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Red Pandas And Climate Change | Earth Wise

July 6, 2022 By EarthWise 2 Comments

Red pandas are small mammals native to the mountainous forests of China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. Unlike their name suggests, they are not related to giant pandas. In fact, red pandas are distant relatives of raccoons. Renowned for their tree-climbing abilities, red pandas live at moderately high elevations in the Himalayas where they forage widely for bamboo shoots and various fruits.

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, red pandas are endangered. Scientists estimate that there are less than 10,000 red pandas remaining in the wild today, and these numbers are continuing to fall.

Habitat loss is the main threat to red panda’s survival. Human expansion into the area, combined with the effects of climate change, has led to the fragmentation and loss of livable land. Red pandas also face dangers from hunting and poaching.

According to new research recently published in the journal Landscape Ecology, human impacts are driving red pandas closer to extinction than previously thought. Using GPS telemetry, a research team from the University of Queensland in Australia tracked red pandas in Nepal over a 12-month period. The researchers found that human activities, such as infrastructure development, were causing red pandas to restrict their movements, which is further fragmenting their habitat and interfering with natural interactions between the animals.

As the amount of wild forest dwindles, red pandas are being forced into situations where they must decide whether to live closer to predators or adapt to co-exist with humans.

The research team recommends minimizing human-induced disturbances in red panda habitats and to maintain habitat continuity in ecologically sensitive areas.

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Red pandas face a fractured future

IUCN: Red Panda

Photo, posted November 27, 2016, courtesy of Mathias Appel via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Fighting Disease in Cavendish Bananas | Earth Wise

January 31, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Cavendish bananas account for about half of global banana production and the vast majority of bananas entering international trade. The plant is unable to reproduce sexually and instead is propagated via identical clones. So, the genetic diversity of the Cavendish banana is exceedingly low.

In 2008, Cavendish cultivars in Sumatra and Malaysia started to be attacked by Panama disease, a wilting disease caused by a fungus. In 2019, Panama disease was discovered on banana farms in the coastal Caribbean region, its first occurrence in the Americas. In the 1950s, Panama disease wiped out the Gros Michel banana, the commercial predecessor of the Cavendish.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have found a novel way to combine two species of grass-like plants – which include bananas, rice, and wheat – using embryonic tissue from their seeds. The technique allows beneficial characteristics, such as disease resistance, to be added to the plants.

Joining the shoot of one plant to the root of another to grow as one plant is known as grafting. It was thought to be impossible to do with grass-like plants – called monocotyledonous grasses – because they lack a certain tissue type in their stems. But the new research, published in the journal Nature, showed it can be done with the plants in their earliest embryonic stages.

Cavendish bananas are sterile, so disease resistance can’t be bred into future generations. But the grafting technique may provide a way to produce Cavendish banana plants that are resistant to Panama disease. It may be possible to save an important food crop before it is too late.

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New grafting technique could combat the disease threatening Cavendish bananas

Photo, posted July 1, 2015, courtesy of Augustus Binu via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Wastewater And Ammonia | Earth Wise

October 22, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Ammonia is the second most produced chemical in the world. More than half of it is used in agriculture to produce various kinds of fertilizer, to produce cotton defoliants that make cotton easier to pick, and to make antifungal agents for fruits. Globally, ammonia represents more than a $50 billion a year market.

Current methods to make ammonia require enormous amounts of heat – generated by burning fossil fuels – to break apart nitrogen molecules so that they can bind to hydrogen to form the compound. Ammonia production accounts for about 2% of worldwide fossil energy use and generates over 400 million tons of CO2 annually.

Engineers at the University of Illinois Chicago have created a solar-powered electrochemical reaction that uses wastewater to make ammonia and does it with a solar-to-fuel efficiency that is 10 times better than previous comparable technologies.

The process uses nitrate – which is one of the most common groundwater contaminates – to supply nitrogen and uses sunlight to power the reaction. The system produces nearly 100% ammonia with almost no hydrogen side reactions. No fossil fuels are needed, and no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases are produced. The new method makes use of a cobalt catalyst that selectively converts nitrate molecules into ammonia.

Not only is the reaction itself carbon-neutral, which is good for the environment, but if it is scaled up for industrial use, it will consume wastewater, thereby actually being good for the environment. The new process is the subject of a patent filing and the researchers are already collaborating with municipal corporations, wastewater treatment centers, and others in industry to further develop the system.

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Combining sunlight and wastewater nitrate to make the world’s No. 2 chemical

Photo, posted August 29, 2018, courtesy of Montgomery County Planning Commission via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Turning Atmospheric Carbon Into Useful Materials | Earth Wise

July 7, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Plants have the ability to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and incorporate it into leaves, fruits, wood, and other plant materials. This beneficial process is mostly temporary, as much of this carbon dioxide from plant matter ends up back in the atmosphere through decomposition, or even burning.

Researchers at the Salk Institute have proposed a more permanent fate for captured carbon by turning plant matter into a valuable industrial material called silicon carbide.

In a recent study published in the journal RSC Advances, Salk scientists transformed tobacco and corn husks into silicon carbide and evaluated and quantified the benefits of the process.

The researchers used a previously reported method to transform plant matter into silicon carbide in three stages and carefully tracked the carbon utilization at each stage.

Stage one is growing the plants. They used tobacco from seed, chosen for its short growing season. Then the harvested plants are frozen, ground into a powder, and treated with chemicals including a silicon-containing compound. Finally, the powder is subjected to a high-temperature process resulting in the production of silicon carbide.

Their analysis showed that much of the carbon sequestered by growing the plants could be preserved through the full process and the amount of energy required for the production of the silicon carbide (mostly from the high-temperature process) is comparable to current manufacturing processes for the material.

Permanently sequestering carbon from agricultural waste products by incorporating it into a valuable industrial material would be a valuable addition to strategies for reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

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Transforming Atmospheric Carbon Into Industrially Useful Materials

Photo, posted August 3, 2013, courtesy of AJ Garrison via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Prickly Pear As A Sustainable Crop | Earth Wise

April 6, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The fruits and pads of opuntia, better known as prickly pear cactus, find their way into people’s diets in many arid and semi-arid places around the world. In Mexico, the pads are known as nopales and are used in a variety of dishes. The pears themselves are used in jams, salads, and juices.

A five-year study by the University of Nevada Reno College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources investigated the prospects for cactus pear to become a major crop like soybeans and corn and to help provide a biofuel source.

As the climate changes, dry areas are going to get dryer and drought issues will increasingly affect traditional crops.

The study looked at the particular opuntia species called the spineless cactus pear and found that it had the highest fruit production while using up to 80% less water than some traditional crops. Cactus pear can be used for both human consumption and livestock feed. As a perennial crop, once the fruit and pads are harvested for food, the remaining biomass can be used for biofuel production.

Corn and sugar cane are the most utilized bioenergy crops right now, but these use three to six times more water than cactus pear. The cactus pear productivity is on par with corn and sugar cane, but not only do they use a fraction of the water, they also have higher heat tolerance.

Over 40% of land area around the world is classified as semi-arid or arid. There is enormous potential for planting cactus for carbon sequestration. If nothing else, it makes great sense to grow cactus pear crops in abandoned areas that are marginal and may not be suitable for other crops.

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Study shows cactus pear as drought-tolerant crop for sustainable fuel and food

Photo, posted April 16, 2020, courtesy of Kevin Dooley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Why Do Trees Change Color? | Earth Wise

December 24, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

We had a particularly colorful fall in the Northeast this year. Almost everywhere you looked, there were brilliant displays of yellow, orange, and red. The colors of fall are a result of chemistry and environmental events that may have taken place many months in the past.

The color of leaves comes from 4 pigments whose effects are governed by photosynthesis. The one that is actually used in photosynthesis is chlorophyll and it causes leaves to be green. But when a tree begins to prepare for dormancy, it stops producing chlorophyll, the green pigmentation fades, and the other pigments that were already in the leaves become visible.

There are xanthoplylls, which are the yellow pigments that are seen the most in fall trees. They are the same pigments that color egg yolks and sometimes parts of the human eye. They are only produced by plants and appear in humans and animals only through consumption.

There are carotenes, which are the orange pigments found in fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, oranges, some bell peppers and squashes.

And there is anthocyanin, which is the pigment found in blueberries, blackberries, and red or violet roses. Its color depends on the pH level of the plant; higher pH leads to darker color. This is the pigment seen in red maples, black cherry trees, Shumard oaks, and more. Only 10% of trees in temperate climates produce anthocyanin and its red pigmentation and most of those trees are in New England.

All these pigments serve purposes. They help trees absorb light energy, prevent sun damage, and even regulate how much energy chlorophyll produces.

There are complicated chemical and environmental factors at play in fall foliage but when they come together like they did this year, it’s a magnificent spectacle.

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Why Do Trees Change Color?

Photo, posted October 17, 2020, courtesy of John Brighenti via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Essential Oils And Organic Crops | Earth Wise

November 6, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Essential oils are concentrated liquids extracted from plants. They are called “essential” in the sense that they contain the essence of the fragrance that is characteristic of the plant. Essential does not mean indispensable or usable by the human body. But despite that fact, essential oils have been used in folk medicine throughout history.

In recent times, essential oils have frequently been used in aromatherapy. Generally speaking, medicinal uses of essential oils are controversial, and, in some cases, they have even been demonstrated to be dangerous.

Research has shown that essential oils have potential as natural pesticides. Recently, the USDA has funded research into the use of essential oils to battle pests and diseases of organic crops.

U.S. organic food sales topped $50 billion in 2018 and fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops combined make up more than a third of organic sales. In order to meet consumer demand, farmers need ways to battle pests and diseases that often accompany organic crop growth.

A four-year project at the University of Hawaii at Manoa is entitled “Plant Safety, Horticultural Benefits, and Disease Efficacy of Essential Oils for Use in Organically Grown Fruit Crops: From the Farm to the Consumer.” The researchers will work with certified organic producers in Hawaii, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, and California to evaluate the effectiveness of plant essential oils on major fruit pathogens such as avocado scab, anthracnose fungal disease, and powdery mildew on targeted tropical and temperate fruit crops such as avocado, mango, blueberry, and peach.

The goal is increase orchard productivity of the expanding organic fruit industry.

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Essential oils could keep pests, disease from organic crops

Photo, posted January 6, 2015, courtesy of Abi Porter via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Bees Threatening Bees | Earth Wise

October 16, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Domesticated honeybees are an essential part of our agricultural system, being responsible for one in every three bites of food Americans consume and contributing $15 billion a year to the value of the nation’s crop production. Millions of bee colonies are trucked across the country every year to pollinate cranberries, melons, broccoli, blueberries, and cherries, and also to produce honey.

After the growing seasons, honeybees are trucked to various locations to rest and rebuild their population and to replenish bees lost to disease and pesticides. Some of these locations are in national forests. Thousands of hives belonging to 112 apiaries are currently permitted in national forests by the Department of Agriculture. This presents a problem because these hives are being permitted on public lands with virtually no environmental review and with little consideration of the impact these colonies can have on local wild bee populations.

The 4,000 wild bee species in the U.S. consume up to 95% of local available pollen. Nearly 40 federally listed threatened or endangered species of bees, butterflies, and flower flies depend on national forest land for their survival. And now the pollinators in these places, which were once refuges for these species and others, increasingly face competition from millions of domesticated honeybees.

Honeybees are super-foraging machines and are literally taking the pollen out of the mouths of other bees and pollinators. Honeybees themselves have been facing numerous problems from habitat loss, pesticides, and other stress factors. So, what is happening is essentially a pollinator habitat crunch that carries long-term implications for the U.S. food supply. We need to find some answers and the sooner the better.

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Will Putting Honey Bees on Public Lands Threaten Native Bees?

Photo, posted August 9, 2015, courtesy of Tak H. via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Crops May Need To Move | Earth Wise

October 5, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

California has unique micro-climate diversity that creates ideal growing conditions for a wide range of crops. One third of the vegetables and two-thirds of the fruits and nuts we eat in this country are grown on the more than 76,000 farms in California. But as the climate continues to change, many farmers have started to worry about where and when crops can be grown in the future. Within the next 20 years or so, some parts of California may become too hot and dry to sustain agricultural production.

According to new research from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, by the years 2045-2049, warmer temperatures will have a significant effect on cool-season crops such as broccoli and lettuce such that their growing season will need to shift. On the other hand, warm-season crops like cantaloupe, tomatoes, and carrots will need to move to entirely new growing locations.

The study looked at five key crops that are produced more in California than elsewhere and studied the climate conditions under which they prosper and those under which they fail. They established the range of conditions for which the crops can remain successful. Finally they looked at climate projections for various parts of the state.

California’s agriculture is an essential part of our food security, so it is important to predict how future warming will affect when and where crops can be grown. Changing these things presents challenges. For example, when considering relocating crops, growers have specialized knowledge of their land and their crops. If crops need to move to a new area, either the farmers have to move to that area, or they have to grow a different crop. Either way, it presents a practical and economic burden on the farmer.

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Some of America’s Favorite Produce Crops May Need to Get a Move On by 2045

Photo, posted June 16, 2011, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Tree-Planting Is Not Necessarily A Good Thing | Earth Wise

July 31, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

There is no question that forests have a major role in efforts to combat climate change as well as to slow biodiversity loss. As a result, tree-planting on a massive scale has gained traction as a strategy and there have been major commitments made to plant billions of trees around the world.

A new study at Stanford University has rigorously analyzed the potential effects of these efforts and has found some significant problems. For example, the Bonn Challenge, which seeks to restore an area of forest more than eight times the size of California over the next 10 years, has 80% of its commitments in the form of planting monoculture tree plantations or a limited mix of trees that produce fruit and rubber, rather than restoring natural forests. The problem is that plantations have significantly less potential for carbon sequestration, habitat creation, and erosion control than natural forests. The potential benefits of the planting dwindle further if planted trees replace natural flora – forests, grasslands, or savannahs – which are ecosystems that have evolved to support local biodiversity.

The study looked at previous policies that created subsidies for planting trees. Chile’s Decree Law, in effect from 1974 to 2012, has served as a model for similar policies in a number of countries. Those subsidies further reduced native forest cover by encouraging the establishment of plantations in places where forests might have naturally regenerated. The subsidies expanded the area covered by trees, but decreased the area of native forests.

The study recommends that nations should design and enforce their forest subsidy policies to avoid undesirable ecological impacts and actually promote the recovery of carbon- and biodiversity-rich ecosystems.

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Poorly designed tree-planting campaigns could do more harm than good, according to Stanford researcher and others

Photo, posted April 28, 2016, courtesy of the U.S. Department of State via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Protecting Fresh Produce | Earth Wise

May 26, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Fresh fruits and vegetables can sometimes become contaminated by microorganisms during their long journey from fields to restaurants and grocery stores. Contaminated produce can spoil other produce, which increases the number of fruits and vegetables in the supply chain that can cause illnesses.

In order to prevent this cross-contamination between produce, researchers from Texas A&M University have designed a coating that can be applied to food-contact surfaces, like buckets, rollers, and conveyor belts. The newly-created dual-function coating is both water-repellent and germicidal. In other words, it can both repel and kill. Without water, the researchers say bacteria can’t stick or multiply on surfaces, drastically reducing contamination.

To make this dual-function coating, the researchers chemically-attached a thin layer of silica to an aluminum sheet. They then added a mixture of silica and lysozyme, a naturally-occurring germicidal protein found in egg whites and tears. Together, the silica-aluminum and the silica-lysozyme formed microscopic bumps and crevices. According to the research team, this rough texture, albeit microscopic, is the key to the coating’s superhydrophobic properties.

The researchers tested the coating’s effectiveness at curbing the growth of two strains of disease-causing bacteria: Salmonella and Listeria. Upon review, the number of bacteria found on the dual-coating surfaces was 99.99% less than what was found on the uncoated surfaces.

Despite the success in preventing bacterial spread, the research team said more research needs to be done to see how well the coating works for mitigating viral cross-contamination. Since the coating would need to be reapplied after a certain amount of use, the researchers also plan to develop more permanent, dual-function coatings.

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New dual-action coating keeps bacteria from cross-contaminating fresh produce

Photo, posted April 14, 2012, courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

American Households and Food Waste | Earth Wise

February 12, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Food waste is a big problem. According to the United Nations, approximately one-third of the food produced globally – more than 1.4 billion tons – goes to waste. If food waste was a country adding carbon to the atmosphere, it would be the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases – behind only the U.S. and China. All of this food waste takes place in a world where 815 million people – more than 10% of the people on the planet – are chronically undernourished.

A new study recently published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics has analyzed the level of food waste for individual American households. It found that American households waste, on average, nearly one-third of all the food they acquire. This wasted food has an estimated aggregate value of $240 billion annually. Divided by the number of U.S. households, this food waste could be costing the average household about $1,866 per year.

According to researchers, the households with higher household incomes generate more food waste. Those with healthier diets, which include more perishable fruits and vegetables, also waste more food.

Meanwhile, households with greater food insecurity, especially those that participate in the federal SNAP food assistance program, as well as those households with a larger number of members, were associated with less food waste. Households that use shopping lists and those that travel further to reach the grocery store were also associated with lower levels of food waste.

When food is wasted, the resources used to produce food, including land, energy, water and labor, are wasted as well. We have to do better.

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SAVE FOOD: Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction

US households waste nearly a third of the food they acquire

Photo, posted March 22, 2009, courtesy of Nick Saltmarsh via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Livestock And Sustainable Food Systems | Earth Wise

February 10, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Animal-based agriculture has endured a great deal of criticism with regard to its contributions to climate change and its other environmental impacts. But its contributions to a sustainable food system are by no means all bad. In fact, livestock play important roles in sustainable, regenerative agro-food systems.

Animals’ natural biological processes enable them to consume plant and food residues that are either indigestible by humans, unpalatable to people, or are no longer sellable for various reasons, all referred to as IUUB biomass. There are many examples.

One dairy farm receives daily deliveries of apple waste from a processing facility that supplies apple slices for school lunches. Another local dairy gets three truckloads of vegetable and fruit discards, along with expired bread products, each week. No longer useful for consumers, these foodstuffs become feed for cattle rather than going to a landfill. Even the booming market for plant-based foods like artificial meat for consumers has generated a surge of processing byproducts that can be consumed by livestock.

On a national scale, livestock are consuming millions of pounds of otherwise unusable IUUB created in the production of products like soybean and canola oils, orange juice, ethanol, and more.

While the livestock industry needs to keep working to minimize its environmental impact and there are many reasons to eat less meat, livestock farming is an integral part of our agro-food systems. Farmers are embracing techniques to produce meat, milk and eggs as efficiently and sustainably as possible, minimizing agriculture’s climate-contributing footprint in the process.

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Amazing Cows Hold Promise in Pioneering Sustainable Food Systems

Photo, posted May 11, 2019, courtesy of Theo Stikkelman via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Bee Friendly Amsterdam

February 11, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Scientists around the world have been sounding the alarm for years about the decline of bees and other pollinators that are crucial to the growth of crops. One place where this trend has been bucked is in Amsterdam. The diversity of wild bee and honeybee species in the Dutch capital has actually increased by 45% since 2000.

The city attributes this success to creating bee-friendly environments including the installation of so-called insect hotels. There has also been a ban on the use of chemical pesticides on public land.

Four years ago, Amsterdam set a goal to convert half of all public green spaces to native plants including species that produce flowers and fruits that provide nourishment for bees. Developers in Amsterdam are encouraged to install green roofs on new buildings which reduce reliance on heating and cooling systems and also create habitat for wildlife.

Residents can request to have a 16-inch strip of pavement adjacent to their homes removed in order to plant shrubs, flowers or climbing vines. When a new highway was built in the area in 2015, local activists planted wildflowers along the sides of the road that otherwise would have been left with only gravel or grass. This practice has spread to other major routes and along dikes and railways and is referred to as the Honey Highway.

All of these efforts seem to be having a positive effect. An initial survey was conducted in 2000 to establish a baseline. A 2015 survey of pollinators found 21 bee species not previously documented in the city. The rest of the Netherlands has not done as well, and the Dutch government has recently introduced a pollinator strategy to revive bees, butterflies and other insects crucial to the country’s food crop.

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