Earth Wise

A look at our changing environment.

You are here: Home / Archives for environment

environment

Protecting Wetlands | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Wetlands are distinct ecosystems that are flooded or saturated by water, either permanently or seasonally.  They include mangroves, marshes, swamps, forested wetlands, bogs, wet prairies, and vernal pools.   The feature that most wetlands share is soil or substrate that is at least periodically saturated with or covered by water.

Wetlands are some of the most threatened ecosystems in the world.  While wetlands can be affected by a variety of natural stressors, including erosion, droughts, and storms, human activities have been the major driver of wetland decline. 

But according to a new study by researchers from McGill University in Canada, the global loss of wetland areas since 1700 has likely been overestimated.  The research team calculated that the area of wetland ecosystems around the world has declined 21-35% since 1700 as a result of human activities – far less than the 50-87% decline estimated in other studies.  The study’s focus beyond regions with historically high wetland losses and its avoidance of possibly misleading extrapolations likely resulted in the lower estimate.      

According to the study, which was published in the journal Nature, more than 2.1 million square miles of wetlands have been lost during the past 300 years – an area roughly the size of India.  The five countries with the highest wetland losses are the United States, China, India, Russia and Indonesia. 

But discovering that fewer wetlands have been historically lost than previously thought gives researchers a second chance to protect wetlands.  The findings of the study will help researchers prioritize global conservation and restoration actions.

**********

Web Links

A second chance to protect wetlands

Photo, posted February 2, 2005, courtesy of Jan Tik via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Offshore Wind Industry In New York | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Last July, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the release of the state’s third competitive offshore wind solicitation, seeking to add generating capacity to power at least 1.5 million homes.  In response to the solicitation, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority – NYSERDA -received more than 100 proposals for 8 new projects from six offshore wind developers.  An evaluation period is in progress and NYSERDA expects to announce awards sometime this spring.

Apart from the development and installation of offshore wind turbines and their associated infrastructure, participating in the program also involves supply chain investments to support the development of a strong, local supply chain that creates jobs for New Yorkers as well as bolstering the state’s standing as a regional hub for offshore wind manufacturing.

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, a multi-billion-dollar Spanish-German wind engineering company, is one of the companies bidding to have its wind turbines used for the forthcoming New York offshore wind projects.   If Siemens Gamesa is selected for the project, the company has revealed that it will build a major offshore nacelle manufacturing facility at the Port of Coeymans, New York, some 15 miles from Albany.

The planned facility would create approximately 420 direct jobs and represent an investment of around $500 million in the region.  Siemens Gamesa said it would also commit to localizing several new component supplier facilities, including steel component fabrication, bearings, and composite components. 

Offshore wind will bring more than just electricity to New York; it will bring a whole new industry.

**********

Web Links

Siemens Gamesa reveals plans for New York offshore wind hub

Photo, posted March 24, 2016, courtesy of TEIA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Protected Areas Are Not Protecting Insects | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Insects can be found in every environment on Earth and play crucial roles in the planet’s ecosystems.  In fact, Biologist E. O. Wilson once said that “if all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago.  If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.”

While his statement may sound extreme, it’s really not an exaggeration.  Insects are critical to most ecosystems.  They pollinate more than 80% of plants – both those we eat and those that provide food and habitat for other species.  Insects are also a food source themselves, eaten by other insects, birds, fish, and mammals. Without insects, we wouldn’t have the rich biodiversity that supports life on earth today. 

But insect populations are collapsing around the globe, and they continue to be overlooked by conservation efforts.  Protected areas, like national parks, refuges, and sanctuaries, can safeguard threatened species, but only if those threatened species actually live within the protected areas. 

According to a new study recently published in the journal One Earth, 76% of insect species are not adequately covered by protected areas, including several critically endangered insects such as the dinosaur ant, crimson Hawaiian damselfly, and harnessed tiger moth. Alarmingly, the populations of 1,876 species do not overlap with protected areas at all.

Insects have been historically overlooked by conservation programs and need to be included in future conservation assessments. 

**********

Web Links

Protected areas fail to safeguard more than 75% of global insect species

Photo, posted August 21, 2014, courtesy of Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Self-Deicing Roads | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Driving on snowy or icy roads can be pretty dangerous.  That is why roads are salted or coated with sand to provide traction in icy weather.  But excessive use of these substances is bad for the environment and sometimes a storm will blow in before the roads can be coated.

In a paper published in the American Chemical Society Journal ACS Omega, researchers in China describe a method of adding microcapsules filled with a chloride-free salt mixture to the asphalt with which roads are paved.  The idea is to provide the road itself with long-term snow melting capabilities.

The researchers prepared a sodium-acetate salt and combined it with a surfactant, silicon dioxide, sodium bicarbonate, and blast furnace slag, which is a waste product from power plants.  The substances were reduced to a fine powder and then coated with a polymer solution to form tiny microcapsules.  The microcapsules were then used to replace some of the standard mineral filler in asphalt.

Lab experiments showed that the special additive lowered the freezing point of water on the asphalt to -6 degrees Fahrenheit.   The researchers estimated that a 2-inch-thick layer of the anti-icing asphalt would be effective at melting snow for seven or eight years.  A real-world pilot test of the coating on a highway offramp showed that it melted snow that fell on the road whereas an uncoated road required snow removal operations.

According to the researchers, given the cost of materials used for the coating and its potential useful lifetime, it could be a practical and economic enhancement for wintertime snow and ice removal.  Maybe we’ll someday have roads that can fairly often deice themselves. 

**********

Web Links

Keeping drivers safe with a road that can melt snow, ice on its own

Photo, posted April 8, 2007, courtesy of the Oregon Department of Transportation via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Sea Level Rise And Global Security | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Recently, United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres addressed the U.N. Security Council on the issue of the security threats created by rising sea levels. In the past, some members of the Security Council – notably Brazil, China, Russia, and at times, India – have argued that the U.N.’s climate program should address such issues and that the Security Council doesn’t have a mandate or the expertise to consider the issue.   The underlying problem is that by addressing the security issues created by rising seas, other sensitive geopolitical issues might come to the forefront.

Guterres’ speech focused on the real possibility that rising seas could disrupt and destabilize global societies unless there is an organized international effort to get ahead of the problem.  Major cities facing serious impacts from rising seas include Cairo, Lagos, Bangkok, Jakarta, Mumbai, Shanghai, Copenhagen, London, Los Angeles, New York, and Buenos Aires, among others.

In all, Guterres said that the danger is most acute for about 900 million people living in low-lying coastal areas.  Some countries, particularly small island developing countries, could disappear entirely.

The world is already facing refugee crises related to politics, warfare, and extreme weather.  The flood of refugees created by rising seas could be biblical in magnitude.

The confluence of climate change and global security is growing steadily.  As the global body primarily responsible for maintaining international peace and security, the U.N. Security Council cannot duck this issue much longer.  It has a critical role to play in building the political will required to address the security challenges looming from rising seas.

**********

Web Links

Sea Level Rise Could Drive 1 in 10 People from Their Homes, with Dangerous Implications for International Peace, UN Secretary General Warns

Photo, posted July 19, 2021, courtesy of Face of the World via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Keeping The Keeling Curve Going | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

The world’s longest-running record of direct readings of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere is the Keeling Curve, measurements taken at the summit of Mauna Loa in Hawaii.  The readings have been going on with almost no interruption since Charles Keeling began taking them in the 1950s.  But the eruption of Mauna Loa last November toppled power lines at the mountaintop observatory and buried a mile of the main road up the mountain in lava.

Scientists have been scrambling to resume measurements and the near-term solution has been to take them, for the first time, on Mauna Kea, the neighboring large volcano about 25 miles away.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration flew in and installed instruments at the Mauna Kea observatory so that only about a week went by without measurements.   It happened so quickly because months earlier, NOAA had already started looking into installing a backup site on Mauna Kea where there is an observatory run by the University of Hawaii.

NOAA used helicopters to install solar panels and batteries on Mauna Loa to restore power in the short term since it will be months before a new road can be built on the still-cooling lava. The plan is to collect parallel measurements for a year to see if Mauna Kea, which hasn’t erupted for thousands of years, might become a long-term backup for Mauna Loa.

The Hawaiian volcanoes are uniquely suited for the measurements because they are surrounded by thousands of miles of empty ocean and are very high up, away from towns, cars, and forests.  Scientists are now monitoring measurements from the two sites to see how they compare.

**********

Web Links

Battling Lava and Snowstorms, 2.5 Miles Above the Pacific

Photo, posted November 2, 2015, courtesy of Neal Simpson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Great Salt Lake In Danger | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Utah’s Great Salt Lake has been plagued by excessive water use and extensive drought conditions.  As of January, the lake dropped to record-low water levels, losing 73% of its water and exposing 60% of its lakebed. According to scientists, the lake could disappear entirely within five years.

Great Salt Lake is what is known as a “terminal lake,” which means that it is fed only by rain, snow, and runoff and has no rivers that take water to the ocean.  As a result, salt and minerals build up over time.  With so much salt in the water, only brine flies and shrimp can survive in it.  The unique ecosystem supports 10 million migratory birds.  As the lake continues to dry up, the water is becoming too salty for even algae and microbes to survive.  With shallow mud replacing previous shallow water, the nests of the 80,000 white pelicans that annually come to the lake are endangered by predators that can simply walk over to the eggs.

The historic low water levels have exposed 800 square miles of lakebed.  This lakebed holds centuries of natural and manmade toxins like mercury, arsenic, and selenium.  The exposed mud ultimately turns to dust that is carried off into the air.  This is contributing to what is already some of the worst winter air pollution in the nation.  Scientists warn that the unfolding ecological disaster may become a human health disaster.

State officials and university researchers have formed a “Great Salt Lake Strike Team” looking for ways to get more water to the lake.  There are a number of so-called moonshot proposals to save the lake.  It remains to be seen what will be done, but the clock is ticking.

**********

Web Links

Great Salt Lake will disappear in 5 years without massive ‘emergency rescue,’ scientists say

Scientists fear a Great Toxic Dustbowl could soon emerge from the Great Salt Lake

Photo, posted September 19, 2009, courtesy of John Morgan via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Distributed Wind Energy | Earth Wise

By 1 Comment

When we think about wind power, we are usually talking about increasingly giant windfarms – either on land or offshore – that produce power on a utility scale.  But there is also distributed wind energy, which refers to wind technologies in locations that directly support individuals, communities, and businesses.  

Distributed wind can be so-called behind-the-meter applications that directly offset retail electricity usage much as rooftop solar installations do.  It can also be front-of-the-meter applications where the wind turbines are connected to the electricity distribution system and supplies energy on a community scale.  Distributed wind installations can range from a several-hundred-watt little turbine that powers telecommunications equipment to a 10-megawatt community-scale energy facility. As of 2020, there were nearly 90,000 distributed wind turbines in the U.S. with a total capacity of about 1 GW.

A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the potential for distributed wind energy in the U.S.   According to the new analysis, the country has the ability to profitably provide nearly 1,400 GW of distributed wind energy capacity. 

Entire regions of the country have abundant potential. The regions with the best economic prospects have a combination of high-quality wind, relatively high electricity rates, and good siting availability.  Overall, the Midwest and Heartland regions had the highest potential especially within agricultural land.

Realizing this outcome for distributed wind will require improved financing and performance to lower costs, relaxation of siting requirement to open up more land for wind development, and continued investment tax credits and the use of net metering.

**********

Web Links

U.S. has potential for 1,400 GW distributed wind energy, NREL finds

Photo, posted January 3, 2009, courtesy of skyseeker via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Solar Power At Night | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

The use of solar power has grown tremendously in recent years as it has declined in price and become far more competitive with other forms of electricity generation.  Its fundamental drawback, of course, is that it only works when the sun is shining.  Solar panels don’t produce any power at night.  That is, until now, apparently.

A team of engineers at Stanford University have developed a new kind of solar cell that is capable of generating at least some electricity at night.  Published in the journal Applied Physics Letters, the research describes a device that can be a continuous renewable power source for both day and nighttime.

The device incorporates a thermoelectric generator that produces electricity from the small difference in temperature between the ambient air and the solar cell itself.  The amount of power produced is far less than the solar cell generates from sunlight, but the device can provide nighttime standby lighting and power in off-grid and mini-grid applications.

Mini-grid applications are independent electricity networks that are used for small populations that may be too isolated to be connected to the main power grid.  Nearly 600 million people in Africa currently live without access to electricity, primarily in rural areas.  A standalone solar system operating independently of any power grid can meet many electricity needs such as phone charging and lighting, but such systems may not be able to handle large electrical need such as powering machinery and agricultural equipment.  Mini-grids are larger installations that can provide power to a small rural community.

With innovations like the new Stanford device, a solar mini-grid may be able to keep running at some level even at night.

**********

Web Links

Solar panels that can generate electricity at night have been developed at Stanford

Photo, posted December 15, 2021, courtesy of Pete via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Renewables’ Growing Share | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Not long ago, many states across the country were setting goals to obtain 20% of their electricity from renewable sources. For a few states, like New York and Washington, ample amounts of hydropower made 20% an easy target.  But for many others, 20% seemed like a very ambitious objective.

Things have certainly changed.  According to the latest monthly Short Term Energy Outlook, a report from the federal government, the combination of wind, solar, and other renewable sources will exceed one-quarter of the country’s generation by 2024.

Renewables are already at 24% of U.S. electricity generation and are expected to rise to 26% by next year.  Coal, which used to be the largest source of electricity, will continue to drop from its current 18% to 17% by next year.  Overall, renewables passed coal for the first full year in 2020.  Coal staged a bit of a comeback in 2021, but has once again resumed its decline.  Many coal-fired power plants continue to close, and there are not new ones being built because of diminishing economic benefits as well as concerns about emissions.

The largest source of electricity generation continues to be natural gas at 38%, but that number is also expected to slowly decrease over time. The growth in renewable energy is coming from wind and solar power.  Two-thirds of that growth is from solar and one-third is from wind. 

Together, wind and solar power will add up to 18% of the country’s electricity supply.  The government still tracks them lumped together as renewables, but both are so large and growing so quickly that the Energy Information Agency is likely to soon start tracking them as separate categories.

**********

Web Links

Renewables Projected to Soon Be One-Fourth of US Electricity Generation. Really Soon

Photo, posted April 18, 2011, courtesy of Allan Der via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Mining Metals From Water | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington are working with industry to develop a method of extracting valuable materials from various sources of water.  The technique is the 21st-century equivalent of panning for gold in rivers and streams.

The patent-pending technology makes use of magnetic nanoparticles that are surrounded by an absorbent shell that latches on to specific materials of interest that are found in certain water sources.  These sources could include water in geothermal power plants (known as geothermal brines), water pulled from the subsurface during oil or gas production, or possibly effluents from desalination plants.  Extracting valuable materials from geothermal brines could greatly enhance the economics of geothermal power plants.

The initial focus of the development is on lithium, which is an essential element in many high-technology applications, especially in the batteries that power cell phones, computers, and electric cars.  The global market for lithium is projected to reach over $8 billion a year by 2028 and very little of it is currently produced in the United States.

The tiny particles are added to the water and any lithium is drawn out of the water and is bound to them.  Using magnets, the nanoparticles can be readily collected.  Once the particles are no longer suspended in liquid, the lithium can easily be extracted, and the nanoparticles can be reused.

PNNL is developing the technology in partnership with a company called Moselle Technology as well as with other commercial partners.  This new technology offers the promise of extracting critical materials in a quick, cost-effective manner.

**********

Web Links

Tri-Cities Scientists “Magically” Mining Metals From Water

Photo, posted June 4, 2012, courtesy of Tom Shockey via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Plastic From Sunlight | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Photosynthesis is the process that plants use to turn water, carbon dioxide, and energy from sunlight into plant biomass.  It provides humans and much of animal life with food.  Photosynthesis is also nature’s way of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  The CO2 is not directly stored in plants but rather is combined into organic compounds.

Researchers across the globe are trying to find effective ways to mimic photosynthesis.  One version of artificial photosynthesis seeks to take carbon dioxide and combine it into organic compounds that can be used as raw materials for various kinds of manufacturing. 

A research team in Japan has found a way to synthesize fumaric acid from carbon dioxide using sunlight to power the process.  Fumaric acid is a chemical typically synthesized from petroleum and is used as a raw material for making biodegradable plastics such as polybutylene succinate. 

Much of artificial photosynthesis research is aimed at using solar energy to convert carbon dioxide directly into a fuel rather than a raw material.  Such solar fuels can be produced by a variety of means including thermochemical (using the sun’s heat to drive chemical reactions), photochemical (using the sun’s light to drive chemical reactions), and electrochemical (using solar-generated electricity to drive chemical reactions.)   These approaches generally involve the use of specialized catalysts to drive the desired chemical reactions. 

One way or another, what techniques for artificial photosynthesis have in common is trying to imitate what plant life on Earth has been doing for millions of years. 

**********

Web Links

Artificial photosynthesis uses sunlight to make biodegradable plastic

Photo, posted June 14, 2017, courtesy of Alex Holyake via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Fake Meat And Climate | Earth Wise

By 1 Comment

Investors have poured billions of dollars into efforts to replace animal proteins with plant-based substitutes or even laboratory-grown animal cells.  Replacing meats with these products is certainly a favorable development for the climate, but it is not likely to offset livestock agriculture’s climate and land use impacts anytime soon.

According to research at Stanford University, even optimistic estimates are that only something like 5% of dietary protein will come from these technologies by 2030.  That just isn’t fast enough to put a real dent in the food-related emissions problem.

Stanford environmental scientist David Lobell suggests that there should be much more focus on reducing emissions of animal-based systems.  There really hasn’t been much effort in this area because it is only recently that the climate impact of animal agriculture has been a topic of public concern.  One problem is that it is difficult for investors to monetize investments in approaches for lowering animal agriculture emissions.  These might include alternative feeds or supplements or vaccinations that inhibit methane-producing microorganisms in animals’ digestive systems.

Another approach to the problem is changing the mix of animal proteins in people’s diets.  Chicken and pork are half as bad as dairy per pound of protein, and about one-tenth as bad as beef, in terms of emissions.

Dairy is a major issue. There has been quite a lot of progress in increasing the use of dairy-free milk, but over the past 40 years, Americans have cut their consumption of milk in half but doubled their consumption of cheese.  Progress in dairy-free cheese has not been anywhere near as successful as that of dairy-free milk.  But new products are entering the marketplace all the time.

**********

Web Links

Is fake meat a real solution? Stanford expert explains

Photo, posted June 17, 2019, courtesy of Christolph Scholz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Elephants And Global Warming | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

A study by researchers at Saint Louis University has found that elephants play a key role in creating forests that store large amounts of atmospheric carbon and in maintaining the biodiversity of forests in Africa.  Since elephants are endangered, their status represents a significant threat to an ecosystem that is very important to the Earth’s climate.

The African rainforest contains trees with both low carbon density (light wood) and high carbon density (heavy wood).  High carbon density trees grow more slowly and can be crowded out by the faster growing low carbon density trees rising above them.  Elephants affect the relative abundance of these trees by feeding more on the low carbon density trees which are more palatable and nutritious.  This thinning of the forest allows the trees that sequester the most carbon to flourish.

Elephants are also excellent dispersers of the seeds of high carbon density trees.  Essentially, elephants are the gardeners of the forest.  They plant the forest with high carbon density trees and get rid of the weeds – in this case, the low carbon density trees.  According to the study, if elephants were to become extinct, the African rainforest – the second largest on earth – would gradually lose between six and nine percent of its ability to capture atmospheric carbon.

Elephants have been hunted by humans for millennia.   Gaining support for protecting them has mostly been driven by the argument that everybody loves elephants.  Focusing on their role in maintaining forest diversity has not driven much more action.  The hope is that the evidence of how important elephants are for climate mitigation will be taken seriously by policy makers to generate the support needed for improved elephant conservation.

**********

Web Links

Can Elephants Save the Planet?

Photo, posted March 15, 2008, courtesy of Michelle Gadd/USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Air Pollution In The Arctic | Earth Wise                     

By Leave a Comment

Climate change is shrinking the Arctic ice cover, which is making it easier for ships to travel along the northern coast of Russia, known as the Northern Sea Route or the Northeast Passage.  There is also the Northwest Passage, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

More than 600 fishing vessels sail the waters of the Arctic Ocean, but these fishing vessels are not the worst offenders when it comes to the growing problem of air pollution.  Giant natural gas tankers are becoming a much bigger problem.

In 2021, only 26 natural gas tankers traveled through Arctic waters.  But these ships can be 1000 feet long or more and produce far more CO2 emissions than fishing boats.   In 2019, the tankers accounted for 28% of the emissions and the number of them cruising the Arctic has been growing.

As the ice cover in the Arctic continues to shrink, more and more ships of all varieties, including cruise ships, fishing vessels, as well as tankers, are coming north and spending more time in the Arctic.  Any increases in ship traffic will increase the pollutant load in the Arctic and the Arctic is one of the most vulnerable environments in the world.

Between 2013 and 2019, the aggregated nautical miles that vessels traveled in what is called the Polar Code area increased by 75%. It isn’t just that more ships like tankers are going there.  It is that their operational season is expanding.

Air pollution isn’t the only problem.  Shipping in the Arctic brings with it light pollution, noise, marine litter, and more.  Only zero activity has zero pollution.

**********

Web Links

The worst polluters in the Arctic are not what you think

Photo, posted February 26, 2015, courtesy of Chris Parker via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Cheaper Carbon Capture | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

As the years roll by without sufficient progress in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, the need for technologies that can capture CO2 from its sources or remove it from the air becomes stronger and stronger.  People have developed various ways to capture carbon dioxide, but to date, they generally suffer from some combination of being too costly or not being able to scale up to the necessary magnitude.

Scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington recently announced the creation of a new system that they claim is the least costly to date that captures carbon dioxide and turns it into a widely-used chemical: methanol.

Technologies that simply capture carbon dioxide that then needs to be stored in some secure location are difficult to implement from a cost perspective.  The PNNL researchers believe that turning CO2 into methanol can provide the financial incentive for widespread implementation.   Methanol can be used as a fuel, a solvent, or an important ingredient in plastics, paint, construction materials, and car parts.

The system is designed to be installed in fossil fuel-fired power plants as well as cement and steel plants.  Using a capture solvent developed by PNNL, the system grabs carbon dioxide molecules before they are emitted and converts them into methanol. Creating methanol from CO2 is nothing new, but capturing the carbon dioxide and converting into methanol in one continuously flowing system is new.

More work is needed to optimize and scale the process and it may be several years before it is ready for commercial deployment.

**********

Web Links

Scientists Unveil Least Costly Carbon Capture System to Date

Photo, posted November 25, 2022, courtesy of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Conservation via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Insects On The Menu | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

According to the World Food Programme, a record 349 million people across 79 countries are facing acute food insecurity.  This constitutes a staggering rise of 200 million people compared to pre-pandemic levels.  Nearly one million people globally are fighting to survive in famine-like conditions, which is ten times more people than just five years ago.  

As a result, many experts contend that alternative or so-called novel food sources – such as lab-grown meats, seaweed aquaculture, and insects – will be necessary to help fight global hunger and global food insecurity. 

Insects already form a significant part of diets in many cultures around the world.  Insects are great sources of nutrients, including protein, vitamins, and minerals.  But insects have yet to be embraced in any substantial way in western cultures… but that may be changing. 

In fact, the European Union has now certified four types of bugs as food fit for human consumption.  The larvae of lesser mealworms and house crickets recently became the third and fourth insects approved for sale as food in the EU, joining yellow mealworms and grasshoppers. Eight more applications are awaiting approval.

Insects are already a delicacy in many high-end restaurants around the world, and a normal and healthy part of diets in countries like Mexico and Thailand.  Embracing insects as a food of the future will not only help in the fight against global hunger, but will also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to slow species extinction. 

In Western food markets, the so-called “yuck factor” remains the biggest hurdle to cross.  But as the world population grows, the need for sustainable solutions in the food industry grows with it. 

**********

Web Links

Insects on the menu as EU approves two for human consumption

World Hunger Surged in 2020, U.N. Says

A global food crisis

Photo, posted April, 2014, courtesy of Shankar S. via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Peak Fossil Fuels | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

According to a new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit that studies the energy transition, we have reached a pivot point in which fossil fuels have peaked in their use for producing electricity and are about to enter a period of decline.

The report makes the case that wind and solar power are going through a growth process that looks very much like the trend lines for the early stages of other transformative products and industries – things like automobiles and smartphones.  Such growth begins slowly for technology and products that are very expensive, but then shifts into high gear as costs shrink and efficiency rises.

The argument is that fossil fuel demand has peaked in the electricity market because the annual growth in global electricity demand is now less that the amount of electricity being generated by newly-built renewable energy plants (mostly solar and wind.)  This dynamic will squeeze out the most expensive and dirtiest energy sources over time.

Overall use of fossil fuels for electricity shifted in 2018 from a long-standing period of growth to a holding pattern in which the total amount of electricity produced has no clear trend.  According to the RMI report, this plateau in fossil fuel use is likely to continue until about 2025, and then will be followed by a long-term decline.

While the trends in fossil fuel use are quite evident, the end results are not inevitable.  There continues to be a battle between the forces trying to protect the fossil fuel status quo and those trying to change it. But strong economic forces are difficult to overcome.  Renewable energy is the lowest cost source of electricity in a growing number of locations and situations.

**********

Web Links

When Will We Hit Peak Fossil Fuels? Maybe We Already Have

Photo, posted December 27, 2015, courtesy of Gerry Machen via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Record Low Antarctic Sea Ice | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Recent satellite observations of the sea ice in the Antarctic found the lowest level of ice cover ever seen in the forty years that these observations have been made.  As of February 8th, there were only 849,000 square miles of the Southern Ocean covered with ice.  The previous record low was measured last February 24th when the total coverage was 876,000 square miles.  Ice melting was likely to continue as the month went on.

This past January had already set a new record for that month’s mean extent of ice coverage at 1.24 million square miles. This rapid decline in sea ice has been going on for the past six years and is very unusual.  Average Antarctic ice cover hardly changed at all during the previous thirty-five years.

Antarctic sea ice generally reaches its maximum extent in September or October and its minimum extent in February.  At its maximum, the sea ice cover in the Antarctic is generally between 6.9 and 7.7 million square miles.   On the other hand, there are some places where the sea ice melts completely during the Southern Hemisphere summer.  Sea ice varies much more in the Antarctic than in the Arctic where the ice is much thicker.

Climate warming at the poles is much higher than at lower latitudes.  Nonetheless, it is not yet clear whether what we are seeing is the beginning of the end of summer sea ice in the Antarctic, or whether this is just a new phase characterized by low but still stable sea ice cover in the summer.

**********

Web Links

Record low sea ice cover in the Antarctic

Photo, posted January 24, 2012, courtesy of Rob Oo via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

How To Save Big Cats | Earth Wise

By 1 Comment

Big cats are among the most widely recognized and admired animals in the world. But these charismatic predators face many and varied threats, including the loss of habitat and prey, conflicts with humans, poaching, and the illegal wildlife trade.

Researchers from the University of Reading in the U.K. have studied the fortunes of 50 species of large carnivores worldwide over the past 50 years.  They found that social and economic factors, such as quality of life, were more closely associated with declines of large carnivore species than purely environmental factors, like habitat loss.   

The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Communications, suggests that the best way to save large carnivores, including lynx, bears, and lions, is to encourage a sustainable model of social and economic development instead of focusing exclusively on issues like climate change.  

While rapid economic development pushes species to the brink of extinction, it’s also delivered enormous improvements in the quality of human life. But the analysis suggests that once people achieve a high quality of life and economic development slows, a turning point is reached and persecuted species have a chance to recover.

According to the research team, the recovery is a result of both improved habitat protections in advanced economies and a more harmonious relationship between people and predators.  What would have once been considered a dangerous pest is now recognized as being an important part of both the ecosystem and culture.  

In Western Europe, slower economic development and an improved quality of life have allowed populations of grey wolves to increase 1,800% since the 1960s.

**********

Web Links

Economics trump environment to save big cats, say ecologists

Photo, posted February 8, 2015, courtesy of Mathias Appel via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

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