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The Colorado River crisis

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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.

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Addressing 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

Carbon dioxide and wildfires

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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.

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CO2 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

Shrinking African glaciers

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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.

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Africa’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

The hottest year on record

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Barring some sort of massive global deep freeze late in the year, it was increasingly obvious by November that 2023 was going to be the hottest year ever recorded.  After analyzing data that showed the world saw its warmest ever November, experts around the world made the call early in December.

According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, from January to November 2023, global average temperatures were the highest on record – 1.46 degrees Celsius or 2.6 degrees Fahrenheit above the pre-industrial average.  Given that the Paris Climate Accord has the goal of keeping warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, 2023 has been an alarmingly hot year.

November itself was 1.75 degrees warmer than the pre-industrial average.  The average surface air temperature for the planet was 14.22 degrees Celsius or about 57.6 degrees Fahrenheit.  Now 57 degrees doesn’t sound all that warm, but we are not accustomed to thinking in terms of the average temperature for the entire planet.  Keep in mind that the planetary average includes Antarctica and the polar north. The year as a whole had six record-breaking months and two record-breaking seasons. 

There is no reason to hope that the warming in 2023 was an anomalous occurrence and that 2024 is apt to be cooler.  With an El Niño in place in the Pacific, the new year might even be warmer than the previous one.  With continued warming, extreme weather events are likely to become even more frequent and intense, exacerbating the damage and loss of life from droughts, floods, hurricanes, and wildfires.

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2023 is officially the hottest year ever recorded, and scientists say “the temperature will keep rising”

Photo, posted June 7, 2012, courtesy of NASA/Kathryn Hansen via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

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Why Are Insect Populations Declining? | Earth Wise

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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 of greater utilization for agriculture and building development, climate change, and the spread of invasive animal species as a result of human trade.

The study concludes that it is not just these factors that are driving the global disappearance of insects, but also that these three factors are interacting with each other.  For example, ecosystems that are deteriorated by humans are more susceptible to climate change and so are their insect communities.  Similarly, invasive species can establish themselves more easily in habitats damaged by human land-use and displace native species.  Many native insect species decline or go extinct while others – often invasive species – thrive and increase, leading to decreasing insect diversity.  Warming temperatures are making many locations undesirable for various insect species and they often cannot migrate to anyplace better.

Declining insect populations and diversity results in concomitant declines in plant species that depend on pollinators.  This in turn threatens the stability of entire ecosystems.

The researchers advocate for continued monitoring of insect diversity across many habitats and countries and propose the creation of a network of interconnected nature reserves such that species can move from one to another. 

We often think of insects as pests, but they are a crucial part of the world’s ecosystems.

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The reasons why insect numbers are decreasing

Photo, posted April 17, 2011, courtesy of Dean Morley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Examining The Decline Of Honey Bees | Earth Wise

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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.

Honey bees are among the struggling pollinators.  Over the past 14 years, bee colonies have been disappearing at an alarming rate in what is known as the “colony collapse disorder.” 

In an effort to understand why, scientists have often focused their research on environmental stressors, such as parasites, pesticides, and disease.  But according to new research by entomologists from the University of Maryland, honey bee life spans are simply 50% shorter today than they were 50 years ago.  In the study, which was recently published in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers found that honey bees kept in a controlled, laboratory environment lived half as long as honey bees did in the 1970s.  This is the first study to show that genetics – as opposed to environmental stressors – may be influencing the broader trends seen in the beekeeping industry.

When the researchers modeled the effect of their findings on a beekeeping operation, they found that the resulting loss rates were about 33%.  This is similar to the average overwinter and annual loss rates reported by beekeepers during the past 14 years.

The next step is for researchers to compare trends in honey bee life spans across the U.S. and in other countries to see if there are differences in bee longevity. 

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Honey Bee Lifespans are 50% Shorter Today Than They Were 50 Years Ago

Helping Agriculture’s Helpful Honey Bees

Photo, posted June 23, 2007, courtesy of Susan E. Ellis via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Declining Flying Insects | Earth Wise

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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 and 2021.  In this Bugs Matter Citizen Science Survey, the data was collected by roughly 20,000 ordinary citizens using a smartphone app.

The results were that the number of flying insects in Britain dropped nearly 60% over that time period.  The insects declined most in England and Wales, with drops of 65% and 55%, respectively. 

It is possible that 2004 was a particularly good year for British insects and 2021 an especially bad one, but the findings of this study are consistent with other research around the world showing an alarming decline in insects.  A series of studies in 2019 found that the global mass of insects is shrinking by 2.5% a year and that insects are going extinct eight times faster than reptiles, birds, or mammals.

Insects face multiple overlapping threats including the destruction of wild habitats for farming, urbanization, pesticides, and light pollution.  On top of these things is climate change which is disrupting ecosystems in multiple ways.

Insects play a vital role in pollinating crops, consuming organic waste, killing pests, and as essential parts of multiple ecosystems.  Severe insect declines can potentially have dire global ecological and economic consequences.

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Flying Insects Have Declined by 60 Percent in the U.K., Survey Finds

Insect decline in the Anthropocene: Death by a thousand cuts

Photo, posted May 6, 2007, courtesy of Richard Giddins via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Drought And U.S. Hydropower | Earth Wise

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The ongoing severe drought in the western U.S. has led to low water levels in the rivers and reservoirs that feed hydroelectric power systems.  The Energy Information Administration is projecting a 13.9% decrease in hydroelectric generation this year compared to 2020.

Water levels in Lake Powell have fallen so low that it may not be possible to operate the power plant at Glen Canyon Dam starting as soon as 2022.  California officials took the Edward Hyatt hydroelectric plant offline in August because of low water levels on Lake Oroville.   Washington, the state with the most hydroelectric power generation, has seen an 11% drop in electricity generated to date this year as compared to last year.  That state is actually doing better than others in the West, such as California, where hydro generation is down 38%.

Hydropower accounts for over 7% of the electricity generated in the United States.  Five states – Washington, Idaho, Vermont, Oregon, and South Dakota – generate at least half of their electricity from hydroelectric dams.

The current decrease in hydropower is alarming, but it is not unprecedented.  The more significant question is whether the drop in generation this year is a sign that this power source is declining and becoming less reliable.   According to some scientists, the West is in a “megadrought” that could last for decades.

The greater concern is whether the bad years are likely to become more common because of climate change.  Climate projections agree that temperatures will continue to rise, but what will happen to precipitation levels in specific places is much less certain.  That is what will determine what the future holds for hydroelectric power.

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Inside Clean Energy: Drought is Causing U.S. Hydropower to Have a Rough Year. Is This a Sign of a Long-Term Shift?

Photo, posted May 7, 2014, courtesy of Tyler Bell via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Non-Native Plants And Insect Decline | Earth Wise

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Global insect populations have been in decline since the beginning of the 20th century.  The decline accelerated during the 1950s and 1960s, and it has reached alarming levels during the past 20 years.

The causes of plummeting insect populations include habitat destruction, deforestation, climate change, light pollution, and the rise of industrial agriculture.  This so-called insect apocalypse is being mirrored by a bird Armageddon because so many bird species depend on insects for their diets.

A still controversial, but increasingly likely factor in the decline of insect populations is the spread of non-native plants in agriculture, agroforestry, and horticulture.  A recent study published in the journal Ecological Entomology presents recent data supporting the proposition that the widespread displacement of native plants is a key cause of insect declines. 

Many insects depend on a limited number of plants for survival.  In many cases, insects’ diets are restricted to a single plant family.  When native host plants dwindle or disappear from an area, the population of insects that depend on those plants shrinks.

There are examples of insects that adopt introduced plants as food sources, such as silver-spotted skipper butterfly larvae feeding on invasive kudzu in the eastern U.S.  But generally, the widespread incursion of non-native plants is harmful to native insect populations.

Non-native plants are especially popular for horticulture.  Millions of acres of potential insect habitat have been transformed into food deserts for native insects.  The authors of the recent study recommend that Americans should extensively include native plants in their yards to help preserve insect diversity.

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How Non-Native Plants Are Contributing to a Global Insect Decline

Photo, posted May 2, 2004, courtesy of Bernard Spragg via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Expensive And Dangerous Storms | Earth Wise

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Severe storms are getting more and more common.  Early in July, the United States experienced its 10th billion-dollar weather disaster of the year – the earliest this has happened.  It also marks 2020 as the sixth consecutive year with at least 10 such extreme weather events, which is also a record.  With the country struggling with the effects of a global pandemic, extreme weather is pretty much the last thing we need.

This year’s 10 storms have primarily consisted of tornadoes, damaging winds, and hail.  Seven out of the 10 storms were in the South or Southeast.  An Easter Sunday outbreak in that region saw 190 tornadoes and 36 people were killed that day.

Since 1980, the US has averaged nearly 7 billion-dollar weather disasters per year.  But the last five years have seen nearly 14 severe storms on average.  The way things are going this year, there will probably be more than that number.

This year’s growing total does not include the looming hurricane season, which is widely predicted to be more active than usual.  Because so many places in the South are still recovering from earlier disasters, they are particularly vulnerable to the effects of an active hurricane season.

Meanwhile, much of the country is suffering from drought conditions, making wildfires a major concern.  Recent years have seen deadly and destructive wildfires in many places, notably in California two years ago.  Between hurricanes and wildfires, the prospects are alarming for what could turn out to be a disastrous year for expensive and dangerous severe weather.

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US hits 10th billion-dollar weather disaster of the year — at a record pace

Photo, posted March 3, 2020, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Menace Of Abandoned Oil Wells | Earth Wise

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More than a century of oil and gas drilling has left behind millions of abandoned wells and many of them are leaching pollutants into the air and water.  Drilling companies continue to abandon even more wells as demand for oil diminishes and bankruptcies become more common.

Leaks from abandoned wells have long been known to be an environmental problem and a health hazard.  They have been linked to many instances of groundwater contamination and to dangerous fumes near homes and farms.

There have recently been efforts to track the amounts of methane leaching from abandoned oil and gas wells, and the figures in United States are alarming.  According to the most recent EPA report, more than 3.2 million abandoned oil and gas wells emitted a total of 281,000 tons of methane in 2018.  That is the climate-damage equivalent of consuming about 16 million barrels of crude oil, which is as much as the U.S. uses in a typical day.  According to the EPA, the actual amount could be as much as three times higher, because of incomplete data.   The agency believes that most of the methane comes from more than 2 million abandoned wells that were never properly plugged.

New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation has records of over 2,000 abandoned wells, but the state believes the actual number could be much higher.  This is a problem that won’t just go away.  Wells don’t leak for a year and then stop.  They can continue to leak for a century or more.  Cleaning up and plugging an abandoned well runs from $20,000 to $145,000, meaning that countrywide, cleaning up this environmental menace could cost somewhere between $60 billion and $435 billion.

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Special Report: Millions of abandoned oil wells are leaking methane, a climate menace

Photo, posted October 13, 2015, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Another Bad Year For Bees

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The latest annual nationwide survey of beekeepers in the US revealed that honeybees are still dying off at an alarming rate.  According to the survey, beekeepers across the country lost 40.7% of their honey bee colonies from April 2018 to April 2019. 

This annual loss represents a slight increase over the average annual loss of 38.7%.  Of greater concern is that winter losses of 37.7% were the highest reported since these annual surveys began 13 years ago and are almost 9% higher than the survey average.

These results are very troubling considering that the elevated losses are continuing even after a decade of intense work trying to understand and reduce colony loss.  Evidently, there has not been much progress.

The number one concern among beekeepers is varroa mites, which are lethal parasites that can readily spread from colony to colony.  These mites have been decimating bee colonies for years.  Products developed to remove mites seem to be getting less and less effective.

But mites are not the only problem for bees.  Land use changes have resulted in reduced availability of pollen sources for bees.  Add to that pesticide exposures, environmental factors, and even problems with beekeeping practices.   In addition, extreme weather conditions such as wildfires and floods are only adding to the problems facing bees.

The tools that used to work for beekeepers seem to be failing and they are already stretched to their limits trying to keep their bees alive. Honey bees pollinate $15 billion worth of food crops in the United States each year. The problems facing bees are a problem for all of us.

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U.S. Beekeepers Suffered Higher than Average Colony Loss Last Year, with Winter Losses the Highest Recorded, According to UMD-Led Annual Survey

Photo, posted June 3, 2009, courtesy of Jennifer C 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...)