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Marine carbon dioxide removal

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About 30% of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity is absorbed by the oceans.  As a result, they are getting warmer and more acidic, and the currents that help shape global weather are shifting.  To try to reduce global warming, people want to be able to store even more carbon dioxide in the oceans without the negative effects of doing so.

There are multiple efforts across the globe to achieve effective marine carbon dioxide removal.  Some are based on sinking carbon-rich materials to the bottom of the sea.  This is the marine equivalent of capturing CO2 from the air and storing it underground.  Other efforts involve increasing the alkalinity of the ocean, which increases its ability to chemically react with carbon dioxide as well as lowers its acidity, which is desirable in many ways.

Running Tide, a U.S.-based company, has been dumping thousands of tons of wood-industry waste 190 miles off the coast of Iceland.  The company has also been experimenting with dumping algae and kelp and sinking it deep below the ocean.  Such materials on land either get burned or decay, in both cases releasing CO2 into the atmosphere.  On the deep-sea bottom, the carbon is trapped.

Other efforts involve pumping seawater through electrodialysis filter systems to remove excess acidity or adding alkaline rocks to increase water alkalinity.

All of these efforts are a form of geoengineering, and like proposed ideas to cool the atmosphere, pose potential risks.  There is no silver bullet to solve the climate crisis.  It will take a combination of many solutions to address the issue of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  Marine carbon dioxide removal is one of the solutions that may play a role.

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Scientists Are Trying to Coax the Ocean to Absorb More CO2

Photo, posted February 22, 2018, courtesy of Bobbie Halchishak/USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Wind farms and land use

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Wind power has become one of the most affordable ways to generate electricity as well as being renewable and not contributing to global warming.  But there has been the perception that wind farms require a lot of land compared with fossil fuel power plants. This issue of land use has made decision-makers reluctant to invest in wind energy in many instances.

A new study by McGill University in Montreal looked at this issue and has found that land use for wind power is far more efficient than previously thought.  The study combined data from geographic information systems with machine learning models to assess land usage associated with nearly 16,000 wind turbines in the western U.S.

The study assessed the land use of 320 wind farms.  They found that wind power infrastructure (mostly the turbines themselves and the roads that lead to them) typically only uses 5% of the land area of a wind farm.  If the wind farm is sited in locations with existing infrastructure, such as on agricultural land, then it can be as much as seven times more land-efficient – meaning the amount energy produced in a given area of land impacted by the infrastructure – than a wind farm that is developed on unused land.

Previous studies of wind farm land usage assumed that all of the land where the wind farm was located was devoted to energy generation.  In reality, most of land in question is often used for other purposes, such as agriculture.

The methods developed by the researchers are potentially useable for future assessments of various energy technologies in terms of their environmental sustainability.

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Clearing the air: wind farms more land efficient than previously thought

Photo, posted September 29, 2009, courtesy of Tim Green via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Carbon dioxide and wildfires

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Climate change is a key factor in the increasing risk and extent of wildfires.  Wildfires require the alignment of several factors, including humidity, temperature, and the lack of moisture in fuels, such as trees, shrubs, and grasses.  All of these factors have strong ties to climate variability and climate change.

While the global surge in wildfires is often attributed to hotter and drier conditions, a new study by researchers from the University of California – Riverside has found that increasing levels of a greenhouse gas may be an even bigger factor. 

According to the study, which was recently published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, carbon dioxide is driving an increase in the severity and frequency of wildfires by fueling the growth of plants that become kindling.

Centuries of burning fossil fuels to produce heat, electricity and to power engines has added alarming amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.  In fact, atmospheric CO2 levels are measuring more than 420 parts per million, which is a level not seen on earth for 14-16 million years. 

Plants require carbon dioxide, along with sunlight and water, for photosynthesis.  But rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are driving an increase in plant photosynthesis – an effect known as the carbon fertilization effect.  This effect can make plants grow bigger and faster. 

Warming and drying are important fire factors.  These are the conditions that make the extra plant mass more flammable.  But the study found that the increase in fires during hotter seasons is driven by the CO2-fueled growth of plants.   

The researchers hope their findings will urge policymakers to focus on reducing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

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CO2 worsens wildfires by helping plants grow

Current carbon dioxide levels last seen 14 million years ago

Photo, posted January 17, 2024, courtesy of Jennifer Myslivy, BLM Fire/NIFC via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Climate change lawsuits

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For the better part of a decade, there have been lawsuits against fossil fuel companies for their actions related to climate change.  The Center for Climate Integrity, a nonprofit that provides legal support to communities suing oil companies, has tracked 32 cases filed by state attorneys general, cities, counties, and tribal nations against companies including Exxon Mobil, BP, and Shell.

There has been extensive news reporting about oil companies’ efforts to undermine the scientific consensus about the climate as well as revelations about oil companies hiding their own research over decades projecting the dangers of climate change.

Oil companies have long sought to shut down the lawsuits or move them from the state courts where they were filed to federal courts where they believe national regulations could override local governments’ claims against them.  But a string of circuit court and U.S. Supreme Court decisions have ruled that the cases alleging violations of state laws do belong in state courts. 

The first case to reach trial will likely be a Massachusetts case against Exxon Mobil and that could happen as soon as next year.

What do these lawsuits seek?  Some seek to force oil companies to pay for the past and future damages caused by climate change that are costing states and communities billions of dollars.  Others seek to stop defendants from making false and misleading statements about the effects of burning fossil fuels, from greenwashing their own activities, and to fund corrective education campaigns.

The first trials could lead to a tidal wave of new cases, similar to what happened in the 1990s when tobacco companies were forced to pay billions of dollars under legal settlements.

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After a long slog, climate change lawsuits will finally put Big Oil on trial

Photo, posted August 18, 2021, courtesy of Chad Davis via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The end of coal in New England

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The last two coal-fired power plants in New England are scheduled to close by 2025 and 2028.  The New Hampshire-based plants are operated by Granite Shore Power.  The Schiller Station plant began operations in 1949 and the Merrimack Station was built in the 1960s.

Granite Shore Power has come to an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency as part of a settlement of lawsuits by the Conservation Law Foundation and the Sierra Club.  The two power plants were the subject of a five-year legal battle waged by clean energy advocates

Granite Shore Power intends to turn both of the sites into renewable energy parks.  The plants will be converted into solar farms and battery units that can be used to store electricity generated by offshore wind turbines along the Atlantic Coast.  Granite Shore Power bought the two power plants in 2018 with the intention of transitioning the coal generation systems into less polluting operations.

The battery storage system at the Schiller Station site in Portsmouth will be named the Jacona II in honor of a self-propelled floating power barge that brought power to parts of Maine and New Hampshire between 1919 and 1930.

Coal use has dropped dramatically in the United States in recent years as natural gas and renewable sources like wind and solar have become less expensive.  As of last year, coal only produced about 17% of American electricity and its use continues to decline. 

Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel.  In 2021, when it generated less than a quarter of the electricity produced in the US, it accounted for 59% of carbon emissions from electricity generation.

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The Last Coal-Fired Power Plants in New England Are to Close

Photo, posted October 14, 2015, courtesy of Eversource NH via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

California is the largest emitter of a little-known greenhouse gas

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California is a state known for its aggressive climate policies.  However, and rather ironically, California is also the nation’s greatest emitter of one little-known greenhouse gas: sulfuryl fluoride. 

Sulfuryl fluoride is one of the few treatments to rid buildings of drywood termites, a common regional pest that can be found in wooden structures.  Sulfuryl fluoride is also used at shipping ports to destroy pests before they can hitch a ride to another part of the world. 

But sulfuryl fluoride is also a greenhouse gas that’s several thousand times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.    

According to a new study by researchers from Johns Hopkins University, as much as 17% of global emissions of this gas stem from the U.S., and the majority of those emissions can be traced back to just a few counties in Southern California.  In fact, the research team found 60-85% of sulfuryl fluoride emissions in the U.S. come from California, primarily Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties. 

In the paper, which was recently published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, the researchers attribute approximately 85% of the state’s sulfuryl fluoride emissions to structural fumigation.  Structural fumigation is the practice of sealing an infested structure, pumping this gas into it to kill pests, and then releasing the gas into the atmosphere.  The other 15% of emissions come from agricultural and commodities fumigation.  

Without some form of intervention, the research team warns that sulfuryl fluoride will continue to accumulate in the atmosphere, where it can linger for more than 40 years.

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Researcher sheds light on the main source of a rare but destructive greenhouse gas

California leads U.S. emissions of little-known greenhouse gas

It is very important to save nature in California and we happy that Michael / Armchair Builder via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Winegrowing regions and climate change

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Grapes grown to make wine are sensitive to climate conditions including temperatures and amount of rainfall.  The warming climate is already having visible effects on yields, grape composition, and the quality of wine.  This has significant consequences on the geography of wine production and is of major concern for the $350 billion global industry.

Winegrowing regions are mostly at the mid-latitudes where temperatures are warm enough to allow grapes to ripen but not excessively hot.  The climates are relatively dry so that fungal diseases are not rampant.

Because of the warming climate, harvesting in most vineyards now begins two or three weeks earlier than it did 40 years ago and this affects the grapes and the resultant wines.  Temperature changes affect acidity, wine alcohol, and aromatic signatures.

If global temperature rise crosses the 2-degree level, 90% of all traditional winegrowing areas throughout Spain, Italy, Greece, and southern California may become unable to produce high-quality wines.  Conversely, areas of northern France, the states of Washington and Oregon, British Columbia, and Tasmania will see improved conditions for producing quality wines. 

As the climate warms, winegrowers face new challenges such as the emergence of new diseases and pests as well as an increasing number of extreme weather events.  Wine producers are using more drought-resistant grape varieties and are adopting management methods that better preserve soil water.

The changing climate poses many threats to the quality of wines produced in traditional vineyards.  In the future, the wine industry may look very different in terms of where and how the best wines are produced. 

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A global map of how climate change is changing winegrowing regions

Photo, posted November 14, 2008, courtesy of Curtis Foreman via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The cost of methane emissions

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Stanford University-led research has determined that American oil and gas operations are emitting more than 6 million tons of methane each year.  The emissions come from both intentional vents and unintentional leaks. 

Methane is the main component of natural gas and losing that much of it through leakage is costing the industry a billion dollars a year just in lost revenue.  Adding in the harm to the economy and human well-being caused by adding this much potent greenhouse gas to the atmosphere is estimated to increase the cost of these emissions to $10 billion a year.

These emission and cost estimates are roughly three times the level predicted by the U.S. government.  The Stanford numbers are based on roughly a million aerial measurements of wells, pipelines, storage, and transmission facilities in six of the nation’s most productive oil and gas regions located in Texas, New Mexico, California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Utah.  These areas account for 52% of U.S. onshore oil production and 29% of gas production.

The survey also found that fewer than 2% of the methane emitters are responsible for 50-80% of emissions in four of the regions.  It also found that midstream infrastructure – which includes gathering and transmission pipelines, compressor stations, and gas processing plants – is responsible for about half of total emissions.

While the federal government estimates that methane leakage averages about 1% of gas production, the new survey puts the number at 3%, and some regions lose almost 10% to leakage.

Better tracking and fixing these leaks – especially the larger ones –  is essential for climate change mitigation.

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Methane emissions from U.S. oil and gas operations cost the nation $10 billion per year

Photo, posted June 5, 2015, courtesy of Dave Houseknecht / USGS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Forever chemicals in water

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So-called forever chemicals are pervasive in a wide range of products.  These are man-made substances called per- and polyfluoroalkyls or PFAS.  They get their unfortunate nickname because the chemical bonds in them are so strong that the compounds don’t break down for hundreds or even thousands of years.

PFAS compounds are used in makeup, dental floss, nonstick pans, food wrappers, pesticides, stain-resistant fabrics and carpets, firefighting foams, and more.  High level exposure to some of these chemicals has been linked to a variety of health problems include high cholesterol, liver and immune system damage, pregnancy problems, and kidney and testicular cancer.

A recent study published in the journal Nature Geoscience has found that PFAS chemicals are showing up in water around the world.  The study looked at more than 45,000 water samples and found that about 31% of ground water tested that wasn’t even near any obvious source of PFAS contamination had levels of the chemicals that are considered harmful to human health by the EPA.  About 16% of surface water samples – streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes – also not near any known source, had similar hazardous PFAS levels.

The EPA has now imposed strict new drinking water limits for six types of PFAS.  Going forward, water systems are required to monitor for these chemicals and remove them if they are found above allowable levels.  The new rules make the United States one of the strictest countries in the world in terms of regulating PFAS in water.

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EPA puts limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water

Photo, posted May 5, 2020, courtesy of Brandon Shaw via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Rising fossil fuel emissions

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Almost every nation in the world has pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.  There is expanding use of renewable energy sources and growing numbers of electric cars.  But despite all this, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels rose again in 2023, reaching record levels.

The world’s population continues to grow and nations with large, rapidly growing populations are becoming increasingly industrialized and are embracing more and more of the trappings of modern life.  As a result, the global burning of oil, coal, and natural gas is increasing.

Analysis of 2023 date shows that emissions from fossil fuels rose 1.1 percent compared to 2022 levels.  The total fossil fuel emissions in 2023 was 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide. 

Clearly, the world continues to head in the wrong direction in order to limit global warming.  The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased from about 278 parts per million in 1750 – considered to be the start of the industrial era – to 420 parts per million in 2023.

The rise in heat-trapping carbon dioxide along with other greenhouse gases such as methane is the primary reason that the planet’s temperature is continuing to rise.  The average global surface temperature in 2023 was 1.2 degrees Celsius – or 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit – higher than it was in the NASA baseline period of 1951-1980.  Last year was the hottest year on record.  Unfortunately, the rise in global ocean temperature was even larger, compounding the effects of global warming.

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Emissions from Fossil Fuels Continue to Rise

Photo, posted June 22, 2020, courtesy of John Morton via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The world’s largest energy plant

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The largest energy plant in the world is being built in India.  In an area of barren desert in western India near the Pakistani border, Adani Green Energy Limited (or AGEL) is building a sprawling solar and wind power plant that will cover more than 200 square miles.  It will be five times the size of Paris and will produce enough electricity to power 16 million homes.

The Khavda Renewable Energy Park will cost about $20 billion to build and will take about five years to complete.

The success of the plant is critical to India’s efforts to reduce pollution and meet its climate goals.  India is the world’s third-largest energy consuming country.  Even though its energy use and emissions per person are less than half the global average, its enormous population offsets that advantage and its expanding economy and ongoing modernization are driving rapid growth of energy demand.  Energy demand has doubled since 2000 and 80% is still being met by coal, oil, and solid biomass.  India uses massive amounts of coal, and, in fact, the Adani Group of companies is India’s biggest coal importer and a leading miner of the fossil fuel.   Adani represents two sides of the coin.

More than 600 million people in India will be coming into middle and upper income over the next 10 to 15 years and they will have increasing energy needs.  India is in a race to develop clean energy capacity.  If it simply follows the torturous path that China, Europe, and US all have done, the prospects for the global climate are bleak.

Building the world’s largest clean energy plant is just a first small step in the necessary direction.

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A coal billionaire is building the world’s biggest clean energy plant and it’s five times the size of Paris

Photo, posted February 25, 2010, courtesy of Bhavin Toprani via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Storing carbon underground and abandoned wells

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Using government support in the form of subsidies and tax credits, energy companies and others are planning to capture millions of tons of industrial carbon dioxide emissions and pipe the greenhouse gas into underground storage.  It is a strategy enthusiastically supported by the fossil fuel industry because it allows them to keep burning the stuff.

There are currently 69 projects being reviewed by federal and state regulators seeking to store CO2 underground.  The sorts of places where carbon dioxide can be injected are geologic zones containing porous rock formations which, in no way coincidentally, are the same places where oil and gas deposits are found.  As a result, these places are studded with abandoned wells that have accumulated over the past century.

In Louisiana, there are about 120,000 abandoned wells that overlie geological zones that could store carbon dioxide.  Environmental watchdog groups have identified numerous abandoned wells within a few miles of proposed storage sites.

The problem is that abandoned wells leak – even ones that have been plugged – and many haven’t been.  The question is how much leakage will occur and what will be the consequences of the leakage.  In Texas, pumping oilfield wastewater into abandoned wells has led to geysers of toxic water, artificial saline lakes, and earthquakes.

Underground carbon dioxide sequestering on a scale large enough to really matter will have to extend to very large areas.  For example, injecting 100 million tons per year could create a pressurized zone as large as 100 miles.  How large a problem this might create from abandoned wells in the zone is not at all clear but cannot be ignored.

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Companies Are Poised to Inject Millions of Tons of Carbon Underground. Will It Stay Put?

Photo, posted December 3, 2023, courtesy of Jason Woodhead via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The health impacts of gas venting and flaring

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Oil and gas producers around the world use venting and flaring to remove excess natural gas in crude oil production.  Flaring is the process of burning excess natural gas at the production well using a flare to ignite the methane and other components in the gas, while venting is the direct release of natural gas into the atmosphere. 

Both practices are major sources of greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global warming.   Venting and flaring release carbon dioxide and methane – two major greenhouse gases. 

The practices contribute to air pollution in surrounding and downwind communities, resulting in increased risk of hospitalizations, emergency room visits, worsening asthma, and even premature death.  In fact, according to a new study recently published in the journal GeoHealth, pollution from oil and gas venting and flaring results in $7.4 billion in health damages, more than 700 premature deaths, and 73,000 asthma exacerbations among children in the United States annually. 

The study, which was led by researchers at the University of North Carolina, Boston University, and the Environmental Defense Fund, also found that emissions are underreported, and controlling emissions would be profitable for operators and would significantly improve public health.

The research team found that Texas, Pennsylvania, and Colorado had the highest health burdens in this analysis, accounting for 45% of the premature deaths. 

The researchers hope their findings will help improve air quality and human health by reducing emissions from venting and flaring. 

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New study quantifies health impacts from oil and gas flaring in U.S. 

Photo, posted June 20, 2020, courtesy of Jonathan Cutrer via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Skiing and climate change

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According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, anthropogenic climate change resulting in higher average temperatures has caused a global decline in snowfall.  Less snow threatens to reinforce global warming, and to disrupt food, water, and livelihoods for billions of people.  

According to a new study recently published in the journal PLOS ONE, annual snow cover days in all major skiing regions are projected to decrease dramatically as a result of climate change.  In the study, the research team from the University of Bayreuth in Germany examined the impact of climate change on annual natural snow cover in seven major skiing regions.  Using the public climate database CHELSA, the researchers predicted annual snow cover days for each ski area for 2011-2040, 2041-2070, and 2071-2100 under low, high, and very high carbon emissions scenarios.

Under the high emissions scenario, 13% of ski areas are predicted to lose all natural snow cover by 2071-2100 relative to their historic baselines.  By 2071-2100, average annual snow cover days were predicted to decline by 78% in the Australian Alps, 51% in the Southern Alps, 50% in the Japanese Alps, 43% in the Andes, 42% in the European Alps, 37% in the Appalachians, and 23% in the the Rocky Mountains – all declines relative to their historic baselines.

The future losses of natural snow cover in ski areas around the world will be significant if global emissions continue unchecked.

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The future is likely less skiable, thanks to climate change

New maps show where snowfall is disappearing

Photo, posted April 14, 2006, courtesy of Kallu via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Energy efficient cows

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Livestock production – primarily cows – produce nearly 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, mostly in the form of methane emitted by burping caused by the way they process food.  A single cow produces roughly 200 pounds of methane gas per year and there are 1.5 billion heads of cattle in the world.

Researchers at Penn State University have found that supplementing the feed of high-producing dairy cows with the botanical extract capsicum oleoresin – a substance obtained from chili peppers – or a combination of that extract and clove oil resulted in the animals using feed energy more efficiently. 

Adding these substances – which are commonly called essential oils – to the cattle’s feed results in improved efficiency of energy utilization.  It is known that botanicals have the potential to modify fermentation in the cow’s largest stomach – called the rumen.

There have been previous studies for many years adding substances to dairy cow feed – such as seaweed, garlic, and oregano – in an effort to improve milk production and reduce environmental emissions from dairy farms.

The Penn State study was actually not specifically aimed at methane reduction but rather to better use the available energy from the feed to gain body weight.  However, the researchers found that the yield and intensity of methane from the cows in the study were decreased by 11% by the combination of capsicum oleoresin and clove oil.

Botanicals have shown a wide range of anti-microbial properties against bacteria, protozoa, and fungi, as well as being potential rumen modifiers in cattle.  The new study represents an interesting approach to improve the metabolism of dairy cows.

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Dairy cows fed botanicals-supplemented diets use energy more efficiently

Photo, posted April 9, 2012, courtesy of Aimee Brown / OSU via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Who’s driving electric?

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Electric cars are growing in popularity around the world and are expected to represent 20% of new car sales this year.  In some places, they have a much bigger share:  38% in China and a whopping 82% in Norway.  Here in the U.S., things are more complicated.

Last year, EVs represented 8.5% of U.S. new car sales while hybrids accounted for an additional 10%.  But enthusiasm for plug-in vehicles was by no means universal or consistent across the country or across various segments of the population.

Overall, the West Coast, and especially California, dominated the electric vehicle market.  Electric vehicles accounted for more than 30% of new car sales in the San Francisco Bay Area.  In Los Angeles, the number was close to 25%.

A number of metro areas elsewhere also had strong EV sales, including Denver, Las Vegas, Washington DC, Austin, and Phoenix.  New York City had almost 10% EV registrations. 

Americans buying electric cars so far tend to be richer, younger, and more likely to live in urban areas than the average person and are often motivated by environmental concerns.  Meanwhile, about half of American adults say they are not likely to consider purchasing an EV as their next car and that figure rises to 70% for Republicans.

Lack of interest in EVs is often based on concerns about the availability of sufficient charging options or high EV prices, although those are dropping.  There is also concern about EV efficiency in colder climates, although the Norwegians clearly don’t find it to be a problem.

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Electric Vehicles

Photo, posted October 18, 2021, courtesy of Chris Yarzab via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Progress on offshore wind in New York

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New York has now conditionally awarded two offshore wind projects that will move towards operation in 2026.  The projects, totaling more than 1,700 megawatts of power, will be the largest power generation projects in New York state in more than 35 years.  It is an important milestone toward achieving the state’s goal of developing 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035.

Empire Wind I, located 15 miles southeast of Long Island, and Sunrise Wind, located more than 30 miles east of the eastern point of Long Island, have already completed most federal and state permitting requirements.  Empire Wind I received final approval of their Construction and Operation Plan from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in late February.

Both projects are expected to ramp up construction activity this year.  Previous awards by NYSERDA for the projects in 2019 included contract provisions for specific economic benefits to New York communities and commitments for purchasing iron and steel from American sources.   Empire Wind I is being developed by Equinor, an international energy company headquartered in Norway.  Sunrise Wind, originally a joint project by Ørsted and Eversource, is now solely being developed by Ørsted, a global energy company based in Denmark.

Following successful execution of the contracts for the two projects, NYSERDA payments under these awards will only begin once the projects have obtained all required permits and approvals, the construction has been completed, and the projects begin delivering clean energy to New York.

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New York selects Empire Wind I and Sunrise Wind offshore projects

Photo, posted June 14, 2022, courtesy of Lissa Eng / BOEM via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Shrinking African glaciers

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We don’t usually associate Africa with glaciers, but the continent has had glaciers on its highest peaks for the past 10,000 to 15,000 years.  Africa’s glaciers are found in three regions:  the Rwenzori Mountains along the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Mount Kenya.  At the turn of the 20th century, there were 43 glaciers scattered across 6 peaks within the Rwenzori Mountains.  In the intervening years, things have greatly changed.

 Since the early 20th century, Africa’s glaciers have shrunk by 90%.  Because all these glaciers are close to the equator, they are especially vulnerable to warming.  According to a new study published in the journal Environmental Research: Climate, in the last two decades, Africa’s glaciers have lost roughly half their area.

This rapid decrease is alarming to climate scientists because they represent a clear indicator of the impact of climate change.  A major factor in the decline of the glaciers is the reduction in cloud cover over the mountains.  Sunshine is melting glaciers and turning ice directly into water vapor even when temperatures are below freezing.  Reductions in snowfall at the same time means that the melting glaciers are not being replenished.

Scientists believe that the tropical glaciers of Africa may all but disappear over the next 25 years.

Roughly three-quarters of the Earth’s freshwater is stored in the world’s more than 200,000 glaciers.  According to scientists, if the world reaches but maintains 1.5 degrees of warming, half of the world’s glaciers could be gone by the end of this century.  If the world continues to warm as it has been without slowing down, more than 80% of the glaciers will disappear.

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Africa’s Tropical Glaciers Have Shrunk by 90 Percent, Research Shows

Photo, posted February 26, 2022, courtesy of Ray in Manila via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

How to make cities cooler

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In cities, the air, surface, and soil temperatures are almost always warmer than in rural areas. This is known as the urban heat island effect.  Urban heat islands occur when cities replace natural land cover with dense concentrations of pavement, buildings, and other surfaces that absorb and retain heat.

Urban planners around the world have been researching ways to reduce the effects of heat in cities.  For example, trees, green roofs, and vegetation can help reduce urban heat island effects by shading building surfaces, deflecting radiation from the sun, and releasing moisture into the atmosphere.

A new study led by researchers from the University of Surrey in the U.K. has analyzed how well various green spaces and waterways are able to cool down cities.  The study, which was recently published in the journal The Innovation, found that wetlands, parks, and even botanical gardens are among the best ways to keep cities cool.   

In fact, the researchers found that botanical gardens can cool city air by a whopping 9°F during heatwaves on average.  Wetlands can cool city air by 8.5°F on average, followed by rain gardens at 8.1°F, green walls at 7.4°F, street trees at 6.8°F, city farms at 6.3°F, city parks at 5.8°F, and reservoirs and playgrounds at 5.2°F. 

The researchers also found that cities can unlock even greater benefits by connecting green spaces into green corridors.  Greening projects can also help remove carbon emissions and prevent flooding.

The research team hopes its findings will help urban planners design more resilient cities. 

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Wetlands, parks and even botanical gardens among the best ways to cool cities during heatwaves

Photo, posted April 25, 2022, courtesy of Catherine Poh Huay Tan via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Mercury in tuna

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Mercury is found throughout the ocean, and there is at least some of it in any fish one might eat. It is an element found naturally in the environment, but it is also a byproduct of manmade pollution. Generally speaking, bigger fish tend to have higher mercury levels than smaller ones, because they are higher up in the food chain. The more small fish those big fish eat, the more mercury builds up in their bodies.  Tuna aren’t the biggest fish in the ocean, but they are very common in many people’s diets.

Increased mercury levels are a result of human activities like burning coal and mining which release methylmercury into the air.  It then finds its way into the oceans in rainwater.  Methylmercury is a particularly toxic chemical that affects the nervous system.  Environmental protection policies in recent decades have helped to reduce mercury pollution.

However, a recent study by French researchers looked at the mercury levels in tuna over the past 50 years.  They found that the levels have basically not changed since 1971.  As a result, they are calling for more restrictive environmental policies to further lower mercury pollution levels.

The researchers explained that the lowering of mercury airborne levels to date has not necessarily been ineffective.  They theorized that the static levels in tuna may be caused by the upward mixing of “legacy” mercury from deeper ocean water into the shallower depths where tropical tuna swim and feed.  It could very well take decades to dramatically reduce ocean mercury levels. 

Meanwhile, mercury content in tuna varies considerably by tuna type and source and there are both better and worse choices out there.  Consumers should learn the facts.

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Mercury levels in tuna remain nearly unchanged since 1971, study says

Photo, posted November 7, 2015, courtesy of Mussi Katz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

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