cooking

Olive oil and climate change

June 18, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained by mashing whole olives and extracting the oil. A superfood staple of the Mediterranean diet, olive oil is used in kitchens around the world for frying, sauteing, baking, and as a condiment. It can also be widely found in cosmetics, soaps, and pharmaceutical products.

Globally, 2.6 million tons of olive oil were consumed last year. Spain is currently the world’s largest producer of this “liquid gold,” accounting for 44% of global production. The second largest producer of olive oil is Italy, followed by Greece, Tunisia, Turkey, and Morocco.

But recently, the price of olive oil has been rocketing up. Droughts, wildfires, floods, and heat waves, combined with pests, have punished olive-producing regions around the world. The climate-fueled extreme weather has significantly impacted olive oil production in southern Europe. Olive trees are exceedingly vulnerable to climate change.

Spain, for example, typically produces somewhere between 1.3 to 1.5 million metric tons of olive oil each harvest. However, officials expect a production range of only 830,000 to 850,000 metric tons this season.

This shortage has sent prices soaring. According to the International Monetary Fund, the average price of olive oil has doubled over the past two years. In fact, the price is currently hovering at or around $10,000 per metric ton. And there doesn’t seem to be much relief in sight.

The record-breaking price has also unsurprisingly fueled a surge in crime, with criminals targeting supermarkets, oil mills, and olive groves.

The changing climate continues to threaten food security around the world.

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‘Liquid gold’: An olive oil shortage is fueling record prices and food insecurity fears

Extra virgin olive oil prices tipped to top £16 a litre next month

Photo, posted October 29, 2015, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A common plant could be a valuable food source

April 4, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A new study by researchers at Penn State University has found that a common water plant in the eastern U.S. could be a valuable green fertilizer, a feed for poultry and livestock, and even a life-saving food for people in the event of a catastrophe or disaster.

The plant is the Carolina azolla. It is sometimes called mosquito fern, fairy moss, or water fern. It is a water plant that grows very rapidly; it can double its biomass in two days. There are many varieties of azolla, but the Carolina strain is more digestible and nutritious for people than any of the others.

Azolla species have been used across the world for centuries as a livestock feed and as a fertilizer. They have not been good for human consumption because of high polyphenolic content, which can be 10 times more than that of common food plants. Polyphenols are abundant compounds in many plants and, in low concentrations, are beneficial antioxidants. But in high concentrations they act as antinutritional agents.

It turns out that the Carolina azolla – described as having a crisp texture and neutral taste – has a polyphenolic content comparable to many fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Furthermore, cooking significantly decreases the polyphenolic content in foods.

Carolina azolla has significant nutritional value including high mineral yields and calories, and moderate protein content. Whether it is used as a quick-fix in a disaster situation or as part of a long-term resilience plan, the study concludes that Carolina azolla holds excellent potential for use as a fast-growing, short-season crop that requires minimal effort to grow and process and could be used to increase food security in a hungry world.

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Common plant could help reduce food insecurity, researchers find

Photo, posted October 8, 2020, courtesy of Dana L. Brown via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Lampshades And Indoor Air Pollution | Earth Wise

September 26, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

We mostly think of air pollution as an outdoor problem. Common sources of air pollution include emissions from vehicles, byproducts of manufacturing and power generation, and smoke from wildfires. What we don’t often spend a lot of time thinking about is indoor air quality.

Indoor air pollution refers to harmful pollutants within buildings and structures, which can lead to a myriad of health issues. Sources of indoor air pollution include smoke from tobacco products, as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including acetaldehyde and formaldehyde, emitted from things such as paints, cleaning products, plastics, and cooking.

A team of scientists from South Korea’s Yonsei University has developed a special coating that when applied to lampshades can convert pollutants into harmless compounds. Composed of titanium dioxide and a small amount of platinum, this thermocatalyst can be applied to the inside surface of a lampshade and is triggered to break down VOCs when warmed by the lamp’s existing incandescent or halogen bulb.

In lab tests, the coating was applied to the inside of an aluminum lampshade, warmed by a halogen bulb, and then placed into a sealed chamber containing air and acetaldehyde gas. The researchers found that the material quickly converted the gas into acetic acid, then into formic acid, and finally into carbon dioxide and water. The scientists are now looking for ways to extend the pollutant-destroying-lampshade concept to LED lightbulbs.

The findings offer a promising and eco-friendly solution to improve indoor air quality and reduce the health risks associated with prolonged exposure to VOCs.

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Clever coating turns lampshades into indoor air purifiers

Photo, posted March 21, 2009, courtesy of Levent Ali via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Global Assessment Of Groundwater Wells | Earth Wise

May 19, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Water is a fundamental need for every human being on the planet. Each person requires more than five gallons of clean and safe water a day for drinking, cooking, and keeping clean.

Groundwater wells remain one of the primary sources of drinking water. In fact, more than half of the world’s population gets its drinking water from groundwater wells. Groundwater wells also sustain more than 40% of irrigated agriculture.

Researchers from UC Santa Barbara have recently compiled the most comprehensive assessment of groundwater wells to date. Their research, which was recently published in the journal Science, spanned 40 countries, which collectively account for more than 50% of all groundwater pumping.

According to the survey’s findings, many wells are at risk of running dry – up to one in five wells, to be exact. The researchers compared the depths of water tables against well depths. They found that 6% to 20% of the wells in the study were at risk of running dry if water levels continue to decline by just a few meters.

In many areas where groundwater levels are declining, the research team found that new wells are not being drilled deeper to keep pace with the falling water table. As a result, newer wells are just as vulnerable as older wells should groundwater levels continue to decline.

The researchers hope to expand on this study to include data from China, Iran, and Pakistan, three major users of groundwater from which the researchers could not obtain records. The researchers also plan to investigate how quickly water tables are dropping and where the trend is accelerating.

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The largest assessment of global groundwater wells finds many are at risk of drying up

Photo, posted January 20, 2018, courtesy of François Molle via Water Alternatives Photos on Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Pulling Water From The Air

October 14, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A couple of years ago, we reported on the early development of a device that harvests water from the air that even works in the low humidity environment of a desert. Since then, the researchers from UC Berkeley have continued to improve the device and it is now 10 times better than it was two years ago.

The harvester is based on a porous water-absorbing material called a metal-organic framework, or MOF. The latest version can pull more than five cups of water from low-humidity air per day for every kilogram of the improved MOF material and that is more than enough water to sustain a person. The harvester cycles around the clock and is powered by solar panels and a battery.

Previous techniques for condensing water from air at low humidity required cooling down the air to temperatures below freezing, which is not economically practical. The MOF-based device does not require any cooling.

The Berkeley researchers have formed a startup company – Water Harvester, Inc. – which is now testing and will soon market a device the size of a microwave oven that can supply 7 to 10 liters of water per day, which is enough drinking and cooking water for two or three adults.

An even larger version of the harvester, which would be the size of a small refrigerator, would provide 200 to 250 liters of water per day, enough for a household to drink, cook, and shower. The new company envisions a village-scale harvester that would produce 20,000 liters per day, still running off of solar panels and a battery.

Water Harvester believes the water needs for many people can come out of the thin air.

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Water harvester makes it easy to quench your thirst in the desert

Photo courtesy of Grant Glover (University of South Alabama) via UC Berkeley.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Indoor Pollution

July 26, 2019 By EarthWise 1 Comment

We mostly think of air pollution as an outdoor problem. The primary culprits are vehicle and factory exhaust as well as occasional wildfire smoke. What we don’t think about is the air quality inside our own homes.

Researchers at Washington State University have found that indoor pollution levels can be surprisingly high and that they vary throughout the day and increase as temperatures rise.

Indoor air pollution comes from a variety of sources, including building materials, furniture, household chemical products, and from activities like cooking. One of the most serious pollutants is formaldehyde, which often is emitted from gypsum wallboard. About half of the gypsum used in homes as drywall is made from waste products from the coal industry. When the material is heated, formaldehyde and possibly even mercury can be emitted.

Pollutant levels rise in homes as temperatures increase. Thus, the highest levels of pollution occur in the afternoon and the lowest are in the early morning. Before this research, manufacturers and builders assumed that pollution levels were pretty much constant over time.

Building laws require that homes are structurally sound, and that people are comfortable, but there is little regulation of air quality in people’s homes. One of the best ways to clear out harmful chemicals is with ventilation to the outdoors. But with increased concern about reducing energy use, builders are making homes more airtight, which may inadvertently be worsening the problem.

We need to balance making more energy efficient homes with protecting our health by being aware of the dangers that lurk in the air in our homes. Running the air conditioning or opening windows are good things to do.

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Researchers uncover indoor pollution hazards

Photo, posted October 14, 2010, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Meal Kits And The Environment

June 11, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Meal kit services have become extremely popular in recent years. These are companies that deliver a box of pre-portioned ingredients and a chef-created recipe to your door to make home-cooked meals easy and practical for busy people. Leading companies like Blue Apron, HelloFresh, and Plated have been joined by dozens of others competing in the meal kit market. As of last year, annual sales for these things were over $3 billion and growing at more than a 20% annual rate.

A major rap against meal kits has been their environmental impact, mostly centered around the amount of packaging waste they generate. While there is most certainly lots of packaging waste associated with meal kits, it turns out that their overall carbon footprint is actually rather good compared with conventional ways to make homecooked meals.

A study from the University of Michigan looked at the cradle-to-grave impact of meal kits, taking into account every major step in the lifetime of the food ingredients and the packaging – agricultural production, packaging production, distribution, supply chain losses, consumption, and waste generation.

Surprisingly, meal kits have a much lower overall carbon footprint than the same meals made from ingredients purchased at the grocery store – even including their packaging. The main reason is that pre-portioned ingredients and a streamlined supply chain lower overall food losses and waste for meal kits compared to store-bought meals. Pre-portioning simply results in fewer ingredients that end up being wasted. Meal kits also have radically different supply chain structures than foods sold in supermarkets.

Whether the economics and culinary aspects of meals kits are advantageous for many people is an open question, but apparently from an environmental perspective, they are just fine.

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