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Progress On Perovskite Solar Cells | Earth Wise

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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.  Manufacturing silicon solar cells takes a lot of energy because silicon is forged at around 3000 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, perovskites can be made flexible and transparent, making it possible to use them in ways unavailable with silicon solar technology.

But unlike silicon, perovskites are very fragile.  The early solar cells made from perovskites in 2009 and 2012 lasted for only minutes.  Lots of potential, but little practicality.

Recently, Princeton Engineering researchers have developed the first perovskite solar cell with a commercially viable lifetime, which is a major breakthrough.  The team projects that the device can perform above industry standards for about 30 years, which is much more than the 20 years designated as a viability threshold for commercial cells.

The research team has developed an ultra-thin capping layer between two of the layers of a perovskite solar cell.  The layer is just few atoms thick but has been demonstrated to dramatically increase the durability of the device. 

There is great potential for the new solar cell technology.  It has efficiency to compete with silicon cells but can be tuned for specific applications and can be manufactured locally with low energy inputs.  If successfully commercialized, the result will be solar panels that are cheaper, more efficient, and more flexible than what are available today.

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Once seen as fleeting, a new solar tech shines on and on

Photo, posted January 8, 2020, courtesy of David Baillot/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

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Sea Urchins And Climate Change | Earth Wise

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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.

Researchers from the University of Sydney have determined that the ability of sea urchins to prosper in such an environment means that these animals, which are already abundant in the Mediterranean Sea are likely to spread further afield as oceans continue to warm and become more acidic.  The Mediterranean Sea is warming 20% faster than the global average.

Sea urchins are already an environmental problem in many places around the world.  When their numbers increase disproportionately, they decimate kelp forests and algae, leading to the demise of other species that depend on these things for food or shelter.  The result is something called an urchin barren, which is a rocky, sandy, urchin-filled seafloor devoid of other life.

Urchin barrens are increasingly common in many places, including the east coast of Australia and the coastline in the Americas stretching from Nova Scotia to Chile.

In Australia, for example, sea urchin populations have multiplied, and their range has expanded considerably, overgrazing kelp and damaging abalone and lobster farms.

Tests run by the Sydney researchers found that it is difficult to stress sea urchins.  They appear to tolerate conditions that other creatures simply cannot.   The only real positive is that understanding the urchins’ remarkable survival abilities might offer insights into adaptations that other animals might need in order to survive as the oceans become warmer and more acidic.

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Colonising sea urchins can withstand hot, acidic seas

Photo, posted January 31, 2010, courtesy of Anna Barnett via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Space Tourism And The Climate | Earth Wise

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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 threat to the climate and the environment.

Black carbon – essentially soot – is emitted when fossil fuels, including rocket fuels, are burned.  Black carbon absorbs light from the sun and releases thermal energy, making it a powerful climate warming agent.  At lower altitudes, black carbon quickly falls from the sky, remaining in the atmosphere for only a matter of days or weeks.

Rockets are another story entirely.  They dump black carbon into the stratosphere as they blast into space, and up there black carbon is 500 times worse for the climate and sticks around for several years.

A detailed study by researchers at University College London looked at the climate impact of present-day space launches compared with the potential massive expansion of launches from a large space tourism industry.

The overall result is that current space launches are not a significant source of emissions, but space launches would become incredibly significant if projections of tourist space flights proved to be true.  Currently, there are roughly 100 space launches a year world-wide.  If that number becomes thousands, the impact on the climate would be substantial.

The same researchers looked at the ozone impact of rocket launches and reached a similar conclusion.  The current impact of spaceflights is not very significant, but a massive increase in launches could have a major impact on atmospheric ozone concentrations.

Space tourism may be exciting, but it also could be very dangerous for the planet.

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Space Tourism Poses a Significant ‘Risk to the Climate’

Impact of Rocket Launch and Space Debris Air Pollutant Emissions on Stratospheric Ozone and Global Climate

Photo, posted May 30, 2020, courtesy of Daniel Oberhaus (2020) via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Heatwaves And Bird Populations | Earth Wise

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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 the climate changes.

Researchers at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville recently published a new study that examined how heat impacts the behavior and physiology of Zebra finches.  They exposed the birds to a four-hour heat challenge, similar to what wild birds might experience during a hot summer afternoon.   They used Zebra finches because these songbirds experience extreme temperature fluctuations in their native Australia.

The team measured heat effects on thermoregulatory behavior, how heat alters gene activity in tissues critical to reproduction, and how heat affects the area of the brain that controls singing.  The evidence showed that even sub-lethal heat can change a bird’s ability to reproduce both from the functioning of its reproductive system and its motivational circuits for mating behavior.

The researchers found that some individual birds were better able to minimize the physiological effect of heat, for example by adjusting their behavior to dissipate heat.  Some individuals and even some species are likely to be able to adapt to increasingly extreme temperatures.

Global bird populations have been dramatically declining over the past few decades.  Previous studies have shown that birds sing less during heatwaves. Based on the new study, it appears that increasing heatwaves may be a potential underlying mechanism for the decline in bird populations.

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New Research Suggests Heat Waves Could Lead to Avian Population Decline

Photo, posted August 22, 2017, courtesy of Dennis Jarvis via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Bidding ‘Adieu’ To Single-Use Plastics | Earth Wise

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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 the top of the tallest mountains to the bottom of the deepest oceans.  It’s in our food, water, and air. 

By 2040, researchers predict that there will be nearly 90 million tons of plastic pollution entering the environment each year.  By some estimates, single-use plastics account for half of all our plastic waste.    

Many cities, states, and even countries are limiting or even banning single-use plastics.  Canada recently announced a ban on single-use plastics.  The ban includes things like plastic shopping bags, cups, cutlery, straws, stirrers, and take-out food containers.

The ban will phase in over the next several years, beginning with a ban on the manufacture and import of single-use plastics by the end of this year.  Sales of these items will be prohibited in 2023, and the export of plastics will cease by the end of 2025.  

Canada’s southern neighbor, the United States, leads the world in plastic waste generation.  While some states have approved single-use plastic reforms, most of the effort at the federal level has focused on improving recycling rates.  However, a recent report from several environmental organizations found that plastic recycling rates in the U.S. have actually declined in the last several years, from an already-dismal 8.7% to less than 6%.    

Suggesting the plastic waste problem can be solved with improved recycling rates is greenwashing the issue. 

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Canada is banning single-use plastics, including grocery bags and straws

Photo, posted October 31, 2011, courtesy of Mara via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Bumblebees And Climate Change | Earth Wise

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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 and legumes, as well as countless types of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers.

According to a new study by researchers from Simon Fraser University in Canada, temperature changes have negatively impacted most bumblebee species during the past 120 years.  The research, which was recently published in the journal Biology Letters, found that these changes in temperature had more of a negative impact than other factors such as precipitation or floral resources. 

The research team analyzed existing data on 46 bumblebee species across North America between 1900 and 2020.  The researchers created two occupancy models – one that was focused on time and the other that focused on environmental factors – to see how climate change and land-use variables impacted species’ occupancy.  They found that six bumblebee species decreased through time, 22 increased, and 18 remained stable.

Temperature changes had primarily negative impacts on bumblebees.  In fact, 37 of the 46 species studied exhibited declines or less positive occupancy increases under observed changes in temperature when compared with temperatures remaining constant.  Approximately half of the bumblebee species were negatively impacted by changes in precipitation or floral resources while the other half were positively impacted.

Bumblebee populations are changing as a consequence of climate change. 

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The American Bumblebee

Climate change negatively impacting bumble bees: Study

Photo, posted July 14, 2019, courtesy of Dmitry Grigoriev via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Better Way To Recycle Plastic | Earth Wise

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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 raw materials in the production of new plastic.  In principle, their technology could completely eliminate the climate impact of plastic materials.

According to the researchers, there are enough carbon atoms in waste to meet the needs of all global plastic production.

The Chalmers process is based on thermochemical technology and involves heating waste to 1100-1500 degrees Fahrenheit.  The waste is thereby vaporized and when hydrogen is added, becomes a carbon-based substance that can replace the fossil-fuel building blocks of plastic.  The method does not require sorting the waste materials.  Different types of waste, such as old plastic products and even paper cups, with or without food residues, can be fed into the recycling reactors.  The researchers are now developing the techniques required to utilize their recycling technology in the same factories in which plastic products are currently being made from fossil oil or gas.

The principle of the process is inspired by the natural carbon cycle in which plants break down into carbon dioxide when they wither and die, and then photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and solar energy to grow new plants.

Producing new plastics would no longer require petroleum or other fossil fuels as raw materials.  If the energy needed to drive the recycling reactors is taken from renewable sources, plastics could become the basis of a sustainable and circular economy.

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Pioneering recycling turns mixed waste into premium plastics with no climate impact

Photo, posted August 10, 2013, courtesy of Lisa Risager via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Geoengineering Research Plan | Earth Wise

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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 guidance on transparency, engagement, and risk management for publicly funded work on solar geoengineering research.”  The group is supposed to develop a five-year plan that will define research goals for the field, assess the potential hazards of climate interventions, and evaluate the level of federal funding required to carry out the work.

This marks the first federally coordinated effort of this kind and is especially significant because it contributes to the perception that geoengineering is an appropriate and important area of research as the climate continues to warm.

It is an understatement to say that such research is controversial.  Geoengineering has often been a taboo topic among scientists. There are significant questions about potential environmental side effects and concerns that the impact of any such efforts would be felt unevenly in different parts of the world.  There are challenging questions about global governance , including who should be able to make decisions about any potential deployment of climate interventions and what the goals of such interventions should be.

These are momentous issues to grapple with, but as the threat of climate change grows and nations continue to fail to make rapid progress on emissions, researchers, universities, and nations are increasingly motivated to seriously explore the potential effects of geoengineering approaches.  We can’t hide from the fact that these issues are going to be explored.

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The US government is developing a solar geoengineering research plan

Photo, posted June 28, 2013, courtesy of Fernando Aramburu via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Climate Resilient Microalgae | Earth Wise

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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 half of the world’s coral reefs are under stress.

The primary threat is coral bleaching, which is the disruption of the symbiotic relationship between coral polyps (which are tiny animals) and the heavily pigmented microalgae that live within the coral structures and provide most of the energy for the polyps. When corals are stressed, often because water temperatures are too high, they expel the microalgae within them.  The structures then become transparent, leaving only the white skeletal corals.  Bleached corals aren’t dead, but they are at great risk of starvation and disease until and unless new symbiont algae are acquired.

A new study by scientists at Uppsala University in Sweden investigated how different species of coral symbiont algae react to temperature stress.  They discovered differences among symbiont cells that enable the prediction of how temperature stress tolerant the cells are.  Such predictive ability could provide the means to identify and select more temperature-tolerant coral symbionts that could conceivably be introduced into coral host larvae in order to make corals more robust against climate change.

The research has a ways to go, but the new tools may help coral reef monitoring and increase the speed at which reef restoring efforts can create stocks of climate-resistant symbionts.

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Climate resilient microalgae could help restore coral reefs

Photo, posted September 28, 2009, courtesy of Matt Kieffer via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Less Phytoplankton In The Gulf Of Maine | Earth Wise

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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 become a food source for other organisms and ultimately for people who depend upon marine ecosystems.   If phytoplankton productivity is disrupted, there can be adverse effects on regional fisheries and the communities that depend on them.

The Gulf of Maine is becoming warmer and saltier, because of ocean currents pushing warm water into the gulf from the Northwest Atlantic.  These temperature and salinity changes have led to a significant decrease in the productivity of phytoplankton.   According to a new paper from scientists at Bigelow Laboratory of Ocean Sciences in Maine, phytoplankton are about 65% less productive in the gulf than they were 20 years ago.

The study’s results come from the analysis of the Gulf of Maine North Atlantic Time Series, a 23-year sampling program of the temperature, salinity, chemical, biological, and optical measurements of the gulf.  The scientists refer to what they describe as a giant windmill effect happening in the North Atlantic, which is changing the circulation of water coming into the Gulf of Maine.  In the past, inflows from the North Atlantic brought water from the Labrador Current, which made the gulf cooler and fresher.  The new circulation is making the water warmer and saltier.

These changes have significant implications for higher marine species, fisheries, the lobster industry, and other activities in the states that border the Gulf of Maine.

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NASA-funded Study: Gulf of Maine’s Phytoplankton Productivity Down 65%

Photo, posted November 15, 2015, courtesy of Paul VanDerWerf via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Lithium-Sulfur Batteries | Earth Wise

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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 nickel, manganese, and cobalt. 

Sulfur has been a desirable alternative for use in lithium-based batteries for quite a while because it is an abundant element and can be extracted in ways that are safe and environmentally friendly.  However, previous attempts to create lithium batteries that combine sulfur cathodes and the standard carbonate electrolytes used in lithium-ion batteries have not been successful because of irreversible chemical reactions between intermediate sulfur products and the electrolytes.

A group of chemical engineers at Drexel University has now found a way to introduce sulfur into lithium-ion batteries that solves the stability problem and also has major performance advantages.  The new batteries have three times the capacity of conventional lithium-ion batteries, and last more than 4,000 recharges, which is also a substantial improvement.

The new battery technology involves creating a stable form of sulfur called monoclinic gamma sulfur by depositing the sulfur on carbon nanofibers.   Previously, this sulfur phase was only observed at high temperatures and was only stable for 20 or 30 minutes.  This chemical phase of sulfur does not react with carbonate electrolytes and therefore produces a battery that is chemically stable over time.

 Incorporating this sulfur into battery cathodes results in a better battery that doesn’t need any cobalt, nickel, or manganese.  It could be the next big thing in electric vehicle batteries.

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Breakthrough in Cathode Chemistry Clears Path for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries’ Commercial Viability

Photo, posted April 5, 2022, courtesy of Oregon Department of Transportation via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Living in a Carbon Bubble | Earth Wise

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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.  It is actually an indoor pollutant.  High concentrations have been shown to reduce our cognitive performance, our health, and our comfort.  For example, a study in 2012 showed that performance in a variety of cognitive function tests was reduced by 12% when CO2 levels reached 1,000 parts per million and by 51% at 2,500 ppm.

How common are high levels of carbon dioxide?  Pretty common.  Offices often have CO2 levels of 600 ppm or higher, but 5% of US offices have average concentration about 1000 ppm and some conference rooms can reach 1900 ppm.  Classrooms often reach average levels above 1000 ppm.  Passenger aircraft have average levels around 1400 ppm during flight, and can peak over 4,000 ppm.  Cars with one occupant with the windows closed and the air recirculating have levels above 4,000 ppm. 

Where does it all come from?  From us.  We exhale CO2 and if we are in enclosed spaces with insufficient air circulation and ventilation, we end up living in a carbon dioxide bubble.  Most of us live with high CO2 levels – all day and every day.  It is a form of indoor pollution that has not gotten enough attention.

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I’m living in a carbon bubble. Literally.

Photo, posted October 24, 2013, courtesy of Cory W. Watts via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Feeding Cows Seaweed | Earth Wise

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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 in a year.

Several studies have shown that feeding cows seaweed has the potential to substantially reduce the amount of methane in cow burps.  The latest comes from a trial that took place at the Straus Family Creamery, an organic dairy producer in Marin County, California.

The trial used a new seaweed-derived feed additive called Brominata.  Brominata is made of a red seaweed called Asparagopsis taxiformis.  The addition of the seaweed to the cows’ diets on the Straus farm resulted in an 52% average reduction in enteric methane emissions.  One cow in the study showed a reduction of 92%.

Cutting enteric methane emissions in half would be a huge improvement that would be quite difficult to achieve by convincing enough people to reduce meat and dairy consumption.

The California Air Resources Board has identified feed additives as an emissions-reduction strategy for the dairy industry.  There are now some synthetic feed additives that have been developed that reduce enteric methane, but they haven’tyet  received FDA approval for use in the U.S.  Brominata has been approved as Generally Regarded as Safe by the California Food and Drug Administration.  Whether it and similar seaweed-based feeds can be produced in sufficient quantity and without adverse environmental effects remains to be seen.  But it is an intriguing approach to solving a complicated problem.

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Feeding Cows Seaweed Reduces Their Methane Emissions, but California Farms Are a Long Way From Scaling Up the Practice

Photo, posted November 10, 2015, courtesy of Lance Cheung/USDA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Removing Lead From Water With Beer Yeast | Earth Wise

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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 established a standard for allowable lead in drinking water of only 5 parts per billion.  In the US, the EPA has declared that no level of lead at all is safe.

Researchers at MIT have recently discovered that inactive yeast can be effective as an inexpensive, abundant, and simple material for removing lead contamination from drinking water supplies.  The MIT study shows that the method works even at parts-per-billion levels of contamination.

The method is called biosorption, in which inactive biological material is used to remove heavy metals from water.  Previously, it has been studied at parts-per-million contaminant levels, but the MIT study shows that it works at much lower levels as well.

The team studied a type of yeast widely used in brewing.   The yeast cells used are inactive and desiccated and require no special care.  Such yeast is abundantly available as a waste product from beer brewing and various other fermentation-based industrial processes. 

The researchers estimate that to clean a water supply for a city the size of Boston would require about 20 tons of yeast a day, or 7,000 tons a year.  That seems like a lot, but one single brewery, the Boston Beer Company, generates 20,000 tons a year of surplus yeast that is no longer useful for fermentation.

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Could used beer yeast be the solution to heavy metal contamination in water?

Photo, posted September 5, 2017, courtesy of Allagash Brewing via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Carbon Capture: Solution Or Band-Aid? | Earth Wise

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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 had very limited use.  As of last year, there were only about 30 large-scale projects in operation around the world, capturing only 0.1% of global emissions.

There is now growing interest in CCS and many new projects are underway.  A combination of rising carbon prices in Europe, tax breaks for CCS in the US, national net-zero targets, and the increasing need to ramp down global emissions are all driving rising CCS activities. 

While recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change still claim that it is possible to remain below 2 degrees Celsius of warming without using carbon capture, there is growing belief that it may be necessary given the present pace of the transition away from fossil fuels.

Two industries that together produce about 14% of global CO2 emissions are cement and steel.  These are both industries for which it is difficult to eliminate emissions regardless of the energy sources used. CCS may be the best approach to reducing their emissions.

But there is considerable pushback against CCS.  The concern is that CCS is primarily a way to delay decarbonization.  It encourages various industries to continue to use fossil fuels instead of shifting away from them.  Nonetheless, CCS no doubt has its place as part of the solution to climate change.

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Solution or Band-Aid? Carbon Capture Projects Are Moving Ahead

Photo, posted June 5, 2022, courtesy of Mark Dixon via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Reshaping Our Planet | Earth Wise

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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 the air we breathe all rely on status of the land to at least some extent.

According to the report, up to 40% of the planet’s land is already degraded, affecting half of the people alive today.  At current rates, an additional area nearly the size of South America will be degraded by 2050.

Degradation of land occurs in various ways, including deforestation, desertification, and the loss of wetlands or grasslands.  All of these things are caused by human activities.  As forests, savannas, wetlands, and mangrove swamps are converted to agriculture or are lost to urban expansion, greenhouse gas emissions rapidly increase, adding to the effects of climate change.  The climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and land degradation are integrally linked.

Much of the blame for degraded landscapes is on humanity’s ever-expanding need for food and the modern farming systems that produce it.  The global food system is responsible for 80% of the world’s deforestation, 70% of freshwater use, and is the greatest driver of land-based biodiversity loss.  Modern agriculture has altered the face of the planet more than any other human activity.

The report urges efforts at restoration of land.  Restoration can take multiple forms, including planting forests and shrubs or grazing livestock and growing crops between trees instead of clearing existing forests.

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UN Report Says Humanity Has Altered 70 Percent of the Earth’s Land, Putting the Planet on a ‘Crisis Footing’

Photo, posted June 20, 2010, courtesy of Nicholas A. Tonelli via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Marine Predation And Climate Change | Earth Wise

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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 occurred during the past 50 years. 

The ocean’s surface layer, which is home to most marine life, takes most of this heat.  As a result, the top 2,300 feet of global ocean water has warmed approximately 1.5°F since 1901.

Well it turns out that a hotter ocean is also a hungrier ocean.  According to a new study recently published in the journal Science, researchers discovered that predator impacts in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans peak at higher temperatures.  The effects of more intense marine predation could disrupt ecosystem balances that have existed for millennia. 

An international research team led by the Smithsonian Institution and Temple University analyzed predator and prey data collected from 36 sites, running along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts from Alaska in the north to Tierra de Fuego at the tip of South America.  The research team found that, in warmer waters, predators’ more voracious appetites left outsized marks on the prey community.  Total prey biomass plunged in warmer waters when prey were left unprotected.  However, in the coldest zones, leaving prey exposed or protected made nearly no difference at all.  

As the oceans continue to warm, more intense predation will create winners and losers and could jeopardize the overall health of marine ecosystems.  

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As the ocean heats up hungrier predators take control

Photo, posted July 14, 2017, courtesy of Jonathan Chen via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Some Good Monarch News | Earth Wise

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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 nearly 45 acres of forest.  The acreage covered, which has been surveyed annually since 1993, is a rough indicator for the actual number of butterflies that survive the difficult migration process. In 2013, the monarchs occupied only 1.6 acres of Mexican forest.  The butterflies were deemed to be on the edge of extinction.

Last December, the monarch survey found 7 acres covered by the butterflies, an increase of 35% over the previous winter.  The population appears to be steadily rebounding, although the numbers are still substantially lower than the levels seen in the 1990s.

The butterflies are struggling with multiple problems.  There continues to be a lack of milkweed, the only food source for the caterpillars, in their breeding grounds along their migratory route.  More extreme weather driven by climate change is another challenge, and illegal logging in their overwintering habitat in Mexico has also become a threat.

After the butterfly population crashed in 2013, conservation efforts shifted into high gear with lots of milkweed planting in the US and Canada, and crackdowns on timber poachers in Mexico.

The remarkable multigenerational migration of monarchs is a delicate phenomenon that can be disrupted by many different things.  Eastern monarchs are still in serious danger, but the current trend seems to be positive.

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Warming Trends: Butterflies Bounce Back, Growing Up Gay Amid High Plains Oil, Art Focuses on Plastic Production

Photo, posted August 12, 2021, courtesy of Paul VanDerWerf via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Race For American Lithium Mining | Earth Wise

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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 progress in reducing and even eliminating cobalt and nickel from electric car batteries, but so far lithium seems to be essential.

The International Energy Agency has named lithium as the mineral for which there is the fastest growing demand in the world.  Estimates are that if the world is to meet the global climate targets set by the Paris Agreement, at least 40 times more lithium will be needed in 2040 compared with today.

According to the US Geological Survey, the US has about 9 million tons of lithium, which puts it in the top 5 most lithium-rich countries in the world.  Despite this, our country mines and processes only 1% of global lithium output.  Most of the rest comes from China, Chile, and Australia.  Being dependent upon these foreign sources is a serious concern for national security.

There is only one operational lithium mine in the US at present.  Multiple companies are pressing to get more mining projects in operation, including sites in North Carolina and Nevada.  But there are serious environmental problems associated with lithium mining and there is considerable local opposition to establishing the mines.

The US wants to be a leader in the global race to build the batteries that will power the green transition but it is a complicated situation that combines both undeniably important benefits as well as very real dangers.

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Powering electric cars: the race to mine lithium in America’s backyard

Photo, posted January 18, 2022, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Red Pandas And Climate Change | Earth Wise

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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 widely for bamboo shoots and various fruits.

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, red pandas are endangered.  Scientists estimate that there are less than 10,000 red pandas remaining in the wild today, and these numbers are continuing to fall. 

Habitat loss is the main threat to red panda’s survival.  Human expansion into the area, combined with the effects of climate change, has led to the fragmentation and loss of livable land.  Red pandas also face dangers from hunting and poaching.

According to new research recently published in the journal Landscape Ecology, human impacts are driving red pandas closer to extinction than previously thought.  Using GPS telemetry, a research team from the University of Queensland in Australia tracked red pandas in Nepal over a 12-month period.  The researchers found that human activities, such as infrastructure development, were causing red pandas to restrict their movements, which is further fragmenting their habitat and interfering with natural interactions between the animals. 

As the amount of wild forest dwindles, red pandas are being forced into situations where they must decide whether to live closer to predators or adapt to co-exist with humans.

The research team recommends minimizing human-induced disturbances in red panda habitats and to maintain habitat continuity in ecologically sensitive areas. 

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Red pandas face a fractured future

IUCN: Red Panda

Photo, posted November 27, 2016, courtesy of Mathias Appel via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

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