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A Camera For Insects | Earth Wise

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Electronic devices get smaller and smaller all the time.  We are used to carrying around phones in our pockets that incorporate a whole host of sophisticated devices. But we can still be amazed by miniaturization.  Recently, scientists at the University of Washington announced the development of a tiny, wireless camera small enough to be worn by insects.  The work was published in the journal Science Robotics.

The device weighs only 250 milligrams, which is less than one hundredth of an ounce.  The camera streams high-resolution video to a smartphone at up to 5 frames per second, which allows scientists to record video of what insects see in real time.

The device has a mechanical arm that allows the camera to pivot 60 degrees, which can allow it to create panoramic shots.  It is controlled by a smartphone app and can be operated up to 120 meters away from the insect.

The new camera system enables scientists to better understand insect behavior and explore novel environments.  Having a first-person view from the back of a beetle while it is walking around allows researchers to explore how it responds to different stimuli that it sees in its environment.

Of more general interest, the technology can be used to help develop the next generation of small robots.  Insects can traverse rocky environments, which is really challenging for small robots to do.  The device will allow engineers to study how insects can move around in such environments.  It will also be useful for observing and collecting samples from hard-to-navigate spaces.

It is remarkable how sophisticated technology keeps getting smaller and smaller.

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Scientists Develop Tiny Camera Backpack for Insects

Photo courtesy of Mark Stone/University of Washington.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A New Carbon Capture Technique | Earth Wise

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Carbon dioxide emissions by electricity generating plants, fossil-fuel burning vehicles, and industry produce about 2/3 of the greenhouse gases driving climate change.  Without decreasing these emissions, the earth will continue to get warmer, sea levels will continue to rise, and the world will face more droughts, floods, wildfires, famine and conflict.

Electrification of vehicles and reliance upon renewable energy sources will ultimately drastically reduce the use of fossil fuels and the resultant emissions, but that transition may take too long to reverse the direction of climate change.  In the meantime, there is a great need to find effective and efficient ways to capture emissions from fossil fuel plants. 

Recent research at the University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and ExxonMobil has developed a new technique for carbon capture.  The technique makes use of metal-organic framework (or MOF) technology.  An MOF, modified with nitrogen-containing amine molecules, captures CO2 and then low-temperature steam is used to flush out the CO2 either to be used or sequestered underground.

Experiments demonstrated the technique to have a six-times greater capacity for removing CO2 from the flue gas of a refinery than current amine-based technology.  It selectively removed 90% of the emitted CO2. 

There is a relatively limited market for captured CO2, so power plants using the capture technology would likely pump the CO2 into the ground, or otherwise sequester it.  The cost of doing this sort of emission scrubbing would have to be facilitated by government policies, such as carbon trading or a carbon tax, which would provide the necessary economic incentive for doing carbon capture and sequestration.

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New technique to capture CO2 could reduce power plant greenhouse gases

Photo courtesy of UC Berkeley.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Decline Of Pollinators Threatens Food Security | Earth Wise

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Scientists have been sounding the alarm on the global struggle of pollinators for many years.  According to a United Nations-sponsored report, 40% of invertebrate pollinator species, including bees and butterflies, are facing extinction.  Approximately 80% of all flowering plant species, which are responsible for 35% of global food production, depend on pollination. 

According to new research led by Rutgers University, crop yields for apples, blueberries, and cherries in the United States are being reduced by a lack of pollinators.  The study, the most comprehensive of its kind to date, found that crop production would be increased if crop flowers received more pollination.  In the U.S., the production of crops that depend on pollinators generates more than $50 billion a year.    

For the study, which was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers collected data on insect pollination of crop flowers and yield of apples, highbush blueberries, sweet cherries, tart cherries, almonds, watermelons, and pumpkins at 131 farms across the United States and British Columbia, Canada.  Four of those seven crops – apples, blueberries, sweet cherries, and tart cherries – showed evidence of being limited by pollination, meaning that their yields are lower than they would be with full pollination. 

The researchers observed that honey bees and wild bees provided similar amounts of overall pollination, so managing habitat for native bee species or stocking more honey bees would boost pollination levels and, in turn, crop production.

Bees and other pollinators play a critical role in food production, and their continued decline could have devastating consequences.

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Decline of bees, other pollinators threatens US crop yields

Photo, posted April 22, 2012, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Vehicle Electrification On The Rise | Earth Wise

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Nearly 70% of U.S. oil consumption is for transportation and transportation accounts for 28% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.  Therefore, technology improvements in transportation that can reduce emissions are a key element of combating climate change.  The highest impact strategy is the electrification of the transportation sector, and it is definitely accelerating.

Demand for electric vehicles is growing for multiple reasons.  These include long-term cost savings, tax incentives, declining battery costs, and greater environmental awareness.  This year, about 2.7 percent of global passenger vehicle sales will be for electric vehicles.  It is still a fairly small number, but that number is growing rapidly.  It is expected to be 10% in 2025, 28% in 2030, and more than half of all vehicle sales by 2040.  By that year, more than 30% of passenger vehicles on the road worldwide will be electric.  The numbers for electric buses, delivery vans and trucks, mopeds, scooters, and motorcycles are expected to be even higher.

The environmental impact of electrification will be significant in reducing carbon emissions and pollution in general.  Electric vehicles already reduce oil demand by a million barrels a day.  By the year 2040, they will displace nearly 18 million barrels of oil a day and reduce CO2 emissions by 2.5 billion tons per year.

Electric cars still face challenges.  They are still more expensive than gas-powered cars, but their cost-benefit analysis is changing rapidly as technology improvements and volume efficiencies drive down the cost of battery packs.  Analysts predict that electric vehicles will achieve price parity with internal combustion vehicles in as soon as two years but in any case within the next ten years.

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Electrification of transportation sector nears tipping point

Photo, posted May 7, 2020, courtesy of Mark Vletter via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Better Paint For Cooler Buildings | Earth Wise

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A research team led by scientists at UCLA have developed a super-white paint that reflects as much as 98% of incoming heat from the sun.  Such paint, if used on rooftops and other parts of buildings, could have a major impact on reducing the costs of keeping buildings cool.

Passive daytime radiative cooling is a well-known method to keep buildings cooler.  By having building surfaces reflect sunlight and radiate heat into space, building temperatures can be significantly lowered.  This in turn cuts down on air conditioner use and associated carbon emissions.

A roof painted white will result in lower indoor temperatures than a darker roof.  But a white roof will do even more:  it can reject heat at infrared wavelengths that are invisible to our eyes.  This results in even more radiative cooling.

The best performing white paints currently available reflect about 85% of incoming solar radiation.  The rest is absorbed by materials in the paint.  The new research has identified simple modifications in paint ingredients that lead to a major increase in reflectivity.

Current reflective white paints use titanium dioxide, which absorbs UV radiation and therefore heats up under sunlight.  The researchers studied replacing it with other substances such as barite – an artist’s pigment – or with powdered Teflon, both of which allow the paint to reflect more of the sun’s radiation. 

Many cities are encouraging the use of cool-roof technologies on new buildings.  Using the most reflective coatings possible on rooftops, if applied on a sufficiently large scale, could have a real impact on climate change as well as saving significant amounts of energy used for running air conditioners in buildings.

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UCLA-led Team Develops Ways to Keep Buildings Cool with Improved Super White Paints

Photo, posted August 15, 2012, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Green Bills Pass In New York | Earth Wise

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In late July, the two houses of the New York legislature passed a number of environmental bills covering a wide range of topics.

These included a bill to add protected status for streams that support fisheries and non-contact recreation.  A second bill bans the use of PFAS in food packaging.  A third bill classifies all wastes resulting from oil and gas exploration, development, extraction or production as hazardous waste, closing a previous loophole in the law.

A fourth bill requires water works corporations with more than 1,000 service connections to post their annual water supply statements online, thereby providing transparency and openness to water quality data.  A fifth bill expands protections for endangered species to protect them from environmental rollbacks by the federal government.

A sixth bill prohibits non-electric vehicles from parking in spaces designated for electric vehicle charging, thereby establishing penalties for this practice that is often done for spite.  A seventh bill bans the use of glyphosate – the herbicide found in Roundup and other products – on state property.

An eighth bill reduces the use of road salt in the Adirondacks.  A ninth bill requires supermarkets to make good faith efforts to donate edible excess food to qualifying entities such as food pantries, food banks, or similar entities.   A tenth bill bans certain uses of trichloroethylene or TCE, including as a vapor degreaser, an intermediate chemical to produce other chemicals, a refrigerant, or an extraction solvent.

When signed by the governor, these ten pieces of legislation will help protect New York’s environment, water, and health.  It was a busy session for green legislation.

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Several Green Bills Pass in State Legislature

Photo, posted September 12, 2018, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Livestock Expansion And Global Pandemics | Earth Wise

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The domestication of cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals as livestock for their meat, milk, and eggs was historically revolutionary.  It boosted food security by giving people a readily-available means of feeding themselves as opposed to more traditional methods such as hunting and fishing. 

But animal agriculture has plenty of drawbacks.  The industrialization of animal agriculture has led to horrendous conditions.  Animals are kept in huge quantities and packed together with little regard for their health and welfare.  This approach to agriculture is simply designed to maximize production while minimizing costs. 

With its chemical inputs and toxic outputs, intensive animal agriculture is also a major threat to the environment.  In fact, it’s a major driver of habitat degradation and biodiversity loss all around the globe.   

But it’s not just animals and the planet that pay a price.  Humans have inherited several lethal pathogens from livestock over the years, including the influenza virus that likely jumped to humans from poultry.

According to a study recently published in Biological Conservation,  there is a connection between the global increase in the emergence of infectious diseases and epidemics, the accelerated loss of biodiversity, and the expansion of livestock.  In the study, the research team from the Institute of Evolution Sciences of Montpellier cross referenced databases on human and animal health, livestock expansion, and biodiversity loss between 1960-2019.  The team found that the number of epidemics identified in humans increased in correlation with both biodiversity loss and livestock expansion. 

In the era of COVID-19, it’s important to understand how global livestock expansion directly threatens both human health and the health of the planet. 

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Livestock expansion is a factor in global pandemics

Photo, posted July 22, 2018, courtesy of Artem Beliakin via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Conserving The Colorado River | Earth Wise

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Last year, we talked about the troubles facing the Colorado River.  Nearly two decades of drought conditions have reduced the water levels of the two largest reservoirs of Colorado River water and have threatened the water supply of millions of people in the region.  Clear scientific evidence shows that climate change is constricting the iconic river and will do further damage as temperatures rise.

Faced with these facts, water resource managers have been implementing conservation policies in the region and the results so far are very encouraging.

The use of Colorado River water in the three states of the river’s lower basin – Arizona, California, and Nevada – fell to a 33-year low in 2019.  The three states consumed just over 6.5 million acre-feet for the year, which is about 1 million acre-feet less than the three states are entitled to use under the legal agreement that allocates Colorado River water.

The last time water consumption from the river was that low was in 1986, which is the year that Arizona opened a large canal that extracts river water for its entitlement. 

A key indicator of river health is the depth of Lake Mead, the largest reservoir of Colorado River water.  It has been steadily dropping in recent years, but last year, with the reduced consumption, the water level actually increased by 12 feet.

According to water managers, the steady drop in water consumption in recent years is a sign that conservation efforts are working and that there are strategies that can deal with chronic shortages on the river in the future.  It represents an important demonstration that it is possible to use less water in a region that irrigates 5 million acres of farmland and has 40 million people in 2 countries and 29 tribal nations.

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Remarkable Drop in Colorado River Water Use a Sign of Climate Adaptation

Photo, posted July 7, 2015, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Destroying Forever Chemicals | Earth Wise

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PFAS, short for poly and perfluoroalkyl substances, have been used in commercial products since the 1940s.  There are more than 4,000 different chemicals in the class.   Some of the most commonly used PFAS chemicals, like PFOS and PFOA, have long half-lives, which has earned them the moniker “forever chemicals.” 

These dangerous chemicals have not been manufactured in the U.S. since the early 2000s, but they can still be found in various imported goods.  PFAS chemicals have been linked to cancer, birth defects, thyroid disease, and liver damage.  These forever chemicals linger in the environment and scientists have found them in the blood of virtually all Americans.

Researchers at Rice University have recently discovered an efficient catalyst for destroying PFAS forever chemicals.  Unexpectedly, the catalyst was actually in the control group in a study they were performing.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters, found that boron nitride, acting as a light-activated catalyst, destroyed PFOA at a faster clip than any previously reported photocatalyst.

The catalyst, boron nitride powder, is a commercially available synthetic mineral that is widely used in makeup, skincare products, thermal pastes for cooling computer chips, and various other industrial products.  The discovery began with dozens of failed experiments on a variety of more promising PFAS catalysts.  But along the way, they found that the boron nitride control material repeatedly yielded positive results.

The research has already attracted the attention of industrial partners seeking to develop off-grid water treatment systems that both protect human lives and support sustainable economic development.

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Boron nitride destroys PFAS ‘forever’ chemicals PFOA, GenX

Photo, posted April 9, 2009, courtesy of Rex Roof via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Climate Change And The South Pole | Earth Wise

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According to a study led by researchers at Ohio University, the South Pole has warmed more than three times the global average over the past 30 years.  While the warming was driven by natural tropic climate variability, the researchers argue that rising greenhouse gas emissions likely intensified the warming. 

The climate in the antarctic has some of the largest ranges in temperature during the year.  Some regions, like most of West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula, experienced warming during the late 20th century.  But the South Pole, which is located in the remote and high-altitude interior of the continent, actually cooled until the 1980s.  The South Pole, as the study highlights, has warmed substantially ever since. 

For the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the researchers analyzed climate models and weather station data at the South Pole.  They found that, between 1989 and 2018, the South Pole had warmed by 1.8 degrees Celsius.  This warming trend of 0.6 degrees Celsius per decade is three times the global average. 

According to the study, the robust warming of the Antarctic interior has been mainly driven by the tropics.  Warm ocean temperatures in the western tropical Pacific Ocean have altered the winds in the South Atlantic, increasing the delivery of warm air to the South Pole.  These atmospheric changes are an important part of what’s driving the climate anomalies in the region.

But the researchers argue that the warming trends are unlikely a result of natural climate change alone.  The effects of anthropogenic – or human-caused – climate change in addition to the natural changes have combined to make this one of the strongest warming trends globally.    

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Extreme warming of the South Pole

Photo, posted February 7, 2011, courtesy of Eli Duke 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.

A New Problem For New York Apples | Earth Wise

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New York is the second largest apple-producing state in the country, trailing only Washington state.  New York averages nearly 30 million bushels of apples annually from approximately 600 commercial growers.  The apple industry supports 10,000 direct agricultural jobs as well as 7,500 indirect jobs involved with fruit handling, distribution, marketing and exporting.

Thus, there is considerable concern about the recent discovery by Cornell plant pathologists of a new fungal pathogen that causes bitter rot disease in apples.  They also found a second related fungus that is known to cause rot disease in other fruits but has now been found for the first time in apples.  The study was published in early July in the journal Scientific Reports.

Both of these pathogens belong to the genus Colletotichrum, which contains 189 species of fungi that cause devastating rot diseases in multiple fruit crops, including bananas, strawberries, citrus, avocados, papayas, mangoes and apples.

Unless protective measures are taken in a timely manner, apple losses from bitter rot in New York state can average up to 25% per year.  Some organic farms have lost essentially all of their crop at times.  Bitter rot also can destroy up to 5% of marketable fruit in post-harvest storage.

The Cornell study of samples from eight New York counties found both the Colletotrichum chrysophilum fungus, that had not been found in apples before, and a newly-discovered fungus that they named Colletotrichum noveboracense, after the Latin name for New York State.

The researchers plan to work with other plant pathologists and apple breeders to identify possible genes that confer natural resistance to Colletotrichum fungi that can be bred into apple cultivars.

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Scientists identify new pathogen in NY apples

Photo, posted October 12, 2018, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Beavers And The Warming Arctic | Earth Wise

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Beavers have a remarkable ability to transform landscapes.  Using their sharp teeth, they fell trees and shrubs and build dams, which cause small valleys to fill with water and form new lakes.  Some of these lakes measure five or ten acres in size, or even more.  And beavers are very efficient builders; they often build their dams at precisely those points where can they have the greatest effect with the least effort.

Scientists studying beaver activity in the Arctic regions of Alaska have found that the changing climate is leading to a substantial increase in beaver populations and their effect on the landscape.

In 2018, researchers found that the beavers living in a 7,000 square-mile area in northwest Alaska had created 56 new lakes in just five years.  Thanks to rising temperatures, more and more habitats offer the shrubs that beavers need for food and building material.  In addition, the lakes, which used to freeze solid, now offer beaver-friendlier conditions.  Also, beavers are not hunted as intensively as in the past.

The scientists were surprised that beavers have seized the opportunity so intensively.  There is basically an exponential growth in beaver dams.  This is actually a worrisome situation.  Forming all these new lakes degrades ice-rich permafrost in the area.  In the Kotzebue region of Alaska, the overall water area has increased by more than 8% over the past 17 years, and roughly two-thirds of that is due to beavers.

The degradation of the Arctic’s permafrost is a dangerous situation and it appears that anyone who wants to predict its future has to keep the activity of beavers in mind.

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Beavers gnawing away at the permafrost

Photo, posted June 23, 2018, courtesy of Becky Matsubara via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Massachusetts And Energy Policy | Earth Wise

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The transition to a renewables-based energy future continues to accelerate, but there are still many forces that can slow it down.  Government policy has a major role to play.  At the moment, the federal government is trying to prop up the fossil fuel industry with financial incentives and rampant deregulation.  So more than ever, innovative policies at the state level are essential drivers for revolutionizing the energy system.

One state where policy is trying to make a big difference is Massachusetts, which has created the Clean Peak Energy Standard or CPS, finalized and approved in late March and now taking effect.   A clean peak standard is a regulatory tool to reduce the costs and environmental impact of periods when electricity demand is highest, and generation tends to be the most polluting.  The CPS requires electric retailers to procure a minimum percentage of their annual electricity sales from renewable generation or energy storage.  That minimum amount will increase each year.

The CPS is formulated to incentivize better utilization of clean energy technologies to supply power when energy demand is high.  The problem is that there are times when the sun is not shining and the wind isn’t blowing, but energy demand is at its highest.  The solution is to use energy storage technologies that can supply power when it is needed.  Furthermore, storage can be relied upon during times of extreme weather that cause power outages.

Massachusetts has already started using energy storage in its grid.  The small town of Sterling installed an energy storage system in 2016 that provides crucial backup power to the police station and emergency dispatch center, thereby keeping first responder operations running even during extended power outages.

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Massachusetts is setting the benchmark for nationwide clean energy transformation

Photo, posted March 30, 2012, 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.

Tree-Planting Is Not Necessarily A Good Thing | Earth Wise

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There is no question that forests have a major role in efforts to combat climate change as well as to slow biodiversity loss.   As a result, tree-planting on a massive scale has gained traction as a strategy and there have been major commitments made to plant billions of trees around the world.

A new study at Stanford University has rigorously analyzed the potential effects of these efforts and has found some significant problems.  For example, the Bonn Challenge, which seeks to restore an area of forest more than eight times the size of California over the next 10 years, has 80% of its commitments in the form of  planting monoculture tree plantations or a limited mix of trees that produce fruit and rubber, rather than restoring natural forests.   The problem is that plantations have significantly less potential for carbon sequestration, habitat creation, and erosion control than natural forests.  The potential benefits of the planting dwindle further if planted trees replace natural flora – forests, grasslands, or savannahs – which are ecosystems that have evolved to support local biodiversity.

The study looked at previous policies that created subsidies for planting trees.  Chile’s Decree Law, in effect from 1974 to 2012, has served as a model for similar policies in a number of countries.  Those subsidies further reduced native forest cover by encouraging the establishment of plantations in places where forests might have naturally regenerated.  The subsidies expanded the area covered by trees, but decreased the area of native forests.

The study recommends that nations should design and enforce their forest subsidy policies to avoid undesirable ecological impacts and actually promote the recovery of carbon- and biodiversity-rich ecosystems.

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Poorly designed tree-planting campaigns could do more harm than good, according to Stanford researcher and others

Photo, posted April 28, 2016, courtesy of the U.S. Department of State via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

More Carbon Dioxide From Thawing Permafrost | Earth Wise

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The Arctic is warming much faster than the rest of the planet.  Stories about the loss of polar ice and hundred-degree temperatures in Siberia have become commonplace.  One of the most troubling aspects of the warming Arctic is the thawing of permafrost.  Permafrost is ground that remains frozen for at least two years; some of it has been frozen for tens or hundreds or even thousands of years.  Found under a layer of soil, permafrost is composed of rock, soil, sediments, and varying amounts of ice.  It stores the carbon-based remains of plants and animals that froze before they could decompose.  Permafrost covers almost a quarter of North America, but it is starting to thaw.

Scientists estimate that there are more than 16,000 billion tons of carbon locked away in Arctic permafrost, which is almost double the amount of carbon that is currently in the atmosphere.  Climate models predict that the warming of the Arctic could lead to 5 to 15% of that carbon to be emitted as carbon dioxide by the year 2,100, which would be enough to raise global temperatures by 0.3 to 0.4 degrees Celsius.

New research has increased this estimate because it includes a key pathway for CO2 to enter the atmosphere that earlier models ignored.   When carbon from thawing permafrost escapes into Arctic lakes and rivers, it is oxidized by ultraviolet and visible light and it then escapes into the atmosphere as CO2.  This process is known as photomineralization and is estimated to raise permafrost-related CO2 emissions by 14%.

Recent studies project that with every 1-degree Celsius increase in temperature, 1.5 million square miles of permafrost could be lost through thawing.

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Climate Models Underestimate CO2 Emissions from Permafrost by 14 Percent, Study Finds

Photo, posted July 7, 2014, courtesy of NPS Climate Change via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Monitoring Wildlife For Warning Signs of the Next Pandemic | Earth Wise

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According to the World Health Organization, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 likely originated in wild bats near Wuhan, China, and may have been passed to a second animal species before infecting people.  Since then, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, more than 13 million people around the world have been infected by COVID-19 and about 600,000 have died. 

But despite the ever-present threat of a new virus sparking the next pandemic, there is currently no global system to screen for viruses in wild animals that could eventually spill over to humans. 

In an article recently published in the journal Science, a group of scientists is calling for the creation of a decentralized global system of wildlife surveillance.  The establishment of this global system could help identify viruses in wild animals that have the potential to infect and sicken people before another global disease outbreak begins. 

According to the scientists, coronaviruses alone have caused outbreaks in humans three times in the last 20 years:  SARS (or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), MERS (or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), and COVID-19. 

While it’s impossible to know today how often viruses jump from animals to humans, human activity is making such spillover events more and more likely.  For instance, many continue to develop wild animal habitat to build new homes or businesses.  Some catch wild animals and re-sell them either for consumption or as exotic pets.  Parts from these wild animals are often shipped around the world as trinkets or as ingredients for traditional medicines. 

A global system that could identify potentially harmful viruses before they jump to humans is technologically feasible, affordable, and clearly necessary. 

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COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)

Global wildlife surveillance could provide early warning for next pandemic

Photo, posted January 15, 2008, courtesy of Doug Beckers via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

New Jersey And Offshore Wind | Earth Wise

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New Jersey intends to become a major hub for offshore wind in the United States.  The state recently announced a plan to build a 30-acre port along the Delaware River for assembling and deploying wind turbines, as well as an additional 25 acres for manufacturing facilities.   The new port is expected to cost as much as $400 million and create 1,500 jobs in southern New Jersey.

The port will be located on an artificial island that was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers early in the 20th century.  The island is already home to three nuclear reactors.  No bridges exist between the island and the Atlantic Ocean, so turbines that are built at the staging facility could be hoisted upright and towed out to sea without obstruction.  Some components are as tall as 500 feet and when fully constructed on the ocean, the turbines selected for New Jersey’s first offshore wind project will be more than 850 feet tall.

A second phase of the program would add over 150 acres to accommodate extensive manufacturing facilities for turbine components like blades and nacelles.

Construction on the port is expected to start next year.  New Jersey has pledged to produce 7,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035 and to generate 100% of its electricity from renewables by 2050.  Apart from deploying offshore wind, New Jersey wants to have a significant piece of the supply chain for what is likely to be a growing industry along the northeast coast.  The state views offshore wind as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to not only protect the environment but also greatly expand its economy in a way that has immediate impacts and long-term growth.

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New Jersey Announces $400 Million Offshore Wind Port

Photo, posted September 18, 2010, courtesy of Vattenfall Nederland via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Increasing Air Pollution | Earth Wise

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According to researchers from the University of Exeter, half of the world’s population is exposed to increasing air pollution despite global efforts to improve air quality.  The study, which was completed in conjunction with the World Health Organization, suggests that air pollution represents a major and growing threat to human health. 

For the study, which was recently published in the journal Climate and Atmospheric Science, the researchers reviewed global air quality trends between 2010 and 2016.  The research team examined those findings against a backdrop of global policies to reduce air pollution.  The researchers used ground monitoring data and satellite data to develop yearly air quality profiles for individual countries and regions. 

The scientists focused on fine particulate matter, which is a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air.  Some of the particles, like dust, soot, or smoke, are large enough to be seen by the naked eye.  Others are so small that they can only be seen using a microscope.  Inhaling fine particulate matter can cause all sorts of health issues, including asthma, respiratory inflammation, and even promote cancer. 

For much of the world’s population, the consequences of polluted air are more deadly than war, violence, and many diseases.  According to the World Health Organization, more than four million deaths every year can be attributed to outdoor air pollution.  Some of the major sources of air pollution include coal-fired power plants, agriculture, transportation, and deforestation. 

The study found that low and middle income countries experience the highest burden of air pollution around the world, with the largest concentrations found in central and southeastern Asia.

More long term policies are needed to curb this growing threat to public health. 

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Half of the world’s population exposed to increasing air pollution

Photo, posted August 2, 2019, courtesy of Ron Reiring via Flickr.

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