and even endangered southern resident orcas, new scientific research shows. In a paper published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, scientists reported an underwater microphone anchored in nearly 100 feet of water offshore of the runway at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island distinctly picked up the sound of the jets, at levels known to affect orca behavior. To the orcas at that depth, the noise is about as loud as...
The Seattle Times
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Bezos Earth Fund gives nearly $800 million to climate groups in first round of grants
SEATTLE — In its first round of grants, the $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund will award $791 million to 16 environmental organizations largely focused on researching and implementing ways to reduce carbon emissions, build green jobs and restore wildlife.The funding round announced Monday was remarkably large for an organization that does not have a website and has not published a list of staff, named a director or released instructions on how to apply for grants.Five big-name environmental nonprofits — the Nature Conservancy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund, World Res...
The Seattle Times
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Horseshoe crabs are bled by the thousands for medical tests every year. Some fear an escalation due to COVID-19
PHILADELPHIA — Tens of thousands of horseshoe crabs from all over the East Coast climb like small army tanks from the Delaware Bay and onto soft, sandy beaches each spring, ready to spawn with females capable of laying 90,000 eggs a season.They also carry within them a highly-prized, copper-based, blue-colored blood that’s used worldwide for testing vaccines and medical devices for toxins. In fact, up to 750,000 horseshoe crabs were taken from waterbodies last year, and transported to labs. There, up to 40% of their blood was drawn by needles before they were released back into the wild.Resear...
The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Texas A&M to lead $100M hypersonic research project
The U.S. Department of Defense has picked Texas A&M University to lead a five-year, $100-million national research initiative focused on hypersonic technology.The initiative, called the University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics, will focus on hypersonic flight systems. Hypersonic refers to projectiles that can travel Mach 5, five times the speed of sound, or faster.Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, an engineering research agency of the university, will manage the five-year initiative, which allocates $20 million per year for the consortium.The announcement comes amid a recent boom ...
Austin American-Statesman