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Bananas and climate change

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Bananas are one of the most widely produced fruits globally, with more than 100 million tons grown every year.  They are a key export crop worth approximately $11 billion annually. Bananas are also a staple food in many tropical countries, playing a vital role in both the economies of these nations and in global food security.

The Cavendish variety of banana dominates commercial exports, accounting for nearly 47% of global production. However, the Cavendish banana is highly susceptible to diseases like Panama disease, prompting ongoing efforts to develop disease-resistant alternatives. The spread of these diseases is exacerbated by climate change, which alters growing conditions and weakens banana plants. Additionally, climate change poses further threats to the banana industry by impacting crop yields and distribution patterns.

In fact, a new study led by researchers from the University of Exeter in the U.K. has found that by 2080, rising temperatures will make growing bananas for export economically unsustainable in many regions of Latin America and the Caribbean.  Colombia and Costa Rica will be among the countries most negatively impacted as they are expected to become too hot for optimal banana cultivation. 

The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Food, found that 60% of the regions currently producing bananas around the world will struggle to grow the fruit unless there are urgent interventions to tackle climate change.  The researchers propose several adaptation strategies, including expanding irrigation systems, developing heat- and drought-resistant banana varieties, and helping banana producers manage climate-related risks.

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Climate change threatens future of banana export industry

Photo, posted June 26, 2024, courtesy of JJ Musgrove via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

New highs for carbon dioxide

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Last year was the hottest year on record and the ten hottest years on record have in fact been the last ten years.  Ocean heat reached a record high last year and, along with it, global sea levels.  Those are rising twice as fast as they did in the 1990s.

The World Meteorological Organization reports that the global atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide reached a new observed high in 2023, which is the latest year for which global annual figures are available.  The level was 420 ppm, which is the highest level it has been in 800,000 years. 

The increase in carbon dioxide levels was the fourth largest one-year change since modern measurement began in the 1950s.  The rate of growth is typically higher in El Niño years because of increases from fire emissions and reduced terrestrial carbon sinks.

Concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide – which are two other key greenhouse gases – also reached record high observed levels in 2023.  Levels of both of these gases have also continued to increase in 2024.

The annually averaged global mean near-surface temperature in 2024 was 1.55 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 average.  Apart from being the warmest year in the 175 years records have been kept, it is also above the 1.5-degree limit set as the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement.  While a single year above 1.5 degrees of warming does not mean that the efforts to limit global warming have failed, it is a strong warning that the risks to human lives, economies, and the planet are increasing.

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Carbon Dioxide Levels Highest in 800,000 Years

Photo, posted January 30, 2018, courtesy of Johannes Grim via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The importance of shallow water

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Vacationers love beaches with shallow water.  They are great for families with small kids and for less confident swimmers.  Such beaches often attract intense coastal development.  However, they are also fragile habitats that are disappearing around the world.

A new study led by the University of South Florida highlights the need to protect these marine ecosystems.  Shallow coastal waters are known as tidal flats, and they are critical to global seafood supplies, local economies, and overall marine health.  Shallow water ecosystems are interlinked with other marine habitats and are vital for the lifecycle of marine species far from shore.

Shallow water ecosystems are at risk not only from coastal development, but from harmful algal blooms triggered by human activity, from marine heatwaves, and from boats operating in sensitive habitats such as seagrass meadows. These habitats contribute millions of dollars to local economies such as those in Florida but there is not much direct habitat managements in place to protect these ecosystems.

The University of South Florida study, published in the journal Fisheries, enumerated ten core strategies that boaters, anglers, wildlife managers, and policymakers can adopt to prioritize and preserve shallow marine ecosystems from humans and from increasingly powerful weather events.  Foremost among these efforts are the protection of key fish species, such as tarpon, whose protection would benefit additional species that use the same habitats.

Habitat management and restoration should be essential concerns for coastal communities to provide long-term benefits for both themselves and for the marine life that depends on shallow-water habitats.

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Why shallow water at the beach is more important than you might realize

Photo, posted February 14, 2018, courtesy of Marcelo Campi via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Global coral bleaching

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The world’s coral reefs are in the midst of a global bleaching event being driven by extraordinarily high ocean temperatures.  This is the fourth such global event on record and is predicted to be the largest one ever.  Coral bleaching occurs when corals are stressed by heat and eject the symbiotic algae within them that they need to survive.  Bleached corals can recover if water temperatures cool soon enough.  Otherwise, they die.

Each of the three previous coral bleaching events has been worse than the last.  The first, in 1998, affected 20% of the world’s reefs.  The second, in 2010, affected 35%.  The third, from 2014 to 2017, affected 56% of reefs.

The current bleaching event was confirmed by satellite observations early in April and was already seen to be affecting more than half of the world’s coral areas across the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans.  The ongoing event is expected to be the worst bleaching ever experienced by Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.  A small saving grace is that the current bleaching event is not expected to be of extremely long duration because the El Niño in the Pacific has abated.

Coral bleaching events are becoming more severe and frequent due to increased marine heat waves driven by climate change.  Last year was particularly difficult for corals as global sea temperatures reached record high levels for several months.

Widespread coral bleaching impacts economies, livelihoods, food security, and more.  Coral reefs provide ecosystem services essential to marine life and human populations as well.  Global action will be needed for coral interventions and restorations.

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Satellites watch as 4th global coral bleaching event unfolds

Photo, posted March 23, 2012, courtesy of Oregon State University via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The Colorado River crisis

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The Colorado River serves nearly 40 million people in seven U.S. states and Mexico.  It provides water for 5 million acres of farmland.  Increasing demand from growing populations, damming, diversion, and drought have been draining the Colorado at alarming rates.  This critical resource supports countless economies, communities, and ecologies stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California.  The Colorado River essentially has made the cities of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver, and Phoenix possible.

How the water of the Colorado is distributed is determined by an agreement that is over 100 years old:  the Colorado River Compact.  It was made at a time when people thought there was more water than really was there.  And at the time, no one thought that the seven states would need to use the water they were allocated down to the last drop.

There have been various measures over the years to conserve water from the Colorado River, including the Colorado River Interim Guidelines in 2007.  Those guidelines will expire in 2026 and negotiations are beginning to take place among the many stakeholders scrambling for water rights.  Apart from the seven U.S. states and Mexico, there are 30 tribal nations involved.  Collaborative governance is complicated when it crosses multiple jurisdictions with their own laws and legal precedents.  The goal is to put in place a new agreement to protect the Colorado River.

Rapidly-growing populations in major cities, a 20-year megadrought, and historically low water levels in America’s two largest reservoirs have put enormous pressure on the Colorado River.  Creating a plan to protect the lifeblood of the American West is essential.

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Addressing the Colorado River crisis

Photo, posted June 18, 2022, courtesy of Jeff Hollett via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Top Fish Predators And Climate Change | Earth Wise

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Climate change is taking its toll on forests, farms, freshwater sources, and the economy, but ocean ecosystems remain the epicenter of global warming.  In fact, oceans have absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions since the 1970s.

As a result, many marine fish species are responding to ocean warming by relocating towards the poles.  According to new research recently published in the journal Science Advances, climate change is causing widespread habitat loss for some of the ocean’s top fish predators, driving these species northward.

The research team studied 12 species of highly migratory fish predators, including sharks, tuna, and billfish, such as marlin and swordfish, inhabiting the Northwest Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.  These two regions are undergoing rapid changes in sea surface temperatures, and are among the fastest warming ocean regions on earth.

The research, which was led by researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, with collaboration from San Diego State University, NOAA, and several other U.S. institutions, found that most species will encounter widespread habitat losses by 2100.  Some species could lose upwards of 70% of suitable habitat by that year.  Areas offshore of the Southeast United States and Mid-Atlantic coasts were identified as likely hotspots of multi-species habitat loss. 

According to the researchers, strategies for managing fish have historically been static. But marine systems need to be treated as dynamic and changing.  This study helps provide the scientific data needed for marine conservation and fisheries management efforts.

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Top fish predators could suffer wide loss of suitable habitat by 2100 due to climate change

Photo, posted March 18, 2015, courtesy of Kenneth Hagemeyer via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Global Aquaculture And Environmental Change | Earth Wise

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Blue foods are fish, invertebrates, algae, and aquatic plants that are captured or cultured in freshwater and marine ecosystems.  They include approximately 2,200 species of fish, shellfish, plants and algae as well as more than 500 species farmed in freshwater.  Blue foods play a central role in food and nutrition security for billions of people, and are a cornerstone of the livelihoods, economies, and cultures of many communities around the world.

But many of the world’s largest aquatic food producers are highly vulnerable to human-induced environmental change.  According to a new paper recently published in the journal Nature Sustainability, more than 90% of global blue food production is at risk from environmental changes, with top producers like the United States, Norway, and China facing the biggest threat.  Alarmingly, the research also found that some of the highest-risk countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa demonstrate the lowest capacity for adaptation. 

The paper is the first-ever global analysis of environmental stressors impacting the production quantity and safety of blue foods. A total of 17 anthropogenic stressors were surveyed, including rising seas and temperatures, ocean acidification, changes in rainfall, algal blooms, pollution, and pesticides. 

The research is one of seven scientific papers published by the Blue Food Assessment as part of a global effort to inform future aquatic food sustainability. 

The report calls for more transboundary collaboration and for a diversification of blue food production in high-risk countries to cope with the impact of environmental change. 

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Vulnerability of blue foods to human-induced environmental change

New research finds that more than 90% of global aquaculture faces substantial risk from environmental change

Photo, posted December 30, 2014, courtesy of NOAA’s National Ocean Service via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Rainforest Promises | Earth Wise

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The recent UN climate summit in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt brought with it lots of pledges for action.   Among them was a promise from the three countries that are home to more than half of the world’s tropical rainforests to try to do something to protect them.

The ministers of Brazil, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed an agreement pledging cooperation on sustainable management and conservation, restoration of critical ecosystems, and creation of economies that would ensure the health of both their people and their forests.

The plan has no financial backing of its own.  The countries are pledging to work together to establish a funding mechanism that could help to preserve the tropical forests that both help regulate the Earth’s climate and sustain a wide range of animals, plants, birds, and insects.

That such an agreement has come about at all is a result of the election of Luiz Lula da Silva as Brazilian president, replacing Jair Bolsonaro, who was famously an opponent of any and all environmental conservation or protections.  President Lula addressed the attendees of the climate summit promising that “Brazil is back.”   He described his country as having been in a cocoon for the past four years under his predecessor.  He declared that going forward, Brazil will be a force to combat climate change.  Given the importance of the Amazon rainforest, that is critical for the success of the world’s efforts.

Like all other issues on the table at the climate summit, the real challenge is not to come up with meaningful pledges on climate action, it is to be able to follow through on those pledges.  If past summits are any indication, that is not an easy task.

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Brazil, Indonesia and Congo Sign Rainforest Protection Pact

Photo, posted September 15, 2013, courtesy of Moises Silva Lima via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Sinking Cities | Earth Wise

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Sea levels across the globe are rising as a result of the changing climate.  Two factors are largely responsible: the melting of ice sheets in the polar regions and the fact that as the oceans get warmer, the water in them expands.  

Estimates are that by 2050, there will be over 800 million people living in 570 cities that will be at risk from rising sea levels.   The rising waters can drown neighborhoods, put people’s lives at risk, and wreck entire economies.  Unless global emissions can be reduced sufficiently, sea levels will continue to rise.

A new study, published in the journal Nature Sustainability by Nanyang Technical University in Singapore in collaboration with the University of New Mexico, ETH Zurich, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, has focused on yet another aspect of the threat to coastal cities.  They have found that many densely populated coastal cities worldwide are even more vulnerable to sea level rise because much of their land is sinking. 

The researchers processed satellite images of 48 cities from 2014 to 2020 using a system called Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar.  They found that land subsidence varied on a neighborhood and even individual block level but across all the cities studied, there was a median sinking speed of 6/10” a year.  Some places had land that is sinking at 1.7” per year.  Meanwhile, the global mean sea-level rise is about .15” per year.

The increasing prevalence of industrial processes such as the extraction of groundwater, and oil and gas, along with the rapid construction of buildings and other urban infrastructure are leading to the sinking of the urban areas. 

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Rapid land sinking leaves global cities vulnerable to rising seas

Photo, posted October 24, 2015, courtesy of Jeffrey via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Prospects For Floating Solar | Earth Wise

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Countries are trying to figure out how to get enough energy from solar and wind generation to completely decarbonize their economies.  According to some estimates, nations might have to devote between half a percent and five percent of their land area to solar panels to get the job done.  Half a percent is about the amount of the U.S. that is covered by paved roads.  While there is lots of open land in many parts of the country, covering it with solar panels might not be acceptable to farmers, conservationists, or other interested parties.

One way to deploy more solar panels without using up land is the use of floating solar panels.  Floating photovoltaic systems – also known as floatovoltaics – are becoming increasingly common, especially in Asia.  This year, China installed one of the largest floatovoltaic systems in the world on a reservoir near the city of Dezhou.

Floating solar panels stay cooler and run more efficiently than those on land.  The panels also help prevent evaporation from their watery homes and the shading they provide also help to minimize algal blooms.  Solar installations on reservoirs generally puts them near cities, making it easier to feed power into urban grids.

On the other hand, floating solar systems need to be able to withstand water and waves and are generally more expensive to build than land-based systems.

At present, the installed global capacity of floating solar is only about 3 gigawatts, compared with more than 700 gigawatts of land-based systems. However, reservoirs around the world collectively cover an area about the size of France.  Covering just 10 percent of them with floating solar could produce as much power as all the fossil-fuel plants in operation worldwide.

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Solar Takes a Swim

Photo, posted March 7, 2019, courtesy of Hedgerow INC via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Tourism And Invasive Species | Earth Wise

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Tourism has experienced exponential growth during the past 70 years.  In 1950, there were 25 million international tourist arrivals.  By 1990, it had ballooned to 435 million.  Between 1990 and 2018, the numbers more than tripled reaching more than 1.4 billion.  And by 2030, the number of international tourist arrivals is expected to reach 1.8 billion.

Tourism is vital to the success of many economies around the world.  Tourism can boost revenue, provide jobs, develop infrastructure, protect wildlife, and help preserve heritage sites and cultures.  But there can also be many downsides to tourism, one of which is that it can contribute to the introduction and spread of invasive species.  Non-native organisms can cause all sorts of social, environmental, and economic damage.   

Tourists help spread invasive organisms far and wide.  These organisms hitch rides in their luggage and on their shoes and clothing.  A 2011 study in New Zealand found that for every gram of soil on the shoes of in-bound international passengers, there were 2.5 plant seeds, 41 roundworms, 0.004 insects and mites, and many microorganisms. 

A new study by researchers from the University of Melbourne in Australia and AgResearch New Zealand examined to what degree tourism plays a role in the spread of invasive species.  According to the study, which was recently published in the journal NeoBiota, the research team found that the number of nights spent in hotels significantly correlated to the incursion of invasive species during that period.

Creating effective mechanisms to prevent the introduction of invasive species in the first place is the best way to prevent this problem. 

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Unwelcome guests: International tourism and travel can be a pathway for introducing invasive species

Number of tourist arrivals

Photo, posted March 27, 2005, courtesy of John via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Fighting Zombie Fires | Earth Wise

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Peat fires are a global threat to both economies and the environment.  They generally burn a smaller area than fast-moving forest fires, but they can burn up to ten times more fuel matter per acre, producing far more smoke and far more carbon emissions.  They ignite very easily, are notoriously difficult to put out, all while releasing as much as 100 times more carbon into the atmosphere than flaming fires.  Some smoldering peat megafires are the largest and longest burning fires on Earth and are responsible for as much as 15% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions.

Peat fires are known as “zombie fires” because of their ability to hide and smolder underground and then reemerge as new flames days or weeks after they were supposedly extinguished.

Firefighters use billions of gallons of water to tackle a peat fire.  For example, fighting the 2008 Evans Road peat fire in North Carolina used up 2 billion gallons of water.  When water alone is used to extinguish peat fires, it tends to create large channels in the soil, which diverts water from nearby smoldering hotspots.  This is one reason that it is so difficult to extinguish a peat fire.

Researchers at Imperial College London have combined water with an environmentally friendly fire suppressant – one already used on flaming wildfires – and tested its use on peat fires.  They found that adding the suppressant to water helped them put out peat fires nearly twice as fast as using water alone, while using only a third to half of the usual amount of water.  The suppressant reduces the surface tension of the liquid, making it less likely to create large channels.  Instead, the liquid flows uniformly through the soil.  This could be an important tool in battling peat fires.

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‘Magical’ fire suppressant kills zombie fires 40% faster than water alone

Photo, posted in August, 2011, courtesy of Chris Lowie / USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

COVID-19 And The Wildlife Trade | Earth Wise

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Historically, many diseases have jumped from animals to people with serious consequences for the human host.  In fact, coronaviruses alone have caused outbreaks in humans three times in the past 20 years:  SARS, MERS, and COVID-19.  The majority of human pathogens that caused substantial damage to human health and economies during the past three decades have originated from wildlife or livestock.

According to a team of researchers from the University of Göttingen and other international institutions, more epidemics from animal hosts are inevitable unless urgent action is taken.  In order to help  protect against future pandemics, which could be even more severe than the current one, the researchers published a series of suggestions for governments to consider in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution.

The research team calls for governments around the world to establish effective legislation to do three things:  address the wildlife trade, protect habitats, and reduce the interaction between people, wildlife, and livestock. 

The wildlife trade and habitat fragmentation both facilitate disease outbreaks by increasing the potential for contact between humans and animals. Animals in wildlife markets are often kept in crowded and unsanitary conditions, which creates fertile breeding grounds for pathogens to jump to humans. Animals and humans are also forced closer together when natural habitats are cleared or otherwise fragmented in order to meet the various needs of a growing global population.  

Since the Covid-19 outbreak, China, Vietnam, and South Korea have introduced regulations to better manage the wildlife trade as well as support wildlife conservation.  According to the researchers, these actions serve as examples for other countries to consider.  The status quo isn’t good enough. 

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COVID-19 highlights risks of wildlife trade

Photo, posted August 23, 2010, courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region via Flickr. Photo credit: Rosie Walunas/USFWS.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Alien Species On The Rise | Earth Wise

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Alien species are species that are introduced, accidentally or intentionally, outside of their natural geographic range as a result of human activities.  More than 35,000 alien species have been recorded through 2005, which is the most recent year for which researchers have comprehensive global data. 

Some of the alien species go on to become invasive alien species, which can have damaging impacts on both ecosystems and economies.  In fact, alien species are one of the main drivers of plant and animal extinctions around the globe.  

According to a new study by an international research team involving University College London, the number of alien species, particularly insects, arthropods and birds, is expected to increase globally by 36% by 2050 when compared to 2005 levels.  The research was recently published in the journal Global Change Biology.

Using a mathematical model developed for the study, the researchers identified high levels of variations between regions.  For example, the largest increase in alien species by the middle of the century is expected in Europe, where numbers are predicted to jump by 64%.  The temperate regions of Asia, North America, and South America are also predicted to be hotspots of alien species.  The lowest relative increase in alien species is expected in Australia.

The researchers do not expect a reversal or slowdown in the spread of alien species.  In fact, with global transportation and trade forecasted to increase in the coming decades, they anticipate many new species will infiltrate non-native habitats by hitching rides as stowaways.   

According to the research team, it would take a concerted global effort with stricter regulations and more rigorous enforcement to slow the flow of new species. 

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Alien species to increase by 36% worldwide by 2050

Photo, posted October 3, 2016, courtesy of the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee via Flickr. Photo credit: Ryan Hagerty/USFWS.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Plant-Based Bottles | Earth Wise

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Single-use plastic soda and water bottles are a real problem.  Every year, billions of them are produced – comprising nearly 300 million tons of plastic that mostly ends up in landfills or in the ocean.   This discarded plastic ends up on remote islands, in the snow atop mountains, and in trenches in the deepest parts of ocean.

There has been increasing pressure on beverage companies to put an end to this environmental disaster, but the convenience and economy of disposable bottles is just too attractive.

These bottles are made of plastic derived from oil and once they are produced, they take decades or even centuries to decompose.  Recycling them is a not-starter because it is cheaper to just make new ones.

A possible solution has emerged.  A Dutch company called Avantium has found a way to take plant sugars and transform them into a plastic capable of standing up to carbonated beverages like soda and beer but that will also break down in as little as a year in a composter or 3 years if left exposed to the elements.

Coca Cola and Carlsberg are working with Avantium to develop new drink packaging based on their material that could be in stores as soon as 2023.  The new packaging would be quite different from what we use today.  Instead of a clear or tinted bottle, beverages would come inside a cardboard container with a liner made of plant-based plastic.

It may take a while for people to get used to the change, but we have already managed to get used to milk, juice and other liquids coming in cardboard containers instead of glass or plastic bottles.  The benefits to the planet would make the effort well worthwhile.

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Plant-Based Bottles Could Degrade In One Year

Photo courtesy of Avantium.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Global Emissions And The Coronavirus Shutdown | Earth Wise

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With so much of industry and personal activity curtailed by coronavirus shutdowns across the globe, it is no surprise that greenhouse gas emissions have declined.  According to new research published in the journal Nature Climate Change, average daily global greenhouse gas emissions declined 17% by early April compared to 2019 levels.

If the reopenings around the world continue and the world actually reaches pre-crisis levels by the middle of June, total CO2 emissions for the year would likely end up lower by about 4%.   If various restrictions continue until the end of the year, total global emissions could decline by 7%.

The study analyzed emissions estimates for three levels of coronavirus shutdowns and across six sectors of the economy.  It looked at trends in 69 countries, all 50 U.S. states, and 30 Chinese provinces, representing in total 86% of the world’s population and 97% of global CO2 emissions.

For the first 4 months of the year, emissions from industry declined 19%, the power sector 7%, and public buildings and commerce 21%, compared to last year.  Unsurprisingly, home energy use actually went up by about 3%.

The findings of this study only represent the effects of a short-lived decline in emissions.  As economies open back up, there is no doubt that greenhouse gas emissions will rise back to pre-Covid-19 levels.

The study also reveals that making real changes in emissions will require more than just behavior changes.  Despite billions of people staying home, companies shut down, planes grounded, and cars off the road, we still managed to pump more than 80% of the usual amount of greenhouse gases into the air for the first quarter of the year.

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Global Emissions Fell 17 Percent Due to Coronavirus Shutdowns

Photo, posted May 7, 2020, courtesy of the MTA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Minerals And Metals For A Low-Carbon Future | Earth Wise

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For the past century, economies and geopolitics have largely been driven by our insatiable appetite for oil and fossil fuels in general.  As we gradually make the transition to a low-carbon energy future, the focus on oil will shift to sustainable supplies of essential minerals and elements.

The use of solar panels, batteries, electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, and fuel cells is growing rapidly around the world.  These technologies make use of cobalt, copper, lithium, cadmium, and various rare earth elements.  The need for any one of these things may diminish if alternatives are found, but there will continue to be a growing reliance on multiple substances whose physical and chemical properties are essential to the function of modern devices and technologies.

In some cases, global supplies of particular minerals and elements are dominated by a particular country, are facing social and environmental conflicts, or face other market issues.  Shortages of any of them could create economic problems and derail progress much as the oil-related energy crises of the past have.

The world faces challenges in managing the demand for low-carbon technology minerals as well as limiting the environmental and public health damage that might be associated with their extraction and processing.  Expanded use of recycling and reuse of rare minerals will be essential.

As the relatively easy sources of these materials become exhausted, other resources will become more attractive.  These include various valuable ecosystems, oceanic deposits, and even space-based reserves.

Ushering in the low-carbon future is not a simple matter and will require responsible actions by the world’s governments and industries. In undoing the damage from the oil age, we must avoid new damage from the low-carbon age.

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Sustainable supply of minerals and metals key to a low-carbon energy future

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

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Climate Change And Economic Inequality

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A new study by Stanford University looked at the effects of climate change on global economic inequality.  The study found that the gap between the economic output of the world’s richest and poorest countries is larger today than it would have been without global warming.

The warming climate has enriched cooler countries like Norway and Sweden while dragging down economic growth in warm countries such as India and Nigeria.  The results of the study showed that most of the poorest countries on Earth are considerably poorer than they would have been in the absence of rising temperatures.  At the same time, the majority of rich countries are richer than they would have otherwise been.

Detailed analysis of 50 years of annual temperature and GDP measurements for 165 countries demonstrated that growth during warmer than average years has accelerated in cool nations and slowed in warm nations.  Historical data clearly show that crops are more productive, people are healthier, and they are more productive at work when temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold.  That means that in cold countries, a little bit of warming can help but the opposite is true in places that are already hot.

For most counties, whether global warming has helped or hurt economic growth is pretty certain.  Tropical countries in particular tend to have temperatures far outside the ideal for economic growth and they are already among the poorest countries.  It is less clear how warming has influenced growth in countries in the middle latitudes, such as here in the United States.  Some of the largest economies are near the perfect temperature for economic output but continued warming in the future is likely to push them away from the temperature optimum.

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Climate change has worsened global economic inequality

Photo, posted November 1, 2011, courtesy of CIAT via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

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