Under the Radar's Environmental News Roundtable unpacks recent announcements about disaster management relief, new research on microplastics and why electric vehicles are struggling in cold weather.

Researchers in the South want people to report Monarch butterfly sightings this winter as more butterflies seem to skip the long migration to breeding grounds in Mexico.

The major cause of the global warming crisis is excess atmospheric CO2 emitted mainly by fossil fuels. The extreme level of atmospheric CO2 is well beyond a “capture and storage/sequestration” solution, yet the hype persists that some clever extraction innovation will resolve the problem. Dr. Charles Harvey, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, has extensive experience with both CO2 capture/storage (CCS) engineering and the realization that CCS cannot reduce CO2 enough to reduce global warming. He argues instead for rational policy: drop fossil fuels and shift to renewables. Now. His expert advice is gaining a wide audience.

The Guinness World Record folks would have us believe in a 19th century snowflake more than a foot wide, but some scientists are skeptical.

Reindeer have to dig for food in dark, snowy conditions during winter. Their vision is adapted to make that task less challenging.

Large-scale agriculture, factories and other sources produce chemical runoffs. These “nutrient loads”can accumulate in waters and cause harmful algae blooms (HABs), including the red tides that are increasingly common. Algal blooms are now occurring in every coastal state in the U.S., and are a major concern around the world. HABs affect the health of marine organisms and also people. Dr. Glibert explains the vital role of algae in marine ecosystems, how runoff toxins cause the unnatural algal blooms, and what must be done to stop the damage. She also discusses how ocean geoengineering can impact algae.

Up to 80% of kids have sleep problems, and many parents are turning to over-the-counter sleep aids, which aren't FDA-approved.

Ian Goodine, one of the creators of AuditPRO, called the AI machine a "fancy photo booth for trash."

The major ocean currents strongly influence regional climate stability. Today’s rapidly warming oceans will ultimately alter major currents such as the AMOC, with huge consequences for global climate. In order to predict when and where these climate shifts will occur, oceanographers gather data over a long period of time and compare that data with historical variations in ocean temperature and currents. Hali Kilbourne’s focus on 2000 years of the relationship between oceans and climate provides important data for accurate climate models.
In this discussion Dr. Kilbourne describes how scientists collect and analyze the data, and what oceanographers can predict regarding sea level changes, stability of major currents and the coming impact on global climate.

Hali Kilbourne’s research focus is the relationship between the oceans and climate over the last 2000 years. This long-range analysis provides context for modern changes and will improve our understanding of processes driving climate variability.