A perfect storm and a new dawn for unconventional computing technologies
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Theorising unconventional climate advocates and their relationship to the environmental movement
Environmentalist-identified advocates have contributed to high levels of public support for climate action across countries. However, there remain important holdout constituencies that theory and evidence suggest are less likely to be persuaded by environmentalists, especially constituencies associated with resources and economic production, rural and regional areas, masculine norms, and conservative belief systems and politics. Emerging from these holdout constituencies, though, are some novel advocates for climate action. In this paper we theorise ‘unconventional climate advocates’ as those who combine advocacy for climate action with a social identity that departs from the prototypical environmentalist identity. Using social network analysis we show that unconventional climate advocates in Australia are peripheral to the main environmental movement, that is, the conventional advocates for climate action. We contend that unconventional advocates can broaden the social base of support for climate action, and their independence from conventional advocates – environmentalists – may aid in their efforts.
A comparison of the meridional meandering of extratropical precipitation during boreal winter: eddy momentum flux versus Eulerian storm tracks
The latitudinal distribution of winter extratropical precipitation is often regarded as being determined by the location and intensity of the storm track. Here, we compare the precipitation variability associated with the meridional eddy momentum flux (EMF) with that associated with an Eulerian storm track measure. Observations show that when the midlatitude EMF is anomalously poleward, the occurrence of moderate-to-heavy precipitation (1–33 mm day-1) increases between 45°N and 70°N, while decreasing between 25°N and 45°N. This shift occurs mostly downstream of the climatological storm track maximum, with generally greater precipitation anomalies compared to those associated with storm track changes. The shift is tied to changes in horizontal moisture transport primarily by planetary scale waves. These results suggest that, in addition to the storm track intensity, dynamics of the horizontal wave tilts which affect the EMF intensity need to be considered when projecting future changes in precipitation variability.
Advancements in 2D layered material memristors: unleashing their potential beyond memory
The scalability of two-dimensional (2D) materials down to a single monolayer offers exciting prospects for high-speed, energy-efficient, scalable memristors. This review highlights the development of 2D material-based memristors and potential applications beyond memory, including neuromorphic, in-memory, in-sensor, and complex computing. This review also encompasses potential challenges and future opportunities for advancing these materials and technologies, underscoring the transformative impact of 2D memristors on versatile and sustainable electronic devices and systems.
Water industry strategies to manufacture doubt and deflect blame for sewage pollution in England
The water and sewerage companies (WaSCs) in England are majority-owned by a range of global investors. The industry is under intense scrutiny for widespread failure in its environmental performance, discharging 12.7 million monitored hours of untreated wastewater and sewage into English waterways between 2019 and the end of 2023. At the time of writing, multiple investigations by environmental and financial regulators are in progress, and regulatory oversight is under review by the recently formed Office for Environmental Protection. While limited monitoring hid the full extent of underperformance, we argue that the WaSCs have prolonged this environmental disaster through strategies that mirror those of other large polluting industries in the past. We test this hypothesis for the nine major WaSCs in England against a published framework of 28 ‘greenwashing/deception’ tactics of large industries. We identified 22 of these tactics that could be seen as disinformation, greenwashing and manufacturing doubt. The financial exploitation of water resources in England, alongside long-term degradation of infrastructure and ineffective regulation, raises globally important issues around water security, ethics and environmental stewardship. Much greater scrutiny of both industry performance and industry communication is required.
Climate change exacerbates compound flooding from recent tropical cyclones
Tropical cyclones (TCs) generate substantial damage raising concerns about how climate change may amplify their impacts. However, linking changes in TC characteristics (wind, precipitation) to shifts in flood hazards and exposure, particularly due to the interaction of multiple drivers, is challenging. In this study, we use highly resolved physics-based models to investigate how flooding from three recent TCs in North and South Carolina would change under 4 degrees Celsius of warming. Runoff processes are the largest contributor to the total flood extent in both the present and future. However, the relative contribution of compound processes increases in the future, expanding upriver and beyond the floodplain where runoff processes previously occurred in isolation. The total area exposed to compound flooding increases by 65% and flood depths in these areas increase by 0.8 m highlighting the importance of simulating compound processes in TC flood exposure assessment.
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