Author name: James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy. You can follow his work on Google+.

Governments Urged to Settle on Key Aviation Climate Package

Ahead of the approaching International Civil Aviation Organization Assembly scheduled for September, the organization has launched a new regional outreach + education session series with the intent of building consensus on the issue of a global climate agreement for air transport, according to a new press release. The new series of regional events — dubbed […]

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New Jersey Senate Passes Bill Requiring Utility Companies To Purchase 80% Renewable Electricity By 2050

The New Jersey Senate has passed a bill that will require utility companies operating in the state to source at least 80% of their electricity from renewable energy sources by the year 2050, according to recent reports. The new bill (Bill S1707) would require utility companies to source at least 11% of their electricity from

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Use Of Energy Efficiency Programs Lowers Cost Of Clean Power Plan Compliance, According To Recent Studies

Energy efficiency programs are generally the lowest-cost strategy for remaining in compliance with Clean Power Plan requirements — that’s the primary finding of a number of recent studies on the subject from a number of different organizations and research bodies. Most of the states studied can actually achieve more than 50% of their emissions reductions

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Fairy Circles Found In Australia, New Theories On Formation

Fairy circles are generally circular, mostly barren patches of land that are found in portions of the grasslands of Namibia. As far as the scientific community was concerned, this region was the only place that these somewhat enigmatic features were found. New work from researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig, however,

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Virginia Auto Dealers Think Tesla’s In Conspiracy With State

Originally published on EV Obsession. The battle between Tesla Motors and various auto-dealer associations around the country keeps grinding on, with things looking unlikely to resolve completely anytime soon. That said, things have been getting downright strange in some instances…. Case in point: the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association has apparently decided to sue both Tesla

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Used 2014 BMW i3s Have Reliability Issues, Consumer Reports Says

Originally published on EV Obsession. The 2014 BMW i3 isn’t a good option if you’re in the market for a second-hand electric car, according to Consumer Reports. The popular magazine recently released a list dubbed “Used Cars To Avoid Buying” — the 2014 model year of the popular electric city car featured prominently on it. Worth

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3:1 Tesla Chargers Outnumber Gas Stations In Manhattan

Originally published on EV Obsession. Manhattan will soon be home to as many as 3 times more Tesla electric vehicle charging stations than gas stations, following the company’s recent decision to expand the destination charger network there. The decision to expand the Tesla electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the densely built Manhattan island portion

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Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Well Blowout Was The Largest Methane Leak In US History, According To Study

The recent natural gas well blowout in Aliso Canyon, California, was the largest methane leak in US history, according to new research from the University of California–Davis, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and others. During the period of activity — at least, October 23, 2015, through February 11, 2016 — more than 100,000 tons

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The Age Of Plastic — Study Examines The Ubiquity Of Plastic Pollution/Debris In The Modern World

Plastics are everywhere. It’s gotten to the point where pretty much anywhere you go, anything you do, you’re life is notably influenced by plastic — micro plastic is in the soil you’re standing on, the water you drink, and the food you eat. And, it’ll still be there long after your gone. So what effect

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BPA-Free Plastic Causes Its Own Problems — Replacement, BPS (Bisphenol S), Found To Disrupt Reproductive System & Alter Embryonic Development As Well

In a finding that should surprise exactly no one with any critical faculties remaining, it turns out that the replacement for BPA used in “BPA-free” plastic — BPS (Bisphenol S) — is itself involved in reproductive system disruption and altered embryonic development. The new finding (which has been expected by anyone who have been paying

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Volkswagen US Sales Drop 30%, e-Golf Sales Jump 300% In November

Originally published on EV Obsession. Despite Volkswagen sales in the US generally falling following the diesel car emissions testing scandal, e-Golf sales have been rising notably — with a year-on-year comparison of 2014 and 2015 sales showing an increase of nearly 300%, based on the the most recently released sales figures. To be more specific

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Report: California Now Accounts For 40% Of Zero Emissions Vehicle Sales In US

Originally published on EVObsession. California now (well, as of January 2015) accounts for 40% of all zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) sales in the US, according to a new analysis from Frost & Sullivan. The new analysis — Strategic Analysis of California Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate — also predicts that, as the next round of ZEV requirements

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Funny Stories About Random Drivers Challenging Tesla Owners To Races

Originally published on EV Obsession. Going by the number of stories that we’ve published concerning Tesla owners racing various gas-powered cars over the last few years (sorry to those who don’t like this aspect of our site, but numbers are considerably against you…) it should be pretty obvious that a lot of people, when they see

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Gas Pumps In North Vancouver To Warn Pumpers About Climate Change

Originally published on EV Obsession. The Canadian city of North Vancouver (in British Columbia) will soon be home to gas pumps featuring climate change warning stickers, following the passing of a law there by the city council, according to recent reports. While the designs for the warning stickers are yet to finalized, the idea is that

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Honda Power Exporter 9000 — Use CHAdeMO-Compatible EVs As Generators

Those interested in occasionally using their electric car as a portable generator will soon have a new option in that regard, when Honda releases the Power Exporter 9000. The new offering is, essentially, just a means of allowing electric vehicles (EVs) that feature CHAdeMO fast-charger compatibility to function as backup generators — feeding AC electricity back

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Bumble Bees Changing In Response To Decreased Flower Diversity, Research Shows

Ongoing changes in flower diversity, related to a shifting climate (amongst other things), are impacting the bodies of bumblebees, according to recent reports. These changes include a decrease in the length of bumble bee tongues — leaving the bees with less options as far as feeding goes — according to the work. The cause of

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Viruses Are Alive, Despite Earlier Refutations, According To New Research

Despite earlier presuppositions that viruses aren’t actually “alive” new research is supporting the idea they viruses are in fact living entities — just ones that are very different from other forms of known life. The new work represents what the researchers involved say is the “first reliable method for tracing viral evolution back to a

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New Cold Weather Dinosaur Discovered; Probably Lived In Environment With Snow

Fossils of a new species of duck-billed dinosaur have been found in what’s now a very remote part of Alaska, according to recent reports. The fossils are thought to represent the most northern-living dinosaurs yet known. The species, which as an adult would have measured some 30-feet long, apparently spent much of its time in

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Man Vaccinated Against Polio 28 Years Ago Has Been Shedding Mutated Highly Virulent Form The Whole Time; Other Mutated Strains Found In Sewage Samples The World Over

In yet another example of things turning out not quite the way that they are advertised… It’s come to light that a man vaccinated against polio 28 years ago has actually had an active infection in his gut the whole time, shedding the virus in his stools for the whole 3 decades. More interestingly (or

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Tanzania Has Lost Two-Thirds Of Its Elephants In Just The Last 4 Years

Tanzania has lost two-thirds of its elephant population in just the last 4 years, as a result of growing demand for ivory and the increasing professionalism of poachers, according to recent reports. Elephant numbers in the African country stood at around 316,000 individuals in 1976 (based on aerial surveys); 13,084 in 2013; and 8200 in

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Octopus Species Hunts By Tapping Prey On Shoulder When They Aren’t Looking, Then Ambushing; Displays Other Strange Traits

The larger Pacific striped octopus was first observed scientifically back in the 1970s, but owing to the fact that the behaviors observed by researchers seemed so strange the scientific community refused to publish any papers (only a single abstract) on the species. These earlier observations have been vindicated by new research though — with the

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Early Life Starvation Leads To Epigenetic Changes That Are Passed Down For Generations, Research On Worms Finds

Early life starvation can lead to epigenetic changes that persist for multiple generations, according to a new research from Duke University. To be more specific — third-generation nematode worms still show signs of having survived famine. This represents what Duke University biologist Ryan Baugh has termed: a “bet-hedging strategy.” As the worms used in the

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Plants Use Signals Previously Only Thought To Be Associated With Animals When Stressed, Research Finds

Even though plants don’t possess a nervous system they use signals previously assumed to only be associated with animals when exposed to stress, new research from the University of Adelaide has found. While the machinery may be different, the research has shown that the combination of electrical and chemical signals is remarkably similar to that

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Star Of Bethlehem — Closest Highly Visible Conjunction Of Venus & Jupiter In 2000 Years On June 30, 2015

After an absence of roughly 2000 years the Star of Bethlehem may soon be making a return to our night skies on June 30, 2015 — to be more specific Venus and Jupiter will be making their tightest highly visible conjunction in nearly two millennia. The reference to the Star of Bethlehem is with regard

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Box Jellyfish Actively Hunt Fish, Research Finds

Some of the first research to investigate the feeding habits of Australia’s Irukandji box jellyfish (Carukia barnesi) has, interestingly, found that the jellies actively hunt fish — by utilizing twitching in their extended tentacles to move their nematocyst clusters (the parts that stings people/animals) and using them as lures, according to the research. Considering that

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Common Wastewater Treatment Methods Are “Creating” New Antibiotics

Many of those reading this now are probably aware that antibiotics are more or les ubiquitous in the environment now — owing to their ubiquitous use, and disposal. Wastewater is often filled antibiotic residues and compounds (as well prescription drugs remnants as well), leading to the rapid spread of microbial antibiotic resistance in recent years.

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Dinosaurs Were Warm-Blooded, More Like Mammals Than Reptiles In Growth + Metabolism, Research Finds

Dinosaurs were warm-blooded, and we’re much more like mammals than reptiles in their growth and metabolism, according to a new research paper published by Stony Brook University paleontologist Michael D’Emic, PhD. The new work — which found that dinosaurs grew roughly as fast as modern mammals do — is a re-analysis of the widely reported

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NASA’s Journey To Mars Challenge — Awards Of Up To $15,000 On Offer For Solutions To The Establishment Of Continuous Human Presence On Mars

Those with the bent of an inventor will probably like this one — NASA’s new “Journey to Mars Challenge” will be awarding up to $15,000 (from a total prize pot of $15,000) to contest entrants who come up with, and describe in great detail, one or more “Mars surface systems/capabilities and operations” necessary for the

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First Large-Scale Assessment Of Oil & Gas Industry’s Impact On Landscapes Of US + Canada — Huge Loss Of Vegetation & Arable Cropland

The first large-scale scientific assessment of the oil and gas industry’s impact on the landscapes of the US and Canada was recently completed by researchers at the University of Montana. As anyone who’s seen a picture of what oil fields look like from the air (much less the tar sands) can probably guess, the prognosis

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Lyrid Meteor Shower Peaks Night Of April 22, 2015 — Lyrids Peak Early Morning April 23, 2015

One of the most beloved meteor showers of the year, the Lyrids, is nearly here — with general activity going from around the night of April 16th through the night of April 25th. The Lyrid meteor shower will hit its peak, though, late on the night of April 22, 2015 (the early morning hours of

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