georgia

The coastal squeeze

June 26, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Globally, coastal areas are being squeezed between rising seas on one side and human development on the other. The average distance from the high waterline to the first built-up area with human structures or paved roads is less than 400 yards around the world. The narrower a coast, the sooner rising sea levels cause problems.

Narrow coasts have reduced ability to defend against storm surges and other weather events. Construction close to the sea makes coastal areas extra vulnerable. Narrow coasts are also bad news for biodiversity. A study by the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research investigated plant diversity in both the Netherlands and the United States. They found that the wider the coast was, the greater the plant diversity.

In Florida and Georgia, whenever coastal zones reached a couple of kilometers in width, diversity increased rapidly. In the Netherlands, only coastal areas at least 3.8 kilometers wide reached their maximum plant diversity, but such areas are rare. Dutch sand dune areas are typically no more than a kilometer wide, leaving plant diversity at no more than half the possible level.

Limited biodiversity in narrow coastal strips can be somewhat boosted by nature management but would benefit much more by spatial planning. In the Netherlands, a spot called The Sand Motor is where a gigantic amount of sand was deposited off the coast in 2011. Since then, natural forces have spread it along the coast. Such coastal expansion could increase biodiversity. Biodiversity is not a luxury. It makes for a better future for coastal defense, a healthy drinking water supply, and a better human food supply.

**********

Web Links

Coastal squeeze is bad for biodiversity, and for us!

Photo, posted June 21, 2017, courtesy of Mark Bias via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The cicadas are coming

June 18, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

After hiding underground for the last 17 years, billions of cicadas are taking to the skies this summer. This batch of insects, known as Brood XIV, will cover more of the U.S. than any other 17-year brood. New York and at least 13 other states – Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and parts of Indiana are being serenaded by the sound of cicadas in May and June.

There are 15 broods of periodical cicadas that emerge every 13 or 17 years. They come out when soil temperatures reach 64 degrees. Around the world there are annual cicadas while periodical cicadas can only be found in the eastern United States.

Once the insects emerge, they will issue their noisy, chirping mating calls for just a few weeks before they lay eggs and die. The offspring from the eggs will burrow underground and remain dormant or in the nymph stage feeding on tree roots for another 17 years. Surfacing in vast numbers is a way to overwhelm predators and ensure that at least some cicadas survive to reproduce.

The emergence of these insects provides a bounty of food to squirrels, lizards, birds, and other creatures. A study found that once cicadas emerge, the population of cuckoos, blue jays, and red-bellied woodpeckers grows.

As the climate changes, the timing of cicada cycles may also change. Warmer weather will lead to cicadas emerging earlier in the year. Eventually, even the time they spend underground may shorten.

**********

Web Links

After 17 Years Underground, Massive Cicada Brood to Swarm U.S.

Photo, posted July 16, 2017, courtesy of Renee Grayson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Transparent wood

April 25, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Plastics are pretty much everywhere in the modern world including places we want them to be and places where we don’t. Conventional plastics are not biodegradable and instead cause increasing problems wherever they end up after their useful life. As a result, there are global efforts to find environmentally friendly replacements for petroleum-based plastics.

An interesting candidate for replacing many types of plastic is transparent wood. Transparent wood is a man-made material derived from natural wood. Wood has three components: cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Transparent wood is created by removing the lignin and hemicellulose, leaving behind a porous, paper-like network of cellulose. It is transparent but lacks structural strength. In the past, clear materials like epoxies have been added to produce a strong, transparent material: transparent wood. But because of the epoxy – itself a form of plastic – the resultant material was non-biodegradable.

Researchers at Kennesaw State University in Georgia have developed a method for producing transparent wood that replaces epoxies with an egg white and rice extract mixture along with a curing agent called diethylenetriamine. The end product is a semi-transparent form of wood that is biodegradable.

The researchers also incorporated silver nanowires into samples of their transparent wood. This enabled the wood to conduct electricity and could be useful in wearable sensors or as coatings for solar cells. There is additional research needed to improve the properties of this transparent wood, but a plastic replacement made from natural and inexpensive materials could be quite valuable.

**********

Web Links

Making sturdy, semi-transparent wood with cheap, natural materials

Photo, posted August 1, 2017, courtesy of NOAA Marine Debris via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Large Solar Projects In The U.S. | Earth Wise

December 1, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The United States now has over 108 gigawatts of total solar generating capacity, which is enough to power about 19 million homes. There are more than 3 million solar installations across the country, the majority of which are residential systems.

The growth in solar power has been enormous over the past 13 years. In 2008, the total solar capacity in the U.S. was 0.34 gigawatts.

In recent times, utility-scale solar installations have been on the rise. At least 10 systems in excess of 100 megawatts have come online just in 2021. These systems have been built in Georgia, Ohio, California, Texas, and Nevada. Other large installations have come online in Virginia, Utah, Indiana, and Florida. Overall, Texas has had the most new installations, followed by California and Florida.

The largest utility-scale solar project completed this year is the Eunice Solar Project in Andrew, Texas. The 420-megawatt project is part of the Permian Energy Center which also features 40 megawatts of battery energy storage.

The pipeline for new utility-scale solar projects under construction includes more than 17 gigawatts, so there is strong continuing growth in the industry.

The Biden administration has proposed a blueprint for the nation to produce 45% of its electricity from solar power by 2050. Currently, solar energy contributes about 4% of the country’s power. Being able to produce almost half the country’s electricity from the sun by 2050 would require a vast transformation in technology and the energy industry. Whether there is the political will and the wherewithal to achieve this remains to be seen.

**********

Web Links

U.S. Solar Market Insight

Photo, posted March 7, 2019, courtesy of Hedgerow Inc 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.

**********

Web Links

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.

Coal Isn’t Even Cheap Anymore

May 15, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Coal has historically been very cheap compared with many other energy sources and the reason is that it is so plentiful. The United States has especially abundant quantities of the stuff – perhaps a quarter of the world’s estimated recoverable reserves. Estimates are that at the rate at which we are currently using coal here, the remaining reserves would last about 325 years.

That would be great, of course, if the use of coal was not relentlessly destructive to the environment, hazardous to human health, and a major driver for global warming. Despite all of that, the Trump administration is a big booster of coal.

But coal has little chance of holding on to its current status, much less having some kind of renaissance. According to a new report from renewables analysis firm Energy Innovation, nearly 75% of coal-fired power plants in the United States generate electricity that is more expensive than local wind and solar resources. Wind power, in particular, can at times provide electricity at half the cost of coal.

Wind and solar power are growing by leaps and bounds. The Guardian reported that by 2025, enough wind and solar power will be generated at low enough prices in the U.S. that it could replace 86% of the entire U.S. coal fleet with lower-cost electricity.

It has been known for some time that there are places where the so-called coal crossover has already taken place. But this is actually far more widespread than previously thought. Substantial coal capacity is currently at risk in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Texas. By 2025, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin will join their ranks.

The biggest threat to coal is not regulators or environmentalists; it is economics.

**********

Web Links

Renewables Cheaper Than 75 Percent of U.S. Coal Fleet, Report Finds

Photo, posted May 1, 2011, courtesy of Alan Stark via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Last Year Was Hot

February 13, 2017 By EarthWise

Last year was not the hottest year on record in the United States; it was only the second hottest. 2012 was the hottest because of some searing heat waves that summer. However, 2016 marked 20 above-average temperature years in a row. The five hottest years recorded have all happened since 1998. Every state had a temperature ranking at least in the top seven and both Georgia and Alaska had their hottest years ever. While it was only the second hottest year on record in the U.S., last year was the hottest year for the entire world.

[Read more…] about Last Year Was Hot