Earth Wise

A look at our changing environment.

You are here: Home / Archives for Episode

Rapid Response To Climate Change More Important Than Ever

By Leave a Comment

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a new report emphasizing the importance of taking rapid action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and examining the consequences of allowing temperatures to rise 2 degrees instead.

[Read more…] about Rapid Response To Climate Change More Important Than Ever

Cleaning Up the Garbage Patch

By Leave a Comment

We have been talking about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for several years.  Two years ago, we reported on the activities of a company called Ocean Cleanup, founded five years ago by an 18-year-old Dutch entrepreneur named Boyan Slat.  Two years ago, the company was conducting comprehensive surveys of the patch, which covers an area twice the size of Texas and contains some 80,000 tons of plastic debris.

[Read more…] about Cleaning Up the Garbage Patch

Where Does The Plastic Go?

By Leave a Comment

The glut of plastic in the oceans is a global problem.  About 9 million tons of plastic enter the oceans each year.  Much of it is discarded fishing gear, plastic bags, and other macroscopic objects.  But a great deal of it is in the form of microplastics or small particles.  Some microplastics come from cosmetics and other products containing them but a lot of them are the result of larger plastic objects breaking down into small particles.

[Read more…] about Where Does The Plastic Go?

The Earliest Overshoot Day Ever

By Leave a Comment

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humankind’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what our planet can regenerate in that year.  The deficit for the remainder of the year means we are liquidating stocks of ecological resources and accumulating waste, primarily carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

[Read more…] about The Earliest Overshoot Day Ever

Reducing Food Waste

By Leave a Comment

Food waste is a huge problem.  About a third of all food produced globally goes to waste, and the numbers are even worse in the US.  If food waste was a country, it would be the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases.  Worse yet, all of this takes place in a world where 850 million people are chronically undernourished.

[Read more…] about Reducing Food Waste

Earthquakes And Injection Wells

By Leave a Comment

The expanded use of injection wells and fracking has brought about a significant increase in earthquakes in places that didn’t have very many before.  Wastewater injection in Oklahoma increased earthquake totals from dozens per year to over 900 in 2015 before collapsing oil prices reduced the use of the technique.  Increased earthquakes in Alberta, Canada were triggered by fracking in that area.

[Read more…] about Earthquakes And Injection Wells

Using The Sun To Remove Ice

By Leave a Comment

Ice buildup can cause all sorts of problems ranging from performance issues to catastrophic failures.  For example, ice buildup can negatively impact things like airplanes, power lines, wind turbines, and the like.  Preventing this ice buildup typically requires energy-intensive heating systems or environmentally-harmful chemical sprays.

[Read more…] about Using The Sun To Remove Ice

Pests And Crops In A Warming World

By Leave a Comment

By the year 2050, scientists predict that there will be two billion more people to feed in the world.  And climate change isn’t making that task any simpler.  From extreme weather events to rising global temperatures, climate change is expected to affect the types of food we grow, and to negatively affect the food production needed to feed the growing population.

[Read more…] about Pests And Crops In A Warming World

The Return Of The Bison

By Leave a Comment

At one time there were 20 to 30 million bison in North America, dominating the landscape from the Appalachians to the Rockies, and from the Gulf Coast to Alaska.   A combination of habitat loss and totally unregulated hunting of the huge animals reduced the population to just over 1,000 in 1889.  

[Read more…] about The Return Of The Bison

Energy Justice In California

By Leave a Comment

California put in place a cap-and-trade program in 2013.  In such a program, companies pay penalties if they exceed a cap in carbon emissions but can buy and sell allowances that permit them to emit a given amount. Trading gives companies a strong incentive to save money by cutting emissions.  Since taking effect, the California program has raised more than $6.5 billion and is the fourth largest in the world.

[Read more…] about Energy Justice In California

Dietary Diversity And Health

By Leave a Comment

For decades, we have heard from public health sources that we should eat a variety of foods.  Dietary diversity is touted as important for health.  However, there has never really been a consensus about what so-called dietary diversity actually  is, how it is measured, or how it necessarily is healthy.

[Read more…] about Dietary Diversity And Health

Accelerating Sugarcane Growth

By Leave a Comment

Brazil is the world’s second largest producer of ethanol fuel behind the United States.  More than that, it has the first sustainable biofuel economy, which is based on sugarcane ethanol, not corn ethanol.  It is sustainable because of Brazil’s advanced agri-industrial technology and its enormous amount of arable land.   Furthermore, producing sugarcane ethanol is far more energy-efficient than corn ethanol. It actually makes energy sense to produce it.

[Read more…] about Accelerating Sugarcane Growth

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a regional public radio network serving parts of seven northeastern states (more...)