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The Captive Lion Problem | Earth Wise

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In the 1990s, there was rapid growth in South Africa of the private wildlife industry.  Large numbers of cattle, sheep, and goat ranchers replaced their domestic livestock with wild animals that wealthy hunters would pay lots of money to shoot.  Lions were among the most prized targets for these people.  Over time, hundreds of ranchers became involved in the business of breeding large numbers of the big cats in cages or small enclosures.  Wealthy clients paid $25,000 to $40,000 to shoot a captive-bred lion – cheaper than the cost of a true wild lion hunt and much easier too.  The animals were not afraid of humans and were easy to find.

By 2015, about 200 ranches held at least 8,000 captive-bred lions.  Over 600 were trophy-hunted that year, generating about $16 million in trophy fees, mostly from Americans.

Journalists and conservationists exposed poor conditions on many lion farms and many other abuses.  Over time, the South African government cracked down on the export of lion bones and other body parts for taxidermy, traditional Chinese medicine, and other uses.  The days of captive lion breeding seemed numbered but shutting down the lucrative industry is not easy.

Wild lions in South Africa are not endangered.  In fact, existing sanctuaries and preserves have as many lions as they can sustain.  What to do with thousands of captive lions is a real problem.  Some have suggested mass euthanasia, but that appalling idea has garnered very little support.  The future of these animals still hangs in the balance and so far, there are really no truly desirable solutions in the offing.

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If South Africa Ends Lion Breeding, What to Do With Captive Cats?

Photo, posted August 21, 2011, courtesy of Leszek Leszczynski via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Planting Rocks To Capture Carbon | Earth Wise

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Getting humanity to stop dumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere continues to be very challenging regardless of how increasingly apparent the need to do so becomes.  For this reason, climate change mitigation strategies increasingly include interventions in the form of removing carbon dioxide that is already there.  There are a variety of ways to draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, but they face a host of technological, economic, and even environmental difficulties.

A new study at Yale University evaluated a type of climate intervention called enhanced rock weathering.  Rock weathering is a natural chemical process by which certain minerals absorb carbon dioxide over time.  Enhanced rock weathering is simply speeding up weathering such so it can have beneficial results soon enough to make a difference.

The study explored the potential of applying crushed basalt, which is a fast-weathering rock that forms when lava cools, to agricultural fields around the world.  Basically, the idea is for farmers to mix the crushed rocks into their fields. There is no real downside to doing this.  In fact, adding crushed basalt to fields rejuvenates depleted soils and helps counter ocean acidification.

The study simulated the results of enhanced rock weathering on 1,000 agricultural sites around the world.  Over a 75-year period, these sites would remove 64 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.  This is roughly the amount climate scientists believe is needed to take out of the atmosphere. 

Enhanced rock weathering has been used on a small scale on farms around the world.  Perhaps it is time to ramp up its use.

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‘Planting’ rocks in farms, along with emissions reductions, could help meet key IPCC carbon removal goal

Photo, posted January 14, 2023, courtesy of Ron Reiring via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Saving Our Soil | Earth Wise

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The majority of food we eat is grown in topsoil, that carbon-rich, black soil that nurtures everything from carrots to watermelons.  The fertility of this soil has developed over eons.    

But over the past 160 years, the Midwestern United States has lost 63.4 billion tons of topsoil due to farming practices.  In fact, Midwestern topsoil is eroding between 10 and 1,000 times faster than it did in the pre-agricultural era.  The rate of erosion is 25 times greater than the rate at which topsoil forms.

According to new research from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, this rapid and unsustainable rate of topsoil erosion can be drastically reduced by utilizing an agricultural method already in practice: No-till farming.  This method, which is currently practiced on 40% of cropland acres in the Midwest, can extend our current level of soil fertility for the next several centuries.   

In the study, which was recently published in the journal Earth’s Future, the research team looked at the current business-as-usual method, under which approximately 40% of the midwestern U.S.’s acres are no-till farmed, all the way up to 100% adoption of no-till methods. 

If the U.S.’s current agricultural practices remain largely unchanged, approximately 9.6 billion tons of topsoil will be lost over the next century alone.  However, approximately 95% of the erosion in the business-as-usual scenario could be prevented by adopting 100% no-till farming practices. 

Saving our soil by improving our farming methods has implications for everything from food security to climate change mitigation. 

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Saving Our Soil: How to Extend U.S. Breadbasket Fertility for Centuries

Photo, posted January 19, 2022, courtesy of Terri Dux via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Fewer Farms In The World | Earth Wise

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A new study by the University of Colorado Boulder looked at the trends in the number and size of farms around the world starting from the 1960s and projecting through the end of the 21st century.

The analysis shows that the number of farms globally will shrink in half while the size of the average existing farms doubles.

The study used data from the UN Food and Agricultural Organization on agricultural area, GDP per capita, and rural population size of more than 180 countries.  The analysis found that the number of farms around the world would drop from 616 million in 2020 to 272 million in 2100.  A key reason for the trend is that as a country’s economy grows, more people migrate to urban areas, leaving fewer people in rural areas to tend the land.

This decline has been ongoing in the US and Europe for decades.  For example, in the US, there were 200,000 fewer farms in 2022 than in 2007.

This trend has troubling consequences.  Larger farms typically have less biodiversity and more monocultures.  The greater biodiversity and crop diversity of smaller farms makes them more resilient to pest outbreaks and climate shocks.

Currently, 600 million farms provide for 8 billion people. By the end of the century, it is likely that half the number of farmers will be feeding even more people.  That is a weighty responsibility for agricultural workers.  Support systems and education for farmers becomes ever more important.

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The number of farms in the world is declining, here’s why it matters to you

Photo, posted January 18, 2011, courtesy of 2010 CIAT / Neil Palmer via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Giant Farming Robots | Earth Wise

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Farmers are perpetually engaged in a battle against weeds, which can strangle crops and destroy their yields.  There are basically two ways to fight weeds:  spraying herbicides that are bad for the environment and human health or using human labor to pull the weeds by hand. 

Both choices are increasingly undesirable.  Herbicide resistance is a growing problem facing farms around the world and widespread labor shortages in the agricultural sector are making it increasingly difficult to use human resources to combat weeds.

A startup company called FarmWise founded by an MIT engineering alumnus is providing a third option for farmers.  The company has developed giant autonomous weeding robots that use artificial intelligence to cut out weeds without damaging crops.

The company’s first product is called the Titan.  It looks like a large tractor without a driver’s seat.  It uses machine vision to distinguish weeds from crop plants like leafy greens, cauliflower, artichokes, and tomatoes.  It snips off the weeds with sub-inch precision.

Fifteen titan robots have been roaming the fields of 30 large farms in California and Arizona for several years.  A newer robot, called the Vulcan, is more lightweight and is pulled by a tractor.  FarmWise continues to add new crops to its database so that the robots can be used to fight weeds in more and more kinds of farms.

Weed problems are especially acute for farmers of specialty crops, which grow on smaller farms than corn and soybeans, and have unique growing practices, which limit the effectiveness of chemical and technical solutions. 

The overall goal of FarmWise is to turn artificial intelligence into a tool that is as reliable and dependable as GPS is now in the farming industry.

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Titanic robots make farming more sustainable

Photo, posted August 23, 2021, courtesy of Carol VanHook via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Agriculture Turning Wild Plants Into Weeds | Earth Wise

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We often hear about the importance of native plants in the environment and how invasive species can wreak havoc with ecosystems.   But it turns out that human activities can change the characteristics of native species and create unexpected new problems.

Common waterhemp is plant native to North America that typically grows near lakes and streams.  It never used to be any kind of problem, but in recent times it has become nearly impossible to eradicate from farms as a result of genetic adaptations triggered by modern agriculture.

A study led by researchers at the University of British Columbia looked at waterhemp samples from modern farms and neighboring wetlands and compared them with historical samples dating back as far as 1820 stored in various museums.

In recent times, mutations in genes related to drought tolerance, rapid growth, and resistance to herbicides have resulted in waterhemp that has become a pervasive weed on farms.  These genetic shifts, scarcely ever seen in historical samples, have made the plant thrive among human agricultural activities and enable it to outcompete crops.

Genetic analysis of the plants showed that herbicide-resistant mutations that were mostly absent from historical samples stand out as factors that allow waterhemp to prosper in agricultural settings. There are some plants in natural habitats that have herbicide-resistant mutations, but in many cases, these mutations are actually harmful to the plants in the wild.

Understanding how plant adaptations occur on relatively short timescales is increasingly important as farming and climate  change continue to drive rapid plant evolution.

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How intensive agriculture turned a wild plant into a pervasive weed

Photo, posted February 16, 2016, courtesy of Aqua Mechanical via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Agrivoltaics | Earth Wise

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According to a study last year at Oregon State University, co-developing land for both solar photovoltaic power and agriculture could provide 20% of total electricity generation in the United States with an investment of less than 1% of the annual U.S. budget.  Widespread installation of agrivoltaic systems could reduce carbon emissions by 330,000 tons annually and create more than 100,000 jobs in rural communities.

Agrivoltaics could provide the synergistic combination of more food, more energy, lower water demand, lower carbon emissions, and improved local prosperity.  The problem with agrivoltaics to date is that the existing implementations have used solar arrays designed strictly for electricity generation rather than to be used in combination with agriculture.  They are not that well suited to co-exist with growing crops or grazing animals.

A new project is underway at Oregon State that will help researchers to optimize agrivoltaic systems.  The five-acre Solar Harvest Project is being built at the university’s North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora, Oregon in partnership with the Oregon Clean Power Cooperative. 

The solar array for the project is designed specifically for agrivoltaics research and uses panels that are more spread out and able to rotate to a near vertical position to allow farm equipment to pass through.  The project will allow researchers to study the impact of solar panels on soil health, water use, and plant physiology and yields.

Electricity generated from the 326-kW solar system will be available for purchase by Oregon State and community members. 

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Construction starts on Oregon State agrivoltaics farm that will merge agriculture and solar energy

Photo, posted April 5, 2020, courtesy of Sean Nealon / Oregon State University via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Tepary Beans | Earth Wise

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Tepary beans are an ancient crop native to the northern part of Mexico and the southwestern part of the U.S..  They have been grown in those places by native peoples since pre-Columbian times.  They are still grown in Native American reservations in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert.  One can purchase them from some small farms in that region. 

What sets tepary beans apart from other beans is that they are among the most drought- and heat-tolerant legume crops in the world.  They can be grown without irrigation under conditions that are not viable for other crops.  They can be consumed by people like many other kinds of beans, and they can also provide forage for livestock with better nutrition content than many other plants.  They seem to be a very attractive option for a crop in the changing climate.  What is lacking, at present, is large supplies of tepary seeds to be planted.

Researchers at Texas A&M have been funded to bring tepary beans into modern cropping systems and diets.  The goal is to develop tepary bean cultivars with high biomass and yield that are still well-suited to drought and heat conditions.  Getting the beans to the point of widespread commercialization will take several years.  The end result should be of interest to pulse growers, seed industries, and food companies across the U.S.

Tepary beans are higher in fiber and protein than most other beans.  They come in several different colors, each of which has unique flavor and texture characteristics.  The white ones have a naturally sweet flavor.   The brown beans are slightly nutty in flavor and are similar to pinto beans.  If the Texas program is successful, we may all be eating tepary beans some day.

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Tepary Beans Offer Producers A Low-Input, Climate-Resilient Legume Alternative

Photo, posted August 25, 2017, courtesy of Katja Schulz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Reshaping Our Planet | Earth Wise

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Human activity – especially agriculture – has altered 70% of the land on our planet.  According to a new report from the United Nations, damage to the Earth’s lands has put the planet on “crisis footing”.

Our health, our economy, and our well-being depend on land.  The food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe all rely on status of the land to at least some extent.

According to the report, up to 40% of the planet’s land is already degraded, affecting half of the people alive today.  At current rates, an additional area nearly the size of South America will be degraded by 2050.

Degradation of land occurs in various ways, including deforestation, desertification, and the loss of wetlands or grasslands.  All of these things are caused by human activities.  As forests, savannas, wetlands, and mangrove swamps are converted to agriculture or are lost to urban expansion, greenhouse gas emissions rapidly increase, adding to the effects of climate change.  The climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and land degradation are integrally linked.

Much of the blame for degraded landscapes is on humanity’s ever-expanding need for food and the modern farming systems that produce it.  The global food system is responsible for 80% of the world’s deforestation, 70% of freshwater use, and is the greatest driver of land-based biodiversity loss.  Modern agriculture has altered the face of the planet more than any other human activity.

The report urges efforts at restoration of land.  Restoration can take multiple forms, including planting forests and shrubs or grazing livestock and growing crops between trees instead of clearing existing forests.

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UN Report Says Humanity Has Altered 70 Percent of the Earth’s Land, Putting the Planet on a ‘Crisis Footing’

Photo, posted June 20, 2010, courtesy of Nicholas A. Tonelli via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Declining Flying Insects | Earth Wise

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In recent years, there has been increasing awareness of the global decline in insect abundance.  A recently published survey of the abundance of flying insects in the UK has revealed very troubling results.

The Kent Wildlife Trust and Buglife – two UK-based conservation groups – compared the number of dead insects on vehicles in 2004 and 2021.  In this Bugs Matter Citizen Science Survey, the data was collected by roughly 20,000 ordinary citizens using a smartphone app.

The results were that the number of flying insects in Britain dropped nearly 60% over that time period.  The insects declined most in England and Wales, with drops of 65% and 55%, respectively. 

It is possible that 2004 was a particularly good year for British insects and 2021 an especially bad one, but the findings of this study are consistent with other research around the world showing an alarming decline in insects.  A series of studies in 2019 found that the global mass of insects is shrinking by 2.5% a year and that insects are going extinct eight times faster than reptiles, birds, or mammals.

Insects face multiple overlapping threats including the destruction of wild habitats for farming, urbanization, pesticides, and light pollution.  On top of these things is climate change which is disrupting ecosystems in multiple ways.

Insects play a vital role in pollinating crops, consuming organic waste, killing pests, and as essential parts of multiple ecosystems.  Severe insect declines can potentially have dire global ecological and economic consequences.

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Flying Insects Have Declined by 60 Percent in the U.K., Survey Finds

Insect decline in the Anthropocene: Death by a thousand cuts

Photo, posted May 6, 2007, courtesy of Richard Giddins via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Rock Dust And Carbon | Earth Wise

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According to a new study by Cardiff University in the UK, Britain could achieve nearly half of the carbon removal needed to meet its climate goals by adding basalt rock dust to crop fields.  The process is known as enhanced weathering and has been the subject of ongoing research in the U.S. at Cornell University and the University of California, as well as in the UK, Canada, and Australia.

Adding rock dust to agricultural lands speeds up the chemical reactions that lock up carbon in soil.  Basalt contains magnesium, calcium, and silica, among other components.  When basalt is pulverized and applied to soils, magnesium and calcium are released and dissolve in water as it moves through the soil.  The minerals in the soil react with the water, and the carbon that would otherwise end up in the atmosphere instead forms bicarbonates, which can hang around in water for thousands of years.  It can also eventually make its way to the oceans where it precipitates out as limestone and can stay on the seafloor for millions of years.

Basalt is a waste stream byproduct of mining and manufacturing and is found all over the world.  Mining waste is the largest waste stream in the world, so there is no shortage.

According to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, applying rock dust to agricultural lands on a global basis could theoretically remove 2 to 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the air each year, which is between 34-68% of the global greenhouse gas emissions produced by agriculture annually.

The added rock dust would in fact be good for the soil and for crops.  Whether the economics of producing and transporting it make sense remains to be determined.

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Adding Rock Dust to Farmland Could Get UK Almost Halfway to Its Carbon Removal Goal

Photo, posted April 24, 2011, courtesy of the State of Israel via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Managing Pests With Cover Crops | Earth Wise

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The use of pesticides in global agriculture brings with it many problems including the killing of non-target, beneficial species as well as reversing pest-management gains from the use of conservation agriculture methods.

In a newly published study by researchers at Penn State University, the use of plant cover, such as cover crops, was shown to potentially be more effective at reducing pest density and crop damage than the application of insecticides without the downsides.  Cover crops reduce insect pest outbreaks by increasing pest predator abundance.

Cover crops are plantings that are primarily used to slow erosion, improve soil health, enhance water availability, smother weeds, and help control pests and diseases.  Typical cover crops include mustard, alfalfa, rye, clovers, buckwheat, and winter peas.  Most cover crops are fairly inexpensive to plant.

Plant cover can provide habitat for populations of natural enemies of pests.  Winter cover crops can harbor pest predator populations outside of the growing season of the cash crop.  When the cover crop is killed off to allow the growth of the cash crop, residues of the cover crop remain on the soil during the growing season, so they still enhance the habitat for pest predators.

Conservation agriculture includes methods like cover crops, no-till planting, and crop rotation.  The use of cover crops constitutes a form of preventive pest management that is an alternative to planting seeds treated with systemic insecticides to control early-season pests.  There is also the possibility for integrated pest managements, which is an approach in which insecticides are applied but only when pest numbers exceed economic thresholds despite the use of nonchemical tactics.

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Cover crops more effective than insecticides for managing pests, study suggests

Photo, posted August 8, 2011, courtesy of USDA NRCS Montana via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Healthy Soil Is Healthy For People | Earth Wise

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A new study by researchers at the University of Washington looked at the impact of regenerative farming practices on the nutritional content of the food that is grown. 

Regenerative agriculture involves farming practices that not only “do not harm” to the land but actually improve it by regenerating and revitalizing the soil.  The practices focus on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, and enhancing ecosystem services.  Examples are soil-building techniques that minimize plowing, the use of cover crops, and the planting of diverse crops rather than monocultures.

The study included 10 farms across the U.S. that followed soil-friendly practices for at least five years. The results were that the crops from those farms had a healthier nutritional profile than the same crops grown on neighboring, conventional farms.  In particular, there was a boost in certain minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals that are beneficial to human health.  Across the board, regenerative practices resulted in crops with more anti-inflammatory compounds and antioxidants.

The participating farms grew one acre of a test crop – peas, sorghum, corn, or soybeans – for comparison with the same crop grown on a neighboring farm using conventional agriculture.  Analysis showed that the farms practicing regenerative agriculture had healthier soils, as measured by their organic matter – or carbon – content and by other tests. 

Organic farms avoid chemical pesticides, but they operate with a variety of farming processes.  Nonetheless, they have also been found to produce crops with higher levels of beneficial nutrients.  The biology of the soil in which crops are grown is an important factor for human health.  It isn’t just what we eat that matters; it is how we grow it.

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Farms following soil-friendly practices grow healthier food, study suggests

Photo, posted January 10, 2020, courtesy of Les via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Corn Ethanol And The Climate | Earth Wise

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The Renewable Fuel Standard legislation, first passed in 2005 and updated in 2007, requires billions of gallons of renewable fuel to be added to the country’s transportation fuel supplies.  It created the world’s largest biofuels program.

The standard was hailed as a major victory for the climate as well as a way to reduce our dependence upon foreign oil.

The intent of the legislation was to encourage various forms of renewable fuels – especially cellulosic ethanol from plant and wood fiber – to become an increasing part of the fuel mix.  That has yet to happen.  Instead, corn ethanol has been the backbone of the program.

Back in 2007, the EPA determined that ethanol from corn would lead to a 20% reduction in greenhouse gases compared to gasoline.  But the next year, a study published in the journal Nature projected that corn ethanol would double greenhouse gas emissions over 30 years because demand for corn would drive farmers to plow up increasing amounts of carbon-rich forest and grassland.

A new study published by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has again concluded that corn-based ethanol may actually be worse for the climate than fossil-based gasoline as well as having other environmental downsides.  According to the study, since the fuel standard was passed, farmers have expanded corn production on nearly 7 million acres each year, causing the conversion of lands to cropland.  The result is that the carbon intensity of corn ethanol could be as much as 24% higher than gasoline.

The issue is still being debated in Congress, but if these results are verified, the time has come to revamp the terms of the renewable fuel standard.

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Corn-Based Ethanol May Be Worse For the Climate Than Gasoline, a New Study Finds

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Photo, posted October 23, 2011, courtesy of the United Soybean Board via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

An Indoor Farm In Upstate New York | Earth Wise        

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Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers, generally under controlled environments and using soilless farming techniques like hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics.   Vertical farms are housed in structures such as buildings, shipping containers, tunnels, and abandoned mineshafts.

The potential advantages of vertical farms are that they are very efficient in terms of the amount of land required to produce a given amount of crop, they are resistant to weather, and they allow crops to be produced in close proximity to where they will be used.

The vacant third floor of a building in downtown Glens Falls, New York is about to become the home of a small vertical farm.  The facility will be used to hydroponically grow things like fresh basil, lettuce, and fruits to be used by nearby restaurants.  In fact, the first floor of the building is a restaurant that will be a customer for the crops growing upstairs.  Other local restaurants are likely to benefit as well.

Th pilot program is being funded by a grant from the Smart Cities Innovation Partnership that the city applied for in 2020.  Glens Falls is partnering with Re-Nuble, a New York City-based renewability and sustainability firm.  Apart from the vertical farm project, Re-Nuble also advises on reduction of food waste by composting and on the selection of energy-efficient equipment.

The pilot program will run for a year and the results will be used for scaling it up to a larger vertical farm.  Vertical farms like these are not intended to replace conventional farms but can supplement the existing food stream and provide items that are hard to obtain during the year.

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Glens Falls is fitting a farm inside a downtown building

Photo, posted July 15, 2007, courtesy of Toshiyuki Imai via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Cleaning Up Abandoned Wells | Earth Wise      

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There are 130,000 documented abandoned oil and gas wells in the US, according to the Department of the Interior.  The key word is documented.  According to an EPA study in 2018, the actual number of abandoned wells could be as high as two or three million.  According to an analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund and McGill University, about nine million people in the United States live within a mile of one of these wells.

Some of these wells might be fairly harmless, and others might be quite dangerous.  Wells can emit a variety of gasses, including methane, which is a far stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.  Leaking wells are a major source of air and groundwater pollution.  Apart from methane, substances such as arsenic can continue to leak from wells even after they are no longer operational.

At the end of January, the Biden Administration announced a series of new actions to tackle methane pollution.  Among these measures is $1.15 billion in funds from the Department of the Interior that states can use to seal up abandoned oil and gas wells.  That funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in November, which sets aside $4.7 billion for a federal program dedicated to orphaned wells.

Addressing the largely ignored problem of abandoned wells is important from the standpoint of climate pollution as well as human health.  Efforts to plug the wells will also provide high-paying jobs

Other methane-reduction measures include increased enforcement from the Department of Transportation on reducing pipelines leaks, research funding for limiting methane emissions from beef and dairy farming, and technical assistance from the Department of Energy on well-plugging efforts.

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Photo, posted March 23, 2011, courtesy of David Stone via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Removing Carbon With The Oceans | Earth Wise

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There is increasing concern that reducing carbon emissions alone will not be sufficient to stabilize the climate and that technologies that actively remove carbon dioxide from the air will be needed.  There has been a fair amount of analysis of the efficacy of storing carbon in agricultural soil and in forests, but there has not been comparable studies of the risks, benefits, and trade-offs of ocean-based strategies. 

The oceans currently absorb about a quarter of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.  There are multiple ways in which oceans could be induced to store much more.  A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine looks at several ocean carbon dioxide removal strategies in terms of efficacy, potential costs, and potential environmental risks.

One approach involves adding nutrients to the ocean surface to increase photosynthesis by phytoplankton.  The approach has a medium to high chance of being effective and has medium environmental risks.

Another approach is large-scale seaweed farming that transports carbon to the deep ocean or into sediments.   It has medium efficacy chances but higher environmental risks.

Protection and restoration of coastal ecosystems including marine wildlife would have the lowest environmental risk but only low to medium efficacy.

Chemically altering ocean water to increase its alkalinity in order to enhance reactions that take up carbon dioxide would be highly effective but a medium environmental risk.

The report describes some other approaches as well.  It recommends a $125 million research program to better understand the technological challenges as well as the potential economic, social, and environmental impacts of increasing the oceans’ absorption of carbon dioxide.

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Oceans Could Be Harnessed to Remove Carbon From Air, Say U.S. Science Leaders

Photo, posted August 21, 2016, courtesy of Quinn Dombrowski via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Capturing Methane To Feed Fish | Earth Wise

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Methane in the atmosphere is an extremely potent greenhouse gas.  Its warming potential is about 85 times that of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.  It also worsens air quality by increasing atmospheric ozone.  Many human activities add methane to the atmosphere, notably emissions from landfills and oil and gas facilities.

Capturing methane from these sources for subsequent use is currently uneconomical but new research from Stanford University analyzes the market for using the methane to feed bacteria to produce fishmeal.

Methane-consuming bacteria called methanotrophs can be grown in chilled, water-filled bioreactors containing pressurized methane, oxygen, and nutrients.  The bacteria produce a protein-rich biomass that can be used as fishmeal in aquaculture.  This could offset demand for fishmeal made from small fish or plant-based feeds that require land, water, and fertilizer.

Some companies already do this using natural gas provided by utility pipelines, but it would be far better for the environment to use methane emitted at large landfills, wastewater treatment plants, and oil and gas facilities.

Consumption of seafood has more than quadrupled since 1960, depleting wild fish stocks.  Farmed fish now provide half of all the animal-sourced seafood we eat.

The Stanford research analyzed the cost of methanotrophic fishmeal production under various scenarios and found it to be very competitive with and in some cases considerably cheaper than current market prices for fishmeal. 

According to the study, this process could profitably supply total global demand for fishmeal with methane captured in the U.S. alone.

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Stanford researchers reveal how to turn a global warming liability into a profitable food security solution

Photo, posted April 30, 2017, courtesy of Artur Rydzewski via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Food And Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Earth Wise

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According to a study published in the journal Nature Food, the world’s food systems are responsible for more than one third of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities. 

‘Eat Local’ is often recommended as a way to minimize the carbon footprint of our diet.  But from a climate impact perspective, eating local only has a significant impact if transportation is responsible for a large portion of a food’s final carbon footprint.  And in many cases, greenhouse gas emissions related to transportation make up only a small portion of the emissions from food and what we eat is far more important. 

There are massive differences in the greenhouse gas emissions of various foods. 

For example, producing one pound of beef generates 60 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.  This is more than double the next closest food (lamb), and more than 60 times greater than some plant crops like corn and cassava. 

For most foods – especially the largest emitters – greenhouse gas emissions from land use change combined with the emissions from processes at the farm stage account for more than 80% of the environmental footprint.  Meanwhile, transportation accounts for less than 10%, and its contribution for the largest emitters is even smaller.  For example, transportation accounts for 0.5% of emissions from beef production.

Eating beef or lamb has many times the carbon footprint of most other foods.  It matters very little in terms of emissions whether it was grown locally or shipped from another part of the world.  It’s not the location that makes the carbon footprint of our dinner large.  It’s what is on our plate that matters.

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Food systems account for over one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions

You want to reduce the carbon footprint of your food?

Photo, posted November 7, 2018, courtesy of Preston Keres / USDA via Flickr.

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The Benefits Of No-Till Farming | Earth Wise

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No-till farming is not new.  In fact, it was used as far back as 10,000 years ago.  But during the 18th and 19th centuries, tilling became popular because it allowed farmers to plant seeds more efficiently.

Tilling (or ploughing) is the process of preparing the soil for the cultivation of seeds by overturning the soil.  The practice works animal manure, weeds, and other surface residues deep into the soil.  While this all sounds like a good thing, it’s not. 

Tilling removes plant matter and loosens the soil, leaving the soil bare and vulnerable to erosion.  Tilling also displaces the millions of microbes and insects that form healthy soil biology.  The long-term use of tilling can turn healthy soils into lifeless growing mediums dependent on chemical inputs.  

But no-till farming also tends to rely on chemical inputs like glyphosate for weed control.  According to a new study recently published in Agronomy Journal, researchers at Penn State have found that farmers using no-till farming can reduce herbicide use and still maintain crop yields by implementing integrated weed-management methods.   

The research team conducted a nine-year experiment using herbicide-reduction practices in a crop rotation, which included soybean, corn, alfalfa, and canola.  Some of the practices used to reduce herbicide inputs included seeding small-grain companion crops with perennials, and plowing once in six years to terminate the perennial forage rather than killing it with an herbicide. 

While there was more weed biomass in the reduced herbicide treatment, the researchers found that the added weed pressure did not substantially affect crop yields. 

It is possible to make agriculture more environmentally-friendly and sustainable without sacrificing productivity.

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No-till production farmers can cut herbicide use, control weeds, protect profits

Photo, posted February 11, 2019, courtesy of the United Soybean Board via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

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