Economy and Policy
Pollution recognizes no political boundaries—and that includes radiation
Scientists have long recognized that many pollutants travel far from where they originated. Power plant emissions can be carried by winds to distant states, where they contribute to acid rain, ground-level ozone, or mercury in isolated lakes. That’s why some of our national parks, even though they are protected areas, have smog and haze problems.
The challenge for scientists is teasing out the sources of pollution once they have dispersed. Although some elements carry isotopic signatures, others do not; so it’s challenging to trace pollutants like lead or compounds like nitrogen oxides back to their precise source.
The earthquake and tsunami that damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan last year provided an inadvertent demonstration of how air currents can transport pollution over long distances. Within a week of the earthquake, radioactive material was found in rainfall on the west coast of North America. It was in such small concentrations that it didn’t pose a health hazard. But the point is that, because there was no other possible source for the radioactive material, it served as a tracer. Meteorologists noted a strong jet stream over Japan in the days after the disaster; it carried the contaminants across the Pacific where they were then deposited in rainfall.
Although this fallout did not prove hazardous to Americans, the story is a sobering reminder that ocean and air currents are powerful mechanisms for moving pollution. We can’t control or regulate them. It is also a reminder that no matter how safe the nuclear power industry portrays itself to be, all of the safeguards in the world could not prevent the disaster that unfolded in Japan.
Web Link
Scientific paper on Fission-Product Isotopes from Fukushima to U.S.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es203217u
Photo, taken on May 20, 2007 using a Nikon Coolpix L5, courtesy of J. Brew via Flickr.
A-Rod should be worried about invasive species
Most baseball players use bats made from ash wood. It is strong, flexible, and lightweight, a perfect combination for sluggers.
But ash trees are under attack from a tiny insect. The emerald ash borer was first detected in Michigan in 2002. It is believed to have hitchhiked from its native Asia on wooden shipping materials. The iridescent green beetle lays eggs in the bark of ash trees, and when the eggs hatch, the larvae burrow into the tree. They cause damage that prevents the tree from taking up water and nutrient – so the tree usually dies within two years.
Ash borers are now in a number of states, including New York and Pennsylvania, and in Canada. It is believed that they spread within North America when people transported nursery plants or firewood from one place to another. It is now illegal to move ash firewood within or between some states and provinces.
Emerald ash borers have killed between 50 and 100 million ash trees in the North America. If they are not stopped, they could eliminate all the remaining ash trees on the continent.
Scientists are researching biological controls for the emerald ash borer. One approach is to use parasitic wasps; another approach is to use a fungus that contains an ingredient also used in some commercial pesticides. It is too early to know whether these efforts can save our ash trees. That’s why ash seed banks are also being developed.
As for baseball players, maple is also an option for wood bats, but with its shorter grain, it shatters more easily. So if you’re a baseball player or a baseball fan, you have good reason to be a treehugger.
Photo, taken on November 6, 2005, courtesy of Erik Jaeger via Flickr.
Is the humble clothesline poised for a comeback?
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Sometimes, doing the right thing for the environment costs more money. But that’s not the case in the household laundry room. [Read more…] about Is the humble clothesline poised for a comeback?
A new renewable energy source is making waves
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For years, when we talked about using renewable energy, our options were solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower. Each has its pluses and minuses, but each is a significant step away from burning fossil fuel. [Read more…] about A new renewable energy source is making waves
What comes around goes around
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Modern society produces a lot of wastewater. Households, hospitals, businesses, and institutions discharge their dirty water into sewers. Each month, we allow every industry in the U.S. to discharge 33 pounds of hazardous waste. Sewage treatment plants are tasked with removing pathogens, metals, and an array of chemical compounds. [Read more…] about What comes around goes around
Good management and the rise of the McLobster roll
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For decades lobster has been associated with white table cloths and waiters. But for the past few summers, lobster has been making its way onto chain restaurant menus, from Ruby Tuesday to Panera. What gives? [Read more…] about Good management and the rise of the McLobster roll
Nitrogen might be the most ironic of all the elements
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Nitrogen is a key plant nutrient. And all of our plants grow in an atmosphere that is saturated with nitrogen—78 percent of the air we breathe is nitrogen. [Read more…] about Nitrogen might be the most ironic of all the elements
When is it a bad idea to fertilize a plant?
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Fertilizer makes our crops grow bigger and our grass greener. But nutrients from fertilizer end up in our waterways, where they may fertilize microscopic plants called phytoplankton. [Read more…] about When is it a bad idea to fertilize a plant?
Why should we care about freshwater mussels?
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There were once three hundred species of mussels in the United States. They supplied food to Native Americans and people harvested them for pearls and for mother-of-pearl to make buttons. Now, hardly anyone eats freshwater mussels and buttons are mostly made of plastic. [Read more…] about Why should we care about freshwater mussels?
Every Day is Earth Day
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Sunday is the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day, which first took place on April 22, 1970 and helped to prompt an awakening of American citizens to the importance of the environment. [Read more…] about Every Day is Earth Day
The Olympic games, traffic congestion, and childhood asthma
In 1996, organizers of the Atlanta Olympics were expecting a million visitors to their congested city. To ensure spectators could reach Olympic venues on time, they developed strategies for reducing traffic congestion. They beefed up public transportation, closed parts of downtown to private vehicle traffic, and encouraged local businesses to allow telecommuting. [Read more…] about The Olympic games, traffic congestion, and childhood asthma
Plastic has transformed the world
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In the iconic 1968 movie The Graduate, the lead character’s future father-in-law gives him one word of advice: “plastics.” He was on to something. Plastics have come to dominate our lives. [Read more…] about Plastic has transformed the world
Holy mackerel!
Over the past two decades, stocks of Jack mackerel in the South Pacific have declined by 90%, from 30 million tons to 3 million tons. Many of the fish being netted are juveniles. This is a sad turn of events for one of the world’s richest fishing grounds. [Read more…] about Holy mackerel!
How resilient is your plastic?
Synthesized in the laboratory more than 100 years ago, bisphenol A did not enter widespread production until the 1950s, when it was discovered that as an additive to polycarbonate plastics, it makes them harder and more resilient. [Read more…] about How resilient is your plastic?
Power from the deep earth?
It sounds like a grade school science experiment on a grand scale. This summer, a team of geothermal energy developers is planning to pump 24 million gallons of water into a dormant volcano in Central Oregon. Their hope: that volcanic rock will heat the water to a temperature that is hot enough to generate clean electricity. [Read more…] about Power from the deep earth?
Remember heavy metal?
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One of the biggest success stories of the environmental movement was getting the lead out of gasoline. Tetra-ethyl lead was first put into gasoline in the 1920s to improve engine performance and eliminate “knock.” Of course, it was necessary to get the lead out of the engine, so potassium bromide was added to the gas as well, and the lead was emitted as a lead bromide aerosol. Most of this fell beside the road. [Read more…] about Remember heavy metal?
Saying no to DDT
DDT became a household name in the 1960s, when Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent Spring’ drew national attention to the impact the pesticide had on breeding birds. The EPA banned its use in 1972 and affected wildlife, such as bald eagles and pelicans, have made a remarkable recovery.
Recently, there have been calls from the international community—most notably the World Health Organization—to revisit using DDT to combat mosquito-borne disease. Malaria claims almost a million lives each year, with losses concentrated in the world’s poorest countries. Dengue, encephalitis, and yellow fever are also concerns.
DDT is inexpensive and good at killing mosquitoes. But let’s remember, it was banned in developed nations because it has been linked to serious health concerns, including breast cancer, diabetes, reproductive impairment, and neurological damage in children. Spraying it in homes and near living areas is a risky proposition.
When we release DDT to the environment, we give up control of where it goes, what it does, and how long it persists. DDT accumulates in the food chain, making top predators—like people—especially vulnerable. Residues are found in Antarctic penguins, thousands of miles away from its application. They are also found in all of us.
We need to combat mosquito-borne disease without entering into a chemical arms race that harms future generations and creates pesticide resistant insects. Instead, let’s set our brightest minds to understanding how management practices and native predators can help keep mosquito populations in check.
Photo, taken between 1945-1946, courtesy of John Tewell via Flickr.
When it comes to cell phones, we're talking about a lot of toxic trash
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18 months. That’s the average lifespan for a cell phone in the US. Most carriers let customers upgrade their phones after a year and a half, and most customers opt to do it. The bulk of discarded cell phones end up mixed in with household garbage. Less than 10% are recycled. [Read more…] about When it comes to cell phones, we're talking about a lot of toxic trash
Cancer: not a word we want to hear
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Last year, 1.6 million Americans were diagnosed with cancer, and more than a half million died from it. The process is protracted and painful.
But, how does cancer arise anyhow? Cancer begins with a change in the activity of our genetic material, or DNA. Normal cell division is compromised, and tumors form. Some people are genetically predisposed to certain cancers. For instance, inherited mutations in the BRCA genes, are linked to a family history of breast and ovarian cancers.
A widely-cited study in Scandinavia found that among nearly45,000 pairs of identical twins—individuals with identical genes— breast, colorectal and prostate cancers had a strong genetic link. But the results of this exhaustive study also revealed environmental factors are linked to twice as many cancers as genetic factors.
We are exposed to carcinogens through smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, breathing industrial pollution, radiation exposure, and infections like hepatitis. Carcinogens are also in a wide range of products designed to make our lives easier: insect repellants, cleaning materials, solvents, and personal care products.
The rates of environmentally-induced cancers speak strongly for the regulation of toxic substances. Unfortunately, only about 200 of the nearly 80,000 chemicals being used in the U.S. have been assessed for their potential to cause cancer.
Knowledge is power. Let’s make analyzing our chemical inventory a priority, so that we can identify substances like dioxin, which need to be eliminated from production.
Photo, taken on December 11, 2007 using a Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, courtesy of Jose Goulao via Flickr.