Repairing the Planet’s Lungs

In April, Executive Order 12898 established the White House Office of Environmental Justice to address persistent environmental injustices involving toxic pollution, underinvestment in infrastructure and services, and other harms due to a legacy of racial and economic discrimination. The new office is tasked with coordinating efforts among federal agencies to help implement innovative directives. It requires federal agencies to notify communities in the event of a release of toxic substances; directs agencies to facilitate meaningful public participation and just treatment in agency decision-making; directs agencies to identify and address information gaps related to environmental justice and make information on environmental and health concerns more publicly accessible; and implements a scorecard to evaluate federal agencies’ environmental justice efforts.

Saving the Fading Night Sky

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History "Lights Out" exhibit, in Washington, D.C., is helping people understand that light pollution is a global problem with broad impact. The effects of light pollution go beyond our diminishing view of the stars; it also impacts ecosystems and cultures on Earth.

The exhibit features more than 100 photographs, nearly 250 objects, a history of human-made light, interactive experiences, tactile models and a theater program to discover why dark nights matter, rekindle a connection with the night sky and consider how much light at night is enough.

The oceans, sometimes called the lungs of the Earth, have absorbed 30 percent of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions since the Industrial Revolution and captured 90 percent of the related excess heat. Seawater stores about 150 times more CO2 than air. Unfortunately, absorbing all that greenhouse gas has damaged sea life.

Engineers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have developed a process to cleanse the seawater of CO2 so it can store greater amounts of greenhouse gases. The process sends an electric charge into seawater flowing through tanks on a barge. The charge sets off chemical reactions to trap the greenhouse gas into a solid mineral, which is then deposited on the ocean floor, completing the cleansing process.

The engineers expect to design larger facilities based on the data obtained from their test sites in Los Angeles and Singapore and have commercial sites removing millions of tons of CO2 per year by 2025. The UCLA scientists estimate that 1,800 facilities would be needed to capture 10 billion tons of atmospheric CO2 annually beginning in 2050, thereby limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Astronomers rely on light, both visible and invisible , to understand celestial bodies, and their view of the universe has become increasingly obstructed by artificial light. Biologists have observed light pollution’s toll on plants and animals—from harming coral reefs’ moonlight-triggered reproduction to bats’ ability to pollinate flowers and the grim consequences of disoriented migrating birds. Another area of the exhibition presents people’s ancient and modern-day connections to the night sky through photographs, stories and cultural items.

Visitors also learn about simple but meaningful actions they can take to reduce light pollution, such as aiming outdoor lights downward and using the dimmest settings.