earth

Ozone Treaty And Greenhouse Gas Emissions

September 20, 2017 By EarthWise 1 Comment

The Montreal Protocol, the international treaty adopted to restore the earth’s protective ozone layer almost thirty years ago, turns out to also have had a major impact on climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions.

Tipping Points

August 9, 2017 By EarthWise

A tipping point is a point in time when a small thing can make a big change happen. The term was popularized in sociology in recent decades, but really comes from physics where is refers to adding a small amount of weight to a balanced object causing it to topple over.

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Satellites And Conservation Science

August 3, 2017 By EarthWise

Satellites orbiting the earth are becoming an increasingly powerful tool for counting and monitoring wildlife populations and to answer a host of other questions about the natural world.

Fern-Inspired Energy Storage

July 5, 2017 By EarthWise

The amount of solar energy striking the surface of the earth in two hours is enough to supply all of humankind’s needs for an entire year. For this reason, it is widely thought that solar energy should be our primary source of electricity. If this is to happen, however, there must be cost-effective ways to obtain solar electricity regardless of the time of day, weather, or seasonal changes. Essentially, there must be ways to store the energy from the sun to use it when we need it.

An Aluminum Battery

June 28, 2017 By EarthWise

The battery industry is currently dominated by lithium-ion batteries. We have them in our phones and computers. They power electric cars. And they are increasingly being used to store energy generated by solar panels and other renewable energy sources.

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Did People Create The Sahara Desert?

April 25, 2017 By EarthWise

One of the arguments some people make when discussing human causes of climate change is that people can’t cause such massive changes. However, there is a long historical record of human-driven ecological and climatic change in Europe, North America and New Zealand, among other places.

Volcano Power

March 24, 2017 By EarthWise

Geothermal energy uses the heat trapped beneath the Earth’s surface to generate electricity. Typically, geothermal energy plants tap into the steam from natural sources such as geysers, or they draw water from hot, high-pressure underground sources. The hot vapors are then used to drive electric turbines.

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Squeaking By

March 14, 2017 By EarthWise

Amphibians are one of the most threatened groups of animals on the planet. Since the late 1980s, scientists have measured dramatic population declines from locations all over the world. The plummeting amphibian populations are perceived to be one of the most critical threats to global biodiversity. According to the IUCN, about 1 of every 3 amphibian species is facing extinction. Some of the greatest threats facing amphibians include climate change, disease, and habitat destruction.

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Climate Engineering

January 11, 2017 By EarthWise

With the forthcoming administration change, it appears that the federal government is likely to start backing away from tackling climate change and may even be obstructive towards efforts to mitigate the growing problem of greenhouse gas emissions.

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Extreme Cold And Climate Change

December 26, 2016 By EarthWise

Global climate change is typically referred to as global warming and that name implies that things are getting warmer all the time. Well, the planet as a whole is, as measured by the planet-wide mean temperature, which continues to rise over time.

More Ice In Antarctica

November 17, 2016 By WAMC WEB

Two years ago, NASA reported that the sea ice surrounding Antarctica reached a new record high extent, surpassing levels mapped since the late 1970s. This seemed to be quite contrary to the global warming trend that is leading to the melting of the Arctic and glaciers worldwide. And in fact, it does seem rather puzzling.

The Hottest Month (Again)

September 15, 2016 By WAMC WEB

NASA data show that the Earth’s temperature in July was the highest recorded since record-keeping began 136 years ago. It was also the 10th straight month of record-breaking temperatures and was .18 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the previous hottest July in 2011.

Hydrogen From The Ocean

August 30, 2016 By WAMC WEB

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. Estimates are that it comprises 75% of all matter. There is plenty of it here on earth too, but almost none of it is in its elemental form. It is mostly bound up in compounds like water.

Geothermal Heating

July 27, 2016 By WAMC WEB

Geothermal heat pumps use the heat stored in the earth’s surface to heat homes and buildings. Even in the dead of winter, the temperature not very far below ground remains at a temperature typically in the 50s. Geothermal systems tap into this immense thermal resource. Conversely, this same temperature sink can be used to provide cooling during the summer. It takes electricity to run the heat pumps, but is vastly more efficient than using electricity directly to produce heat or to cool air.

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Human Carbon

December 17, 2015 By WAMC WEB

There is a powerful correlation between the rise of the human population and the rise of atmospheric CO₂ during the past few decades. Could the carbon dioxide we emit when we breathe be a factor in global warming? According to biogeochemist Bill Schlesinger, the answer is a resounding no. Here’s why.

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Implications of a Thousand

October 30, 2015 By EarthWise

The first Earth Wise broadcast was on January 2, 2012. Today marks the 1000th story we have presented to you, which is cause for celebration.

Earth Overshoot Day

September 21, 2015 By EarthWise

Earth Overshoot Day is the day when, according to estimates, the total combined resource consumption of all human activity on the planet reaches the total amount that the Earth can generate for the year. It is the natural resource equivalent of the date by which you have spent your entire salary for the year.

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The Environmental Movement Works

September 17, 2015 By EarthWise

When each day seems to bring more bad news about the health of our planet, it can be easy to wonder if the environmental movement is working. But a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found that, at the state level, environmentalism is linked with lower carbon emissions.