Air and Water
The warm Pacific caused our weird winter
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/EW-07-14-14-Warm-Pacific.mp3|titles=EW 07-14-14 Warm Pacific]
Last winter was one of the coldest on record in the American Midwest. Northeastern cities were buried in snow. Meteorologists kept talking about the “polar vortex”. And meanwhile, western states were unseasonably warm and were stricken by drought. By all accounts, it was a weird winter. [Read more…] about The warm Pacific caused our weird winter
Cleaning up with fungus
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/EW-07-11-14-Cleaning-Up-with-Fungus.mp3|titles=EW 07-11-14 Cleaning Up with Fungus]
Dealing with contaminated soils in industrial and former industrial sites is a continuing problem for society. People employ a variety of methods for removing or remediating persistent organic chemicals in these places. Techniques such as capping, excavation, and even incineration have all been used at one point or another. All the methods have their problems and most are quite expensive. [Read more…] about Cleaning up with fungus
Ecosystems need predators
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/EW-07-10-14-Ecosystems-Need-Predators.mp3|titles=EW 07-10-14 Ecosystems Need Predators]
Salt marshes are extremely important ecosystems. They shield coasts from flooding, they remove pollutants from water, and they are the baby nurseries for many kinds of fish. In recent years, salt marshes in places like the coastlines of New England have been dying off. [Read more…] about Ecosystems need predators
Seashells
Whether you’re a collector or just a casual beachgoer, you’ve probably bent to pick up a seashell that caught your eye. Children scour the beach for unique shells, and vacationers pocket them as mementos of their travels. Few things seem more innocent, but what is the impact of all those disappearing shells? [Read more…] about Seashells
Keeping a pulse on the Hudson River
Technology has transformed our ability to understand rivers. Take the Cary Institute’s longstanding scientific program on the Hudson River. In the past, to get measurements on environmental conditions, we relied on researchers sampling in boats. Not only is this expensive and time consuming– it isn’t feasible in bad weather. [Read more…] about Keeping a pulse on the Hudson River
Offshore wind turbines can slow hurricanes
Wind power is welcomed by farmers and ranchers in the Great Plains for the income and economic activity it brings, but it has made much slower progress in the densely populated Northeast. Here, residents often object to wind turbines disrupting their views of formerly pristine ridge-lines, and offshore wind runs into objections from politically powerful owners of beachfront property. [Read more…] about Offshore wind turbines can slow hurricanes
New EPA standards benefit our health
The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced a plan to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by the year 2030. This is excellent news for the environment, as power plant emissions cause global warming, acid rain, mercury poisoning in fish and wildlife, and ozone damage to crops and trees. [Read more…] about New EPA standards benefit our health
Wildlife is where you find it
I was in New York City last week, hustling with the multitudes down Park Avenue in Midtown along the concrete walks that pass by J.P. Morgan-Chase, Deutsche Bank, and other giants of the financial world. Waiting for the crossing light at 48th street, I noticed a young woman on the opposite corner who was staring intently at a sign post. Not the sign, but the sign post. [Read more…] about Wildlife is where you find it
Summertime ozone
Ozone is a puzzling air pollutant. Human activities are not direct sources of a lot of ozone, but ozone concentrations increase to markedly unhealthy levels in many areas during the summer. About 30 years ago, atmospheric chemists solved this mystery. [Read more…] about Summertime ozone
The rising seas
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/EW-06-25-14-Rising-Seas.mp3|titles=EW 06-25-14 Rising Seas]
Melting polar ice and rising sea levels are some of the most obvious results of the ongoing global warming of our planet. Politicians may argue about whether the warming we are experiencing is caused by humans, but all agree that our planet has warmed during the past couple of hundred years. [Read more…] about The rising seas
Microbeads
When we think about protecting our waterways from plastic pollution, we think of recycling water bottles or moving toward canvas grocery bags. But what about the plastics we can’t see? [Read more…] about Microbeads
New EPA carbon dioxide standards
In a big win for the environment, the Environmental Protection Agency recently released a plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Specifically, it calls for existing power plants to cut their emissions to 30 percent below 2005 levels by the year 2030.
Death by air pollution
The human health effects of air pollutants are hotly debated. Since air pollution is typically a long-term, diffuse problem, it is difficult to link human mortality to any particular air pollutant. Studies of the human health effects of acute chemical spills are much easier. [Read more…] about Death by air pollution
Sunken shipping containers
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-06-17-14-Sunken-Shipping-Containers.mp3|titles=EW 06-17-14 Sunken Shipping Containers]
Shipping containers on cargo vessels – technically called intermodal containers – have been around since the 1950s. These large steel boxes, some of which are over fifty feet long, are used to carry thousands of goods around the world. [Read more…] about Sunken shipping containers
A window of opportunity
Much has been written about collisions of birds with radio-towers and tall buildings, especially during migration. Now a new study documents another large source of bird mortality—collisions with window glass in residential and low-rise buildings. [Read more…] about A window of opportunity
China’s polluted groundwater
As China continues to develop at a rapid pace, attention has been given to its poor air quality and smog. But a new report on the country’s land and water resources has revealed what is perhaps an even graver problem. [Read more…] about China’s polluted groundwater
The referee called “foul”
As a child, I remember looking with some fascination at barnacles on the piers in a Cape Cod harbor, and reading about how their growth on the bottoms of boats so slowed their progress in the water that dry-docking for barnacle removal was a common practice. Growths of marine organisms on hard surfaces fall under the general term biofouling. [Read more…] about The referee called “foul”
Our leaky planet
Petroleum deposits formed millions of years ago, when organic-rich sediments were buried and transformed under heat and pressure deep in the Earth’s crust. Most deposits remain deep in the Earth, making it expensive to drill for oil and gas. However, geologic uplift occasionally brings deposits back near the Earth’s surface. [Read more…] about Our leaky planet
Untapped hydroelectric power
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EW-06-05-14-Untapped-Hydroelectric-Power.mp3|titles=EW 06-05-14 Untapped Hydroelectric Power]