Earth Wise: Recent Episodes
Earth Wise
The U.S. home insurance industry is in turmoil. For years it has underestimated the risks posed by climate change intensified storms, wildfires, and other natural disasters. The increased costs associated with rising sea levels, powerful hurricanes, drenching rainstorms, massive wildfires, and more have pushed insurers to the limit. According to the director of the Climate […]
America’s clean energy industry is unquestionably under attack by the Trump administration. The administration is blocking renewable energy projects on federal lands, slashing clean tech tax credits, and putting in place new regulatory hurdles for solar and wind power and electric vehicles. During the first half of the year, businesses cancelled $22 billion worth of […]
Insects play a crucial role in sustaining life on Earth. They pollinate plants, recycle nutrients, and form the foundation of food webs in both terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Without insects, the rich biodiversity that supports our planet would not exist. However, global studies show a widespread decline in both insect abundance and diversity. According to […]
The Paris Climate Agreement has the primary goal of limiting global average temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius and preferably 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Meeting this goal involves reaching global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the second half of the century. Doing so requires the substantial adoption of renewable energy sources to […]
Clownfishes or anemonefishes are colorful saltwater fishes that mainly inhabit coral reefs in the warm and tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. Clownfishes have a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship with sea anemones, which they rely on for shelter and protection from predators. In turn, clownfishes will protect the anemone from anemone-eating fish, as well as clean and fan them. The popular film Finding Nemo is about a […]
A new study by ETH Zurich, one of the world’s leading universities in science and engineering, demonstrates that human-induced climate change greatly increased the likelihood and intensity of over 200 global heatwaves between 2000 and 2023. Emissions associated with each of the 180 largest producers of fossil fuels and cement contributed substantially to these events. […]
A colossal iceberg known as A-23A broke off from the Filchner Iceshelf in Antarctica in 1986. At that time, it was 1,418 square miles in area, slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island, or roughly twice the size of greater London. It weighed about a trillion tons. It was the largest iceberg ever observed. […]
Vast and powerful, the oceans have sustained human life around the world for millennia. They provide food, natural resources, and livelihoods, supporting countless communities and economies. But despite their size and resilience, the oceans are under increasing pressure from climate change and human activity, pushing them toward a dangerous threshold. According to a new study […]
A recent survey of the plans of U.S. electricity utilities for meeting projected future demand indicates that they are looking to build twice as much natural gas capacity as they had anticipated just 18 months earlier. The reason? Data centers. These warehouses full of computers that form the backbone of the internet are multiplying rapidly […]
Sargassum is a free-floating brown seaweed that can drift together in vast mats, sometimes stretching for miles across the ocean’s surface. For centuries, these blooms have been a natural part of the Atlantic, creating food and shelter for many marine creatures. Sargassum was once thought to be confined mainly to the Sargasso Sea in the […]
A new study by Danish researchers examines how invasive plant species are reshaping ecosystems and people’s relationship with nature in the tropics. The researchers found roughly 10,000 alien plant species in the greater tropics – which includes both the tropic and sub-tropic parts of the world. Islands are especially invasion hotspots, and some have more […]
A company called Eco Wave Power has launched the first U.S. wave energy project in the Port of Los Angeles. The system captures the motion of ocean waves to generate renewable electricity. The Eco Wave Power system harnesses hydraulic energy with floaters installed near the shore on existing structures like breakwaters, piers, and jetties. The […]
Civilization has an enormous need to utilize the biosphere, that is, the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and bodies of water of the earth occupied by living organisms. The biosphere supplies us with food, raw materials, and increasingly, climate protection. A study by two European universities looked at functional biosphere integrity, which is essentially the […]
Northern forests store a third of the world’s carbon, acting as sinks for atmospheric carbon dioxide. Forest carbon exchange is the process whereby forests sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere via photosynthesis, storing it in their wood, leaves, and roots, and releasing some carbon through decomposition and respiration. This natural cycle in forests is a […]
In January 2025, a series of destructive wildfires in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and San Diego County killed as many as 440 people, forced more than 200,000 to evacuate their homes, destroyed more than 18,000 homes and structures, and burned over 57,000 acres of land. A study by the nonpartisan California Policy Lab found […]
Geoengineering refers to a wide range of mechanical or chemical methods aimed at deliberately changing the global climate system. It includes a number of unproven concepts, one of which is intentionally polluting the upper atmosphere with thousands of tons of artificial particles such as chemical sprays or mineral dust. This is referred to as solar […]
Hanauma Bay is a marine sanctuary near Honolulu that is a popular snorkeling spot and is home to vibrant marine life and well-preserved corals. Its popularity grew in the 1970’s and 1980’s and its visitor attendance peaked at an estimated 10,000 people a day. A new management plan in 1990 reduced visitation, improved facilities, established […]
Polyethylene Terephthalate (otherwise known as PET plastic) is a clear, strong, lightweight plastic used for food and beverage containers, textiles, and many other things. It is one of the most pervasive forms of plastic piling up in the world’s oceans, in landfills, and elsewhere. Getting rid of it is a real challenge. Scientists at the […]
The current administration has essentially declared war on renewable energy. President Trump stated recently that his administration will not approve solar or wind power projects. Renewable companies are unlikely to receive permits that were once a normal course of business. Now, the United States is likely to struggle to meet its growing demand for electricity […]
Honeybee populations have been declining for a combination of interacting factors. There is the parasitic Varroa mite that spreads disease; there is widespread exposure to pesticides; there is diminishing natural forage and nesting habitats as land is developed; and there is climate change. Researchers at Oxford University looked at the impact of climate change and […]
The Middle East is known for its vast petroleum resources and oil has been its primary source of wealth. But the desert region is now becoming a significant center for solar energy as well. The world’s largest single-site solar park is the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, located in the United Arab Emirates. […]
Planting trees is a key strategy in the fight against climate change. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, regulate temperature, support biodiversity, and improve air and water quality, offering benefits that extend well beyond their boundaries. But according to a new study by researchers from University of California – Riverside, where those trees are planted makes a […]
Tens of millions of bison once migrated across the United States in enormous herds; tribal oral histories speak of it taking days for an entire herd to pass by. These herds shaped the landscape and performed many ecosystem functions. By the 1890s, the bison population had plummeted to fewer than 1,000 individuals. Since then, dedicated […]
Lead pipes were once widely used in plumbing because of the metal’s low melting point and durability. However, lead exposure can cause developmental problems, cardiovascular issues, and organ damage. The federal government banned new lead pipes in 1986, but millions of lead service lines remain in service to this day. Chicago has the highest number […]
Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are altering the chemistry of oceans. As more CO2 is released into the atmosphere, a significant portion of it is absorbed by seawater. This reduces the ocean’s pH, driving greater acidity, and disrupts marine ecosystems – a process known as ocean acidification. The acidifying oceans pose problems for many […]
Floating solar power is starting to gain some traction in the United States. Installing solar panels on rafts so that they float on water instead of sitting on land allows them to not take up land that can be used for other purposes. There are other benefits as well. The world’s largest floating solar farm […]
Plastic pollution is a pervasive environmental problem that manifests itself in multiple ways. Very little plastic is recycled; most of it ends up in landfills or is burned, both solutions having serious shortcomings. High-income countries – such as many in Europe, the United States, Japan, and Australia – facing increasingly strict regulations in disposing of […]
Forests are well-known to be major storehouses of carbon in the environment. Less known but also extremely important are peatlands and wetlands and, like forests, both have suffered declines as a result of human activity. And, like forests, both are seeing efforts at restoration. Restoring peatlands has the drawback that it initially causes a spike […]
The mountain yellow-legged frog is a species that lives in the mountains of Southern California. It is listed as an endangered species for protection by the federal government. Surveys 20 years ago determined that the frog’s population was declining and on a trajectory toward extinction. The frogs are severely impacted by water pollution and are […]
The state of New York has the ambitious goal of having 70% of its electricity come from renewable sources in 2030 and a 100% zero-emission electric grid by 2040. Meeting these goals is becoming increasingly unlikely as the state faces multiple challenges including local opposition to projects, rising inflation, and the termination of offshore wind […]
Neonicotinoids – often called neonics – are a class of insecticides that are among the most widely used in agriculture. They are neuro-active, meaning that they affect the central nervous system of insects, killing or harming a wide variety of both target and non-target insects. They are often applied to seeds before planting as a […]
A long-standing complaint about electric cars is the amount of time it takes to charge their batteries. A decade ago, this was a serious shortcoming. Even at the fastest chargers available at the time, it could take hours to refill the electric fuel tank. Combined with the limited range earlier electric cars had, this made […]
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago north of the mainland. It is known for its glaciers, tundra, and wildlife – especially polar bears, Arctic foxes, and reindeer. It is home to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a place to safeguard critical seeds for the world’s food supply. The location was chosen for its remoteness and perpetual […]
Elephant ears play a crucial role in keep the giant animals cool. Elephants don’t have significant sweat glands. Instead, they rely on their large ears to regulate body temperature. Their ears make up 20% of their body’s surface area. The ears act like a natural air conditioner, making use of a network of blood vessels […]
Plants absorb nutrients and minerals from the soil as they grow and incorporate them into their leaves and stems. Such plants can be used to remove toxic elements from soil. Cleaning soil in this way is called phytoremediation. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are trying to go beyond phytoremediation and do phytomining, in which hyperaccumulated minerals from the soil can be harvested from plants for use in industrial or manufacturing applications.
One mineral that is critically needed for modern technology is nickel. There are trace amounts of nickel in nearly one million acres of topsoil in the US, making the soil inhospitable for most crops, but the economics and environmental impact of extracting it make doing it impractical.
A common plant, Alyssum murale, is a nickel hyperaccumulator; in fact, up to 3% of the plant’s biomass can be made up of nickel. But the plant is slow-growing and difficult to manage and is also considered an invasive species
Another common plant, Camelina sativa, does not have the downsides associated with Alyssum and is also a rich source of valuable biofuel. The Amherst researchers are working to determine which genes and proteins are responsible for Alyssum’s nickel hyperaccumulation and hope to genetically engineer Camelina sativa to have the same ability.
The researchers believe there is enough nickel in barren soil in the US to supply 50 years of phytomining. It wouldn’t supply all the nickel the economy needs, but it could account for 20 to 30 percent of the projected demand.
Web LinksScientists at UMass Amherst Engineer Plant-based Method of ‘Precious’ Mineral Mining
Photo, posted July 10, 2017, courtesy of Matt Lavin via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Wholesale coffee prices hit record highs in the midst of the Trump administration’s deportation and tariff dispute with Colombia. But coffee prices have already been trading near 50-year highs for a while as a result of shortages related to extreme weather and increased global demand.In recent years, repeated droughts and flooding have put pressure on the global supply of coffee. These climate swings have caused prices to soar, much as they have for other staples like cocoa, olive oil, and orange juice. All the while, the global demand for coffee has kept rising.
Coffee is one of the world’s most consumed beverages, but it can be grown only under very specific conditions, namely in misty, humid, and tropical climates, and in rich soil free of disease. The United States imports nearly all of its coffee – there is only a small amount grown in Hawaii. Otherwise, the US is the world’s largest coffee importer. With a limited number of sources for the beans, global coffee prices are very susceptible to the effects of extreme weather.
More than half of the world’s coffee production comes from arabica beans, and Brazil is the largest exporter. A severe drought there this summer devastated the harvest that typically runs from May to September. In Vietnam, a severe drought followed by heavy rains harmed the world’s largest source of robusta, the second most popular coffee variety.
People tend to think of coffee as a commodity and not so much as an agricultural product, subject to the vagaries of weather and having prices that fluctuate accordingly. The bottom line is that drinking coffee is likely to become a bigger strain on one’s own bottom line.
Web LinksWhy Coffee Prices Are Soaring (Again)
Photo, posted October 13, 2023, courtesy of Pete via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Nearly all wind turbines in use today are horizonal axis wind turbines. They are a familiar sight with their three giant rotor blades spinning about an axis high above the ground attached to a nacelle containing the gearbox and generator. A vertical-axis wind turbine has its rotor shaft transverse to the wind; that is, the shaft rises up from the ground and the gearbox and generator are located close to the ground.
This type of wind turbine does not need to be pointed into the wind, which eliminates the need for wind-sensing and orienting mechanisms. It is also considerably quieter in operation than horizontal axis wind turbines. Vertical-axis wind turbines have enjoyed minimal success to date because of a variety of problems including reliability issues and complications related to how they respond to changing wind conditions.
A next-generation vertical wind turbine is going on trial in Australia as part of a research collaboration between Flinders University in South Australia and the start-up company VAWT-X Energy. The 6KW prototype will be installed at a field site in Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula.
According to the developers, the new turbine design will be as efficient, or even more efficient, as existing horizontal turbines and will be able to thrive across diverse environments including being part of urban infrastructure where their relative quiet is a real advantage. Such turbines would be more accessible for applications like off-grid power and sustainable energy solutions for small businesses and farms. The developers claim the technology can also be scaled up for large-scale windfarms.
Web LinksProgress with new-look wind turbine
Photo courtesy of VAWT-X Energy.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Permafrost covers about a quarter of the landmass in the Northern Hemisphere. It stores vast quantities of organic carbon in the form of dead plant matter. As long as it stays frozen, it is no threat to the climate. But as permafrost thaws, microorganisms start breaking down that plant matter and large amounts of carbon are released into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide and methane.Scientists estimate that there could be two and a half times as much carbon trapped in Arctic permafrost as there is in the atmosphere today.
Thawing permafrost poses various risks to the Arctic environment and the livelihoods of its people. According to a new study led by researchers from the University of Vienna in Austria, Umeå University in Sweden, and the Technical University of Denmark, thawing permafrost threatens the way of life of up to three million people.
To identify these risks, the research team studied four Arctic regions in Norway, Greenland, Canada, and Russia between 2017 and 2023. The research, which was recently published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, identified five key hazards posed by the thawing permafrost: infrastructure failure, disruption of mobility and supply, decreased water quality, challenges for food security, and exposure to diseases and contaminants.
These are present developments - not future dangers. Global scientific cooperation, policy interventions, and investment in research are critical to mitigate the impact of thawing permafrost and address the broader consequences it brings.
Web LinksA transdisciplinary, comparative analysis reveals key risks from Arctic permafrost thaw
Thawing permafrost threatens up to three million people in Arctic regions
Photo, posted February 9, 2017, courtesy of Benjamin Jones / USGS via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Data centers are dedicated facilities containing computers and their related hardware equipment such as servers, data storage drives, and network equipment; they are the physical facilities that store digital data. Data centers are one of the most energy-intensive building types, consuming 10 to 50 times more energy per floor space than a typical commercial office building. With the explosive growth of artificial intelligence technology, data center energy use is expanding rapidly.A new report by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory outlines the energy use of data centers from 2014 to 2028. The report estimates that data center load growth has tripled over the past decade and is likely to double or triple again by 2028.
Data centers consumed about 4.4% of total U.S. electricity in 2023 and are projected to consume between 6.7% and 12% of total U.S. electricity by 2028. Most of the increased power demand of data centers is due to the growth in AI servers. Artificial intelligence requires increasingly powerful chips and intense, power-hungry cooling systems.
There have been revolutionary changes in artificial intelligence technology in just the past couple of years and its role in society has dramatically expanded. With that expansion has come a dramatic change in the energy usage by the data industry and innovative solutions are needed to allow data centers to meet their growing demand for energy.
Web LinksBerkeley Lab Report Evaluates Increase in Electricity Demand from Data Centers
Photo, posted August 31, 2024, courtesy of Aileen Devlin / Jefferson Lab via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
It came as no surprise that 2024 ended up as the warmest year on records. It was the hottest year since record keeping began in 1880. The global average temperature was 1.28 degrees Celsius (or 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 20th-century baseline period of 1951-1980. It was actually 1.47 degrees above the 1850-1900 average.The Paris Climate Agreement has a goal to keep the global average temperature increase below 1.5 degrees Celsius over the long term. Long term is specified because for more than half of 2024, average temperatures were more than 1.5 degrees above the baseline.
The temperature of an individual year can be influenced by various natural climate fluctuations, such as the presence of an El Niño or a La Niña condition in the Pacific, or volcanic eruptions. A strong El Niño began in 2023 and continued throughout much of 2024. That El Niño has abated, so it is no longer a factor in the global climate condition.
The global temperature is determined using surface air temperature data collected from thousands of meteorological stations as well as sea surface temperature data collected by ships and buoy-based instruments.
When the climate changes, it is observed first in the global mean temperature. Then there are changes seen on a continental scale and then at the regional scale. Finally, changes are observable at the local level. These changes are becoming more and more common as people’s everyday weather experiences become different from any they had encountered before.
Web Links2024 Was the Warmest Year on Record
Photo, posted August 26, 2015, courtesy of Saskia Madlener / NASA via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Empire Wind 1, the first offshore wind project that will connect to the New York City grid, has received the financing needed to move forward. Equinor, the Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company developing the project, closed on a more than $3 billion financing package.The wind farm will span 80,000 acres in an area 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island. When completed, it will have a capacity of 810 megawatts. Equinor has executed a Purchase and Sale Agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to purchase power from Empire Wind 1 for 25 years at a strike price of $155/MWh. The operations and maintenance hub for Empire Wind 1 will be at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. Commercial operation is expected by 2027.
The previously-planned Empire Wind 2 project was terminated a year ago because of inflation, interest rates, and supply chain disruptions. More broadly, the U.S. offshore wind industry has been struggling for the past year.
With the return of President Donald Trump to the White House, there is much greater uncertainty facing the industry. As a result of the election, Attentive Energy, a planned 3-gigawatt wind project off the coasts of New York and New Jersey has been put on pause. Trump’s public disdain for offshore wind energy is likely to create a major slowdown in the growth of the offshore wind pipeline. On the other hand, the new administration is less likely to have much influence on projects already in progress including 4 gigawatts under active construction and more than 50 gigawatts in other stages of development.
Web LinksEmpire Wind 1 secures $3B+ financing package, enters ‘full execution mode’
Photo, posted May 2, 2022, courtesy of California Energy Commission via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Applying salt to roadways lowers the freezing point of water and prevents slippery surfaces, which makes it safer for people to drive in wintry conditions. In the U.S., more than 22 million tons of road salt is spread every year. But road salt harms infrastructure and the environment. In fact, road salt damages cars and metal infrastructure by accelerating rust and corrosion. Road salt can also leach into soil and waterways, disrupting ecosystems, degrading soil, contaminating water, and damaging vegetation.
In cities and towns, road salts often wash into stormwater systems, posing health concerns and challenges for infrastructure.
A new study led by researchers from Virginia Tech looked at how salt affects plants and whether certain plants could mitigate salt pollution. The research team studied stormwater detention basins in Northern Virginia, examining the impacts of road salt on plants, soils, and water quality in green infrastructure systems.
The findings, which were recently published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, found that the amount of salt present in green infrastructure systems does reach levels that threaten plant communities. However, the researchers found that relying on salt-tolerant plants for mitigation is unlikely to be effective because they simply don’t take in enough salt.
Certain plants, particularly cattails, absorbed substantial amounts of salt. But even in a basin densely planted with salt-tolerant cattails, only up to 6% of the road salt applied during winter could be removed.
Plants alone cannot solve our salt pollution problem.
Web LinksResearcher studies the power of native plants to combat road salt pollution
Photo, posted January 22, 2025, courtesy of the City of Greenville, North Carolina via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Flow batteries are rechargeable batteries in which liquid electrolytes flow through one or more chemical cells from one or more tanks. The electrolytes are redox pairs, that is, chemical compounds that can reversibly undergo reduction and oxidation reactions. The most common redox electrolytes include elements like vanadium, chromium, iron, zinc, and bromine. Flow batteries can provide large amounts of both electrical power and stored energy based on the size of the electrolyte tanks. As a result, they can be scaled up far more readily than other battery technologies. Flow batteries are safe, stable, long-lasting, and their electrolytes can easily be refilled. They have significant potential for use in utility-scale storage for renewable energy systems.
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a redox flow battery based on an organic industrial-scale waste product. The material – triphenylphosphine oxide or TPPO – is produced in the thousands of tons each year. It is byproduct of producing a variety of substances including some vitamins, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and other bulk chemicals. For the most part, TPPO is of little use and must be carefully discarded.
The current market for redox flow batteries is very small but is expected to grow over time as the need for utility-scale energy storage continues to expand. A battery technology based on a waste material that is already produced in high volume and that must otherwise be disposed of with caution would have significant advantages.
Web LinksGreen battery discovery turns trash into treasure
Photo, posted January 12, 2015, courtesy of California Energy Commission via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
January saw some major bouts of subfreezing temperatures across much of North America and significant snowfall in places like Pensacola, Florida and New Orleans. This spate of frigid weather undoubtedly prompted many people to question whether global warming is really happening. But such cold spells quite likely are not happening in spite of global warming, but actually as a result of it.The polar jet stream is a slim band of westerly winds that circles the Arctic. It is formed where cold air from the north meets warmer air to the south. As the planet warms, the Arctic has been heating up nearly four times faster than the rest of the planet, which narrows the difference in temperature between the northern air and southern air. The result is that the jet stream is weaker and more meandering, which allows frigid air to reach further south.
The polar vortex is a whirling mass of cold air that extends across the Arctic. It is stronger in the winter when the Northern Hemisphere leans away from the sun. The polar jet stream normally holds on to the vortex and keeps it far to the north. But when the jet stream gets wobbly, this mass of cold air can break out and travel south, even to places like Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.
The planet as a whole is warming, and the Arctic is warming even faster. But there will still be plenty of ice, snow, and frigid air in the Arctic winter for decades to come. As the behavior of the polar jet stream gets increasingly erratic, there may well be more frequent episodes of plunging temperatures in areas unaccustomed to them.
Web LinksSevere Cold Spells May Persist Because of Warming, Not in Spite of It
Photo, posted January 5, 2025, courtesy of Dermot O'Halloran via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
A decade ago, Ecuador began a major transition to using hydroelectric power. Like in many other South American countries, the presence of abundant rivers could supply large amounts of energy and drive economic expansion and lead to a new era of prosperity.This ambitious plan has run into the impacts of climate change. An extraordinary drought has engulfed much of South America, drying rivers and reservoirs, and has put Ecuador’s power grid on the brink of collapse.
Since September, daily energy cuts in Ecuador have lasted as long as 14 hours. An industry group says that the nation is losing $12 million in productivity and sales for every hour the power is out. Just a few years ago, Ecuador was making great strides in reducing poverty. Now, as the energy crisis has increased its grip on the country, much of what was achieved is being lost.
Ecuador’s situation is not unique. In recent years, abnormally dry weather in multiple places has resulted in extreme low water levels in rivers, reducing hydropower resources in Norway, Canada, Turkey, and even rainforest-rich Costa Rica.
Overall, more than one billion people live in countries where more than half of their energy comes from hydroelectric plants. With a warming climate and increasing incidence of extreme weather events like drought, it is likely that hydropower will become a less reliable energy source. More than a quarter of all hydroelectric dams are in places with a medium to high risk of water scarcity by 2050.
Web LinksThe Rivers Run Dry and the Lights Go Out: A Warming Nation’s Doom Loop
Photo, posted January 15, 2020, courtesy of Pedro Szekely via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The Earth is a pretty big place, and it is easy to think that humans and their activities occupy very little of it. But the impact of human activities on our planet continues to grow. Recent satellite images from NASA’s Earth Observatory show the staggering extent of the human footprint on Earth.Agriculture is a major part of it. Farms and pastures take up almost half of the world’s habitable land – land not covered by ice or desert. Greenhouses have recently proliferated tremendously and now cover 3.2 million acres, an area the size of Connecticut, and they even have effects on local climates.
More than half of the world’s population now lives in cities, which are expanding rapidly. Enormous cities in Asia are changing the landscape in places like Thailand and Indonesia. Apart from taking up lots of land, many of the world’s cities are immersed in clouds of air pollution that they generate.
Greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow, and temperatures continue to rise. The effects of this on the planet are increasingly evident. Seas are rising, ice is melting, glaciers shrink away, and wildfires continue to burn. The massive wildfires in and around Los Angeles have made major changes in the local landscape. Rising seas have flooded coastal wetlands and elsewhere, rivers and lakes have shrunk.
There are also human impacts visible from space that represent positive signs. Large solar arrays supply the cheapest form of energy in most parts of the world and the number and size of solar installations are at a record high. These solar installations provide some hope that global warming can be slowed.
Web LinksThe Growing Human Footprint on Earth, as Seen from Space
Photo, posted July 28, 2012, courtesy of Beth Scupham via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Last year saw some major trends in the global energy sector. Perhaps the most dramatic was the shift to renewable power, which continued to outpace the projections of both financial analysts and industry experts. 2024 saw new highs in renewable installation, largely due to China, which accounted for more than half of all the solar power installed globally. Huge solar installations also came online in California and Nevada during the year. On the other hand, the amount of coal burning for the year also exceeded expert predictions, also largely due to China.A second trend was increasing sales of electric vehicles, which reached a new high, although short of expectations. A major driving force in EV sales is the dropping price of lithium-ion batteries, which fell by 20% in 2024. Again, China was a major factor with roughly half of all its domestic vehicle sales being electric.
Coal’s decline is being slowed by the rising demand for electricity. The increased use of electric heating and cooling along with the increasing use of EVs are major factors. But the proliferation of energy-hungry data centers incorporating artificial intelligence capabilities is driving up the demand for power even more.
Perhaps the clearest indication of the future for global energy comes from investors, who put about $2 trillion into clean energy last year. That is twice as much as invested in oil, coal, and natural gas.
The history of energy has seen the Age of Coal and the Age of Oil. By all indications, we are now heading into the Age of Electricity.
Web LinksThe Year in Energy in Four Charts
Photo, posted November 23, 2024, courtesy of Mussi Katz via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
According to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis and Stanford University, construction materials used in buildings have the potential to lock away billions of tons of carbon dioxide. The study, published in Science, shows that storing CO2 in buildings could be a major contributor to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Overall efforts in carbon sequestration take carbon dioxide – either as it’s being produced or once it’s already in the atmosphere – and store it away. Storing it might involve injecting it into underground caverns or deep in the ocean. Alternatively, storing it might involve converting it into a stable form using chemical reactions. These various strategies involve both practical challenges and potential environmental risks.
The new study suggests that many materials that are already produced in large quantities have the potential to store carbon dioxide. These include concrete, asphalt, plastics, wood, and brick. More than 30 billion tons of these materials are produced worldwide every year.
Ways to accomplish carbon storage include adding biochar into concrete, using artificial rocks loaded with carbon as concrete and asphalt aggregates, plastic and asphalt binders based on biomass instead of petroleum, and including biomass fiber into bricks.
The largest potential is using carbonated aggregates to make concrete. Concrete is by far the world’s most popular building material with more than 20 billion tons being produced each year.
The feedstocks for these ways to store carbon in building materials are mostly low-value waste materials, so the economics of implementing these carbon sequestering strategies are likely to be quite favorable.
Web LinksStoring Carbon in Buildings Could Help Address Climate Change
Photo, posted October 19, 2022, courtesy of Alexandre Prevot via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as much as 40% of the food supply in the United States is wasted. In fact, Americans generate more food waste than all but two countries.To address this problem, the federal government announced a goal nearly a decade ago to cut food waste in half by 2030 compared to 2016 levels. Doing so would bring food waste down to approximately 164 pounds per person annually.
However, according to a new study led by researchers from the University of California - Davis, since 2016, per capita food waste has actually increased instead of decreasing.
The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Food, looked at how state policies align with federal targets. The research team found that state policies focus more on recycling methods, such as composting and anaerobic digestion, rather than on prevention and rescue strategies, like food donations or repurposing food for animal feed.
In 2021, the EPA revised its definition of food waste to no longer include recycling methods. But when food is wasted, the resources used to grow the food, including energy, water, and fertilizer, are also wasted.
In the study, the researchers analyzed state-level food waste reduction efforts across four areas: prevention, rescue, repurposing, and recycling. They found that recycling policies offered the most potential for diversion. Despite this, most states still fell short of the federal goal of 164 pounds per person annually.
According to the research team, more comprehensive policies to address food waste must be implemented as soon as possible.
Web LinksStates Struggle to Curb Food Waste Despite Policies
Photo, posted June 28, 2021, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The changing climate is creating challenges for some of the most productive apple growing regions in America. A study by Washington State University analyzed over 40 years of climate conditions that impact the growth cycle of apple trees.Many growing areas face increased climate risk, but the top three apple-producing counties are among the most impacted. Yakima County in Washington is the country’s largest apple producer with more than 48,000 acres of apple orchards. Kent County in Michigan and Wayne County in New York (located east of Rochester) are the next two largest.
The study looked at six metrics that affect apple production. Two of these metrics relate to extremes: extreme heat days (with temperatures above 93 degrees) that can cause multiple problems and warm nights (with minimum temperatures above 59 degrees) that adversely affect coloration.
Other metrics included the number of cold days, the last day of spring frost, and the number of growing degree days, which are the number of days above a certain temperature that are conducive for apples to grow.
Changes to these metrics can impact apple production, change the time when apple flowers bloom, increase risk of sunburn on apples, and affect apple appearance and quality. In many places, nearly all of these metrics are changing in an undesirable direction.
Apples are the most consumed fruit in the United States. 27,000 American producers supply an industry with a downstream value of $23 billion. Apples are a big deal.
Web LinksPrime apple-growing areas in US face increasing climate risks
Photo, posted August 8, 2020, courtesy of Sue Thompson via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Hydroclimate whiplash is a term that describes rapid swings between intensely wet and dangerously dry weather. Global weather records show that the occurrence of hydroclimate whiplash has increased by 31% or as much as 66% since the mid-20th century. California’s experience is a prime example of this phenomenon. After years of severe drought, dozens of atmospheric rivers subjected the state to record-breaking amounts of precipitation in the winter of 2022-23. A second extremely wet winter in the southern parts of the state the following year resulted in the growth of abundant amounts of grass and brush. 2024 saw a record-hot summer which was then followed by a record-dry start to the 2025 rainy season. The result was the catastrophic wildfires in the Los Angeles area in January.
Research by UCLA climate scientists explains that the primary driver for the increasing occurrence of hydroclimate whiplash is the expansion of the atmospheric sponge – that is, the growing ability of the atmosphere to evaporate, absorb and release water. Every degree Celsius that the planet warms increases this ability by 7%.
The global consequences of hydroclimate whiplash include not only floods and droughts but also the increased danger of whipsawing between the two, leading to the bloom and burn cycle that California recently faced. The risk of wildfire is twofold: first by increasing the growth of flammable grass and brush in the months before the fire season, and then by drying it out to dangerous levels with extremely warm and dry weather.
Web LinksFloods, droughts, then fires: Hydroclimate whiplash is speeding up globally
Photo, posted January 13, 2025, courtesy of Victor Guillen / USDA Forest Service via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
A decade ago, the ability of utilities to store large amounts of electricity in batteries was basically nonexistent. In the past several years, growth in battery storage systems has exploded. As of the end of November, the US had about 24 gigawatt-hours of storage capacity in place. This is 71% more than just a year ago. Nearly half of the battery storage in the US is located in California. Texas, Arizona, and Nevada are also leaders in deploying battery storage.Battery storage allows solar and wind generating plants to keep operating when there is reduced demand for their output and have the electricity that they produce be available later when demand rises. Storing this excess electricity essentially extends the hours of the day when clean energy can be used.
Equally important, the existence of battery storage reduces the need for peaker plants, the fossil-fueled power plants that only turn on at times of peak demand, such as during hot afternoons.
There are 1,000 peaker plants in the US and they are generally heavily polluting, inefficient, and expensive to operate. Some 63 million people live within a three-mile radius of one of them and are exposed to harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide. Peaker plants also release more greenhouse gases than other power plants do for every unit of electricity they generate.
Many battery storage facilities are co-located with, or otherwise support, solar energy plants. The amount of solar energy in the US is growing rapidly and surpassed the 100-gigawatt mark in 2024. As solar power continues to expand, so will battery energy storage.
Web LinksBattery projects soared again in 2024
Photo, posted August 3, 2024, courtesy of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Advances in genomics have created the possibility of bringing back extinct species from the past by making use of recovered DNA from preserved specimens. Companies attempting to “de-extinct” iconic species have received hundreds of millions of dollars from venture capitalists.These companies are trying to bring back iconic species that include ivory-billed woodpeckers, Tasmanian tigers, dodos, passenger pigeons, and woolly mammoths.
Efforts to recreate extinct species are controversial. The arguments in favor include the positive effects on ecosystems when keystone species are restored, and the excitement generated about conservation in general. The opposing view is that concentrating all this effort on these restorations diverts attention and funding from more urgent conservation work.
A more nuanced viewpoint that has emerged is that actually de-extincting species is not possible. The genome of these vanished species cannot be reconstructed perfectly. Specimens are not cryopreserved from when the animal died. What can be retrieved is at best significant fragments of the genome. These are combined with DNA from related contemporary animals to produce the new species.
As a result, what emerges are proxies. They are animals that are similar to extinct animals – in some cases convincingly so – but they are not the same species that existed in the past. They may be able to fill the same ecological niches and they may have similar behavior. But they are not de-extincted specimens of the past species. Is it worth doing? Quite possibly but it's not actually bringing back what is gone.
Web LinksDespite Biotech Efforts to Revive Species, Extinction Is Still Forever
Photo courtesy of Grazelands Rewilding.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
For many years, scientists have warned that the Great Salt Lake in Utah is headed toward a catastrophic decline. While the size of the Great Salt Lake fluctuates naturally with seasonal and long-term weather patterns, the lake has been experiencing significant and steady declines for decades. In fact, the Great Salt Lake has lost more than 15 billion cubic yards of water over the past three decades, and it’s getting shallower at the rate of four inches a year. This reduction is primarily due to excessive water diversions from rivers and streams that feed into the lake for agricultural, industrial, and municipal use. These diversions, combined with prolonged drought and rising temperatures due to climate change, have significantly reduced the lake’s water level.
According to a new study led by researchers from Oregon State University, 62% of the river water bound for the Great Salt Lake is diverted for human use, with agricultural activities responsible for nearly three-quarters of that percentage. The analysis, which was recently published in the journal Environmental Challenges, found that reducing irrigation is necessary to save the lake.
In order to stabilize and begin refilling the lake, the research team proposes cutting human water consumption in the Great Salt Lake’s watershed by 35%. The researchers emphasize that farmers and ranchers facing income losses from using less water would require taxpayer-funded compensation.
The Great Salt Lake is a biodiversity hotspot, sustaining more than 10 million migratory birds. The lake also directly supports 9,000 jobs and fuels $2.5 billion in economic activity annually.
Web LinksReducing irrigation for livestock feed crops is needed to save Great Salt Lake, study argues
Photo, posted January 14, 2024, courtesy of Olaf Zerbock via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Cement production accounts for about 7% of global carbon emissions. It is one of the most difficult challenges for emissions reduction. The emissions associated with producing cement come from both the energy used to provide heat for the process and from the chemical reactions that take place in the formation of cement. Cement is an […]
Vast areas of South America have been gripped in drought conditions for months. Rivers in the Amazon basin fell to record-low levels in October. The drought has amplified wildfires, parched crops, disrupted transportation networks, and interrupted hydroelectric power generation in parts of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The drought is related to the […]
Arctic sea ice has shrunk to near-historic lows during this Northern Hemisphere summer. The minimum extent for the year occurred on September 11th. Ice cover in the Arctic Ocean has been shrinking and thinning for more than 40 years. The amount of frozen seawater in the Arctic goes up and down during the year as […]
Energy storage is a critical aspect of modern energy systems as they move towards heavy dependence on renewable sources such as solar and wind that don’t produce energy at the same rate all the time. Excess energy generated by solar power needs to be stored for when the sun isn’t shining; excess wind energy needs […]
The U.S. has nearly half a million school buses providing daily transportation for about 20 million students. Most of these buses are powered by diesel engines which not only dump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere but also fill kids’ lungs with harmful fumes. Thanks to various federal and state incentive programs, this situation is starting […]
People in remote, low-income regions far from the ocean often need to meet their water needs from groundwater and groundwater is becoming increasingly saline due to climate change. Desalination of brackish groundwater is a huge and largely untapped source of drinking water, but there are challenges in making the process efficient and reliable. Engineers at […]
The Antarctic Peninsula, like other polar regions, is warming faster than the rest of the world. Ocean heatwaves and ice loss are becoming more common and more severe. New research by the universities of Exeter and Hertfordshire in the UK along with the British Antarctic Survey used satellite data to assess how much the Antarctic […]
According to a new report by the International Energy Agency, the world is on track to produce nearly half of the electricity it uses from renewable sources by the end of this decade. The report also finds that in nearly every country, large wind and solar plants are the cheapest forms of new power. Between […]
According to a new U.N. report, the world’s rivers had their driest year in at least three decades. Record heat and droughts in many places contributed to low levels of water in many of the world’s rivers. The world faces problems of either too much or too little water. The warming climate has fueled both […]
The frequent and massive megafires in places like Canada and the American west have led to a lot of research on the impact of smoke on humans but there has been less study of the effects of smoke on plant health. Researchers at the University of California, Davis have found that trees are just as […]
The Industrial Revolution, which basically got underway in the mid-19th century, was largely enabled by coal, which fueled iron manufacturing, railroads, steam engines, and more. Most of these things got their start in Britain, which inspired the rest of the world to follow suit. The world’s first coal-burning power plant began producing electricity at the […]
As the dangers of climate change continue to grow, so has interest in geoengineering – deliberate tinkering with the earth’s climate system. In particular, stratospheric solar geoengineering – releasing aerosols into the stratosphere to reduce the amount of heat from the sun reaching the Earth – is attracting increasing interest. Scientists at Harvard, Cornell, Colorado […]
The global food system is responsible for as much as 40% of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. The investor advocacy group Ceres has tracked whether the 50 largest North American food and agriculture companies have set targets to lower their emissions and whether doing so has actually resulted in lower emissions. The emissions from food and […]
According to the National Retail Federation, spending on Halloween festivities this year by the 72% of Americans who plan to celebrate is expected to total $11.6 billion – or about $104 per person. The annual consumer survey also found that 67% of Americans plan to pass out candy this year, and nearly 50% of Americans […]
The size and especially the weight of batteries is a critical factor for most things that use them. Battery weight is a key limitation for computers and cell phones. It is even more of a limitation for electric cars, ships, or planes. If the battery of a device or vehicle can also function as a […]
As greenhouse gas emissions continue to be dangerously large and the perils of climate change are increasingly apparent, the world is increasingly exploring ways to deliberately intervene in climate systems. A number of these ideas involve introducing substances into the atmosphere, but there are also ways to tinker with the oceans. The oceans naturally absorb […]
Every year, there are one to two million collisions between motor vehicles and large animals in the U.S. About 200 people are killed annually. Counting smaller vertebrates, around a million animals are killed by vehicles each day. Research has shown that global warming is triggering widespread species redistribution. As a result, more and more animals […]
Methane is a colorless and odorless gas that occurs abundantly in nature and is also a product of certain human activities. It’s a short-lived but highly potent greenhouse gas and, as a result, is a major driver of climate change. In fact, methane heats the atmosphere nearly 90 times faster than carbon dioxide over a […]
As more and more cars are powered by electricity instead of gasoline, people are beginning to worry about what happens during power outages caused by storms and other disruptive events. It is easy to jump to the conclusion that this is a brand-new problem for drivers. However, when electricity goes out over a sizeable area, […]
Agriculture is a major part of the climate problem and remains one of the hardest human activities to decarbonize. Agriculture is responsible for approximately 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. On farms around the world, excess fertilizer gets broken down by microbes in the soil, releasing nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. Nitrous oxide is a […]
Landslides are mass movements of rock, earth, or debris down a slope. They can be initiated by rainfall, snowmelt, changes in water level, erosion by streams, earthquakes, volcanic activity, or by various human activities. Most landslides we hear about are sudden events that can cause all sorts of calamities. But not all landslides are rapid […]
There are seven species of sea turtles that inhabit the world’s oceans. Six of the seven sea turtle species - all of them except the flatback - are present in U.S. waters, and are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Sea turtles, which have been around for more than 100 million years, spend the majority of their lives in the ocean, but they do periodically come ashore to nest. Female sea turtles lay their eggs in the sand and then return to the ocean. Survival odds for sea turtle hatchlings are quite bleak. In fact, only one out of every 1,000 makes it to adulthood.
Research shows that both air and sand temperatures are critical for sea turtle hatchling development. Cooler temperatures produce larger, heavier hatchlings with more males. Hatchling size matters because larger hatchlings, which can move faster, are more likely to survive because they spend less time on risky beaches. But rising temperatures might shorten incubation periods, and erratic rainfall can disrupt growth, potentially affecting survival.
A new international study by researchers from Florida Atlantic University and the University of Tübingen in Germany found that fluctuating rainfall patterns have a greater impact than changes in air temperature on sea turtle hatchling development.
The results, which were recently published in the journal BMC Ecology and Evolution, reveal that the impact of rainfall varies between species. As climate change shifts rainfall patterns, the impact on sea turtle nesting sites suggests that global conservation strategies for some species - like loggerhead and green sea turtles - likely need to be updated.
Web LinksRain or Shine? How Rainfall Impacts Size of Sea Turtle Hatchlings
Sea Turtle
Photo, posted August 27, 2015, courtesy of USFWS/Orsulak via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Glaciers around the world are shrinking or disappearing. Melting glaciers and ice sheets are the biggest contributors to global sea level rise and ice loss rates are continuing to increase. Even if the world somehow manages to meet the climate goal of limiting warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, the world will still lose a quarter of its glacial mass by the year 2100. At higher levels of warming, most of the world’s glaciers could be gone.One result of this situation is that people are rushing to see glaciers before they melt. Places like Iceland are experiencing a booming tourism economy. Half a million people now visit Iceland for glacier tours every year. The shrinking and disappearance of glaciers has popularized a new kind of adventure travel called 'last chance tourism.'
Like other types of adventure travel, glacier tours are not without dangers. An American tourist visiting a glacial ice cave in an Icelandic national park in August was killed when a frozen arch collapsed. Ice caves, formed by glacial meltwater, are known for their brilliant blue walls. Increasing meltwater can make these formations more prone to collapse.
Glacial tours in Canada’s Jasper National Park are quite popular. Tour operators have had to reroute trails to the foot of the Athabasca Glacier several times every season because of glacial melt.
Glacier tourism is a goldmine for the tourist industry but conducting and managing it is increasingly challenging. Meanwhile, people feel like it’s important to bring their kids to see glaciers because they may be the last generation that can go stand on a glacier.
Web LinksClimate Change Is Making ‘Last Chance Tourism’ More Popular, and Riskier
Photo, posted January 25, 2020, courtesy of Ron Cogswell via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Glass has been used for thousands of years to make everything from windows to bottles to microscope slides. For all that time, most glass has been in the form of soda lime silicate glass, which is made by melting quartz sand with carbon-based ingredients - soda ash and limestone - at high melting temperatures of about 2600 degrees Fahrenheit.The process results in substantial carbon emissions. Worldwide, glass manufacturing produces over 86 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. Most of that comes from burning fuel to reach the high temperatures needed to make the glass, but about a quarter of it comes from the decomposition of the carbon-based materials used.
Researchers at Penn State University have developed an entirely new type of glass that represents an alternative to soda lime glass. The glass – that they call LionGlass – eliminates the use of carbonate batch materials and has a melting temperature 700 degrees lower than traditional glass. The new material has the potential to cut the carbon footprint of glass manufacturing in half. It is also 10 times more crack-resistant than ordinary glass, which would enable light weighting of glass products, lowering the emissions associated with transporting glass and glass products.
Recently, Penn state has entered into a partnership with the Italian company Bormioli, one of the world’s leading glass manufacturers that specializes in high-end packaging for fragrances, cosmetics, and tableware. By focusing on a smaller, high-end market, the focus can be on fine-tuning the glass and determining the feasibility of scaling it up further for other uses.
Web LinksEcofriendly glass invented at Penn State secures partner for product development
Photo, posted December 26, 2005, courtesy of Lachlan Hardy via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The sights of coffee plantations in California and vineyards in Britain are becoming more common as the climate changes. But behind what sounds like a success story is a sobering one: climate change is shifting the regions suitable for growing food all around the world. According to a new study by researchers from the University of Cambridge, as crop growing shifts northwards, a squeeze will be put on the land needed to produce timber. The timber these trees produce is used to make everything from paper and cardboard to furniture and buildings.
According to the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Climate Change, more than 25% of existing forestry land - an area equivalent in size to India - will become more suitable for agriculture by the end of the century if climate change continues unabated. Approximately 90% of this current forestry land is located in Canada, China, Russia, and the United States.
Global timber production is worth more than $1.5 trillion every year. Recent heat waves and wildfires have caused huge losses of timber forests around the world.
According to the World Bank, the value of the global food system is estimated to be roughly $8 trillion annually. Scientists expect climate change to cause some areas to become too hot for growing food, particularly in the tropics and southern Europe.
With the global demand for food and the global demand for wood both projected to double by 2050, the increasing climate change-driven competition between the two is set to be an emerging issue in the coming decades.
Web LinksGlobal timber supply threatened as climate change pushes cropland northwards
Do the costs of the global food system outweigh its monetary value?
Photo, posted October 24, 2018, courtesy of Bill Smith via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Two important environmental challenges are finding some literal common ground: the need to reduce carbon emissions and the fight to stave off global biodiversity collapse. Both issues can be addressed at solar farms.Solar energy is an important weapon in the battle against climate change. But utility-scale solar farms take up large amounts of land. Large-scale solar farms already take up nearly a thousand square miles of land in the US and will take up much more in the coming decades.
In the meantime, the biodiversity collapse is being driven in large part by habitat loss.
Given all this, solar farm operators, biologists, and environmentalists are teaming up to grow pollinator-friendly plants in and around solar farms. The plantings attract insects, birds and even mammals. The more plant diversity in the solar farms, the more environmental benefits can be achieved.
There are costs associated with creating pollinator-friendly solar farms. Ideally, solar panels need to be installed at greater height than otherwise in order to permit growing many of the plants that attract bees and butterflies. But there are economic benefits associated with attracting and sustaining pollinators. On a cautionary note, there have already been cases of greenwashing, where solar operators claim environmental benefits far in excess of the scope of the actual efforts they have made.
There are both governmental and non-governmental agencies seeking to assess and certify pollinator-friendly solar farms. There is considerable variability in the ecological value of existing farms. Pollinator-friendly solar farms are in their early days, but they have a lot to offer as a win-win strategy for the environment.
Web LinksSolar Farms Have a Superpower Beyond Clean Energy
Photo, posted December 4, 2014, courtesy of Juwi Renewable Energies Limited via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Revolution Wind is an offshore wind farm being built by Rhode Island and Connecticut and is the first multi-state offshore wind farm in the United States. Once completed, it will deliver 400 MW of power to Rhode Island and 304 MW of power to Connecticut.Revolution Wind is a 50/50 partnership between Ørsted, the Danish multinational energy company, and Eversource, a major New England utility company. The wind farm is located about 15 miles south of the Rhode Island coast and 32 miles southeast of Connecticut. It is fairly close to the recently completed South Fork Wind, the first completed utility-scale offshore windfarm in the U.S. and was built by the same partnership.
The first Revolution Wind turbine was installed at the end of August and construction continues with the installation of foundations for the 65 turbines that will comprise the project. More than three-quarters of the units were in place by the beginning of September. Ships have also arrived on scene for cable-laying operations for the wind farm. Onshore construction continues in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, on the project’s transmission system. The turbines for the project are being assembled by local union labor in New London, Connecticut.
Commercial operations at Revolution Wind will not begin until 2026. Construction of the electrical substation necessary to connect the project to the regional electric grid is taking place on the site of a decommissioned naval air station and it is a time-consuming project because of the presence of buried waste and soil contamination. The construction of the offshore wind farm itself will be completed in 2025.
Web LinksRevolution Wind installs first offshore turbine
Photo courtesy of Kate Ciembronowicz / Orsted via Revolution Wind.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Plastic pollution is a growing problem for people and for the environment in multiple ways. When plastics break down over time, they can form small particles called microplastics – bits smaller than sesame seeds – and these, in turn, can break down into even smaller pieces called nanoplastics. They are too small to be seen […]
Media coverage of electric cars in this country is pretty confusing. Are electric cars taking over or has the EV bubble burst? EVs currently represent about 8% of the US new car market. But they continue to face some relatively unique headwinds in this country. A very powerful and influential oil industry makes sure that […]
Cities across the country are grappling with the problem that bigger, more frequent rainstorms occurring as a result of climate change are overtaxing the systems put in place to handle stormwater. Cities use a combination of so-called green infrastructure – such as rain gardens and porous pavements – and traditional gray infrastructure, such as pipes, […]
Most of the well-known largest technology companies have established ambitious clean energy goals. They are on record for achieving net-zero emissions for all their operations and supply chains in many cases by 2030. As a result, they have been investing heavily in renewable energy in various ways. Despite these lofty goals and sincere efforts, many […]
In recent years, climate advocates have pushed for the use of more dramatic language to describe ‘climate change.’ The notion was that phrases like ‘climate crisis’ and ‘climate emergency’ better convey the urgency of the planet’s plight, while terms like ‘climate change’ and ‘global warming’ are too gentle and vague. However, it turns out that […]
Battery-powered electric vehicles have historically faced the challenges of limited driving range and long charging time. In recent years, both of these limitations have been largely overcome for many if not most drivers. Popular EVs on the market can go 300 miles and more on a charge and today’s fastest charging networks can add 200 […]
There are people who oppose the installation of wind turbines for a variety of reasons. It is true that wind turbines can be dangerous to birds. Estimates are that about 250,000 birds are killed flying into wind turbines each year in the U.S. However, this data needs to be looked at in comparison to bird […]
The industrial sector accounts for nearly a third of greenhouse gas emissions in the US, which is more than the annual emissions from cars, trucks, and airplanes combined. These emissions primarily come from burning fossil fuels to produce goods from raw materials as well as from the chemical reactions associated with production. Many industrial processes […]
Agrivoltaics is the combination of solar power generation with agriculture. Generally, this has involved growing crops under and around solar panels harvesting both food and electricity. More recently, there has been increasing interest in grazing animals to manage lands used for solar power. Enel North America, a large operator of solar farms and utility-scale battery […]
Estuaries and their surrounding wetlands are bodies of water where freshwater from rivers and streams mixes with salt water from the ocean to create brackish water. These brackish ecosystems support many unique plant and animal communities around the world. But ocean water temperature around the world continues to warm. In fact, from 1901 to 2023, […]
The U.S. used to get more of its electricity from burning coal than by any other means. It wasn’t all that long ago; coal produced 51% of our electricity in 2001. But as of 2022, it was less than 20%. In March and April, the U.S. generated more electricity from wind power than from coal. […]
There have already been all sorts of extreme weather this year in many parts of the world and undoubtedly there will be more to talk about in the coming months. But the American Meteorological Society has recently published its State of the Climate report for 2023 and it was a year for the record books. […]
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole. It is one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas and is a popular attraction for tourists. Svalbard is famous for rugged, remote terrain of glaciers and frozen tundra sheltering polar bears, Svalbard reindeer, and Arctic foxes. The Northern Lights are visible during winter, […]
Hydrogen has great potential as a fuel and an energy carrier for many applications. Burning it or consuming it in fuel cells does not produce carbon emissions. As a result, there has long been the vision for a future hydrogen economy. Whether the hydrogen economy would ever come about given how various other technologies have […]
The Earth’s atmosphere contains enormous amounts of water. Being able to efficiently and economically extract some of it to provide drinking water would be extremely beneficial to the billions of people across the globe who face chronic water shortages. There are existing technologies for atmospheric water harvesting – or AWH. But there are downsides associated […]
Steel is primarily produced using one of two methods: blast furnaces or electric arc furnaces. The first blast furnaces were built in the 14th century. Making steel in a blast furnace starts by melting the raw materials of iron ore, limestone, and coal at very high temperatures. The resultant reactions ultimately lead to two products: […]
The Great Salt Lake in Utah has been described as a puddle of its former self. The lake’s size fluctuates naturally with seasonal and long-term weather patterns, but the lake has been experiencing decline for decades as Utahans take water out of the rivers and streams that once fed the lake. Over recent decades, the lake has lost 73% of its water and 60% of its surface area.For years, scientists and environmental leaders have warned that the Great Salt Lake is headed toward a catastrophic decline. Recent research has found that the lake’s desiccating shores are becoming a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists have calculated that the dried-out portions of the lakebed released about 4.1 million tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in 2020.
The recent study, published in the journal One Earth, suggests that the Great Salt Lake – which is largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere – as well as other shrinking saline lakes around the world could become major contributors of climate-warming emissions.
The shrinking back of the water has exposed a dusty lakebed that is laced with arsenic, mercury, lead, and other toxic substances. Some are naturally occurring, and others are the residue of mining activity in the region. These substances threaten to increase rates of respiratory conditions, heart and lung disease, and cancers.
As the lake shrinks, it is becoming saltier and uninhabitable to native flies and brine shrimp and may increasingly become unable to support the 10 million migratory birds and wildlife that frequent it.
The new research about greenhouse gas emissions just adds to a dire list of environmental consequences brought on by the lake’s steep decline.
Web LinksShrinking Great Salt Lake Becoming Source of Heat-Trapping Gas
Photo, posted January 20, 2020, courtesy of Matthew Dillon via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
How the United States produces its electricity has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Coal used to be the dominant source of power in this country, but natural gas surpassed it in 2016, and coal’s share has been shrinking ever since. Fossil fuel still generates the majority of America’s electricity, but renewable power is increasing its contribution all the time.On a state-by-state basis, there are very large variations in the mix of power sources. Ten states still get their largest amount of power from coal, but this is down from 32 states in 2001. Four states have hydroelectric power as their largest source, including Vermont which gets more than half of its power that way.
Texas produces more electricity than any other state by a wide margin. It’s not just because it has a large population. It is because it uses huge amounts of power to refine petroleum products. Coal produces only 13% of Texas’ electricity and the state is by far the country’s largest producer of wind power.
New York gets nearly half of its power from natural gas, 21% from hydroelectric power, and 21% from nuclear power. Wind and solar power are still small, but both are growing in the state.
When people try to assess the climate impact of driving electric cars, based on the origins of the electricity they use to power the car, the results can vary dramatically based on what state they live in. Nationwide, electricity is getting cleaner and greener, but the process is by no means uniform across the country.
Web LinksHow Does Your State Make Electricity?
Photo, posted March 17, 2021, courtesy of Bureau of Reclamation via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
As the climate warms, city dwellers tend to suffer from extreme heat more than people in rural areas because of the urban heat island effect. Extensive surfaces of man-made materials like concrete, asphalt, and brick absorb the sun’s energy and lead to temperatures well above those in the surrounding countryside.Cities can take countermeasures that include creating urban green spaces full of plants that cool the surrounding air and the use of cool roofs that reflect the sun’s energy back into space. Local governments in many cities provide incentives for planting more trees. But more could be accomplished by encouraging the use of cool roofs.
The heat island effect has been well-known for a long time, but scientists are only recently learning what interventions are most effective. A recent study modeled two days of extreme heat in London in 2018 and compared the potential effects of cool roofs, green roofs, roof-top solar panels, and ground level vegetation. They found that cool roofs are the most effective way to lower temperatures and would have reduced London temperatures by 2 degrees on average and as much as 3.6 degrees in some places.
Cool roofs are created by swapping out dark, heat-absorbing roofing materials with reflective materials or simply by painting roofs white. Los Angeles is the first major city to require that all new residential construction includes a cool roof.
Apart from the effectiveness of passive cooling techniques, using them also reduces the reliance upon air conditioning to protect people from heat. Air conditioners themselves contribute considerable amounts of heat to urban environments.
Web LinksThe surprisingly simple way cities could save people from extreme heat
Photo, posted February 21, 2024, courtesy of Warren LeMay via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Do you crave that morning cup of coffee? You’re not alone, and not by a long shot. In fact, more than 2.2 billion cups of coffee are consumed globally every day. The existing coffee market is dominated by two species: Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora (the latter commonly called robusta). Historically, coffee drinkers have preferred Arabica beans for their specific flavor and aroma.
But climate change is threatening many crops around the world, and maybe none more so than coffee. In fact, an alarming 50% of suitable coffee-growing land is projected to be lost by 2050. As a result, scientists see two alternatives to supplement Arabica: either adapt coffee farming practices to new environments, or focus on coffee species that are more resilient.
According to a new study led by researchers from the University of Florida, Robusta coffee might be a good candidate to augment Arabica. The researchers evaluated Robusta and Arabica for multiple traits in three high-altitude locations in Brazil over five years.
The study, which was recently published in the journal Crop Science, found that Robusta is highly adaptable and grows in high-altitude regions, which means it combines good production and flavor scores. According to the researchers, Robusta can combine the following three elements for coffee cultivars: Sustainability (produce more with fewer inputs), quality (good flavor to meet consumer demand), and plasticity (capacity to adapt to new production systems).
Following these favorable findings with Robusta in Brazil, the scientists will test whether the species can grow in Florida.
Web LinksRobust and smart: Inference on phenotypic plasticity of Coffea canephora reveals adaptation to alternative environments
UF scientists study how to bring you ‘climate-smart coffee’
Photo, posted May 23, 2013, courtesy of McKay Savage via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Scientists have discovered a new type of wood that is highly efficient at storing carbon. A comprehensive survey of the microscopic structure of the wood from many species of trees revealed that there is a type of wood that is neither softwood, such as pine and conifers, or hardwood, such as oak, ash, and birch.The scientists from Cambridge University and Jagiellonian University in Poland analyzed some of the world’s most iconic trees using electron microscopy to survey their microscopic structure.
They found that tulip trees, which are related to magnolias and can grow over 100 feet tall, have a unique type of wood. The trees, which diverged from magnolias far back to a time when atmospheric CO2 concentrations were low, grow very tall and very quickly. These features were an adaptation to those conditions and result in the ability to store larger concentrations of carbon to compensate based on their microstructure. The elementary units of wood are known as macrofibrils, and tulip trees have much larger macrofibrils than hardwoods but smaller than those of softwoods. This unusual intermediate structure makes the trees highly effective at carbon storage.
Based on the research, it may be the case that tulip trees will end up being useful for carbon capture plantations – tree plantings specifically for the purpose of mitigating the effects of climate change. Some east Asian countries are already using various tulip tree species in plantations for locking in carbon. This was based on their large size and rapid growth, but it turns out that their novel wood structure may be the most compelling reason to use them.
Web LinksScientists discover entirely new wood type that could be highly efficient at carbon storage
Photo, posted March 3, 2021, courtesy of Thomas Quine via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Weeds are the bane of every gardener’s existence. They pop up, uncontrolled and unwelcome, and must be tediously managed time and time again. But in some cases, weeds are more than just a nuisance. Some are a public health hazard. Meet giant hogweed. Native to Europe’s Caucasus Mountains, giant hogweed belongs to the carrot family. The plant resembles Queen Anne’s Lace – on steroids. Giant hogweed can grow up to 15 feet tall with three inch stems, five-foot-wide leaves, and an umbrella-like canopy of white flowers.
Botanists brought giant hogweed to England as an ornamental plant in the 1890s. It made its way to the U.S. via horticultural channels. In fact, one of the first specimens was planted in a Victorian garden near Rochester, NY.
As with most invasive plants, it quietly escaped cultivation. In the U.S., giant hogweed can be found in New England, the Mid-Atlantic Region, and the Northwest, with plants preferring moist habitat near roadside ditches and stream banks.
While a seemingly innocent flowering plant, giant hogweed is actually one of the most hazardous plants in the U.S. Brushing against or breaking the plant releases sap that, when combined with sunlight and moisture, can cause severe burn-like lesions, blistering sores, and purplish or blackened scars. Getting sap in your eyes can result in temporary or even permanent blindness.
With each plant dropping up to 120,000 seeds, it’s no surprise that giant hogweed is proving difficult to eradicate.
If you suspect giant hogweed is growing near you, photograph the plant from a safe distance and report the sighting to local environmental authorities.
Web LinksPlant Pest Risk Assessment for Giant Hogweed
Giant Hogweed
Photo, posted March 22, 2021, courtesy of Scottish Invasive Species Initiative via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
A prolonged and widespread coral bleaching event in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has taken place this year. It is the fifth such event over the past eight years and appears to be one of the worst ever. According to preliminary analysis, 97% of corals in some areas of the northern part of the reef died as a result of the bleaching. Over the entire length of the reef – which is more than 1,200 miles long – bleaching was observed on 74% of the more than 1,000 individual reefs that make up the Great Barrier Reef. Half of those observed recorded high or very high levels of bleaching, although less than 10% had extreme levels of bleaching.Prior to this mass bleaching event, an extensive survey of the reef was conducted, and it provided some good news. Coral cover had increased in all three regions on the Great Barrier Reef and was actually at regional highs in two of the three regions. The surveys were completed before the passage of Tropic Cyclone Jasper in December 2023.
Bleached corals are very stressed, but they still remain alive for at least some period of time. Some types of corals can remain bleached for months, hanging on like a hospital patient in critical condition, but then recover. Depending upon water conditions going forward, it remains to be seen how much of the reef will survive the latest bleaching event. The next survey season by the Australian Institute of Marine Science will commence in September.
In many ways, the reef has had some lucky escapes in recent years. As marine heatwaves become increasingly common, its luck may eventually run out.
Web LinksNew report on Great Barrier Reef shows coral cover increases before onset of serious bleaching, cyclones
Photo, posted 8, 2023, courtesy of Chris Hoare via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Air pollution is a serious health threat. It is associated with asthma and can lead to chronic disease, cancer, and premature death. Globally, air pollution kills 7 to 9 million people, and 200,000 Americans die from it each year.There are multiple sources of air pollution including automobiles, power plants, and other industrial activities. Exposure to pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter does not require living or working near their sources. Winds can carry pollution great distances including across state lines.
The Clean Air Act included the EPA’s “Good Neighbor Plan”, which requires “upwind” states to implement plans to reduce emissions from power plants and other industrial sources. However, three states – Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia – along with various industrial companies and trade organizations sued the EPA when it tried to enforce these plans. A recent Supreme Court decision to block a federal rule curbing interstate air pollution further complicates efforts to reduce emissions.
As a result, there is a disproportionate burden on downwind states. They face major challenges in demonstrating and attributing air pollution to sources across state lines and pursuing legal actions to get the EPA to address their problems.
A recent study by the University of Notre Dame looking at all the complex issues related to interstate pollution underscored how the regulatory system continues to be hamstrung when attempting to address a serious threat to human health and the environment.
Web LinksDownwind states face disproportionate burden of air pollution
Photo, posted February 19, 2021, courtesy of David Wilson via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
One of the country’s largest co-located solar and battery energy storage projects is now fully operational. The Gemini Solar+Storage project is located in Clark County, Nevada, about 30 minutes outside of Las Vegas.The project’s 1.8 million solar panels can generate up to 690 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to supply about 10% of Nevada’s peak demand. The facility is co-located with 380 megawatts of 4-hour battery storage, which is enough to supply Nevadans with 1,400 MWh of power after sundown.
The project makes use of a unique storage configuration that allows the storage system to be charged directly from the solar panels, resulting in increased efficiency and maximizing the capture and storage of solar energy.
The project has minimized the environmental impacts to the nearly 5,000-acre site. Primergy, the project developer, took measures to leave vegetation in place, installed solar panels to follow the ground’s natural contours, and reduced the overall footprint by more than 20% through careful design. The project created 1,300 union and prevailing wage jobs and contributed $483 million to Nevada’s economy.
Solar facilities are increasingly co-located with battery storage plants. There is a huge project in Kern County California that includes 1.9 million solar panels capable of generating 875 megawatts of solar power and storing 3,287 megawatt-hours of energy. The deserts of the southwest are prime locations for such facilities.
Web LinksThe house always wins: Massive Gemini solar + storage outside of Las Vegas reaches commercial operations
Photo courtesy of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
China has been the biggest source of greenhouse emissions for nearly 20 years. Its emissions surpassed those of the United States in 2006 and its fraction of the world’s emissions is now nearly a third. Therefore, unless China’s emissions stop growing, the world’s emissions won’t either.Recent data from China’s government and by energy analysts provides some reasons for optimism. What is happening is that how China produces its electricity is changing. Renewable sources are gradually replacing coal.
Last year alone, China installed more solar panels than the United States has in its entire history. Nearly two-thirds of utility-scale wind and solar plants under construction are in China. According to a report from Global Energy Monitor, China is developing more than eight times the wind and solar capacity currently being planned for the US.
Despite all this progress, China still generates 53% of its electricity from coal. While this is the lowest share reported since its government began publishing energy data decades ago, it is still a major source of carbon emissions. China is responsible for two-thirds of the world’s newly operating coal plants and still plans to build many more. China accounts for about 60% of the world’s coal use.
China is investing heavily in pumped-storage hydropower along with its massive efforts in solar and wind power. But if it is to meet existing and proposed new commitments to reduce emissions, it will need to be much more aggressive in reducing its dependence on coal. Current predictions are that China’s emissions may soon no longer be increasing. But what is needed is for them to start dropping and the sooner the better.
Web LinksWhy the Era of China’s Soaring Carbon Emissions Might Be Ending
Photo courtesy of Mike Locke via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
There have been numerous temperature records set in recent years. Apart from record high temperatures for many places around the world, there were 13 consecutive monthly temperature records set for the planet since the previous summer.According to NASA data, July 22, 2024, was the hottest day on record. July 21st and 23rd also exceeded the previous daily record, which was set in July last year. The new record was 17.16 degrees Celsius, or about 63 degrees Fahrenheit.
We are not used to thinking in terms of the global average temperature. That is the number that keeps climbing and that climate goals seek to keep from getting too high. The global average temperature is about 59 degrees Fahrenheit. So, on July 22nd, the Earth was about 4 degrees warmer than usual. That may not seem like much, but it takes an enormous amount of energy to raise the temperature of the planet by that amount.
The NASA report shows the global daily temperature throughout the year for the years 1980 to 2024. It clearly shows how much warmer temperatures are now compared with the previous decades.
In many places, people experienced persistent hot weather during the month of July. New York’s Capital Region saw relentless hot and humid weather. There were 9 days with high temperatures in the 90s. July in Albany had a monthly mean temperature of 77.3 degrees, which was the highest in any current resident’s lifetime. This is more than 4 degrees higher than the average over the past 30 years. The last time the average temperature was over 77 was in 1887. July was hot.
Web LinksNASA Data Shows July 22 Was Earth’s Hottest Day on Record
Photo, posted October 22, 2016, courtesy of Susanne Nilsson via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
According to new data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, solar and wind now make up more than 20% of the total US electrical generating capacity. Adding up all renewable energy sources – which also include biomass, geothermal, and hydropower – renewable energy is now nearly 30% of the total electrical generating capacity in this country.During the first five months of 2024, 10.669 gigawatts of solar and 2.095 gigawatts of wind power came online. There were also 212 megawatts of hydropower and 3 megawatts of biomass added to generating capacity. All told, renewables constituted 89.91% of new generating capacity added this year. This does not include 1.1 gigawatts of nuclear power added at the Vogtle-4 reactor in Georgia.
Solar power is booming. The amount added this year was more than double the amount added over the same period last year. Solar has been the largest source of new generating capacity for nine months straight. Wind was the second largest.
About one-third of US solar capacity is in the form of small-scale – that is, rooftop – solar. The statistics quoted in this report do not take that into account. If it was included, solar plus wind would be closer to 25% of the US total.
Predictions are that over the next three years, nearly 90 gigawatts of additional solar power will be added to the grid as well as 23 gigawatts of wind power. Over that period, coal, natural gas, and oil are projected to shrink by more than 20 gigawatts.
Web LinksSolar and wind now make up more than 20% of US electrical generating capacity
Photo, posted October 28, 2016, courtesy of Daxis via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Deep sea mining is the extraction of minerals from the ocean floor at depths greater than 660 feet and as much as 21,000 feet below the surface. Active or extinct hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor create sulfide deposits which collect metals such as silver, gold, copper, manganese, cobalt, and zinc. This forms polymetallic nodules – potato-sized rocklike deposits containing these valuable minerals. There are literally trillions of these things scattered over wide areas of ocean floor. The largest of these deposits are in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone.Mining companies argue that land-based sources for valuable metals are running out and are critically needed for green technologies like batteries for electric vehicles and manufacturing solar panels and wind turbines. They also claim that mining in the deep sea will be less environmentally damaging than land-based mining.
The deep sea is viewed by many as kind of a watery desert but there are actually diverse and rich ecosystems down there. Most of the animals living in the depths are tiny, but that doesn’t make them any less important. Many can live for a very long time. Some invertebrates live for thousands of years.
There are currently no commercial deep sea mining operations underway. Many countries have outlawed them.
The deep seas are the last mostly unexplored part of the Earth. Deep sea mining will unquestionably be highly destructive to these environments. We don’t really know what the impact of widespread deep sea mining might be, but the world continues to edge ever closer to allowing it to happen.
Web LinksCan We Mine the World’s Deep Ocean Without Destroying It?
Photo, posted March 30, 2018, courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The domestication of pigs, cows, chickens, and other animals as livestock for their meat, milk, and eggs was historically revolutionary. It boosted food security by giving people a readily-available means of feeding themselves as opposed to more traditional methods such as hunting and fishing.But the industrialization of agriculture has led to horrendous conditions for animals. Many are kept in huge quantities and packed together with little regard for their health and welfare. This approach is designed to maximize production while minimizing costs.
With its chemical inputs and toxic outputs, intensive animal agriculture is also a major threat to the environment. In fact, it’s a major driver of habitat degradation and biodiversity loss all around the globe.
According to a new study led by researchers from the University of Exeter in the U.K., intensive livestock farming can also increase the risk of new pandemics. These findings go against the widely held belief that industrialized farming reduces the risk of disease transmission between animals and humans.
Zoonotic diseases are those that are spread from animals to humans. According to the CDC, zoonotic infections account for three in every four new or emerging infectious diseases in humans. The current bird flu outbreak in the U.S. is an example of this.
In the paper, which was recently published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the researchers conclude that the effects of intensifying animal agriculture "are at best uncertain and at worst may contribute to emerging infectious disease risk."
Industrial animal agriculture is a threat to both human health and the health of our planet.
Web LinksIntensive farming could raise risk of new pandemics
Photo, posted January 29, 2016, courtesy of Farm Watch via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Recycling plastic is a complicated matter. There are many different types of plastic and knowing which things are made of which type isn’t easy. There are increasingly widespread recycling systems across the U.S., but the actual rates of recycling have been described as “abysmal”.The plastic commonly used in beverage bottles is polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. The present nationwide rate of recycling PET is about 24% and has been about at that level for a decade.
A new study by MIT has found that with a nationwide bottle deposit program, the rates could increase to 82%. At that level, nearly two-thirds of all PET bottles could be recycled into new bottles at a net cost of just a penny a bottle.
The study looked at PET bottle collection and recycling rates in different states as well as other nations with and without bottle deposit policies, and with and without curbside recycling programs. The study is the first to look in detail at the interplay between public policies and the detailed end-to-end aspects of the packaging, production and recycling market.
Recycling of PET is highly successful in terms of quality. New products made from all-recycled material is virtually indistinguishable from virgin material. The crucial bottleneck is the collection of sufficient amounts of material to meet the needs of processing plants. So, the conclusion of the study is that with the right policies in place, significant improvements can be made. Several European countries manage to collect more than 90% of PET bottles for recycling. So, it can be done.
Web LinksHow to increase the rate of plastics recycling
Photo, posted August 10, 2013, courtesy of Lisa Risager via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Forests are known to be a key natural solution to the increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. For this reason, there are widespread efforts to plant more trees around the world and to prevent increasing deforestation for development and agriculture. But a new study has highlighted the fact that wildfires in the western US are degrading the potential for forests to help curb climate change.The study has established a baseline for how much carbon is currently stored in Western forests, how that amount is changing, and how fires and droughts are affecting the ability of the forests to mitigate climate change.
The study made use of survey data collected by the US Forest Service to estimate how much carbon is stored in 19 ecoregions across the West. These ecoregions range from hot and dry areas in the Southwest to the wet and cool regions of the Pacific Northwest.
The study reveals that the carbon stored in living trees declined across much of the Western US between 2005 and 2019. Carbon stored in dead trees and woody debris increased. These things do not provide long-term carbon storage. Instead, they release it back into the atmosphere through decomposition or combustion in forest fires.
The increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires, especially since 2020, indicate that the decline in live carbon stored in the forests will become increasingly pronounced. The result, according to the study’s authors, is that we cannot rely on increasing carbon storage in Western US forests. It may be possible to increase the stability of carbon storage in the forests with mechanical thinning and prescribed burning, but the carbon carrying capacity of those forests is not likely to be what is needed.
Web LinksForest carbon storage has declined across much of the Western US, likely due to drought and fire
Photo, posted July 25, 2021, courtesy of Felton Davis via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
In November 2021, 70% of New Yorkers voted to include environmental rights in the Bill of Rights of the New York State Constitution. The amendment recognizes and protects the rights of all New Yorkers to clean water and air and a healthful environment. It places these rights on the same constitutional level as other enshrined freedoms, such as the right to freely speak and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.Since its passage, the Green Amendment has been at the center of controversy over how or even whether it is enforced. The state has taken the position that the amendment does not empower citizens to dictate the actions of agencies like the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
A lawsuit filed in 2022 by residents who live near the High Acres Landfill in Monroe County demanding environmental cleanup resulted in a ruling that complying with the Constitution is not optional for a state agency. That ruling was appealed, and the case is currently before an appeals court.
A similar lawsuit is now going on against the state’s largest landfill in Seneca Falls. Once again, the position taken by the state Attorney General is that the Green Amendment does not alter the DEC’s enforcement discretion as to whether to force the landfill operators to take action.
Environmental activists have been staging protests at the state Capital, urging the governor, the state attorney general, and the DEC to shift their approach to applying the Green Amendment. Until this issue is resolved in the courts, it is unclear whether this amendment, put in place by 70% of voters, will actually protect the citizens of New York and its environment.
Web LinksNew York’s Green Amendment Guarantees the Right to a ‘Healthful Environment.’ Activists Want the State to Enforce It
Photo, posted April 22, 2023, courtesy of Pedrik via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The demand for strawberries continues to climb around the world. According to data from World Population Review, China remains the global leader in strawberry production, a spot it’s held since 1994. Last year, China produced 3.3 million tons of strawberries, followed by the United States at 1.05 million tons, Egypt at 597,000 tons, and Mexico at 557,000 tons.While strawberries are grown coast to coast in the U.S., California and Florida are the top two strawberry-producing states due to their favorable climate conditions. In fact, California produces more than 90% of the domestic strawberry crop. But Florida plays a key role in domestic strawberry production as well by growing the majority of the winter crop.
A new study by researchers from the University of Waterloo in Canada has examined the effect of climate change on California’s strawberry crop. According to the research team, strawberries could be fewer and more expensive because of the higher temperatures caused by climate change. The report, which was recently published in the journal Sustainability, found that a 3° Fahrenheit rise in temperature could reduce strawberry yields by up to 40%.
According to the researchers, the impact of climate change on strawberry production could be mitigated by implementing certain sustainable farming practices. These include optimizing irrigation to ensure adequate water supply during heat waves and using shading plants and shade structures to mitigate heat stress.
Understanding how rising temperatures affect crop yields should encourage farmers and governments to develop sustainable agriculture responses to global warming.
Web LinksInfluence of Regional Temperature Anomalies on Strawberry Yield: A Study Using Multivariate Copula Analysis
Strawberry Production by Country 2024
Researchers predict fewer, pricier strawberries as temperatures warm
Photo, posted June 3, 2007, courtesy of David Slack via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
In mid-July, construction started on New York’s largest offshore wind project. Sunrise Wind is a 924-megawatt offshore wind farm located about 30 miles off the coast of Montauk Point on Long Island. Sunrise Wind is expected to be operating in 2026 and will provide enough clean energy to power nearly 600,000 homes, making it the largest offshore wind farm in the U.S..The ongoing construction project will support more than 800 direct jobs. It will be built under project labor agreements ensuring local union labor’s participation in all phases of construction.
Power from the wind farm will flow through an undersea cable coming ashore deep under the beach at Smith Point County Park. From there, the power will travel primarily under roadways via a transmission line terminating at a power converter station in Holbrook, Suffolk County.
Sunrise Wind is being developed by Oersted, the largest energy company in Denmark and the world’s largest developer of offshore wind power by number of built offshore wind farms.
The second large offshore wind farm in New York, Empire Wind I, is being developed by Equinor. These large wind farms are the result of New York’s fourth offshore wind solicitation. The two projects, totaling over 1,700 megawatts, will be the largest power generation projects in New York State in more than 35 years once they enter operation in 2026.
New York has also launched a fifth offshore wind solicitation for which final proposals will be due in September. Offshore wind is a major component of New York’s effort to expand the use of clean energy, grow its green economy, and combat climate change.
Web LinksConstruction begins on Sunrise Wind, New York’s largest offshore wind project
Photo, posted June 14, 2022, courtesy of Stephen Boutwell/BOEM via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
As of June, the world had seen 13 consecutive months of record-breaking heat. The average global temperature over the last 12 of those months measured 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than the preindustrial era. This means that the world has at least temporarily exceeded the temperature target set forth in the Paris Climate Agreement.Does this mean that climate change has gotten to the point where keeping temperatures below that goal is no longer possible? Not necessarily. Temperatures could drop below the 1.5-degree level in the near future.
The world has certainly been warming as a result of climate change, but the spike in temperature for the past year has also been driven by an El Niño condition in the Pacific, which leads to warmer temperatures. How much of the warming is a result of each factor is not known.
But scientists say that El Niño has ended in June and a La Niña condition is likely to take shape between August and October. This would lead to cooler temperatures in many places.
Despite the extensive and lingering heatwaves in the US in July, on a global scale, temperatures have actually started falling in July. July may end up being the first month since June 2023 to not set a new monthly global temperature record. Nevertheless, the long streak of record-high temperatures is no statistical anomaly. It is indicative of a large and continuing shift in the climate. Whether conditions in the Pacific produce an El Niño or a La Niña, the steady long-term warming will continue as long as human-generated carbon emissions continue.
Web LinksHow Bad Is Warming? La Niña May Reveal
Photo, posted September 19, 2022, courtesy of Paul Sableman via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The electricity grid is increasingly using solar and wind power. Depending on those two sources requires the ability to store energy to have on hand when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. Energy needs to be stored away to be used hours, days, or even weeks after it is produced.Energy storage is booming. California has increased its energy storage capacity tenfold in recent times. One day in April, storage batteries were the largest source of electricity in the state for a period of two hours. But batteries are not the only way to store energy. There are chemical, electrochemical, mechanical, and thermal methods that each has potential advantages and unique features.
A project in Kern County, California, is making use of an abandoned oil field to create a long-term energy storage installation. The plan is to retrofit depleted oil wells to store concentrated solar energy in superheated groundwater for long periods of time. The stored heat can then be used to drive turbines when electricity is needed.
Some 1,200 feet below the surface of the oil field are pockets of permeable sandstone that have been emptied of the oil they previously contained. An array of parabolic mirrors will gather solar energy that will heat silicon oil in an underground loop to 700 degrees Fahrenheit. The oil pipeline will heat up groundwater down below. When electricity is needed, the heated groundwater will be brought to the surface to operate turbines.
There is no new technology involved. The individual aspects have never all been combined before, but the likelihood of success is high. There are lots of depleted oil fields that could be used this way in the future.
Web LinksCan a California Oilfield Be Retrofitted to Store Solar Energy?
Photo, posted July 18, 2017, courtesy of John Ciccarelli / BLM via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
At the end of June, the US Supreme Court upended 40 years of legal precedent in a ruling that sharply limited the regulatory authority of federal agencies. The so-called Chevron Deference doctrine stated that when a legislative delegation to an administrative agency on a particular issue or question was not explicit but rather implicit, a court may not substitute its own interpretation of the statue for a reasonable interpretation made by the administrative agency.Under the new ruling, courts will have more power to interpret these statutes. Environmentalists fear that this decision could lead to hundreds of rules being weakened or even eliminated, particularly Environmental Protection Agency limits on air and water pollution, regulations on toxic chemicals, and policies to tackle climate change.
Conservative political organizations have been pushing for decades to roll back the government’s regulatory powers. The new ruling creates a massive opportunity for environmental regulations to be challenged, considering the proliferation of increasingly activist, right-leaning courts. In particular, climate regulations under the Clean Air Act are more susceptible to judicial reversal. The ruling shifts the power from the agencies to the courts.
The danger of this decision is that more Americans will suffer from the worse effects of climate change, air pollution, and other environmental harms that current government regulation protect against. Any time that the Court makes it harder for the government to regulate and easier for businesses to challenge regulations, it makes it more likely that industries will injure the public and the planet in search of profits. This is basic economics in action.
Web LinksA Seismic Supreme Court Decision
Photo, posted September 17, 2020, courtesy of Thomas Hawk via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
There has been increasing use of agriculture coexisting with solar farms. This dual use of land is a win-win situation. Recently, Danish researchers have been investigating the potential for farming marine products at offshore wind farms.Scandinavia’s largest wind farm, Kriegers Flak, is the site of a four-year-old project in which long lines are stretched between the wind farm’s pylons and are used to grow mussels and seaweed. With the first harvest that has taken place after 18 months, it is showing signs of early success.
Seaweed and mussels are low trophic aquaculture crops. That means that that they don’t need to be fed or fertilized. They take up nutrients from the sea and produce healthy foods.
The 328-foot lines spread between the turbines can be used to grow substantial quantities of the underwater seafood. According to modeling by Aarhus University – the institution conducting the study – using just a tenth of Denmark’s wind park area could produce tons of seafood annually while using only the naturally-available resources. This form of aquaculture captures emissions instead of producing them.
Researchers say that it is time to develop guidelines to encourage companies to plan for multiple uses of the ocean because countries are ramping up production of clean energy from offshore wind farms. Denmark was the first country in the world to install a commercial offshore wind park in 1991. Over 30 years later, nearly half of the country’s electricity comes from wind turbines.
The benefits of such sea farms combined with offshore wind farms go beyond food production and clean energy production. They also help improve water quality and capture carbon. It is another win-win situation.
Web LinksBeneath offshore wind turbines, researchers grow seafood and seaweed
Photo, posted August 5, 2007, courtesy of Andreas Klinke Johannsen via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
As solar and wind power play an ever-growing role in the electricity grid, the need for energy storage also grows. Even if sun and wind can provide more energy than is needed at a particular time, they can’t provide it at all times. The ability to store excess energy waiting in reserve for when the sun and wind are not providing it is essential to avoid the need for burning fossil fuels to take up the slack.The New York State Public Service Commission has announced that it has approved a new framework for the state to have in place a nation-leading six gigawatts of energy storage by 2030. This represents at least 20% of the peak electricity load of New York State.
An extensive set of recommendations to expand New York’s energy storage programs describe cost-effective ways to unlock the rapid growth of renewable energy across the state as well as to bolster the reliability of the grid. The buildout of storage deployment is estimated to reduce projected future statewide electric system costs by nearly $2 billion. New York has previously established goals to generate 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040.
The new roadmap includes programs to procure an additional 4.7 gigawatts of new energy storage projects across large-scale, retail, and residential energy storage sectors across the state. These future procurements, when combined with the 1.3 gigawatts already being procured or under contract, will allow the State to achieve the 6-gigawatt goal by 2030.
Energy storage plays a critical role in decarbonizing the grid, reducing electricity system costs, and improving the reliability of the electricity system.
Web LinksNew York approves plan to add six gigawatts of energy storage by 2030
Photo courtesy of NineDot Energy.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Brazil has made great progress in reducing deforestation in its Amazon Rainforest. In 2023, the rate of deforestation in Brazil dropped by 50% over the previous year. This was the result of the efforts by conservation-minded President Luiz da Silva, who replaced Jair Bolsonaro, a big proponent of deforestation. Da Silva’s government has cracked down on land clearing by farmers and ranchers.In the first quarter of this year, deforestation decreased by 40% over the previous year’s quarter. Deforestation levels are the lowest they’ve been in six years, although the amount of forest cleared in the period was still nearly 200 square miles.
Unfortunately, the Amazon Rainforest is facing another growing threat: climate change. Because of pervasive drought and increasing temperatures, the number of wildfires in the region have hit a 20-year high.
According to satellite data from the national space agency, from January through June, Brazil recorded 13,489 wildfires in the Amazon. That is 61% more fires than during the same period last year. And the wildfire season has yet to reach its peak, which usually is in August or September.
Many of these fires begin in pastures or recently cleared rainforest, but then spread into the surrounding rainforest areas. Many are huge fires. Hundreds of square miles of rainforest have been consumed by fire, comparable in size to the areas deforested by farmers and ranchers.
Going forward, worsening wildfires could reverse the gains being made by the government’s deforestation policies. This could not only threaten forest protection, but also weaken public support for the government’s commitment to protecting the region.
Web LinksBrazil Is Seeing a Record Number of Wildfires This Year
Photo, posted January 26, 2018, courtesy of Chris Parker via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Opponents of electric vehicles and renewable energy often try to make arguments to the effect that the carbon footprint associated with producing electric cars, solar panels, and wind turbines negates their advantages over legacy technologies that involve burning fossil fuels. These arguments have been soundly refuted for the case of electric vehicles but there have been fewer studies related to other green technologies.A new peer-reviewed study by engineers at the Te Herenga Waka Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, has analyzed the carbon emissions associated with wind farm operation.
The main result is that after operating for less than two years, a wind farm can offset the carbon emissions generated across its entire 30-year lifespan. The study takes into account everything from the manufacturing of individual turbine parts, to transporting them and installing them into place, to decommissioning the entire wind farm at its life’s end. The environmental impacts of the installation and transportation phases are important, accounting for about 10% of the overall emissions.
The decommissioning phase is also important. The study recommended the development of a recycling process for end-of-life turbine blades. Currently, such blades are disposed of in landfills, but a recycling process could reduce emissions.
The manufacturing of wind turbines is the primary contributor to the carbon and energy consumption footprints and continues to be the subject of efforts to be improved.
There are other aspects of wind farms that are subject to criticism including physical impacts on the local environment and various social, wildlife and economic impacts. But with respect to carbon emissions, wind farms are a winning strategy.
Web LinksWind Farms can Offset Their Emissions Within Two Years, New Study Shows
Photo, posted April 2, 2017, courtesy of Ian Dick via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Sewage sludge is the mud-like residue that is produced as a byproduct during wastewater treatment. In the U.S., sewage sludge is referred to as biosolids after it’s been treated. The term is meant to distinguish the higher quality, treated sludge from raw sludge and from sludge that contains large quantities of environmental pollutants. However, according to a new study by researchers from Johns Hopkins University, fertilizers manufactured from the sludgy leftovers of wastewater treatment processes can still contain traces of potentially hazardous organic chemicals.
The research, which was recently published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, provides one of the most comprehensive looks at the chemical composition of biosolids across the country.
Biosolids do contain valuable organic matter and nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, more than half of the 3.76 million tons of biosolids produced in the U.S. in 2022 fertilized agricultural lands, golf courses, and other landscaped areas.
In the study, the research team screened 16 samples of biosolids from wastewater treatment facilities in nine U.S. and three Canadian cities. The researchers then created lists of the chemicals found in each sample. They found 92 common compounds that were present in 80% or more of the samples. The researchers cross-referenced those 92 compounds against the EPA’s CompTox Chemical Dashboard to identify which chemicals were most likely to pose threats to human health or the environment.
The findings could help the EPA identify which organic compounds to investigate further and which chemical contaminants may need government regulation.
Web LinksTeam Aims to Improve Safety of Fertilizers Made from Wastewater Sludge
Photo, posted November 2, 2011, courtesy of Susana Secretariat via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
A global survey of 75,000 people revealed that 80% of participants want their governments’ climate action commitments to be stronger. The poll, conducted by the United Nations Development Program, GeoPoll, and Oxford University, asked 15 questions in telephone calls to residents of 77 countries representing 87% of the global population. According to the survey, 89% […]
According to a new study by the International Energy Agency, global clean energy investment will be nearly twice that of fossil fuels this year. The surging funding for clean energy is being driven by a combination of lower costs for renewable energy and by improving supply chains.In 2024, the world’s investments in energy are expected to surpass $3 trillion dollars for the first time. About $2 trillion of that will be directed at green technologies that include renewable power sources, grids, and energy storage; electric vehicles; low-emission fuels; nuclear power; and heat pumps and efficiency improvements. The remaining amount of just over $1 trillion will fund oil, gas, and oil projects.
The record growth in clean energy investments is taking place in spite of challenging economic conditions related to high interest rates, which demonstrates the momentum behind the global energy transition.
The IEA report does caution that there are big imbalances and shortages in energy investment in various places around the world. For example, there is a low amount of green energy spending in developing and emerging economies outside of China. Countries like Brazil and India are leading the way for this sector by having investments in excess of $300 billion.
More money is currently going into solar power development than all other electricity generation technologies combined. In 2024, solar photovoltaic power investment is set to grow to $500 billion as the falling price of solar modules spurs new investments.
The largest renewable investments will come from China at $675 billion, followed by Europe and the U.S. at $370 billion and $315 billion, respectively.
Web LinksGlobal Clean Energy Investment Will Nearly Double That of Fossil Fuels in 2024: IEA Report
Photo, posted October 2, 2015, courtesy of John Englart via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The use of greenhouses around the world has been growing dramatically. A new satellite mapping exercise estimated the total land area covered with permanent greenhouses at 3.2 million acres, which is an area the size of Connecticut. More than half of this is in China, where the growth of greenhouses has been driven by the rapid urbanization of the country and by a more prosperous population increasingly consuming produce like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and eggplants.The intensive agricultural methods employed within greenhouses can be harmful to local environments because of overtaxing water supplies and by polluting rivers and soils with nutrients, pesticides, and plastic waste. But the effects of vast areas of plastic coverings on local temperatures can be even more dramatic, and often beneficial.
There are so many plastic and glass roofs in many areas that they are reflecting sufficient amounts of solar radiation to cool local temperatures. Greenhouse roofs increase the albedo – the reflectivity – of the land surface typically by a tenth.
All these greenhouses are just the tip of the albedo iceberg. Many farms now temporarily cover crops with reflective plastic sheets. If these coverings are included in the satellite survey, the total reflective area would be about ten times greater – roughly the size of New York State.
A study in Almeria, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, which grows about 3 million tons of fruit and vegetables annually, determined the cooling effects of greenhouses. Weather stations amid the greenhouses showed an average cooling of 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit compared with the surrounding area.
Greenhouses are an accidental and benign form of climate engineering. The cooling provided by greenhouses is similar to the effect of white roofs in urban areas.
Web LinksCould the Global Boom in Greenhouses Help Cool the Planet?
Photo, posted September 6, 2017, courtesy of Lance Cheung / USDA via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The durability, malleability, and low cost of plastics have made them ubiquitous. Plastics are everywhere: in packaging, clothing, and an endless variety of products. As a result, they are everywhere in the environment and they tend to stay there, contaminating land and sea. They are tough to recycle, and their production emits more carbon dioxide than all air traffic combined. The search for viable substitutes for plastic is global and intensive.Most common bioplastics are not an ideal solution. They don’t break down that easily when tossed into the natural environment. The process can take years.
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have invented a new material made from modified starch that can completely decompose in nature and can do so in only two months. The material is made using natural plant material from crops and could be used for food packaging as well as many other things.
The new material is a biocomposite composed of several substances that decompose naturally. The main ingredients are amylose and cellulose, common in many plants. Amylose is extracted from crops like corn, potatoes, wheat, and barley.
The Danish researchers have developed a barley variety that produces pure amylose in its kernels. Pure amylose is ideal because it is less likely to turn into a paste when it interacts with water.
Combining the amylose with cellulose forms long, strong molecular chains, resulting in a durable, flexible material that can replace plastic in many applications. The research team has founded a spinoff company and have applied for a patent for the new material. It is unclear when the biofriendly barley-based plastic might be commercialized, but its potential is quite good.
Web LinksResearchers invent one hundred percent biodegradable "barley plastic"
Photo, posted May 20, 2010, courtesy of Frederick Lang Jr. via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The geographic range of a particular plant or animal species is the area in which it can be found during its lifetime. The range of most species is limited by climatic factors, including temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, humidity, and wind. Any changes in the magnitude or variability of these factors will impact the species living there. For example, a species sensitive to temperature may respond to a warmer climate by moving to cooler locations at higher latitudes or elevations.
But not all species are able to move at the same speed. According to an international research team led by scientists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, non-native species are expanding their ranges many times faster than native species.
The researchers found that land-based plant and animal species need to be shifting their ranges by about two miles per year just to keep up with the rapid pace of the changing climate. Marine species need to be moving about 1.7 miles per year. However, native species are only managing to move about one mile per year on average.
Non-native species, on the other hand, are spreading nearly 22 miles each year on their own. Additionally, when the role humans play in assisting the spread of non-native species is factored in, the rate jumps to a whopping 1,170 miles per year. This is more than 1,000 times faster than the rate at which native species are spreading.
The researchers conclude that there is no chance for native species to keep up with climate change without human help. Assisted migration needs to be on the table if native plants and animals are to survive.
Web LinksNon-Native Plants and Animals Expanding Ranges 100 Times Faster than Native Species
Photo, posted April 10, 2011, courtesy of Bri Weldon via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
There have been ominous declines in many insect populations. Chief among them have been declines in pollinators, which have severe consequences for our food supply. There are multiple possible causes of these declines and undoubtedly several have been involved simultaneously.A new study on butterfly populations in the Midwest indicates that agricultural insecticides exerted the biggest impact on the diversity of butterfly populations in the Midwest during the period 1998 to 2014. The biggest culprits were the widely used insecticides called neonicotinoids that are absorbed into the tissues of plants.
Neonics are meant for targeted pesticide use but are often used more broadly, including for corn crops.
Neonics are already well-known to be especially harmful to bees and are gradually being restricted in various places. Quebec province passed restrictions on neonic-treated seeds in 2019. Last December, New York signed into law a phase-out of neonic-treated seeds and a ban on non-agricultural uses of them.
Vermont has now become the second state to ban the use of neonicotinoids by virtue of its state legislature overriding a veto from Governor Phil Scott. The law minimizes the use of neonics by requiring potential users to obtain written exemptions.
Opponents to neonic restrictions claim that slashing their use will greatly reduce crop yields. The experience in Quebec over the past five years is that the Canadian neonic restrictions have reduced corn and soybean crop yields by about 0.5%. As a result of this tiny reduction, there has been a strong reduction in the amount of neonics contaminating waterways.
Web LinksVermont Becomes Second State to Ban Bee-Killing Neonic Pesticides
New ‘Detective Work’ on Butterfly Declines Reveals a Prime Suspect
Photo, posted September 7, 2017, courtesy of Watts via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
There has been widespread concern that biodiversity is under siege and that we are in the beginnings of a sixth mass extinction in the long history of the Earth, this time caused by the actions of humanity. There has been considerable debate about what can be done about it and solutions generally involve protecting large areas of the planet from human disruptions. Some countries have set a target of protecting 30% of land and sea.A new study by a broad coalition of conservation organizations and published in Frontiers in Science, concludes that humans can preserve much of the great diversity of life on Earth by setting aside just 1.2% of the planet for protection.
The experts mapped the wilderness available to rare and threatened plants and animals. They then identified specific hotspots for rare wildlife that have yet to be protected. They found a total of 16,825 such sites which nevertheless all together add up an area smaller than the state of Wisconsin.
Some scientists have been warning that by focusing too much on the size of protected lands, we are not necessarily safeguarding areas that are especially rich in wildlife. The new study pushes for prioritizing hotspots for rare species, which the authors claim would be sufficient to stave off a sixth mass extinction. The truth is that most species on Earth are rare, meaning that they are few in number or cover a small range, or both.
The study estimated that the cost of protecting the identified hotspot sites would be $263 billion, which is certainly a large amount of money. But the authors point out that this sum to save global biodiversity is less than the yearly revenue of Shell Oil.
Web LinksTo Avert a Mass Extinction, Protect 1 Percent of Earth
Photo, posted April 20, 2018, courtesy of Per Harald Olsen / AfricanBioServices via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, snowfall is declining globally as temperatures warm because of human-caused climate change. Less snow threatens to reinforce global warming, and to disrupt food, water, and livelihoods for billions of people. According to new modeling by researchers from Protect Our Winters Australia and The Australian National University, the ski industry in Australia is at risk of major disruptions and shorter seasons if climate change continues unabated. The researchers found the average ski season across all resorts in Australia will be 44 days shorter by 2050 under a mid-greenhouse gas emissions scenario, and 55 days shorter under a high-emissions scenario.
But the research team also revealed that the Australian ski industry would fare significantly better if decisive action is taken to reduce climate pollution. In fact, under a low-emissions scenario, the ski season would be 28 days shorter by 2050, before starting to improve by 2080 if emissions are kept down.
However, if decisive climate action isn’t taken, the researchers warn some ski resorts in Australia may be forced to close for good. But this threat isn’t unique to Australia.
In fact, according to a study recently published in the journal PLOS ONE, 13% of ski areas around the world are predicted to lose all natural snow cover under the high-emissions scenario by 2071-2100 - relative to their historic baselines.
The future losses of ski areas around the world will be significant if global emissions continue unchecked.
Web LinksClimate crisis puts Australia’s ski industry on slippery slope, but not all hope is lost
"Our Changing Snowscapes" Report Released
The future is likely less skiable, thanks to climate change
Photo, posted June 6, 2018, courtesy of Clement Tang via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Anyone who gets packages from Amazon is familiar with the plastic air pillows used to keep products safe in transit. Amazon uses almost 15 billion of them a year in North America.Environmentalists have been urging Amazon and other vendors to cut down on the use of plastic packaging. The air-filled plastic pillows are made from plastic film, which is the most common form of plastic litter found in the sea and in seabeds along the shore. Plastic film can be deadly to wildlife such as sea turtles and sea birds. Plastic film generally can’t be composted or recycled either.
Recently, Amazon announced that it will replace its plastic pillows with recycled paper filler in all its North American markets – the United States, Canada, and Mexico - which together account for more than 70% of the retailer’s global sales. It is already making the switch in a big way and is working towards fully removing the plastic materials by the end of the year.
Replacing plastic packaging with paper is a definite improvement. Paper is recyclable and biodegradable. It isn’t perfect: if it ends up in landfills, it can contribute to methane pollution as it biodegrades. But, on the other hand, paper packaging is more likely to be recycled.
Stemming the tide of plastic waste is an ongoing effort by environmental and consumer groups. There is pending legislation in New York that aims to reduce the use of plastic packaging by 50% over 12 years by requiring manufacturers to either replace it or pay fees. The bill cleared the State Senate but has not come up to a vote in the Assembly. Similar legislation has already been passed in California, Oregon, Maine, and Colorado.
Web LinksAmazon Says It Will Stop Using Puffy Plastic Shipping Pillows
Photo, posted November 20, 2018, courtesy of Todd Van Hoosear via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
As installations of utility-scale solar power continue to expand around the world, there is the issue of where to put them. They do take up considerable amounts of space and, in many places, available land is at a premium.An alternative to taking up available land with solar panels is to deploy them on the surfaces of lakes and reservoirs. A study by researchers at Bangor and Lancaster Universities in the UK calculated the potential electrical output for floating photovoltaic installation on nearly 68,000 lakes and reservoirs around the world. The lakes and reservoirs selected were no more than 6 miles from a population center, were not in a protected area, and didn’t dry up and didn’t freeze for more than six months each year. The calculations were based on covering just 10% of the surface area of the bodies of water.
The calculations were evaluated country-by-country. Five countries could meet their entire electricity needs by floating installations including Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. Many countries, mostly in Africa, South America, and Central Asia, could get between 40% and 70% of their electricity this way. Most European countries could only meet a few percent of their electricity needs from floating solar, but even that could be significant.
There are other benefits to floating solar apart from freeing up land. The panels stay cooler, making them more efficient, and reservoirs lose less water through evaporation and the growth of algal blooms is reduced because there is less light reaching the water.
Web LinksSome countries could meet their total electricity needs from floating solar panels, research shows
Photo, posted November 25, 2015, courtesy of Smabs Sputzer via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Last year, Consumer Reports published a story stating that a third of chocolate products contain potentially dangerous amounts of heavy metals, in particular lead and cadmium. Since it contains much more cacao, dark chocolate was singled out as the most worrisome product. Needless to say, chocolate lovers found this report quite alarming.A new study by Tulane University published in Food Research International employed a larger sample size, expanded the scope of testing to 16 metals, and included a risk assessment of toxic metals as well as accounted for the nutritional contribution of essential minerals.
The conclusions of the study were that dark chocolate poses no adverse risk for adults and contains nutritionally beneficial levels of essential minerals. Some risks remain for very young children, but only from a very small number of chocolate products and only when large quantities are consumed.
The study sampled 155 dark and milk chocolates from various global brands sold in the United States. It modeled the risk of eating one ounce of the chocolate per day or two large whole bars a week.
Only one brand exceeded the international limit for cadmium; four had cadmium levels that could pose a risk for a child weighing less than 33 pounds. Only two bars contained lead levels above California interim standard, but neither posed adverse risks for anyone.
Lead in chocolate comes from post-harvest processing; cadmium comes from the soil. South American chocolates generally have higher levels of metals than chocolates from Asia and West Africa. Most dark chocolate in the U.S. is sourced from West Africa.
Web LinksA dark side to dark chocolate? New study finds very minimal risk for kids from metals in chocolates
Photo, posted February 19, 2012, courtesy of Bodo via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Ideas for potential technologies that could artificially cool the planet as a countermeasure against global warming have been considered radical and dangerous for a long time. But as climate change continues to become increasingly apparent, ideas like solar geoengineering are gaining increasing attention.Most environmental organizations are at best skeptical about such ideas and oppose them. Their opposition is in part based on the assertion that there are no quick fixes for climate change and that not addressing its root causes is a dangerous path to take. But an even greater concern is that intentionally manipulating global temperatures is likely to have a host of unintended consequences that could prove disastrous.
One of the world’s largest environmental organizations, the Environmental Defense Fund, has decided to fund research into solar geoengineering. The EDF cautions that is in not in favor of deploying such technology. Its position is that the discussion about ways to cool the planet is not going away and cannot be ignored. The lack of proper research can promote unfounded optimism about such technology So, they are going to fund research that can provide information based on solid, well-formulated science.
A major focus will be what other effects technologies like cloud brightening and injecting aerosols into the atmosphere might have apart from providing cooling.
The EDF’s own position is that deliberate climate interventions present serious ecological, moral, and geopolitical concerns. However, they believe that policymakers need to be informed by the most accurate information possible.
Web LinksEnvironmental Group to Study Effects of Artificially Cooling Earth
Photo, posted February 3, 2008, courtesy of Camilla Cannarsa via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Elephants are considered to be very smart creatures. They have the largest brain of any land animal and have three times as many neurons as humans. Of course, a lot of that brain hardware is needed to control those big elephant bodies, but elephants have also demonstrated impressive mental capabilities on many occasions.A new study by an international team headed by researchers from Colorado State University has found that elephants call each other by name and respond when they hear others call their name.
The researchers analyzed hundreds of elephant calls recorded over more than a year in Kenya. With machine learning techniques, they were able to identify specific sounds that elephants made when calling each other. When the researchers played recordings of these sounds, the elephants responded to the sound of their own name by calling back or moving toward the loudspeaker. Their response to other names was much less enthusiastic.
Very few animals use names at all, and, in most cases, it is more a matter of imitation. For example, dolphins refer to other dolphins by mimicking their unique sounds.
These findings at least suggest that elephants may be capable of abstract thought and perhaps may have a vocabulary beyond names for each other. The researchers are investigating whether elephants can identify food, water, or locations using their calls. The great hope is that it might ultimately be possible to communicate with elephants directly. It would be wonderful to be able to alert them to poachers or other threats. The lead author of the study said that he would like to be able to tell elephants things like “Do not come here. You’re going to be killed if you come here.”
Web LinksElephants Have Names for Each Other, Study Finds
Photo, posted April 24, 2016, courtesy of Neil Ransom via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Mother of pearl – also known as nacre – is a natural material found in certain seashells such as those of oysters and abalone. On the microscopic level, it consists of hexagonal tablets of the hard mineral aragonite glued together by a soft biopolymer. The aragonite gives nacre its strength, and the biopolymer adds flexibility and crack resistance. Scientists at Princeton University have developed innovative composite materials inspired by nacre by utilizing conventional construction materials like Portland cement paste combined with a limited amount of polymer. The new material consists of alternating layers of cement paste sheets with the highly stretchable polymer polyvinyl siloxane.
The materials were subjected to bending tests to evaluate crack resistance or fracture toughness. Three different versions of the material were tested that used different ways of interposing the polymer layers. The new materials were compared with similar structures composed entirely of cement.
The concrete-only samples were brittle, breaking suddenly and completely upon reaching their failure point. The samples with alternating cement and polymer layers demonstrated increased ductility and resistance to cracking.
By fully mimicking the structure of nacre – using completely separated hexagonal cement tablets – the researchers demonstrated materials with 19 times the ductility and 17 times the fracture toughness of cement while retaining nearly the same strength as solid cement samples.
Engineered materials inspired by nature could eventually help increase the durability of a wide range of brittle ceramic materials, from concrete to porcelain.
Web LinksFrom seashells to cement, nature inspires tougher building material
Photo, posted January 2, 2016, courtesy of Yantra via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
For the better part of a decade, conservationists have been trying to eliminate the use of gill nets by fishermen in the Gulf of California. Species such as the corvina fish have been decimated by the use of this fishing gear. The nets also trap other marine creatures, include the rare and elusive vaquita porpoise.The vaquita is the world’s smallest porpoise, measuring no more than five feet in length. It is the most endangered marine mammal. They live only in the Gulf of California, which is the site of intense fishing activity. Some of that activity is directed towards a fish called the totoaba, which is an endangered species itself. The totoaba’s swim bladder is highly prized for Chinese traditional medicine, so there is a booming illegal market for it. The gill nets used to catch totoaba are especially lethal to vaquitas.
Every year, for a few weeks, an international team of scientists searches the Gulf for vaquitas. Recent surveys estimated that there are around 10 individuals in the area where they are most likely to be living. This year’s survey estimated that six to eight vaquitas are in the area. The ones spotted appeared to be in good health and one yearling was seen.
Officially, fishing with gill nets is banned throughout much of the upper Gulf of California. In practice, enforcement has been difficult to do. However, the Mexican government has been making an effort to improve the situation. The Mexican Navy dropped 193 concrete blocks with giant hooks designed to entangle gill nets to deter fishers and they plan to drop more.
The survival of the vaquita depends on whether the use of gill nets stops.
Web LinksThe Most Endangered Marine Mammal Still Exists. Here’s the Latest Count.
Photo, posted July 12, 2011, courtesy of Semarnat via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Permafrost covers about a quarter of the landmass in the Northern Hemisphere. It stores vast quantities of organic carbon in the form of dead plant matter. As long as it stays frozen, it is no threat to the climate. But as it thaws, microorganisms start breaking down that plant matter and large amounts of carbon are released into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide and methane.This process has often been described as a ticking timebomb for the climate. The theory is that once global warming reaches a certain level, the process will become self-amplifying setting off a catastrophic amount of warming. If that level was reached, it would be a tipping point in the changing climate.
An international research team from the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany has extensively researched this hypothesis. Their conclusion is that within the permafrost, there are multiple geological, hydrological, and physical processes that are self-amplifying and, in some cases, irreversible. However, these processes act only locally or regionally. There is no evidence that some particular threshold in global warming could affect all permafrost and accelerate its thawing on a global level.
This research does not mean that Arctic permafrost is nothing to worry about. In fact, there are ways in which it is more worrisome. Because the permafrost is very heterogenous – meaning it is very different in different places – there will be numerous small, local tipping points that will be exceeded at different times and at different levels of warming. All of this will proceed in step with global warming, contributing to the overall worsening situation. There is no warming level below which permafrost thawing is not a problem.
Web LinksThawing permafrost: Not a climate tipping element, but nevertheless far-reaching impacts
Photo, posted January 24, 2014, courtesy of Brandt Meixell / USGS via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
There have been decades of government support for renewable, crop-based fuels – primarily corn ethanol. In fact, it is a required component of gasoline sold in this country. The biofuels industry has long claimed ethanol to be a clean, greener alternative to petroleum. There have been arguments all along that the environmental benefits of corn ethanol are dubious at best because of the energy required to produce the stuff. There are also issues related to burning a food crop instead of feeding it to people and that the conversion of grasslands and forests to produce it releases massive amounts of carbon.
Recently, another serious concern has emerged. A new review of industry data has found that the country’s biofuel refineries, mostly located in the Midwest, produce large amounts of toxic air pollutants, in some cases ever more than from their petroleum counterparts.
Emissions data from the country’s 275 ethanol, biodiesel, and renewable diesel plants revealed that they release carcinogenic formaldehyde as well as other potentially dangerous substances including acetaldehyde, hexane, and acrolein. In 2022, biofuel refineries released 12.9 million pounds of hazardous air pollutants, compared to 14.9 million pounds emitted by oil refineries, and the biofuel plants actually emitted more of the four chemicals just mentioned than petroleum refineries did.
The broad use of crop ethanol is the result of intensive industry lobbying. Ethanol plants are even exempt from some air pollution permitting requirements. Perhaps the time has come to revisit its pervasive and mandated use.
Web LinksBiofuel Refineries Are Releasing Toxic Air Pollutants in Farm Communities Across the US
Photo, posted February 27, 2021, courtesy of Sue Thompson via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Temperature extremes on Earth currently range from a low of -129°F to a high of 134°F. But these climatic limits have changed throughout history. In fact, during the last interglacial period 130,000 years ago, temperatures were warmer, resembling what we are projected to experience at the end of this century.Species that evolved during such periods may possess pre-adaptations that could help them tolerate upcoming changes to the climate. This factor is often overlooked by traditional statistical models predicting species' responses to climate change.
But a new model, developed by researchers from Ifremer in France and Lausanne University in Switzerland, has taken this oversight into account, and reassessed the proportion of terrestrial and marine species threatened with extinction by climate change.
In the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, the research team applied its model to nearly 25,000 terrestrial and marine species from around the world. The researchers discovered that 49% of these species live in climate niches near the current climatic limits, and 86% could potentially extend beyond these limits.
The most surprising result concerns tropical regions. While forecasts from traditional models estimate that the diversity of terrestrial species in tropical areas could decrease by 54% between now and 2041-2060, the new model predicts a more moderate decline of 39%.
The findings confirm the importance of taking urgent measures to mitigate climate change and its impact on biodiversity.
Web LinksSome species may better tolerate climate change than expected
Photo, posted October 23, 2015, courtesy of Anita Ritenour via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Scotland, and the UK in general, used to suffer from sulfur dioxide pollution. Industrial and domestic emissions, especially from burning coal, contributed heavily to urban air leading to the London smog of the 1950s and the acid rain of the 1980s. But national air pollution agreements and various international measures have been highly successful in reducing sulfur dioxide emissions. Desulfurization of coal-fired powerplants and the introduction of ultralow sulfur fuels among other measures have decreased sulfur dioxide emission by 98% since 1970. As a result, it came as quite a surprise on May 31st when Edinburgh saw sulfur dioxide levels higher than had been observed in over 30 years. The levels greatly exceeded air quality objectives for 10 hours with concentrations even creeping towards workplace exposure limits.
What happened? For once, it was nothing that people did. Two days earlier, a volcanic fissure eruption took place in the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, some 850 miles from Edinburgh. Because of an unusual meteorological configuration, the prevailing winds sent the plume of volcanic gases southward towards Scotland. Had the eruption taken place 60 miles further north or happened a few hours later, the plume of gases would have missed the UK entirely and would have traveled north to the Arctic region.
Icelandic volcanic eruptions have impacted air travel in Europe on a number of occasions. This non-explosive eruption had little impact outside of its local region, but it turned out to briefly wreak havoc in Scotland. Fortunately, this pollution event was short-lived.
Web LinksAtmospheric sulphur dioxide levels reach historic high in Scotland following Icelandic volcano eruption
Photo, posted November 17, 2021, courtesy of Catherine Poh Huay Tan via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Many industrial processes require extremely high temperatures, typically more than 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. This heat is generally produced by burning fossil fuels – either coal or natural gas – which emits large amounts of greenhouse gases. This level of heat cannot be economically produced using renewable electricity. As a consequence, decarbonizing these industrial processes is very difficult.Researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland have recently demonstrated a new method of obtaining high-temperature heat based on solar radiation. They have engineered a device called a thermal trap. It consists of a quartz rod coupled to a ceramic absorber that can efficiently absorb sunlight and convert it to heat.
In laboratory-scale experiments, they exposed a foot-long quartz rod to artificial light 135 times more intensive than sunlight and were able to produce temperatures as high as 1,900 degrees. The artificial light source was needed to mimic the effects of concentrated solar energy plants that typically make use of large numbers of mirrors to direct intense solar energy onto a small area.
There are already concentrated solar power plants that operate at temperatures as high as 1,100 degrees and use the heat to operate turbines to generate electricity. These plants lose efficiency at higher temperatures because of radiative heat losses. The Zurich thermal trap minimizes these losses and permits higher temperature operation.
The hope is that at a large scale, the new approach may make it possible to use solar energy to decarbonize energy-intensive industrial processes.
Web LinksUsing solar energy to generate heat at high temperatures
Photo courtesy of ETH Zurich / Emiliano Casati.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
There are about half a million school buses in use in the U.S. A large number of them are older, highly polluting diesel buses. There are well-established health and climate benefits of switching from diesel vehicles to electric vehicles but making the switch is expensive. Diesel buses generally cost between $65,000 to $120,000, depending on the type and configuration. Electric buses cost about $250,000 each.The substantial cost makes it a difficult decision for local, state, and federal officials, particularly since the actual magnitude of the benefits is not well known.
A new study by researchers at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health has quantified these benefits. According to the study, replacing each bus may yield up to $247,600 in climate and health benefits. These benefits derive from fewer greenhouse gas emissions and from reduced rates of adult mortality and childhood asthma.
The study compared the amounts of carbon dioxide emitted from diesel bus tailpipes to the emissions associated with generating electricity for the buses and producing their batteries. It also compared how these respective emissions contribute to fine particulate air pollution, which is linked to adult mortality and the onset of childhood asthma. The study concluded that particularly in dense urban settings, the savings incurred from electrifying older school buses easily outweigh the costs of replacing them.
An important question not tackled in the study is how electric school buses impact children’s exposure to in-cabin air pollution while riding the bus. This issue could further inform policy decisions.
Web LinksElectric school buses may yield significant health and climate benefits, cost savings
Photo, posted May 9, 2008, courtesy of Christine H. via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Scientists have been sounding the alarm on the global struggle of pollinators for decades. Many recent studies have highlighted alarming declines in pollinator populations, sparking concern about the potential negative impacts on ecosystems and agriculture. Habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change are some of the factors linked to the population declines. But most pollinator research has focused on well-studied species in easily-accessible regions.In a new study recently published in the journal PLOS One, a research team led by Northern Arizona University compiled data on four major families of bees and butterflies to create species distribution models, allowing them to assess changes over time and space across North America.
The researchers confirmed that bee and butterfly populations are declining in major regions of North America due to ongoing environmental changes, and found that significant gaps in pollinator research limit the ability to protect these species.
The highest species richness was found along North America’s West Coast - especially in California. But the models showed a decline in species richness over the past century in western North America. In contrast, the research team found disproportionate increases in eastern North America.
Comparisons with climate data indicate that the pollinator population changes are at least partly due to the impacts of climate change, including prolonged drought and habitat degradation.
The study identifies regions of declining populations where officials can prioritize conservation efforts, and highlights how improved monitoring methods could address the knowledge gaps on pollinator populations.
Web LinksBee and butterfly records indicate diversity losses in western and southern North America, but extensive knowledge gaps remain
Bees and butterflies on the decline in western and southern North America
Photo, posted April 3, 2017, courtesy of Tracie Hall via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
There are about 18,000 desalination plants around the world that take in 23 trillion gallons of water each year. The plants produce more than 37 billion gallons of brine – enough to fill 50,000 Olympic-size swimming pools – every day. Disposing of this brine is an ongoing challenge. Dumping it into the ocean can damage marine ecosystems. Inland desalination plants either bury this waste or inject it into wells, adding further cost and complexity to the already expensive process of desalination.According to researchers at Oregon State University, this waste brine contains large amounts of copper, zinc, magnesium, lithium, and other valuable metals. A company in Oakland, California called Magrathea Metals has started producing modest amounts of magnesium from waste brine in its pilot projects. With support from the U.S. Defense Department, it is building a larger-scale facility to produce hundreds of tons of the metal over two to four years.
Most of the world’s magnesium supply comes from China, where producing it requires burning lots of coal and utilizing lots of labor. Magrathea’s brine mining makes use of off-peak wind and solar energy and is much less labor intensive.
No large-scale brine mining operations currently exist and when there are some, they might end up having negative environmental impacts. But in principle, the process should produce valuable metals without the massive land disturbance, acid-mine drainage, and other pollution associated with traditional mining. Brine mining could turn a growing waste problem into a valuable resource.
Web LinksIn Seawater, Researchers See an Untapped Bounty of Critical Metals
Photo, posted February 18, 2017, courtesy of Jacob Vanderheyden via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
There seems to be no end to the types of pollution we have introduced into the environment. One that has only recently started to gain attention is pollution caused by vehicle tires. Through normal wear and tear, as vehicles drive along roadways, their tires cast off countless bits of rubber. These particles can linger in the atmosphere or can be washed down sewage drains and into waterways. In the water, these particles leach compounds that are toxic to wildlife.
Tires contain various chemical additives that prevent them from cracking and degrading along with various metals and other materials added to rubber and artificial rubber. Some of these additives are acutely toxic or even carcinogenic.
A recent study by researchers at the University of Vienna tested leafy vegetables that were grown in Switzerland, Spain, and Italy, and were sold in Swiss supermarkets. The study also tested vegetables harvested directly from Israeli farmlands.
Tire ingredients were found in 11 out of 15 samples gathered from Swiss supermarkets and 9 out of 13 samples collected from Israeli fields. Among these are 6PPD, a tire additive that has been identified as the cause of the extensive deaths of coho salmon on the US West Coast.
The researchers say that farmers may be introducing tire additives by irrigating crops with treated wastewater or by using sewage sludge as fertilizer. Airborne tire particles may also be settling on farm soil.
The concentration of tire particles found in the leafy vegetables are relatively low, but it is troubling that we are eating dangerous chemicals used to improve the quality of tires.
Web LinksLeafy Vegetables Found to Contain Tire Additives
Photo, posted October 14, 2014, courtesy of Green Mountain Girls Farm via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Despite the increasing concern about the warming climate, the period between March of last year and March of this year has set a new record for the largest 12-month gain in atmospheric CO2 concentration ever observed. The new level, measured at Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory was nearly 5 parts per million higher than last year’s level reaching more than 426 parts per million.CO2 levels averaged 280 ppm for the past 800,000 years until the Industrial Revolution began and people started burning fossil fuels. Levels started being measured at Mauna Loa in 1958, when they were 315 ppm. Between 1958 and 2005, the CO2 level rose to 380 ppm. Over the past 19 years, the amount of CO2 has continued to rise rapidly and with it, global temperatures.
The record increase in carbon dioxide over this past year is probably associated with the end of an El Niño event. The previous record increase in 2015-2016 was also associated with El Niño.
But the overall trend is clear and discouraging. Over the past 66 years, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 35%. This increase is a result of the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as the effects of deforestation and livestock agriculture.
Carbon dioxide absorbs heat radiating from the Earth’s surface and re-releases it in all directions, including back toward Earth’s surface. Without this greenhouse effect, the Earth would actually be frozen. But people are supercharging the natural greenhouse effect and causing the global temperature to rise. Global energy demand continues to grow and if we continue to meet that demand mostly with fossil fuels, temperatures will continue to rise.
Web LinksScripps Institution of Oceanography: CO2 levels have largest 12-month gain
Photo, posted March 3, 2014, courtesy of Jon Roig via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
There are nearly 200,000 glaciers in the world. About 91% of them are in Antarctica and 8% in Greenland. The rest are scattered across nearly 50 countries. The non-polar country with the most glaciers is actually Pakistan, which has over 7,200 of them. But as the world continues to warm, glaciers are shrinking back, and many are disappearing altogether.Venezuela, once home to six glaciers, has become the first country in the Americas to lose all of its glaciers. Slovenia is considered to be the first country to lose its glaciers in modern times, perhaps as long as 30 years ago. Glacial thawing has been worsening over the past decade throughout the Andes, which cover parts of Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.
Five of Venezuela’s glaciers had largely melted away by 2011. The Humboldt glacier, which is on the highest peak in the Cordillera de Mérida mountain range in Venezuela, has now been declared as too small to be classified as a glacier. It once covered over a thousand acres; it now has less than 5 acres of ice. The US Geological Survey defines glaciers as ice bodies extending 25 acres or more.
The loss of glaciers in the Andes has serious consequences for communities that live on their slopes and depend upon glacial melt for water and for energy and food production.
At least 80% of glaciers worldwide are on track to mostly disappear by the year 2100 because of global warming. Given that previous forecasts estimated that the Humboldt glacier might last another decade, the prospects for the world’s remaining glaciers are not good.
Web LinksVenezuela becomes first nation in the Americas to lose all glaciers
Photo, posted November 11, 2012, courtesy of Tim Snell via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Concrete is the second-most-used material on the planet. Only water is used more. Producing concrete is responsible for 7.5% of human-produced carbon dioxide emissions. So, finding a cost-effective way to reduce these emissions is a major challenge in the face of ever-growing global demand for concrete.Researchers at Cambridge University have found that used cement is an effective substitute for lime flux, which is an essential material used in steel recycling that results in a waste product called slag. When lime is replaced with used cement, the end product instead is recycled cement that can be used to make new concrete.
The process does not add any significant costs to concrete or steel production and significantly reduces the emissions associated with both.
Concrete is made from sand, gravel, water, and cement. Cement is made by a process called clinkering, in which limestone and other materials are heated to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit. The process converts the materials into cement but releases large amounts of CO2 as limestone decarbonates into lime.
Cambridge researchers found that using cement clinker and iron oxide instead of lime works well in steel recycling. Crushing old concrete and taking out the sand and stone results in a cement that is reactivated by the recycling furnace to produce a material with excellent properties.
Recent tests by the Materials Processing Institute showed that recycled cement can be produced at scale in an electric arc furnace. Ultimately, this method could produce zero emission cement if the electricity for the furnace comes from renewable sources.
Web LinksCement recycling method could help solve one of the world’s biggest climate challenges
Photo, posted July 18, 2011, courtesy of Kenta Mabuchi via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
For the past 10 years, there have been several occurrences of a vast expanse of ocean stretching from Alaska to California in which water temperatures are as much as 7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal. Known jocularly as "the Blob," the phenomenon can last for several years and decimates fish stocks, starves seabirds, creates blooms of toxic algae, prevents salmon from returning to rivers, and displaces sea lions and whales.Until recently, there was no accepted explanation for this abrupt ocean heating. Climate change, even combined with natural cycles like El Niños, is not enough to account for it.
In depth analysis by an international team of researchers has found that the extraordinary heating is the result of a dramatic cleanup of Chinese air pollution. The decline of smog particles, which to some extent shield the planet from the sun’s rays, has accelerated warming and set off a chain of atmospheric events across the Pacific, essentially cooking the ocean.
This is an example of what can be called the pollution paradox in which global warming is actually increased when air pollution is reduced. Reduced air pollution on the US West Coast has even been identified as a factor contributing to increased wildfires. However, air pollution causes more than 4 million premature deaths from cancers and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases each year.
Nobody thinks that we should stop cleaning up the air to slow down global warming. The only viable solution is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly as possible.
Web LinksPollution Paradox: How Cleaning Up Smog Drives Ocean Warming
Photo, posted December 18, 2017, courtesy of SGUP via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The past 12 months have been the hottest ever measured across the globe. This may not be everyone’s experience in every location, but the average person on Earth experienced 26 more days of abnormally high temperatures than they would have in the absence of climate change.Researchers considered a given day’s temperature to be abnormally high in a particular location if it exceeded 90% of the daily temperatures recorded there between 1991 and 2020. Nearly 80% of the world’s population experienced at least 31 days of abnormal warmth since May of 2023. Theoretically, the number of unusually warm days would have been far fewer in the absence of global warming.
In some countries, the extra-warm days added up to two or three weeks. In others, such as Colombia, Indonesia, and Rwanda, there were up to 4 months of them. The average American experienced 39 days of extra-warm temperatures since last May.
Scientists also added up how many extreme heat waves the planet experienced since last May. These are defined as episodes of unseasonable warmth across a large area, lasting three or more days, and causing significant loss of life or disruption to infrastructure or industry. In total, the researchers identified 76 such episodes, affecting 90 countries, on every continent except Antarctica.
The world’s climate is now shifting toward the La Niña phase of the cyclical pattern called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. This usually leads to cooler temperatures on average, but the recent heat could have lingering effects on weather and storms for months to come, including what is expected to be an extraordinarily active Atlantic hurricane season.
Web LinksClimate Change Added a Month’s Worth of Extra-Hot Days in Past Year
Photo, posted December 21, 2011, courtesy of Maggie Lin Photography via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained by mashing whole olives and extracting the oil. A superfood staple of the Mediterranean diet, olive oil is used in kitchens around the world for frying, sauteing, baking, and as a condiment. It can also be widely found in cosmetics, soaps, and pharmaceutical products. Globally, 2.6 million tons of olive oil were consumed last year. Spain is currently the world’s largest producer of this “liquid gold,” accounting for 44% of global production. The second largest producer of olive oil is Italy, followed by Greece, Tunisia, Turkey, and Morocco.
But recently, the price of olive oil has been rocketing up. Droughts, wildfires, floods, and heat waves, combined with pests, have punished olive-producing regions around the world. The climate-fueled extreme weather has significantly impacted olive oil production in southern Europe. Olive trees are exceedingly vulnerable to climate change.
Spain, for example, typically produces somewhere between 1.3 to 1.5 million metric tons of olive oil each harvest. However, officials expect a production range of only 830,000 to 850,000 metric tons this season.
This shortage has sent prices soaring. According to the International Monetary Fund, the average price of olive oil has doubled over the past two years. In fact, the price is currently hovering at or around $10,000 per metric ton. And there doesn’t seem to be much relief in sight.
The record-breaking price has also unsurprisingly fueled a surge in crime, with criminals targeting supermarkets, oil mills, and olive groves.
The changing climate continues to threaten food security around the world.
Web Links‘Liquid gold’: An olive oil shortage is fueling record prices and food insecurity fears
Extra virgin olive oil prices tipped to top £16 a litre next month
Photo, posted October 29, 2015, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Solar geoengineering is a type of climate intervention: deliberate actions designed to affect the climate. There are several ways to try to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the surface of the earth and all of them are controversial. Perhaps the least controversial approach is cloud brightening.The idea is based on something called the Twomey effect, which is that large numbers of small droplets in the atmosphere reflect more sunlight than small numbers of large droplets. Spraying vast quantities of minuscule aerosols into the sky, thereby forming many small droplets, could change the reflective properties of clouds. If clouds are more reflective, then less sunlight reaches the surface, and the temperature goes down.
This form of geoengineering is thought to be less risky because it can be performed on a localized basis and can use relatively benign materials such as sea salt.
In early April, scientists from the University of Washington started testing a device that sprays tiny sea-salt particles into the air from the deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier in Alameda, California. The test was simply to see whether the machine propelled a mist of suitable size.
Within two weeks, Alameda officials ordered a stop to the experiment, citing potential health and environmental risks. After a month-long investigation, Alameda ruled that the experiment does not generate a measurable risk to health, wildlife, or the environment.
But before more ambitious experiments take place, there are potential side effects of cloud brightening that need to be studied. It may turn out to be a useful tool in fighting global warming, but in any case, such technology should not be viewed as a substitute for moving away from fossil fuels.
Web LinksA Test of Cloud-Brightening Machines Poses No Health Risk, Officials Say
Photo, posted September 8, 2011, courtesy of Justin Ladia via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The combination of a warming climate and human disruption of traditional habitats has been causing changes in the ranges of many animal species. Over the past century, white-tailed deer have greatly expanded their range in North America. Researchers from a group of Canadian institutions have been investigating the expansion of the deer in the boreal forest of Western Canada. A five-year study used 300 wildlife cameras throughout the region to track the activities of large mammals.Climate change has created milder winters and habitat alteration from forestry and energy exploration have created new food sources for deer.
The expansion of deer in the forest has not been a good thing for the woodland caribou. The species was designated as threatened in 2002. As of 2011, only 34,000 remained in the region. Deer are ecosystem disruptors, in this case disrupting existing predator-prey dynamics. Areas with more deer typically have more wolves and wolves are predators of caribou. Deer can handle high predation rates, but the already threatened caribou cannot.
Understanding the relative roles of climate and human land use is essential in efforts to recover caribou populations. It is complicated because further north, the climate becomes harsher and human land use decreases. The debate over the relative effect of climate or habitat change is one of the most pressing issues facing ecologists globally as they pursue efforts for ecosystem restoration.
In any case, winter severity is expected to decline as climate change progresses. Therefore, deer are expected to keep expanding northward and increasing in abundance, which means increasing risk to caribou.
Web LinksDeer are expanding north, and that’s not good for caribou
Photo, posted January 12, 2016, courtesy of Gerry via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
California has aggressively pursued the use of renewable energy, particularly solar and wind power. Last year, renewables supplied 54% of the state’s electricity needs. This year, California has been achieving some remarkable milestones with its renewable energy.As of May 26th, California had produced more than 100% of its electricity demand with wind, solar, and hydropower for parts of 51 straight days and 75 out of 81 days. On May 25th, California’s grid ran entirely on renewable energy for 10.1 straight hours and renewables provided 83% of the state’s electricity for the entire 24-hour period. California uses more electricity than any other state apart than Texas, which uses more than half its energy for operating refineries and petrochemical plants.
Excess power in California is either exported to other states or is used to charge up the state’s growing arrays of energy storage batteries. California has the largest grid-connected battery storage facility in the world, located in Kern County. The facility can store nearly 3,300 megawatt-hours of energy.
The ability to produce more power than the state needs occurs during the day when the sun is shining, and when many people are not at home. At night, demand goes up and solar power is not available. But as the quantity of energy storage available continues to grow along with additional solar installations, California will ultimately be able to wean off of the gas-fueled power plants it predominantly uses at night.
According to some experts, California may operate entirely on renewables and battery storage as soon as 2035.
Web LinksCalifornia exceeds 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 30 days
Photo, posted January 11, 2016, courtesy of Jared Eberhardt via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Direct air capture (DAC) is process that removes carbon dioxide out of the air and stores it away where it can no longer trap heat in the atmosphere. It is intended to be a way of getting rid of the greenhouse gases that have built up in the atmosphere. In principle, it’s a great idea. […]
If you are seeing fewer fireflies each year, you’re not alone. Like many insects, firefly populations are in decline. A new study by researchers from the University of Kentucky, Bucknell University, Penn State University, and the USDA has shed some light on the precarious situation facing firefly populations across North America. The research team used a mix of field surveys from citizen scientists and advanced machine learning techniques to analyze more than 24,000 surveys from the Firefly Watch citizen science initiative. The study, which was recently published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, identified the factors likely responsible for the declines in firefly populations.
The research team found that fireflies are sensitive to various environmental factors, from short-term weather conditions to longer climatic trends. Fireflies thrive in temperate and tropical climates. As global temperatures rise, these conditions become less predictable and less hospitable.
Light pollution is another threat to fireflies. Artificial light at night - from things like street lights and billboards - is particularly disruptive to fireflies as it interferes with their bioluminescent communication essential for mating.
Urban growth, including buildings, roads, and sidewalks, poses another significant threat to fireflies by overtaking their natural habitats and decreasing available breeding areas.
Additionally, certain agricultural practices seem to contribute to the decline of fireflies.
According to the research team, reducing light pollution, preserving natural habitats, and implementing wildlife-friendly agricultural practices are conservation measures that could help mitigate the decline of fireflies.
Web LinksFading lights: Comprehensive study unveils multiple threats to North America’s firefly populations
Photo, posted July 12, 2021, courtesy of Bruce Hallman/USFWS via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
There has been lots of talk recently about the transition to electric vehicles sputtering out. Several automakers have delayed their EV programs citing reduced demand for the vehicles and lack of profitability. In the bigger picture, the auto industry as a whole is in a rough patch as rising interest rates and other factors have reduced car buying.Despite all this doom and gloom talk, sales of electric vehicles will hit an all-time high this year. Adoption of EVs is accelerating more quickly than many people expected and government policies in China, the United States, and Europe have had a significant impact on vehicle sales. In China, 37% of new cars sold last year were electric. The country hit its 2025 target three years early and this year the figure could hit 45%.
But even as electric car sales rapidly increase, oil demand has continued to climb, reaching 100 million barrels a day, slightly more than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Energy Agency expects that oil demand will peak before the end of this decade, but oil consumption could remain strong for decades unless there is further policy action encouraging the transition away from it.
Some experts say that the IEA’s models don’t take into account how quickly the world is changing. New emission rules are expected to speed the adoption of EVs and plug-in hybrids. In addition, falling battery costs are making the economics of electric vehicles increasingly attractive. If EV adoption accelerates more rapidly than these models predict, then oil consumption could drop much more quickly.
However, the oil industry is deeply embedded in modern life and is not likely to fade away without a fight.
Web LinksEV Sales Are Taking Off. Why Is Oil Demand Still Climbing?
Photo, posted September 9, 2020, courtesy of Chris Yarzab via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
About 40% of the world's population lives in coastal regions. People really like ocean-front property. But worldwide, rising sea levels mean that more and more people want to live on land that may someday be swallowed up by the sea.One possible solution to the problem is to build cities on top of the water. It sounds pretty futuristic and impractical, but it is starting to happen. There have long been floating communities in places like the Netherlands, but these are for the most part clusters of houseboats moored close together.
But there are far more ambitious projects underway. The Maldives Floating City, already under construction, will eventually have 5,000 houses located in a lagoon that is a 15-minute boat ride from the capital city of Male. The housing units will be tethered to the lagoon floor and linked together.
A new project, located off Busan, South Korea, will combine high and low technology to create a large-scale, on-water town, that can house more than 10,000 people.
The town will be built on enormous concrete platforms suspended on the water. The platforms float because they are rounded hexagonal boxes that are buoyed up by Archimedes’’ principle. They can’t sink. Such structures will attract marine life, providing places for oysters and mussels, for example, to grow.
The initial development will cover 15 acres and the infrastructure will handle power, water, waste, and even some food. The goal is even to produce enough energy to provide some to the nearby community. A bridge will link the community to the land.
The project is scheduled to be completed in 2028. Future expansion could end up housing 150,000 people.
Floating cities could soon no longer be exotic or futuristic.
Web LinksAre Floating Cities the Solution to Rising Seas?
Photo, posted June 5, 2012, courtesy of Raymond Bucko via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Emperor penguins, the tallest and heaviest of all living penguins, are also the most famous, being the subject of a very popular documentary film. The ongoing loss of sea ice in Antarctica has led to unprecedented breeding failures in emperor penguin colonies. Since 2016, Antarctica has seen the four years with the lowest sea ice extent on record. Between 2018 and 2022, 30% of the 62 known emperor penguin colonies were affected by partial or total sea ice loss. Current predictions suggest that the population of emperor penguins will fall by 99% by the end of the century.
To monitor remote emperor penguin colonies, researchers use satellite images in which the brown stains of the birds’ guano stand out against the white ice and snow.
Researchers at the British Antarctic Survey have launched the ‘Polar Observatory’ on the online citizen science website Zooniverse to recruit ‘penguin detectives’ to help validate the accuracy of satellite images in assessing penguin populations.
The online app contains drone photos taken over the Snow Hill penguin colony. The images have been split into more than 300 10-meter squares. Volunteers are asked to identify any adult and chick penguins in a given picture. The results will be fed into machine learning algorithms to train the AI systems in automatically counting penguins in future surveys.
The project is a fun opportunity for aspiring conservationists and penguin lovers in general to help learn more about the future of the species. Interested people can learn more on the Zooniverse website.
Web Links‘Penguin detectives’ required for new counting app
Polar Observatory
Photo, posted October 7, 2017, courtesy of Christopher Michel via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
For the past several years, the Swiss-based company Energy Vault has been developing an energy storage system based on the principle of using mechanical devices to lift heavy concrete blocks into stacks using power generated by wind turbines or other renewable sources. When energy is needed, the blocks are lowered back to the ground, spinning […]
Palm oil is the world's cheapest and most widely used vegetable oil. In fact, more than 86 million tons of palm oil was consumed last year alone. Even though few of us cook with it, palm oil can be found in approximately half of all packaged grocery items - everything from ice creams and pizzas to detergents and cosmetics. This massive global demand for palm oil is driving tropical deforestation around the world. While many studies have shown how converting rainforests to oil palm plantations causes biodiversity loss, researchers from UMass Amherst are the first to demonstrate how these plantations also cause wide-ranging disturbances to nearby watersheds.
In the study, which was recently published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, the research team focused on the Kais River watershed of West Papua, a province in the far east of Indonesia. Approximately 25% of the watershed has been turned into oil palm plantations. The watershed is also one of the oldest continually inhabited homes for different groups of Indigenous Papuans.
The researchers found that the conversion of tropical rainforest to oil palm plantation has increased precipitation, runoff, and soil moisture. Water quality in the watershed has also gotten dramatically worse: sedimentation has increased by 16.9%, nitrogen by 78.1%, and phosphorus by 144%.
The research team hopes regulators will work to limit the use of pesticides, conduct continuous water quality monitoring, and ensure that downstream communities have access to water quality information.
Web LinksOil Palm Plantations Are Driving Massive Downstream Impact to Watershed
Photo, posted December 13, 2008, courtesy of Fitri Agung via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
All across the country, electric utility companies are starting to use giant batteries to counteract the biggest weakness of renewable energy; namely, that the sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow. Solar panels and wind turbines can keep generating energy when people don’t need it and batteries can store up that energy for when they do.Over the past three years, battery storage capacity on US grids has grown by a factor of ten adding up to 16 gigawatts. This year, it is expected to double again, led by massive growth in Texas, California, and Arizona.
California generates more electricity from solar power than any other state. But it has a timing problem: solar power is plentiful during the day, but it disappears in the evening when people get home from work and start using lots of electricity. The previous solution was to burn lots of fossil fuel to produce it.
This has been changing thanks to battery storage. Since 2020, California has installed more giant batteries than anywhere else in the world other than China. Batteries are gradually replacing fossil fuels for California’s evening power needs. On the evening of April 30th, for example, batteries supplied more than 20% of California’s electricity. This is equivalent to the output of seven large nuclear reactors.
Batteries have multiple uses in the grid. They handle big swings in generation from renewable sources, they reduce congestion on transmission lines, and they help to prevent blackouts during heat waves. Batteries are starting to eat into the market for fossil fuels and will play an ever-growing role in the electricity grid. As the role of renewables grows, so will the role of batteries.
Web LinksGiant Batteries Are Transforming the Way the U.S. Uses Electricity
Photo, posted December 5, 2022, courtesy of Jonathan Cutrer via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Protecting coastal cities and towns from the dangers of tsunamis, storm surges, and sea-level rise has become an ever-increasing challenge. There are so-called hard coastal defenses as well as nature-based solutions. A new study by the University of Tokyo has found that combining the two types of defenses may be the most effective way to protect, support, and enrich coastal communities.Sea walls, dikes, dams, and breakwaters are the traditional hard measures. They are popular and have proven track records but are facing challenges to keep pace with increasing climate risks. They are expensive to build and require continuous upgrades and repairs. While they do provide protection from many disaster risks, they also can cause significant disruption to coastal ecosystems as well as to coastal communities.
Nature-based coastal defenses include such things as mangroves and coral reefs. So-called soft measures involve restoring, rehabilitating, reforesting, and nourishing natural ecosystems that protect coastal areas.
The Tokyo researchers analyzed the defense strategies in terms of risk reduction, climate change mitigation, and cost-effectiveness over a 20-year period. The results of the study were that among all coastal defense options in lower-risk areas, hybrid measures provide the highest risk reduction and can harness the advantages of both hard and soft measures.
The findings provide strong evidence for integrating nature-based components into coastal defenses, but these approaches have not yet been adequately tested in circumstances of extreme events and high-risk urgency. Research in this area has important implications for policy makers, coastal planners, and communities looking to make evidence-based decisions.
Web LinksA natural touch for coastal defense
Photo, posted October 22, 2021, courtesy of Kevin Dooley via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
In the forests of the Pacific Northwest, spotted owls have been the subject of environmental concern for more than 30 years. Over the past 20 years, northern spotted owl populations have declined by up to 80% as the birds have faced marginalized territories and increasing numbers of wildfires. Only about 3,000 of them remain on […]
Electricity demand in the U.S. continues to grow and, in the summer, homes and businesses crank up their air conditioning which drives demand even further. Many East Coast cities are banking on offshore wind projects that are underway in the Atlantic Ocean to help meet that growing demand. The first offshore turbines are now producing […]
The Florida state legislature has recently passed a law that bans the intentional release of helium balloons outdoors. It is a rare example of a bipartisan piece of legislation. Florida is joining six other states that have already enacted balloon restricting laws. Balloons released into the sky don’t just disappear into the ether. They often […]
Three major offshore wind projects in New York have been cancelled because of the unavailability of technology critical to the projects. The projects were part of NYSERDA‘s third offshore wind solicitation and were provisionally awarded last October. The projects, which totaled more than 4 GW of clean energy, were supposed to begin commercial operation in […]
About 30% of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity is absorbed by the oceans. As a result, they are getting warmer and more acidic, and the currents that help shape global weather are shifting. To try to reduce global warming, people want to be able to store even more carbon dioxide in the oceans without the negative effects of doing so.There are multiple efforts across the globe to achieve effective marine carbon dioxide removal. Some are based on sinking carbon-rich materials to the bottom of the sea. This is the marine equivalent of capturing CO2 from the air and storing it underground. Other efforts involve increasing the alkalinity of the ocean, which increases its ability to chemically react with carbon dioxide as well as lowers its acidity, which is desirable in many ways.
Running Tide, a U.S.-based company, has been dumping thousands of tons of wood-industry waste 190 miles off the coast of Iceland. The company has also been experimenting with dumping algae and kelp and sinking it deep below the ocean. Such materials on land either get burned or decay, in both cases releasing CO2 into the atmosphere. On the deep-sea bottom, the carbon is trapped.
Other efforts involve pumping seawater through electrodialysis filter systems to remove excess acidity or adding alkaline rocks to increase water alkalinity.
All of these efforts are a form of geoengineering, and like proposed ideas to cool the atmosphere, pose potential risks. There is no silver bullet to solve the climate crisis. It will take a combination of many solutions to address the issue of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Marine carbon dioxide removal is one of the solutions that may play a role.
Web LinksScientists Are Trying to Coax the Ocean to Absorb More CO2
Photo, posted February 22, 2018, courtesy of Bobbie Halchishak/USFWS via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The world’s coral reefs are in the midst of a global bleaching event being driven by extraordinarily high ocean temperatures. This is the fourth such global event on record and is predicted to be the largest one ever. Coral bleaching occurs when corals are stressed by heat and eject the symbiotic algae within them that […]
Oases are important sources of water for people, plants, and animals in the world’s desert areas. In fact, oases sustain 10% of the world’s population despite taking up only about 1.5% of land area. They form when groundwater flows and settles into low-lying areas or when surface meltwater flows down from nearby mountains and pools.New research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences has found that oases added 85,000 square miles of new area from 1995 to 2020, mostly from artificial expansion projects, but over the same period lost 52,000 square miles from desertification and water scarcity. The net gain of 33,000 square miles is not considered to be sustainable given that it was mostly due to artificial causes. The oasis expansion projects were in Asia but losses due to desertification were also mostly in Asia.
Today, oases are found in 37 countries. Increases in oases mostly come from people intentionally converting desert land into oases using runoff water and groundwater pumping, creating grasslands and croplands. This mostly has taken place in China.
Human over-exploitation of dwindling groundwater can limit the sustainability of oases as can the long-term loss of glaciers.
The study highlighted ways to sustain healthy oases, including suggestions for improving water resource management, promoting sustainable land use and management, and encouraging water conservation and efficient water use. As the climate continues to change, these efforts will be increasingly important for a significant portion of the world’s population.
Web LinksWorld's Oases Threatened By Desertification, Even As Humans Expand Them
Photo, posted August 3, 2008, courtesy of Paul Williams via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Wind power has become one of the most affordable ways to generate electricity as well as being renewable and not contributing to global warming. But there has been the perception that wind farms require a lot of land compared with fossil fuel power plants. This issue of land use has made decision-makers reluctant to invest in wind energy in many instances.A new study by McGill University in Montreal looked at this issue and has found that land use for wind power is far more efficient than previously thought. The study combined data from geographic information systems with machine learning models to assess land usage associated with nearly 16,000 wind turbines in the western U.S.
The study assessed the land use of 320 wind farms. They found that wind power infrastructure (mostly the turbines themselves and the roads that lead to them) typically only uses 5% of the land area of a wind farm. If the wind farm is sited in locations with existing infrastructure, such as on agricultural land, then it can be as much as seven times more land-efficient – meaning the amount energy produced in a given area of land impacted by the infrastructure – than a wind farm that is developed on unused land.
Previous studies of wind farm land usage assumed that all of the land where the wind farm was located was devoted to energy generation. In reality, most of land in question is often used for other purposes, such as agriculture.
The methods developed by the researchers are potentially useable for future assessments of various energy technologies in terms of their environmental sustainability.
Web LinksClearing the air: wind farms more land efficient than previously thought
Photo, posted September 29, 2009, courtesy of Tim Green via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The warming climate is changing the distribution of fish species. Researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia have observed that tropical fish species are moving into temperate Australian waters.The Eastern Australian Current is strengthening as the climate warms and larvae of tropical fish are getting caught in the current and moving into more temperate regions. These larvae would not normally survive in the cooler Australian ocean water, but the warming current keeps the baby fish warm and increases their chances for survival. The fish migration observed in the study is an ongoing process that has strengthened in the last few decades due to ocean warming.
The novel populations of tropical fish in these temperate ecosystems are not having much impact at the present time, but they may do so in the future. The water is still cooler than the fishes’ natural environment and therefore they do not grow to their maximum size. As a result, they don’t represent stiff competition for the native species – at least not yet.
As the ocean temperatures continue to rise, these tropical species will eventually grow to their full size and their diets will overlap more and more with those of temperate fish species. Tropical herbivores tend to overgraze temperate kelp while the impact of tropical fish that eat invertebrates is less well understood. Tropical fish with varied diets are the most successful invaders. The ultimate effects on temperate ecosystems remain to be seen but survival may become difficult for the native fish in rapidly warming temperate ocean environments.
Web LinksTropical fish are invading Australian ocean water
Photo, posted March 28, 2017, courtesy of Ryan McMinds via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The world is facing the biggest deficit of cocoa in decades. Most cocoa beans are grown in West Africa, where climate change-induced drought has ravaged crops. Harvests are forecasted to fall short for the third consecutive year. The harvest shortfall has triggered a steep rise in cocoa prices. In fact, cocoa prices have more than doubled in the first four months of this year, and have more than tripled in the past 12 months.
But drought isn’t the only threat: A rapidly spreading virus is also threatening the future of chocolate.
Approximately half of the world’s chocolate originates from cacao trees in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. The Cacao Swollen Shoot Virus Disease is spread by small insects called mealybugs, which eat the leaves, buds, and flowers of cacao trees. The virus is attacking cacao trees in Ghana, resulting in harvest losses of 15-50%.
Pesticides don’t work well against mealybugs. Farmers can vaccinate trees to inoculate them from the virus. But the vaccines are expensive, and the vaccinated trees produce a smaller harvest of cacao.
According to a new paper recently published in the journal PLOS ONE, an international team of researchers has developed a new strategy to combat these pests: using mathematical data to determine how far apart vaccinated trees need to be planted in order to stop mealybugs from hopping from tree to tree. The researchers developed two models that allow farmers to create a defensive ring of vaccinated trees around unvaccinated trees
The research team hopes its models will help farmers protect their crops and achieve better harvests in the future.
Web LinksCacao sustainability: The case of cacao swollen-shoot virus co-infection
Will rising cocoa prices trigger a chocolate crisis?
Photo, posted April 1, 2019, courtesy of Konrad Lembcke via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The Colorado River serves nearly 40 million people in seven U.S. states and Mexico. It provides water for 5 million acres of farmland. Increasing demand from growing populations, damming, diversion, and drought have been draining the Colorado at alarming rates. This critical resource supports countless economies, communities, and ecologies stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California. The Colorado River essentially has made the cities of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver, and Phoenix possible.How the water of the Colorado is distributed is determined by an agreement that is over 100 years old: the Colorado River Compact. It was made at a time when people thought there was more water than really was there. And at the time, no one thought that the seven states would need to use the water they were allocated down to the last drop.
There have been various measures over the years to conserve water from the Colorado River, including the Colorado River Interim Guidelines in 2007. Those guidelines will expire in 2026 and negotiations are beginning to take place among the many stakeholders scrambling for water rights. Apart from the seven U.S. states and Mexico, there are 30 tribal nations involved. Collaborative governance is complicated when it crosses multiple jurisdictions with their own laws and legal precedents. The goal is to put in place a new agreement to protect the Colorado River.
Rapidly-growing populations in major cities, a 20-year megadrought, and historically low water levels in America’s two largest reservoirs have put enormous pressure on the Colorado River. Creating a plan to protect the lifeblood of the American West is essential.
Web LinksAddressing the Colorado River crisis
Photo, posted June 18, 2022, courtesy of Jeff Hollett via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Climate change is a key factor in the increasing risk and extent of wildfires. Wildfires require the alignment of several factors, including humidity, temperature, and the lack of moisture in fuels, such as trees, shrubs, and grasses. All of these factors have strong ties to climate variability and climate change.While the global surge in wildfires is often attributed to hotter and drier conditions, a new study by researchers from the University of California - Riverside has found that increasing levels of a greenhouse gas may be an even bigger factor.
According to the study, which was recently published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, carbon dioxide is driving an increase in the severity and frequency of wildfires by fueling the growth of plants that become kindling.
Centuries of burning fossil fuels to produce heat, electricity and to power engines has added alarming amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. In fact, atmospheric CO2 levels are measuring more than 420 parts per million, which is a level not seen on earth for 14-16 million years.
Plants require carbon dioxide, along with sunlight and water, for photosynthesis. But rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are driving an increase in plant photosynthesis - an effect known as the carbon fertilization effect. This effect can make plants grow bigger and faster.
Warming and drying are important fire factors. These are the conditions that make the extra plant mass more flammable. But the study found that the increase in fires during hotter seasons is driven by the CO2-fueled growth of plants.
The researchers hope their findings will urge policymakers to focus on reducing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
Web LinksCO2 worsens wildfires by helping plants grow
Current carbon dioxide levels last seen 14 million years ago
Photo, posted January 17, 2024, courtesy of Jennifer Myslivy, BLM Fire/NIFC via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The Atlantic hurricane season officially runs from June 1st until November 30th. Forecasters at Colorado State University have issued forecasts of Atlantic basin hurricane activity since 1984 based on the pioneering work of Professor William Gray. This year’s forecast, issued in April, predicts a higher-than-average number of Atlantic storms. In fact, it may be one of the most active seasons on record.On average, there are 14 named storms each season. This year, the prediction is for 23 of them. On average, there are 7 hurricanes each season. This year, the prediction is for 11. The prediction is for 5 major hurricanes among them. These predictions are among the highest on record, although in 2020 they predicted 12 hurricanes. In fact, that year there were 14 that actually took place.
Among the factors at play are that the El Niño that was occurring last year has dissipated and there is a good chance of a La Niña forming, which suppresses upper-level winds thereby making conditions ideal for hurricane formation and intensification. But the overarching factor is global warming which is driving ocean temperature rise. The water in the Atlantic, especially in the eastern Atlantic where most hurricanes form, has seen record-breaking warmth. More warm water means more chances for storms.
Other research groups echo the predictions from Colorado State and, in some cases, see ever greater chances for an extremely active hurricane season. The University of Pennsylvania forecast calls for 33 named storms.
The overall forecast is for a well above-average probability for major hurricanes making landfall along the continental United States coastline and the Caribbean.
Web LinksWeather tracker: US experts predict one of most active hurricane seasons on record
Photo, posted September 5, 2017, courtesy of NASA/NOAA GOES Project via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Planting huge numbers of trees is often proposed as a way to reduce the severity of climate change. Studies have looked at the potential for Earth's ecosystems to support large additional areas of forest and have found that it would be possible to have at least 25% more forested area than we do now. This in turn could capture large amounts of carbon and substantially reduce the amount in the atmosphere.A recent study by researchers at Clark University in Massachusetts and The Nature Conservancy mapped the climate impact of tree planting across the globe, identifying where it would be most and also least beneficial. The study, published in Nature Communications, found that trees planted in arid, desert regions or in snowy places like the Arctic would, on balance, worsen warming rather than reduce it.
Trees take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which helps to keep warming in check. But trees with dark, green leaves also absorb heat from sunlight. Snow and desert sand, on the other hand, are light-colored and reflect more sunlight back into space. For this reason, trees planted in snowy areas or in the desert will absorb more sunlight than their surroundings. This can negate the climate benefits of soaking up carbon dioxide.
Previous studies only looked at how much carbon dioxide would be removed by planting trees in order to determine how much warming would be prevented. The new study finds that it matters where the trees are planted.
Fortunately, the new study also shows that tree planting projects that are currently underway or that are in the pipeline are largely concentrated in regions where they will indeed help slow global warming.
Web LinksThis Map Shows Where Planting Trees Would Make Climate Change Worse
Photo, posted April 5, 2022, courtesy of UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Reducing the use of plastic is an important environmental goal. Plastic is made from fossil fuels and plastic pollutes the land and the oceans. It is estimated that 40% of plastic waste comes from packaging. Plastic packaging is extremely common in the supermarket and there is a growing desire to reduce its use. But it isn’t that easy.Plastic packaging works well to slow the decay of vegetables and fruit. Its use results in less produce being tossed into the garbage, where it creates almost 60% of landfill methane emissions. In fact, food is the most common material in landfills. The average American family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that ends up uneaten and nearly half of all household food waste is fruits and vegetables.
Products like bagged salads, berries in plastic clamshells, and plastic sealed potatoes and cucumbers are popular with shoppers because they stay fresh longer. They are popular with grocers because the items don’t have to be weighed. But all these things result in plastic waste. It is a tradeoff that is difficult to make between food quality and safety vs. the environmental harm caused by plastic.
There are a variety of alternatives to plastic packaging of food that are being explored. They range from biodegradable, organic coatings that can take the place of plastic films, to cardboard and paper produce packaging.
But practically, there is yet no affordable and biodegradable plastic alternative that keeps fruits and vegetables safe and fresh. Solving the food packaging problem is not easy.
Web LinksSo Much Produce Comes in Plastic. Is There a Better Way?
Photo, posted July 1, 2007, courtesy of Brian via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The coral reefs that surround tropical islands are a refuge for a wide variety of marine life and also form a natural buffer against stormy seas. The changing climate is bleaching coral reefs and breaking them down. Extreme weather events are becoming more common and are threatening coastal communities with flooding and erosion.Researchers at MIT are designing architected reefs – sustainable offshore structures that mimic the wave-buffering effects of natural reefs and can also provide habitats for fish and other marine life.
There are already artificial reefs in a number of places used to protect coastlines. These are typically made from sunken ships, retired oil and gas platforms, and even assemblies of concrete, metal, car tires, and stones. Generally, it takes quite a lot of material to form an effective barrier to waves.
The MIT group has developed a cylindrical structure surrounded by four rudder-like slats. Their experiments have shown that when this structure stands in the way of a wave, it efficiently breaks the wave and creates turbulent jets that dissipate the energy in the wave. The engineers calculated that the new design could reduce as much wave energy as existing artificial reefs but use 10 times less material.
Based on the initial experiments with lab-scale prototypes, these artificial reefs would reduce the energy of incoming waves by more than 95%.
Coral reefs are only found in tropical waters, whereas these artificial reefs don’t depend on temperature and could be placed along any coastline for protection. In a time of rising seas and increasingly frequent storms, these artificial reefs may be just what coastlines need.
Web LinksArtificial reef designed by MIT engineers could protect marine life, reduce storm damage
Photo, posted December 9, 2010, courtesy of Phoenix Wolf-Ray via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
For the better part of a decade, there have been lawsuits against fossil fuel companies for their actions related to climate change. The Center for Climate Integrity, a nonprofit that provides legal support to communities suing oil companies, has tracked 32 cases filed by state attorneys general, cities, counties, and tribal nations against companies including Exxon Mobil, BP, and Shell.There has been extensive news reporting about oil companies’ efforts to undermine the scientific consensus about the climate as well as revelations about oil companies hiding their own research over decades projecting the dangers of climate change.
Oil companies have long sought to shut down the lawsuits or move them from the state courts where they were filed to federal courts where they believe national regulations could override local governments’ claims against them. But a string of circuit court and U.S. Supreme Court decisions have ruled that the cases alleging violations of state laws do belong in state courts.
The first case to reach trial will likely be a Massachusetts case against Exxon Mobil and that could happen as soon as next year.
What do these lawsuits seek? Some seek to force oil companies to pay for the past and future damages caused by climate change that are costing states and communities billions of dollars. Others seek to stop defendants from making false and misleading statements about the effects of burning fossil fuels, from greenwashing their own activities, and to fund corrective education campaigns.
The first trials could lead to a tidal wave of new cases, similar to what happened in the 1990s when tobacco companies were forced to pay billions of dollars under legal settlements.
Web LinksAfter a long slog, climate change lawsuits will finally put Big Oil on trial
Photo, posted August 18, 2021, courtesy of Chad Davis via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
There are more than 7,000 known species of amphibians, the group of animals that includes frogs, toads, and salamanders. Over the past 25 years, more than 90 species are believed to have gone extinct and at least 500 more have declining populations.There are many factors contributing to the decline of amphibian populations but the most alarming is a fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis – or Bd – that ravages the skin of frogs and toads and eventually causes heart failure. The fungus has been devastating amphibians on nearly every continent.
In a recent paper in the journal Current Biology, scientists at the University of California Riverside documented the discovery of a virus that infects Bd and could be engineered to control the fungal disease.
The researchers were studying the population genetics of the Bd fungus with DNA sequencing technology and uncovered the virus inside the fungal genome. Some strains of the fungus are infected with the virus and others are not. They are now looking for insights into the ways that the virus operates to see how it gets into the fungal cells. The goal is to engineer the virus to infect more strains of the fungus and potentially end the global amphibian pandemic.
Frogs and toads control bad insects, crop pests, and mosquitos. If their populations around the world collapse, it could be devastating. They are already having difficulty coping with warmer temperatures, stronger UV light, and worsening water quality in many places.
Some amphibian species are already acquiring resistance to Bd. The UCR researchers are hoping to assist nature in taking its course.
Web LinksDiscovery could end global amphibian pandemic
Photo, posted August 25, 2010, courtesy of Kev Chapman via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The last two coal-fired power plants in New England are scheduled to close by 2025 and 2028. The New Hampshire-based plants are operated by Granite Shore Power. The Schiller Station plant began operations in 1949 and the Merrimack Station was built in the 1960s.Granite Shore Power has come to an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency as part of a settlement of lawsuits by the Conservation Law Foundation and the Sierra Club. The two power plants were the subject of a five-year legal battle waged by clean energy advocates
Granite Shore Power intends to turn both of the sites into renewable energy parks. The plants will be converted into solar farms and battery units that can be used to store electricity generated by offshore wind turbines along the Atlantic Coast. Granite Shore Power bought the two power plants in 2018 with the intention of transitioning the coal generation systems into less polluting operations.
The battery storage system at the Schiller Station site in Portsmouth will be named the Jacona II in honor of a self-propelled floating power barge that brought power to parts of Maine and New Hampshire between 1919 and 1930.
Coal use has dropped dramatically in the United States in recent years as natural gas and renewable sources like wind and solar have become less expensive. As of last year, coal only produced about 17% of American electricity and its use continues to decline.
Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel. In 2021, when it generated less than a quarter of the electricity produced in the US, it accounted for 59% of carbon emissions from electricity generation.
Web LinksThe Last Coal-Fired Power Plants in New England Are to Close
Photo, posted October 14, 2015, courtesy of Eversource NH via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Climate change affects animal species in many ways. It induces habitat loss, disrupts migration and breeding patterns, threatens marine life, and facilitates an increased spread of disease. It may also affect where animals can be found in the future. According to a new study led by researchers from the University of Toronto Mississauga and Apex Resource Management Solutions in Canada, climate change may dramatically affect the animal species observed in North American cities by the end of the century.
The researchers used species distribution data combined with machine learning to study the impact of human-caused climate change on more than 2,000 animal species historically found in the 60 most populous North American cities.
According to the research team, changes in biodiversity are brewing for almost every city it studied by the year 2100. In fact, cities with a rich history of biodiversity are predicted to have the largest declines and fewest gains in species. Cooler and wetter cities like Quebec, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Kansas City, and Omaha are expected to welcome the most new species. Warmer cities with higher precipitation - like cities in coastal California - are projected to lose the most species.
More than 95% of bird and insect species are predicted to experience a change in the number of cities they call home. Canines, most amphibians, and aquatic birds are expected to experience the greatest losses. Toads, turtles, mice and pelicans are projected to become more common overall.
The researchers hope their findings will encourage more efforts to protect biodiversity.
Web LinksNorth American cities may see a major species turnover by the end of the century
Photo, posted September 29, 2013, courtesy of Jonathan Kriz via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Researchers from Switzerland and Belgium have investigated the effects of the warming climate on access to meteorites in Antarctica. Meteorites are of great scientific interest because they provide unique information about the makeup of our solar system. Of all the meteorites that people have found, 62.6% of them were found in Antarctica. Why is this? […]
California is a state known for its aggressive climate policies. However, and rather ironically, California is also the nation’s greatest emitter of one little-known greenhouse gas: sulfuryl fluoride. Sulfuryl fluoride is one of the few treatments to rid buildings of drywood termites, a common regional pest that can be found in wooden structures. Sulfuryl fluoride […]
Grapes grown to make wine are sensitive to climate conditions including temperatures and amount of rainfall. The warming climate is already having visible effects on yields, grape composition, and the quality of wine. This has significant consequences on the geography of wine production and is of major concern for the $350 billion global industry. Winegrowing […]
Stanford University-led research has determined that American oil and gas operations are emitting more than 6 million tons of methane each year. The emissions come from both intentional vents and unintentional leaks. Methane is the main component of natural gas and losing that much of it through leakage is costing the industry a billion dollars a year just in lost revenue. Adding in the harm to the economy and human well-being caused by adding this much potent greenhouse gas to the atmosphere is estimated to increase the cost of these emissions to $10 billion a year.
These emission and cost estimates are roughly three times the level predicted by the U.S. government. The Stanford numbers are based on roughly a million aerial measurements of wells, pipelines, storage, and transmission facilities in six of the nation’s most productive oil and gas regions located in Texas, New Mexico, California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Utah. These areas account for 52% of U.S. onshore oil production and 29% of gas production.
The survey also found that fewer than 2% of the methane emitters are responsible for 50-80% of emissions in four of the regions. It also found that midstream infrastructure – which includes gathering and transmission pipelines, compressor stations, and gas processing plants – is responsible for about half of total emissions.
While the federal government estimates that methane leakage averages about 1% of gas production, the new survey puts the number at 3%, and some regions lose almost 10% to leakage.
Better tracking and fixing these leaks – especially the larger ones - is essential for climate change mitigation.
Web LinksMethane emissions from U.S. oil and gas operations cost the nation $10 billion per year
Photo, posted June 5, 2015, courtesy of Dave Houseknecht / USGS via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Biochar is a charcoal-like substance that is made by burning organic materials like crop and forestry wastes in a controlled process called pyrolysis, which is burning in an oxygen-deprived environment. Pyrolysis produces little or no contaminating fumes and results in a stable form of carbon that can’t easily escape into the atmosphere. Biochar is a very efficient way to convert carbon into a stable form.Adding charred biomass to improve soil quality has been done for thousands of years. Indigenous people in the Amazon added charcoal, food residue, and other waste to their soil. When mixed with soil, biochar creates favorable conditions for root growth and microbial activities, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Last year, 125,000 tons of carbon dioxide were removed worldwide in the durable carbon market, which is a carbon credit marketplace for carbon removal. About 93% of that was in the form of biochar.
Biochar represents a value-added way to deal with agricultural waste and also to make use of dead trees in forests that should be removed to lower the risk of wildfires caused by the presence of all that dry tinder material.
A bill to fund biochar research is pending before the Senate Agricultural Committee. It is a rare example of bipartisan legislation.
Biochar is currently expensive to make in the US because large amounts of biomass must be shipped to one of the fewer than 50 small-scale production facilities in the country. But with appropriate infrastructure, biochar could play an important role in efforts to sequester carbon and combat climate change.
Web LinksBiochar Is ‘Low-Hanging Fruit’ for Sequestering Carbon and Combating Climate Change
Photo, posted September 3, 2019, courtesy of Tracy Robillard / NRCS via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
States in the colder parts of the country spend an estimated $2.3 billion a year on snow and ice removal as well as untold millions on repairing roadways damaged by winter weather. Researchers at Drexel University have been researching a way to extend the service life of concrete surfaces like roadways and to help them maintain a surface temperature above freezing during the winter.Preventing freezing and thawing as temperatures go up and down and reducing the amount of plowing and salting is a desirable goal. The Drexel team has developed a cold-weather-resilient concrete mix that is capable of melting snow on its own using only the thermal energy in the environment and not requiring salt, shoveling, or heating systems.
The system uses low-temperature liquid paraffin that turns from its room-temperature liquid state into a solid when temperatures go down. Incorporating the liquid paraffin into concrete triggers heating when temperatures drop due to the energy released by the phase change.
Tests on slabs of the concrete on the Drexel campus over the past two years recorded 32 freeze-thaw events. The special slabs maintained a surface temperature between 42 and 55 degrees for up to 10 hours when air temperatures dipped below freezing.
The heating is enough to melt a couple of inches of snow at a rate of a quarter inch an hour. It’s not enough to melt a heavy snow event before plows are needed, but it can help deice road surfaces and increase transportation safety. And simply preventing the surface from freezing, thawing, and refreezing can go a long way towards preventing deterioration. It is promising research toward reducing an ongoing problem in colder climates.
Web LinksDrexel’s Self-Heating Concrete Is One Step Closer to Clearing Sidewalks Without Shoveling or Salting
Photo, posted March 16, 2024, courtesy of Ajay Suresh via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
So-called forever chemicals are pervasive in a wide range of products. These are man-made substances called per- and polyfluoroalkyls or PFAS. They get their unfortunate nickname because the chemical bonds in them are so strong that the compounds don’t break down for hundreds or even thousands of years.PFAS compounds are used in makeup, dental floss, nonstick pans, food wrappers, pesticides, stain-resistant fabrics and carpets, firefighting foams, and more. High level exposure to some of these chemicals has been linked to a variety of health problems include high cholesterol, liver and immune system damage, pregnancy problems, and kidney and testicular cancer.
A recent study published in the journal Nature Geoscience has found that PFAS chemicals are showing up in water around the world. The study looked at more than 45,000 water samples and found that about 31% of ground water tested that wasn't even near any obvious source of PFAS contamination had levels of the chemicals that are considered harmful to human health by the EPA. About 16% of surface water samples – streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes - also not near any known source, had similar hazardous PFAS levels.
The EPA has now imposed strict new drinking water limits for six types of PFAS. Going forward, water systems are required to monitor for these chemicals and remove them if they are found above allowable levels. The new rules make the United States one of the strictest countries in the world in terms of regulating PFAS in water.
Web LinksEPA puts limits on 'forever chemicals' in drinking water
Photo, posted May 5, 2020, courtesy of Brandon Shaw via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Almost every nation in the world has pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. There is expanding use of renewable energy sources and growing numbers of electric cars. But despite all this, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels rose again in 2023, reaching record levels.The world’s population continues to grow and nations with large, rapidly growing populations are becoming increasingly industrialized and are embracing more and more of the trappings of modern life. As a result, the global burning of oil, coal, and natural gas is increasing.
Analysis of 2023 date shows that emissions from fossil fuels rose 1.1 percent compared to 2022 levels. The total fossil fuel emissions in 2023 was 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide.
Clearly, the world continues to head in the wrong direction in order to limit global warming. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased from about 278 parts per million in 1750 – considered to be the start of the industrial era – to 420 parts per million in 2023.
The rise in heat-trapping carbon dioxide along with other greenhouse gases such as methane is the primary reason that the planet’s temperature is continuing to rise. The average global surface temperature in 2023 was 1.2 degrees Celsius – or 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit – higher than it was in the NASA baseline period of 1951-1980. Last year was the hottest year on record. Unfortunately, the rise in global ocean temperature was even larger, compounding the effects of global warming.
Web LinksEmissions from Fossil Fuels Continue to Rise
Photo, posted June 22, 2020, courtesy of John Morton via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The largest energy plant in the world is being built in India. In an area of barren desert in western India near the Pakistani border, Adani Green Energy Limited (or AGEL) is building a sprawling solar and wind power plant that will cover more than 200 square miles. It will be five times the size of Paris and will produce enough electricity to power 16 million homes.The Khavda Renewable Energy Park will cost about $20 billion to build and will take about five years to complete.
The success of the plant is critical to India’s efforts to reduce pollution and meet its climate goals. India is the world’s third-largest energy consuming country. Even though its energy use and emissions per person are less than half the global average, its enormous population offsets that advantage and its expanding economy and ongoing modernization are driving rapid growth of energy demand. Energy demand has doubled since 2000 and 80% is still being met by coal, oil, and solid biomass. India uses massive amounts of coal, and, in fact, the Adani Group of companies is India’s biggest coal importer and a leading miner of the fossil fuel. Adani represents two sides of the coin.
More than 600 million people in India will be coming into middle and upper income over the next 10 to 15 years and they will have increasing energy needs. India is in a race to develop clean energy capacity. If it simply follows the torturous path that China, Europe, and US all have done, the prospects for the global climate are bleak.
Building the world’s largest clean energy plant is just a first small step in the necessary direction.
Web LinksA coal billionaire is building the world’s biggest clean energy plant and it’s five times the size of Paris
Photo, posted February 25, 2010, courtesy of Bhavin Toprani via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Using government support in the form of subsidies and tax credits, energy companies and others are planning to capture millions of tons of industrial carbon dioxide emissions and pipe the greenhouse gas into underground storage. It is a strategy enthusiastically supported by the fossil fuel industry because it allows them to keep burning the stuff.There are currently 69 projects being reviewed by federal and state regulators seeking to store CO2 underground. The sorts of places where carbon dioxide can be injected are geologic zones containing porous rock formations which, in no way coincidentally, are the same places where oil and gas deposits are found. As a result, these places are studded with abandoned wells that have accumulated over the past century.
In Louisiana, there are about 120,000 abandoned wells that overlie geological zones that could store carbon dioxide. Environmental watchdog groups have identified numerous abandoned wells within a few miles of proposed storage sites.
The problem is that abandoned wells leak – even ones that have been plugged – and many haven’t been. The question is how much leakage will occur and what will be the consequences of the leakage. In Texas, pumping oilfield wastewater into abandoned wells has led to geysers of toxic water, artificial saline lakes, and earthquakes.
Underground carbon dioxide sequestering on a scale large enough to really matter will have to extend to very large areas. For example, injecting 100 million tons per year could create a pressurized zone as large as 100 miles. How large a problem this might create from abandoned wells in the zone is not at all clear but cannot be ignored.
Web LinksCompanies Are Poised to Inject Millions of Tons of Carbon Underground. Will It Stay Put?
Photo, posted December 3, 2023, courtesy of Jason Woodhead via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
It’s increasingly common to see cars hooked up to charging cables in shopping centers, rest stops, and dedicated charging stations. Charging electric cars is easy to do, just like charging phones and laptop computers. These days, it is pretty common to charge phones without using any charging cable at all because of the availability of wireless charging technology. The same thing may well happen with electric cars.A team of researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has successfully demonstrated wireless charging of electric cars with high efficiency and fairly fast charging speed.
The patented system was used to charge up a Hyundai Kona EV using electromagnetic fields, which is essentially how phone chargers work. The technology makes use of a polyphase electromagnetic coupling coil, which is lightweight and small. Rotating magnetic fields generated in the coil’s windings boost the power available. The system provided 100-kW of power with 96% efficiency. That isn’t as powerful as the fastest high-speed charging stations, but it is considerably more than any home charging solution can provide. For many vehicles, such a charger could provide 50% battery capacity in less than 20 minutes.
Battery technology continues to improve leading to larger capacity, faster charging, longer battery life, and lower cost. At some point, charging up an electric car will take no more time than pumping gas.
The Oak Ridge researchers consider this development to be a breakthrough achievement that could open the door to fast and efficient wireless charging for electric passenger vehicles. One could imagine having the ability to drive up to a charging spot and charging up the battery without even getting out of the car.
Web LinksCharging up the commute
Photo, posted July 12, 2021, courtesy of Chris Yarzab via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Giant sequoias are the most massive trees on earth. They can grow as tall as nearly 300 feet and have trunk diameters from 20 to 26 feet. They are also among the oldest living organisms on Earth; some of them are well over 3,000 years old. The trees are native to the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California.Lengthy droughts and wildfires have been pushing giant sequoias in California into decline. Up to 20% of all large giant sequoias in California died in wildfires in 2020 and 2021. There are estimated to be only about 80,000 remaining in the native groves in the Sierra Nevada. These old-growth forests are very much in jeopardy and represent rare ecosystems of considerable ecological and historical value.
Giant sequoias have been planted in many places around the world. They were introduced to country estates in Britain during the 19th century. They were seen as symbols of wealth and power. Over time, they have been widely planted in parks and woodlands. As a result, there are now half a million giant sequoias growing in Britain and they are thriving there.
The British sequoias are rather young by sequoia standards, so they are relatively squat in stature. The tallest of them measures about 180 feet. But recent research, published in the journal Royal Society Science, found that in Britain’s cool and mild climate, the trees are growing nearly as fast as they do in California.
The British sequoias are probably more important for their aesthetic and historical interest than their impact on the environment, but it is good to know they are there.
Web LinksUnder Threat in Their Native California, Giant Sequoias Are Thriving in Britain
Photo, posted November 4, 2010, courtesy of John Buie via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Oil and gas producers around the world use venting and flaring to remove excess natural gas in crude oil production. Flaring is the process of burning excess natural gas at the production well using a flare to ignite the methane and other components in the gas, while venting is the direct release of natural gas into the atmosphere. Both practices are major sources of greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global warming. Venting and flaring release carbon dioxide and methane - two major greenhouse gases.
The practices contribute to air pollution in surrounding and downwind communities, resulting in increased risk of hospitalizations, emergency room visits, worsening asthma, and even premature death. In fact, according to a new study recently published in the journal GeoHealth, pollution from oil and gas venting and flaring results in $7.4 billion in health damages, more than 700 premature deaths, and 73,000 asthma exacerbations among children in the United States annually.
The study, which was led by researchers at the University of North Carolina, Boston University, and the Environmental Defense Fund, also found that emissions are underreported, and controlling emissions would be profitable for operators and would significantly improve public health.
The research team found that Texas, Pennsylvania, and Colorado had the highest health burdens in this analysis, accounting for 45% of the premature deaths.
The researchers hope their findings will help improve air quality and human health by reducing emissions from venting and flaring.
Web LinksNew study quantifies health impacts from oil and gas flaring in U.S.
Photo, posted June 20, 2020, courtesy of Jonathan Cutrer via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, anthropogenic climate change resulting in higher average temperatures has caused a global decline in snowfall. Less snow threatens to reinforce global warming, and to disrupt food, water, and livelihoods for billions of people. According to a new study recently published in the journal PLOS ONE, annual snow cover days in all major skiing regions are projected to decrease dramatically as a result of climate change. In the study, the research team from the University of Bayreuth in Germany examined the impact of climate change on annual natural snow cover in seven major skiing regions. Using the public climate database CHELSA, the researchers predicted annual snow cover days for each ski area for 2011-2040, 2041-2070, and 2071-2100 under low, high, and very high carbon emissions scenarios.
Under the high emissions scenario, 13% of ski areas are predicted to lose all natural snow cover by 2071-2100 relative to their historic baselines. By 2071-2100, average annual snow cover days were predicted to decline by 78% in the Australian Alps, 51% in the Southern Alps, 50% in the Japanese Alps, 43% in the Andes, 42% in the European Alps, 37% in the Appalachians, and 23% in the the Rocky Mountains - all declines relative to their historic baselines.
The future losses of natural snow cover in ski areas around the world will be significant if global emissions continue unchecked.
Web LinksThe future is likely less skiable, thanks to climate change
New maps show where snowfall is disappearing
Photo, posted April 14, 2006, courtesy of Kallu via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
There are more and more electric cars on the road and utilities are installing record amounts of battery storage to back up solar and wind power generation. Both of these things currently use lithium-ion batteries so the need for them keeps growing.There is actually plenty of lithium in the world. Sources of more than 100 million tons have been identified, which is enough to meet the projected needs for decades. But lithium is not easy, cheap, or environmentally friendly to extract. It is either blasted out of rocks that are then roasted at 2000-degree temperatures, or it is extracted from brine in places like the high Andes where it leaves behind toxic residues. Ramping up lithium production could greatly diminish the environmental benefits derived from green technologies.
A technique called direct lithium extraction, or DLE, may be a possible solution. The lithium is pulled out of brine while leaving other dissolved compounds behind. It is being tested in many places around the world and appears to offer the lowest negative impacts of available extraction technologies.
The Salton Sea area in California has rich deposits of lithium and is a good candidate for DLE. But conditions may be even better in Arkansas whose Smackover Formation is a brine-rich expanse of limestone.
The area was a productive oil field a hundred years ago and then undertook brine-processing in the 1950s to extract bromine. So, the area already has industrial infrastructure and no new land would need to be cleared.
The former oil fields of Arkansas may become an important domestic source of lithium.
Web LinksIn Rush for Lithium, Miners Turn to the Oil Fields of Arkansas
Photo, posted February 26, 2021, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Ordinary plastics are not biodegradable, but they are also not indestructible. Plastics in the environment can break down into tiny fragments – microplastics – and those, unfortunately, are nearly indestructible. Microplastics have been documented in the oceans and in soil virtually everywhere on Earth including remote frozen wastelands and on top of high mountains. More recently, they have been found in our own arteries, lungs, and even in placentas. Microplastic pollution is a very serious problem.There is considerable ongoing effort to develop biodegradable plastics from non-petroleum sources. There has been progress but it has not necessarily been aimed at creating bioplastics that do not create microplastic when they break down.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed algae-based polymers that they have shown to degrade when composted. Recently, in work published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, they have shown that even fine microparticles of their bioplastic are digested by microbes when placed in a compost. What remains are the starting plant materials from which the plastic was made. Products made from this sort of plastic would not only be sustainable beyond their useful lifetime but would also not represent a potential danger to human life.
Creating this eco-friendly alternative to petroleum-based plastic is only the first step toward creating a viable replacement for existing plastics. It is necessary to be able to use the new material on existing manufacturing equipment and for it to have the same mechanical and thermal properties as the materials it is replacing. But the researchers are optimistic that this could be a potential solution to an increasingly serious problem.
Web LinksSay Hello to Biodegradable Microplastics
Photo, posted January 17, 2018, courtesy of Bo Eide via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
According to a new study by Colorado University, Boulder, the Arctic could see summer days with practically no sea ice as soon as sometime in the next few years. Earlier predictions for when the first ice-free day in the Arctic could occur were sometime well into the 2030s.By mid-century, the Arctic is likely to see an entire month without floating sea ice. This would likely be in September, when ice coverage is at its minimum. By the end of the century, the ice-free season could last for many months during the year.
Technically, an ice-free Arctic does not mean zero ice in the water. The working definition is less than 386,000 square miles of ice, which represents less than 20% of what the minimum ice coverage was in the 1980s. In recent years, the coverage has been about 1.25 million square miles.
Sea ice coverage is a big deal because many Arctic animals rely on sea ice for survival, including seals and polar bears. With warmer ocean water, invasive fish species could move into the Arctic Ocean, upsetting local ecosystems. Sea ice loss also is a risk for coastal communities because the ice buffers the impact of ocean waves on the coastal land. As the ice retreats, ocean waves would get bigger, eroding the coasts.
At this point, an ice-free Arctic is basically inevitable, but its annual duration will depend on society’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Lengthy periods of minimal sea ice would transform the Arctic into a completely different environment with global effects that are mostly highly undesirable. However, Arctic sea ice is resilient and could return fairly quickly if the atmosphere cools down.
Web LinksThe Arctic could become ‘ice-free’ within a decade
Photo, posted July 9, 2022, courtesy of Reiner Ehlers via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Canada’s 2023 wildfire season was the most destructive ever recorded. Over 6,000 fires burned nearly 71,000 square miles of land from the West Coast to the Atlantic provinces. The burned areas are roughly the size of the entire country of Finland and represent almost triple the amount burned in the previous year, which itself was a lot. Smoke from Canadian fires, particularly those in Quebec, blanketed many cities in the United States and made its way as far south as Florida.An alarming aspect of the Canadian fire season is that it didn’t ever really end. Late in the winter, 149 active wildfires are still burning across Canada. 92 are in British Columbia, 56 in Alberta, and one in New Brunswick. In these places, the wildfire season is yearlong.
These overwintering fires have come to be known as zombie fires. They burn slowly below the surface during the winter. Many areas in the north contain porous peat and moss ground cover and these act as underground fuel for smoldering fires.
Wildfires have become more prevalent in Canada because the changing climate has brought about increases in the hot, dry, and gusty conditions that lead to drought.
Many of the zombie fires don’t pose an increased threat of triggering wildfires in the spring because they are in places that are already so charred that there is nothing left to burn. But others are in drought areas that are basically tinder boxes ready to burst into flame once spring arrives.
Overall, Canadian government officials are warning that this year’s wildfire season is likely to be even worse than last year’s, particularly in the Western provinces of British Columbia and Alberta.
Web LinksAs ‘Zombie Fires’ Smolder, Canada Braces for Another Season of Flames
Photo, posted June 30, 2023, courtesy of P. McCabe / EU via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Livestock production – primarily cows – produce nearly 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, mostly in the form of methane emitted by burping caused by the way they process food. A single cow produces roughly 200 pounds of methane gas per year and there are 1.5 billion heads of cattle in the world.Researchers at Penn State University have found that supplementing the feed of high-producing dairy cows with the botanical extract capsicum oleoresin – a substance obtained from chili peppers – or a combination of that extract and clove oil resulted in the animals using feed energy more efficiently.
Adding these substances – which are commonly called essential oils – to the cattle’s feed results in improved efficiency of energy utilization. It is known that botanicals have the potential to modify fermentation in the cow’s largest stomach – called the rumen.
There have been previous studies for many years adding substances to dairy cow feed – such as seaweed, garlic, and oregano - in an effort to improve milk production and reduce environmental emissions from dairy farms.
The Penn State study was actually not specifically aimed at methane reduction but rather to better use the available energy from the feed to gain body weight. However, the researchers found that the yield and intensity of methane from the cows in the study were decreased by 11% by the combination of capsicum oleoresin and clove oil.
Botanicals have shown a wide range of anti-microbial properties against bacteria, protozoa, and fungi, as well as being potential rumen modifiers in cattle. The new study represents an interesting approach to improve the metabolism of dairy cows.
Web LinksDairy cows fed botanicals-supplemented diets use energy more efficiently
Photo, posted April 9, 2012, courtesy of Aimee Brown / OSU via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
A new study by researchers at Penn State University has found that a common water plant in the eastern U.S. could be a valuable green fertilizer, a feed for poultry and livestock, and even a life-saving food for people in the event of a catastrophe or disaster.The plant is the Carolina azolla. It is sometimes called mosquito fern, fairy moss, or water fern. It is a water plant that grows very rapidly; it can double its biomass in two days. There are many varieties of azolla, but the Carolina strain is more digestible and nutritious for people than any of the others.
Azolla species have been used across the world for centuries as a livestock feed and as a fertilizer. They have not been good for human consumption because of high polyphenolic content, which can be 10 times more than that of common food plants. Polyphenols are abundant compounds in many plants and, in low concentrations, are beneficial antioxidants. But in high concentrations they act as antinutritional agents.
It turns out that the Carolina azolla – described as having a crisp texture and neutral taste – has a polyphenolic content comparable to many fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Furthermore, cooking significantly decreases the polyphenolic content in foods.
Carolina azolla has significant nutritional value including high mineral yields and calories, and moderate protein content. Whether it is used as a quick-fix in a disaster situation or as part of a long-term resilience plan, the study concludes that Carolina azolla holds excellent potential for use as a fast-growing, short-season crop that requires minimal effort to grow and process and could be used to increase food security in a hungry world.
Web LinksCommon plant could help reduce food insecurity, researchers find
Photo, posted October 8, 2020, courtesy of Dana L. Brown via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Electric cars are growing in popularity around the world and are expected to represent 20% of new car sales this year. In some places, they have a much bigger share: 38% in China and a whopping 82% in Norway. Here in the U.S., things are more complicated.
Last year, EVs represented 8.5% of U.S. new car sales while hybrids accounted for an additional 10%. But enthusiasm for plug-in vehicles was by no means universal or consistent across the country or across various segments of the population.
Overall, the West Coast, and especially California, dominated the electric vehicle market. Electric vehicles accounted for more than 30% of new car sales in the San Francisco Bay Area. In Los Angeles, the number was close to 25%.
A number of metro areas elsewhere also had strong EV sales, including Denver, Las Vegas, Washington DC, Austin, and Phoenix. New York City had almost 10% EV registrations.
Americans buying electric cars so far tend to be richer, younger, and more likely to live in urban areas than the average person and are often motivated by environmental concerns. Meanwhile, about half of American adults say they are not likely to consider purchasing an EV as their next car and that figure rises to 70% for Republicans.
Lack of interest in EVs is often based on concerns about the availability of sufficient charging options or high EV prices, although those are dropping. There is also concern about EV efficiency in colder climates, although the Norwegians clearly don’t find it to be a problem.
Web LinksElectric Vehicles
Photo, posted October 18, 2021, courtesy of Chris Yarzab via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Spring frosts represent a real danger for apple orchards. The changing climate has brought about periods of unusually warm weather at times early in the year that have caused trees and other flowering plants to bloom early. For apple growers, this has made their orchards more susceptible to the damaging effects of extreme cold events.Apple growers attempt to prevent this damage by heating the canopies of their orchards, but these efforts tend to be inefficient. Applying heat is one of the most effective methods to prevent apple flower bud damage, but it is difficult to determine when and where to apply heat in orchards.
Researchers at Penn State University have developed a frost-protection cyber-physical system that autonomously makes heating decisions based on real-time temperature and wind-direction data. Their system includes a temperature-sensing device, a propane-fueled heater that adjusts the direction where it provides heat, and an unmanned ground vehicle that moves the system through an apple orchard.
The results of tests of the system were published in the journal Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, and the findings show that it greatly reduced damage to apple tree buds in tests conducted at low temperatures, doubling or tripling the amount of time that trees were protected.
The equipment used for the study mostly consisted of off-the-shelf parts and cost about $5,000, most of which was for the vehicle. The researchers envision that even a very large orchard could be protected by multiple units guided by an aerial drone monitoring canopy temperatures. Further research will aim to bring the technology to point where it can enter the marketplace and be available to apple growers.
Web LinksCyber-physical heating system may protect apple blossoms in orchards
Photo, posted September 6, 2017, courtesy of Sue Thompson via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
New York has now conditionally awarded two offshore wind projects that will move towards operation in 2026. The projects, totaling more than 1,700 megawatts of power, will be the largest power generation projects in New York state in more than 35 years. It is an important milestone toward achieving the state’s goal of developing 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035.Empire Wind I, located 15 miles southeast of Long Island, and Sunrise Wind, located more than 30 miles east of the eastern point of Long Island, have already completed most federal and state permitting requirements. Empire Wind I received final approval of their Construction and Operation Plan from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in late February.
Both projects are expected to ramp up construction activity this year. Previous awards by NYSERDA for the projects in 2019 included contract provisions for specific economic benefits to New York communities and commitments for purchasing iron and steel from American sources. Empire Wind I is being developed by Equinor, an international energy company headquartered in Norway. Sunrise Wind, originally a joint project by Ørsted and Eversource, is now solely being developed by Ørsted, a global energy company based in Denmark.
Following successful execution of the contracts for the two projects, NYSERDA payments under these awards will only begin once the projects have obtained all required permits and approvals, the construction has been completed, and the projects begin delivering clean energy to New York.
Web LinksNew York selects Empire Wind I and Sunrise Wind offshore projects
Photo, posted June 14, 2022, courtesy of Lissa Eng / BOEM via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Global food production is one of the largest contributors to climate change. In fact, one-quarter of the world's greenhouse gas emissions result from food production and agriculture. Be that as it may, we still have to eat. But what we choose to eat has a major impact on the environment.According to a new study by researchers at McGill University in Canada and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the U.K., partially replacing red and processed meat with plant-based proteins can increase lifespan and mitigate climate change.
In the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Food, the researchers drew data from a national nutrition survey to analyze Canadians' dietary records. The study modeled partial replacements (25% and 50%) of either red and processed meat or dairy with plant protein foods like nuts, seeds, legumes, and tofu, on a combination of nutrition, health, and climate outcomes.
In the study, the researchers found that a person's diet-related carbon footprint plummets by 25% when they replace half of their intake of red and processed meats with plant protein foods. However, dairy substitutions showed smaller reductions of up to just 5%.
Meat and dairy-rich diets are known to increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. The researchers also estimated that if half of the red and processed meat in a person's diet was replaced with plant protein foods, life expectancy would increase nearly nine months on average, due to a reduced risk of chronic disease.
The research team hopes its findings will help people make healthier and more sustainable food choices.
Web LinksFood production is responsible for one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions
Small dietary changes can cut your carbon footprint by 25%
Photo, posted November 24, 2019, courtesy of Theo Crazzolara via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Renewable power – which includes wind farms, solar farms, and hydroelectric dams – constitutes over 21% of the country’s utility-scale electricity generation, behind only natural gas power plants at 43%. Nuclear power provides nearly 19% of our electricity and coal, which is gradually diminishing, is at 16%.Both solar and wind power capacity have been growing rapidly in recent years and will be providing an increasing percentage of our electricity. That being said, it turns out that utility-scale renewable electricity generation actually decreased slightly in 2023 as a result of weather-related issues.
Utility-scale renewables generated about 894,000 gigawatt hours of energy last year, which was 0.8% less than the record amount generated in 2022.
The reasons? The biggest factor was slower wind speeds in the Midwest during the warmer weather months. In 2023, there were fewer warm fronts and cold fronts passing through the region. The passage of fronts is often associated with wind and precipitation.
The other factor affecting renewable generation was a 5.9% drop in hydropower in 2023. The main reason for the decrease was a drop in water levels at many hydroelectric dams in areas experiencing drought.
Experts explain that there is no reason to overreact to a one-year blip in renewables generation. All three major sources of power – sun, wind, and hydroelectric – are tied to natural forces and all of them fluctuate over time. Putting aside minor variations year-over-year, renewable electricity is on pace to more than double by the end of this decade.
Web LinksFederal Data Reveals a Surprising Drop in Renewable Power in 2023, as Slow Winds and Drought Took a Toll
Photo, posted July 5, 2014, courtesy of Patrick Finnegan via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
We don’t usually associate Africa with glaciers, but the continent has had glaciers on its highest peaks for the past 10,000 to 15,000 years. Africa’s glaciers are found in three regions: the Rwenzori Mountains along the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Mount Kenya. At the turn of the 20th century, there were 43 glaciers scattered across 6 peaks within the Rwenzori Mountains. In the intervening years, things have greatly changed. Since the early 20th century, Africa’s glaciers have shrunk by 90%. Because all these glaciers are close to the equator, they are especially vulnerable to warming. According to a new study published in the journal Environmental Research: Climate, in the last two decades, Africa’s glaciers have lost roughly half their area.
This rapid decrease is alarming to climate scientists because they represent a clear indicator of the impact of climate change. A major factor in the decline of the glaciers is the reduction in cloud cover over the mountains. Sunshine is melting glaciers and turning ice directly into water vapor even when temperatures are below freezing. Reductions in snowfall at the same time means that the melting glaciers are not being replenished.
Scientists believe that the tropical glaciers of Africa may all but disappear over the next 25 years.
Roughly three-quarters of the Earth’s freshwater is stored in the world’s more than 200,000 glaciers. According to scientists, if the world reaches but maintains 1.5 degrees of warming, half of the world’s glaciers could be gone by the end of this century. If the world continues to warm as it has been without slowing down, more than 80% of the glaciers will disappear.
Web LinksAfrica’s Tropical Glaciers Have Shrunk by 90 Percent, Research Shows
Photo, posted February 26, 2022, courtesy of Ray in Manila via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
In cities, the air, surface, and soil temperatures are almost always warmer than in rural areas. This is known as the urban heat island effect. Urban heat islands occur when cities replace natural land cover with dense concentrations of pavement, buildings, and other surfaces that absorb and retain heat.Urban planners around the world have been researching ways to reduce the effects of heat in cities. For example, trees, green roofs, and vegetation can help reduce urban heat island effects by shading building surfaces, deflecting radiation from the sun, and releasing moisture into the atmosphere.
A new study led by researchers from the University of Surrey in the U.K. has analyzed how well various green spaces and waterways are able to cool down cities. The study, which was recently published in the journal The Innovation, found that wetlands, parks, and even botanical gardens are among the best ways to keep cities cool.
In fact, the researchers found that botanical gardens can cool city air by a whopping 9°F during heatwaves on average. Wetlands can cool city air by 8.5°F on average, followed by rain gardens at 8.1°F, green walls at 7.4°F, street trees at 6.8°F, city farms at 6.3°F, city parks at 5.8°F, and reservoirs and playgrounds at 5.2°F.
The researchers also found that cities can unlock even greater benefits by connecting green spaces into green corridors. Greening projects can also help remove carbon emissions and prevent flooding.
The research team hopes its findings will help urban planners design more resilient cities.
Web LinksWetlands, parks and even botanical gardens among the best ways to cool cities during heatwaves
Photo, posted April 25, 2022, courtesy of Catherine Poh Huay Tan via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Climate change is taking its toll on forests, farms, freshwater sources, and the economy, but ocean ecosystems remain the epicenter of global warming. In fact, oceans have absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions since the 1970s. As a result, many marine fish species are responding to ocean warming by […]
A study by the University of Colorado Boulder has found that more than half of the world’s largest lakes have shrunk over the last three decades. This is a very big problem because about one-quarter of the Earth’s population lives in the basin of a drying lake. People depend on lakes for drinking water and […]
Getting humanity to stop dumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere continues to be very challenging regardless of how increasingly apparent the need to do so becomes. For this reason, climate change mitigation strategies increasingly include interventions in the form of removing carbon dioxide that is already there. There are a variety of ways to draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, but they face a host of technological, economic, and even environmental difficulties.A new study at Yale University evaluated a type of climate intervention called enhanced rock weathering. Rock weathering is a natural chemical process by which certain minerals absorb carbon dioxide over time. Enhanced rock weathering is simply speeding up weathering such so it can have beneficial results soon enough to make a difference.
The study explored the potential of applying crushed basalt, which is a fast-weathering rock that forms when lava cools, to agricultural fields around the world. Basically, the idea is for farmers to mix the crushed rocks into their fields. There is no real downside to doing this. In fact, adding crushed basalt to fields rejuvenates depleted soils and helps counter ocean acidification.
The study simulated the results of enhanced rock weathering on 1,000 agricultural sites around the world. Over a 75-year period, these sites would remove 64 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This is roughly the amount climate scientists believe is needed to take out of the atmosphere.
Enhanced rock weathering has been used on a small scale on farms around the world. Perhaps it is time to ramp up its use.
Web Links'Planting' rocks in farms, along with emissions reductions, could help meet key IPCC carbon removal goal
Photo, posted January 14, 2023, courtesy of Ron Reiring via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Insects can be found in every environment on Earth and play critical roles in the planet’s ecosystems. Insects pollinate more than 80% of plants, including those that we eat and those that provide food and habitat for other species. Without insects, we wouldn’t have the rich biodiversity that supports life on earth today.But the world is experiencing a decline in overall insect populations as well as a collapse in insect diversity. According to researchers from the University of Melbourne in Australia, Beijing Forestry University in China, and the University of California - Davis, air pollution particles may be the cause of the dramatic decline. They found that an insect's ability to find food and a mate is reduced when their antennae are contaminated by particulate matter.
In the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Communications, the research team exposed houseflies to varying levels of air pollution for just 12 hours and then placed the flies in a Y-shaped tube 'maze'. Uncontaminated flies typically chose the arm of the Y-maze leading to a smell of food or sex pheromones, while contaminated flies selected an arm at random, with 50:50 probability.
Using a scanning electron microscope, the researchers also found that as air pollution increases, more particulate material collects on the sensitive antennae of houseflies.
Insect antennae have olfactory receptors that detect odor molecules emanating from a food source, a potential mate, or a good place to lay eggs. If an insect's antennae are covered in particulate matter, a physical barrier is created between the smell receptors and air-borne odor molecules.
Air pollution poses a significant threat to insect populations around the world.
Web LinksAir pollution particles may be cause of dramatic drop in global insect numbers
Photo, posted June 13, 2008, courtesy of Allen Watkin via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
When corals are exposed to extended periods of excess heat, they are subject to bleaching, which occurs when they expel the algae that live within their structure. Bleaching can lead to coral death. This summer, temperatures in the Florida Keys crossed the bleaching threshold in mid-June and remained above it for extended periods of time. This cumulative heat exposure leads to widespread bleaching and significant die-offs. The last major mass bleaching event in the Florida Keys occurred in 2014 and 2015.
The Coral Restoration Foundation has been receiving reports ranging from partial bleaching to mass coral mortality throughout the keys. Several coral restoration sites in the lower Keys have been totally lost already.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its state agency, university, and non-profit partners have initiated actions to try to save Florida’s corals.
They have halted all restoration-related planting and are evacuating some of their nursery-grown stock to climate-controlled labs. They are considering interventions such as shading coral nurseries or even high-value reef sites. They are also considering feeding nursery and wild corals until the waters cool off enough for algae to return.
Modeling indicates that there is a 70-100% chance that the extreme heat in the North Atlantic will persist through September-October. NOAA and its partners will continue to do what they can to save Florida’s Coral Reef for the marine and human communities that depend on them.
Web Links NOAA and partners race to rescue remaining Florida corals from historic ocean heat wave
Photo, posted April 19, 2012, courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The Amazon rainforest absorbs one-fourth of all the carbon dioxide absorbed by the land of the Earth. It is by far the world’s largest rainforest, bigger than the next two largest – in the Congo Basin and Indonesia – combined. Nearly two-thirds of it is found in Brazil but the more than 2 million square […]
Many places around the world have experienced extraordinary heat waves this summer. The 31 days of high temperatures 110 degrees or more in Phoenix is a prime example but many other places suffered from extreme and relentless heat. Why did this happen?The overarching reason is climate change, which has warmed the Earth by 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit since the preindustrial era. This change on a global level is enough to make heatwaves far more likely. For example, the concurrent heatwaves in Europe and North America were 1000 times more likely to have occurred because of climate change.
But there hasn’t been a sudden increase in global temperature that would make this summer so much hotter. Instead, what really has happened is three other factors all came into play at the same time.
The first is the 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha-apai, which is an underwater volcano in the South Pacific. That eruption did not produce much in the way of planet-cooling aerosols in the atmosphere. Instead, it vaporized huge amounts of seawater, sending water vapor into the atmosphere, which helps trap heat.
The second is a change in the amount of energy radiating from the sun. That actually rises and falls a small amount every 11 years. Currently, it is in the upswing and will reach its next peak in 2025.
Finally, there is the arrival of the El Niño in the Pacific, whose balmy ocean waters radiate heat into the air.
The combination of all these factors when added to the already warming climate is a recipe for temperatures to soar to uncharted highs. We can expect more heat waves, forest fires, flash floods, and other sorts of extreme weather.
Web LinksIt’s Not Just Climate Change: Three Other Factors Driving This Summer’s Extreme Heat
Photo, posted February 27, 2017, courtesy of Giuseppe Milo via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Batteries are playing a bigger and bigger role in our lives. Apart from their use in ubiquitous smartphones, laptops, and other devices, millions of electric vehicles are hitting the roads, and utilities are installing giant banks of batteries to store energy generated by wind and solar farms.The necessary characteristics of batteries are high energy density and stability. The latter is needed so that batteries can be safely and reliably recharged thousands of times. For decades, lithium-ion batteries have been the go-to for all these modern battery applications. And they have gradually gotten better and cheaper all the time. But the improvements are getting smaller, and the price reductions have limits.
For these reasons, researchers are always looking for batteries with higher energy density – so that, for example, electric cars can drive farther on a charge – and that can be made more cheaply, are not flammable, and are very stable.
Since the 1970s, researchers have investigated the use of aluminum for the anode of batteries because its properties would allow more energy to be stored. However, when used in lithium-ion batteries, aluminum developed fractures and failed after a few cycles.
Researchers at Georgia Tech University have developed a type of aluminum foil with small amounts of other materials that create specific microstructures. Used in battery anodes, this material does not degrade and appears to be a path to a better battery. When incorporated into a solid-state battery that does not contain the flammable liquid found in standard lithium-ion batteries, the result is a battery that checks most of the boxes in the search for a better battery.
Much more work is needed to assess the potential for the aluminum-based battery, but it looks very promising.
Web LinksAluminum Materials Show Promising Performance for Safer, Cheaper, More Powerful Batteries
Photo, posted August 27, 2019, courtesy of Marco Verch via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Plants are a critical resource because of the countless ways they support life on Earth. Plants release oxygen into the atmosphere, absorb carbon dioxide, and provide food and habitat for humans and wildlife. Plants are also used to produce fibers, building materials, and medicines. Plants form the backbone of natural ecosystems, and absorb about 30% of all the carbon dioxide emitted by humans each year. But plants are struggling to adapt in a human-dominated world. Even though they are easier and cheaper to protect than animals, plants are often overlooked in conservation efforts.
Ironically, conservation efforts appear to be overlooking a key threat to endangered plants. According to a new study led by researchers from Penn State University, all plants and lichens listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act are sensitive to climate change, but there are few plans in place to address that threat directly.
The threat that climate change poses to endangered plants and lichens had not been thoroughly evaluated in more than a decade. In the study, which was recently published in the journal PLOS Climate, the research team adapted existing assessment tools used to examine the threat of climate change for wild animals and applied them to 771 endangered plant species. The researchers found that all endangered plant and lichen species are at least slightly threatened by climate change, and little is being done to protect the listed species from that threat.
The researchers hope their findings will be used to aid future conservation planning. After all, plants can live without humans, but humans cannot live without plants.
Web Links Climate change threatens 771 endangered plant and lichen species
Photo, posted June 12, 2014, courtesy of Mark Freeth via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
It is summer here in the United States, but it is winter in Antarctica. Antarctic sea ice is water that forms and melts entirely in the ocean and it has a pattern of growth and reduction that has been monitored by satellites for the past 44 years. The area of sea ice that surrounds the […]
Steel was first made thousands of years ago. The discovery that heating up iron ore in a hot enough charcoal fire could purify the iron into a strong and valuable material was the start of the Iron Age. In many ways, things have changed very little since then. Global iron and steel production accounts for 7% of society’s carbon emissions. Making steel generally involves burning coal in a blast furnace to produce the very high temperatures required to turn iron into steel. The coal is used both as a feedstock and as a fuel. Steel is made from iron and a substance called coke, which is basically coal that has been carbonized at high temperatures. Coal itself is burned to provide the high temperatures needed.
A new analysis from the Global Energy Monitor think tank shows that the global steel industry is slowly embracing electric-arc furnaces to produce the necessary heat, which is a cleaner alternative. The analysis found that 43% of forthcoming steelmaking capacity will rely on electric-arc furnaces, up from 33% last year.
According to the study, the shift to cleaner steel is not happening fast enough. To meet the emissions reductions goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, electric-arc furnaces must account for 53% of global steelmaking capacity by 2050. Based on the current plans, those furnaces would only account for 32% of total capacity by that year.
In order to meet these goals, the steel industry will need to retire or cancel about 381 million tons of coal-based manufacturing capacity and add 670 million tons of electric-arc furnace capacity.
Web Links Steel Industry Pivoting to Electric Furnaces, Analysis Shows
Photo, posted March 3, 2012, courtesy of Jeronimo Nisa via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
We are always talking about the millions of tons of waste plastic that finds its way into the oceans and about the challenges of trying to remove it. A new multinational study has found that the concentration of plastics and microplastics in some lakes is even worse than in the so-called garbage patches in the oceans and some of these lakes are even in remote places around the world Scientists from institutes in multiple countries collected water samples from 38 lakes and reservoirs in 23 countries across six continents. The samples were then all analyzed by the University of Milan to assess the presence of plastic particles more than a quarter millimeter in size.
The study found that two types of lakes are particularly vulnerable to plastic contamination: lakes and reservoirs in densely populated and urbanized areas and large lakes with elevated deposition areas, long water-retention times, and high levels of human influence.
Lakes found to have the highest concentration of plastic included some of the main sources of drinking water for communities and were also important to local economies. These included Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland, Lake Maggiore in Italy, and Lake Tahoe on the California/Nevada border. Not all the lakes studied contained large amounts of plastic. For example, Windermere, the largest lake in England, had very low concentrations of plastic in surface water.
This was the first global survey of the abundance and type of plastic pollution in lakes and reservoirs and the scale of freshwater plastic pollution is sobering indeed. There is widespread concern that plastic debris is having harmful effects on aquatic species and ecosystem function and clearly is not limited to marine ecosystems.
Web Links Plastic pollution is higher in some lakes than oceans
Photo, posted May 27, 2019, courtesy of Jonathan Cook-Fisher via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
There has been growing interest in installing solar panels on top of reservoirs to make use of the available space to make electricity and reduce evaporation. There has been far less interest in installing solar on canals and aqueducts. But that is changing and a new project in California is part of that change. A […]
The food system is responsible for 70% of the world’s freshwater use and almost 80% of freshwater pollution. About three-quarters of the ice-free land area of the planet has been affected by human use, primarily for agriculture. Land-use change such as deforestation is a major source of biodiversity loss. What we choose to eat has […]
People have generated 8 billion tons of plastic waste over time and less than 10% of it has been recycled. Millions of tons of it escapes into the oceans. Plastic piles up virtually everywhere on earth. There are many approaches to dealing with the plastic waste problem and no one of them is a magic […]
About 400 million gallons of oil leaks into the ocean every year. This is a major source of environmental pollution. Oil contains many hazardous compounds that are toxic or mutagenic for marine organisms. When oil spill incidents occur, large quantities of chemical dispersants, sometimes as much as millions of gallons, are applied to dissolve oil slicks, prevent oil from reaching coastlines, and enhance the dispersion of the oil in the water. The hope for doing this is that microbial oil degradation will be enhanced as a result. Certain microorganisms present in the water can feed on crude oil components and break them down into harmless substances.
A study at the University of Stuttgart in Germany in 2015 showed that chemical dispersants in fact can slow down microbial oil degradation and therefore inhibit water purification. The oil components need to be broken down sufficiently for them to be bioavailable to microorganisms. The study found that dispersants were not accomplishing this.
A new study by the same group along with researchers from the University of Tubingen in Germany and the University of Georgia has found that using biosurfactants rather than chemical dispersants stimulates different microbial oil degraders with respect to their growth and activity and can enhance our ability to deal with oil spills. Treating the water with the biosurfactant rhamnolipid rather than any of the generally-used dispersants provided much higher rates of microbial breakdown of oil components.
The hope is that this work can lead to the development of effective and environmentally friendly approaches to combatting oil spills.
Web Links Biosurfactants might offer an environmentally friendly solution for tackling oil spills
Photo, posted June 11, 2010, courtesy of Deepwater Horizon Response via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted at the UN Climate Change Conference in 2015. Its goal is to strengthen the global response to climate change by committing to limit the rise in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and pursue efforts to limit that increase to just 1.5°C. Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement requires reaching net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by or around 2050, as well as deep reductions in methane and other emissions.
According to a new study by researchers from Simon Fraser University in Canada, reductions in methane emissions are needed urgently if we are to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature’s Communications Earth & Environment, suggests that global warming levels could be kept below 2°C if methane mitigation efforts are initiated globally before 2030. However, delaying methane mitigation to the year 2040 or beyond would increase the risk of exceeding 2°C, even if net-zero carbon dioxide emissions were achieved.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, second only to carbon dioxide in contributing to global temperature increases over the last two centuries. However, methane is known to warm the planet 86 times more effectively than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.
During the past 40 years, more than 60% of global methane emissions have been produced as a result of human activities, such as fossil fuel exploitation, livestock production, and waste from landfills.
Web Links Delaying methane mitigation increases risk of breaching Paris Agreement climate goal, study finds
Photo, posted July 22, 2011, courtesy of Steven W. via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Beavers are ecosystem engineers based on their ability to construct dams and create ponds. By doing so, they create wetland habitat for other species. They create biodiversity by allowing plant species to emerge in new places as they clear out existing trees and other plants. Beavers improve water quality and their dams store water during droughts. Their handiwork minimizes flood risk and mitigates flooding impacts. Before beavers were widely trapped, there were beaver dams just about everywhere in the American west. Now beaver rewilding is trying to restore many western ecosystems. In places like Idaho, ranchers have gone from seeing beavers as a nuisance to actually recruiting them onto their land. One cattle rancher began stream restoration on his land with beaver rewilding in 2014. By 2022, he was a firm “beaver believer”. There are now over 200 beaver dams along Birch Creek near Preston, Idaho, and the stream now flows 40 days longer into the year.
NASA has established a team to investigate the extent to which beavers can have an outsized and positive impact on local ecosystems. The team is using NASA’s Earth Observation satellites to observe the effects beavers are having. Satellites can collect data from large areas and can pass over the same areas regularly and across seasons. The goal is to support people on the ground who are implementing beaver rewilding efforts to increase water availability and to increase habits for fish and other species. NASA’s project will run through 2025 and it plans to expand it to other states with similar terrain and water management strategies.
Web Links Researchers Become “Beaver Believers” After Measuring the Impacts of Rewilding
Photo, posted February 23, 2021, courtesy of Deborah Freeman via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
In late July, the ocean temperature measured in Florida Bay, between the southern end of the Florida mainland and the Florida Keys, was 101.1 degrees Fahrenheit, a possible world record for sea surface temperature. There is no official record keeping for ocean temperatures, but the highest previous reading ever reported was 99.7 degrees in the […]
Installing solar panels on the surface of reservoirs is an up-and-coming trend. The arrays of solar panels produce renewable energy while at the same time shielding significant expanses of water from the sun’s heat, thereby reducing evaporation. The panels also help to inhibit the growth of algae. Two recent floating solar installations are demonstrating the synergy between solar power and hydroelectric power.
The Lazer floating solar plant in France comprises over 50,000 solar panels and is capable of producing 30 MW of power. The reservoir serves a 16.5 MW hydropower plant. During the summer, the water from Lazer Reservoir is used primarily for crop irrigation and the solar plant supplements power generation as the reservoir water level experiences variations. This is the first facility of its kind to be installed in France. The company that built it – the EDF Group – had already built four floating solar power plants in Israel and the US.
In Colombia, the Aquasol solar project is installed at the 340 MW Urrá hydropower plant. Its 2,800 solar panels produce enough power to offset the amount of energy it takes to operate the dam. The floating solar system is designed to withstand water-level fluctuations of up to 120 feet.
Floating solar systems can help keep power flowing when low water levels or other adverse conditions reduce hydroelectric output. About 60% of the world’s renewable energy comes from hydropower. Given this fact, there are countless opportunities to deploy floating solar that maximizes zero-emission energy generation as well as diversifying clean energy sources.
Web Links Floating solar and hydropower: A match made in renewable energy heaven
Photo, posted October 25, 2010, courtesy of Martin Abegglen via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The mythical Phoenix is a bird that repeatedly dies in a fire of its own making. During July, the five million inhabitants of greater Phoenix Arizona may have felt like they were reliving that myth as multiple temperature records were shattered in a massive heatwave. On June 30, the high temperature in Phoenix was 110 […]
Producing construction materials like concrete and steel is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Between 7 and 8% of emissions are due to steelmaking alone, which has been done pretty much the same way for more than a century. Iron ore is smelted with high-carbon fuel and is turned into so-called pig iron in […]
Engineers at MIT have created a superabsorbent material that can soak up significant amounts of moisture from the air, even in desert-like conditions. The material is a transparent, rubbery substance made from hydrogel, which is a naturally absorbent material that is already widely used in disposable diapers. The MIT researchers enhanced the absorbency of hydrogel […]
Deforestation is a major contributor to climate change because the destruction of tropical rainforests worldwide eliminates a crucial natural sink for carbon. Between 2015 and 2020, roughly 39,000 square miles of forest were cut down, an area about 70% the size of the entire state of New York. In many places, such as the Amazon […]
Blue foods are fish, invertebrates, algae, and aquatic plants that are captured or cultured in freshwater and marine ecosystems. They include approximately 2,200 species of fish, shellfish, plants and algae as well as more than 500 species farmed in freshwater. Blue foods play a central role in food and nutrition security for billions of people, and are a cornerstone of the livelihoods, economies, and cultures of many communities around the world.
But many of the world's largest aquatic food producers are highly vulnerable to human-induced environmental change. According to a new paper recently published in the journal Nature Sustainability, more than 90% of global blue food production is at risk from environmental changes, with top producers like the United States, Norway, and China facing the biggest threat. Alarmingly, the research also found that some of the highest-risk countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa demonstrate the lowest capacity for adaptation.
The paper is the first-ever global analysis of environmental stressors impacting the production quantity and safety of blue foods. A total of 17 anthropogenic stressors were surveyed, including rising seas and temperatures, ocean acidification, changes in rainfall, algal blooms, pollution, and pesticides.
The research is one of seven scientific papers published by the Blue Food Assessment as part of a global effort to inform future aquatic food sustainability.
The report calls for more transboundary collaboration and for a diversification of blue food production in high-risk countries to cope with the impact of environmental change.
Web Links Vulnerability of blue foods to human-induced environmental change
New research finds that more than 90% of global aquaculture faces substantial risk from environmental change
Photo, posted December 30, 2014, courtesy of NOAA's National Ocean Service via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Solar power is a prime example of clean energy, but it does not come without complications and potential problems. One problem that has arisen in the Californian desert is the effect on scarce water supplies. Solar farms don’t use up water when they are operating but they consume it when they are being built. One […]
Seagrasses are found in shallow salty and brackish waters in many places around the world, from the tropics to the Arctic Circle. They get their name from their long green, grass-like leaves. They are not seaweeds at all but are more closely related to flowering plants on land. We hear a lot about threatened ocean […]
Pollinators of all sorts have been in decline for a while. This is especially true of bees, bats, and monarch butterflies. Without pollinators, fruits, vegetables, and other plants cannot provide their contributions to our food supply. According to experts, about 30% of the food that ends up on our tables gets there because of pollinators. […]
For the first five months of this year, wind and solar generated more electricity than coal in the United States. This is a first. Total renewable energy generation exceeded coal-fired power in both 2020 and 2022, but that counted hydroelectric power as one of the renewable sources. This year, wind and solar alone generated a […]
Recent studies have shown that there has been a 69% decline in global animal populations since 1970. There is a biodiversity crisis in the world. In the face of this situation, there is a growing interest in using cold storage to preserve genetic samples taken from animals threatened with extinction. Just as egg-freezing is used to preserve human fertility for a later date, the cryogenic freezing of genetic material from animals could be important in reducing species extinctions. Living cell banks – also known as cryobanks – could preserve genetic materials from animals that include skin cells, embryos, semen, and live tissues. These materials could be cultured and used for various applications including DNA extraction, assisted reproduction, ensuring genetic diversity in animal populations, and potentially reintroducing species back into their natural habitats.
There is a facility called the Frozen Zoo at the San Diego Wildlife Alliance which has genetic material from 965 different species, including 5% of the vertebrates currently listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List. Further sampling from zoos and aquariums could increase that representation to almost 17%.
Genetic samples of 50% of the species currently listed as extinct in the wild are already represented in the Frozen Zoo. Further sampling from the zoological community could increase this number to 91%. This could provide a critical lifeline for these species that are on the brink of extinction. As wildlife populations continue to decline around the world, it is more critical than ever to collect and preserve genetic samples from threatened species.
Web Links Cryo conservation – a cool solution to saving species from extinction
Photo, posted September 30, 2018, courtesy of Andy Morffew via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The Arctic region is warming much faster than the rest of the planet. In fact, according to a study published last year in the journal Nature, the Arctic has been warming nearly four times faster than the rest of the globe during the last 43 years. This rapid warming is leading to substantial reductions in […]
The shipping industry accounts for about 3% of global manmade greenhouse gas emissions. In 2018, the International Maritime Organization, the UN body that regulates global shipping, set a target to cut the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least half by 2050. This goal has led to a variety of designs for eco-friendly ships, including […]
A couple of years ago, China set an ambitious goal for renewable energy capacity – which includes wind, solar, hydroelectric, and nuclear power – for it to exceed fossil fuel capacity by 2025. According to a recent report by Reuters, China has hit this goal two years ahead of schedule. Renewables now make up 50.9% […]
Early in July – for four days in a row – the average global temperature was the highest ever recorded. As many places around the world endured dangerous heatwaves, the average global temperature on the fourth of July reached 62.92 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest ever recorded by human-made instruments. On July 6th, the global temperature […]
It is well-known that plants and trees store enormous amounts of carbon. What has not been common knowledge is that the vast underground network of fungi across the world’s lands stores billions of tons carbon, roughly equivalent to 36% of yearly global fossil fuel emissions. These mycorrhizal fungi form symbiotic relationships with almost all land […]
Aviation contributes about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Its carbon footprint is one of the more difficult ones to reduce. Electrifying planes would shrink that footprint considerably, but it represents a significant technical challenge. To date, only small all-electric planes have gotten off the ground. The electric motors in those planes generate hundreds of kilowatts of power. To power large planes, like commercial airliners, megawatt-scale motors are required. A team of MIT engineers is developing a 1-megawatt motor that could be a key step towards electrifying commercial aircraft. They have designed and tested major components of the motor and have calculated how the completed design could generate one megawatt of power at a weight and size competitive with existing small aircraft engines.
To be suitable for aircraft use, motors have to be compact and lightweight. The more power electric motors generate, the bigger they are and the more heat they produce. Cooling motors requires additional components that take up space and add significant weight. The MIT motor design and associated power electronics are each about the size of a typical checked suitcase and weigh less than an adult passenger.
Once the MIT team can demonstrate an entire functional motor, the design could be used to power regional aircraft and could be the enabling element of hybrid-electric propulsion systems for jet aircraft. Possible future configurations could make use of multiple one-megawatt motors powering multiple fans distributed along aircraft wings.
Electrification of aircraft is a slow but steady area of development and technologies such as that being developed at MIT could end up meeting the practical needs of the aircraft of the future.
Web Links Megawatt electrical motor designed by MIT engineers could help electrify aviation
Photo, posted September 14, 2019, courtesy of Dylan Agbagni via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
At least two billion people around the world often drink water that is contaminated with disease-causing microbes. Waterborne diseases are responsible for two million deaths each year, mostly among children under the age of five. There are various ways to decontaminate water, including chemicals that can themselves produce toxic byproducts as well as using ultraviolet light, which takes fairly long to disinfect the water and requires a source of electricity.
Scientists at Stanford University and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have recently invented a low-cost, recyclable powder that kills thousands of waterborne bacteria every second when the water containing it is exposed to ordinary sunlight. The discovery of this ultrafast disinfectant could be a tremendous benefit to the nearly 30% of the world’s population with no reliable access to safe drinking water.
The new disinfectant is a harmless metallic powder that works by absorbing both ultraviolet and high-energy visible light from the sun. It consists of nano-sized flakes of aluminum oxide, molybdenum sulfide, copper, and iron oxide. The key innovation is that when these four metallic ingredients are immersed in water, they all function together by reacting with the surrounding water and generating chemicals that quickly kill bacteria. The chemicals themselves don’t last long. They quickly break down in the water leaving completely safe drinking water.
The nontoxic powder is recyclable. It can be removed from water with a magnet. It can also be reused at least 30 times. Apart from its uses in less developed parts of the world, it could be valuable for hikers and backpackers who want to drink water from natural sources of unknown quality.
Web Links New nontoxic powder uses sunlight to quickly disinfect contaminated drinking water
Photo, posted February 27, 2013, courtesy of Petras Gagilas via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Recent research has found that the level of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity has reached an all-time high level of nearly 60 billion tons a year. Despite increasing public attention, policy measures, and adoption of green technologies, the pace at which these changes have been taking place has simply not kept up with the ongoing burning of fossil fuels by increasingly industrialized societies. The rate at which greenhouse gas emissions has increased over time has indeed slowed, but emissions need to start decreasing and as soon and as much as possible. Human-induced warming has reached a ten-year average from 2013-2022 of 1.14 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, up from a 1.07 degrees average between 2010-2019.
Scientists have calculated a carbon budget that describes how much more carbon dioxide can be emitted before global warming exceeds the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius that is widely predicted to lead to potentially catastrophic changes to the climate. In 2020, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change calculated that the remaining carbon budget was about 500 billion tons of carbon dioxide. Over the past three years, nearly half of that carbon budget has already been exhausted by the continuing onslaught of carbon emissions.
Researchers describe their study as a timely wake-up call that the pace and scale of climate action to date has been insufficient and that we need to change policy and approaches in light of the latest evidence about the state of the climate system. Time is no longer on our side in trying to stave off the worst effects of climate change.
Web Links Greenhouse gas emissions at ‘an all-time high’, warn scientists
Photo, posted September 18, 2015, courtesy of In Hiatus via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The Gulf of Mexico dead zone, or hypoxic area, is an area of low oxygen content that can kill fish and other marine life. It occurs every summer and is mostly a result of excess nutrient pollution from human activities in cities and farms throughout the Mississippi River watershed. The nutrients carried by the river […]
The global capacity of rooftop solar power grew by 49% in 2022. Overall, the installed amount of rooftop solar grew from 79 gigawatts to 118 gigawatts last year and it is projected to reach 159 gigawatts by the end of this year. By comparison, a typical nuclear power plant can produce 1 gigawatt; a gas-powered power plant is typically half a gigawatt. Rooftop solar constitutes a relatively small fraction of the total global installed solar capacity, which is dominated by utility-scale solar arrays. Total installed solar capacity rose from 950 gigawatts to 1,177 gigawatts last year and is projected to reach 1,518 gigawatts this year. That is enough power to meet more than half the electricity demand of the European Union.
The rapid growth of solar power can only continue if there is more energy storage put in place to manage the peaks and troughs in solar output. Countries will also need to upgrade their power grids to be able to transport excess solar power from where it is generated to where it is needed. Bottlenecks in the grids of most of the leading solar-producing nations are already interfering with further solar development.
The overall potential for rooftop solar is based on the number of rooftops that would be suitable for solar power, which depends on the size, shading, orientation, and location of the roofs. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, rooftops in the United States have the potential for more than 1,000 gigawatts of solar capacity. Currently, only about 4% of US homes have rooftop solar.
Web Links Rooftop Solar Grew Nearly 50 Percent Globally Last Year
Photo, posted November 16, 2022, courtesy of Oliver Knight via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
All plants, including algae and cyanobacteria, carry out photosynthesis. During the process of photosynthesis, plants remove carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen to the air. As a result, plants play a crucial role in the fight against climate change. According to a new study recently published in the journal Nature Geoscience, mosses – […]
The Phoenix area is the fastest growing region in the country. Arizona’s two major sources of water – groundwater and the Colorado River – are dwindling from drought, climate change, and overuse. Officials in the state are considering a radical plan to construct a desalination plant off the Mexican coast that will take the salt out of seawater, and then pipe that water hundreds of miles, much of it uphill, to Phoenix. The project is the brainchild of the Israeli company, IDE, which is one of the world’s largest desalination companies. IDE has asked Arizona to sign a 100-year contract to buy water from the project.
There are multiple complications surrounding the plan. Desalination plants are common in California, Texas, and Florida, and in more than 100 other countries. But the Arizona project is unusual because of the distance involved and because the state is landlocked. The water would have to travel 200 miles and climb 2,000 feet along the way.
There is also the issue of waste brine, which is a major output of desalination plants. In this case, the brine would flood the northern Gulf of California, potentially threatening a productive fishery. In addition, the pipeline, as well as electrical transmission lines, would have to go through the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
The plant would be located in Puerto Peñasco, a struggling town with its own water problems.
With booming home construction going on in the Phoenix area, the need for more water continues to grow. Whether this plan will be approved by Arizona and by Mexico remains to be seen.
Web Links Arizona, Low on Water, Weighs Taking It From the Sea. In Mexico.
Photo, posted September 26, 2008, courtesy of Dan via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The majority of food we eat is grown in topsoil, that carbon-rich, black soil that nurtures everything from carrots to watermelons. The fertility of this soil has developed over eons. But over the past 160 years, the Midwestern United States has lost 63.4 billion tons of topsoil due to farming practices. In fact, Midwestern topsoil […]
According to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization, Europe is warming faster than any other inhabited continent. The result of the rising temperatures has been increasingly severe heat waves, flood, and wildfires. The Paris Climate Agreement has set a goal of limiting warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels […]
Stormwater runoff has become the largest source of residential pollution for waterways. As rainwater runs down roofs, over driveways and patios, and off other hard surfaces, it can pick up pollutants as it flows directly into streams, wetlands, lakes, and groundwater aquifers. That water is typically routed directly through stormwater pipes and ditches with little filtering or treatment. The main emphasis is on getting the water off of people's property as quickly and efficiently as possible to avoid flooding. Many municipalities are dealing with the problem by installing rain gardens, which are a type of green infrastructure in commercial spaces that slow down and treat water before it enters streams, wetlands, and other bodies of waters. When designed and installed properly with appropriate plants, rain gardens are like miniature water treatment facilities Water gathers in the rain garden, soaks into the soil, and is taken up by plants. The plants filter nutrients, sediments, and toxic materials from the runoff before excess water ever gets to waterways.
Homeowners are being encouraged to build their own rain gardens. They need to familiarize themselves with how runoff from their roof, driveway, sidewalk, and roads is currently being routed and treated. The idea is to try to incorporate that runoff into a rain garden design with sufficient area and infiltration rates. The runoff would ultimately flow out from a safe, designated location into storm drains at a slower rate than from the previous impervious surfaces. Homeowners would need to work with their local jurisdictions to find out the requirements for re-routing water in their area and make sure any modifications prevent erosion and protect nearby homes, roads, and other infrastructure.
Web Links Rain gardens help keep pollutants out of waterways
Photo, posted March 3, 2017, courtesy of Jeremy Jeziorski / Oregon Convention Center via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Over the past three years, orcas (also known as killer whales) have been attacking boats off the coasts of Portugal and Spain. The subpopulation of orcas in this region has been harassing boats, most often by biting at their rudders. There have been over 500 reported instances of orcas reacting to boats. Sometimes they simply […]
The transition to electric cars is underway. People are increasingly buying them, carmakers are switching over to making them, and governments are providing incentives as well as legislating the changeover. More and more consumers want to lower their carbon footprints and stop burning fossil fuels. But one very large group of consumers faces an uphill […]
The world’s big oil companies have worked pretty hard to prolong society’s dependence on petroleum. When there are trillions of dollars at stake, there is plenty of motivation. But those companies do see the writing on the wall. An Exxon Mobil-funded study last year estimated that light-duty vehicle demand for combustion engine fuels could peak […]
A key goal of artificial photosynthesis research is to be able to produce a useful liquid fuel using only carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight in a single step. Such a so-called solar fuel would produce net zero carbon emissions and would be completely renewable. Bioethanol has long been touted as a green alternative to fossil […]
The Colorado River supplies drinking water to 40 million Americans in seven states as well as to many Mexicans and provides irrigation to 5.5 million acres of farmland. Electricity generated by dams on the Colorado powers millions of homes and businesses in the West. A combination of drought, population growth, and climate change has reduced […]
If you’ve ever been on an airplane, chances are pretty good that you’ve experienced turbulence. As the busy summer travel season kicks off, travelers are being encouraged to brace themselves for a bumpier-than-usual ride. There has been a major increase in the number of severe turbulence cases on both domestic and international flights. According to a new study by researchers from the University of Reading in the U.K., climate change is leading to this increase in turbulence, driving up costs (via wear and tear on aircrafts), and increasing the risks for passengers and flight attendants. In the United States alone, turbulence costs the airline industry $150-$500 million annually.
The study, which was recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found that warmer air, caused by carbon emissions, is creating bumpier flights around the world. In fact, the study found that severe turbulence in the North Atlantic is up by 55% since 1979.
The changing climate is affecting air travel in other ways as well. A faster jet stream across the Atlantic is altering travel times. Rising temperatures are reducing the weight that aircraft can carry. Rising seas are threatening low-lying coastal airports around the world.
But carbon emissions from aviation are also a significant driver of the climate crisis. Air travel accounts for approximately 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and is one of the fastest growing sources of emissions. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, emissions from international air travel are expected to triple by 2050.
The future is shaping up to be a bumpy ride.
Web Links Climate crisis leading to more turbulence during flights, says study
Evidence for Large Increases in Clear-Air Turbulence Over the Past Four Decades
Climate Scientist Explains Increase In Airplane Turbulence
Airports and Rising Seas
Photo, posted May 9, 2018, courtesy of Steve Lynes via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
According to the World Meteorological Organization, there is a 66% chance over the next five years that the Earth’s global temperature will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for at least one year. A combination of the continued accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere along with a looming El Niño condition will contribute […]
A new study by the University of Colorado Boulder looked at the trends in the number and size of farms around the world starting from the 1960s and projecting through the end of the 21st century. The analysis shows that the number of farms globally will shrink in half while the size of the average […]
The rising seas represent a threat to coastal cities across the globe. Increasing that threat is the fact that most global cities are slowly sinking as the earth beneath them settles and groundwater is removed. Another factor that has seldom been considered is that in major metropolises, the weight of large, concrete-and-steel skyscrapers may be hastening the sinking. A new study by the U.S. Geological Survey published in the journal Earth’s Future estimated the weight of every building in New York City – 1.085 million of them - which they determined to add up to 1.68 trillion pounds – and estimated the downward force of those structures across the city.
The study found that buildings have a greater effect in areas that are rich in clay compared with those areas where sand or bedrock predominate. The softer the soil, the more compression there is from buildings. It wasn’t a mistake to build large buildings in New York, but it is important to understand that doing so pushes down the ground more and more.
The study determined that New York is sinking by around 1 to 2 millimeters each year, although some areas are sinking much faster. The researchers say that cities must plan for future sinking, which will exacerbate the impact of rising seas. Sea levels are rising 1 to 2 millimeter each year, so the subsidence caused by the weight of buildings is equivalent to moving a year ahead in time with regard to rising ocean levels. This is not a cause for immediate panic, but it is important to understand that this ongoing process only increases the risk of inundation from flooding.
Web Links New York City Sinking Under Weight of Skyscrapers
Photo, posted January 29, 2016, courtesy of Always Shooting via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Offshore wind in the US has had to fight to exist for a long time. The Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound off the coast of Cape Cod was envisioned over 20 years ago as a 1.5-gigawatt wind farm. Years of legal battles and other controversies saw the project start and stop multiple times with […]
Globally, freshwater lakes and reservoirs hold 87% of the planet's liquid freshwater, making them a valuable resource for both people and wildlife. Despite their value, the long-term trends and changes to water levels of lakes have been largely unknown - until now. According to a new assessment recently published in the journal Science, more than half of the largest lakes around the world are losing water. Using satellite observations and climate data, the research team created a technique to measure changes in water levels in nearly 2,000 of the world's biggest lakes and reservoirs, representing 95% of the total lake water storage on Earth.
The results are staggering. According to the findings, 53% of Earth’s largest lakes and reservoirs now store significantly less water than they did in 1992. The total amount of water lost is estimated to be 144.5 cubic miles, which is equivalent to the volume of 17 Lake Meads (the largest reservoir in the U.S.).
Unsurprisingly, climate warming and human consumption were the main drivers of water loss from lakes, whereas sedimentation — the buildup of debris — was the biggest driver of water loss in reservoirs. Roughly one-quarter of the world's population - two billion people - live in the basin of a drying lake, indicating the urgent need for sustainable water resources management.
But the news is not entirely bleak. According to the research team, the new method of tracking lake water storage trends can give water managers and communities insight into how to better protect this critical resource.
Web Links Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage
Photo, posted February 10, 2010, courtesy of Ninara via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The part of the atmosphere closest to the Earth’s surface has been warming since the Industrial Revolution. This warming is associated with increasing amounts of carbon dioxide as well as other human-made chemicals that have been changing the makeup of the atmosphere. Climate change is generally thought about in terms of the lowest regions of […]
Climate change is creating a cascade of effects in the world’s oceans. Not only are ocean temperatures on the rise, but oceans are becoming more acidic, and oxygen deprived. The warming temperatures and acidification have grabbed headlines and prompted academic research. Declining oxygen levels have not garnered as much attention. But they spell bad news for fish. Oxygen levels in the world’s oceans have dropped over 2% between 1960 and 2010 and are expected to decline up to 7% over the next century. There are places in the northeast Pacific that have lost more than 15% of their oxygen. There are a growing number of “oxygen minimum zones” where big fish cannot survive but jellyfish can.
Oceans are losing oxygen for several reasons. First, warmer water can hold less dissolved gas than colder water. (This is why warm soda is flatter than cold soda.) Deeper in the ocean, oxygen levels are governed by currents that mix oxygen-rich surface water from above. Melting ice in the warming polar regions add fresh, less-dense water that resists downward mixing in key regions. Finally, increasing amounts of ocean bacteria in warming waters gobble up oxygen creating dead zones in the ocean.
In many places, fish species that cannot cope with lower oxygen levels are migrating from their usual homes, resulting in a decline in species diversity. Our future oceans – warmer and oxygen-deprived – will not only hold fewer kinds of fish, but also smaller fish and even more greenhouse-gas producing bacteria.
Climate change is bad news for fish and for the more than 3 billion people in the world who depend on seafood as a significant source of protein.
Web Links As Ocean Oxygen Levels Dip, Fish Face an Uncertain Future
Photo, posted January 10, 2022, courtesy of Willy Goldsmith via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
In climate science, tipping points are critical thresholds that, once crossed, lead to large and often irreversible changes in the climate system. For example, surpassing a 1.5 degree C rise in global warming has long been considered a tipping point for the planet. According to a new study led by researchers from University College London, climate change will abruptly push species over tipping points as their geographic ranges reach unforeseen temperatures.
In the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, the research team analyzed data from more than 35,000 species of animals and seagrasses from every continent and ocean basin, alongside climate projections up to 2100. The researchers found a consistent trend: for many animals, the thermal exposure threshold will be crossed for much of their geographic range within the same decade.
The thermal exposure threshold is defined as the first five consecutive years where temperatures consistently exceed the most extreme monthly temperature experienced by a species across its geographic range over recent history.
The researchers also found that the extent of global warming will make a big difference for animals. If the planet warms by just 1.5°C, 15% of species studied will be at risk of experiencing unfamiliarly hot temperatures across at least 30% of their current geographic range in a single decade. But this figure will double to 30% of species at 2.5°C of warming.
Since their data provides an early warning system, the researchers hope that their findings will help species conservation efforts.
Web Links Climate change to push species over abrupt tipping points
Photo, posted May 27, 2017, courtesy of Sarah Lemarié via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
El Niño, a weather phenomenon triggered by warm waters in the eastern Pacific, is likely to return this year, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The Pacific has been in the cooler La Niña phase for the past 3 years, which is unusual, but that appears to be coming to a close. According to the WMO, there is an 80% chance that the Pacific will shift to the El Niño phase before fall. Record hot years typically coincide with El Niño, which adds to the ongoing warming trend in the climate. There is not yet a clear picture of how strong the forthcoming El Niño event will be or how long it might last, but even a mild El Niño could affect precipitation and temperature patterns around the world.
The hottest year on record, 2016, occurred during a particularly strong El Niño. Experts expect that 2024 is likely to see soaring temperatures again. El Niño generally leads to drier conditions in Australia, Indonesia, and southern Asia, but greater amounts of rainfall in South America, the U.S., and parts of Africa. Despite the presence of a cooling La Niña for the past three years, the last eight years have been the hottest on record.
El Niño and La Niña form an intermittent cycle known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, that is highly influential in shaping the year-to-year variations in weather conditions around the world. ENSO is a natural phenomenon and scientists are still trying to understand how human-caused climate change might be impacting the behavior and dynamics of the cycle.
Web Links ‘A New Spike’ in Global Temperatures in the Forecast
Photo, posted October 11, 2015, courtesy of Harshil Shah via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
In the Back to the Future films, Doc Brown ran his DeLorean time machine on food scraps. It was a fun bit of science fiction. But researchers at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in Canada are investigating the potential for using food waste to generate power. Food waste is not a candidate to replace solar or wind power, but it could be a source of energy for powering fuel cells. As it is, food waste represents a sustainability challenge because of its detrimental impacts on the economy and the environment. Organic waste represents a significant fraction of the material in landfills and contributes to methane production, air pollution, and other harmful pollutants.
The UBC researchers focused on fruit waste, which is abundantly available in agricultural regions. They have devised microbial fuel cells that convert fruit waste into electrical energy using an anaerobic anode compartment. That is a chamber in which anaerobic microbes – ones that don’t need oxygen – utilize the organic matter to convert it into energy. The microbes consume the fruit waste and produce water while generating bioelectricity.
It is not like the Back to the Future time machine where you can just toss in scraps of whatever is on hand. Different types of fruits provide different results when used in the microbial fuel cell. The process works best when the food waste is separated and ground into small particles. There is a long way to go before the technology could produce bioenergy on a commercial scale, but there is considerable potential for doing something useful with something that is currently worthless.
Web Links UBCO researchers aim to energize fruit waste
Photo, posted July 24, 2011, courtesy of Andrew Girdwood via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
We hear a lot about artificial intelligence these days. ChatGPT has found its way into education, technology, and many other aspects of life. It and its brethren are a source of fascination, enthusiasm, and even fear. Many of us have given queries to the bot to see what kind of results we can obtain. But a recent study has found out something about AI systems that we probably didn’t know - they use up lots of fresh water. According to researchers at the University of California, Riverside, running a few dozen queries on ChatGPT uses up about half a quart of fresh water from already overtaxed reservoirs.
Running artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT relies on cloud computations done in racks of servers in warehouse-sized data processing centers. Google’s data centers in the U.S. alone consumed nearly 3.5 billion gallons of fresh water in 2021 in order to keep their servers cool.
Data processing centers consume water in two ways. They often draw much of their electricity from power plants that use large cooling towers that convert water into steam emitted into the atmosphere. In addition, the servers themselves need to be cooled to keep running and are typically connected to cooling towers as well.
It isn’t going to be easy for AI systems to reduce their water use. The study’s authors noted that people make use of AI at all hours of the day and night. But a significant amount of AI activity is actually the training of the systems. That could be scheduled for the cooler hours, when less water is lost to evaporation.
In an era of scarce fresh water and droughts, it is important to make AI less thirsty.
Web Links AI programs consume large volumes of scarce water
Photo, posted May 22, 2023, courtesy of Jernej Furman via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The world is experiencing a decline in overall insect populations as well as a collapse in insect diversity. A recent special issue of the journal Biology Letters discusses the major causes of this alarming trend. According to the study, the primary causes of the worldwide decline in insect biomass are land-use intensification in the form […]
There are currently only two small offshore wind farms operating in the United States, but there are now several more under construction or in the permitting process. Substantial wind farms are expected to come online over the next five years off the coasts of Virginia, New Jersey, Massachusetts. North Carolina, Delaware, Rhode Island, and New York. There has been a recent auction for offshore wind sites off the California coast as well. In April, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued its Gulf of Maine Call for Information and Nominations, inviting public comment and assessing the interest in areas offshore of Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. This is the first official step in the lengthy process that leads to offshore wind development in new areas. Last year, the Department of the Interior defined an area of about 13.7 million acres in the Gulf of Maine that could end up providing energy leases for windfarm development.
The Biden administration has set a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind electricity generation by 2030, which is enough to power more than 10 million homes. It would also create thousands of jobs across manufacturing, shipbuilding, port operations, construction, and other industrial sectors. Existing offshore wind projects have been structured to develop American-based supply chains for the offshore wind industry.
The European Union currently has over 15 gigawatts of installed offshore wind, has a target of 60 gigawatts by 2030, and 300 gigawatts by 2050. The EU has five substantial sea basins which have tremendous potential for wind energy generation. As a result, offshore wind is the centerpiece of the ambitious European Green Deal.
Web Links U.S. moves to develop offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine
Photo, posted August 31, 2022, courtesy of Nina Ali via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The Amazon rainforest is the biggest rainforest in the world, larger than the next two biggest combined. It covers more than three million square miles, roughly the size of the lower 48 states. The Amazon functions as a critical sink for carbon in the atmosphere. However, human activity has removed more than 10% of the vegetation from the Amazon rainforest since the 1960s. Cattle ranching accounts for roughly 70% of Amazon deforestation - much of which is illegal.
According to a study recently published in the journal Global Environmental Change, companies' ‘zero-deforestation’ commitments could reduce cattle-driven deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 50%. Better adoption and implementation of company supply chain policies for Brazilian beef and leather could significantly reduce carbon emissions.
Between 2010 and 2018, some of the world’s largest slaughterhouses reduced cattle-driven deforestation by 15% through their commitment to zero-deforestation policies. If these policies were fully implemented and adopted across all cattle companies operating in the Amazon, more than 9,200 square miles of forest could have been spared over the same time period, effectively halving the cattle-driven deforestation in Brazil.
Zero-deforestation commitments currently cover 82% of beef exported from the Brazilian Amazon for trade internationally. However, a large amount of beef production destined for Brazil's domestic markets is not covered.
The researchers say a mix of interventions by both the private and public sector is needed to improve cattle-rearing practices and help reduce deforestation in countries like Brazil.
Web Links Companies’ zero-deforestation commitments have potential to halve cattle-driven deforestation in Brazilian Amazon
Photo, posted January 17, 2011, courtesy of Kelly Sato via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The ivory-billed woodpecker is or was the largest woodpecker in the United States. The last unassailable sighting of the bird was in 1944. Since then, there have various reports of glimpses of the bird or of hearing its distinctive sounds. But there has not been anything resembling proof that the bird still exists. Despite this, […]
We are at a relatively early stage of the electric car revolution. EV sales are increasing rapidly, but they still comprise only a small fraction of the cars on American roads. So, there is still lots of speculation and argument about how things will actually work when a large fraction of cars are electric. But […]
Many animal populations around the world are struggling and people are mostly to blame. Species are declining because of all sorts of things including changes in land and sea use, pollution, invasive species, and climate change. Like many animal species, plants are also struggling to adapt to a human-dominated world. Plants provide the planet with […]
Biocrusts are complex ecosystems that form a thin layer on the surface of soils in arid and semiarid environments. They are composed of variety of microbes including cyanobacteria, green algae, fungi, lichens, and mosses. Biocrusts play a crucial role in maintaining soil health and ecosystem sustainability. Biocrusts are under assault from human activities including agriculture, […]
There have been offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico for 85 years. After all those decades of drilling, there are now more than 14,000 old, unplugged wells out in the water, and they are at risk of springing dangerous leaks and spills. There are now more unplugged, non-producing wells than active wells in […]
Concrete is a mainstay of modern civilization. The world produces more than 4 billion tons of it each year and the process requires high temperatures, mostly obtained by burning fossil fuels. The chemical reactions that produce concrete also produce large amounts of carbon dioxide. In all, cement production is responsible for about 8% of total […]
A new study by researchers at Yale University looks at the way bird morphology is changing in response to the warming climate. As temperatures rise, birds’ bodies are growing smaller, but their wings are growing longer. In the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists analyzed two independently collected […]
Like in many other places around the world, ocean warming has mostly destroyed the shallow-water reefs in the Galapagos Islands. The islands are some of the most carefully protected places in the world, but they can’t escape the effects of a warming planet.Recently, however, scientists have discovered a healthy, sprawling coral reef hidden deep under the sea in the Galapagos. More than 1,300 feet underwater, the reef extends for several miles along the ridge of a previously unknown volcano in the Galapagos Marine Preserve.
The reef is pristine and is teeming with all sorts of marine life including pink octopus, batfish, squat lobsters, and a variety of deep-sea fish, sharks, and rays.
The expedition that discovered the new reef was led by the University of Essex in the UK. Prior to this discovery, scientists thought that coral reefs were all but gone from the Galapagos. A period of ocean warming in 1982 through 1983 wiped out more than 95% of the corals in the archipelago. Only a few reefs in shallow waters remained. The newly discovered reefs are sheltered deep under the sea and would have been protected from the deadly heat.
According to the scientists from the expedition, the newly discovered reef potentially has global significance because it represents a site that can be monitored over time to see how such a pristine habitat evolves with the ongoing climate crisis. Reefs like this are clearly very old because coral reefs take a long time to grow. Finding this one means that it is likely that there are more healthy reefs across different depths that are waiting to be discovered.
Web LinksPristine Deep-Sea Reef Discovered in the Galápagos
Photo, posted March 28, 2009, courtesy of Derek Keats via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
In 2019 and 2020, wildfires burned 72,000 square miles in Australia, roughly the same area as the entire country of Syria. During the nine months when the fires raged, persistent and widespread plumes of smoke filled the atmosphere.These aerosols brightened a vast area of clouds above the subtropical Pacific Ocean. Beneath these clouds, the surface of the ocean and the atmosphere cooled. The effect of this was an unexpected and long-lasting cool phase of the Pacific’s La Niña-El Niño cycle.
A new modeling study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado quantified the extent to which aerosols from the Australian wildfires made clouds over the tropical Pacific reflect more sunlight back towards space. The resultant cooling shifted the cloud and rain belt known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone northward. These effects may have helped trigger the unusual three-year-long La Niña, which lasted from late 2019 through 2022.
The impacts of that La Niña included intensifying drought and famine in Eastern Africa and priming the Atlantic Ocean for hurricanes. 2020 was the most active tropical storm season on record, with 31 storm systems, including 11 that made landfall in the U.S.
The study highlights widespread multi-year climate impacts caused by an unprecedented wildfire season. The wildfires set off a chain of events that influenced weather far from where the fires occurred. In the future, climate experts will need to include the potential effects of wildfires in their forecasts.
Web LinksHow Wildfire Smoke from Australia Affected Climate Events Around the World
Photo, posted December 19, 2019, courtesy of Simon Rumi via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Limiting global warming to no more than 1.5-2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is a crucial goal for humankind. Countries, companies, and other organizations around the world have committed to achieving ‘net zero’ emissions. This is distinct from zero emissions in that it includes removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to offset the amounts we […]
Sea levels are rising and ocean warming is responsible for the bulk of that rise. As water heats up, it expands, which drives up sea levels. But on top of that, global warming is melting the polar ice sheets, and that is leading to about a quarter of the world’s sea level rise. So far, polar melting has fueled about an inch of sea level rise, two-thirds from Greenland and one third from Antarctica. According to scientists, by the end of this century, melting polar ice caps could raise sea levels between 6 and 10 inches.The seven worst years for polar ice sheet melting have occurred during the past decade. The worst year on record was 2019. The loss in 2019 was driven by an Arctic summer heatwave, which resulted in record melting from Greenland, amounting to nearly 500 billion tons melted that year. Antarctica lost 180 billion tons of ice that year, mostly due to melting glaciers and record melting from the Antarctic Peninsula.
Ice losses from Greenland and Antarctica can now be reliably measured by satellites in space. A team of researchers led by Northumbria University in the UK has combined 50 satellite surveys taken between 1992 and 2020.
They have found that the Earth’s polar ice sheets have lost over 8,000 billion tons of ice over that time period. That much ice corresponds to an ice cube roughly 12 miles high.
The satellite technology is now at the stage where the ice sheet status can be continuously updated. Such monitoring is critical to predict the future behavior of the ice sheets and provide risk warnings of the dangers that coastal communities around the world will face.
Web LinksPolar ice sheet melting records have toppled during the past decade
Photo, posted December 19, 2017, courtesy of Jasmine Nears via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Methane is a colorless and odorless gas that occurs abundantly in nature and is also a product of certain human activities. It’s also a potent greenhouse gas, meaning it affects climate change by contributing to increased warming. In fact, methane gas is known to warm the planet 86 times more effectively than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.According to the U.S. EPA, up to 65% of total methane emissions around the world come from the following human activities: raising livestock, leaks from natural gas systems, and waste from landfills.
Scientists from the University of California, Riverside have discovered that wildfires are releasing a massive amount of methane gas into the atmosphere. According to the research team, this source of methane is not currently being tracked by air quality managers in California. And this omission could have significant implications for climate change mitigation efforts in the state.
Methane from wildfires is nothing new. But what is new is just how much of the stuff is being emitted. According to the findings, which were recently detailed in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, the amount of methane from the top 20 fires in 2020 was more than seven times greater than the average from wildfires in the previous 19 years. Wildfires were the third largest source of methane emissions in California in 2020.
In 2016, California passed a law requiring a 40% reduction in air pollutants contributing to global warming by 2030. But as wildfires continue to get bigger and more intense, achieving those reduction targets will get increasingly difficult.
Web LinksMethane from megafires: more spew than we knew
Detecting Methane
Photo, posted November 30, 2015, courtesy of Daria Devyatkina via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
More than five billion tons of plastic have accumulated on land and sea including the most remote regions of the planet as well as in the bodies of animals and humans. There is a compelling need to recycle as much plastic as possible but doing so is a major challenge. Plastic comes in many varieties […]
Not long ago, electric cars were a rarity. Ten years ago, annual global sales of EVs were only a few hundred thousand. As of today, globally, still less than one percent of all the cars on the road are electric. But that is changing rapidly. In fact, electric vehicles are expected to capture nearly 20% […]
A team of scientists has found thriving communities of coastal creatures living thousands of miles from their original homes and now ensconced on plastic debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. A new study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution reports that dozens of species of coastal invertebrate organisms – including tiny crabs […]
About 12% of the energy consumed by humanity is used to heat and cool homes and businesses. A study by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Princeton University looked at a novel approach to making use of underground water to maintain comfortable temperatures and reduce consumption of natural gas and electricity. The idea is […]
Limiting the rise in global temperature to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius requires decarbonization. This means slashing fossil fuel use, switching to renewable energy sources, and electrifying as many sectors of the economy as possible. Doing these things requires huge numbers of wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles, and storage batteries. All of them […]
Some of the most striking images of climate change are those of melting glaciers in the Arctic and polar bears stranded on shrinking sea ice. The Arctic has been warming at a rate twice as fast as the global average. In recent years, there has been growing recognition of the Arctic’s role in driving extreme […]
The rapid growth of wind and solar power continues to drive a global quest for new battery technologies that can be used to store the energy generated by these sources when the sun isn’t shining, and the wind isn’t blowing. For the most part, current battery energy storage systems use lithium-ion batteries – the same […]
Major League Baseball is one of the most historic professional sports leagues in the United States and represents the highest level of professional baseball. Throughout its history, MLB has endured many changes to rules, equipment, and strategy. As a result of these changes, the league has been segmented into several distinct eras, including the dead […]
The spotted lanternfly is an invasive pest from Asia that primarily feeds on tree of heaven, which is itself an invasive species that has become widespread. The real problem is that the lanternfly can also feed on some 70 other plants such as grapevines, maples, fruit trees, and more. The lanternfly was first discovered in […]
The European Union has banned the sale of new gas-powered cars starting in 2035. The vote came after weeks of negotiations related to possible exemptions to the rule. Germany lobbied for an exemption to be made for cars powered by e-fuels. These are made by combining hydrogen with carbon dioxide that has been removed from […]
Reducing the amount of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere means either shutting down emission sources (primarily curbing the use of fossil fuels) or capturing the CO2 as it is emitted. Capturing carbon dioxide from smokestacks and other point sources with high concentrations is relatively efficient and can make economic sense. Removing it from the air, […]
The recent siege of powerful storms in California driven by a series of atmospheric rivers has had a significant effect on the severe drought that has plagued most of the state for many years. Many of the state’s reservoirs are at the highest level they have been for decades. The snowpack in the Sierras is […]
Some people talk to their plants. It is highly unlikely that the plants are listening, but recent research has found that plants are doing quite a bit of talking of their own. It turns out that plant emit a variety of click-like sounds, especially when they are stressed in some way, such as being dehydrated […]
After water, concrete is the world’s second most consumed material. It is the cornerstone of modern infrastructure. Its production accounts for 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions. The carbon dioxide is a result of chemical reactions in its manufacture and from the energy required to fuel the reactions.About half of the emissions associated with concrete come from burning fossil fuels to heat up the mixture of limestone and clay that ultimately becomes ordinary Portland cement. These emissions could eventually be eliminated by using renewable-generated electricity to provide the necessary heat. However, the other half of the emissions is inherent in the chemical process.
When the minerals are heated to temperatures above 2500 degrees Fahrenheit, a chemical reaction occurs producing a substance called clinker (which is mostly calcium silicates) and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide escapes into the air.
Portland cement is then mixed with water, sand, and gravel to produce concrete. The concrete is somewhat alkaline and naturally absorbs carbon dioxide albeit slowly. Over time, these reactions weaken the concrete and corrode reinforcing rebar.
Researchers at MIT have discovered that the simple addition of sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda) to the concrete mixture accelerates the early-stage mineralization of carbon dioxide, enough to make a real dent in concrete’s carbon footprint. In addition, the resulting concrete sets much more quickly. It forms a new composite phase that doubles the mechanical performance of early-stage concrete.
The goal is to provide much greener, and possibly even carbon-negative construction materials, turning concrete from being a problem to part of a solution.
Web LinksNew additives could turn concrete into an effective carbon sink
Photo, posted April 4, 2009, courtesy of PSNH via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Salt marshes are coastal wetlands that are flooded and drained by salt water brought in and out by the tides. These low-lying wetlands are also sometimes called tidal marshes because they occur in the zone between low and high tides. These wetlands are some of the most biologically productive ecosystems on Earth.Cape Cod’s beautiful salt marshes are as important as they are iconic. They act as carbon sinks, protect coastal development from storm surge, play an outsized role in nitrogen cycling, and provide critical habitats for many fish, shellfish, and coastal birds.
According to scientists from the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, more than 90% of salt marshes around the world are likely to be underwater by the end of the century.
Since 1971, scientists from the Marine Biological Laboratory have mapped vegetative cover in Great Sippewissett Marsh in Falmouth, Massachusetts, to examine whether increased nitrogen in the environment would impact species of marsh grass. Because of the length of the study, the researchers were also able to investigate the impacts of climate change on the ecosystem, especially those driven by accelerating sea level rise.
The research team found that increased nitrogen favored higher levels of vegetation and accretion of the marsh surface. However, the researchers found that salt marshes will not be able to outpace the submergence from global sea level rise - no matter how much nitrogen is applied.
Sea level rise is the biggest threat to salt marshes around the world. Mitigating some of these projected losses is critical in order for salt marshes to continue to provide their important ecosystem services for people and the planet.
Web LinksMost of the World’s Salt Marshes Could Succumb to Sea Level Rise by Turn of Century
Photo, posted September 27, 2011, courtesy of Chris M Morris via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Two current trends are the increasing reliance on renewable sources in the electric grid and the increasing use of electric vehicles. According to some projections, these trends could lead to the need for costly new power plants to meet peak loads in the evening when cars are plugged in to charge. Overproduction of power from solar farms during the daytime would require expanded energy storage capacity so as not to waste all that generating capacity.A new study by MIT researchers has found that it is possible to mitigate or eliminate these problems without the need for advanced technological systems and complex infrastructure. The key elements of the strategy are the strategic placement of charging stations and the practice of delaying the onset of home charging.
Better availability of charging stations at workplaces could help to soak up peak power being produced at midday from solar power installations. In general, placing of charging stations in strategic ways, rather than letting them spring up just anywhere, could make a big difference.
Delaying home charging to times when there is less electricity demand could be accomplished with the use of a simple app that would estimate the time to begin the charging cycle so that it finishes charging just before the car is needed the next day. Since different people have different schedules and needs, by delaying the onset of charging appropriately, not everyone will be charging at the same time, and therefore the peak in demand would be smoothed out.
There are substantial government funds earmarked for charging infrastructure and creating that infrastructure in suitably strategic ways could make a big difference in supporting EV adoption and supporting the power grid.
Web LinksMinimizing electric vehicles’ impact on the grid
Photo, posted July 2, 2020, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Most of us are familiar with air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, and even noise pollution. But it turns out that light can be a pollutant as well, and it’s a consequence of industrial civilization. In fact, nighttime light pollution now covers approximately 23% of the globe and over 80% of inhabited regions. Light pollution affects more than just our view of the stars. For example, light pollution can alter our circadian rhythm, disrupting our sleep cycle. In nature, light pollution can kill baby turtles by causing them to head inland instead of into the ocean, can cause birds to migrate during the wrong season, and can deter nighttime pollinators like bats. And those are just a few of the examples.
According to new research from scientists at Cornell University, moderate levels of artificial light at night - like a porch light - attract caterpillar predators and reduce the chance that caterpillars grow up to become moths.
In the study, which was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the researchers placed 552 lifelike caterpillar replicas made of soft clay in a forest to measure predation rates compared to a control group. They found that predation rates on clay caterpillars and the abundance of arthropod predators were significantly higher on the artificial light at night treatment plots. In fact, of the 552 clay caterpillars deployed and glued to leaves to look authentic, 521 models were recovered and 249 of them- or 47.8% - showed predatory marks from arthropods during the summer-long nighttime study.
In addition to light pollution, caterpillars also face major threats from habitat loss, pollution, invasive species, and climate change.
Web LinksArtificial light at night aids caterpillar predators
Photo, posted July 23, 2020, courtesy of Judy Gallagher via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Deep-sea ecosystems cover more than 40% of the Earth. These regions are some of the least well-known and understood areas of our planet but are home to numerous ecosystems. The deep seas are already directly exposed to the effects of human-induced climate change but could potentially be greatly threatened by efforts to artificially counteract climate change.A class of geoengineering solutions called ocean-based climate interventions are increasingly being claimed as promising ways to mitigate climate change. Such interventions would remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequester it in the deep sea. There is very little known about the impact of such efforts on ocean biogeochemistry and the biodiversity of ocean ecosystems.
One approach is direct CO2 injection into the deep ocean, which would sequester large amounts of it and reduce the concentration in the atmosphere. However, too much carbon dioxide in the water is called hypercapnia, which can have serious consequences on marine life.
Other approaches include ocean fertilization – which is enhancing phytoplankton production at the surface, leading to their eventual deposition on the deep-sea floor – and crop waste deposition - which is deep-sea disposal of terrestrial crop waste.
A multinational study led by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography warns that there needs to be much more research and governance before any such interventions ever take place. The deep sea faces unprecedented threats from industrial fisheries, pollution, warming, deoxygenation, acidification, and other climate-related problems. Ocean-based climate intervention represents yet another serious threat to the functioning of these essential ecosystems.
Web LinksHKU Marine Scientist contributes to research assessing the potential risks of ocean-based climate intervention technologies on deep-sea ecosystems
Photo, posted January 6, 2010, courtesy of Emrys Roberts via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Lithium, the key element in the batteries that power electric cars, as well as smartphones, tablets, and laptop computers, is sometimes called white gold. Over time, the price of the metal has gone up and up. But recently, and surprisingly, the price of lithium has actually gone down, helping to make electric vehicles more affordable.Over the first couple of months of this year, the price of lithium has dropped by nearly 20%. The price of cobalt, another important component of vehicle batteries, has fallen by more than half. Even copper, another battery material, has seen its price drop by 18%.
Many analysts predicted that prices of these commodities would stay high or even climb higher. The reason for the decline, as well as whether it is likely to persist, is the subject of much debate.
Some experts believe that the price drops are a result of demand not being as high as expected, perhaps related to slowing sales growth of EVs in Europe and China after certain subsidies expired. Other industry experts said that the drop was a result of new mines and processing plants providing additional supply sooner than was thought possible.
Despite the price drops, mining and processing lithium remains an extraordinarily profitable business. It costs from $5,000 to $8,000 to produce a ton of lithium that sells for ten times that amount. With such fat profit margins, there is no shortage of banks and investors eager to finance lithium mining and processing projects. Such profit margins are probably not sustainable and that will likely result in more reasonable prices over time.
There is plenty of lithium in the world. The huge demand for it is a recent phenomenon and the world is still working out how to meet that demand.
Web LinksFalling Lithium Prices Are Making Electric Cars More Affordable
Photo, posted January 9, 2023, courtesy of Phillip Pessar via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
A type of seaweed called sargassum has long formed large blooms in the Atlantic Ocean. It gets its name from the Sargasso Sea in the western Atlantic. Since 2011, scientists have been tracking massive accumulations of the stuff each year that starts out off the coast of Africa and works its way across the Atlantic to end up in the Gulf of Mexico. The amount of sargassum present each year can shift depending on factors like changes in nutrients, rainfall, and wind conditions. But since the 1980s, nitrogen content in the Atlantic has gone up by 45%. This is likely due to human activities such as agriculture and fossil fuel production dumping materials into the rivers that feed into the ocean.
According to recent observations, the mass of seaweed now heading for Florida and other coastlines throughout the Gulf of Mexico may be the largest on record. The giant blob of sargassum spans more than 5,000 miles in extent. It is moving west and will pass through the Caribbean and up into the Gulf during the summer. The seaweed is expected to become prevalent on beaches in Florida around July.
The seaweed provides food and protection for fishes, mammals, marine birds, crabs, sea turtles, and more. But unfortunately, when sargassum hits the beaches, it piles up in mounds that can be difficult to walk through and eventually emits a gas that smells like rotten eggs.
Tourist destinations in the Caribbean region have their work cut out for them to remove seaweed that can pile up several feet deep. For example, in Barbados, locals were using 1,600 dump trucks a day to clean their beaches. Caribbean and Florida resorts spend millions of dollars each year to remove sargassum seaweed.
Web LinksA 5,000-mile-wide blob of seaweed is headed for Florida, threatening tourism across the Caribbean
Photo, posted February 24, 2020, courtesy of Bernard Dupont via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Mountains contribute disproportionately to the Earth's diversity of life. While mountains account for about 25% of the land area on Earth, they are home to more than 85% of the mammal, bird, and amphibian species. But alarmingly, forested mountain habitats in which these species live are disappearing, and they appear to be disappearing at an accelerating rate.According to a new study recently published in the journal One Earth, more than 300,000 square miles of mountain forest has been lost globally since 2000, which is an area larger than the state of Texas.
A research team led by scientists from Leeds University in the United Kingdom and the Southern University of Science and Technology in China tracked changes in mountain forests on an annual basis from 2001 to 2018. The researchers found logging to be the biggest driver of mountain forest loss, responsible for 42% of the overall decline. This is followed by wildfires at 29%, so-called “slash-and-burn” cultivation at 15%, and permanent or semi-permanent agriculture at 10%. Significant losses occurred in Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, and South America, but not in Oceania or North America.
The research team also found that the rate of mountain forest loss seems to be accelerating: in fact, the annual rate of loss increased 50% from 2010-2018 when compared with 2001-2009.
While developing additional forest protection strategies and interventions is critical, the researchers emphasize the importance of also considering food production, livelihoods, and human wellbeing in any new measures.
Web LinksMountain forests are being lost at an accelerating rate, putting biodiversity at risk
Photo, posted December 6, 2018, courtesy of Lance Cheung / USDA via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Just a few months ago, millions of people in California were living under challenging water conservation rules. The past three years were the driest on record and reservoirs were depleted, landscapes dried up, and the snowpack in the Sierras at very low levels.But in recent months, a dozen atmospheric river storms have brought huge amounts of rain and snow to the state. Twelve out of 17 major reservoirs in the state have been replenished, the snowpack is over 240% of normal, and brown hills are blooming once again.
So, is the California drought over? According to the experts, the answer is: sort of.
The record snowpack and heavy rains have erased the most severe aspects of the drought in many parts of the state. Only 9% of the state is now experiencing “severe” or “exceptional” drought, down from 55% last fall.
But the changes are basically all at the surface. Groundwater in the state is still extremely low and the state’s cities and farms are still using more of it than is appropriate. The state has been unwisely overusing its groundwater aquifers because of the drought and this one year of heavy rains cannot replenish levels that have been dropping for years.
California has been rolling back many of the most severe drought restrictions that had been imposed but has not entirely lifted the drought emergency status. Meanwhile, the massive snowpack in the mountains will begin to melt as the weather warms and, in many areas, Californians will face flooding. Water is a complicated business in California.
Web LinksDrought or no drought? California left pondering after record winter deluge
Photo, posted August 28, 2019, courtesy of Joyce Cory via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
An innovative project out of the UK seeks to reduce carbon emissions at sea by retrofitting large ocean vessels with ultramodern wing-sails to reduce the amount of fuel required to travel the oceans.Powering ships by wind is certainly nothing new. However, almost every large ship today is powered entirely by fossil fuels. A company called Smart Green Shipping has developed retrofit wing-sails called FastRigs that can be installed on existing vessels to reduce fuel consumption. They are also working on additional wind-based technology that can supply all the power required for ships.
FastRig technology is designed to be retrofitted to existing commercial vessels with available deck space – typically bulkers and tankers. There are about 40,000 such ships that are suitable for conversion to this hybrid power system. Installing FastRigs is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20%.
The company and the UK's University of Southampton have been funded to investigate the potential of the technology to reduce emissions from existing ships. The research project will develop software tools to investigate the complex interactions between the wing-sails and ship hydrodynamics to accurately assess the impact on vessel performance. The software tools will be able to predict the fuel savings delivered by wing-sails.
Smart Green Technologies is developing technology for 100% renewable-powered, new-build ships. The goal is to create quieter, emission-free ships in the future that do no harm to ocean environments and improve air quality in ports, towns, and cities. Wind power harnessed using sophisticated digital software and advanced engineering represents a promising way to reduce fuel consumption and related emissions from large ocean vessels.
Web LinksFuture ships could be powered by wind to fight climate change
Photo, posted October 27, 2017, courtesy of Bernard Spragg via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Theoretically, hydrogen could be the fuel of the future. It is the most common element in the universe and its combustion produces no harmful emissions. Most industrial hydrogen comes from a process called steam reforming that extracts it from natural gas – basically methane. Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of the process. But it is also possible to get hydrogen by breaking down water resulting only in oxygen as a byproduct. There is a great deal of ongoing development of so-called green hydrogen.New research from Princeton University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has uncovered a potential problem associated with the use of hydrogen as a clean fuel.
There is a molecule in the atmosphere called the hydroxyl radical. It is known as “the detergent of the troposphere”. It plays a critical role in eliminating greenhouse gases such as methane and ozone from the atmosphere. It turns out that the hydroxyl radical also reacts with any hydrogen gas in the atmosphere and there is only so much hydroxyl to go around. If large amounts of hydrogen were to enter the atmosphere, much of the hydroxyl radical would be used up reacting with it and there would be much less available to break down methane. As a result, there would end up being more methane in the atmosphere, and methane is a powerful greenhouse gas.
The bottom line is that there would need to be proactive efforts to limit the amount of hydrogen getting into the atmosphere whether from producing it, transporting it, or anyplace else in the value chain. Otherwise, the hydrogen economy would cancel out many of the climate benefits of eliminating fossil fuels.
Web LinksSwitching to hydrogen fuel could prolong the methane problem
Photo, posted June 12, 2021, courtesy of Clean Air Task Force via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Hurricane Sandy flooded Lower Manhattan in October 2012, closing Wall Street, blacking out power for 250,000 people, and killing 44 New Yorkers. Within a year, plans were in motion to build berms, floodwalls, and water gates along the city’s Lower East Side in a $770 million first phase of an overall plan to defend New York City from future floodwaters.Plans got more and more complicated, and the price tag reached $1.45 billion before the existing plan was scrapped by former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration in 2018 without involving the community groups that were instrumental in creating the original plan. After years of lawsuits and court actions, the revised East Side Coastal Resiliency Project is finally proceeding, now at a price tag approaching $3 billion. The project will include 18 moveable floodgates and will protect 110,000 New Yorkers, including 28,000 low-income public-housing residents and is expected to be completed in 2026.
The original larger overall plan was halted in 2020 after former President Trump mocked it and claimed that it would cost $200 billion. The current plan, created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and known as the 3B alternative, calls for a combination of deployable flood barriers, floodwalls, seawalls, and elevated promenades wrapping around the lower part of Manhattan. The cost of the project is estimated to be $61 billion.
In the meantime, over 10 years after Sandy, a similar storm would have almost the same effect today as Sandy had back then.
Web LinksNew York City Begins Its Climate Change Reckoning on the Lower East Side, the Hard Way
Photo, posted January 19, 2013 courtesy of Andres Alvarado via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Farmers are perpetually engaged in a battle against weeds, which can strangle crops and destroy their yields. There are basically two ways to fight weeds: spraying herbicides that are bad for the environment and human health or using human labor to pull the weeds by hand. Both choices are increasingly undesirable. Herbicide resistance is a growing problem facing farms around the world and widespread labor shortages in the agricultural sector are making it increasingly difficult to use human resources to combat weeds.
A startup company called FarmWise founded by an MIT engineering alumnus is providing a third option for farmers. The company has developed giant autonomous weeding robots that use artificial intelligence to cut out weeds without damaging crops.
The company’s first product is called the Titan. It looks like a large tractor without a driver’s seat. It uses machine vision to distinguish weeds from crop plants like leafy greens, cauliflower, artichokes, and tomatoes. It snips off the weeds with sub-inch precision.
Fifteen titan robots have been roaming the fields of 30 large farms in California and Arizona for several years. A newer robot, called the Vulcan, is more lightweight and is pulled by a tractor. FarmWise continues to add new crops to its database so that the robots can be used to fight weeds in more and more kinds of farms.
Weed problems are especially acute for farmers of specialty crops, which grow on smaller farms than corn and soybeans, and have unique growing practices, which limit the effectiveness of chemical and technical solutions.
The overall goal of FarmWise is to turn artificial intelligence into a tool that is as reliable and dependable as GPS is now in the farming industry.
Web LinksTitanic robots make farming more sustainable
Photo, posted August 23, 2021, courtesy of Carol VanHook via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Canada lynx are medium-sized North American big cats known for their long, black ear tufts, and their ability to hunt across the surface of deep snow. Historically, the predator's habitat ranged across Alaska, Canada, and much of the Northern United States. But in the contiguous U.S. today, the Canada lynx exists only in several disjunct populations in Maine, Minnesota, Colorado, Idaho, Washington and Montana. While Glacier National Park in Montana is famous for its grizzly bears and mountain goats, the park also holds a surprising number of Canada lynx, and could serve as a much-needed climate refuge for the big cats in the future.
Glacier National Park is one of the few, large, protected areas located within the Canada lynx range in the Lower 48. Using an array of 300 motion-sensitive cameras on hiking trails throughout Glacier, researchers from Washington State University conducted the first parkwide occupancy survey for Canada lynx inside the park. They were surprised to find that Glacier is home to roughly 50 Canada Lynx. In fact, the researchers found that the iconic predator resides across most of the park’s 1,600 square-mile landscape, although at lower densities than in the core of its range further north.
The researchers also found that Canada lynx are distributed at lower elevations inside Glacier. Since the cats are a cold-adapted species that need the deep snow, within Glacier, they have a lot of room to climb in elevation as the climate warms.
The researchers hope their survey can serve as a baseline population estimate to help their collaborators with the National Park Service keep tabs on the numbers of Canada lynx in Glacier.
Web LinksGlacier National Park could be climate haven for Canada lynx
Photo, posted February 22, 2014, courtesy of Eric Kilby via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
A group of more than 60 climate researchers has published an open letter calling for accelerated research into what is called solar radiation management. This means changing the amount of solar energy reaching the surface of the earth by adding various substances into the stratosphere or into the clouds in order to help cool down the planet.This form of geoengineering is controversial to say the least. While such approaches would most likely be successful in cooling things down, such climate manipulation could have dangerous and unexpected consequences.
For their part, the scientists explicitly state that they do not support the use of solar radiation management or SRM. Their position is that our current level of knowledge is not sufficient to accurately assess potential risks and consequences. What they are advocating is for scientific research to be conducted to support the assessment of the potential effectiveness of various SRM techniques, to determine how these techniques would affect climate change under various greenhouse gas scenarios, and to determine the capabilities for detecting and attributing possible impacts of SRM interventions.
The letter was a response to a larger group of scientists and academics who called for a strict ban on geoengineering, saying that it could divert attention and resources from much-needed greenhouse gas reductions. The new letter claims that gaining additional knowledge about SRM is a critical part of making effective and ethical decisions about its implementation. They state that we have no right to ban the ability to search for a solution to the mess we created.
Opponents of such research are concerned that even pursuing it normalizes in the public eye what could potentially be a catastrophically dangerous activity.
Web Links60 Scientists Call for Accelerated Research Into ‘Solar Radiation Management’ That Could Temporarily Mask Global Warming
Photo, posted February 11, 2006, courtesy of Janice Waltzer via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The world’s largest sink for carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is the ocean. The world’s oceans soak up 30-40% of all the gas produced by human activities. Dissolving carbon dioxide in water produces carbonic acid. This is the reason that oceans are becoming increasingly acidic, which is causing serious damage to ocean ecosystems.There are many efforts underway aimed at directly removing carbon dioxide from the air as a way to mitigate the effects of ongoing emissions. But another possibility is to remove CO2 directly from ocean water. Existing methods for doing it involve the use of expensive membranes and complex chemicals. The economics of such methods are quite unfavorable.
Recently, a team of researchers at MIT has identified what they claim is a truly efficient and inexpensive removal mechanism. It involves a reversible process based on membrane-free electrochemical cells. Electrodes in the cells release protons that are introduced to seawater which drive the release of carbon dioxide dissolved in the water. The carbon dioxide can be collected and the processed water ends up being alkaline.
Running this process at a site that is already collecting seawater – such as at a desalination plant – would be an effective way to collect carbon dioxide as well as help mitigate ocean acidification.
Once the carbon dioxide is removed from the water, it still needs to be disposed of, just as is the case for other carbon removal processes. It could be turned into useful chemicals or it could be stored in underground caverns. But this approach is fairly unique in that the carbon dioxide has already been captured by the ocean. The issue remains what to do with it.
Web LinksHow to pull carbon dioxide out of seawater
Photo, posted January 19, 2016, courtesy of Judy Dean via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Community solar is a way for people who can’t put solar on their own roofs to still take advantage of its benefits. Whether they can’t afford to install their own panels, have too much shade on their roof, or don’t even own a home, community solar is another way to participate in green energy.Community solar – also called “shared solar” or “solar gardens” – is a kind of development in which consumers can subscribe to a large solar installation in their area and receive credits on their monthly utility bills for their share of the solar electricity produced.
The large majority of community solar installations are in six states: Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York. After substantial growth in community solar in 2022, New York now is the national leader, thanks to initiatives by the state government and the nonprofit sector. Some programs focus on giving low-income households access to solar. As of last fall, New York had over 728 community solar projects online.
One should understand that electrons are indistinguishable. The power generated by a community solar installation is not piped directly to subscribers’ homes. It just goes into the grid. Subscribers get credit for their share of the power, but that is essentially a matter of bookkeeping, not physics.
The federal government now has $7 billion that can be used for community solar as part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund within the Inflation Reduction Act enacted last August. The EPA plans to award up to 60 grants to assist projects deploying residential and community solar. Research firm Wood Mackenzie forecasts the community solar market will double by 2027.
Web LinksCommunity Solar Is About to Get a Surge in Federal Funding. So What Is Community Solar?
Photo, posted November 18, 2008, courtesy of the Oregon Department of Transportation via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
In animal agriculture, farmers use antibiotics to treat, prevent, and control animal diseases, and to increase the productivity of their operations. According to the FDA, approximately 80% of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. are purchased for use in food-producing animals. The routine administration of antibiotics to farm animals for non-therapeutic purposes promotes the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, with repercussions for human and animal health. As antibiotic-resistant bacteria spreads, medicines used to treat human diseases can become less effective.
According to a new study led by researchers from the University of Washington, a California policy restricting the use of antibiotics in farm animals is associated with a reduction in one type of antibiotic-resistant infection in people in the state. The findings, recently published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, suggest that regulations limiting the use of antibiotics in livestock can significantly impact human health.
In 2018, California Senate Bill 27 banned routine preventive use of antibiotics in food-animal production and any antibiotic use without a veterinarian's prescription. Last year, the European Union passed a law restricting antibiotic use to only sick animals on farms. And coming this June, most antibiotics - those that are medically important to humans and animals - will be by prescription only in the United States.
Despite these changes, antibiotic resistance is projected to remain one of the biggest threats to human health over the next 50 years because resistance continues to grow and few new antibiotics are coming online.
Web LinksRestricting antibiotics for livestock could limit spread of antibiotic-resistant infections in people
Ranchers should prepare now for 2023 animal antibiotic guidelines
Photo, posted May 8, 2018, courtesy of Preston Keres / USDA via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
A sticking point for buying electric cars has always been that they are typically more expensive than equivalent gasoline-powered cars. But increasing competition, government incentives, and falling prices for lithium and other battery materials is changing the equation. In fact, the tipping point when electric cars are as cheap or even cheaper than internal combustion cars is likely to happen this year for many cars and, in fact, has already happened for some.Battery production is ramping up for Tesla, General Motors, Ford, and others, creating cost savings from mass production. Companies manufacturing batteries in the United States are receiving government subsidies as part of a drive to establish a domestic supply chain and reduce dependence on China. Before anyone cries foul, it should be noted that globally, oil companies received a trillion dollars in subsidies last year. The Inflation Reduction Act is making it cheaper for automakers to build electric cars (provided they do it in the United States using US materials) and cheaper for consumers to buy them because of tax credits.
Multiple companies have lowered the price of their electric vehicles in recent months, including both the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, which are the best-selling electric cars in the United States. GM’s electric Equinox crossover will start at about $30,000, which is still about $3,400 more than the gas-powered version. But once the electric vehicle tax credit is figured in, it will actually be cheaper.
Electric cars are already cheaper to own and operate because of the much lower cost of powering with electricity instead of gas as well as the greatly reduced maintenance costs for the vehicles. Once the purchase price of these cars is less than that of gas-powered cars, the economics becomes a no-brainer.
Web LinksElectric Vehicles Could Match Gasoline Cars on Price This Year
Photo, posted May 11, 2021, courtesy of Chris Yarzab via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Scientists estimate that there are about 3 trillion trees on the earth. A huge number but probably half as many as there were before people entered the picture. And we’re losing about 10 billion trees a year to toilet paper, timber, farmland expansion, and other human activity. Trees play a crucial role in taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and storing it away. For this reason, trees have become an integral part of the effort to mitigate climate change.There are major initiatives underway around the world to plant more trees. Part of this is driven by the increasing use of carbon credits by companies trying to offset their carbon emissions. These credits are earned by either planting new trees or paying farmers or other landowners not to cut down existing trees. But how many trees are actually planted and how many survive over time?
Whether these efforts are really resulting in more trees and more carbon storage is not easy to determine. Current international inventories of global tree-sequestered carbon are subject to great uncertainty.
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and NASA have developed a method for mapping large numbers of trees and determining their carbon content. Using artificial intelligence techniques to analyze ultra-high-resolution satellite images, they can count trees, determine their individual species, and measure their carbon content.
A study of images from Africa’s Sahel region found that it is home to nearly 10 billion trees that are currently storing 840 million tons of carbon.
Now that the groundwork for this new methodology is complete, it is ready to be deployed by public agencies, NGOs, and other interested in monitoring the numbers of trees and their carbon content.
Web LinksThe counting of nine billion trees could help manage climate credits and nature restoration
Photo, posted October 27, 2018, courtesy of Ian Dick via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The warming of the oceans has been causing the decimation of kelp forests. The thick canopies covering coastal ocean regions have been wilting in warmer and nutrient-poor water. Making matters much worse has been the explosion in population of sea urchins that thrive in warmer water. The urchins gobble up the kelp, often resulting in so-called urchin barrens, largely devoid of life.Kelp are considered a foundation species that occupy nearly half of the world’s marine ecoregions. They thrive in cold water, where they form large underwater forests that provide essential habitat, food, and refuge for many species. Kelp are often harvested for use in products ranging from toothpaste and shampoo to puddings and cakes. Including the other services kelp provide, they are associated with billions of dollars in value annually.
On the North American Pacific Coast, a species of sea star consumes sea urchins. However, these creatures are critically endangered. A marine wildlife epidemic known as sea star wasting syndrome, which began 10 years ago, has killed off more than 90% of the sunflower sea star population. A new study by researchers at Oregon State University looked at the ability of sea stars to control sea urchin populations.
Lab experiments showed that sea stars consume urchins at a rate sufficient to maintain and possibly even restore the health of kelp forests. The study shows that there is a clear link between the population crash of sea stars, the explosion in sea urchin populations, and the decline in kelp.
The study’s authors are calling for active management and a coordinated sea star recovery program to try to deal with the effects of a disease whose cause has not been determined.
Web LinksSea stars able to consume kelp-eating urchins fast enough to protect kelp forests, research shows
Photo, posted December 14, 2015, courtesy of Ed Dunens via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Europe is hungry for clean energy. The war in Ukraine has amplified Europe’s desire to end its reliance on Russian natural gas. Increasingly, Europe is pushing to install giant solar energy farms in sunny North Africa and transport the energy through underwater cables. Solar panels in sunny North Africa generate up to three times more […]
There are countless ways in which humankind has had disproportionate effects on our planet and most of those effects have been negative. A recent study led by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel looked at the total combined weight of various groups of mammals on Earth. The results are that human beings and our domesticated mammals are the overwhelming majority of the total mass of mammals.We think of large land mammals – elephants, bears, bison, wildebeests, and so on – as adding up to a massive amount of animal matter. The study determined that all wild land mammals put together add up to about 22 million metric tons. Wild marine mammals – such as dolphins and whales – add up to about 40 million tons in total. These sound like pretty big numbers until we look at the human and human-created side of the equation.
The study found that humans weigh about 390 million metric tons, while domesticated mammals – like sheep, cows, and pigs as well as dogs and cats – weigh about 630 million metric tons combined.
All told, wild mammals account for only 6% of all mammals by weight. People and their domesticated animals make up the other 94%. This enormous imbalance is an indication of how profoundly humans have reshaped life on Earth. House cats total twice the weight of African elephants and pigs add up to twice the weight of all wild land animals combined.
The conclusion to draw from the big picture here is that wild animals on Earth are not doing very well. We already knew this from many other perspectives, but this census by weight presents a stark picture of the extent to which we have taken over the planet and its ecosystems.
Web LinksTotal Weight of Wild Land Mammals Less Than One-Tenth Weight of All Humans
Photo, posted December 27, 2006, courtesy of Nigel Hoult via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Climate change facilitates the spread of invasive pest species by expanding their habitable environment ranges. In conventional agriculture, farmers depend on chemical pesticides to control agricultural pests. But 99% of all synthetic chemicals, including pesticides, are made from fossil fuels, and turning petrochemicals into pesticides requires massive amounts of energy. These chemical pesticides also pollute the air and water, and destroy biodiversity by killing many non-target species as well. According to new research led by scientists from the University of Portsmouth in the U.K., groups of spiders could be used as an environmentally-friendly way to protect crops against agricultural pests. The study, which was recently published in the journal Insects, suggests that web-building groups of spiders can be used to control populations of the tomato leafminer moth, a devastating pest of commercially important crops like tomatoes and potatoes.
The research team explored the use of tropical tent spiders for this pest control. They are found in colonies around the world, and their range overlaps with regions of moth infestations, including Mediterranean Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
In lab settings, different types of prey were introduced to colonies of spiders of varying body sizes. The research team found that the larger spiders built larger webs and caught more prey, including tomato leafminer moths and fruit flies.
Tropical tent spiders could be an effective and climate-friendly way to control flying insect pests. However, more research is needed to ensure that these spiders don’t negatively impact crop pollination by also catching pollinators.
Web LinksUsing spiders as environmentally-friendly pest control
Photo, posted June 10, 2018, courtesy of Lies Van Rompaey via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The US has a goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030. This is an ambitious goal given that the current installed offshore wind capacity in the US is a total of seven turbines capable of generating just 42 megawatts of power. So, there is a long way to go in a relatively short amount of time.Since 2021, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a division of the Department of the Interior, has held three offshore wind lease auctions, which grant rights to developers to install offshore wind in specific marine areas. The first two auctions involve sites in the northeast, including areas in New York. The third auction, held last December, offered sites off the California Coast – the first US sites in the Pacific.
In February, the Department of the Interior proposed a new offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. It identified a 102,480-acre area off the coast of Louisiana, and two similar-sized areas offshore from Galveston, Texas.
The proposal is now in a 60-day period of seeking public comments before deciding whether to move ahead with the sale. As was the case for the other lease auctions, there would stipulations associated with accepted bids including efforts to build up domestic industry for the supply chain and labor force. There would also be requirements to establish and contribute to a fisheries compensatory mitigation fund to address any potential negative impacts to the fishing industry.
About two-thirds of offshore wind resources in the US are located in deep-water areas that will require floating platforms. A federal program called Floating Offshore Wind Shot has the goal of developing cost-effective technology for this purpose.
Web LinksGulf of Mexico may be next up for offshore wind leases
Photo, posted May 13, 2011, courtesy of the Department of Energy and Climate Change via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
People are artificially expanding the coastlines of cities by extending industrial ports and creating luxury residential waterfronts. Major cities have added 900 square miles to their coastlines just since 2000. A recent study published in the journal Earth’s Future made use of satellite imagery to analyze land changes in 135 cities with populations of at least 1 million. But population growth is not the only driver of coastal land reclamation. It is popular in places that are eager to enhance their reputation and promote revenue growth.
At present, coastal land reclamation is most common in the Global South, where many economies are growing. In the past, the Global North dominated the use of coastal land construction.
The largest additions to land area occurred in China, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates. Port extension is the most common reason for development. Shanghai alone has added 135 square miles of land.
New land is typically created by piling sediments in the ocean, building cement sea walls and structures to contain sediments or cement, or sometimes filling in wetlands and other shallow areas of water near the coast. The ecological impacts of reclamation are immense and, unfortunately, are not always considered. Projects affect both the local ecosystems as well as those of the places where fill materials are obtained.
Industrialization and the need for urban space have driven much coastal reclamation. Some projects, such as the palm-tree-shaped artificial islands of Dubai, are essentially for prestige. Some cities, including Shanghai, are building new land in consideration of future sea level rise.
Web LinksNew Land Creation on Waterfronts Increasing, Study Finds
Photo, posted October 15, 2010, courtesy of Werner Bayer via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Some of most dramatic evidence that the Earth’s climate is warming is the retreat and even disappearance of mountain glaciers around the world. 2022 was the 35th year in a row that glaciers tracked by the World Glacier Monitoring Service lost rather than gained ice. Glaciers gain mass through snowfall and lose mass through melting and sublimation (water evaporating directly from solid ice.) Some glaciers that terminate in lakes or the ocean lose mass through iceberg calving.In the warming climate, glaciers retreat and meltwater collects at the front of the glacier forming a lake. Such lakes can suddenly burst and create a fast-flowing Glacier Lake Outburst Flood that can spread over a large distance from the original site – in some cases over 70 miles. These floods can damage property, infrastructure, and agricultural land and can also be deadly.
The number of glacial lakes has grown rapidly since 1990 as a result of climate change. According to research by an international team of scientists led by Newcastle University in the UK, the number of people living in glacial lake catchments has increased significantly.
According to the study, 15 million people live within 30 miles of a glacial lake. The highest danger is in High Mountain Asia – which encompasses the Tibetan Plateau. That area, which spans from Kyrgyzstan to parts of China, has 9.3 million people potentially at risk. India and Pakistan have around 5 million exposed people.
Detailed analysis shows that it is not the areas with the largest number or most rapidly growing lakes that are most dangerous. It is the number of people in proximity to the lakes and their ability to cope with potential floods.
Web LinksGlacial flooding threatens millions globally
Photo, posted February 12, 2022, courtesy of David Stanley via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
More than half of the world’s countries have set a target of setting aside 30% of land and sea areas across the globe for conservation by 2030, in order to preserve and protect nature and essential services to people. This pledge creates some difficult questions to answer.What sorts of land should be protected and where should it be located? What effects of these new land protections will there be on carbon emissions and the climate and on land usage for food production and energy generation? Policymakers have to grapple with such questions in order to move forward on these ambitious biodiversity protection goals.
A recent study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory attempts to answer many of these questions. The study found that meeting the 30% goal could lead to substantial regional shifts in land use and, in some cases, still fail to protect some of the most important biodiversity hotspots.
Protecting land entails tradeoffs with other land uses and can have negative impacts on the agricultural sector as well as land use for bioenergy crops and forest land use for timber.
In particular, the study found that the amount of land used for crops for conversion into biofuels could be significantly impacted by doubling current protected areas while still preserving the amount of land used for food crops. This is particularly true for land in Russia and Canada.
The study also found that while it may be possible to meet the 30% target by only protecting agriculturally unsuitable land, it may not end up protecting many of the world’s 36 identified biodiversity hotspots. The uneven distribution of species has a significant bearing on how to manage the conservation of biodiversity.
Web LinksDoubling Protected Lands for Biodiversity Could Require Tradeoffs With Other Land Uses, Study Finds
Photo, posted September 19, 2020, courtesy of John Brighenti via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
For several years, a few airlines, notably United here in the US, have been experimenting with the use of sustainable jet fuel. Sustainable aviation fuel is made from such things as used cooking oil and agricultural waste. It produces up to 80% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional jet fuel. To date, when used it has been blended with fossil fuel jet fuel at a fairly low level. United is the largest consumer of sustainable jet fuel in the US, but it accounts for less than one percent of the airline’s total fuel consumption. Unfortunately, sustainable fuel can be as much as three times more expensive than conventional jet fuel.
Because of increasing governmental policy changes, technological breakthroughs, and climate commitments by airlines, efforts to increase the viability of sustainable jet fuel are ramping up.
Recently, United Airlines, Air Canada, Boeing, Honeywell, and JP Morgan Chase made initial contributions of $100 million to a new venture capital fund that will invest in sustainable fuel technology. United expects the fund to grow to $500 million and make about two dozen investments over the next three years.
Emissions from aviation contribute more than two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions each year. Like many big companies, United Airlines has pledged to stop adding carbon emissions to the environment by 2050. Unlike many, United has also pledged to eliminate emissions without using carbon offsets, which is effectively paying others to do their dirty work without cleaning up their own operations.
Multiple sustainable fuel companies in the US and abroad are working on a variety of ways to make aviation fuel from sustainable sources.
Web LinksA Sudden Rush to Make Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mainstream
Photo, posted August 18, 2021, courtesy of Ronen Fefer via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Wetlands are distinct ecosystems that are flooded or saturated by water, either permanently or seasonally. They include mangroves, marshes, swamps, forested wetlands, bogs, wet prairies, and vernal pools. The feature that most wetlands share is soil or substrate that is at least periodically saturated with or covered by water.Wetlands are some of the most threatened ecosystems in the world. While wetlands can be affected by a variety of natural stressors, including erosion, droughts, and storms, human activities have been the major driver of wetland decline.
But according to a new study by researchers from McGill University in Canada, the global loss of wetland areas since 1700 has likely been overestimated. The research team calculated that the area of wetland ecosystems around the world has declined 21-35% since 1700 as a result of human activities - far less than the 50-87% decline estimated in other studies. The study’s focus beyond regions with historically high wetland losses and its avoidance of possibly misleading extrapolations likely resulted in the lower estimate.
According to the study, which was published in the journal Nature, more than 2.1 million square miles of wetlands have been lost during the past 300 years - an area roughly the size of India. The five countries with the highest wetland losses are the United States, China, India, Russia and Indonesia.
But discovering that fewer wetlands have been historically lost than previously thought gives researchers a second chance to protect wetlands. The findings of the study will help researchers prioritize global conservation and restoration actions.
Web LinksA second chance to protect wetlands
Photo, posted February 2, 2005, courtesy of Jan Tik via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Last July, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the release of the state’s third competitive offshore wind solicitation, seeking to add generating capacity to power at least 1.5 million homes. In response to the solicitation, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority – NYSERDA -received more than 100 proposals for 8 new projects from six offshore wind developers. An evaluation period is in progress and NYSERDA expects to announce awards sometime this spring.Apart from the development and installation of offshore wind turbines and their associated infrastructure, participating in the program also involves supply chain investments to support the development of a strong, local supply chain that creates jobs for New Yorkers as well as bolstering the state’s standing as a regional hub for offshore wind manufacturing.
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, a multi-billion-dollar Spanish-German wind engineering company, is one of the companies bidding to have its wind turbines used for the forthcoming New York offshore wind projects. If Siemens Gamesa is selected for the project, the company has revealed that it will build a major offshore nacelle manufacturing facility at the Port of Coeymans, New York, some 15 miles from Albany.
The planned facility would create approximately 420 direct jobs and represent an investment of around $500 million in the region. Siemens Gamesa said it would also commit to localizing several new component supplier facilities, including steel component fabrication, bearings, and composite components.
Offshore wind will bring more than just electricity to New York; it will bring a whole new industry.
Web LinksSiemens Gamesa reveals plans for New York offshore wind hub
Photo, posted March 24, 2016, courtesy of TEIA via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Insects can be found in every environment on Earth and play crucial roles in the planet’s ecosystems. In fact, Biologist E. O. Wilson once said that “if all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the […]
Driving on snowy or icy roads can be pretty dangerous. That is why roads are salted or coated with sand to provide traction in icy weather. But excessive use of these substances is bad for the environment and sometimes a storm will blow in before the roads can be coated. In a paper published in […]
Recently, United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres addressed the U.N. Security Council on the issue of the security threats created by rising sea levels. In the past, some members of the Security Council – notably Brazil, China, Russia, and at times, India – have argued that the U.N.’s climate program should address such issues and […]
The world’s longest-running record of direct readings of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere is the Keeling Curve, measurements taken at the summit of Mauna Loa in Hawaii. The readings have been going on with almost no interruption since Charles Keeling began taking them in the 1950s. But the eruption of Mauna Loa last November […]
Utah's Great Salt Lake has been plagued by excessive water use and extensive drought conditions. As of January, the lake dropped to record-low water levels, losing 73% of its water and exposing 60% of its lakebed. According to scientists, the lake could disappear entirely within five years.Great Salt Lake is what is known as a "terminal lake," which means that it is fed only by rain, snow, and runoff and has no rivers that take water to the ocean. As a result, salt and minerals build up over time. With so much salt in the water, only brine flies and shrimp can survive in it. The unique ecosystem supports 10 million migratory birds. As the lake continues to dry up, the water is becoming too salty for even algae and microbes to survive. With shallow mud replacing previous shallow water, the nests of the 80,000 white pelicans that annually come to the lake are endangered by predators that can simply walk over to the eggs.
The historic low water levels have exposed 800 square miles of lakebed. This lakebed holds centuries of natural and manmade toxins like mercury, arsenic, and selenium. The exposed mud ultimately turns to dust that is carried off into the air. This is contributing to what is already some of the worst winter air pollution in the nation. Scientists warn that the unfolding ecological disaster may become a human health disaster.
State officials and university researchers have formed a “Great Salt Lake Strike Team” looking for ways to get more water to the lake. There are a number of so-called moonshot proposals to save the lake. It remains to be seen what will be done, but the clock is ticking.
Web LinksGreat Salt Lake will disappear in 5 years without massive ‘emergency rescue,’ scientists say
Scientists fear a Great Toxic Dustbowl could soon emerge from the Great Salt Lake
Photo, posted September 19, 2009, courtesy of John Morgan via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
When we think about wind power, we are usually talking about increasingly giant windfarms – either on land or offshore – that produce power on a utility scale. But there is also distributed wind energy, which refers to wind technologies in locations that directly support individuals, communities, and businesses. Distributed wind can be so-called behind-the-meter applications that directly offset retail electricity usage much as rooftop solar installations do. It can also be front-of-the-meter applications where the wind turbines are connected to the electricity distribution system and supplies energy on a community scale. Distributed wind installations can range from a several-hundred-watt little turbine that powers telecommunications equipment to a 10-megawatt community-scale energy facility. As of 2020, there were nearly 90,000 distributed wind turbines in the U.S. with a total capacity of about 1 GW.
A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the potential for distributed wind energy in the U.S. According to the new analysis, the country has the ability to profitably provide nearly 1,400 GW of distributed wind energy capacity.
Entire regions of the country have abundant potential. The regions with the best economic prospects have a combination of high-quality wind, relatively high electricity rates, and good siting availability. Overall, the Midwest and Heartland regions had the highest potential especially within agricultural land.
Realizing this outcome for distributed wind will require improved financing and performance to lower costs, relaxation of siting requirement to open up more land for wind development, and continued investment tax credits and the use of net metering.
Web LinksU.S. has potential for 1,400 GW distributed wind energy, NREL finds
Photo, posted January 3, 2009, courtesy of skyseeker via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The use of solar power has grown tremendously in recent years as it has declined in price and become far more competitive with other forms of electricity generation. Its fundamental drawback, of course, is that it only works when the sun is shining. Solar panels don’t produce any power at night. That is, until now, apparently.A team of engineers at Stanford University have developed a new kind of solar cell that is capable of generating at least some electricity at night. Published in the journal Applied Physics Letters, the research describes a device that can be a continuous renewable power source for both day and nighttime.
The device incorporates a thermoelectric generator that produces electricity from the small difference in temperature between the ambient air and the solar cell itself. The amount of power produced is far less than the solar cell generates from sunlight, but the device can provide nighttime standby lighting and power in off-grid and mini-grid applications.
Mini-grid applications are independent electricity networks that are used for small populations that may be too isolated to be connected to the main power grid. Nearly 600 million people in Africa currently live without access to electricity, primarily in rural areas. A standalone solar system operating independently of any power grid can meet many electricity needs such as phone charging and lighting, but such systems may not be able to handle large electrical need such as powering machinery and agricultural equipment. Mini-grids are larger installations that can provide power to a small rural community.
With innovations like the new Stanford device, a solar mini-grid may be able to keep running at some level even at night.
Web LinksSolar panels that can generate electricity at night have been developed at Stanford
Photo, posted December 15, 2021, courtesy of Pete via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Not long ago, many states across the country were setting goals to obtain 20% of their electricity from renewable sources. For a few states, like New York and Washington, ample amounts of hydropower made 20% an easy target. But for many others, 20% seemed like a very ambitious objective.
Things have certainly changed. According to the latest monthly Short Term Energy Outlook, a report from the federal government, the combination of wind, solar, and other renewable sources will exceed one-quarter of the country’s generation by 2024.
Renewables are already at 24% of U.S. electricity generation and are expected to rise to 26% by next year. Coal, which used to be the largest source of electricity, will continue to drop from its current 18% to 17% by next year. Overall, renewables passed coal for the first full year in 2020. Coal staged a bit of a comeback in 2021, but has once again resumed its decline. Many coal-fired power plants continue to close, and there are not new ones being built because of diminishing economic benefits as well as concerns about emissions.
The largest source of electricity generation continues to be natural gas at 38%, but that number is also expected to slowly decrease over time. The growth in renewable energy is coming from wind and solar power. Two-thirds of that growth is from solar and one-third is from wind.
Together, wind and solar power will add up to 18% of the country’s electricity supply. The government still tracks them lumped together as renewables, but both are so large and growing so quickly that the Energy Information Agency is likely to soon start tracking them as separate categories.
Web LinksRenewables Projected to Soon Be One-Fourth of US Electricity Generation. Really Soon
Photo, posted April 18, 2011, courtesy of Allan Der via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington are working with industry to develop a method of extracting valuable materials from various sources of water. The technique is the 21st-century equivalent of panning for gold in rivers and streams.The patent-pending technology makes use of magnetic nanoparticles that are surrounded by an absorbent shell that latches on to specific materials of interest that are found in certain water sources. These sources could include water in geothermal power plants (known as geothermal brines), water pulled from the subsurface during oil or gas production, or possibly effluents from desalination plants. Extracting valuable materials from geothermal brines could greatly enhance the economics of geothermal power plants.
The initial focus of the development is on lithium, which is an essential element in many high-technology applications, especially in the batteries that power cell phones, computers, and electric cars. The global market for lithium is projected to reach over $8 billion a year by 2028 and very little of it is currently produced in the United States.
The tiny particles are added to the water and any lithium is drawn out of the water and is bound to them. Using magnets, the nanoparticles can be readily collected. Once the particles are no longer suspended in liquid, the lithium can easily be extracted, and the nanoparticles can be reused.
PNNL is developing the technology in partnership with a company called Moselle Technology as well as with other commercial partners. This new technology offers the promise of extracting critical materials in a quick, cost-effective manner.
Web LinksTri-Cities Scientists “Magically” Mining Metals From Water
Photo, posted June 4, 2012, courtesy of Tom Shockey via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Photosynthesis is the process that plants use to turn water, carbon dioxide, and energy from sunlight into plant biomass. It provides humans and much of animal life with food. Photosynthesis is also nature’s way of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The CO2 is not directly stored in plants but rather is combined into organic compounds.Researchers across the globe are trying to find effective ways to mimic photosynthesis. One version of artificial photosynthesis seeks to take carbon dioxide and combine it into organic compounds that can be used as raw materials for various kinds of manufacturing.
A research team in Japan has found a way to synthesize fumaric acid from carbon dioxide using sunlight to power the process. Fumaric acid is a chemical typically synthesized from petroleum and is used as a raw material for making biodegradable plastics such as polybutylene succinate.
Much of artificial photosynthesis research is aimed at using solar energy to convert carbon dioxide directly into a fuel rather than a raw material. Such solar fuels can be produced by a variety of means including thermochemical (using the sun’s heat to drive chemical reactions), photochemical (using the sun’s light to drive chemical reactions), and electrochemical (using solar-generated electricity to drive chemical reactions.) These approaches generally involve the use of specialized catalysts to drive the desired chemical reactions.
One way or another, what techniques for artificial photosynthesis have in common is trying to imitate what plant life on Earth has been doing for millions of years.
Web LinksArtificial photosynthesis uses sunlight to make biodegradable plastic
Photo, posted June 14, 2017, courtesy of Alex Holyake via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Investors have poured billions of dollars into efforts to replace animal proteins with plant-based substitutes or even laboratory-grown animal cells. Replacing meats with these products is certainly a favorable development for the climate, but it is not likely to offset livestock agriculture’s climate and land use impacts anytime soon.According to research at Stanford University, even optimistic estimates are that only something like 5% of dietary protein will come from these technologies by 2030. That just isn’t fast enough to put a real dent in the food-related emissions problem.
Stanford environmental scientist David Lobell suggests that there should be much more focus on reducing emissions of animal-based systems. There really hasn’t been much effort in this area because it is only recently that the climate impact of animal agriculture has been a topic of public concern. One problem is that it is difficult for investors to monetize investments in approaches for lowering animal agriculture emissions. These might include alternative feeds or supplements or vaccinations that inhibit methane-producing microorganisms in animals’ digestive systems.
Another approach to the problem is changing the mix of animal proteins in people’s diets. Chicken and pork are half as bad as dairy per pound of protein, and about one-tenth as bad as beef, in terms of emissions.
Dairy is a major issue. There has been quite a lot of progress in increasing the use of dairy-free milk, but over the past 40 years, Americans have cut their consumption of milk in half but doubled their consumption of cheese. Progress in dairy-free cheese has not been anywhere near as successful as that of dairy-free milk. But new products are entering the marketplace all the time.
Web LinksIs fake meat a real solution? Stanford expert explains
Photo, posted June 17, 2019, courtesy of Christolph Scholz via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
A study by researchers at Saint Louis University has found that elephants play a key role in creating forests that store large amounts of atmospheric carbon and in maintaining the biodiversity of forests in Africa. Since elephants are endangered, their status represents a significant threat to an ecosystem that is very important to the Earth’s climate.The African rainforest contains trees with both low carbon density (light wood) and high carbon density (heavy wood). High carbon density trees grow more slowly and can be crowded out by the faster growing low carbon density trees rising above them. Elephants affect the relative abundance of these trees by feeding more on the low carbon density trees which are more palatable and nutritious. This thinning of the forest allows the trees that sequester the most carbon to flourish.
Elephants are also excellent dispersers of the seeds of high carbon density trees. Essentially, elephants are the gardeners of the forest. They plant the forest with high carbon density trees and get rid of the weeds – in this case, the low carbon density trees. According to the study, if elephants were to become extinct, the African rainforest – the second largest on earth – would gradually lose between six and nine percent of its ability to capture atmospheric carbon.
Elephants have been hunted by humans for millennia. Gaining support for protecting them has mostly been driven by the argument that everybody loves elephants. Focusing on their role in maintaining forest diversity has not driven much more action. The hope is that the evidence of how important elephants are for climate mitigation will be taken seriously by policy makers to generate the support needed for improved elephant conservation.
Web LinksCan Elephants Save the Planet?
Photo, posted March 15, 2008, courtesy of Michelle Gadd/USFWS via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Climate change is shrinking the Arctic ice cover, which is making it easier for ships to travel along the northern coast of Russia, known as the Northern Sea Route or the Northeast Passage. There is also the Northwest Passage, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.More than 600 fishing vessels sail the waters of the Arctic Ocean, but these fishing vessels are not the worst offenders when it comes to the growing problem of air pollution. Giant natural gas tankers are becoming a much bigger problem.
In 2021, only 26 natural gas tankers traveled through Arctic waters. But these ships can be 1000 feet long or more and produce far more CO2 emissions than fishing boats. In 2019, the tankers accounted for 28% of the emissions and the number of them cruising the Arctic has been growing.
As the ice cover in the Arctic continues to shrink, more and more ships of all varieties, including cruise ships, fishing vessels, as well as tankers, are coming north and spending more time in the Arctic. Any increases in ship traffic will increase the pollutant load in the Arctic and the Arctic is one of the most vulnerable environments in the world.
Between 2013 and 2019, the aggregated nautical miles that vessels traveled in what is called the Polar Code area increased by 75%. It isn’t just that more ships like tankers are going there. It is that their operational season is expanding.
Air pollution isn’t the only problem. Shipping in the Arctic brings with it light pollution, noise, marine litter, and more. Only zero activity has zero pollution.
Web LinksThe worst polluters in the Arctic are not what you think
Photo, posted February 26, 2015, courtesy of Chris Parker via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
As the years roll by without sufficient progress in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the need for technologies that can capture CO2 from its sources or remove it from the air becomes stronger and stronger. People have developed various ways to capture carbon dioxide, but to date, they generally suffer from some combination of being too […]
According to the World Food Programme, a record 349 million people across 79 countries are facing acute food insecurity. This constitutes a staggering rise of 200 million people compared to pre-pandemic levels. Nearly one million people globally are fighting to survive in famine-like conditions, which is ten times more people than just five years ago. As a result, many experts contend that alternative or so-called novel food sources - such as lab-grown meats, seaweed aquaculture, and insects - will be necessary to help fight global hunger and global food insecurity.
Insects already form a significant part of diets in many cultures around the world. Insects are great sources of nutrients, including protein, vitamins, and minerals. But insects have yet to be embraced in any substantial way in western cultures… but that may be changing.
In fact, the European Union has now certified four types of bugs as food fit for human consumption. The larvae of lesser mealworms and house crickets recently became the third and fourth insects approved for sale as food in the EU, joining yellow mealworms and grasshoppers. Eight more applications are awaiting approval.
Insects are already a delicacy in many high-end restaurants around the world, and a normal and healthy part of diets in countries like Mexico and Thailand. Embracing insects as a food of the future will not only help in the fight against global hunger, but will also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to slow species extinction.
In Western food markets, the so-called “yuck factor” remains the biggest hurdle to cross. But as the world population grows, the need for sustainable solutions in the food industry grows with it.
Web LinksInsects on the menu as EU approves two for human consumption
World Hunger Surged in 2020, U.N. Says
A global food crisis
Photo, posted April, 2014, courtesy of Shankar S. via Flickr.
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According to a new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit that studies the energy transition, we have reached a pivot point in which fossil fuels have peaked in their use for producing electricity and are about to enter a period of decline.The report makes the case that wind and solar power are going through a growth process that looks very much like the trend lines for the early stages of other transformative products and industries – things like automobiles and smartphones. Such growth begins slowly for technology and products that are very expensive, but then shifts into high gear as costs shrink and efficiency rises.
The argument is that fossil fuel demand has peaked in the electricity market because the annual growth in global electricity demand is now less that the amount of electricity being generated by newly-built renewable energy plants (mostly solar and wind.) This dynamic will squeeze out the most expensive and dirtiest energy sources over time.
Overall use of fossil fuels for electricity shifted in 2018 from a long-standing period of growth to a holding pattern in which the total amount of electricity produced has no clear trend. According to the RMI report, this plateau in fossil fuel use is likely to continue until about 2025, and then will be followed by a long-term decline.
While the trends in fossil fuel use are quite evident, the end results are not inevitable. There continues to be a battle between the forces trying to protect the fossil fuel status quo and those trying to change it. But strong economic forces are difficult to overcome. Renewable energy is the lowest cost source of electricity in a growing number of locations and situations.
Web LinksWhen Will We Hit Peak Fossil Fuels? Maybe We Already Have
Photo, posted December 27, 2015, courtesy of Gerry Machen via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Recent satellite observations of the sea ice in the Antarctic found the lowest level of ice cover ever seen in the forty years that these observations have been made. As of February 8th, there were only 849,000 square miles of the Southern Ocean covered with ice. The previous record low was measured last February 24th when the total coverage was 876,000 square miles. Ice melting was likely to continue as the month went on.This past January had already set a new record for that month’s mean extent of ice coverage at 1.24 million square miles. This rapid decline in sea ice has been going on for the past six years and is very unusual. Average Antarctic ice cover hardly changed at all during the previous thirty-five years.
Antarctic sea ice generally reaches its maximum extent in September or October and its minimum extent in February. At its maximum, the sea ice cover in the Antarctic is generally between 6.9 and 7.7 million square miles. On the other hand, there are some places where the sea ice melts completely during the Southern Hemisphere summer. Sea ice varies much more in the Antarctic than in the Arctic where the ice is much thicker.
Climate warming at the poles is much higher than at lower latitudes. Nonetheless, it is not yet clear whether what we are seeing is the beginning of the end of summer sea ice in the Antarctic, or whether this is just a new phase characterized by low but still stable sea ice cover in the summer.
Web LinksRecord low sea ice cover in the Antarctic
Photo, posted January 24, 2012, courtesy of Rob Oo via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Big cats are among the most widely recognized and admired animals in the world. But these charismatic predators face many and varied threats, including the loss of habitat and prey, conflicts with humans, poaching, and the illegal wildlife trade. Researchers from the University of Reading in the U.K. have studied the fortunes of 50 species […]
Global steel production has been rising for decades. Because steel corrodes over time, part of the demand for more steel comes from the need to replace the steel used in construction materials – in everything from bridges to cars – that has become corroded over time. Studies have estimated that the economic cost of corrosion […]
The US has seen annual reductions in honey bee colonies since 2006. According to the USDA, there are many factors that have contributed to the decline. These include parasites, pests, insecticides, disease, and a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder in which worker bees abandon a hive and leave behind the queen. One of major threats […]
A study by University of Michigan researchers found that about 90% of U.S. households would save money on fuel costs by owning an electric car rather than a gas-powered car. So apart from the environmental benefits of electric cars, there are real economic benefits as well. Both the price of gasoline and the price of […]
The Ocean Cleanup is a non-profit organization, founded in 2013 by Dutch inventor Boyan Slat, to develop and scale technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. It is an organization that proudly declares that its primary aim is to put itself out of business by successfully cleaning up the oceans. A major activity of […]
California experienced its wettest 10-day period in 25 years as a result of a series of storms driven by atmospheric rivers in January. The Rocky Mountains got buried in snow from the same weather pattern. For the drought-stricken West, the storms were good news. But they are not the cure for what’s been ailing the […]
Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe and it can be used as a fuel to run cars, trains, and even airplanes. Using it produces no harmful emissions. However, to date, the way it is economically produced is not clean and green. It is made from natural gas and leaves behind lots of […]
Glaciers are massive bodies of slowly moving ice. Glaciers form on land, and represent the snows of centuries compressed over time. They move slowly downward under the influence of their own weight and gravity. Most of the glaciers on the planet are found in the polar regions, including Antarctica, the Canadian Arctic, and Greenland. Glaciers […]
As of January 1, many Americans can qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500 for buying an electric vehicle. The credit is one of the changes enacted under last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. The purpose is to encourage EV sales and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. There has been a […]
The world has produced more than 6 billion tons of plastic to date and much of that has become waste that has not been recycled, incinerated, or otherwise properly contained. A great deal of it has ended up in the oceans of the world. Researchers at Kyushu University in Japan have done an analysis to […]
According to the United Nations, more than half of the world’s population currently lives in cities. Projections show that the combination of urbanization and global population growth could add another 2.5 billion people to cities by 2050. Unsurprisingly, cities are a major contributor to climate change. According to U.N. estimates, cities are responsible for 75% […]
The world consumes 7.5 million tons of chocolate a year. Americans spend an average of $145 a year per capita on chocolate. And we are not even the world leaders. The Swiss eat an average of 22 pounds per person and the overall European chocolate market is the world’s largest. A market valued over $100 […]
The new year began with record-breaking heat across Europe. In fact, on December 31 and January 1, about 5,000 all-time high temperature records for those dates were broken, in some cases by margins of more than 9 degrees Fahrenheit. On New Year’s Day, eight European countries recorded their warmest January day ever. These were Liechtenstein, […]
Salting roads before winter storms is a familiar sight in the Northeast. The purpose is to change the temperature at which ice can form on the road. The underlying concept has formed the basis of a new method of refrigeration that has been dubbed “ionocaloric cooling.” It is described in a paper published in the […]
Lithium-ion batteries are the standard energy source for electric vehicles, and they are also the dominant technology for storing energy in the electric grid. However, they are not the only game in town. There are other battery technologies that have various potential advantages over lithium-ion and some of them are getting the chance to show […]
The average surface temperature for the Earth in 2022 tied with 2015 as the fifth warmest on record. The warming trend for the planet continued with global temperatures 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit above the average baseline for 1951-1980 that NASA uses for its studies. Compared with the late 19th century average used in setting climate goals, […]
We often hear about the importance of native plants in the environment and how invasive species can wreak havoc with ecosystems. But it turns out that human activities can change the characteristics of native species and create unexpected new problems. Common waterhemp is plant native to North America that typically grows near lakes and streams. […]
2022 was a complicated year for global energy. Following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia curtailed natural gas exports to Europe. This led to large increases in coal burning in many countries, but at the same time led to major new investments in renewable energy. Projections are that the world will add as much renewable power […]
Rice straw is produced as a byproduct of rice production. Globally, as much as a billion tons of rice straw is produced each year, three-quarters of it in Asia. Straw incorporation in soil for fertilization is not practical in most places because with multiple crops per year, there is not enough time for the material […]
Starting in December, a series of “atmospheric rivers” brought record storms to California producing as much rain in three weeks in some areas as they normally have in an entire year. The historic levels of rain (and snow in the mountains) have swollen rivers, flooded roads and homes, forced evacuations, knocked out electric power for […]
Lithium-ion batteries have been the power source for electric vehicles since 2008, when the Tesla Roadster was introduced. They took over for nickel-metal hydride batteries that powered most hybrid electric cars such as the Prius. Lithium-ion batteries store much more energy for a battery of a given weight, which leads to greater driving range. But […]
A start-up company in Oman called 44.01 was recently awarded a $1.2 million Earthshot Prize by Prince William of the U.K. The company, whose name corresponds to the molecular weight of carbon dioxide, is working on speeding up natural chemical reactions that take carbon from the air and lock it into solid mineral form. The […]
India is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. An estimated 47,000 plant species and 89,000 animal species can be found in India, with more than 10% of each thought to be on the list of threatened species. India is also one of the 10 most forest-rich countries in the world. Trees cover […]
Wheat is one of the most widely-grown crops in the world and plays a major role in human nutrition. In fact, wheat contributes approximately 20% of the protein and 20% of the calories consumed by humans globally. It is grown on every continent except Antarctica. But wheat is under growing attacks from harmful toxins. According […]
The US Postal Service recently announced that it plans to buy at least 66,000 electric vehicles by 2028. With more than 231,000 total vehicles, the Postal Services operates one of the largest civilian vehicle fleets in the world. Last February, the Postal Service announced a plan to replace up to 165,000 older mail trucks, many […]
Wyoming produces about 40% of our country’s coal and many towns in the state were built because of and make their living from it. With coal’s plummeting share in the nation’s electricity, there is a great deal of anxiety among residents of those towns. As carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere continue to climb, there […]
In December, the Department of Energy announced that scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California had achieved a breakthrough in nuclear fusion technology. Fusion is the process by which the sun generates energy. If we had the means to produce nuclear fusion in a controlled fashion, it would be an almost limitless source of […]
There are a variety of schemes for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Some require advanced and generally not-very-well developed technology. Others, such as planting vast numbers of trees, are nature-based but are daunting with respect to the scale to which they need to take place in order to be truly effective. Researchers at the […]
Cities are awash in microscopic soot and other pollutants from the tailpipes of vehicles. Apart from contributing substantially to the warming of the planet, these emissions have a significant impact on human health. Research at Cornell University has determined that the continued growth of electric cars will lead to cleaner air and reduced human mortality […]
Roughly three-quarters of the world population has access to a safely managed water source. That means that one-in-four people do not have access to safe drinking water. Even in the wealthy United States, persistent drought in the west is creating problems in places like Phoenix, Arizona. Water is plentiful on Earth but more than 99% […]
The UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal in December concluded with a historic deal aimed at stemming the rising tide of extinctions. Nearly 200 countries signed on to the agreement to protect 30% of the Earth’s land and sea by the end of this decade. Part of the agreement also pledges that countries will reduce fertilizer […]
According to a recent report by the International Energy Agency, worldwide growth in renewable power capacity is set to double in the next five years. In fact, by 2027, the world will add as much renewable power as it did over the previous 20 years. Of particular significance is that renewables are going to overtake […]
La Niña is an oceanic phenomenon consisting of cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropic Pacific. It is essentially the opposite of the better-known El Niño. These sea-surface phenomena affect weather across the globe. As one oceanographer put it: when the Pacific speaks, the whole world listens. There is currently a […]
Researchers from Cornell University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that the continual warming in the world over the past 25 years has been reducing the amount of oxygen in many lakes. Data from more than 400 lakes – mostly in the United States – shows that lakes with dissolved oxygen losses strongly outnumber those […]
There is lots of interest in traction. People want to find better ways to move across wet and frozen surfaces safely. This applies to both the shoes on our feet and the tires on our cars. Researchers at the University of Akron along with colleagues at Syracuse University and at Bridgestone, the tire company, have […]
Birds come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes and plumages. The physical attributes of birds are adaptations that have taken countless millennia to develop, and physical attributes are closely related to the roles birds play in their environment. According to a new study led by researchers from the University College London in the U.K., […]
In December, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held the first auction for offshore wind energy leases on the West Coast. The BOEM lease sale offered five lease areas covering 373,268 acres off the central and northern California coast. The leased areas have the potential to produce over 4.6 gigawatts of wind energy, which is […]
Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, erupted for the first time in nearly 40 years in late November. A 124-foot aluminum tower at the top of the volcano has been the site of carbon dioxide measurements for over 60 years but the eruption cut off power to the site, stopping the monitoring. […]
France has passed legislation that will require all parking lots with more than 80 spaces to be covered over by solar panels. This is part of a broader effort to put solar panels on vacant lots, empty land alongside roadways and train tracks, and even some farmland. The overall program would add 11 gigawatts of […]
Coral reefs around the world face multiple dangers from warming waters, acidification, human activity, and more. Powerful storms often cause tremendous damage to reefs. When possible, snorkelers and divers are deployed to try to repair damage to reefs. But philanthropy and government grants are basically the only resources available to fund such actions. Three years […]
A new study by researchers at Stockholm University has found that the warming during the summer months in Europe has been much faster than the global average. The findings, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, are that the climate across the European continent has become drier, particularly in southern Europe, leading to worse […]
The Sumatran rhinoceros is the smallest and most ancient rhino species and is the only surviving species with hair. It is critically endangered. Because of poaching and habitat destruction, there are fewer than 50 of them left in the wild and those are scattered in the rainforests of Sumatra and the Indonesian part of Borneo. […]
Every year, millions of people around the world make resolutions in hopes of sparking positive changes in the new year. Popular resolutions include improving health and fitness, traveling more, spending less, and so on. With the New Year just around the corner, here are seven resolutions we all could make that would collectively have a […]
A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, has found that under the right circumstances, disease-resistant corals can rescue corals that are more vulnerable to disease. The researchers monitored a disease outbreak at a coral nursery in the Cayman Islands. They tracked the presence of disease in 650 coral fragments in various […]
For many years, scientists have been sounding the alarm on the global struggle of pollinators. Many of the invertebrate pollinator species, such as bees and butterflies, are facing extinction. And since 75% of the world’s food crops depend on pollination to some extent, the decline of pollinators poses a major threat to global food security. […]
Measuring only three to five millimeters in size, tiny ticks are a big problem. They are widely distributed in many parts of the world, especially in warm and humid climates. Ticks are arachnids – not insects – meaning they’re more closely related to spiders than to flies or mosquitos. They are external parasites that feast […]
The scientific consensus that human-generated carbon dioxide is changing the climate began to form in the 1980s. For a long time, the changes to the climate were simply denied. After a while, as those changes became increasingly hard to ignore, the argument shifted to the changes being real but not caused by anything people are […]
The recent UN climate summit in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt brought with it lots of pledges for action. Among them was a promise from the three countries that are home to more than half of the world’s tropical rainforests to try to do something to protect them. The ministers of Brazil, Indonesia, and the Democratic […]
The dominant issues in midterm elections in November were the economy and abortion rights, but at the same time there were also ballot initiatives in various cities and states across the country related to climate. What some describe as the ‘silent surprise’ of the election was that these initiatives generally passed and, in some cases, […]
Many companies around the world are declaring tremendous progress in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Sometimes these claims are the result of actions that really do reduce emissions but other times they are the result of something called “market-based accounting”. Businesses buy credits from clean energy providers that allows them to say they are running […]
Hydrogen sulfide gas produces the characteristic smell of rotten eggs, sewers, stockyards, and landfills. The petroleum industry produces thousands of tons of the stuff each year as a byproduct of the processes that remove sulfur from petroleum, natural gas, coal, and other products. The industry faces substantial fines for emitting hydrogen sulfide, but remediation is […]
We’ve heard more and more about laboratory meat. Other names for it are cultured meat, cultivated meat, or test tube meat. Whatever name ends up sticking, the idea is to take living cells from animals and grow them in a controlled laboratory environment to produce a meat product that doesn’t involve the slaughter of any […]
The Congo peatlands in central Africa are the world’s largest tropical peatlands complex, occupying an area of 65,000 square miles, about the size of the entire state of Florida. Peatlands represent a huge store of carbon and therefore are important to the stability of the climate. A study by scientists at the University of Leeds […]
About 15% of global energy consumption is for cooling buildings. Because of this, there is an ever- growing need for technologies that can more efficiently cool buildings. Researchers at Notre Dame University have used advanced computing technology and artificial intelligence to design a transparent window coating that is able to lower the temperature inside buildings […]
In 2022, glaciers in the Swiss Alps melted more than in any year on record. This is the latest piece of bad news for the country’s glaciers, which have lost more than half of their volume of ice since the 1930s. The melting season for Switzerland’s snow and ice typically starts in May and ends […]
Crypto mining, the arcane process by which cryptocurrencies are generated, is incredibly energy-intensive. As of this past summer, global electricity usage for the activity is as much as 240 billion kilowatt-hours per year, which is more than many entire countries use (for example Australia and Argentina.) Crypto mining consumes as much electricity as all the […]
Deforestation is the purposeful clearing of forested land. Forests are cut down to make space for animal grazing, agriculture, and to obtain wood for fuel, manufacturing, and construction. Deforestation has greatly altered landscapes around the world and continues to do so today. Deforestation is the second largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, trailing only […]
People have been cultivating rice for more than 9,000 years. Cultivated rice is an annual crop which is often extended to two crops a year by a process called ratooning, which is cutting back annual rice to obtain a second, weaker harvest. An extensive project involving multiple institutions in China, the U.S., and Australia has […]
The world drinks a lot of coffee. Americans alone consume 400 million cups a day. Each cup of coffee results in about half an ounce of coffee grounds. Adding that up, this country produces over 6,000 tons of coffee grounds each day. While coffee grounds are not particularly harmful, that is an awful lot of […]
Heat waves are defined as periods of abnormally hot weather generally lasting more than two days. To be considered a heat wave, the recorded temperatures must be substantially above the historical averages for a given area. According to climate scientists, anthropogenic climate change is likely causing heat waves to increase in both frequency and intensity. […]
India is the country with the second largest population in the world – over 1.4 billion people – second only to China – and will undoubtedly pass China soon based on population trends in the two countries. India is the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide, after China and the U.S. With its rapidly growing […]
People have intentionally or accidentally introduced numerous invasive species to habitats around the world. At the same time, the planet’s wildlife is in a steep decline. A recent study estimated that the populations of over 5,000 vertebrate species have declined by an average of nearly 70% since 1970. A United Nations report warns that human […]
The world’s economies including its energy markets have been in turmoil in recent times but despite the chaotic conditions, the shift to clean energy is gaining momentum. This year, for the first time, the world is investing more in wind and solar power than in oil and gas drilling. Investments in renewables are expected to […]
Plastic waste has been accumulating in the world’s oceans in greater and greater quantities and much of it is in the form of microplastic particles. Many kinds of whales - the largest creatures on Earth – feed by gulping up mouthfuls of krill and other tiny creatures and then straining the seawater through bristly filter structures called baleens. As they do this, they are likely to be swallowing large amounts of plastic. Scientists at Stanford University recently estimated just how much plastic whales are ingesting by tracking the foraging behavior of 65 humpback whales, 29 fin whales, and 126 blue whales in the Pacific Ocean. Each of the whales was tagged with a camera, microphone, and GPS device suction-cupped to their back.
After accounting for the concentration of microplastics in parts of the Pacific Ocean, the researchers were able to estimate the amount of plastic the whales were consuming. Humpback whales likely consume 4 million microplastic pieces each day, adding up to about 38 pounds of plastic waste. Fin whales swallow an estimated 6 million pieces each – amounting to 57 pounds of plastic. Blue whales, which are the largest creatures on Earth, eat an estimated 10 million microplastic pieces, or as much as 95 pounds of plastic waste each day.
Despite their enormous size, whales actually eat rather low on the food chain, which puts them close to where the plastic is in the water. Krill eats plastic and whales eat the krill. Many marine animals are at risk of eating microplastics, but whales are unique in that they can consume so much of it. It is just one more way in which the ocean plastic situation is a global crisis.
Web Links Blue Whales Swallowing 95 Pounds of Plastic Daily, Scientists Estimate
Photo, posted October 21, 2005, courtesy of Tobias Begemann via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
We’ve all probably had the experience of being in the great outdoors with other people and having some of them being nearly devoured by mosquitoes while others didn’t get bitten at all. It seemed like some people are mosquito magnets while others just aren’t the insects’ cup of tea, so to speak. There have been […]
Electric vehicles are widely known to be the environmentally friendly alternative to internal combustion-based cars. But there are skeptics who argue that EVs actually have a larger carbon footprint than nonelectric vehicles. The argument is that the manufacturing and disposal of vehicle batteries is very carbon intensive. They also point to the reliance on coal […]
The U.S. Committee of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative has published the State of the Birds 2022, an assessment of bird populations in North America. The news is not good. The report identifies 70 Tipping Point species, which are those that have lost half or more of their breeding population since 1970 and are […]
It is tragic that 31% of the world’s food production goes uneaten. About 14% isn’t distributed after it is harvested. Another 17% ends up wasted in retail or by consumers. Worldwide, the amount of food that is wasted is enough to feed more than a billion people while at least 828 million people continue to […]
For the world to reach a state of net-zero emissions, it is going to require more than the ongoing transition to renewable energy sources. There will also need to be efforts to capture the emissions from sources that can’t easily eliminate their pollution. These include steel mills, cement plants, and other industrial sites. At least […]
The United Nations climate change conference that recently took place in Egypt is an annual event. Last year, the conference was in Glasgow, Scotland, and the participants – heads of state and business leaders – produced a long list of promises aimed at fighting global warming. How have the countries and companies making those promises […]
The World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London recently published the latest Living Planet Index, which is designed to measure how animal populations are changing through time. The purpose is to provide an assessment of the health of ecosystems and the state of biodiversity. The LPI only looks at the population of vertebrates: […]
El Paso, Texas is part of the Paso del Norte region, which includes Ciudad Juarez in Mexico and Las Cruces, New Mexico. The population on both sides of the border is booming, approaching 3 million people. The region’s primary water source is the Rio Grande River. But that river is declining. Rising temperatures and decreasing […]
Our planet is choking on plastic. According to the United Nations, 79% of the 6.3 billion tons of plastic produced every year accumulates in landfills. Half of all plastic produced is actually designed to be used just once and thrown away. But plastic is not only accumulating on land. In fact, the world’s oceans are […]
Hybrid renewable energy systems combine multiple renewable energy and/or energy storage technologies into a single plant. The goal is to reduce costs and increase energy output relative to separate systems taking advantage of common infrastructure and the ability of one renewable energy source having appreciable output while a second one might not at a particular time. Recently, the largest hybrid renewable power plant in the United States was completed in rural Oregon. The Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility combines a wind farm, a solar array, and battery storage.
Plants that include just solar power and energy storage are also called hybrid plants, but the Wheatridge Facility is special because it includes wind power. The facility comprises a 200-megawatt wind farm, a 50-megawatt solar array, and a 30-megawatt battery system capable of providing power for four hours. The combined system can provide for the electricity needs of about 100,000 homes.
There are about 140 projects in the United States that combine solar and storage. There are 14 that combine solar and wind. There are only four plants – with the completion of Wheatridge – that have wind, solar, and storage.
Wind and solar energy are generally complementary technologies. Wind is usually strongest at night while solar, of course, is a daytime source of energy. Solar and wind plants don’t need to be close together to take advantage of this, but hybrid projects benefit from needing only one grid connection and one lease for land.
Web Links A Clean Energy Trifecta: Wind, Solar and Storage in the Same Project
Photo, posted December 27, 2015, courtesy of Gerry Machen via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
California has tremendous potential offshore wind resources. The state set a preliminary target of 15 GW of offshore wind by 2045 earlier this year and may increase that number to 25 GW. But installing offshore wind on the West Coast is much more challenging than it is on the East Coast. The reason is that […]
California has tremendous potential offshore wind resources. The state set a preliminary target of 15 GW of offshore wind by 2045 earlier this year and may increase that number to 25 GW. But installing offshore wind on the West Coast is much more challenging than it is on the East Coast. The reason is that the ocean floor drops off rapidly on the Pacific Coast and it is simply not practical to attach wind turbines to the sea bottom. Instead, floating turbine technology will be required. That is more complicated and more expensive. Despite the challenges, offshore wind in California is moving forward. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced that the auction for rights to develop waters off central and northern California will be held on December 6. This will be the first wind auction ever along the U.S. Pacific Coast.
The auction will include three lease areas in the Morro Bay Wind Energy Area and two proposed areas in the Humboldt Wind Energy Area. Combined, the two areas cover over 370,000 acres and could potentially host over 4.5 GW of wind generating capacity. The projects developed in these areas are likely to become the first floating offshore wind projects in operation in the U.S.
Apart from the challenges of building floating wind installations, there will be the issue of the electric grid in the proposed regions being able to support the added generation from the wind farms. Substantial grid upgrades will be needed to accommodate all the power coming from the offshore facilities. In addition, California offshore wind projects will need to jump-start new supply chains in the U.S.
Web Links Date is set for California offshore wind lease auction
Photo, posted March 24, 2016, courtesy of Andy Dingley / TEIA via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
According to a study last year at Oregon State University, co-developing land for both solar photovoltaic power and agriculture could provide 20% of total electricity generation in the United States with an investment of less than 1% of the annual U.S. budget. Widespread installation of agrivoltaic systems could reduce carbon emissions by 330,000 tons annually and create more than 100,000 jobs in rural communities. Agrivoltaics could provide the synergistic combination of more food, more energy, lower water demand, lower carbon emissions, and improved local prosperity. The problem with agrivoltaics to date is that the existing implementations have used solar arrays designed strictly for electricity generation rather than to be used in combination with agriculture. They are not that well suited to co-exist with growing crops or grazing animals.
A new project is underway at Oregon State that will help researchers to optimize agrivoltaic systems. The five-acre Solar Harvest Project is being built at the university’s North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora, Oregon in partnership with the Oregon Clean Power Cooperative.
The solar array for the project is designed specifically for agrivoltaics research and uses panels that are more spread out and able to rotate to a near vertical position to allow farm equipment to pass through. The project will allow researchers to study the impact of solar panels on soil health, water use, and plant physiology and yields.
Electricity generated from the 326-kW solar system will be available for purchase by Oregon State and community members.
Web Links Construction starts on Oregon State agrivoltaics farm that will merge agriculture and solar energy
Photo, posted April 5, 2020, courtesy of Sean Nealon / Oregon State University via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
According to a study last year at Oregon State University, co-developing land for both solar photovoltaic power and agriculture could provide 20% of total electricity generation in the United States with an investment of less than 1% of the annual U.S. budget. Widespread installation of agrivoltaic systems could reduce carbon emissions by 330,000 tons annually […]
The snail darter is a three-inch-long snail-eating fish that was once only found in the Little Tennessee River. When that river was going to be dammed by the Tellico Dam under construction in the 1970s, the snail darter was listed on the endangered species list and the little fish subsequently became the subject of a legal battle that made it all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. With the dam project 95% complete in 1978, the Supreme Court blocked further construction, citing the Endangered Species Act. A year later, Congress exempted the project from the requirements of the Act, thereby clearing the way for the completion of the dam. In order to save the snail darter, biologists transplanted the fish into several other nearby rivers and waterways. In addition, the Tennessee Valley Authority modified the operation of the Tellico Dam to release more oxygen-rich water downstream. Beyond those measures, the river cleanup under the Clean Water Act further aided the fish’s recovery.
In 1984, the snail darter was removed from the endangered species list and was listed as threatened or vulnerable. Recently, the U.S. Department of the Interior officially removed the snail darter from the federal list of threatened and endangered wildlife.
The snail darter is the fifth fish species to be delisted because its population has recovered. It is the first in the eastern United States. With better management of water releases at dams, many other imperiled aquatic species could be recovered.
Overall, more than 50 plants and animals have recovered under federal protection, including American alligators, humpback whales, peregrine falcons, and bald eagles.
Web Links Once at Center of Controversial Case, the Snail Darter Fish Is No Longer Threatened
Photo, posted July 22, 2015, courtesy of The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The snail darter is a three-inch-long snail-eating fish that was once only found in the Little Tennessee River. When that river was going to be dammed by the Tellico Dam under construction in the 1970s, the snail darter was listed on the endangered species list and the little fish subsequently became the subject of a […]
There are initiatives around the world to plant millions of trees as a way to fight climate change. Unfortunately, scientists have observed that many of these projects are ill-conceived and poorly managed. Some have failed to grow any forests at all. One such project was an attempt to plant a million mangrove seedlings in coastal […]
There are initiatives around the world to plant millions of trees as a way to fight climate change. Unfortunately, scientists have observed that many of these projects are ill-conceived and poorly managed. Some have failed to grow any forests at all. One such project was an attempt to plant a million mangrove seedlings in coastal mud on the Filipino island of Luzon in 2012. Ten years later, less than 2% of the trees have survived. The other 98% have died or have washed away. The problem was that the site of the project was ecologically unsuited to mangroves because it is too waterlogged and there is no oxygen available except in a few sheltered spots.
In 2019, the Turkish government managed the planting of 11 million trees in 2,000 sites across the country. A later survey found that 90% had died, although the government denies that assertion.
Many other projects have also had dismal results. The causes of failure vary but include planting single species of trees that become vulnerable to disease, competing demands for land, changing climate, planting in areas not previously forested, and lack of ongoing care for the saplings including watering them.
Nobody is opposed to mass tree planting. There is no anti-tree lobby. But tree planting is sometimes a form of greenwashing. It is great for public relations but unless it is done properly with appropriate planning, it can be a waste of effort and money. The result can be a phantom forest that does nothing for the climate.
Forest planting can work if the social and environmental conditions are right, and if planting is followed by long-term monitoring and care of the trees.
Web Links Phantom Forests: Why Ambitious Tree Planting Projects Are Failing
Photo, posted April 20, 2016, courtesy of the U.S. Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John Benson via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The global accumulation of plastic waste is an ever-growing problem. At least five billion tons of the stuff has accumulated on land and sea and is even showing up in the bodies of animals and humans. Recycling plastic instead of making even more of it seems like an essential thing to do but it has […]
The global accumulation of plastic waste is an ever-growing problem. At least five billion tons of the stuff has accumulated on land and sea and is even showing up in the bodies of animals and humans. Recycling plastic instead of making even more of it seems like an essential thing to do but it has proven to be extremely challenging. The main problem is that plastics come in many different varieties and the ways of breaking them down into a form that can be reused are very specific to each type of plastic. Sorting plastic waste by plastic type is extremely impractical at large scale. Certainly, most consumers can’t do it themselves. As a result, most plastic gathered in recycling programs ends up in landfills.
New research at MIT has developed a chemical process using a catalyst based on cobalt that is very effective at breaking down a variety of plastics, including polyethylene and polypropylene, which are the two most widely produced plastics. The MIT process breaks plastics down into propane. Propane can be used as a fuel or as a feedstock for making many different products, including new plastics.
Plastics are hard to recycle because their long-chain molecules are very stable and difficult to break apart. Most chemical methods for breaking their chemical bonds produce a random mix of different molecules which would somehow have to be sorted out in order to be useful for anything.
The new process uses a catalyst called a zeolite that contains cobalt nanoparticles. The catalyst selectively breaks down various plastic polymer molecules and turns more than 80% of them into propane.
The researchers are still studying the economics and logistics of the method, but it looks quite promising.
Web Links New process could enable more efficient plastics recycling
Photo, posted April 25, 2016, courtesy of NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
According to some estimates, food production will need to increase by 50% by 2050 in order to feed a projected global population of 10 billion people. How can this be achieved? One solution, according to researchers at Cornell University, could be to grow nutritious and protein-dense microalgae in seawater-fed onshore aquaculture systems. According to the […]
According to some estimates, food production will need to increase by 50% by 2050 in order to feed a projected global population of 10 billion people. How can this be achieved? One solution, according to researchers at Cornell University, could be to grow nutritious and protein-dense microalgae in seawater-fed onshore aquaculture systems.
According to the research, which was recently published in the journal Oceanography, growing algae onshore could close a projected gap in society's future nutritional demands while also improving environmental sustainability.
Climate change, environmental degradation, limited arable land, and lack of freshwater will all constrain the amount of food that can be grown in the coming decades. Wild fish stocks are already heavily exploited, and there are limits to how much finfish, shellfish, and seaweed aquaculture can be produced in the coastal ocean.
As a result, the researchers argue for expanding algae production in onshore aquaculture facilities. The research team’s models found that the best locations for onshore algae farming facilities are along the coasts of the Global South, including desert environments.
Algae can grow as much as ten times faster than traditional crops. Algae can also be produced in a manner that is more efficient than agriculture in its use of nutrients. In addition to its high protein content, algae also provides nutrients lacking in vegetarian diets, such as essential amino acids, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids.
Algae could become the breadbasket of the Global South.
Web Links Onshore algae farms could feed the world sustainably
Photo, posted June 17, 2011, courtesy of NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Globally, there are more than 6,000 species of crabs. In Alaska’s waters alone, there are 18 species, including 10 that are commercially fished. The perils of crab fishing in this region, including freezing temperatures, turbulent seas, and raising full pots that can weigh well over a ton, have been highlighted for many years in the […]
Globally, there are more than 6,000 species of crabs. In Alaska’s waters alone, there are 18 species, including 10 that are commercially fished. The perils of crab fishing in this region, including freezing temperatures, turbulent seas, and raising full pots that can weigh well over a ton, have been highlighted for many years in the reality TV series Deadliest Catch. One of those commercially-fished species is the Alaska snow crab. Alaska snow crabs are a cold-water species found off the coast of Alaska in the Bering, Beaufort, and Chukchi Seas.
In October, officials in Alaska announced that the upcoming winter snow crab season would be canceled for the first time ever due to a sharp population decline. While the number of juvenile snow crabs was at record highs just a few years ago, approximately 90% of snow crabs mysteriously disappeared ahead of last season. Officials also canceled the Bristol Bay red king crab harvest for similar reasons for the second year in a row.
The closures dealt a severe blow to crab fishers in the region. According to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, Alaska’s crab fishing industry is worth more than $200 million.
The canceled seasons also raise questions about the role of climate change in the snow crab population crash. While the causes of the decline are still being researched, scientists suspect that warmer temperatures are responsible. Temperatures in the Arctic region have warmed four times faster than the rest of the planet.
As the climate continues to change, the warming waters around Alaska may become increasingly inhospitable to snow crabs and other species.
Web Links Alaska’s Bering snow crab, king crab seasons canceled
Alaska cancels snow crab season for first time after population collapses
Photo, posted November 16, 2010, courtesy of David Csepp / NOAA via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Bitcoin mining, the process by which the prominent cryptocurrency is created, is well-known to be energy intensive, but the environmental impact of it has not been extensively studied. People have described Bitcoin as 'digital gold.' A new analysis by researchers at the University of New Mexico has found that Bitcoin mining shouldn’t be compared to gold mining. It is more appropriately compared to the creation of much more energy-intensive products such as beef, natural gas, and crude oil. Furthermore, the study found that rather than becoming more sustainable over time, Bitcoin mining is becoming dirtier and more damaging to the climate as long as it relies upon fossil-fuel generated electricity. Estimates are that in 2020, Bitcoin mining used 75.4 terawatt hours of electricity, which is more electricity than the entire country of Austria, as well as 150 other nations around the world.
The study looked at the economic cost of the air pollution and carbon emissions associated with Bitcoin mining and found that in many instances, the negative economic impact of creating a single Bitcoin is more than what the resultant coin is worth.
Based on the market value of Bitcoins, the cost of climate damage for that value is a little less that that of electricity produced by natural gas and gasoline produced from crude oil, but actually more than that of beef production.
There are multiple cryptocurrencies. Ether is one that voluntarily switched away from so-called proof-of-work mining. Whether Bitcoin or others will act similarly absent potential regulation remains to be seen. Until such time, Bitcoin mining remains an increasingly dirty and damaging business.
Web Links Technology: UNM researchers find Bitcoin mining is environmentally unsustainable
Photo, posted May 11, 2017, courtesy of Komers Real via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Everyone contributes to climate change through the generation of greenhouse gas emissions, but individual contributions vary greatly. A study at the Paris School of Economics has determined that just 1 percent of the population is responsible for nearly a quarter of global carbon emissions growth since 1990. The study estimated emissions from individuals’ consumption and […]
The alarming rate of carbon dioxide flowing into the atmosphere is having a real and actually positive effect on plant life. Higher concentrations of carbon dioxide make plants more productive because photosynthesis makes use of the sun’s energy to synthesize sugar out of carbon dioxide and water. Plants make use of the sugar both as […]
Rice production is the third largest cereal crop in the United States after corn and wheat. Four regions in the country produce almost the entire U.S. rice crop: the Arkansas Grand Prairie, the Mississippi Delta, the Gulf Coast, and the Sacramento Valley in California. Arkansas is the largest producer of rice in the country by […]
According to a new study published by Stanford University, the average number of people in the U.S. exposed to unhealthy levels of airborne particulates at least one day a year has increased 27-fold over the last decade as a result of wildfires. Millions of Americans are now routinely exposed to plumes of wildfire smoke that […]
Over the past three decades, the owners of 16 million small farms in the Bengal Basin of Bangladesh have been pumping shallow groundwater during dry seasons to irrigate rice paddies. By lowering groundwater levels in this way during the dry season, the ability of leakage from rivers, lakes, and ponds to replenish the groundwater was greatly enhanced. Capturing surface water not only improved the recovery of groundwater levels but only helped to reduce flooding during monsoons. The net result of this enormous collective groundwater pumping by millions of farmers has been the creation of vast natural reservoirs underground that are comparable to what is contained by many of the world’s largest dams. This system of sustaining irrigation has transformed what was previously a famine-prone country into a food-secure nation.
The details of this remarkable transformation have been laid out in a study by University College London recently published in the journal Science. According to the study, over the course of 30 years, more than 75 cubic kilometers of fresh water was captured by this process, which is equivalent to the combined reservoirs of China’s Three Gorges Dam and the Hoover Dam in the U.S.
The authors of the study described the water cycling process as “The Bengal Water Machine” and argue that it can be a sustainable alternative to conventional approaches to seasonal river flow storage for irrigation, which typically involve dams and reservoirs. Such approaches are difficult to implement in densely populated alluvial plains where sand, silt, and clay are laid down by annual floodwaters.
Web Links Millions of farmers “replumb” world’s largest delta
Photo, posted February 2, 2010, courtesy of Melanie Ko via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
A remote region in the high Andes straddling the borders between Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile has become known as the Lithium Triangle. The area has become the focus of a global rush for lithium to make batteries for electric cars. The global demand for lithium is expected to quadruple by 2030 to 2.6 million tons a year. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, more than half of the world’s lithium reserves are dissolved in ancient underground water within the Lithium Triangle. The cheapest way to extract the lithium is to pump the underground water to the surface and evaporate it in the sun to concentrate the lithium carbonate contained in it.
Every ton of lithium carbonate extracted using this cheap, low-tech method dissipates into the air about half a million gallons of water that is vital to the arid high Andes. The process lowers water tables and has the potential to dry up lakes, wetlands, springs, and rivers. Hydrologists and conservationists say the lithium rush in Argentina is likely to turn the region’s delicate ecosystems to deserts.
The global drive for green vehicles to fight climate change has the potential to be an ecological disaster in this remote region of South America and for the indigenous people who live there.
The environmental impacts are not an inevitable price for the transition to electric vehicles. First of all, there are alternatives to lithium. Both zinc and nickel are potential substitutes in rechargeable batteries. But, there are also ways of obtaining lithium that are less destructive than evaporating the metal from saline ecosystems. It is up to battery manufacturers, automakers, and financiers to start demanding lithium from sources that are less environmentally destructive.
Web Links Why the Rush to Mine Lithium Could Dry Up the High Andes
Photo, posted September 25, 2015, courtesy of Nuno Luciano via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Insects can be found in every environment on Earth and are critical components of many ecosystems. They perform countless important functions, including aerating and fertilizing soil as well as pollinating flowers. In fact, according to the USDA, 75% of the world’s flowering plants and about 35% of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators, the majority of which are insects, to reproduce. According to a study published in the journal Nature earlier this year, the combination of climate change and intensive agriculture is having a profound impact on both the abundance and diversity of insects. In regions where substantial warming had occurred and where land had been converted for intensive farming, insects were nearly 50% less abundant and more than 25% fewer species were observed. Tropical regions were among those most at risk for heavy losses.
According to a new study recently published in the journal Global Change Biology, tropical insects will be even more susceptible to climate change than previously thought. In a five-year study conducted in Peru, researchers from the Florida Museum of Natural History found that insect populations declined 50% following short periods of drought and following short periods of heavy rainfall. Insect populations decreased after three months of dry weather, but also decreased after three months of exceptionally wet weather.
Researchers have known that tropical insects don’t tend to do well when their habitats dry out. But the researchers were surprised to discover that these insects were equally averse to increased precipitation. Alarmingly, precipitation is expected to become more frequent and more intense as a consequence of the changing climate.
Web Links Tropical insects are extremely sensitive to changing climates
Photo, posted June 11, 2016, courtesy of Z. Leng via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
According to the National Retail Federation, Halloween participation is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels this year. Spending on Halloween festivities by the 69% of Americans who celebrate is expected to add up to $10.6 billion in 2022 – or more than $100 per person - reaching a new record high. Halloween generates a mind-boggling amount of waste. Picture all the flimsy single-use costumes, plastic candy wrappers, mass-produced decorations, and so on. Here are some tricks to treat you to a greener holiday.
Our first trick is to invest in quality costumes. Mass-produced (and often single use) costumes leave the largest carbon footprint from Halloween. They are often made from unsustainable materials, manufactured in countries with poor labor standards, and too many end up in landfills by mid-November. By renting, thrifting, swapping, or making your own costumes, many of the negative impacts of dressing up for the holiday can be avoided.
Our second trick is to invest in environmentally-friendly decorations and supplies. For example, carve local pumpkins and save the seeds and flesh to eat later. Make your own spooky decorations. If you do buy decorations, ensure that they are durable and reusable. And use a wicker basket, old bag, or pillowcase to trick-or-treat.
Our third trick is to pass out organic and fair trade candy. Some of the largest candy manufacturers are major drivers of deforestation and species extinction around the globe due to their demand for sugar, palm oil, and cocoa beans.
If you’ve already spent your $100 this year, consider these changes for next year. It’s never too late to become a superhero.
Web Links Retail Holiday and Seasonal Trends: Halloween
Photo, posted October 14, 2007, courtesy of Brian via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
California is fighting the effects of climate change on multiple fronts. The state has been grappling with relentless drought, record heat waves, and persistent wildfires. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is enlisting the help of beavers in its battle against climate change. The state has created a beaver restoration unit charged with developing methods for nature-based restoration solutions involving beavers as well as artificial beaver dams. The agency plans to spend at least $3 million over the next two years to oversee a restoration program for the North American beaver.
A 2020 study showed that beaver-dammed corridors were relatively unharmed by wildfires compared with other areas that lacked beaver damming. The study highlighted the differences between two adjacent corridors – one without a beaver population with a landscape scarred by a recent wildfire and another with beavers that remained a lush wetland after a fire. The differences in burn severity, air temperature, humidity, and soil moisture between the beaver complex and the adjacent landscape were huge.
From the 1920s through the 1950s, California actively exported beavers to other parts of the state and country so they could build dams in eroded areas where beaver dams could help evenly distribute water. Now, the state wants to reintroduce beavers into watersheds where they once flourished.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife’s proposal to the California Legislature called beavers an important keystone species that can be used to combat climate change. The state has spent enormous amounts of money on wildfire measures with minimal results. Now they are going to see if beavers can make a difference.
Web Links California says the beaver can be superhero in fighting climate change
Photo, posted September 19, 2021, courtesy of Larry Lamsa via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Sea levels across the globe are rising as a result of the changing climate. Two factors are largely responsible: the melting of ice sheets in the polar regions and the fact that as the oceans get warmer, the water in them expands. Estimates are that by 2050, there will be over 800 million people living in 570 cities that will be at risk from rising sea levels. The rising waters can drown neighborhoods, put people’s lives at risk, and wreck entire economies. Unless global emissions can be reduced sufficiently, sea levels will continue to rise.
A new study, published in the journal Nature Sustainability by Nanyang Technical University in Singapore in collaboration with the University of New Mexico, ETH Zurich, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, has focused on yet another aspect of the threat to coastal cities. They have found that many densely populated coastal cities worldwide are even more vulnerable to sea level rise because much of their land is sinking.
The researchers processed satellite images of 48 cities from 2014 to 2020 using a system called Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar. They found that land subsidence varied on a neighborhood and even individual block level but across all the cities studied, there was a median sinking speed of 6/10” a year. Some places had land that is sinking at 1.7” per year. Meanwhile, the global mean sea-level rise is about .15” per year.
The increasing prevalence of industrial processes such as the extraction of groundwater, and oil and gas, along with the rapid construction of buildings and other urban infrastructure are leading to the sinking of the urban areas.
Web Links Rapid land sinking leaves global cities vulnerable to rising seas
Photo, posted October 24, 2015, courtesy of Jeffrey via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Most of us have heard the sound of a woodpecker drumming on a nearby tree, or unfortunately, on the walls of our house where it can be very destructive. We were often told that the birds were hunting for insects inside the wood, or perhaps trying to open up a nest. But a new study at Brown University has found evidence that woodpeckers are just additional musicians in the bird orchestra who happen to be percussionists. The researchers studied the forebrains of birds and found characteristic gene expression specializations in songbirds. Songbirds sing to communicate for various reasons – such as staking out territory or seeking mates. The study looked at birds that are not known to sing, such as the emu, penguin, flamingo, and woodpeckers. It turns out that among these, only woodpeckers had forebrains that anatomically resembled those of songbirds. The study is the first time a neural basis has been identified for the communication activities of animals other than primates.
There are over 200 species of woodpeckers around the world and each species has its own characteristic drumming speed and rhythms. Woodpecker drumming may well have evolved through a form of vocal learning, which is the way songbirds learn to make their own melodious sounds. And like the calls of songbirds, these drumming patterns change depending on what the birds want to communicate and to whom.
So, the little downy woodpecker that is poking holes in your walls is probably not hunting for insects. It is more likely to be telling another woodpecker to get out of its territory.
Web Links Why do woodpeckers peck? New discovery about bird brains sheds light on intriguing question
Photo, posted June 15, 2021, courtesy of Tony Oldroyd via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
During the summer of 2021, much of Europe experienced a “wind drought” – wind speeds in many places were about 15% below average. In the UK in particular, winds were unusually calm and wind energy production was dramatically reduced. Globally, wind speeds have been dropping by about 2.3% per decade since the 1970s. In 2019, however, global average windspeeds actually increased by about 6%. The question is whether a trend of slowing winds – so-called global stilling – is associated with climate change or is just natural variability in action.
Wind results from uneven temperatures in air masses. Much of the world’s wind comes from the difference between the cold air at the poles and the warm air at the tropics. Because the Arctic is warming much faster than the tropics, it is possible that winds will continue to decline around the world.
Another factor people cite is the increase in surface roughness. The number and size of urban buildings continues to increase, which acts as a drag on winds.
Some models predict that wind speeds will decrease over much of the western U.S. and East Coast, but the central U.S. will see an increase. Experts do not all agree about what is happening with global winds. Many believe that the observed changes to date have been within the range of variability. Furthermore, some places have been windier than usual.
All of this really matters for many reasons. Europe is increasingly dependent upon wind power as an alternative to fossil fuels. A 10% drop in wind speed results in a 30% drop in energy generation. Whatever their cause may be, wind droughts cannot be ignored.
Web Links Global ‘Stilling’: Is Climate Change Slowing Down the Wind?
Photo, posted June 28, 2008, courtesy of Patrick Finnegan via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
According to a new study recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, blue lakes around the world are at risk of turning green-brown if climate change continues unabated. For the study, the research team used over five million satellite images of more than 85,000 lakes and reservoirs around the globe between 2013 and 2020 in order to determine each lake's most common water color. Since lake color can change seasonally, the researchers assessed the most frequent lake color during those seven years.
Algae and sediments affect the color of lakes. But the study found that precipitation, air temperature, lake depth, and elevation also play major roles in determining a lake’s most common water color.
The research team found that blue lakes account for less than one-third of lakes worldwide. Blue lakes tend to be deeper and are often found in cool, high latitude regions with high precipitation and winter ice cover. Meanwhile, green-brown lakes, which account for 69% of all lakes, are found in drier regions, continental interiors, and along coastlines.
As global temperatures rise, lakes will warm, and warmer water produces more algal blooms. As a result, the researchers expect the changing climate to decrease the percentage of blue lakes, many of which are found in the Rocky Mountains, northeastern Canada, northern Europe and New Zealand.
Water color is a simple but viable way to measure water quality that can be done on a global scale using satellites. This approach provides researchers with a way to study how lakes - even the remote ones - are changing.
Web Links Climate change is making lakes turn green-brown
Photo, posted August 27, 2011, courtesy of Paul Schultz via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Scientists have long been calling for a transition to clean energy to prevent catastrophic impacts of climate change. For much of that time, many people and, specifically, many of those in power, were skeptical of the need to do something about the warming climate. But even as the facts about the changing climate became increasingly undeniable, there continued to be fears that the transition to clean energy sources would be unacceptably expensive and harmful to the economy. A recent study published by Oxford University shows that the opposite is true: a concerted effort to convert to green energy technologies such as solar, wind, and batteries, will save the world enormous amounts of money.
The Oxford study shows that a transition to nearly 100% clean energy by 2050 results in a lower-cost energy system that provides energy access to more people around the world. The energy transition is expected to save the world at least $12 trillion compared to continuing our current levels of fossil fuel use.
The cost of renewable energy sources has been going down for decades and they are already cheaper than fossil fuels in many situations. It is expected that they will become cheaper than fossil fuels across almost all applications over time. Accelerating the transition will allow renewables to become cheaper faster.
The study made use of probabilistic models to estimate the costs of various possible future energy systems based on past data. Even the most pessimistic models showed that scaling up green technologies is likely to drive their costs down so far that they will generate net cost savings and that the faster the transition goes, the more will be saved. The result will be a cleaner, cheaper, more energy secure future.
Web Links Decarbonising the energy system by 2050 could save trillions
Photo, posted July 12, 2010, courtesy of Tom Shockey via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
During the summer, much of Europe faced a string of extreme heat waves and a devastating drought. As a result, many reservoirs and rivers have shrunk back to reveal historical structures and relics that, in some cases, date back thousands of years. Once-submerged villages, ships, and bridges have re-emerged this year. In northwest Spain, a former village called Aceredo has reappeared after having been submerged 30 years ago when a hydropower dam flooded the valley where it was located. Elsewhere in Spain, the Dolmen of Guadalperal, a 4000-5000-year-old stone monument often called the Spanish Stonehedge, has risen from a drought-stricken dam west of Madrid
In Italy, which is suffering from its worst drought in 70 years, the ruins of a bridge from the time of Nero are now visible in the Tiber River. One of Germany’s largest reservoirs, the Edersee, has shrunk back so much that parts of Berich, a village that was flooded in 1914, can be seen. In Serbia, water levels in the Danube River are so low that more than a dozen sunken Nazi boats from World War II have been exposed in the town of Prahovo. In Northern England, the lower water levels of the Batings Reservoir have uncovered an ancient packhorse bridge.
The shrinking of riverbeds and reservoirs across Europe has attracted a great deal of attention, probably more than many other effects of the increasing number of extreme weather events because it is so visual. But the frequency of extreme heat and drought is only likely to increase over time.
Web Links Europe’s Shrinking Waterways Reveal Treasures, and Experts Are Worried
Photo, posted July 13, 2017, courtesy of Marco Brandstetter via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
In a rare display of bipartisanship, the U.S. Senate voted 69-27 in favor of ratifying a key international climate agreement aimed at curbing global warming. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which has been ratified by 137 other countries so far, ends the use of climate-warming hydrofluorocarbons that are 1,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide in warming the atmosphere. This is the first international climate treaty that the U.S. has joined in 30 years. The Kigali Agreement was established in Kigali, Rwanda in 2016 to phase out HFCs, which have been the replacements for CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) in air conditioners and refrigerators. CFCs were found to be depleting the ozone layers that protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet rays. HFCs do not deplete the ozone layer, but they have been a significant contributor to global warming.
The U.S. ratification of the treaty is largely symbolic. The American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, passed by Congress in 2020, gave the EPA authority to regulate HFCs and the agency has already been doing so. However, the Senate action shows that the U.S. is back on the international climate bandwagon.
Failure to ratify the Kigali Amendment would have closed segments of the chemical and manufacturing industries to U.S. producers after 2023 because the Montreal Protocol prohibits trade with countries not party to it or its amendments.
Environmental advocates are hopeful that the U.S. can move forward on other climate actions. A next step would be to focus on methane, the second leading driver of climate change after carbon dioxide.
Web Links Senate Votes to Ratify the Kigali Amendment, Joining 137 Nations in an Effort to Curb Global Warming
Photo, posted June 13, 2017, courtesy of UNIDO via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Last year, the KNP Complex Fire burning in Sequoia National Park drew global attention as the General Sherman, the world’s largest tree, was wrapped in tinfoil-like material in order to repel the flames from the fire. Hundreds of firefighters labored for weeks trying to save giant redwood trees. Despite these efforts, the U.S. Forest Service estimates that wildfires killed 13% to 19% of the world’s giant sequoias in 2020 and 2021. This past July, the Washburn Fire burned through part of Yosemite’s Mariposa Grove and the giant sequoias there were surrounded by automated sprinklers trying to shelter them from the flames.
For a century, government agencies have worked to extinguish all natural wildfires and prohibited Native people in the region from lighting the fires they traditionally used to manage their lands. As a result, forests have grown far thicker with trees that can fuel fires. The Sierras are now home to more than three times as many trees as when they were managed by indigenous communities. But more than 100 million of those trees had died by 2016 because of drought.
Add to this massive amount of kindling the effects of climate change – a hotter and drier environment – and there is the perfect storm for megafires among the giant sequoias.
There is federal legislation pending that would provide resources for prescribed burning and other forms of active forest management. It is controversial. It has attracted support from the Nature Conservancy, the Save The Redwoods League, and others, but also opposition from more than 80 environmental groups.
What is not controversial is that the Giant Sequoias are in the midst of a crisis and urgent action is needed.
Web Links In California, a Race to Save the World’s Largest Trees From Megafires
Photo, posted December 10, 2014, courtesy of Laura Camp via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Most of the buzz about electric vehicles relates to passenger cars as the auto industry is making a major transition away from gasoline power. Recently, pickup trucks have started to get some attention as well as Ford’s electric version of the F-150 truck has hit the streets and the long-awaited Tesla Cybertruck will be introduced next year. There hasn’t been as much talk about delivery vehicles, but there should be. There are about 15 million delivery vehicles in the U.S., and they are a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The post office alone has a quarter million of them. Such vehicles are especially attractive candidates for electrification. Most travel relatively consistent and short routes, which makes it easier for companies to be able to charge them and keep them charged.
Electrifying delivery vehicles in cities is especially important because the vehicles travel into and through residential neighborhoods, spreading pollution and particulates as they go.
Some provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act provide credits for the purchase of commercial vehicles. Light-duty vans and trucks qualify for a credit of as much as $7,500. Medium- and heavy-duty trucks qualify for credits as high as $40,000. In addition, substantial tax credits are available for the installation of charging equipment.
According to a study by the Rocky Mountain Institute, sixty percent of new truck sales could be electric by 2030. By 2035, the trucking industry could cut its emissions in half.
American companies are already stepping up to the plate. Amazon plans to deploy 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from new automaker Rivian. Walmart, UPS, FedEx, and others have also committed to electrified trucks.
Web Links The Climate Bill Will Electrify More Delivery Vans and Trucks
Photo, posted August 1, 2021, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Extreme weather events including prolonged drought and heavy rainfall are becoming more common and more severe as global temperatures rise. As the climate continues to change in the coming decades, how will animals respond? Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark have examined how different mammals react to climate change. They analyzed data on population fluctuations from 157 mammal species around the world. They compared these fluctuations with weather and climate data from the same time period. The research team had 10 or more years of data for each species studied.
The researchers found that mammals that live for a long time and/or produce less offspring - like llamas, elephants, bears, and bison - are more climate resilient than small mammals with short lives -- like mice, possums, lemmings, and rare marsupials.
For example, large, long-lived mammals can invest their energy into one offspring, or simply wait for better times if conditions become challenging. On the other hand, small, short-lived mammals like rodents have more extreme population changes in the short term. In the event of a prolonged drought, large portions of their food base may rapidly disappear, and they are left to starve because they have limited fat reserves.
However, the research team notes that the ability of a species to withstand climate change must not be the only factor when assessing a species’ vulnerability. In fact, in many cases, habitat destruction, poaching, pollution, and invasive species pose a larger threat to animal species than climate change.
While the study only examined 157 species, the findings enable researchers to also predict how animals they know less about will react to climate change.
Web Links Which animals can best withstand climate change?
Photo, posted July 8, 2018, courtesy of Ray via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Countries are trying to figure out how to get enough energy from solar and wind generation to completely decarbonize their economies. According to some estimates, nations might have to devote between half a percent and five percent of their land area to solar panels to get the job done. Half a percent is about the amount of the U.S. that is covered by paved roads. While there is lots of open land in many parts of the country, covering it with solar panels might not be acceptable to farmers, conservationists, or other interested parties.
One way to deploy more solar panels without using up land is the use of floating solar panels. Floating photovoltaic systems – also known as floatovoltaics – are becoming increasingly common, especially in Asia. This year, China installed one of the largest floatovoltaic systems in the world on a reservoir near the city of Dezhou.
Floating solar panels stay cooler and run more efficiently than those on land. The panels also help prevent evaporation from their watery homes and the shading they provide also help to minimize algal blooms. Solar installations on reservoirs generally puts them near cities, making it easier to feed power into urban grids.
On the other hand, floating solar systems need to be able to withstand water and waves and are generally more expensive to build than land-based systems.
At present, the installed global capacity of floating solar is only about 3 gigawatts, compared with more than 700 gigawatts of land-based systems. However, reservoirs around the world collectively cover an area about the size of France. Covering just 10 percent of them with floating solar could produce as much power as all the fossil-fuel plants in operation worldwide.
Web Links Solar Takes a Swim
Photo, posted March 7, 2019, courtesy of Hedgerow INC via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Fifty years after the passage of the Clean Water Act, urban waterways across the United States are continuing their comeback and are showing increasing signs of life. A strategy that is being adopted in many places is to use natural restoration techniques focused on bolstering plants and wildlife to improve water quality. A nonprofit called the Upstream Alliance has focused on public access, clean water, and coastal resilience in the Delaware, Hudson, and Chesapeake watersheds. Working with the Center for Aquatic Sciences and with support from the EPA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the alliance has been repopulating areas of an estuary of the Delaware River near Camden, New Jersey with wild celery grass, which is a plant vital to freshwater ecosystems.
In many places, scientists, nonprofits, academic institutions, and state agencies are focusing on organisms like bivalves (typically oysters and mussels) along with aquatic plants to help nature restore fragile ecosystems, improve water quality, and increase resilience.
Bivalves and aquatic vegetation improve water clarity by grounding suspended particles, which allows more light to penetrate. These organisms also cycle nutrients both by absorbing them as food and by making them more available to other organisms.
Underwater restoration projects have been underway in New York Harbor for more than a decade, where the Billion Oyster Project has engaged 10,000 volunteers and 6,000 students.
The hope is that bringing back bivalves and aquatic plants can create a lasting foundation for entire ecosystems. It is restoring nature’s ability to keep itself clean.
Web Links How Using Nature’s Tools Is Helping to Clean Up Urban Rivers
Photo, posted December 19, 2019, courtesy of Scott via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
At the end of its summer session, California’s state legislature passed five climate-related bills including ones that it had been unable to pass in previous sessions. Taking all of these actions puts California in the position of blazing a trail for the country and the rest of world in taking aggressive action on climate issues. One bill confirmed California’s goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2045. Another bill added interim-term targets to go along with the state’s goal of 100% renewable electricity by 2045. It sets a target of 90% by 2030 and 95% by 2040. That bill mandates that California state agencies use 100% clean energy by 2035, which is a decade earlier than the previous requirement.
A third bill requires the California Air Resources Board to determine steps and regulations for carbon-capture and storage projects at pollution hotspots like oil refineries.
A fourth bill requires the state to set goals for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through natural means such as tree planting.
The California state budget includes a record-breaking $54 billion to be spent on climate programs over the next five years, including $6.1 billion toward electric vehicles, $14.8 billion towards public transit projects, more than $8 billion for electric grid stabilization, $2.7 billion towards preventing wildfires, and $2.8 billion towards managing drought.
California has been dealing with ongoing drought and numerous wildfires and is highly motivated to take decisive action in dealing with the climate crisis. California’s environmental initiatives often result in comparable actions taken by other states.
Web Links California Passes Massive Climate Legislation Package
Photo, posted March 16, 2019, courtesy of Raymond Shobe via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
The Inflation Reduction Act provides $369 billion in investments to ramp up renewable energy generation and manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, energy storage, and electric vehicles. Every megawatt of solar power deployed requires 35 to 45 tons of steel. Every megawatt of wind power uses 120 to 180 tons of steel. Estimates are that it will take 1.7 billion tons of steel just to build all the wind turbines needed to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
This is a big problem because steel production accounts for roughly 10% of global carbon emissions and is one of the most carbon-intensive industries in the world.
Making steel is a complex and age-old process that hasn’t changed much over time. Green steel is steel made with little or no carbon emissions. There are a few ways to do it. One is called the direct reduced iron method that uses green hydrogen instead of fossil fuel gas to produce iron and then a renewable-powered electric arc furnace to make the steel.
Molten Oxide Electrolysis is an alternative green steel approach that doesn’t depend on having a green hydrogen infrastructure. It uses electrolysis, powered by renewable energy, to separate the bonds of iron ore and produce liquid metal while releasing only oxygen in the process.
Green steel solutions rely on the availability of renewable energy, but the ultimate success of renewable energy will depend on the success of green steel. The U.S. steel industry will leverage about $6 billion under the Inflation Reduction Act to make progress on it.
Web Links Building tomorrow’s clean energy systems on green steel
Photo, posted October 30, 2008, courtesy of Paul Bica via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
About half of all global seafood is caught by artisanal fishers. These are individuals who operate on a small scale – often on a subsistence level – and typically fish only a short distance from shore. Over 85% of the estimated 2.5 million motorized fishing vessels in the world are less than 12 meters in length. Compared with large-scale commercial fishing operations, these enterprises are very small. However, they are essential to the food security and livelihoods of their communities. Because of their sheer numbers, artisanal fishers are an important sector to monitor, manage, and advocate for. They may be small-scale, but their importance and impact are huge. Large ships make use of vessel tracking systems, which were originally conceived to prevent maritime collisions. Over time, VTS technology has become useful for other purposes including monitoring fishing activity in sensitive marine areas and looking out for forced labor on the high seas.
Among small fishing vessels, only an estimated 0.4% are equipped with VTS technology. So, a massive number of vessels accounting for a big part of the global catch cannot be monitored.
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara surveyed hundreds of artisanal fishers in Indonesia and Mexico to see if they were willing to pay to participate in a VTS program, or participate for free, or be paid to participate. Having the equipment would provide multiple benefits to the fishers including increased safety and better fisheries management. Two-thirds of the survey participants said they were willing to pay for the technology. The study is the first effort to explore the potential for encouraging wide adoption of VTS technology among artisanal fishers.
Web Links Tracking Small-Scale Fishers
Photo, posted November 30, 2014, courtesy of Bernard Spragg via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities and by 2100, this percentage is predicted to be much higher. This means that more homes will be built with steel and concrete, which both have very large carbon footprints. According to a study by the Potsdam Institute in Germany, housing a growing population in homes made of wood instead could avoid more than 100 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the remainder of the century. This is about 10% of the remaining global carbon budget for staying below the 2-degree Celsius climate target. The study presents the alternative of housing new urban populations in mid-rise buildings – no more than 4-12 stories high - that are substantially made of wood. Wood is a renewable resource that carries the lowest carbon footprint of any comparable building material. Trees take up CO2 from the atmosphere to grow. Producing engineered wood releases far less CO2 than production of concrete and steel and the finished product continues to store carbon.
The study shows that sufficient wood for new mid-rise urban buildings can be produced without a major impact on food production. The wood would come from timber plantations as well as natural forests. The study also looked at biodiversity impacts and ways that ecosystems could be protected while still providing the necessary timber.
Overall, the Potsdam study demonstrates that urban homes made out of wood could play a vital role in climate change mitigation based on their long-term carbon storage potential coupled with the reduced utilization of the carbon-intensive concrete and steel industries.
Web Links Living in timber cities could avoid emissions – without using farmland for wood production
Photo, posted May 24, 2005, courtesy of Stig Anderson via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities and by 2100, this percentage is predicted to be much higher. This means that more homes will be built with steel and concrete, which both have very large carbon footprints. According to a study by the Potsdam Institute in Germany, housing a growing population in […]
In June, the European Union voted to ban the sale of new gas- and diesel-powered vehicles starting in 2035. The EU joined Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, and several other countries in imposing future gas car bans. Here in the U.S., on August 25th, California adopted rules banning the sales of new gas-powered cars and light trucks by 2035. New York passed a similar law last year and its ban will also cover heavy trucks by 2045.
California’s action is particularly significant because there are other states that have trigger laws that impose their own bans based on what California does. Washington state, Massachusetts, and Virginia are in this category, although the governor of Virginia has said he plans to try to repeal the law.
An additional 12 states have policies tied to California’s and are likely to adopt their own versions of the 2035 ban. These are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
When these regulatory actions are coupled with the major investments in electric vehicles being made by virtually all automakers, the transition to electric vehicles appears to be inevitable.
As far as people who love their gas-powered cars are concerned, the new rules only apply to new car sales. So, consumers can still buy and own used cars that run on gasoline. If there are states that never impose bans on new gas-powered vehicles, then consumers can go to those states and buy one, assuming there are any being made at that point. It seems likely that gas-powered cars will end up being made for hobbyists and aficionados only.
Web Links California Just Banned Gas-Powered Cars. Here’s Everything You Need to Know
Photo, posted May 20, 2018, courtesy of James Loesch via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
In June, the European Union voted to ban the sale of new gas- and diesel-powered vehicles starting in 2035. The EU joined Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, and several other countries in imposing future gas car bans. Here in the U.S., on August 25th, California adopted rules banning the sales of new gas-powered […]
Germany’s parliament set summer public transport fares at 9 euros a month as a way to slash pollution and reduce imports of Russian oil. The low price included all buses, trams, subways, and regional trains, effectively lowering prices by more than 90% in some cities. Berliners saved 98 euros on their monthly travel pass; commuters in Hamburg saved even more. The program began June 1 and ended August 31. The bargain rates drove widespread use of public transport and discouraged the use of cars, which already was undesirable due to high gasoline prices. Over the three-month period, transit authorities sold over 50 million subsidized tickets. One out of five travelers were using public transport for the first time, according to surveys.
According to an estimate from the Association of German Transport Companies, the program helped to avoid 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This is roughly equivalent to taking 1.5 million cars off the road for the summer or planting 30 million trees.
The discount transit program had a clearly positive effect on the climate and, obviously, was a source of financial relief for German citizens. Last year, Germany was the largest buyer of Russian oil in Europe and it wanted to make drastic reductions in its purchases. The success of the program prompted many to ask for it to be continued. However, the program cost the government about 2.5 billion euros in reimbursements to transit companies. The German government has said it would not be extended.
Nonetheless, German policymakers are weighing other proposals for low-cost public transit. Clearly encouraging people to use public transit pays dividends.
Web Links Germany’s Cheap Summer Train Fares Prevented 1.8 Million Tons of Carbon Pollution
Photo, posted June 6, 2022, courtesy of 7C0 via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Germany’s parliament set summer public transport fares at 9 euros a month as a way to slash pollution and reduce imports of Russian oil. The low price included all buses, trams, subways, and regional trains, effectively lowering prices by more than 90% in some cities. Berliners saved 98 euros on their monthly travel pass; commuters […]
In recent decades, the warming in the Arctic has been much faster than in the rest of the world. The phenomenon is known as Arctic amplification. A study by the Finnish Meteorological Institute published in August in Communications Earth & Environment determined that during the past 43 years, the Arctic has been warming nearly four times faster than the rest of the globe. The result of this amplified warming has been that glaciers are collapsing, wildlife is struggling, and habitats continue to disappear at a record pace. Research published by the University of Florida has identified a new threat associated with Arctic amplification: lakes in the Arctic are drying up.
Over the past 20 years, many Arctic lakes have shrunk or dried up completely across the entire pan-Arctic region, which spans the northern parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, Scandinavia, and Alaska.
Arctic lakes are essential elements of the Arctic ecosystem and for the indigenous communities that live in the region. They provide a critical source of fresh water for those communities and local industries.
The rapid decline of Arctic lakes is unexpected. Earlier predictions were that climate change would first actually expand lakes in the region as ground ice melted. Lakes drying out was not expected until much later in this century or even in the 22nd century. Instead, it appears that thawing permafrost may drain lakes and overwhelm the expansion effect caused by melting ice. The theory is that thawing permafrost decreases lake area by creating drainage channels and increasing soil erosion.
The finding suggest that permafrost thawing is occurring faster than anticipated, which presents many additional problems.
Web Links As the climate crisis intensifies, lakes across the Arctic are vanishing
Photo, posted June 20, 2014, courtesy of Bob Wick / Bureau of Land Management via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
In recent decades, the warming in the Arctic has been much faster than in the rest of the world. The phenomenon is known as Arctic amplification. A study by the Finnish Meteorological Institute published in August in Communications Earth & Environment determined that during the past 43 years, the Arctic has been warming nearly four […]
The world needs to be fed without destroying the environment. We need to grow more trees to store more carbon on earth and reduce the amount in the atmosphere. But meanwhile, we decimate rainforests to produce palm oil and grow soybeans. A startup company in California called Terviva thinks they have a solution. It’s called […]
The world needs to be fed without destroying the environment. We need to grow more trees to store more carbon on earth and reduce the amount in the atmosphere. But meanwhile, we decimate rainforests to produce palm oil and grow soybeans. A startup company in California called Terviva thinks they have a solution. It’s called pongamia, which is an ordinary looking tropical tree. It produces beans packed with protein and oil, much like soybeans. However, it has the potential to produce much more nutrition per acre than soybeans and it is hardy enough to grow on pretty much any kind of land without the use of pesticides, fertilizers, or irrigation. In short, it is a miracle crop for a hot and hungry planet that is running out of fertile farmland and fresh water.
Pongamia is not a new or rare tree. It is common in India but grows all over the world. It is often planted as an ornamental here in the U.S.
The initial idea for making use of the hardy tree was to use its oil as a biofuel. The seeds of pongamia are known to have a bitter taste and disagreeable odor, which is why the seeds or oil were never used for human or animal feed. However, Terviva has developed a way to de-bitter pongamia oil. Once this is done, it becomes a golden-colored substitute for olive oil. It also has enormous potential as a protein for plant-based milks and meats, since it contains all nine essential amino acids.
Terviva has raised more than $100 million to further develop pongamia and is now partnering with Danone, a $25 billion multinational food company, to develop pongamia as a climate-friendly, climate-resilient, non-GMO alternative to soy and palm oil.
Web Links This super-tree could help feed the world and fight climate change
Photo, posted December 15, 2015, courtesy of Lauren Gutierrez via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Trees are an exceedingly important carbon sink on our planet. For this reason, deforestation is a major contributor to climate change. But when trees are harvested for wood products like lumber, much of the carbon in that wood continues to be stored. Even when a wood product is discarded at the end of its useful […]
Trees are an exceedingly important carbon sink on our planet. For this reason, deforestation is a major contributor to climate change. But when trees are harvested for wood products like lumber, much of the carbon in that wood continues to be stored. Even when a wood product is discarded at the end of its useful life, it can keep storing carbon. Over 90% of new single-family homes in the U.S. are built with wood. Each year, about 400,000 homes, apartment buildings, and other housing units are lost to floods and other natural disasters. Others fall apart from decay or are torn down to be replaced with newer structures. Given how much carbon is stored in houses, it is important to understand what the future trajectory of residential structures will be.
A new study by the USDA Forest Service published in the journal PLOS ONE looks at the future of harvested wood products in residential structures. According to the study, wood products in these structures will continue to increase the country’s carbon storage for the next 50 years.
Even after residential structures reach the end of their useful life and much of the materials end up in landfills (which is typical in this country), the wood products do not immediately release their carbon. It may take decades for that to happen.
The study looked at various scenarios for future home construction. Although housing starts are projected to decline in the future, residential housing and the need to maintain existing structures are projected to continue to increase carbon storage in wood products for the next several decades.
The role of trees as a carbon sink does not end when they are harvested for their wood.
Web Links Carbon Storage in Harvested Wood Products
Photo, posted January 27, 2022, courtesy of Luke McKernan via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Highway accidents involving animals are a big problem for both people and animals. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorists in the United States kill one to two million large animals every year. About 200 people are killed annually in the U.S. as a result of those collisions with animals. These crashes are expensive, too. Deer-vehicle collisions cost an average of more than $8,000 each; elk-vehicle collisions cost about $25,000; and moose-vehicle collisions cost more than $44,000.
One solution that has been quite effective around the world in reducing car-animal collisions is wildlife overpasses and underpasses. They are designed to help animals move in search of food and to escape predators and wildfires. These traffic-spanning bridges and tunnels have been popular in Europe since the 1950s. They look much like regular overpasses for cars but are decked out with native flora. The underpasses, which assist shyer and smaller animals, are typically invisible to drivers.
According to a new economic analysis by researchers at Washington State University, wildlife crossings in Washington State save roughly $235,000 to $443,000 every year per structure.
Wildlife crossing structures range in cost from $500,000 for a tunnel-like underpass to more than $6 million for a broad bridge. There may soon be many more wildlife crossing structures across the country since $350 million was allotted in the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law in 2021.
Web Links Wildlife crossings potentially save millions annually in Washington state
How wildlife bridges over highways make animals—and people—safer
Photo, posted March 24, 2017, courtesy of Jeffrey Beall via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Highway accidents involving animals are a big problem for both people and animals. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motorists in the United States kill one to two million large animals every year. About 200 people are killed annually in the U.S. as a result of those collisions with animals. These crashes are […]
More and more buildings and public spaces are incorporating solar panels and not only just on rooftops. Some buildings are incorporating power-generating structures all over their facades. Using solar panels in this way puts some design constraints on buildings because solar panels are typically a deep black color. This is because solar panels need to absorb light and making them any other color decreases their ability to do so and generate power. But the problem is that people don’t necessarily want a black building.
One alternative to traditional solar panel design is to use structural sources of color that include microscopic shapes that only reflect specific light frequencies, like the scales on butterfly wings. But this approach generally leads to iridescence – which might not be what is wanted – and is often quite expensive to implement.
A team of researchers at a university in Shanghai has now demonstrated a way to give solar panels color that is easy and inexpensive to apply and that does not reduce their ability to produce energy efficiently.
The technique involves spraying a thin layer of a material called a photonic glass onto the surface of solar cells. The photonic glass is made of a thin, disorderly layer of dielectric microscopic zinc sulfide spheres. Even though most light can pass through the photonic glass, certain colors are reflected back, depending on the sizes of the spheres. By varying that size, the researchers created solar panels that were blue, green, or purple with only a very small drop in solar panel efficiency.
The solar panels made this way maintained their color and performance under durability testing. With this new technology, there may soon be colorful solar panels on our buildings.
Web Links Colorful solar panels could make the technology more attractive
Photo, posted December 15, 2021, courtesy of Pete via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
More and more buildings and public spaces are incorporating solar panels and not only just on rooftops. Some buildings are incorporating power-generating structures all over their facades. Using solar panels in this way puts some design constraints on buildings because solar panels are typically a deep black color. This is because solar panels need to […]
The Pacific Bluefin Tuna is a commercially valuable species that is especially prized in Japan. The fish is particularly valued for sashimi and sushi and large specimens have been known to fetch enormous prices at seafood auctions. Aggressive fishing reduced the bluefin biomass through the late 1990s and 2000s to only a few percent of […]
The Pacific Bluefin Tuna is a commercially valuable species that is especially prized in Japan. The fish is particularly valued for sashimi and sushi and large specimens have been known to fetch enormous prices at seafood auctions. Aggressive fishing reduced the bluefin biomass through the late 1990s and 2000s to only a few percent of its potential unfished levels. Beginning in 2011, The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission began management measures that reduced the catch of smaller bluefin as well as limited the catch of larger bluefin. The goal was to allow more fish to grow to maturity. The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission adopted similar resolutions a year later. Despite these efforts, increasing concern about declining bluefin levels led to a petition to list the species as endangered. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries organization determined that while the population was near historical lows, the remaining 1.6 million fish was a sufficient number to avoid the risk of extinction and that the measures in place were sufficient.
A new assessment of the bluefin population has shown that the species is now increasing and includes many younger fish that will help accelerate its rebound. The assessment by NOAA showed that the bluefin stock was greater than the first rebuilding target set for 2019.
According to the NOAA Fisheries biologists that performed the assessment, the species has responded exactly as predicted given the actions that were taken. The bluefin tuna is an amazingly resilient fish and it is continuing to demonstrate that fact.
Web Links International Actions Pay Off For Pacific Bluefin Tuna as Species Rebounds at Accelerating Rate
Photo, posted June 1, 2022, courtesy of Philippe Yuan via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
About 10% of the world’s total electricity supply is used for air conditioning. If current temperature trends continue, the energy demands for space cooling will more than triple by the year 2050. Air conditioning is a double threat to the environment. Apart from using lots of energy, ACs also make use of halogenated refrigerants that are extremely powerful greenhouse gases. The most common space cooling appliances are split-air conditioners, which use an indoor unit and an outdoor unit connected by pipes. These split ACS mostly utilize HCFC-22 and HFC-410 as refrigerants, which have global warming potential scores as high as 2,256 – meaning they trap 2,256 times more heat than carbon dioxide.
A study by the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis in Austria has shown that propane is a far better choice as an air conditioning refrigerant. Its global warming potential is actually less than 1 meaning it traps less heat than carbon dioxide. According to the study, if air conditioners switched to propane refrigerants, the world would avoid about a tenth of a degree Celsius of additional warming, which is a significant contribution to meeting the goals of the Paris climate agreement.
Propane-based split-ACs are already available commercially in China and India. Elsewhere, many national regulations prohibit their use, primarily due to codes restricting the use of refrigerants with higher flammability. Given the increasingly urgent need for climate action, it seems to be time to reconsider regulations on refrigerants.
Web Links Propane — a solution for more sustainable air conditioning
Photo, posted March 24, 2021, courtesy of Phyxter Home Services via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
About 10% of the world’s total electricity supply is used for air conditioning. If current temperature trends continue, the energy demands for space cooling will more than triple by the year 2050. Air conditioning is a double threat to the environment. Apart from using lots of energy, ACs also make use of halogenated refrigerants that […]
Researchers predict that climate change will negatively impact most staple food crops, including rice, corn, and soybeans. Therefore, climate resilient food crops - those that are salt, drought, and heat resilient - will have an important role to play in global food security. Examples of climate resilient crops include quinoa, kernza, amaranth, millet, and tepary beans. According to a new study by researchers from Northwestern University, breadfruit - a starchy tree fruit native to the Pacific Islands - will be relatively unaffected by climate change. Because breadfruit is climate resilient and well-suited to grow in regions with high levels of food insecurity, the research team suggests breadfruit could be a part of the solution to global hunger.
While it has ”fruit” in its name, breadfruit is more like a potato. It’s starchy and seedless, and is closely related to jackfruit. Breadfruit is nutrient-rich, and high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It can be steamed, roasted, fried, fermented, and even turned into flour. People in tropical regions around the world have been eating breadfruit for thousands of years.
In the study, which was recently published in the journal PLOS Climate, researchers determined the climate conditions necessary to cultivate breadfruit and then looked at how these conditions are predicted to change in the future. They examined two future climate scenarios: one that reflects high greenhouse-gas emissions and another in which emissions stabilize.
In both scenarios, the regions suitable for breadfruit cultivation were mostly unaffected. Additionally, the researchers identified new suitable land where breadfruit cultivation could expand.
As the climate continues to change, breadfruit might soon be on a table near you.
Web Links Climate-resilient breadfruit might be the food of the future
Photo, posted August 11, 2007, courtesy of Malcolm Manners via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
Researchers predict that climate change will negatively impact most staple food crops, including rice, corn, and soybeans. Therefore, climate resilient food crops – those that are salt, drought, and heat resilient – will have an important role to play in global food security. Examples of climate resilient crops include quinoa, kernza, amaranth, millet, and tepary […]
Tasmanian tigers earned their nickname because of the stripes along their back, but they were not felines. In fact, they were carnivorous marsupials, the type of Australian mammal that raises its young in a pouch. Tasmanian tigers, also known as thylacines, were once native to the Australian mainland, as well as the islands of Tasmania […]
Tasmanian tigers earned their nickname because of the stripes along their back, but they were not felines. In fact, they were carnivorous marsupials, the type of Australian mammal that raises its young in a pouch. Tasmanian tigers, also known as thylacines, were once native to the Australian mainland, as well as the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. Dog-like in appearance, Tasmanian tigers were extensively hunted after European colonization. The last known Tasmanian tiger died in captivity in 1936.
Nearly 100 years after its extinction, the Tasmanian tiger may live once again. Scientists in Australia and the United States have launched an ambitious multimillion dollar de-extinction project to genetically resurrect the Tasmanian tiger.
In order to bring back the animal, researchers will have to take stem cells from a living species with similar DNA - like the fat-tailed dunnart - and use gene editing techniques to turn them into “Tasmanian tiger” cells - or the closest approximation possible. The team will need new assisted reproductive technologies to use the stem cells to make an embryo, which will then have to be transferred into an artificial womb or a dunnart surrogate to gestate. The research team is optimistic that there could be a hybrid baby Tasmanian tiger in 10 years.
The ambitious project is a partnership between scientists at the University of Melbourne and the Texas-based company Colossal Biosciences. This is the second de-extinction undertaking by Colossal Biosciences, which announced last year it planned to use its technology to recreate the woolly mammoth, and return it to the Arctic tundra.
Web Links Scientists want to resurrect the extinct Tasmanian tiger
Tasmanian tiger: Scientists hope to revive marsupial from extinction
Photo credit: E.J. Keller, from the Smithsonian Institution archives, courtesy of Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
Pumped hydro energy storage is still by far the largest form of energy storage in the world, representing more than 90% of storage capacity worldwide. The theory behind it is simple. Water is pumped into an upper reservoir (that is, one at a higher elevation), and when electricity is needed, the water is allowed to flow downhill to power turbines and then is collected in a lower reservoir. When there is excess electricity, it is used to pump water back uphill for use later. Pumped hydro installations can’t be built just anywhere. Geography and hydrology have to be suitable, which means high voltage transmission lines need to be constructed to link electricity sources like wind and solar farms with the storage location. But in those situations where pumped hydro makes sense, it is a great solution to the energy storage problem.
Switzerland has just completed one of the largest pumped hydro facilities in the world. The Nant de Drance installation makes use of the Emosson reservoir, which is an artificial lake built high in the Alps near the French border. Over the past 14 years, 10 miles of tunnels have been dug into the mountains to connect the Emosson reservoir to the Vieux Emosson reservoir to the south.
In between the two reservoirs is a giant underground cavern where six of the largest water-driven turbines in the world are spun from the water rushing down from above. The turbines have a capacity of 900 megawatts, making Nant de Drance one of the most powerful generating plants in Europe. In terms of storage capacity, the installation has a maximum capacity of 20 gigawatt-hours, and can store that energy indefinitely, which is challenging for other storage technologies.
Web Links 14 Years In The Making, 20 GWh Pumped Hydro Storage Facility Comes To Switzerland (With Video)
Photo, posted September 7, 2009, courtesy of Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
Pumped hydro energy storage is still by far the largest form of energy storage in the world, representing more than 90% of storage capacity worldwide. The theory behind it is simple. Water is pumped into an upper reservoir (that is, one at a higher elevation), and when electricity is needed, the water is allowed to […]
Oregon State University scientists have proposed a series of management changes for western federal lands aimed at re-establishing ecosystems there. Their proposal would result in more gray wolves and beavers in nearly 200,000 square miles of federal lands in 11 states. In each of those states, the researchers identified areas containing prime wolf habitat. Gray wolves were hunted to near extinction in the West but have been gradually reintroduced in some areas starting in the 1990s. Wolf restoration offers significant ecological benefits by helping to naturally control the population of grazing animals such as elk. This in turn facilitates the regrowth of vegetation species such as aspen, which ultimately supports diverse plant and animal communities.
Beaver populations, which used to be robust across the West, declined roughly 90% after settler colonialism and are now nonexistent in many areas. By felling trees and shrubs and constructing dams, beavers enrich fish habitat, increase water and settlement retention, maintain water flows during droughts, and increase carbon sequestration.
According to the researchers, the biggest threat to these western lands is livestock grazing, which has degraded ecosystems to a great extent. They recommend the removal of grazing on about 30% of the federal lands being used for that purpose and instead would have rewilding efforts go on.
The American West is going through a period of converging crises including extended drought and water scarcity, extreme heat waves, massive fires, and loss of biodiversity. Rewilding is a way to reestablish long-standing ecosystems.
Web Links More wolves, beavers needed as part of improving western United States habitats, scientists say
Photo, posted October 1, 2020, courtesy of Tina DaPuglet via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
Oregon State University scientists have proposed a series of management changes for western federal lands aimed at re-establishing ecosystems there. Their proposal would result in more gray wolves and beavers in nearly 200,000 square miles of federal lands in 11 states. In each of those states, the researchers identified areas containing prime wolf habitat. Gray […]
Furnace Creek in Death Valley is the driest place in North America. Its average annual rainfall is under two inches. On August 5th, a thousand-year rainfall event dropped 1.46 inches of rain – about three-quarters of a year’s precipitation. The all-time record for a single day is 1.47 inches, set in April 1988. The storm […]
Furnace Creek in Death Valley is the driest place in North America. Its average annual rainfall is under two inches. On August 5th, a thousand-year rainfall event dropped 1.46 inches of rain – about three-quarters of a year’s precipitation. The all-time record for a single day is 1.47 inches, set in April 1988. The storm did break the record for the most rain ever recorded in August, which averages just over a tenth of an inch of rain for the entire month. The flash flood washed debris over roads, swept away and buried cars, knocked a water facility offline, damaged buildings, and stranded about a thousand visitors and staff in Death Valley National Park. By the next day, the flood water had mostly receded, and stranded visitors could be escorted out of the park by National Park personnel.
Death Valley sits at 282 feet below sea level. If it were not for the extremely arid climate there, Death Valley would likely be filled with water. However, humid air masses traveling east from the Pacific Ocean have to cross four mountain ranges before they reach the desert valley. Those air masses lose their moisture in the form of rain on the western slopes of the mountain, leaving a dry area, or rain shadow, on the eastern sides. By the time the air masses reach Death Valley, they are bone dry. On rare occasions, the lowest spot in the valley fills with water forming a wide, shallow lake, known as Lake Badwater.
The extreme heat and aridity of Death Valley evaporates the temporary lake quickly, returning the valley to its usual state. Furnace Creek still holds the record for the highest air temperature ever recorded: 134 degrees Fahrenheit.
Web Links Death Valley Flash Flooding
Photo, posted April 7, 2021, courtesy of Matthew Dillon via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act includes significant support for carbon capture technologies. Eliminating fossil fuel burning is essential for halting climate change, but in the interim, methods for capturing emissions of carbon dioxide and either storing it or turning it into usable products are increasingly necessary. There are a variety of techniques being developed […]
The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act includes significant support for carbon capture technologies. Eliminating fossil fuel burning is essential for halting climate change, but in the interim, methods for capturing emissions of carbon dioxide and either storing it or turning it into usable products are increasingly necessary. There are a variety of techniques being developed for carbon capture but at this point, none of them are commercially viable. The best technique in use today involves piping flue gases through chemicals called liquid amines, which bind CO2. The process requires large amounts of energy to release the bound carbon dioxide so it can be concentrated and stored. As a result, it is complicated and expensive.
Researchers at UC Berkeley, Stanford, and Texas A&M University have developed a carbon capture method using melamine, which is an inexpensive polymer used to make Formica, as well as low-cost dinnerware, industrial coatings, and other plastics. Porous melamine itself adsorbs CO2 to a limited extent. But the researchers discovered that adsorption could be much improved by adding the chemical DETA (diethylenetriamine) to bind the CO2. In addition, adding cyanuric acid increased the melamine pore size and radically improved CO2 capture efficiency even more.
The result is a material that is more efficient even than exotic carbon capture materials like metalorganic frameworks and is much cheaper and easier to make. The researchers aim to design equipment that can used in industrial facilities, attached to buildings and other structures, or even to the tailpipes of gas-powered vehicles.
Web Links A simple, cheap material for carbon capture, perhaps from tailpipes
Photo, posted June 10, 2006, courtesy of Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
We often hear how eating locally-sourced food is a way to minimize the carbon footprint of our diet. But from a climate impact perspective, this only has a significant impact if transportation is responsible for a large portion of a food’s final carbon footprint. In many cases, the greenhouse gas emissions related to transportation make up only a small portion of the total emissions from food, and what we eat is far more important. In general, beef and lamb have the biggest climate footprint per gram of protein. Plant-based foods tend to have the smallest impact. Pork and chicken are somewhere in the middle.
According to new research, U.S. food production could reduce its agricultural carbon footprint between 2.5% and 13.5% by embracing plant-based alternatives to beef. The study, from researchers at Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, and international partners, found that most of the reduction would be achieved by decreasing the number of cows needed for beef production by two to twelve million animals. The research was recently published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health.
However, the researchers also found that acting to reduce climate change in this manner could have unintended consequences. For example, economic models from the research team show that the growth in popularity of plant-based beef could disrupt the agricultural workforce, threatening more than 1.5 million jobs.
But in the big picture, doing nothing will cost much more than doing something to slow climate change. Shifting diets away from meat and other animal products and towards more plant-based foods will help shrink carbon footprints and mitigate climate change. It’s a win-win for the planet and for human health.
Web Links Plant-based ‘beef’ reduces CO2 but threatens ag jobs
Photo, posted November 27, 2018, courtesy of Sarah Stierch via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
We often hear how eating locally-sourced food is a way to minimize the carbon footprint of our diet. But from a climate impact perspective, this only has a significant impact if transportation is responsible for a large portion of a food’s final carbon footprint. In many cases, the greenhouse gas emissions related to transportation make […]
The Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in mid-August is the most comprehensive U.S. legislation addressing climate change ever enacted. It contains $369 billion in funding for clean energy and electric vehicle tax breaks, domestic manufacturing of batteries and solar panels, and pollution reduction. The legislation for the most part makes use of carrots rather […]
The Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in mid-August is the most comprehensive U.S. legislation addressing climate change ever enacted. It contains $369 billion in funding for clean energy and electric vehicle tax breaks, domestic manufacturing of batteries and solar panels, and pollution reduction. The legislation for the most part makes use of carrots rather than sticks to coax American consumers and industry away from reliance on fossil fuels. Rather than establishing more carbon taxes, mandates, and penalties, the law largely makes use of tax credits to provide incentives for the use of clean energy.
The law provides a large mix of tax breaks intended to bring down the costs of solar, wind, batteries, electric cars, heat pumps, and other clean technology. For example, consumers will get a $7,500 credit for purchasing many new electric car models and about $4,000 for buying a used vehicle.
On the stick side of the ledger, oil and gas companies that emit methane above certain threshold levels will incur fees that escalate over time. The law also increases the cost to the oil industry for extracting fossil fuels from public lands.
The act provides $60 billion for overall environmental justice priorities, including $15 billion targeted specifically for low-income and disadvantaged communities. There are many other provisions in the law addressing multiple climate-related issues.
According to three separate analyses by economic modelers, the investments from the Inflation Reduction Act are likely to cut pollution by about 40% below 2005 levels by the year 2030.
Web Links The US finally has a law to tackle climate change
Photo, posted December 15, 2021, courtesy of Mario Duran-Ortiz via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
Over the past 60 years, global forest area has decreased by 315,000 square miles, an area about twice the size of California. Combined with global population growth over that period, this has resulted in more than a 60% decline in global forest area per capita. The continuous loss as well as degradation of forest affects […]
Over the past 60 years, global forest area has decreased by 315,000 square miles, an area about twice the size of California. Combined with global population growth over that period, this has resulted in more than a 60% decline in global forest area per capita. The continuous loss as well as degradation of forest affects the integrity of forest ecosystems and reduces their ability to generate and provide essential services and sustain biodiversity. It impacts the lives of at least 1.6 billion people worldwide – primarily in developing countries – who depend upon forests in multiple ways.
According to the new study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, forest losses have been occurring primarily in lower-income countries in the tropics while forest gains have occurred in higher-income countries in the mid-latitudes or extratropics.
More than half of the world’s forest losses were in Brazil, home to the Amazon rainforest. In the past 60 years, that country has had a net loss of 170,000 square miles of forest. While most high-income countries had net forest gains, Canada actually had a net loss of about 11,000 square miles of forest.
Economic growth has a stronger association with net forest gain than with net forest loss. Therefore, the study highlights the need to strengthen the support given to lower income countries, especially in the tropics, to help improve their capacity to minimize or curtail their forest losses. To help address this ongoing displacement of forest losses to lower income countries, higher-income nations need to reduce their dependence on imported tropic forest products.
Web Links New study finds global forest area per capita has decreased by over 60%
Photo, posted April 19, 2011, courtesy of ©2011CIAT/NeilPalmer via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
About two-thirds of humanity is affected by water shortages. In the developing world, many areas with water shortages also lack dependable sources of electricity. Given this situation, there is widespread research on using solar heat to desalinate seawater. To date, many approaches to this face problems with fouling of equipment with salt buildup. Tackling this issue has proven to add complexity and expense to solar desalination techniques. A team of researchers from MIT and China has recently developed a solution to the problem of salt accumulation that is more efficient than previous methods and is less expensive as well.
Previous attempts at solar desalination have relied on some sort of wick to draw saline water through the device. These wicks are vulnerable to salt accumulation and are difficult to clean. The MIT-Chinese team has developed a wick-free system instead. It is a layered system with dark material at the top to absorb the sun’s heat, and then a thin layer of water that sits above a perforated layer of plastic material. That layer sits atop a deep reservoir of salty water such as a tank or pond. The researchers determined the optimal size for the holes in the perforated plastic.
The 2.5 millimeter holes are large enough to allow for convective circulation between the warmer upper layer of water above the perforated layer and the colder reservoir below. That circulation naturally draws the salt from the thin layer above down into the much larger body of water below.
The system utilizes low-cost, easy to use materials. The next step is to scale up the devices into a size that has practical applications. According to the team, just a one-square-meter system could provide a family’s daily needs for drinking water.
Web Links Solar-powered system offers a route to inexpensive desalination
Photo, posted February 13, 2017, courtesy of Jacob Vanderheyden via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
About two-thirds of humanity is affected by water shortages. In the developing world, many areas with water shortages also lack dependable sources of electricity. Given this situation, there is widespread research on using solar heat to desalinate seawater. To date, many approaches to this face problems with fouling of equipment with salt buildup. Tackling this […]
It seems like there has been nothing but dire news from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Earlier this year, there was yet another mass bleaching event – the fourth in seven years and the first ever to strike during a cooler La Niña phase in the Pacific. But this bleaching event was less severe than other […]
Tepary beans are an ancient crop native to the northern part of Mexico and the southwestern part of the U.S.. They have been grown in those places by native peoples since pre-Columbian times. They are still grown in Native American reservations in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. One can purchase them from some small farms in that […]
Solar windows are an attractive idea. It is very appealing to have the vertical surfaces on the outside of almost any building generate electricity. The challenge is to have a transparent window be able to function as an efficient-enough solar panel. Most conventional solar panels use silicon solar cell technology, which is not based on […]
Utah’s Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the western hemisphere. According to data from the US Geological Survey, the surface water elevation of the Great Salt Lake has fallen to the lowest level since records began in the mid-1800s. The average elevation is now 4,190 feet above sea level. With this drop […]
Soil supports life by providing many critical ecosystem services. For example, soil acts as a water filter, a growing medium, and provides habitat for billions of organisms. Soil is also the foundation of our cities and towns, and the basis of global agroecosystems, which provide humans with feed, fiber, food, and fuel. For all of […]
PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are chemical pollutants that threaten human health and ecosystem sustainability. They are used in a wide range of applications including food wrappers and packaging, dental floss, firefighting foam, nonstick cookware, textiles, and electronics. Over decades, these manufactured chemicals have leached into our soil, air, and water. Chemical bonds in PFAS […]
This summer, extreme heatwaves struck the United States, Europe, and Africa. Thousands of people died as a result. In July, the impact of extreme heat in places ill-prepared for it was evident. In the U.K., where air conditioning is uncommon, public transportation shut down, schools and offices closed, and hospitals cancelled non-emergency procedures. Air conditioning, […]
From June to August, there were persistent heat waves affecting parts of Europe that caused wildfires, evacuations, and heat-related deaths. Nearly 12,000 people died from heat stroke or other causes associated with the high temperatures. The highest temperature recorded during this period was 116.6 degrees F in Pinhao, Portugal on July 14th. The RAF base in Coningsby, […]
At the beginning of July, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s monthly climate outlook predicted temperatures well above average across much of the United States. The prediction was quite correct. Beyond that, world-wide, there were multiple heat waves, especially in Europe and Asia, where there were thousands of heat-related deaths. On July 19th, the United Kingdom […]
Over the past few decades, research has identified the importance of large mammals like bison as ecosystem engineers. These animals shape and maintain various natural processes and, in the process, are responsible for the sequestering of large amounts of carbon. But large mammals – both herbivores and predators – have seen their numbers dwindle over […]
The Salar de Atacama in Chile is a large, dry salt flat surrounded by mountain ranges and is one of the driest places on Earth. Parts of the Atacama Desert have gone without rain for as long as people have been keeping track. Water rich in dissolved salts lies beneath this flat surface and it […]
California relies on extensive forests to help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere. But extensive drought and increasingly frequent wildfires have been reducing the state’s tree population for the past three decades. A comprehensive study by a team of scientists from the University of California Irvine used satellite data to study vegetation […]
One reason many people are hesitant about switching to an electric car is range anxiety, the fear that their car’s battery will die on them in the middle of a trip. It is pretty much the same thing as running out of gas, but somehow it seems like more of a danger. Perhaps this was […]
Marine protected areas are regions of seas, oceans, estuaries, and in the US, the Great Lakes, that are afforded special protections. MPAs restrict human activity for conservation purposes, generally in order to protect natural or possibly cultural resources. MPAs may limit such things as development, fishing practices, fishing seasons, catch limits, moorings, and removal or […]
In the United States, cotton is a $7 billion annual crop grown in 17 states. Cotton plants in the largest producing countries in the world – India, China, and the U.S. – are genetically very similar and, like other crops that lack diversity, can be at risk. Cultivated cotton around the world has been bred […]
The fin whale is the second largest whale species and therefore the second largest creature on Earth. They can grow to more than 80 feet in length. From 1904 to 1976, there was massive industrial whaling in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica. During that period, whalers killed about 700,000 fin whales, reducing their population by […]
According to the United Nations and The World Bank, global hunger levels in 2021 surpassed the previous record set in 2020. The organizations also found that acute food insecurity – defined as when a person’s inability to consume adequate food puts their lives or livelihoods in immediate danger – could continue to worsen this year […]
The total amount of solar power generating capacity in the world has been growing rapidly. In 2008, there was a total of only 15 gigawatts installed world-wide. By 2012, the total was 100 gigawatts. As of this spring, there is now 1 terawatt – that’s 1,000 gigawatts – of solar power installed in the world. […]
Most plants and animals live in areas with specific climate conditions, such as rainfall patterns and temperature, that enable them to thrive. Any change in the climate of an area can affect the plants and animals living there, which in turn can impact the composition of the entire ecosystem. As such, the changing climate poses […]
The Outer Banks are a series of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina that separate the Atlantic Ocean from the mainland. They are a very popular tourist destination featuring open-sea beaches, state parks, shipwreck diving sites, and historic locations such as Roanoke Island, the site of England’s first settlement in the New World. […]
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use the energy from sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into biomass and ultimately the foods we and other organisms eat. Scientists at the University of California Riverside and the University of Delaware have found a way to create food from water and carbon dioxide without using […]
Marine protected areas are sections of the ocean where governments place limits on human activity. They are intended to provide long-term protection to important marine and coastal ecosystems. MPAs are important because they can protect depleted, threatened, rare, and endangered species and populations. In January 2020, the Republic of Palau in the western Pacific Ocean […]
Alaska is on a pace for a record fire season this year. As of mid-July, more than 2.7 million acres had burned, which is more than 10 times the total area burned in all of 2021. Alaskan fires have been spurred on by warm temperatures, a diminished snowpack, and an unusually large number of lightning […]
Mangrove forests play a vital role in the health of our planet. These coastal forests are the second most carbon rich ecosystems in the world. A patch of mangrove forest the size of a soccer field can store more than 1,000 tons of carbon. It does this by capturing carbon from the air and storing […]
Perovskites are semiconductors with a specific crystal structure. Their properties make them well suited for making solar cells. They can be manufactured at room temperature, using much less energy than it takes to make the silicon-based solar cells widely used today. As a result, perovskite solar panels would be cheaper and more sustainable to produce. […]
There is a thriving population of black sea urchins in bubbling volcanic vents off the coast of Ishia, a small island in the Gulf of Naples. The oceanic environment there is very acidic, high in carbon dioxide, and very warm. The environment represents a proxy for what is gradually happening to oceans around the world. […]
Space tourism is human space travel for recreational purposes. A few well-known billionaires have taken rocket rides in recent years and at least a dozen companies are at the vanguard of what they are expecting to be a burgeoning industry. If space tourism truly takes off – pun intended – it could be a serious […]
The increased occurrence and intensity of heatwaves around the world is affecting most living things. Heatwaves can be lethal for warm-blooded animals – including people – but the behavioral and physiological effects of sub-lethal heat have not been extensively studied. Heat that doesn’t kill animals can still impact their ability to adapt and thrive as […]
Since the 1950s, more than nine billion tons of plastic have been produced, and 50% of that has been during the past 15 years. While there are some use cases for plastic that are important, it generally serves as the poster child of our throwaway culture. Plastic pollution can be found everywhere on earth, from […]
Pollinators, such as bees and bats, are vital for global food production. They provide an ecological service that’s necessary for the reproduction of nearly 75% of the world’s flowering plants, including more than two-thirds of global food crops. Bumblebees are among the most important plant pollinators. They pollinate many food crops, including apples, tomatoes, blueberries […]
The current state of plastic recycling is not very effective. Plastic recycling is only able to replace 15-20% of the fossil-fuel-derived raw material needed to produce society’s demand for plastic. Researchers at Chalmers University in Sweden have now demonstrated how the carbon content in mixed waste could be used to replace all of the fossil […]
The 2022 federal appropriations act, signed into law in March, directed the Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop a cross-agency group to coordinate research on climate interventions, in partnership with NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Energy. The group is tasked with creating a research framework to “provide […]
The plight of the world’s coral reefs has been a growing environmental crisis for many years. Coral reefs provide sustenance and income to half a billion people, are major tourist attractions, protect coastlines, and are important centers of biodiversity. And because of the warming climate as well as other effects of human activity, more than […]
Phytoplankton, also known as microalgae, are the base of the marine food web and also play a key role in removing carbon dioxide from the air. They are eaten by primary consumers like zooplankton, small fish, and crustaceans. Phytoplankton, like land plants, absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use photosynthesis to grow. Then they […]
The growing use of electric vehicles as well as energy storage systems has created a major focus on the batteries for these applications. Lithium-ion batteries dominate these applications and the demand for the materials needed to manufacture them continues to grow. The raw materials for these batteries include not only lithium, but also can include […]
The earth’s atmosphere is a little over 0.04% carbon dioxide, currently about 420 parts per million. That’s more than it’s been in millions of years and is changing our climate. But these levels of CO2 are not enough to directly affect people. However, people are sensitive to the amount of carbon dioxide they are breathing. […]
When cows digest their food, they burp, and when they burp, they release methane. This is called enteric methane and it’s a real problem. A single cow belches out 220 pounds of methane each year, which is the greenhouse gas equivalent of burning over 900 gallons of gasoline. That’s more than the average car uses […]
Lead and other heavy metals in water are a serious global problem that is worsening because of electronic waste and discharges from mining operations. In the U.S., over 12,000 miles of waterways are impacted by mine-drainage water that is rich in heavy metals. Lead in particular is highly toxic, especially to children. The European Union […]
The idea of capturing the CO2 emissions from industry and locking them up is nothing new. It’s been going on for decades in some places. Norway’s state-owned oil company Equinor has been holing away a million tons of CO2 a year for a long time. But overall, CCS – carbon capture and storage – has […]
Human activity – especially agriculture – has altered 70% of the land on our planet. According to a new report from the United Nations, damage to the Earth’s lands has put the planet on “crisis footing”. Our health, our economy, and our well-being depend on land. The food we eat, the water we drink, and […]
Climate change is taking a toll on forests, farms, freshwater resources, and economies all around the world. But ocean ecosystems remain the center of global warming. Despite their vast ability to absorb heat and carbon dioxide, oceans are warming. In fact, according to scientists, the oceans have absorbed 90% of all the warming that has […]
Eastern monarch butterflies spend their winter months in central Mexico. Every spring, they embark on a lengthy, multigenerational migration that takes them into the United States and even into southern Canada, where they breed. The butterflies go through several generations before they eventually migrate back to Mexico. Twenty-five years ago, overwintering monarchs in Mexico blanketed […]
The auto industry is making a massive transition from gas-powered cars to electric cars. The exploding electric vehicle market has set off what some call a global battery arms race. Battery manufacturers are urgently trying to source the raw materials needed to make batteries, which presently include cobalt, nickel, graphite, and lithium. There is encouraging […]
Red pandas are small mammals native to the mountainous forests of China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. Unlike their name suggests, they are not related to giant pandas. In fact, red pandas are distant relatives of raccoons. Renowned for their tree-climbing abilities, red pandas live at moderately high elevations in the Himalayas where they forage […]
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that carbon dioxide levels measured in May at the Mauna Loa Observatory reached a value of 421 parts per million. This is 50% greater than pre-industrial levels and is in a range not seen on earth for millions of years. Before the Industrial Revolution, CO2 levels fairly steadily […]
The Galapagos Islands are famous for their tortoises, among many other things. A few million years ago, some giant tortoises from South America were somehow carried across hundreds of miles of ocean to the islands – perhaps on driftwood during storms. Tortoises don’t swim, so any that made to an island could only breed with […]
Managing an electrical grid that utilizes significant amounts of intermittent generation sources – solar and wind power – brings with it some unique challenges. There are abundant wind resources in this country and more and utilities are taking advantage of these resources. But there are times when there is more wind, times when there is […]
In recent years, there has been increasing awareness of the global decline in insect abundance. A recently published survey of the abundance of flying insects in the UK has revealed very troubling results. The Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife – two UK-based conservation groups – compared the number of dead insects on vehicles in 2004 […]
The Arctic permafrost contains a massive amount of carbon in the form of frozen soil, which contains remnants of plants and animals that died millennia ago. Estimates are that there is 2 ½ times as much carbon trapped in this Arctic soil than there is in total in the atmosphere today. As the Arctic warms, […]
The redwoods of the California coast are the tallest trees in the world. They are typically a couple of hundred feet tall and the tallest rise to a height of as much as 380 feet. Scientists have been studying the unique world of the redwood forest canopy for years. There are multiple animals that actually […]
The effort to reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of fossil fuels has largely been driven by the potentially catastrophic consequences of global climate change. The need to stop dumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has become increasingly urgent. But there is an equally compelling reason to stop burning fossil fuels. According to a study […]
Nearly all automobile manufacturers are in a global race to build electric cars and trucks. There is a rapidly growing need for the battery packs that power those vehicles and therefore manufacturers are in a race to build battery factories to address that need. The latest battery plant announcement comes from Stellantis – the new […]
Coral reefs around the world face multiple threats from climate change, pollution, and other impacts of human activity. Reef conservation and restoration projects must be able to monitor the health of reefs and that is not such a simple matter. Surveying reefs generally is labor-intensive and time consuming. But in a new study, scientists at […]
It’s no secret that our planet is heating up. According to scientists, the warming is primarily the result of increased anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, human activities are responsible for nearly all of the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions over the last 150 years. Climate change has already left observable effects on the […]
Plastic packaging waste is a global problem. It collects in the oceans, breaks down into microplastics, which are consumed by fish and in turn by people who eat the fish. Only 14.5% of U.S. plastic waste is recycled. Most of it ends up in landfills, where is remains undegraded for hundreds of years. A new […]
Hotter and drier conditions are leading to an increasing number of wildfires in North America and elsewhere around the globe. Scientists have linked the severe heat and drought that fuel these wildfires to climate change. As the climate continues to change, wildfires are projected to become more prevalent, more severe, and longer in duration. According […]
In 2021, the world added a record amount of 295 gigawatts of renewable power. According to the International Energy Agency, it is on pace to surpass that amount in 2022. Almost half of the renewable buildout in the world is taking place in China. In 2021, China accounted for 46% of worldwide renewable energy additions. […]
A study by scientists from multiple institutions around the world including Cornell University has found that significant declines in bird populations are taking place across the planet. Loss and degradation of natural habitats, direct overexploitation of many species, and climate change are driving the bird population declines. According to the study, approximately 48% of existing […]
We hear a great deal about the environmental services provided by forests. Deforestation is one of the major factors contributing to increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. And, of course, forests – most notably rainforests – are major contributors to biodiversity. A new study by the U.S. Forest Service looked at the role […]
The world’s oceans contain five gyres, which are large systems of circular currents created by global wind patterns and the Earth’s rotation. Gyres act like gigantic whirlpools. Anything that floats into one of them eventually ends up in the center. Ever since floating plastic waste started entering the ocean, it has poured into these gyres […]
A recent report from several environmental organizations shows that plastic recycling rates in the U.S. have actually declined in the last several years from about 8.7% of discarded plastic to less than 6%. Meanwhile, since 1980, per capita plastic waste generation has increased 263%, totaling 218 pounds of plastic waste per person as of 2018. […]
Rising seas are increasing saltwater intrusion on land and rising temperatures are causing greater evaporation. The result is mounting levels of salt in waters and in soils. Rising sea levels cause salty ocean water to push further into river deltas. There is already a surge in saltiness across all inhabited continents. Seawater works its way […]
Whale sharks are the largest fish in the world. While they measure up to 60 feet long and weigh up to 15 tons – larger and heavier than a school bus – whale sharks are actually harmless. They are a graceful, slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark. They are found in marine environments around the world and […]
According to estimates, by 2040 there will likely be nearly 90 million tons of plastic pollution entering the environment each year. Particles of plastic have been found in virtually all parts of our planet including the land, the water, and even the air. Tiny plastic particles have been found in the Arctic, the Antarctic, and […]
The largest floating solar array in Europe, 12,000 panels sitting on top of the Alqueva Reservoir in Portugal – will come online in July. Installing floating solar arrays, which are sometimes called “floatovoltaics”, produce renewable energy while shielding significant expanses of water from the sun’s heat. These dual benefits have led to floatovoltaic projects in […]
The vaquita porpoise, the world’s smallest marine mammal, is on the brink of extinction. Scientists estimate that just 10 or fewer vaquitas are left despite international conservation efforts. Found only in Mexico’s Upper Gulf of California, the vaquita is the most endangered marine mammal on the planet. According to the International Committee for the Recovery […]
Microbiologists at Radboud University in the Netherlands have demonstrated in the laboratory that methane-consuming bacteria can generate electrical power. Their study was recently published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology. The bacteria studied is called Candidatus Methanoperedens and in the natural environment it consumes methane in water sources that are contaminated with nitrogen including places […]
We recently talked about California producing 97% of its electricity from renewables on one sunny afternoon in April. On May 8th, the state produced enough renewable electricity to meet 103% of consumer demand. These sorts of records are likely to be increasingly commonplace in the spring when the weather is still fairly mild. But even […]
Researchers at Chalmers University in Sweden have developed an entirely new way of capturing and storing energy from sunlight. The system is called the Molecular Thermal Energy Storage System or MOST. It is based on a specially designed molecule that changes shape when it is exposed to sunshine. The molecule is composed of carbon, hydrogen, […]
Bycatch is the fishing industry term used to describe the deaths of non-target fish and ocean wildlife during the fishing process. Some bycatch species are thrown away because regulations prohibit them from being kept. Others are thrown out because they won’t fetch high enough prices. According to some estimates, global bycatch amounts to about 10% […]
The most recent report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that the world must halt the increase in greenhouse gases within three years, reduce emissions by 43% in the next seven years, and eliminate them entirely by 2050. Otherwise, there will likely be catastrophic and irreversible impacts on the climate. With respect […]
Every year in the US, about 13 million tons of asphalt material is removed from old roofs to be replaced with new shingles. Only about 10% of that is recycled for use in paving and various roadway projects. The other 12 million tons of asphalt ends up in landfills where it takes a very long […]
As the planet continues to heat up, animals big and small are moving towards the poles to escape the heat. According to researchers, these animals are likely to come into contact with other animals that they normally wouldn’t, and are likely to relocate to regions with large human populations. These factors create opportunities for pathogens […]
According to a new study by Cardiff University in the UK, Britain could achieve nearly half of the carbon removal needed to meet its climate goals by adding basalt rock dust to crop fields. The process is known as enhanced weathering and has been the subject of ongoing research in the U.S. at Cornell University […]
The ivory-billed woodpecker was the largest woodpecker in the US. They were once relatively common, stretching from the Carolinas through the southeast and across to Texas. Their numbers started to drop sharply in the 19th century because of habitat loss and overhunting. Many were taken as valuable specimens; some were even eaten by poverty-stricken people. […]
India is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. An estimated 47,000 plant species and 89,000 animal species can be found in India, with more than 10% of each thought to be on the list of threatened species. India is also among the top ten countries in the world in terms of total […]
According to a new report from the climate think tank Ember, the rapid growth that has been going on for solar and wind power could allow the global electricity sector to do its part in limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In 2021, solar power grew by 23% worldwide and wind power grew by […]
California, the most populous state, is the second largest electricity user. Only Texas, the second most populous state, uses more energy, in part because it consumes large amounts in refining fossil fuels. Overall, California uses about 8% of the electricity generated in the U.S. Thus, it was a significant milestone when briefly, on April 3, […]
The use of pesticides in global agriculture brings with it many problems including the killing of non-target, beneficial species as well as reversing pest-management gains from the use of conservation agriculture methods. In a newly published study by researchers at Penn State University, the use of plant cover, such as cover crops, was shown to […]
According to a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Finance (the IEEFA), the U.S. most likely hit its peak usage of natural gas to generate electricity in 2020. Growth in wind and solar power are beginning to erode the use of natural gas. At the moment, natural gas prices are unusually high […]
The first quarter of the year was a tough one for the U.S. auto industry. Overall sales of cars and trucks were down 15.7% compared with last year. Automakers have been dealing with shortages of computer chips and other supplies, resulting in slowdowns in production. The one major exception to the trend has been sales […]
The Concordia Research station atop Dome C on the Antarctic Plateau is generally considered to be the coldest place on earth. In mid-March, the normal high temperature for the day is around -56 degrees Fahrenheit. But on March 18, the high for the day was 11.3 degrees, nearly 70 degrees warmer than normal. The World […]
According to the World Health Organization, almost the entire global population – 99% in fact – breathes air that exceeds WHO air quality limits and threatens their health. Air quality is of great concern everywhere. Over 6,000 cities in 117 countries monitor air quality, but the people living in those cities are still breathing unhealthy […]
The world is awash in both waste plastic and in carbon dioxide emissions. Researchers at Rice University have discovered a chemical technique for making waste plastic into an effective carbon dioxide absorbent for industry. Chemists at Rice reported in the journal ACS Nano that heating plastic waste in the presence of potassium acetate produces particles […]
The natural resources people use the most are air and water. It may come as a surprise that in third place is sand. Sand is used to make glass, computer chips, toothpaste, cosmetics, food, wine, paper, paint, plastics, and more. It is estimated that 50 billion tons of sand are used each year. Concrete is […]
The American West is in the throes of a two-decade-long drought. The climate there is getting warmer and drier, which has led to increasing demand for water resources from both humans and ecosystems. According to a new study by the Desert Research Institute and collaborators, the atmosphere across much of the U.S. is also demanding […]
According to a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder, wildfires have gotten much larger and much more frequent across the United States since the year 2000. The rise in wildfires in recent years has been attributed to the changing climate and the new research shows that large fires have become more common and […]
Humans generate a remarkable amount of garbage. According to the World Bank, humans produce 4.5 trillion pounds of trash every year, with at least 33% of this garbage not managed in an environmentally-safe manner. By 2050, global garbage generation is expected to reach nearly 7.5 trillion pounds a year. Globally, an average of 1.6 lbs […]
Methane leaking from oil and gas wells is a real problem for the environment because methane is far more potent at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. The EPA has estimated that about 1.4% of the methane produced by wells nationally leaks into the atmosphere. However, environmental experts and energy industry engineers have been concerned that […]
A new study by the University of Vermont in collaboration with researchers from three Latin American countries looked at the effects of birds and bees on coffee crops. They found that coffee beans are bigger and more plentiful when birds and bees team up to protect and pollinate coffee plants. The real-world study manipulated coffee […]
Late in February, the U.S. completed the most successful offshore wind lease auction in history. The auction for rights to develop offshore wind in the New York Bight brought in a record $4.37 billion from the companies bidding for them. The New York Bight is an area of ocean off the coasts of New York […]
The goal of carbon capture and storage technology is to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and safely store it for the indefinite future. There are existing industrial facilities that capture carbon dioxide from concentrated sources – like the emissions from power plants. The technology currently captures and stores only about a tenth of a […]
Researchers are always working to develop faster and more powerful computers. Some of them believe that the future of computing lies with neuromorphic computers, which are systems designed to mimic the neurons and synapses found in the human brain. The human brain has more than 100 billion neurons with more than 1 quadrillion synapses or […]
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is an ecosystem that can be seen from space. It has now suffered its 6th mass coral bleaching event since 1998. Previous events happened in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2016, and 2017. This latest bleaching has occurred even though this is a La Niña year, when more rain and cooler temperatures are […]
Many companies have made sustainability commitments of various types. Environmental organizations have urged big-box and grocery stores to install solar panels on their rooftops and parking lots thereby reducing their energy usage and expanding the country’s supply of renewable energy. These places occupy large areas and therefore are capable of supporting large solar arrays. According […]
Every year, more than 100 million tons of dust blow out of North Africa. Strong seasonal winds lift the dust from the Sahara Desert northward. A few times a year, the winds from the south are strong and persistent enough to drive the dust all the way to Europe. On March 15, a large plume […]
Power plants and other industrial facilities are a major source of carbon emissions. There are a variety of techniques under development to prevent those emissions by capturing them rather than releasing them into the atmosphere. All of them add costs to the functioning of the facility. A good way to offset those costs is to […]
According to a new report by the Global Wind Energy Council, floating offshore wind technology is on track to grow from a miniscule market to a substantial contribution to the world’s energy supply over the next decade. Furthermore, the United States represents one of the countries with the greatest potential. Wind power is stronger and […]
The monarch butterfly is one of the world’s best-known butterflies and has become the symbol for a whole class of imperiled pollinators. Populations of the iconic orange-and-black insects have declined dramatically in recent decades. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the eastern monarch population has dropped 88% between 1996 and 2020. Habitat loss, […]
When ocean water is too warm, corals expel the algae that lives in their tissues, which causes the coral to turn completely white. This is called coral bleaching. When this happens, the coral is not dead. However, corals are dependent upon the symbiotic relationship with algae and if conditions don’t improve, they don’t let the […]
New York has now installed 1 GW of community solar capacity, which is more than any other state. Community solar is a solar energy project within a geographic area for which the benefits flow to multiple customers such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, or other groups. For the most part, the customers benefit from energy being […]
Single-use plastics are used only once before they are recycled – or more likely – simply thrown away. These are things like plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, soda and water bottles, and most food packaging. They are primarily made from fossil fuel-based chemicals. Since the 1950s, over 9 billion tons of plastics have been produced, […]
The natural world has an important part to play in mitigating the effects of climate change. We mostly think about the role of plant life which absorbs carbon in trees, grasses, and other flora. However, a new study published by Oxford University looks at the role of large wild animals in restoring ecosystems and reducing […]
While plastic comes in all different shapes and sizes, those that are less than five millimeters in length are called microplastics. Primary sources of microplastics include microfibers from clothing, microbeads, and plastic pellets (known as nurdles). Secondary sources of microplastics come from larger plastic debris, like bottles and bags, that degrades into smaller bits over […]
The thawing of the permafrost in the Arctic is a major concern from the standpoint of the potential release of enormous amounts of carbon dioxide trapped in it. There are nearly 2,000 billion tons of carbon there, which is as much as humanity releases into the atmosphere in 50 years. But greenhouse gases are not […]
Many of us have houseplants in our homes and offices. The foliage and flowers add beauty and comfort to our indoor spaces. But it turns out that there are health advantages as well. Many studies have demonstrated that indoor houseplants can help keep you happier and healthier by improving your mood, reducing fatigue, lowering stress […]
Octopuses are remarkably intelligent animals. They have a larger brain for their body size than all other animals apart from birds and mammals. They exhibit high-order cognitive behaviors including tool use and problem solving. Some captive octopuses learned to shoot jets of water at aquarium light switches to turn them off. Others have learned to […]
Despite some March snowstorms in the Northeast, the record shows that spring is getting warmer and coming sooner in the United States. The independent research organization Climate Central analyzed 52 years of spring data across the United States. Half of the 234 locations studied had an increase in their average spring temperatures of at least […]
The massive megadrought affecting the American West is now considered to be the driest two-decade period in the past 1,200 years. The lengthy drought has led to increased wildfires, reduced agricultural productivity, and reduced electricity generation by hydropower plants. The historically low water levels in the largest two reservoirs in the U.S. – Lake Mead […]
There are more and more electric cars on the market as auto manufacturers move toward fleet-wide electrification. In the United States, pickup trucks are massively popular. The top three selling vehicles in the country are all trucks, led by the Ford F-Series. Thus, it is no surprise that automakers are now turning their attention to […]
Long-term exposure to lead can cause serious health problems, especially in children. Children are particularly vulnerable because their early years are characterized by rapid growth and brain development. Lead is a powerful neurotoxin that can cause damage even at low levels of exposure. Lead poisoning can be acute, and can cause all sorts of health […]
The American Southwest has suffered from drought conditions since the year 2000. The drought has reduced water supplies, devastated farmers and ranchers, and it has helped to fuel numerous wildfires across the region. It has generally been considered to be worst in 500 years. According to a recent analysis, the drought has become so severe […]
Researchers at Oxford University have developed a new adaptable smart window technology that has the potential of reducing the energy usage of the average home by a third. The technology uses a spectrally tunable low-emissivity coating that can control the amount of heat that comes into a room without affecting the quality of the light […]
A new study by researchers at the University of Washington looked at the impact of regenerative farming practices on the nutritional content of the food that is grown. Regenerative agriculture involves farming practices that not only “do not harm” to the land but actually improve it by regenerating and revitalizing the soil. The practices focus […]
The Renewable Fuel Standard legislation, first passed in 2005 and updated in 2007, requires billions of gallons of renewable fuel to be added to the country’s transportation fuel supplies. It created the world’s largest biofuels program. The standard was hailed as a major victory for the climate as well as a way to reduce our […]
The primary indicator of global climate change is the Global Mean Surface Temperature of the Earth and the world’s nations are trying to keep its increase below 1.5 degrees Celsius over the pre-industrial level. That rise in temperature is called the Global Surface Temperature Anomaly and it actually reached an all-time high in 2016 at […]
The Amazon rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world, covering more than 2.5 million square miles. It’s home to 10% of all known species in the world. The Amazon rainforest’s biodiversity is so rich that scientists are still discovering new plant and animal species today. The Amazon rainforest absorbs huge amounts of carbon dioxide […]
During the fourth quarter of 2021, overall auto sales in the US fell by 21.3% compared to the same quarter of 2020. At the same time, sales of electric cars grew by 73%. Is this the beginning of the end for the Gasoline Era, or was it a just an anomaly during the COVID pandemic? […]
There is a growing number of large offshore wind projects in the pipeline in the Northeast. The large Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts began construction in November. Contracts for the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind projects in New York were finalized in January. The first offshore wind project to begin construction in […]
The koala is one of the world’s most iconic animal species and is widely considered to be the symbol of Australia. Koalas are not bears; they are marsupials. Being iconic symbols is not sufficient to prevent koalas from going extinct. In the 1920s, hundreds of thousands of koalas were shot for the fur trade, greatly […]
Climate change has shown up in the highest place on Earth. The highest glacier on Mount Everest is rapidly retreating with rising temperatures. New research by an international team led by the University of Maine and published in the journal Climate and Atmospheric Science has determined that the South Col Glacier atop Mount Everest has […]
We’ve talked about permafrost before. It is the frozen soil, rock, or sediment piled up in the Arctic that has been there at least for two years but, for the most part, for millennia or even over a million years. Permafrost holds the carbon-filled remains of vegetation and animals that froze before they could start […]
America has a long history of persecuting wolves. In 1905 the federal government tried biological warfare, infecting wolves with mange. In 1915, Congress passed a law requiring the eradication of wolves from federal land. By 1926, all the wolves in Yellowstone National Park had been poisoned, shot, or trapped. By 1945, wolves had been essentially […]
Gillnets are walls or curtains of netting that hang in the water to trap fish. They are one of the most extensively used fishing gear in coastal regions throughout the world’s oceans. While they are very effective at catching targeted fish species, they are not discriminating. As a result, they carry significant risk of bycatch […]
According to the World Health Organization, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 extra deaths per year between 2030 and 2050. But climate change does not affect everyone the same. In fact, the poorest people on the planet, who are often the least to blame for climate change, typically bear the worst of the […]
The accelerating warming in the Arctic has transformed the region into a warmer, wetter, and more diverse environment. Warming temperatures have encouraged the increasing growth of vegetation, particularly shrubs that provide beavers with bark to eat and branches to build with. Warming temperatures also mean that lakes and streams freeze solid for shorter periods of […]
Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers, generally under controlled environments and using soilless farming techniques like hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics. Vertical farms are housed in structures such as buildings, shipping containers, tunnels, and abandoned mineshafts. The potential advantages of vertical farms are that they are very efficient in terms […]
According to a new study, approximately 70% of the world’s oceans could be suffocating from a lack of oxygen by 2080 as a consequence of climate change. This has the potential to impact marine ecosystems all around the world. The study, which was recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, is the first to […]
The global climate is a complicated thing. While overall trends are relatively straightforward to understand, the details can seem confusing. January was the sixth-warmest January in the 143 years of global climate record keeping. The global land and ocean surface temperature was 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average. Meanwhile, the United States had […]
Recent research has found that some of the highest levels of mercury pollution ever recorded are in a patch of pristine Amazonian rainforest. The international team of researchers discovered that illegal goldmining in the Peruvian Amazon is the source of the pollution. Illegal miners separate gold particles from river sediments using mercury. Mercury binds to […]
Tourism has experienced exponential growth during the past 70 years. In 1950, there were 25 million international tourist arrivals. By 1990, it had ballooned to 435 million. Between 1990 and 2018, the numbers more than tripled reaching more than 1.4 billion. And by 2030, the number of international tourist arrivals is expected to reach 1.8 […]
Scientists have estimated that there are more than 8 million species of plants and animals in existence. Amazingly, only about 1.2 million of them have been identified and described so far and most of those are actually insects. Millions of other organisms have yet to be discovered. One would imagine that most of these unknown […]
There are 130,000 documented abandoned oil and gas wells in the US, according to the Department of the Interior. The key word is documented. According to an EPA study in 2018, the actual number of abandoned wells could be as high as two or three million. According to an analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund […]
In Antarctica, a huge chunk of the Larsen B Ice Shelf collapsed suddenly and spectacularly in January. The Larsen Ice Shelf is located on the northeastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula on the Weddell Sea. It was formed over the course of more than 12,000 years. The Weddell Sea used to be a completely frozen […]
The United Kingdom has some of the most detailed records of seasonal changes anywhere in the world. Since the 18th century, observations of seasonal changes have been recorded by scientists, naturalists, amateur and professional gardeners, and organizations such as the Royal Meteorological Society. Researchers at two British institutions have collected and collated these records into […]
As carbon dioxide levels continue to increase in the atmosphere and emissions reductions aren’t happening as fast as needed, there is growing interest in carbon capture and storage technologies. The idea is to capture the CO2 emitted from industrial processes or from the burning of fossil fuels in power generation, and then permanently store it […]
Last year was a year that saw rising temperatures and rising levels of greenhouse gases. 2021 was the fifth-hottest year on record. The average global temperature was nearly 1.2 degrees Celsius or 2.1 Fahrenheit degrees higher than the preindustrial average. The past seven years were the hottest ever by a significant margin. The concentration of […]
Movies were not the first industry to boom in Los Angeles. Oil was. There was a lot of it, and it flowed close to the surface triggering rampant drilling all over the area. By the 1920s, Los Angeles was one of the largest oil-exporting regions in the world. A century later, there are over 20,000 […]
The Southern Ocean around Antarctica is the most isolated marine environment on Earth. Antarctica’s native species have been isolated for the last 15-30 million years. As a result, wildlife there has not evolved the ability to tolerate the presence of many groups of species. New research by the University of Cambridge and the British Antarctic […]
The regional parliament in Berlin is considering the creation of a car-free zone in the German capital as a result of a petition from a local advocacy group. The group – called the People’s Decision for Auto-Free Berlin – collected 50,000 signatures, which was enough to require the Berlin Senate to take up the issue. […]
The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States. It was once a common sight over much of the continent but was severely affected in the mid-20th century by a variety of factors, particularly the use of the pesticide DDT, which caused thinning of its eggshells and sterility. In the 18th century, the […]
Palm oil is the world’s cheapest and most widely used vegetable oil. Producing it is a primary driver of deforestation and biodiversity loss in the tropics. In Borneo, for example, oil palm cultivation has accounted for more than half of all deforestation over the past two decades. More than one million square miles of biodiversity […]
According to a new study led by Yale University, more hurricanes are likely to hit Connecticut and the northeastern U.S. as global warming continues to increase temperatures in the region. Hurricane Henri made landfall in August as a tropical storm on the Connecticut/Rhode Island border. In September 2020, subtropical storm Alpha made landfall in Portugal, […]
According to a new study led by researchers from the University of Waterloo in Canada, climate change will limit where the Winter Olympics can be held as winter changes across the Northern Hemisphere. The international research team found that by the end of the century only one of the 21 cities that have previously hosted […]
While Congress continues to face partisan gridlock on climate issues, many states have moved forward with climate action. In 2021, five states – Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, North Carolina, and Rhode Island – passed laws requiring a shift to 100% carbon-free electricity or net-zero emissions. Washington State passed a law that helps to implement its strong […]
There are some people who worry that an electric grid heavily dependent upon intermittent sources like solar and wind power may be more susceptible to blackouts. According to a new study by Stanford University, these fears are misplaced. The study, published in the journal Renewable Energy, found that an energy system running on wind, water, […]
According to a new study, microbes in oceans and soils around the world are evolving to eat plastic. The study by Chalmers University in Sweden was published recently in the journal Microbial Ecology. The study is the first large-scale assessment of the plastic-degrading potential of bacteria. There are 95 microbial enzymes already known to degrade […]
The installed solar capacity in the European Union grew by 34% in 2021. This means that Europe is on pace to quadruple its solar energy generation by 2030. During 2021, the 27 countries of the European Union installed 25.9 gigawatts of new solar capacity, compared with 19.3 gigawatts in 2020. This was the biggest year […]
The great mountain ranges of central Asia, including the Himalayas, contain the third-largest deposit of ice and snow in the world, trailing only Antarctica and the Arctic. The Himalayan range contains about 15,000 glaciers, and is part of a region widely referred to as the Third Pole due to its extraordinary reserves of freshwater. But […]
Cavendish bananas account for about half of global banana production and the vast majority of bananas entering international trade. The plant is unable to reproduce sexually and instead is propagated via identical clones. So, the genetic diversity of the Cavendish banana is exceedingly low. In 2008, Cavendish cultivars in Sumatra and Malaysia started to be […]
It is well known that green spaces can improve the quality of life and create a better climate in cities. City trees and vegetation can help reduce urban heat island effects by shading buildings and roads, deflecting radiation from the sun, and releasing moisture into the atmosphere. City trees and green spaces have also been […]
In early December, a series of tornadoes struck multiple states, killing nearly 100 people and producing widespread damage in whole communities. These storms were at least the 19th weather or climate disaster that caused more than $1 billion in damage during 2021. The year suffered from droughts, wildfires, severe cold snaps, hurricanes, and other severe […]
There is increasing concern that reducing carbon emissions alone will not be sufficient to stabilize the climate and that technologies that actively remove carbon dioxide from the air will be needed. There has been a fair amount of analysis of the efficacy of storing carbon in agricultural soil and in forests, but there has not […]
December saw some wild weather in Alaska. A combination of record high temperatures and torrential rainstorms resulted in the coining of the term “Icemageddon” to describe what was going on with the weather. Kodiak Island in southern Alaska saw a high temperature of 67 degrees on December 26, which was warmer than it was in […]
The Netherlands is a country that is largely built on reclaimed land and a third of it remains below sea level. The Dutch have long experience with dealing with rising waters. The city of Amsterdam has almost 3,000 houseboats in its canals. As sea levels continue to rise across the globe, it is no surprise […]
Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory have developed an all-season smart roof coating that can keep homes warm during the winter and cool during the summer, and the coating does not consume any gas or electricity. Existing cool roof systems consist of reflective coatings, membranes, shingles, or tile that lower house temperatures by reflecting sunlight […]
The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is the widest glacier in the world. It is about 80 miles across and in places extends to a depth of about 2,600 to 3,900 feet. The glacier is roughly the size of Florida, and it currently contributes 4% of annual global sea level rise as it continues to retreat […]
As of January 1, the state of New York now prohibits any person engaged in the business of selling or distributing prepared food or beverages from selling, offering for sale, or distributing disposable food service containers that contain expanded polystyrene foam in the state. In addition, no manufacturer will be allowed to sell, offer for […]
The price of the batteries that power electric cars has fallen by about 90% since 2010. This continuing trend will eventually make EVs less expensive than gas cars. For many years, researchers have estimated that when battery packs reach the price of $100 per kilowatt-hour of energy storage, electric cars will cost about the same […]
In recent years, there have been countless stories about the effects of the changing climate. Many of those stories have been about the dwindling sea ice in the Arctic and many others have been about the worsening wildfires in the western United States. According to a recent study published by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, […]
Climate change poses a major threat to polar bear survival. The polar bear, whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, depends on sea ice for nearly all of its lifecycle functions. And rising temperatures are causing this sea ice to disappear. Climate change-driven sea ice loss is the primary threat to the future […]
Wearable electronic devices are a big market but there are limitations created by the properties of the batteries that operate them. The ideal battery for wearable electronics would be soft and comfortable, stretchable, and washable. Researchers at the University of British Columbia have recently developed just such a battery. The work has been described in […]