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MIT Researchers Identify Genetic Markers That Could Revolutionize ALS Treatment

In a study of cells from nearly 400 ALS patients, MIT researchers identified genomic regions with chemical modifications linked to disease progression. An analysis revealed...

MIT researchers have discovered significant epigenetic modifications in ALS patients that could lead to targeted therapies. These modifications, identified in motor neurons from 380 ALS patients, indicate that ALS might consist of various subtypes, each with distinct genetic influences on disease progression.In a study of cells from nearly 400 ALS patients, MIT researchers identified genomic regions with chemical modifications linked to disease progression.An analysis revealed a strong differential signal associated with a known subtype of ALS, and about 30 locations with modifications that appear to be linked to rates of disease progression in ALS patients.For most patients, it’s unknown exactly what causes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease characterized by degeneration of motor neurons that impairs muscle control and eventually leads to death. Studies have identified certain genes that confer a higher risk of the disease, but scientists believe there are many more genetic risk factors that have yet to be discovered. One reason why these drivers have been hard to find is that some are found in very few patients, making it hard to pick them out without a very large sample of patients. Additionally, some of the risk may be driven by epigenomic factors, rather than mutations in protein-coding genes.Working with the Answer ALS consortium, a team of MIT researchers has analyzed epigenetic modifications — tags that determine which genes are turned on in a cell — in motor neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem (IPS) cells from 380 ALS patients.This analysis revealed a strong differential signal associated with a known subtype of ALS, and about 30 locations with modifications that appear to be linked to rates of disease progression in ALS patients. The findings may help scientists develop new treatments that are targeted to patients with certain genetic risk factors.“If the root causes are different for all these different versions of the disease, the drugs will be very different and the signals in IPS cells will be very different,” says Ernest Fraenkel, the Grover M. Hermann Professor in Health Sciences and Technology in MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering and the senior author of the study. “We may get to a point in a decade or so where we don’t even think of ALS as one disease, where there are drugs that are treating specific types of ALS that only work for one group of patients and not for another.”MIT postdoc Stanislav Tsitkov is the lead author of the paper, which was published on May 2 in the journal Nature Communications.What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)?Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurological disorder that targets motor neurons—nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement and breathing. As these motor neurons deteriorate and die, they cease transmitting messages to muscles, leading to muscle weakening, twitching (fasciculations), and wasting away (atrophy).Over time, ALS progresses, and individuals affected by the disease gradually lose the ability to initiate and control voluntary movements such as walking, talking, and chewing, including the ability to breathe. The symptoms of ALS worsen progressively.Finding Risk FactorsALS is a rare disease that is estimated to affect about 30,000 people in the United States. One of the challenges in studying the disease is that while genetic variants are believed to account for about 50 percent of ALS risk (with environmental factors making up the rest), most of the variants that contribute to that risk have not been identified.Similar to Alzheimer’s disease, there may be a large number of genetic variants that can confer risk, but each individual patient may carry only a small number of those. This makes it difficult to identify the risk factors unless scientists have a very large population of patients to analyze.“Because we expect the disease to be heterogeneous, you need to have large numbers of patients before you can pick up on signals like this. To really be able to classify the subtypes of disease, we’re going to need to look at a lot of people,” Fraenkel says.About 10 years ago, the Answer ALS consortium began to collect large numbers of patient samples, which could allow for larger-scale studies that might reveal some of the genetic drivers of the disease. From blood samples, researchers can create induced pluripotent stem cells and then induce them to differentiate into motor neurons, the cells most affected by ALS.“We don’t think all ALS patients are going to be the same, just like all cancers are not the same. And the goal is being able to find drivers of the disease that could be therapeutic targets,” Fraenkel says.In this study, Fraenkel and his colleagues wanted to see if patient-derived cells could offer any information about molecular differences that are relevant to ALS. They focused on epigenomic modifications, using a method called ATAC-seq to measure chromatin density across the genome of each cell. Chromatin is a complex of DNA and proteins that determines which genes are accessible to be transcribed by the cell, depending on how densely packed the chromatin is.In data that were collected and analyzed over several years, the researchers did not find any global signal that clearly differentiated the 380 ALS patients in their study from 80 healthy control subjects. However, they did find a strong differential signal associated with a subtype of ALS, characterized by a genetic mutation in the C9orf72 gene.Additionally, they identified about 30 regions that were associated with slower rates of disease progression in ALS patients. Many of these regions are located near genes related to the cellular inflammatory response; interestingly, several of the identified genes have also been implicated in other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease.“You can use a small number of these epigenomic regions and look at the intensity of the signal there, and predict how quickly someone’s disease will progress. That really validates the hypothesis that the epigenomics can be used as a filter to better understand the contribution of the person’s genome,” Fraenkel says.“By harnessing the very large number of participant samples and extensive data collected by the Answer ALS Consortium, these studies were able to rigorously test whether the observed changes might be artifacts related to the techniques of sample collection, storage, processing, and analysis, or truly reflective of important biology,” says Lyle Ostrow, an associate professor of neurology at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, who was not involved in the study. “They developed standard ways to control for these variables, to make sure the results can be accurately compared. Such studies are incredibly important for accelerating ALS therapy development, as they will enable data and samples collected from different studies to be analyzed together.”Targeted DrugsThe researchers now hope to further investigate these genomic regions and see how they might drive different aspects of ALS progression in different subsets of patients. This could help scientists develop drugs that might work in different groups of patients, and help them identify which patients should be chosen for clinical trials of those drugs, based on genetic or epigenetic markers.Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a drug called tofersen, which can be used in ALS patients with a mutation in a gene called SOD1. This drug is very effective for those patients, who make up about 1 percent of the total population of people with ALS. Fraenkel’s hope is that more drugs can be developed for, and tested in, people with other genetic drivers of ALS.“If you had a drug like tofersen that works for 1 percent of patients and you just gave it to a typical phase two clinical trial, you probably wouldn’t have anybody with that mutation in the trial, and it would’ve failed. And so that drug, which is a lifesaver for people, would never have gotten through,” Fraenkel says.The MIT team is now using an approach called quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis to try to identify subgroups of ALS patients whose disease is driven by specific genomic variants.“We can integrate the genomics, the transcriptomics, and the epigenomics, as a way to find subgroups of ALS patients who have distinct phenotypic signatures from other ALS patients and healthy controls,” Tsitkov says. “We have already found a few potential hits in that direction.”Reference: “Disease related changes in ATAC-seq of iPSC-derived motor neuron lines from ALS patients and controls” by Stanislav Tsitkov, Kelsey Valentine, Velina Kozareva, Aneesh Donde, Aaron Frank, Susan Lei, the Answer ALS Consortium, Jennifer E. Van Eyk, Steve Finkbeiner, Jeffrey D. Rothstein, Leslie M. Thompson, Dhruv Sareen, Clive N. Svendsen and Ernest Fraenkel, 2 May 2024, Nature Communications.DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47758-8The research was funded by the Answer ALS program, which is supported by the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins University, Travelers Insurance, ALS Finding a Cure Foundation, Stay Strong Vs. ALS, Answer ALS Foundation, Microsoft, Caterpillar Foundation, American Airlines, Team Gleason, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Fishman Family Foundation, Aviators Against ALS, AbbVie Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, ALS Association, National Football League, F. Prime, M. Armstrong, Bruce Edwards Foundation, the Judith and Jean Pape Adams Charitable Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Les Turner ALS Foundation, PGA Tour, Gates Ventures, and Bari Lipp Foundation. This work was also supported, in part, by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the MIT-GSK Gertrude B. Elion Research Fellowship Program for Drug Discovery and Disease.

Chemicals
Food
Nature

California's effort to plug abandoned, chemical-spewing oil wells gets $35-million boost

The Biden administration funding is among the "largest ever in American history to address legacy pollution," U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said.

California will receive more than $35 million in federal funding to help address the scourge of abandoned oil wells that are leaking dangerous chemicals and planet-warming methane in areas across the state, including many in Los Angeles.The investment from the Biden-Harris administration is among the “largest ever in American history to address legacy pollution,” U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said Friday during a joint announcement with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Deputy Secretary for Energy Le-Quyen Nguyen.California will use the funding to plug and remediate 206 high-risk orphaned oil and gas wells and decommission 47 attendant production facilities with about 70,000 feet of associated pipelines.“Capping hazardous orphaned wells and addressing legacy pollution across our country will have a profound impact on our environment, our water quality, and the health and well-being of our communities,” Haaland said. Aggressive and impactful reporting on climate change, the environment, health and science. The Golden State is home to at least 5,300 abandoned or orphaned oil wells — or wells for which there are no legally liable parties to plug them — according to estimates from the California Geologic Energy Management Division. There are more than 35,000 known idle wells, with thousands more that will soon come to the end of their lives.Many are located in and around communities where residents have been sickened by their toxic emissions. What’s more, many unclogged wells leak methane, a planet-warming gas that is more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. California Deputy Secretary for Energy Le-Quyen Nguyen, left, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announce federal funding to plug and remediate orphaned oil wells. (Hayley Smith / Los Angeles Times) “We have thousands of orphaned wells in California, and each well poses a risk to public health, safety and the environment, as well as further contributes to climate change,” Nguyen said. “The funding that was announced today by Secretary Haaland will continue our momentum in plugging these orphaned wells in California, as well as remediating those sites and removing that legacy pollution. It will also make a meaningful, positive impact to our communities, as well as creating good jobs.”California’s award is part of a larger, $660-million formula grant pot that will be released to states on a rolling basis, Haaland said. As part of its award, California will also work to detect and measure methane emissions from orphaned oil and gas wells, screen for groundwater and surface water impacts, and prioritize cleaning up wells near disadvantaged communities. The grant program stems from an overall $4.7-billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to plug orphaned wells nationwide. Other buckets of funding include more than $565 million in initial grant funding that has already been awarded to 25 states, including $25 million to California. A planned matching grants program will also award up to $30 million apiece to states that commit to increasing their spending on cleaning up orphaned wells. Bass said it was too soon to specify how much of the state’s latest award will go to Los Angeles. However, state officials said some of the initial funding is being used to plug 19 wells that remain uncapped at the AllenCo drill site in South Los Angeles, which stand among more than 370 high-priority wells identified in the first round of planning. Residents who live near the AllenCo site have complained for years about headaches, nosebleeds, respiratory diseases and other health issues. Among them is Nalleli Cobo, who grew up about 30 feet from the site and was diagnosed with reproductive cancer at age 19. “I’ve lost my childhood to the fossil fuel industry and I’ve also lost my future to the fossil fuel industry, and that’s not the reality that our community should be facing,” Cobo said. “When you ask a person what belongs in a community, not a lot of people will say an oil well.” She noted that about 18 million Americans live one mile or less from an active oil or gas well. Friday’s federal investment announcement is “definitely a step in the right direction,” she said, “but we need to make sure we are prioritizing communities like sacrifice zones, because we are the front-line communities that live day in and day out breathing these toxic emissions.”Officials said the latest round of funding advances Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver at least 40% of benefits from certain climate, housing and energy investments to disadvantaged communities.“This is an issue of environmental justice,” Bass said. “Today we are locking arms across the city, state and federal governments to continue our work to end neighborhood oil drilling in the city of Los Angeles to protect the health of Angelenos and advance our vision of environmental justice.” Since the enactment of Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021, states have plugged more than 7,700 orphaned wells and reduced approximately 11,530 metric tons of potential methane emissions, according to the Department of the Interior.Gov. Gavin Newsom in October also approved AB 1167, legislation that will require companies that acquire oil wells to secure bonds to properly seal the wells once their use has ended. Some local communities, such as Culver City, have banned new drilling and are moving to phase out existing wells. “California is one of the states that is leading the way in putting these new resources to work, because it’s going to take all of us working together to ensure that we are making the kind of enduring impact that will last for generations to come,” Haaland said.But while the federal support is encouraging, there is still much work that remains, said Brenda Valdivia, a lifelong resident of the Vista Hermosa Heights neighborhood in L.A. Valdivia said she developed an autoimmune disease and had two strokes following her exposure to nearby wells. “We could always do more,” she said. Times staff writer Tony Briscoe contributed to this report.

Chemicals
Pollution
CO2

‘The Interview’: Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson on how to overcome the “soft” climate denial that keeps us buying junk.

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2018 report on global warming drastically changed the way many people thought — or felt — about the climate crisis. That report laid out, with grim clarity, both the importance and extreme difficulty of preventing global warming from reaching 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Its warnings about what was likely to happen to our planet if we didn’t turn things around were severe.The starkness of the I.P.C.C.’s report led to a surge of pessimism, fear and, in response to those emotions, climate activism that hasn’t really abated. But recently there has been a growing counterresponse to those darker feelings, including from some experts who have a clear view on what’s coming — and that response is a cautious optimism.Though she doesn’t go so far as to call herself hopeful, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is one of those experts trying to change the mood. She’s a marine biologist and a founder of the Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank focusing on climate and coastal cities. She has also worked with the Environmental Protection Agency and advised lawmakers on climate policy. Additionally, Johnson, who is 43, is a leading climate activist and communicator. She was an editor of the best-selling climate anthology “All We Can Save,” and her next book, “What if We Get It Right?” which will be published this summer, is a collection of interviews with leaders from various fields about promising climate possibilities.The question posed by that book’s title — what if we get it right on climate? — is one I think about often, and skeptically. I’m not quite convinced that people are motivated more by positivity than fear. But I would like to be, and I was hoping Johnson could help.

Climate
Activism
Government

Q&A: The Dire Consequences of Global Warming in the Earth’s Oceans

From our collaborating partner “Living on Earth,” public radio’s environmental news magazine, an interview with Bob Bewyn, a staff writer at Inside Climate News, based in Austria.  Many of the effects of climate disruption are already in progress. One place getting hit especially hard is the ocean.  According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, […]

Imagining a world without fish in the world’s tropical oceans.Interview by Aynsley O’Neill, Living on EarthFrom our collaborating partner “Living on Earth,” public radio’s environmental news magazine, an interview with Bob Bewyn, a staff writer at Inside Climate News, based in Austria. 

Climate

Underwater Time Bomb: Meltwater Ponds Threaten Antarctic Stability

An expedition has found that increased temperatures from climate change are causing ponds that weaken ice. A team of scientists who installed instruments on an...

Recent field observations in Antarctica reveal that meltwater ponds are causing significant flexing and fracturing of ice shelves, suggesting that increased melting from climate change may accelerate the collapse of these critical structures, potentially raising global sea levels.An expedition has found that increased temperatures from climate change are causing ponds that weaken ice.A team of scientists who installed instruments on an Antarctic ice shelf discovered that meltwater ponds were causing the ice to flex and fracture.Though scientists had predicted the phenomenon, this was the first time it was observed in the field.The finding raises concerns that, as climate change progresses and more melting occurs, vulnerable ice shelves in Antarctica will collapse—contributing to global sea rise. “Ice shelves are extremely important for the Antarctic Ice Sheet’s overall health as they act to buttress, or hold back, the glacier ice on land,” said Alison Banwell, a scientist in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder and lead author of the study published May 4 in the Journal of Glaciology. “Scientists have predicted and modeled that surface meltwater loading could cause ice shelves to fracture, but no one had observed the process in the field, until now.”“It’s looking very likely that this process explains the collapse of the Larsen B Ice Shelf,” added Doug MacAyeal, University of Chicago Prof. Emeritus of Geophysical Sciences and co-author on the paper—referring to a notorious 2002 event in which more than 1,000 square miles of Antarctic ice collapsed into the ocean in a matter of weeks.Around the continent of Antarctica, thick sheets of floating glacier ice extend out over the ocean. Known as ice shelves, they are thought to help keep inland glaciers stable—but more and more seem to be collapsing.Field Research and Observational ChallengesIn 2019, a group of researchers led by Banwell traveled to the George IV Ice Shelf, thought to be one of the at-risk ice shelves in Antarctica. They placed time-lapse cameras and GPS sensors to monitor the ice over the course of a year, throughout the seasonal cycle of freezing and thawing.The outbreak of COVID-19, however, meant it was more than a year before they could return. When they returned in late 2021, several of the stations had been lost. Fortunately, some instruments survived—and they had documented a lot of evidence.According to the research, here’s how the process works. Warmer air temperatures cause the top layers of ice on the ice shelf to melt. The newly liquid water forms a pool, which concentrates the weight in one area. Then, as anyone who’s tried to cup water in their hands knows, the water will find its way down through even the tiniest crack.The water trickling down widens the cracks in the ice, like cracks spreading from a pothole in the road over time. Over the course of the summer, the pools fill and then drain, over and over; the GPS sensors placed atop the ice shelf recorded that the ice shelf was dropping and rising by about a foot each time. This further weakens the ice.Ice is structurally fragile, MacAyeal said; “It’s like a weak form of glass.”Eventually, the dam breaks. The GPS stations recorded a very sudden altitude change—meaning the ice had fractured.The researchers said it was likely this thawing and freezing cycle was a key factor in the collapse of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in 2002, the largest ice shelf breakup on record. Before the event, satellites had recorded many pools of meltwater atop the ice shelf.Global sea levels have risen by eight to nine inches since 1880, and the trend is accelerating over time. The melting of Antarctic ice is a major factor, and scientists worry that the loss of the ice shelves will further destabilize the situation.“These observations are important because they can be used to improve models to better predict which Antarctic ice shelves are more vulnerable and most susceptible to collapse in the future,” Banwell said.Reference: “Observed meltwater-induced flexure and fracture at a doline on George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctica” by Alison F. Banwell, Ian C. Willis, Laura A. Stevens, Rebecca L. Dell and Douglas R. MacAyeal, 3 May 2024, Journal of Glaciology.DOI: 10.1017/jog.2024.31

Climate
Water
Science

Costa Rica Cracks Down on Illegal Trade of Hawksbill Turtle Products

The National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) will launch a campaign on social networks to raise awareness and educate the population on the conservation and protection of hawksbill turtles. Hawksbill turtles are one of the species most exploited by humans, as they’re captured to trade its heir meat, skin eggs and mainly its beautiful shell, […] The post Costa Rica Cracks Down on Illegal Trade of Hawksbill Turtle Products appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

The National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) will launch a campaign on social networks to raise awareness and educate the population on the conservation and protection of hawksbill turtles. Hawksbill turtles are one of the species most exploited by humans, as they’re captured to trade its heir meat, skin eggs and mainly its beautiful shell, which is used to make rings, combs, sunglasses, bracelets, necklaces and earrings. Unfortunately, Border Police officials seized products made from hawksbill turtles in an operation near the Nicaraguan border. Therefore, the authorities believe it is necessary to raise awareness among the entire population to avoid acquiring items made from the shell of the hawksbill turtle. “Acquiring these types of products in our country is a crime punishable by law, so, if you request, purchase, or are seen on the streets using this type of item, you are exposed to sanctions and seizure of the objects by the environmental authorities,” indicated Franz Tattenbach, Minister of Environment and Energy. The sale of handmade products from different endangered wildlife species is a criminal offense under Article 16 of Costa Rica’s Wildlife Conservation Law. “Remember, ignorance of the law does not exempt you from having to comply with it,” Minister Tattenbach mentioned. The campaign seeks to eradicate the illegal sale of tortoiseshell-based handicrafts and to show the population how to distinguish them. The main threat to hawksbill turtles is the commercial exploitation of juveniles and adults for the beauty of their shells, which are used to make handicrafts and other products. This is despite the ban on trade of this species in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Other threats may be direct, such as the harvesting of their eggs, or indirect, such as the destruction of habitats critical to their survival due to climate change and increases in sediment and nutrients that negatively affect coral reefs. “You can report the commercialization of hawksbill products by calling the MINAE hotline 1192,” SINAC mentioned. The post Costa Rica Cracks Down on Illegal Trade of Hawksbill Turtle Products appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Conservation
Climate
Energy

There is a nature gap, but we can fix that

Investing in outdoor-equity projects and improved public transportation can help address the current disparities in access to nature.

As a mom and an environmental advocate, I am fortunate to live in Washington, D.C., which has the number-one-ranked city park system, according to Trust for Public Land’s ParkScore. But even in a city where 99 percent of residents live ten minutes away from a park, inequities—such as the size, safety, and quality of the nearby parks—persist.  In cities like Los Angeles and Detroit, park inequities are more stark. Los Angeles’ majority-white neighborhoods have access to 141 percent more park space per person than the city’s average. Detroit’s neighborhoods with majority residents of color have access to 26 percent less park space per person than the city’s average. As 86 percent of U.S. residents live in urban areas and that number is rising, there is a growing need to ensure the benefits of nature are reaching everyone. The science is clear that nature-based health interventions can alleviate physical and mental health challenges, such as high blood pressure and depression. There’s a significant connection between mental health benefits among Black youth and the availability of neighborhood amenities like parks. But, as The Washington Post reported earlier this year, the disparity in nature access results in lower income and Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities being more likely to miss out on these benefits. Three-quarters of people in lower-income communities of color live in nature-deprived areas. On average, parks in communities of color are half as large as those in white communities, and parks in low-income communities are a quarter the size of parks in higher income communities. And for the many Americans who rely on public transportation, our federal public lands and waters—many of which are only accessible by car—are out of reach. Great Falls Park, which sits just outside of D.C., is not on any public transportation routes—the nearest Metro station is five miles away. With summer rapidly approaching, the nature gap is more stark than ever as more people start venturing outside to enjoy time outdoors. But this isn’t an insurmountable problem.  Tree planting projects are often touted as a solution for nature access, even with the difficulties in implementing those projects in urban areas. One way to work through those difficulties is by partnering with programs designed to facilitate those sorts of projects. The U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program, for example, was created to support urban tree planting. With a recent $1.5 billion boost from the Inflation Reduction Act, it is in a prime position to support local efforts to improve urban tree canopy nationwide. If the question is about who can plant those trees once the project has been funded, the newly created American Climate Corps (ACC) could fulfill that role. The ACC was designed to support climate and conservation work while creating new career path opportunities for youth.  We can also make a difference by improving policy. The House just passed its outdoor recreation package, the EXPLORE Act. EXPLORE includes bills such as the Outdoors for All Act, which supports a program that funds the creation or improvement of outdoor recreation amenities in underserved communities, and an extension of the Every Kid Outdoors program, which grants all fourth graders free access to federal public lands and waters. But for all of that to go into effect, the Senate still needs to pass the legislation. Reach out to your elected officials to encourage them to pass a strong outdoor recreation package that includes these important outdoor equity provisions. Aside from increasing the accessibility of nature, another way to address the disparity is by increasing the ways people can reach existing green spaces and public lands. In simpler terms: We need to improve the public transit options.  For neighborhoods in nature-deprived areas with no upcoming outdoor-equity projects, or even projects that will come to fruition years down the line, expanding their freedom of movement and ability to access existing parks and waters is an obvious solution. Creating more public transportation routes, or even extending and improving safety on existing routes, would benefit communities beyond helping them reach parks. It is necessary to invest in these multiple solutions concurrently to reach the very achievable goal of reducing the disparity in access to nature that so many urban communities face. This column was produced by Progressive Perspectives, which is run by The Progressive magazine and distributed by Tribune News Service. Jackie Ostfeld is the director of the Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All campaign. She is also co-founder and chair of the Outdoors Alliance for Kids. Read more by Jackie Ostfeld May 17, 2024 1:47 PM

Nature
Transportation
Conservation

Abandoned Wells, Methane-Emission Loopholes and Underground Toxic Waste Dumps All Raise Concerns

Here are the world’s top banks financing fossil fuels — is yours on the list? The post Abandoned Wells, Methane-Emission Loopholes and Underground Toxic Waste Dumps All Raise Concerns appeared first on .

Welcome to “Feet to the Fire: Big Oil and the Climate Crisis,” a biweekly newsletter in which we share our latest reporting on how the fossil fuel industry drives climate change and influences climate policy in five of the nation’s most important oil and gas-producing states. In addition, we shine a spotlight on the financing of the fossil fuel industry, holding banks and other financial institutions accountable for their role and providing you with updates on their activities. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter on Substack. Thousands of Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells in Texas Are Polluting the Environment There are more than 8,400 orphan oil and gas wells in Texas — but that barely scratches the surface since that count doesn’t include an unknown number of abandoned wells that are more than a century old and cannot be found in state records. Many of them are leaking produced water, hydrocarbons and gas to the surface and threatening groundwater, and that represents an existential threat to Schuyler Wight, a West Texas rancher who told Capital & Main’s Elliott Woods that he has about 250 aging and derelict wells on his land, and he’s frustrated by the state’s lack of attention to the problem. “How Do You Approve an Underground Toxic Waste Dump Without Telling Nobody?” It was a shock to Mario Atencio when he discovered that an oil and gas company was planning to convert a water well into a disposal site for toxic wastewater less than a mile from his family home in New Mexico. He asks, “How do you approve an underground toxic waste dump without telling nobody?” Atencio, who has long been fighting oil and gas development on ancestral Native lands, told Capital & Main’s Jerry Redfern that he “kind of freaked out” when he learned of the planned conversion, which will likely get nixed in a pending decision by the New Mexico State Land Commissioner. California’s Plan for a Green Hydrogen Future Carries Risks, Say Critics California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to ramp up the use of renewable hydrogen is raising concerns among environmentalists, who cite the risk of increased emissions and pollution. The state was approved by the U.S. Department of Energy for a $1.2 billion hydrogen hub investment, and critics worry that hydrogen supporters are “pushing California into a risky regulatory framework, motivated by financial incentives” in President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, reports Capital & Main’s Aaron Cantú. Loophole in New Mexico Law May Allow Methane Releases Despite the passage of a 2021 law that bans routine venting and flaring of natural gas, exceptions for pipeline operators paved the way for the release of millions of cubic feet of the potent greenhouse gas in January and February — their highest levels since the so-called Methane Rule was approved. The amount vented by pipeline company Targa Northern Delaware was equivalent to the carbon footprint of nearly 26,000 gasoline-powered cars driven for an entire year, reports Jerry Redfern. New Report Names the World’s Top Banks Financing Fossil Fuels JPMorgan is the globe’s top fossil fuel financier, committing $40.8 billion to fossil fuel companies in 2023, per the 15th annual Banking on Climate Chaos report, which provides a window into lending and underwriting to more than 4,200 oil and gas and coal companies. Altogether, the world’s 60 largest private banks have provided nearly $7 trillion in financing to fossil fuel companies since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015. Almost half of that amount — $3.3 trillion — went into expanding fossil fuel production. The top bank funding such expansion activities is Citigroup, which has provided $204 billion since 2016. The annual report is released by seven climate groups, including Oil Change International, Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, Indigenous Environmental Network, Reclaim Finance, Sierra Club and Urgewald. Among other highlights of the report: Some banks have rolled back policies that were intended to reduce their financing of fossil fuel production. For example, Bank of America, ranked third on the 2023 list of “worst fossil fuel funders,” has dropped its exclusions on Arctic drilling, thermal coal and coal-fired power plants, per the report. Financing for coal mining in 2023 increased slightly over 2022, with most of the financing provided by banks located in China. Bank of America was one of several banks that made commitments of $2.54 billion in total to 48 companies around the world that are active in metallurgical coal mining. Financing for liquefied natural gas increased to $120.9 billion in 2023, led by banks such as RBC, JPMorgan Chase and Mizuho Financial. Report: Barclays Is Greenwashing Billions of Dollars in “Sustainable Finance” Amid increased scrutiny of sustainable and transition finance, with concerns that funds intended for companies that agree to meet climate-related targets are actually being used to finance polluting activities, a new investigative exposé by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reports that Barclays helped raise $41 billion in sustainability-linked finance for fossil fuel companies last year. The revelation prompted one of the bank’s investors, Andrew Harper of investment manager Epworth, to call the bank “totally dishonest,” adding: “We’re concerned because the bank is making such a substantial claim and the public thinks the climate emergency is being worked towards being solved. Meanwhile, the problem is getting worse and worse.” Barclays told the BIJ that “Sustainability linked loans and bonds are an important sustainable finance tool, incentivizing borrowers, particularly in hard to abate sectors, to achieve sustainability objectives over time.” EU’s Largest Bank Stops Underwriting Bonds for Oil and Gas Producers BNP Paribas SA, the biggest bank in the European Union, said that it has stopped underwriting bonds for oil and gas producers, one of the biggest steps taken to reduce fossil fuel financing by financial institutions. The change comes amid stricter ESG regulations in Europe and a lawsuit against the bank’s financing activities that was brought by climate activists last year. BNP has increased its use of sustainable finance and is currently the biggest underwriter of green bonds in the world, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. BNP’s decision “sets them apart from other international banks,” Lucie Pinson, director of Reclaim Finance, a Paris-based climate nonprofit, told Bloomberg. Australia’s Top Banks Now All Rule Out Project Financing for New Oil and Gas Fields One of Australia’s biggest lenders, ANZ, announced it would no longer provide direct financing to new or expanded oil and gas fields as well as new LNG export plants. With the announcement, the continent’s four biggest banks — ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB, and Westpac — have closed the door on project financing for new oil and gas fields. Amid pressure from shareholders and climate activists, ANZ won’t be financing a controversial LNG project in Papua New Guinea that is being developed by TotalEnergies, Santos and ExxonMobil. As part of its broader climate strategy, ANZ is requiring its 100 biggest customers to make progress on their transition plans. U.S. Oil and Gas Producers Seeing “a Lot More Interest From the Bank Community”  Though foreign banks have pulled back from the oil and gas industry in the face of sustainability concerns, other lenders are jumping back in, Michael Bodino, managing director of investment banking at Texas Capital Bank, told Hart Energy: “We’re seeing a lot more interest from the bank community broadly to get new credits in their portfolios.” In addition, pension and insurance companies in pursuit of a return on their investment are looking to the upstream sector (referring to the exploration and extraction segment of the industry). In addition, the leveraged loan market, which goes principally to borrowers with high levels of debt, has been active in the industry, said Bodino. Copyright 2024 Capital & Main

Waste
Activism
Crisis

Study Reveals That Organic Farming Changes Plants’ Genetic Code

A research project conducted at the University of Bonn reveals differences in the growth of plants under organic and conventional farming methods. A long-term study...

Over a 23-year study at the University of Bonn, researchers found that barley grown organically adapted genetically to its environment, becoming more genetically diverse and robust compared to barley grown conventionally. The study emphasizes the necessity of developing crop varieties specifically for organic farming to harness these adaptive benefits. Credit: SciTechDaily.comA research project conducted at the University of Bonn reveals differences in the growth of plants under organic and conventional farming methods.A long-term study at the University of Bonn has shown that plants can genetically adapt to the specific conditions of organic farming. In the study, researchers cultivated barley on two adjacent fields, employing conventional farming techniques on one and organic practices on the other.Over the course of more than 20 years, the organic barley was enriched with specific genetic material that differed from the comparative culture. Among other things, the results demonstrate how important it is to cultivate varieties, especially for organic farming. The results have now been published in the journal Agronomy for Sustainable Development.At the end of the 1990s, Prof. Dr. Jens Léon started an experiment at the University of Bonn that he knew would run for a long period of time. His research group wanted to investigate the effects that farming conditions have on genetic material in plants. To this end, they carried out a complex long-term study over a period of 23 years at the Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES). “We first crossed high-yield barley with a wild form to increase genetic variation,” says Léon. “We then planted these populations on two neighboring fields so that the barley grew in the same soil and under the same climatic conditions.” The image above depcits the conventional population on the left and the organic barley on the right: Only experts can spot the differences with the naked eye. However, huge differences can be identified using molecular genetics. Credit: AG Prof. Léon/University of BonnThe only difference was the farming method. Conventional farming was used in one of the fields where the researchers used pesticides to combat pests, chemical agents to eliminate weeds, and mineral fertilizers to help ensure a good supply of nutrients. The researchers took a more ecological sound approach in the other field: no pesticides, combating weeds using mechanical methods, and fertilizing the soil with manure from stables. Some of the grains were retained every fall to sow the fields the following spring – using the organic grains on the organic field and the barley grown under conventional conditions on the comparative field. “We didn’t choose the grains based on any particular characteristics, however, but simply selected a small part of the harvest at random,” emphasizes Léon’s colleague Dr. Michael Schneider.Analyzing genome development in time-lapseThe researchers also analyzed the genomes of the conventionally and organically farmed plants on a yearly basis. Every single gene can exist in a variety of different forms called alleles. For example, the human gene responsible for eye color exists in the alleles “brown” and “blue.” The frequency with which certain alleles arise in a population can change over generations. Environmental conditions are one factor that plays a role in this process: Alleles that ensure plants thrive in their current environment are usually found more and more frequently.The researchers identified two interesting trends in their genetic tests: In the first twelve years, the allele frequency in the barley changed in the same way on both fields. “Our interpretation of this finding is that the very diverse populations caused by a cross with wild barley were adapting to the local conditions,” says Dr. Agim Ballvora, who also participated in the study. “After all, factors such as the climate, soil, and especially length of day were identical for both populations.” However, the allele frequencies of both cultures diverged increasingly in subsequent years. In particular, the barley grown using organic farming methods developed gene variants that were less sensitive to a nutrient deficit or lack of water – i.e., alleles that influenced the structure of the roots. “One reason for this is presumably the strong variations in the availability of nutrients in organic farming,” says Léon.Genetic heterogeneity facilitates the adaptation processThe conventionally farmed barley also became more genetically uniform over time, meaning that the genetic material in the individual plants grown on the field became more and more similar from year to year. However, the organic barley remained more heterogeneous. The allele frequencies of the organic culture also varied more widely over time. This resulted in some years being extremely favorable or unfavorable for some alleles. This could be because the environmental conditions fluctuate much more in organic farming than with conventional framing methods: If certain plant diseases take hold in one year, for example, the plants will rely most on those alleles that will protect them. The variability of the environmental forces acting on the plants seems to lead to greater genetic heterogeneity. “As a result, the plants are better able to adapt to these types of changes,” says Léon.Overall, the results demonstrate the importance of cultivating varieties optimized for organic farming. As their genetic makeup has adapted to these conditions, they will be more robust and deliver higher yields. “Furthermore, it seems to make sense when cultivating plants to cross-breed them with older or even wild varieties,” explains Léon. “Our data also indicate that this could even benefit conventional high-yield varieties.”Reference: “Deep genotyping reveals specific adaptation footprints of conventional and organic farming in barley populations—an evolutionary plant breeding approach” by Michael Schneider, Agim Ballvora and Jens Léon, 8 May 2024, Agronomy for Sustainable Development.DOI: 10.1007/s13593-024-00962-8The study was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Chemicals
Climate
Conservation

Silver Shadows: The Quiet Conquest of São Paulo’s Waters by an Amazon Invader

In São Paulo, Brazil, the Silver croaker, an invasive species, has become the predominant fish in the Jaguari reservoir and surrounding rivers, significantly diminishing the...

A specimen of P. squamosissimus caught in the Chavantes reservoir (São Paulo state): originally from the North region, it may be competing with and contributing to a decline in the population of native species. However, it has become a key fishing resource in much of the country. Credit: Edmir Daniel Carvalho/CAUNESPIn São Paulo, Brazil, the Silver croaker, an invasive species, has become the predominant fish in the Jaguari reservoir and surrounding rivers, significantly diminishing the diversity of native fish species. Despite its economic importance, controlling its population poses significant ecological and legal challenges.The Silver croaker (Plagioscion squamosissimus), also known as corvina or pescada-branca in Portuguese, is native to the Amazon and is likely responsible for the significant decline in the diversity of native species in the Jaguari Reservoir, Jaguari River, and Rio do Peixe. These water bodies are integral components of the Cantareira Water Production System and the Paraíba do Sul Basin, located in São Paulo state, Brazil.As a top predator in the food network, the invader has negatively affected local biodiversity by bringing about detrimental changes to its taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic structure, according to a study published in Biological Invasions by researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP). They analyzed fish monitoring data collected by power utility CESP (Companhia Energética de São Paulo), which has recorded the presence of the species in the reservoir since 2001. The data analyzed is for a period ending in 2016. In no more than ten years, P. squamosissimus has become the most abundant fish species in the reservoir.Research and Monitoring Efforts“Although this predator is widely distributed in hydroelectric dam reservoirs throughout Brazil, its potential effects on native species had never been studied before. Our analysis highlights considerable losses to fish species diversity in the region,” said Aymar Orlandi Neto, first author of the article. Conducted at the Ilha Solteira School of Engineering (FEIS-UNESP), the study was part of his PhD research at the Botucatu Institute of Biosciences (IBB-UNESP) with a scholarship from FAPESP. Some of the results were obtained while he was doing research at the University of Valencia in Spain with a scholarship from FAPESP.CESP does this monitoring of fauna to comply with environmental licensing rules for operation of the dam and power plant enforced by IBAMA, the main federal environmental agency. Every four months its technicians install nets at predetermined locations in the reservoir (between Jacareí and São José dos Campos) and on the Peixe and Jaguari, identify the species caught, and estimate their abundance.Effects on Native Predators“We analyzed 15 years of monitoring data and found the abundance of native predators, particularly the Thin dogfish (Oligosarcus hepsetus), to have declined significantly as P. squamosissimus preyed on smaller fish and became more abundant,” said Igor Paiva Ramos last author of the article and a professor at FEIS-UNESP.However, it is not possible to tell from the available data whether the decline of O. hepsetus was due to indirect competition, since both this species and the invader may prey on the same fish. Another possibility is that P. squamosissimus, which can reach 80 cm, preyed on O. hepsetus, which is much smaller (30 cm as an adult). The former typically inhabits standing water bodies, such as lakes, and has thrived in the reservoir, whereas O. hepsetus, the native predator, prefers running water.Economic ImpactInvader species are a global problem and occur in environments of all kinds, on land and in water. In Brazil, the annual damage caused by non-native animals, plants, and microorganisms has been estimated at BRL 15 billion (now about USD 2.9 billion).The figure is from the Thematic Report on Invasive Exotic Species, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, launched in March by the Brazilian Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BPBES), which is supported by FAPESP via its Research Program on Biodiversity Characterization, Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Use (BIOTA-FAPESP).In the article on the UNESP study, the researchers stress that other introduced species appear in the records for the Jaguari reservoir, including the Peacock bass (Cichla spp.), also native to the Amazon, and Oreochromis niloticus and Coptodon rendalli, both of which are tilapias and originally from Africa, but their numbers are very small, reinforcing the conclusion that native diversity has dwindled due to P. squamosissimus.The diversity loss observed by the authors applies to all three dimensions considered when this type of impact is assessed – taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic. Species richness losses during the period analyzed were noted, alongside substitution of many rare specialist species by a few generalists, and significant differences were found in species composition and abundance in the local fish community, with entire evolutionary groups disappearing.Management ChallengesThere are no simple solutions to the problem. The species is seen as a key fishing resource for both subsistence and sport. Eradicating it could cause social problems. “The species has become very common throughout Brazil. It replaces native species and now plays a very important social role in local economies,” Ramos said.Nevertheless, he proposed measures similar to those taken in other countries to deal with invader species. One such measure would be to permit hunting of this species throughout the year without size limits or a ban during the reproductive period, with the aim of eradicating it or at least reducing its abundance.However, federal and state laws restrict fishing not just of native species, which is quite right, but also of invasive species to some extent. “This ends up perpetuating the species that are harmful to local fauna,” Orlandi Neto said.Ramos pointed out that eradication of invaders does not necessarily lead to a return of the natives. “We don’t know whether another invader will take the place of P. squamosissimus if it’s removed. The environment has been modified to such an extent that it may no longer be suitable for former inhabitants,” he said.Reference: “Long-term impact of an invasive predator on the diversity of fish assemblages in a neotropical reservoir” by Aymar Orlandi Neto, Danilo Caneppele, Hugo Marques, João Henrique Pinheiro Dias, Juan Antonio Balbuena, Claudio de Oliveira and Igor Paiva Ramos, 14 February 2024, Biological Invasions.DOI: 10.1007/s10530-023-03243-9

Water
Animals
Food

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