Earth Wise

A look at our changing environment.

You are here: Home / Archives for deaths

deaths

Vegetation and climate change

By Leave a Comment

Temperatures have been steadily rising around the world as a result of the increased greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.  This warming trend has led to more frequent and intense heat waves, droughts, and other extreme weather events.  Rising temperatures are also impacting human health, leading to increased risks of heat-related illnesses and a higher number of fatalities during extreme heat events.

One simple but effective way to reduce the health risks from extreme heat is to increase urban vegetation.  According to new research led by scientists from Monash University in Australia, increasing urban vegetation by 30% could save more than one-third of all heat-related deaths.  The study, which was recently published in The Lancet Planetary Health, examined more than 11,000 urban areas and found that increasing greenery could have saved up to 1.16 million lives worldwide between 2000 and 2019.

The impact of increasing urban vegetation on heat-related deaths varies by climate, greenness, socioeconomic, and demographic factors, with the greatest benefits seen in Southern Asia, Eastern Europe, and Eastern Asia. 

Vegetation has a cooling effect on temperature.  Vegetation helps regulate the Earth’s climate by absorbing carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, which helps to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Vegetation also cools the environment through shading, moisture release, and evapotranspiration, which reduces temperatures and mitigates heat-related health risks.

Incorporating more vegetation into urban areas is a powerful solution to mitigate the impacts of climate change and protect human health.

**********

Web Links

Increasing urban vegetation could have saved over 1.1m lives in two decades

Photo, posted July 1, 2023, courtesy of Lauri via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Wildlife crossings

By Leave a Comment

Every year, there are one to two million collisions between motor vehicles and large animals in the U.S.  About 200 people are killed annually.  Counting smaller vertebrates, around a million animals are killed by vehicles each day.  Research has shown that global warming is triggering widespread species redistribution.  As a result, more and more animals are on the move, changing their habitats to escape warming temperatures and climate extremes.

This situation has created renewed interest in creating wildlife crossings.  These are various kinds of structures that allow animals to traverse human-made barriers like highways.  They include such things as a grassy overpass that allows pronghorn to run across a highway in Wyoming and a long underpass that allows tigers to scamper beneath a highway in India.

In the U.S., there are more than 1,000 wildlife crossings and there are more being built all the time.  Data shows that they are highly effective.  A study of wildlife crossings on Highway 9 through the Blue River Valley in Colorado found that they reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions by nearly 90%. 

Wildlife crossing structures can be expensive to build, costing between $500,000 and $6 million, but research has shown that the money saved by avoiding crashes can recoup these costs in just a few years along with the fact that they potentially save lives.  Federal funding is largely distributed based on areas with the highest number of wildlife-vehicle collisions, which is crucial for addressing public safety issues.  However, a recent study suggests that future proposals need to incorporate climate-driven changes in animal behavior and habitat.

**********

Web Links

As Climate Changes Fuels Animal Movement, Will These Structures Still Help Species Cross the Road?

Photo, posted April 5, 2017, courtesy of Jeffrey Beall via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Making wind turbines safer for birds

By Leave a Comment

There are people who oppose the installation of wind turbines for a variety of reasons. It is true that wind turbines can be dangerous to birds.  Estimates are that about 250,000 birds are killed flying into wind turbines each year in the U.S.  

However, this data needs to be looked at in comparison to bird deaths from flying into electrical lines (25 million), vehicles (214 million), and building glass (at least 600 million). And even these figures pale in comparison to the more than 2 billion birds killed by domestic cats each year.

Despite these facts, it would still be great if fewer birds died from flying into wind turbines.  Researchers at Oregon State University are part of a team looking at reducing bird collision risks from wind turbines by painting a single blade of the turbine black.

Recent research in Norway found that painting a single turbine blade black reduced the number of bird collisions by nearly 72%.  Why should this work?  The hypothesis is that the black-painted blades disrupt the visual uniformity of the airspace around the turbines and makes them more noticeable to birds, which prompts avoidance behavior.

The Norwegian data is based on a relatively small sample size and the Oregon State researchers as well as others in Spain, Sweden, and South Africa are working on more rigorous and comprehensive studies.

The hope is that this rather simple strategy could make windfarms safer for birds.  Unfortunately, this approach is not likely to be very effective with bats, which rely more on auditory cues rather than visual cues.

**********

Web Links

Scientists studying impact of painting wind turbine blade black to reduce bird collisions

Photo, posted May 21, 2024, courtesy of Roy Harryman via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Beware of the blob

By Leave a Comment

For the past 10 years, there have been several occurrences of a vast expanse of ocean stretching from Alaska to California in which water temperatures are as much as 7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal.  Known jocularly as “the Blob,” the phenomenon can last for several years and decimates fish stocks, starves seabirds, creates blooms of toxic algae, prevents salmon from returning to rivers, and displaces sea lions and whales.

Until recently, there was no accepted explanation for this abrupt ocean heating.  Climate change, even combined with natural cycles like El Niños, is not enough to account for it.

In depth analysis by an international team of researchers has found that the extraordinary heating is the result of a dramatic cleanup of Chinese air pollution.  The decline of smog particles, which to some extent shield the planet from the sun’s rays, has accelerated warming and set off a chain of atmospheric events across the Pacific, essentially cooking the ocean.

This is an example of what can be called the pollution paradox in which global warming is actually increased when air pollution is reduced.  Reduced air pollution on the US West Coast has even been identified as a factor contributing to increased wildfires.  However, air pollution causes more than 4 million premature deaths from cancers and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases each year. 

Nobody thinks that we should stop cleaning up the air to slow down global warming.  The only viable solution is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly as possible.

**********

Web Links

Pollution Paradox: How Cleaning Up Smog Drives Ocean Warming

Photo, posted December 18, 2017, courtesy of SGUP via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A month of extra-hot days

By Leave a Comment

The past 12 months have been the hottest ever measured across the globe.  This may not be everyone’s experience in every location, but the average person on Earth experienced 26 more days of abnormally high temperatures than they would have in the absence of climate change.

Researchers considered a given day’s temperature to be abnormally high in a particular location if it exceeded 90% of the daily temperatures recorded there between 1991 and 2020.  Nearly 80% of the world’s population experienced at least 31 days of abnormal warmth since May of 2023.  Theoretically, the number of unusually warm days would have been far fewer in the absence of global warming.

In some countries, the extra-warm days added up to two or three weeks.  In others, such as Colombia, Indonesia, and Rwanda, there were up to 4 months of them. The average American experienced 39 days of extra-warm temperatures since last May.

Scientists also added up how many extreme heat waves the planet experienced since last May.  These are defined as episodes of unseasonable warmth across a large area, lasting three or more days, and causing significant loss of life or disruption to infrastructure or industry.  In total, the researchers identified 76 such episodes, affecting 90 countries, on every continent except Antarctica.

The world’s climate is now shifting toward the La Niña phase of the cyclical pattern called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. This usually leads to cooler temperatures on average, but the recent heat could have lingering effects on weather and storms for months to come, including what is expected to be an extraordinarily active Atlantic hurricane season.

**********

Web Links

Climate Change Added a Month’s Worth of Extra-Hot Days in Past Year

Photo, posted December 21, 2011, courtesy of Maggie Lin Photography via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Buildings and birds

By Leave a Comment

Birds face a wide range of dangers.  Billions of them each year face violent deaths.  Concerned individuals point at such things as wind turbines, which in fact do kill hundreds of thousands of birds.  But the great majority of bird deaths are caused by cats.  And that’s a danger that isn’t going to go away.

The second largest cause of bird deaths is collisions with building windows.   Building collisions kill hundreds of millions of birds each year in the U.S. alone.  As other places have seen glass skyscrapers proliferate, such as in Chinese cites, these collisions have become a major global factor in bird mortality.

There are growing efforts across the U.S. and Canada to reduce bird collisions.  Many businesses are taking part in “lights out” programs in which their buildings dim lights during spring and fall migrations.  Some buildings now use special glass that birds can see and avoid.  Some communities even have adopted ordinances that require bird-friendly glass in new construction.  Keeping bird attractants away from windows is another important way to reduce bird strikes.  All these measures have been proven to be effective in reducing the number of bird collisions.

 Companies sell vinyl film with tiny dots that can be affixed to windows.  Both businesses and homeowners have seen substantial reduction in bird collisions with such films installed.

Bird collisions are not a new problem but is one that wasn’t really taken seriously until at least the 1970s.  There isn’t much to be done about the greatest threat to birds – namely cats – but how buildings are constructed and operated is something we can control.

**********

Web Links

As Bird Kills from Buildings Mount, Cities Look for Solutions

Photo, posted December 24, 2017, courtesy of Nicolas Vollmer via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Summers are getting hotter

By Leave a Comment

Climate scientists have warned for decades that a seemingly small change in the global average temperature can lead to large changes in extreme heat.  So far, the world has warmed by 1.2 degrees Celsius (or 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit) and that has been enough to cause big changes in summer heat.

This past summer was the hottest on record.  The heat fueled deadly wildfires across the Mediterranean.  Record highs caused Chinese cities to suspend outdoor work.  Weeks of triple-digit temperatures in the U.S. southwest led to heat-related hospitalizations and deaths.

But not every recent summer has been hotter everywhere.  Even this summer saw average or even colder than average temperatures in some places.  But the distribution of summer temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere has shifted dramatically in recent decades.

Less than 1% of summers in the middle of the 20th century were extremely hot for their location.  Over the past decade, more than a quarter of summers were extremely hot for their location.

Between 1950 and 1980, about a third of summers across the hemisphere were near average in temperature; a third were considered cold; a third were hot.  Only a few summers in a few places were either extremely cold or extremely hot.  Over the past decade, the vast majority of summers have either been hot or extremely hot.

We experience summer weather in the location where we spend our time, and it is entirely possible that our own experience may have been unremarkable.  We may even have had a cool, rainy summer.  But on a global scale, summers are getting hotter and hotter and making it harder to ignore what is happening to our planet.

*********

Web Links

It’s Not Your Imagination. Summers Are Getting Hotter.

Photo, posted August 21, 2022, courtesy of Bonnie Moreland via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Lots of female turtles

By Leave a Comment

Green sea turtles were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1978.  Since that time, there have been conservation measures put in place in many locations.  One such place is Florida, where restrictions on beachfront development and careful monitoring of turtle nests has helped to get hatchlings safely into the water.  A gill net ban in 1995 sharply reduced the number of young turtles killed by fishing gear.

All of this has resulted in what is described as an explosion in turtle populations in Florida.  Volunteers monitoring the 2023 nesting season on Florida’s beaches have counted more than 74,000 nests.  That beats the previous record – set in 2017 – by an incredible 40%.

Unfortunately, this does not represent a guaranteed great future for the species.  Sea turtles are particularly sensitive to the warming climate.  The sex of a baby sea turtle is not determined by DNA, but rather by the temperature of the sand in which its egg develops.  Cooler temperatures mean more males; warmer ones mean more females.

In recent years, the proportion of male green sea turtles has dwindled substantially.  In the past few seasons, between 87 percent and 100 percent of the hatchlings tested in Florida have been female.

In the short term, the skewed sex ratio might be a boon for the species.  Lots of females laying lots of eggs means lots of turtles.  Sea turtles don’t reach sexual maturity until their twenties or thirties.  So, for the next few decades, there are likely to be growing numbers of turtle nests.  But down the line, there is going to be a real problem.  Where will for all the female turtles find the mates to populate the species in the future?

**********

Web Links

Florida Turtle Nests Are Recovering. When They Hatch, Expect Mostly Girls.

Photo, posted October 5, 2011, courtesy of Keenan Adams / USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Pollution From Tires | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

A few years ago, researchers investigating massive deaths of coho salmon in West Coast streams discovered that the water contained particles from vehicle tires.  The cause of the fish mortality turned out to be a chemical called 6PPD that is added to tires to prevent cracking and degradation.  The mystery was solved, but so far, the chemical continues to be used by all major tire manufacturers and is found on roads and in waterways around the world.

Worse still, the acute toxicity of 6PPD and the chemicals that it transforms into when exposed to ground-level ozone is only the tip of the tire pollution iceberg.  Tire rubber contains more than 400 chemicals and compounds, many of which are carcinogenic. 

About 2 billion tires are sold across the globe each year and that number is expected to reach 3.4 billion by 2030.  Tires are made from about 20% natural rubber and 24% synthetic rubber, which requires about 4 gallons of petroleum per tire.  Hundreds of other ingredients – including steel, fillers, heavy metals like copper, cadmium, lead, and zinc – make up the rest.

Tire wear particles are emitted continually as vehicles travel.  They range in size from visible pieces of rubber or plastic to microparticles.  Research has shown that a car’s four tires collectively emit half a trillion ultrafine particles per mile driven.  These particles are small enough to be breathed into the lungs and can travel throughout the body and even cross the blood-brain barrier.  Particle pollution from tires exceeds that from tailpipes.

Tire pollution is a huge problem that is just starting to receive the attention it deserves.

**********

Web Links

Road Hazard: Evidence Mounts on Toxic Pollution from Tires

Photo, posted June 22, 2018, courtesy of Tony Webster via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Deadly Heatwaves On The Rise | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

The European heatwave in the summer of 2003 resulted in at least 30,000 deaths with more than 14,000 in France alone. At the time, such a heatwave was considered to be a once-in-a-hundred-year event. But the warming climate is dramatically changing the odds for deadly heatwaves.

A new study by the ETH Institute in Zurich has found that the risk of fatal heatwaves has risen sharply over the past 20 years, and in the future, such extreme weather will become more frequent and heat-related excess mortality will increase, particularly in Europe.  According to a paper published in Nature Medicine, more than 61,000 deaths in Europe could be blamed on the heat during the summer of 2022, which was the hottest summer on record for the continent.  When the readings from this summer are analyzed, that record is likely to be surpassed.

Heatwaves lead to excess deaths due to dehydration, heat stroke, and cardiovascular collapse.  They are particularly deadly for the elderly, the sick, and the poor.  The ETH researchers analyzed comprehensive data from 748 cities and communities in 47 countries.   They determined the relationship between increased temperature and excess mortality.  Their models look at how excess mortality would develop with an average global temperature increase of 0.7 degrees Celsius (the value in 2000), 1.2 degrees (the value in 2020), and both 1.5 degrees (the limit sought by the Paris Agreement) and 2 degrees.

Even with the current global temperature, heatwaves that were a once-in-a-century event are now expected to occur every 10 years.  With 2 degrees of warming, such heatwaves could happen every 2 to 5 years.

**********

Web Links

Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and more deadly

Photo, posted July 22, 2009, courtesy of Matt McGee via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Decontaminating Drinking Water | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

At least two billion people around the world often drink water that is contaminated with disease-causing microbes.  Waterborne diseases are responsible for two million deaths each year, mostly among children under the age of five.

There are various ways to decontaminate water, including chemicals that can themselves produce toxic byproducts as well as using ultraviolet light, which takes fairly long to disinfect the water and requires a source of electricity. 

Scientists at Stanford University and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have recently invented a low-cost, recyclable powder that kills thousands of waterborne bacteria every second when the water containing it is exposed to ordinary sunlight.  The discovery of this ultrafast disinfectant could be a tremendous benefit to the nearly 30% of the world’s population with no reliable access to safe drinking water.

The new disinfectant is a harmless metallic powder that works by absorbing both ultraviolet and high-energy visible light from the sun.  It consists of nano-sized flakes of aluminum oxide, molybdenum sulfide, copper, and iron oxide.  The key innovation is that when these four metallic ingredients are immersed in water, they all function together by reacting with the surrounding water and generating chemicals that quickly kill bacteria. The chemicals themselves don’t last long.  They quickly break down in the water leaving completely safe drinking water.

The nontoxic powder is recyclable.  It can be removed from water with a magnet.  It can also be reused at least 30 times.  Apart from its uses in less developed parts of the world, it could be valuable for hikers and backpackers who want to drink water from natural sources of unknown quality.

**********

Web Links

New nontoxic powder uses sunlight to quickly disinfect contaminated drinking water

Photo, posted February 27, 2013, courtesy of Petras Gagilas via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Protecting New York City From Flooding | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Hurricane Sandy flooded Lower Manhattan in October 2012, closing Wall Street, blacking out power for 250,000 people, and killing 44 New Yorkers.  Within a year, plans were in motion to build berms, floodwalls, and water gates along the city’s Lower East Side in a $770 million first phase of an overall plan to defend New York City from future floodwaters.

Plans got more and more complicated, and the price tag reached $1.45 billion before the existing plan was scrapped by former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration in 2018 without involving the community groups that were instrumental in creating the original plan.  After years of lawsuits and court actions, the revised East Side Coastal Resiliency Project is finally proceeding, now at a price tag approaching $3 billion. The project will include 18 moveable floodgates and will protect 110,000 New Yorkers, including 28,000 low-income public-housing residents and is expected to be completed in 2026.

The original larger overall plan was halted in 2020 after former President Trump mocked it and claimed that it would cost $200 billion.  The current plan, created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and known as the 3B alternative, calls for a combination of deployable flood barriers, floodwalls, seawalls, and elevated promenades wrapping around the lower part of Manhattan.  The cost of the project is estimated to be $61 billion. 

In the meantime, over 10 years after Sandy, a similar storm would have almost the same effect today as Sandy had back then.

**********

Web Links

New York City Begins Its Climate Change Reckoning on the Lower East Side, the Hard Way

Photo, posted January 19, 2013 courtesy of Andres Alvarado via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

California Flooding | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Starting in December, a series of “atmospheric rivers” brought record storms to California producing as much rain in three weeks in some areas as they normally have in an entire year.  The historic levels of rain (and snow in the mountains) have swollen rivers, flooded roads and homes, forced evacuations, knocked out electric power for millions of people, and resulted in more than 20 deaths.

Atmospheric rivers are air currents that carry large amounts of water vapor through the sky.  They are not unusual for California but recurrent waves of them like those that have happened recently are very infrequent.  Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey have shown that such a phenomenon recurs in California every 250 years.  There were a series of storms causing disastrous floods in California in 1861-62.

The atmospheric rivers are born in the warm waters of the tropical Pacific.  During La Nina phases, the atmospheric rivers typically make landfall on the northern West Coast. During El Nino phases, atmospheric rivers are more likely to end up in Southern and Central California. During transitions between the phases, as is happening now, the storms can cover large parts of the state.

Modern forecasting is pretty good at predicting the forthcoming occurrence of these storms and has led to some helpful actions, such as reservoir operators preventing dams from overflowing or bursting.  But there is a gap between science and decision-making.  It is pretty clear what needs to be done when tornados or hurricanes are on the way.  It is less clear what actions are appropriate when there are going to be repeated heavy rainstorms.

These storms will have an effect on California’s megadrought, but just how much of an effect remains to be seen.

**********

Web Links

Flooding in California: What Went Wrong, and What Comes Next

Photo, posted January 5, 2023, courtesy of Sarah Stierch via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Electric Cars And Cleaner Air | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Cities are awash in microscopic soot and other pollutants from the tailpipes of vehicles.  Apart from contributing substantially to the warming of the planet, these emissions have a significant impact on human health.  Research at Cornell University has determined that the continued growth of electric cars will lead to cleaner air and reduced human mortality in most if not all U.S. metropolitan areas.

The study, published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, estimated the health impact and consequential economic impact of cleaner air in American cities as a result of the transition to electric vehicles.

For example, by 2050, Los Angeles will have 1,163 fewer premature deaths annually, corresponding to $12.6 billion in economic health benefits.  Greater New York City could see 574 fewer deaths a year leading to $6.24 billion in associated economic gains.

Global sales of electric cars have grown steadily.  In 2016, they accounted for less than 1% of the market.  That share grew to 2.2% in 2018, 4.1% in 2020, and 6.6% in 2021.

In the U.S., electric cars accounted for 4.5% of sales in 2021, but in many cities, the numbers were much higher. 

These trends are likely to accelerate as a combination of government policies and major decisions by automakers drive a rapid transition to electrification.  While mitigating the effects of climate change continues to be the main driving force for that transition, the human health benefits will be a very significant reward for doing the right thing for the planet.

**********

Web Links

Electric car sales drive toward cleaner air, less mortality

Photo, posted May 11, 2021, courtesy of Chris Yarzab via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Hot Year In Europe | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

This past summer was marked by some devastating heat waves in Europe.  Through November, the UK, Germany, and France have experienced their hottest year on record.

The UK has experienced its warmest year since 1884 and, in fact, all the top ten warmest years on record have occurred since 2002.

In France, the average temperature for the year is a few tenths of a degree higher than the  previous record, which was set in 2020.

In Germany, the first 11 months of the year saw a record for average temperature.  Its previous record was also set in 2020.

All three countries saw a spike in heat-related mortality as result of the summer heatwaves.  England and Wales reported 3,271 excess deaths during the summer.  France reported 2,816 excess deaths during its three heat waves.  In Germany, an estimated 4,500 people died as a result of extreme heat.

There are multiple effects of climate change which include more frequent heat waves in Europe.  A recent study showed that European summers are warming twice as fast as the global average.  In fact, summer temperatures across much of the European continent have already risen by 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 2 degrees Celsius, which is the feared level of global climate increase that nations around the world are trying to stave off.

Worldwide, 2022 will rank among the top ten warmest years on record but will most likely not be the warmest.   That being said, the past eight years are on track to be the eight warmest years on record.  The US will also see one of its ten warmest years, although not the warmest.

**********

Web Links

UK, Germany, France on Pace for Their Hottest Year on Record

Photo, posted April 23, 2022, courtesy of Jose A. via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Saving Lives With Air Conditioning | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

This summer, extreme heatwaves struck the United States, Europe, and Africa.  Thousands of people died as a result.  In July, the impact of extreme heat in places ill-prepared for it was evident.  In the U.K., where air conditioning is uncommon, public transportation shut down, schools and offices closed, and hospitals cancelled non-emergency procedures.

Air conditioning, which we mostly take for granted in this country, is a life-saving tool during extreme heat waves.  However, only about 8% of the 2.8 billion people living in the hottest – and often poorest – parts of the world have AC in their homes.

A new study at Harvard modeled the future demand for air conditioning as the number of days with extreme heat continues to increase across the globe.  The researchers identified a massive gap between current AC capacity and what will be needed by 2050 to save lives, particularly in low-income and developing countries.

If the rate of greenhouse gas emissions continues on its present course, the study concluded that that at least 70% of the population in several countries will require air conditioning by 2050.  The number will be even higher in equatorial countries like India and Indonesia.  At this point, even if the goals of the Paris Climate Accords are met, an average of 40-50% of the population in many of the world’s warmest countries will still require AC.

The research looked at various scenarios.  One in which emissions continue to increase leads to widespread need for air conditioning even in temperate countries.  In Germany, 92% of the population would need it, and here in the U.S., 96% would need it.

Planning for future power systems must take into account the essential needs of a warming world.

**********

Web Links

In a hotter world, air conditioning isn’t a luxury, it’s a lifesaver

Photo, posted July 24, 2021, courtesy of Phyxter Home Services via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Heatwaves And Alpine Mountain Climbing | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

From June to August, there were persistent heat waves affecting parts of Europe that caused wildfires, evacuations, and heat-related deaths.  Nearly 12,000 people died from heat stroke or other causes associated with the high temperatures.  The highest temperature recorded during this period was 116.6 degrees F in Pinhao, Portugal on July 14th.  The RAF base in Coningsby, Lincolnshire recorded a temperature over 104 degrees on July 19th, the highest ever recorded in the United Kingdom.

Among the effects of the multiple European heatwaves has been the cancellation of climbing tours up some of the most iconic peaks in the Alps, including Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.  The high temperatures and rapidly melting glaciers have made the climbing routes too dangerous.  Overall, climbing cancellations occurred on about a dozen peaks, including the Jungfrau in Switzerland, which cancelled tours for the first time in a century.

In previous years, during warm summers, some of these climbing routes were closed in August, but the glaciers were already in a condition that usually only happens at the end of summer or even later.

The combination of heat and glacier melt can be treacherous.  In July, 11 people were killed at Italy’s Marmolada glacier by falling ice and rock.

Glacial melt in the Alps is rapidly accelerating.  The Forni Glacier, the largest valley glacier in Italy, has retreated two miles since 1860 and its area has shrunk by half.  Forecasts are that it will retain only 20% of its current volume by 2050 and may disappear entirely by the end of the century.  Half of the 4,000 glaciers in the Alps are expected to disappear by 2050.

**********

Web Links

European Heat Waves Force Closure of Classic Climbing Routes in Alps

Photo, posted September 4, 2020, courtesy of Dmitry Djouce via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Air Pollution: The Greatest Danger | Earth Wise            

By Leave a Comment

The effort to reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of fossil fuels has largely been driven by the potentially catastrophic consequences of global climate change.  The need to stop dumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has become increasingly urgent.  But there is an equally compelling reason to stop burning fossil fuels.  According to a study published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, outdoor air pollution is “the largest existential threat to human and planetary health.”

Pollution of various types was responsible for an estimated 9 million deaths around the world in 2019.  Half of those fatalities – 4.5 million deaths – were the result of outdoor air pollution coming from vehicles and industrial sources like power plants and factories.

The number of deaths attributed to air pollution has increased by 55% just since the year 2000.

The growth in air pollution deaths has offset a decline in deaths from other pollution sources that especially affect people living in extreme poverty, such as indoor air pollution and water pollution.  Overall, countries with lower collective incomes tend to bear a disproportionate share of pollution deaths.  Roughly 16% of deaths around the world are attributable to pollution, also resulting in more than $4 trillion in economic losses.

The peer-reviewed study was produced by the 2017 Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health.  The study notes that despite the enormous health, social, and economic impacts of pollution, preventing it is largely overlooked in the international development agenda.  The study calls upon governments, businesses, and other entities to abandon fossil fuels and adopt clean energy sources.

**********

Web Links

Study Identifies Outdoor Air Pollution as the ‘Largest Existential Threat to Human and Planetary Health’

Photo, posted November 4, 2019, courtesy of Ninara via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Unhealthy Air | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

According to the World Health Organization, almost the entire global population – 99% in fact – breathes air that exceeds WHO air quality limits and threatens their health.

Air quality is of great concern everywhere.  Over 6,000 cities in 117 countries monitor air quality, but the people living in those cities are still breathing unhealthy levels of fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide. The WHO is citing these findings as a compelling reason to curb fossil fuel use and to take other steps to reduce air pollution levels. 

There is growing number of studies of the damage air pollution does to the human body.  Even low levels of many air pollutants can cause significant harm.  Particulate matter – especially so-called PM2.5 – is capable of penetrating deep into the lungs and entering the bloodstream, contributing to cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory problems. 

Nitrogen dioxide is associated with respiratory diseases – especially asthma – and leads to respiratory symptoms, hospital admissions, and visits to emergency rooms.

The WHO is calling to governments around the world to take additional steps to improve air quality including adopting stricter air quality standards, supporting the transition to clean household energy sources, implementing stricter vehicle emission standards, reducing the use of incineration, and many other actions.

According to the WHO, cities in high-income countries fare better in terms of air quality, but very few places avoid unhealthy air entirely.   Seven million deaths a year are linked to unhealthy air quality.  It is a global crisis that cannot be ignored.

**********

Web Links

Billions of people still breathe unhealthy air: new WHO data

Photo, posted December 1, 2021, courtesy of Ron Reiring via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Conseguir un medicamento en las farmacias extranjeras no puede ser más difícil que la compra nocturna de alimentos. Si no se requiere una receta en línea para la compra de medicamentos, se puede comprar libremente, incluso no sólo en las farmacias, sino también en los supermercados, dijo un abogado y director general del grupo de consultoría vvCube Vadim Tkachenko.

Poverty And Climate Change

By Leave a Comment

According to the World Health Organization, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 extra deaths per year between 2030 and 2050.  But climate change does not affect everyone the same.  In fact, the poorest people on the planet, who are often the least to blame for climate change, typically bear the worst of the impact.

Wealthier people and countries have more resources to shield themselves from the impacts of climate change.  For example, higher incomes allow people to purchase air conditioning as temperatures rise,  food as food prices soar, and homes in safer places.  Wealthy nations can also compensate citizens when climate change harms livelihoods. 

According to new research, people with lower incomes are exposed to heat waves for longer periods of time compared to those with higher incomes due to a combination of factors including location and access to heat adaptations like air conditioning.  This inequality is expected to increase as temperatures rise. 

The study, which was published in the AGU journal Earth’s Future, found that lower income populations face a 40% higher exposure to heat waves than people with higher incomes.  By the end of the century, the poorest 25% of the global population will be exposed to heat waves at a rate equivalent to the rest of the population combined.

On the other hand, the highest-income quarter of the population will experience comparatively little change in exposure to heat waves as their ability to keep up with climate change is generally greater.

The research team hopes its findings will prompt innovations into affordable cooling solutions for the world’s most vulnerable population. 

Climate change and poverty are, and will remain, inextricably linked. 

**********

Web Links

Poorest people bear growing burden of heat waves as temperatures rise

Photo, posted October 27, 2019, courtesy of Jack via Flickr.

XXXXXXXXX

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

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