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Boutique Hotels For Birds | Earth Wise

April 28, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The changing Arctic climate has had a drastic effect on its seabirds. In fact, seabirds worldwide are in crisis, with global populations plummeting nearly 70% over the past 70 years as a result of climate change, over-fishing, habitat loss, and other human impacts on their environment.

Above the Arctic circle in Norway, seabird behavior has changed dramatically. Black-legged kittiwakes – which are the most seafaring member of the gull family – used to nest in cliffs over the ocean and seldom ventured inland. But in recent years, that has changed. Because of a warming ocean, increased storminess and other changes that are decimating chick populations in their normal habitat, the birds have been setting up housekeeping in places like shopping centers and office buildings in Tromsø and other towns along Norway’s north coast.

Tromsø, Hammerfest and other towns at the very north end of Norway have become very popular with tourists seeking the Northern Lights and wanting to see glaciers before they disappear. The booming tourism has been put on hold for the moment as it has elsewhere, but when it returns, the regions growing hotels and shopping areas are facing a problem.

The birds taking up residence on these buildings are unpleasant neighbors. They are especially noisy during the breeding season and people are having to put up nets or spikes on buildings to discourage the kittiwakes from settling there.

Local ecologists are now building boutique hotels just for kittiwakes. Using abandoned buildings on piers, they are adding ledges for nesting, materials for nest-building, and electronic speakers that croon kittiwake songs. The hope is that the birds will stay in their own hotels and leave the other ones for the human tourists.

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Norwegians are building boutique hotels for threatened Arctic birds

Photo, posted April 14, 2018, courtesy of Charlie Jackson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Tough Times For Fireflies | Earth Wise

March 11, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Fireflies or lightning bugs are soft-bellied beetles known widely for their use of bioluminescence – the biochemical emission of light – to communicate and to attract mates. There are more than 2,000 species of these beetles globally. They can be found in temperate and tropical climates, like marshes or wet, wooded areas, all throughout the world.

But if you are seeing fewer fireflies each summer, you’re not alone. Like many insects, firefly populations are under duress from threats like pesticides, pollution, and habitat loss. But fireflies are also facing another threat unique to luminous bugs: light pollution. Light pollution is making it harder for fireflies to reproduce because the artificial light is outshining their mating signals.

Male fireflies light up to signal availability and female fireflies respond with patterned flashes to indicate they’re interested. But artificial bright light from things like billboards, streetlights, buildings, and homes, is interfering with the fireflies reproduction communications.

The study, by researchers at Tufts University and the IUCN, warned that these threats facing fireflies could lead them globally to extinction.

The researchers also point to habitat loss as another major threat to fireflies. Firefly populations are especially vulnerable because they need special conditions to complete their life cycle. Mangrove forests and marshes around the world are being removed in favor of cash crops like palm oil.

Insects like fireflies are crucial components of many ecosystems where they perform important functions, like aerating soil, pollinating plants, and controlling pests. Firefly larvae feed on snails, slugs and mites, and many fireflies are effective pollinators.

We can’t afford for fireflies to go dark.

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A Global Perspective on Firefly Extinction Threats

Fireflies Have a Mating Problem: The Lights Are Always On

Photo, posted June 5, 2010, courtesy of Matt MacGillivray via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Conspicuous Consumption

February 6, 2020 By EarthWise 2 Comments

Human civilization consumes vast amounts of material. The Circle Economy think tank actually puts some numbers on it. According to their latest report, the amount of material consumed by humanity has passed 100 billion tons every year. So, on average, every person on Earth uses more than 13 tons of materials per year.

That number has quadrupled since 1970, which is far faster than the population, which has only doubled during that time. In the past two years alone, consumption has jumped by more than 8%. While this has been going on, the proportion being recycled has been falling.

Of the 100 billion tons of materials, half of the total is sand, clay, gravel, and cement used for building, along with other minerals used for fertilizer. Coal, oil and gas make up 15% and metal ores 10%. The final quarter are plants and trees used for food and fuel. About 40% of all materials are turned into housing. A third of the annual materials consumed remain in use, such as in buildings or vehicles. But 15% is emitted into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases and a third is treated as waste.

The global emergencies of climate change and disappearing wildlife have been driven by the unsustainable extraction of fossil fuels, metals, building materials, and trees. The authors of the report warn that if we continue to treat the world’s resources as limitless, we are heading for a global disaster.

The Circle Economy think tank promotes the idea of a circular economy in which renewable energy supports systems where waste and pollution are reduced to zero. Some nations are taking steps towards circular economies, while others are not. This is a problem we can’t allow to be unaddressed.

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World Consumes 100 Billion Tons of Materials Every Year, Report Finds

Photo, posted March 13, 2015, courtesy of Joyce Cory via Flickr.

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The Rising Threat Of Rising Seas | Earth Wise

February 3, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Global sea level rose by about 6 inches during the 20th century. It is currently rising more than twice as fast and accelerating. The rate of rise was 2.5 times faster from 2006 to 2016 than it was for nearly all of the 20th century.

Sea level rise occurs when glaciers and ice sheets lose mass. Much of that meltwater comes from Greenland and Antarctica. But levels also rise because, as water warms, it expands. Added to that are the effects of human activities such as groundwater depletion and a geological phenomenon called isostatic adjustment that is going on in parts of the East Coast where the land is actually sinking.

In Atlantic Canada, sea level rise is outpacing the global average and has already led to boardwalks swamped by swelling tides, drowned forests, submerged wharfs, and threatened historic shoreline buildings.

Recent research suggests that globally, land now occupied by 300 million people could be affected by floods at least once a year by 2050 unless carbon emissions are significantly reduced, and coastal defenses strengthened. (This new figure is more than three times higher than earlier estimates).

Researchers at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia are studying nature-based strategies for mitigating the effects of the rising seas. These include conserving or restoring coastal ecosystems like dunes, wetlands, and reefs which could provide protection at a lower cost than building seawalls and other man-made obstacles. Wetlands, for example, can reduce the force of waves and act as obstacles to storm surges, while also trapping sediment and stemming erosion. Wetlands also serve as important carbon stores, but it is estimated that roughly half of the world’s coastal wetlands have been lost over the past 100 years to human activity and extreme weather events.

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The Looming Threat of Rising Sea Levels – And What We Can Do About it

Photo, posted February 14, 2015, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Possible Storage Breakthrough: Solar Energy | Earth Wise

January 10, 2020 By EarthWise 2 Comments

Solar energy is a nearly unlimited resource, but it is only available to us when the sun is shining. For solar power to provide for the majority of our energy needs, there needs to be a way to capture the energy from the sun, store it, and release it when we need it. There are many approaches to storing solar energy, but so far none have provided an ideal solution.

Scientists at the Chalmers Institute of Technology in Sweden have developed a way to harness solar energy and keep it in reserve so it can be released on demand in the form of heat—even decades after it was captured. Their solution combines several innovations, including an energy-trapping molecule, a storage system, and an energy-storing laminate for windows and textiles.

The energy-trapping molecule is made up of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen. When hit by sunlight, the molecule captures the sun’s energy and holds on to it until it is released as heat by a catalyst. The specialized storage unit is claimed to be able to store energy for decades. The transparent coating that the team developed also collects solar energy and releases heat. Using it would reduce the amount of electricity required for heating buildings.

So far, the team has concentrated on producing heat from stored solar energy. It is unclear whether the technology can be adapted to produce electricity, which would be even more valuable. In any event, the team does not yet have precise cost estimates for its technology, but there are no rare or expensive elements required, so the economics seem promising. There is much more work to be done, but this could be a very important technology for the world’s energy systems.

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An Energy Breakthrough Could Store Solar Power for Decades

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Urban Agriculture And Sustainability Goals

November 12, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

In 2016, the City Council of Phoenix, Arizona adopted eight Environmental Sustainability goals for 2050 that lay out the desired long term requirements in order to become a Sustainable Desert City. Recently, a group of researchers from Arizona State University assessed how urban agriculture can help Phoenix, a desert city of 1.6 million people, meet those sustainability goals.

Using public records and high-resolution satellite imagery, researchers analyzed the potential benefits of growing crops in three types of urban areas in Phoenix: vacant lots, rooftops, and building facades. The study, which was supported by the National Science Foundation and the USDA, estimated that there are 28 square miles (or 5.4% of city space) available for urban agriculture. The data-driven analysis found that 71% of the available areas for urban agriculture would come from existing buildings as opposed to vacant lots.

All this available space for urban agriculture in Phoenix could supply the city with nearly 183,000 tons of fresh produce annually, which would allow for the delivery of fresh fruits and vegetables to all of the city’s existing food deserts. In fact, the city’s own urban-agriculture output could meet 90% of the fresh produce demand that currently exists in Phoenix.

In addition to producing food, rooftop agriculture could also reduce the energy use in buildings by 3% per building per year, and displace more than 55,000 tons of CO2 annually. The use of vacant lots could increase the total Phoenix green space by 17%, and reduce the number of areas lacking green space by 60%.

This study demonstrates the many different ways that urban agriculture can benefit a city.

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Urban agriculture can push the sustainability

Photo, posted May 10, 2011, courtesy of Stephen Zank via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Benefits Of Zero-Carbon Cities

November 8, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A new report issued by a coalition of 50 leading international institutions shows that low carbon initiatives in cities could reduce urban emissions by nearly 90% and support 87 million jobs worldwide by 2030. The report finds that implementing low carbon measures in cities would be worth almost $24 trillion by 2050.

Cities are home to more than half the world’s population but produce 80% of gross domestic product and 75% of carbon emissions. The research highlights the significant benefits carbon reduction can bring to cities in areas such as public health, job creation, and poverty alleviation.

The report shows that it is possible to cut 90% of emissions from cities using currently available technologies and practices including carbon savings from buildings, transportation, materials efficiency, and waste reduction. Doing so would require an investment of nearly $2 trillion per year but would generate annual returns of nearly $3 trillion in 2030 and $7 trillion in 2050 based on cost savings alone. Many low carbon measures would pay for themselves in less than five years, including more efficient lighting, electric vehicles, improved freight logistics, and solid waste management.

In addition to economic benefits, compact, connected and clean cities could provide a higher standard of living and greater opportunity for all. These measures would also reduce air pollution, cut chronic traffic congestion, and improve worker productivity.

The report offers case studies from around the world where national and local governments have worked together to rapidly and profoundly transform their cities for the better within 20 or 30 years.

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The benefits of investing in zero-carbon cities

Photo, posted September 8, 2018, courtesy of Steffen Flor via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Birds Are Disappearing

October 16, 2019 By EarthWise 1 Comment

A new analysis, published in the journal Science, reports that the number of birds in the United States and Canada has fallen by 29% since 1970. There are 2.9 billion fewer birds in the two countries now than there were 50 years ago.

The analysis is the most comprehensive attempt to date to look at the status of avian populations. The results were a shock to researchers and conservation organizations.

It is well-known that some bird species have become vulnerable to extinction, but the new study, which surveyed more than 500 species, uncovered steep losses even among such traditionally abundant birds as robins and sparrows.

There appear to be multiple causes for the steep declines. The largest ones are likely habitat loss and the wider use of pesticides. Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring warned of the dangers of pesticides and took its title from a world that has lost its birds.

The survey includes 76% of all bird species in the US and Canada, but actually represents almost the entire population of birds. Grassland species have suffered the biggest declines by far, as a result of modern agriculture and development. Pesticides, such as neonicotinoids, make it harder for birds to put on weight needed for migration, delaying their travel.

There are a few bright spots: bald eagles are thriving, and falcon and waterfowl populations are on the upswing. These are species that have been the subject of conservation measures in recent decades.

Stopping the bird decline will require a great deal of effort to defend habitats, restrict chemicals, and redesign buildings. Without that effort, birds will continue to disappear.

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Birds Are Vanishing From North America

Photo, posted April 1, 2012, courtesy of Barry Skeates via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Dangerous Cities For Migrating Birds

May 14, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Billions of birds migrate north in the spring and south in the fall. The majority of them fly at night. But as they pass over large cities, the birds can become disoriented by bright artificial light – so-called light pollution, causing them to crash into buildings or windows.

Researchers estimate that 600 million birds die from building collisions in the United States every year. Now, a new paper from researchers at Cornell University reveals which metropolitan areas are most dangerous for birds and why.

The researchers ranked cities where, as a result of geography and exposure to light pollution, birds are at the greatest risk of becoming attracted to and disoriented by lights and crashing into buildings. They combined light pollution levels with bird density data in order to make their calculations. Their paper was recently published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

Chicago, Houston, and Dallas finished as the three most dangerous cities for migrating birds. While migration routes vary depending on the season, these three cities still topped all others during both the spring and fall migrations due to their size and geographic positioning in the heart of North America’s most trafficked aerial corridors.

Audubon’s Lights Out program is one of several national efforts encouraging cities to reduce light pollution, particularly on heavy migration nights, in order to reduce bird mortality.

But homeowners need to do their part as well since an estimated quarter-million birds die from collisions with residential houses every year. The suggestion to cities and homeowners alike is the same: If you don’t need the lights, turn them off.

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Chicago tops list of most dangerous cities for migrating birds

Photo, posted May 18, 2017, courtesy of Pedro Szekely via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Trees And The Future Of Cities

April 16, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The shade of a single tree is a welcome source of relief on a hot summer day. But even a relatively small patch of woods can have a profound cooling effect. A new study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison looks at the role trees play in keeping towns and cities cool.

According to the study, the right amount of tree cover can lower daytime temperatures in the summer by as much as 10 degrees. The effects are noticeable from neighborhood to neighborhood and even on a block-by-block basis.

Cities are well-known to be hot spots due to the urban heat islanding effect. Using trees to keep temperatures more comfortable in cities can make a big difference for the people who live and work there.

The man-made structures of cities – roads, sidewalks, and buildings – absorb heat from the sun during the day and slowly release it at night. Trees, on the other hand, not only shade those structures from the sun, but they also transpire -or release water in the air through their leaves – which helps to cool things down.

According to the study, to get maximum cooling benefits, tree canopies must exceed forty percent, meaning that city blocks need to be nearly halfway covered by tree branches and leaves. To get the biggest bang for the buck, cities should start planting more trees in areas that are already near the forty percent threshold. But

trees can’t just be in parks. They need to be in places where people are active.

If we want the places where we live to be more comfortable and resilient in a warming world, we need to plant more trees.

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Study suggests trees are crucial to the future of our cities

Photo, posted May 26, 2012, courtesy of Mislav Marohnic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Support For A Green New Deal

January 23, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Shortly after the November election, activists held a sit-in at Nancy Pelosi’s office calling for a Green New Deal – a plan to transform the U.S. energy economy in order to mitigate the effects of climate change as well as address various issues of economic justice. While a number of Congress people have pledged to back the creation of a select committee to develop such a plan, it remains a political football and it remains to be seen whether anything will come of the idea.

There appears to be much less reticence on the part of voters, at least according to a survey conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication at the end of November. The survey gave a brief explanation of the Green New Deal and asked respondents “How much do you support or oppose this idea?”

The result was that 81% of registered voters either “strongly” or “somewhat” supported it. Support was stronger among Democrats at 92%, but a majority of Republicans were also in favor. Some 57% of self-identified conservative Republicans even thought it was a good idea.

The Green New Deal would accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. The goal would be to generate 100% of the nation’s electricity from renewable sources within the next 10 years; upgrade the nation’s energy grid, buildings, and transportation infrastructure; increase energy efficiency; invest in green technology research and development; and provide training for jobs in the new green economy.

Even though most Americans have strong support for the ideas of the Green New Deal, it is quite uncertain whether such an initiative could become a reality, given that very influential special interest groups – notably the fossil fuel industry – will be fighting it tooth and nail.

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81% of Voters Support a Green New Deal, Survey Finds

Photo, posted March 19, 2012, courtesy of Kate Ausburn via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A See-Through Heat Shield

January 8, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

It is estimated that air conditioners use about 6% of all the electricity produced in the United States for an annual cost of $29 billion. With rising temperatures, this expense is only going to get larger.

A significant part of the heat load in buildings arises from heat coming through windows. It turns out that for every square meter of window, about 500 watts of heat energy can be brought in by sunlight, equivalent to 5 old-fashioned light bulbs.

Researchers at MIT and the University of Hong Kong have developed a heat-rejecting film that can applied to a building’s windows that will reflect 70% of the sun’s incoming heat. The film is similar to transparent plastic wrap. It remains highly transparent at temperatures below 89 degrees Fahrenheit. Above that temperature, tiny microparticles embedded in the film shrink and the film becomes more translucent or frosted, still letting in a good amount of light, but rejecting a lot of heat.

There are already so-called smart windows on the market, similar to the electrochromic mirrors in cars that darken to prevent trailing headlights from blinding drivers. But that technology is not very effective in rejecting heat and it requires power to operate, which means you would have to pay to turn windows opaque.

Tests of the new film demonstrated its ability to reject heat and lower temperatures. The researchers estimate that if every exterior-facing window in a building were covered in the heat-rejecting film, the building’s air conditioning and energy costs could drop by 10%. Saving ten percent of tens of billions of dollars is no minor matter.

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See-through film rejects 70 percent of incoming solar heat

Photo courtesy of MIT researchers/MIT.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Fumes From Gas Stations

November 15, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A study by environmental health scientists at Columbia University examined the release of vapors from gas station vent pipes and found that emissions were 10 times higher than the estimates used to establish setback regulations that determine how close schools, playgrounds, and parks can be to the facilities.

Rapid Response To Climate Change More Important Than Ever

October 17, 2018 By EarthWise 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.

Cooling Cities With White Roofs

April 16, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The phenomenon of urban heat islands has been well known since the 19th century. The materials from which city buildings and roads are made reflect much less solar radiation and absorb more of it than the vegetation they have replaced. The absorbed energy is then radiated in the form of heat into the surrounding air making cities warmer.

Transparent Solar Panels

December 6, 2017 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

It is now commonplace to see solar panels on the rooftops of homes and businesses. There are more than a million solar homes in the US alone. But a new generation of see-through solar technology has the potential to also turn the windows of buildings and cars, as well as other glass-coated objects, into electricity generators.

A Microgrid in New York’s Capital

July 31, 2017 By EarthWise

New York State has been encouraging its communities to install microgrids for quite a while. Now the state has committed to build a 16-megawatt microgrid to power the Empire State Plaza in downtown Albany. The microgrid will use combined heat and power to supply 90% of the electricity as well as heating and cooling for the 10 buildings where 11,000 state employees work.

Climate Change And Radioactive Waste

September 14, 2016 By WAMC WEB

What do climate change and radioactive waste have in common? It turns out a lot more than we’d like. According to research, which was was led by York University in collaboration with the University of Zurich and recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, rising global temperatures could lead to the release of – yep, you guessed it – radioactive waste.