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Plastics and agriculture 

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Once celebrated as a symbol of modern innovation, plastic is now both a blessing and a curse of our time.  Since the 1950s, more than nine billion tons of plastic have been produced, and 50% of that has been during the past 15 years.  Plastic is ubiquitous in every sector, and agriculture is no different.

Modern agriculture is responsible for almost a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and is a major drain on the planet’s resources.  Modern agriculture is also inextricably linked to plastic. In fact, more than 13 million tons of plastic are used in agriculture every year.  It’s nearly impossible to imagine modern agriculture without plastics. 

But according to a new study led by researchers from Rutgers University, plastic use in agriculture must be reduced in order to mitigate pollution, and prevent toxic chemicals from leaching into the soil and adversely affecting human health. 

In the study, which was recently published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, the researchers found that it is essential to adopt a strategic approach to mitigate plastic pollution in agriculture, including responsible usage, reduction, efficient collection, reuse, and the implementation of innovative recycling methods. 

According to the researchers, when these sustainable approaches aren’t possible, biodegradable and nontoxic bioplastics should be used.  The research team insists that environmentally benign additives should be mandated in order to reduce plastic toxicity. 

Plastic pollution is a problem that needs to be addressed in every sector. 

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Plastic Use in Agriculture Must be Reduced, According to New Research

How can the use of plastics in agriculture become more sustainable?

Photo, posted November 12, 2022, courtesy of Kevin Dooley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Geologic Hydrogen | Earth Wise

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There is great interest in the potential use of hydrogen as a fuel or an energy storage medium.  Unlike hydrocarbon-based fuels, pure hydrogen combustion produces nothing but water as an emission.  But most hydrogen used at present is made by reforming natural gas, which is a process that results in carbon dioxide emissions.  Thus, the search goes on for cost-effective and energy-efficient ways to make “green hydrogen” that doesn’t result in greenhouse gas emissions.

Researchers at Colorado University Boulder are investigating the potential effectiveness of coaxing hydrogen from subterranean rocks – a commodity known as geologic hydrogen.

When water mixes with iron-rich minerals deep in the earth’s crust, ensuing chemical reactions can generate pockets of hydrogen gas. 

The questions are whether it is possible to bring these deposits up to the surface without harming the environment or human communities in the process and whether they can be extracted in large enough quantities to meet growing global energy demands.

The Colorado researchers will conduct experiments both in the lab and hundreds of meters below the earth’s surface to see if it is possible to induce the subterranean rock to make more hydrogen than it normally does.  If the hydrogen-producing reactions can be accelerated, then geologic hydrogen could become a clean and abundant energy source.

Geologists have known about hidden underground deposits of hydrogen for a long time, but recent research has found that there may be a lot more of it than once thought.  According to a 2022 report by the US Geological Survey, there may be enough hydrogen below ground to supply humanity’s need for fuel for hundreds of years.

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Can rocks produce abundant clean energy? New project to explore

Photo, posted December 26, 2013, courtesy of Juozas Šalna via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The Hottest Summer | Earth Wise

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It was a very rainy and relatively cool summer in much of New England as well as in New York’s Capital Region, where Earth Wise originates.  Despite that fact, according to NASA scientists, the summer of 2023 was the Earth’s hottest since global record keeping began in 1880.

The months of June, July, and August taken together were .41 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than any other summer on record as well as being 2.1 degrees warmer than the average summer between 1951 and 1980.

The record summer heat was marked by heatwaves in South America, Japan, Europe, and the US.  The heat exacerbated wildfires in Canada that dumped smoke across much of the northern tier of our country and also led to severe rainfall in Europe.  All sorts of temperature records were set in places across the globe.

According to NASA, exceptionally high sea surface temperatures, fueled in part by the reemergence of El Niño in the Pacific, were a major factor in the summer’s record warmth.

The record-breaking heat of this summer continues a long-term trend of warming.  Scientists around the world have been tracking the warming that is driven primarily by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.  The combination of this background warming and the marine heatwaves set the stage for new temperature records.  The El Niño was enough to tip the scales. 

In the current environment, heat waves will last longer, be hotter, and be more punishing.  The atmosphere can hold more water producing hot and humid conditions that are harder for the human body to endure.

Scientists are expecting the biggest impacts of El Niño in the early parts of next year.  We can expect to see extreme weather of many kinds over the next year.

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NASA Announces Summer 2023 Hottest on Record

Photo, posted June 8, 2023, courtesy of Anthony Quintano via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Rivers And Climate Change | Earth Wise

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Our planet is heating up.  Scientists have concluded that the changing climate is primarily the result of increased greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.  Some of the effects of global climate change include thawing permafrost, rising seas, intensifying storms and wildfires, and warming oceans.   

According to a new study led by researchers from Penn State University, rivers are warming and losing oxygen even faster than oceans.  The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Climate Change, found that warming occurred in 87% and oxygen loss occurred in 70% of the nearly 800 rivers studied.

The research team projects that within the next 70 years some river systems, especially those in the American South, will experience such low oxygen levels that the rivers could “induce acute death” for some fish species and threaten the aquatic diversity of river ecosystems. 

The research team used artificial intelligence and deep learning to analyze water quality data from nearly 800 rivers across the U.S. and central Europe.  The researchers found that rivers are warming up and deoxygenating faster than oceans, which could have serious implications for both aquatic life and humans.

While climate change has led to warming and oxygen loss in oceans and lakes around the world, the researchers did not expect to find warming and deoxygenation in shallower, flowing rivers.  Since life in water depends on temperature and dissolved oxygen, the researchers hope this study serves as a wake up call.  Warming and deoxygenating rivers have significant implications for water quality and the health of aquatic ecosystems worldwide.

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Rivers are rapidly warming, losing oxygen; aquatic life at risk

Photo, posted June 2, 2017, courtesy of Francisco Anzola via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Cryopreserving Corals | Earth Wise

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Recent climate models estimate that if the effects of climate change are not mitigated soon enough, 95% of the world’s corals could die by the mid 2030s.  Given the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions, this is an increasingly likely outcome.  Coral reefs are estimated to have a $10 trillion economic value apart from their essential role in marine ecosystems.

Researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa have demonstrated a successful technique for cryopreserving entire coral fragments; in other words, preserving coral using cold temperatures and successfully reviving them.

Existing coral cryopreservation techniques rely on freezing sperm and larvae, which can only be collected during spawning events, which occur only a few days each year for coral species.  This makes it logistically very challenging for researchers and conservationists.

The Hawaiian researchers focused on a process called isochoric vitrification, which is a method of freezing with liquid nitrogen that prevents the formation of ice crystals.  They tested the technique with thumbnail-sized fragments of coral, freezing them in small aluminum chambers which restrict the growth of ice crystals that would otherwise damage delicate polyp tissues.  Once the chambers were warmed, the fragments were transferred to seawater and allowed to recover.  They found that the revived corals behaved the same as those that were never cooled.

The process holds great promise to conserve the biodiversity and genetic diversity of coral.  If the process can be scaled up, it may be possible to preserve as many species of coral as possible by 2030, when it may no longer be viable for them to survive in the warming and acidifying oceans.

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Cryopreservation breakthrough could save coral reefs

Photo, posted June 2, 2023, courtesy of USFWS – Pacific Region via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Wealth And Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Earth Wise

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A new study led by researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst has found that the wealthiest 10% of Americans are responsible for a staggering 40% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. The study, which was recently published in the journal PLOS Climate, is the first to link income, especially income derived from financial investments, to the emissions used in generating that income.

The research team suggests that policymakers adopt taxation strategies focused on shareholders and the carbon intensity of investment incomes in order to meet the global goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Historically, environmental policies have focused on regulating consumption, but the researchers argue that this approach misses something important:  carbon pollution generates income, but when that income is reinvested into stocks, rather than spent on necessities, it isn’t subject to a consumption-based carbon tax.  Rather than focus on how emissions enable consumption, they argue that the focus should be on how emissions create income. 

After analyzing 30 years of data, the researchers found that not only are the top 10% of earners in the United States responsible for 40% of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions, but that the top 1% alone account for 15-17% of the emissions. Emissions tended to peak in the 45-54 age group before declining.

The researchers highlight the need for an income and shareholder-based taxation strategy to incentivize climate action among high-income earners and industries, which could expedite decarbonization efforts and create tax revenue to support other climate initiatives.

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America’s Wealthiest 10% Responsible for 40% of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Photo, posted June 29, 2015, courtesy of Pictures of Money (via Flickr).

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Top Fish Predators And Climate Change | Earth Wise

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Climate change is taking its toll on forests, farms, freshwater sources, and the economy, but ocean ecosystems remain the epicenter of global warming.  In fact, oceans have absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions since the 1970s.

As a result, many marine fish species are responding to ocean warming by relocating towards the poles.  According to new research recently published in the journal Science Advances, climate change is causing widespread habitat loss for some of the ocean’s top fish predators, driving these species northward.

The research team studied 12 species of highly migratory fish predators, including sharks, tuna, and billfish, such as marlin and swordfish, inhabiting the Northwest Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.  These two regions are undergoing rapid changes in sea surface temperatures, and are among the fastest warming ocean regions on earth.

The research, which was led by researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, with collaboration from San Diego State University, NOAA, and several other U.S. institutions, found that most species will encounter widespread habitat losses by 2100.  Some species could lose upwards of 70% of suitable habitat by that year.  Areas offshore of the Southeast United States and Mid-Atlantic coasts were identified as likely hotspots of multi-species habitat loss. 

According to the researchers, strategies for managing fish have historically been static. But marine systems need to be treated as dynamic and changing.  This study helps provide the scientific data needed for marine conservation and fisheries management efforts.

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Top fish predators could suffer wide loss of suitable habitat by 2100 due to climate change

Photo, posted March 18, 2015, courtesy of Kenneth Hagemeyer via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The Climate Impact Of Diets | Earth Wise

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The food system is responsible for 70% of the world’s freshwater use and almost 80% of freshwater pollution.  About three-quarters of the ice-free land area of the planet has been affected by human use, primarily for agriculture.  Land-use change such as deforestation is a major source of biodiversity loss.  What we choose to eat has a major effect on how the food system impacts the environment.

A comprehensive study by researchers at several UK universities has found that a plant-based diet yields one-fourth as much greenhouse gases as a diet rich in meat.  Vegan diets produce 75% less heat-trapping gas, generate 75% less water pollution, and use 75% less land than meat-rich diets.

Just going to a low-meat diet cuts the environmental cost of a high-meat diet in half.  Pescatarian diets perform better than low-meat diets, and vegetarian diets do even a little better than that.

There are a variety of reasons why many people won’t, can’t, or even shouldn’t become vegans.  What should be learned from this study is that our dietary choices have a major environmental impact.  So, taking actions like cutting down the amount of meat and dairy – which most people can do with relative ease – can be valuable.

There are many choices with respect to where we live, how we get from place to place, where we get our food, and, yes, what food we eat, that impact the environment.  We are not all going to do the best possible thing in all these cases, but if we each make some choices that at least help, it can make a big difference.

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Vegan Diets Have One-Fourth the Climate Impact of Meat-Heavy Diets, Study Finds

Photo, posted November 5, 2017, courtesy of Stephanie Kraus via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Cleaner And Greener Steel | Earth Wise

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Producing construction materials like concrete and steel is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.  Between 7 and 8% of emissions are due to steelmaking alone, which has been done pretty much the same way for more than a century.

Iron ore is smelted with high-carbon fuel and is turned into so-called pig iron in a blast furnace, which creates the key raw material for the steel industry.  The process uses huge amounts of energy (still often generated by burning fossil fuels) and releases carbon dioxide as a byproduct. 

The Department of Energy is sponsoring 40 projects at universities, national laboratories and companies in 21 states aimed at reducing industrial carbon pollution.  Ten of those projects are focused on decarbonizing iron and steel. These initiatives are part of the overall effort to move the nation towards a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.

A team headed by Case Western Reserve University that includes Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the University of Arizona, and steel company Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has developed a promising new zero-carbon, electrochemical process for producing steel.

The process is a novel molten salt electrolysis method that is low-cost, capable of achieving high rates, and uses environmentally benign chemicals.  The process does not use carbon at all.  Using molten salts, electrochemistry can be performed at moderately high temperatures rather than the temperatures of nearly 3000 degrees Fahrenheit used for conventional steelmaking.  The goal is to enable steel production that is both economically viable at an industrial scale and that is environmentally sustainable.

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Case Western Reserve leading research to develop zero-carbon, electrochemical process to produce iron metal as part of U.S. Department of Energy effort

Photo, posted January 11, 2017, courtesy of Kevin Casey Fleming via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

An Electric Cruise Ship | Earth Wise

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The shipping industry accounts for about 3% of global manmade greenhouse gas emissions.  In 2018, the International Maritime Organization, the UN body that regulates global shipping, set a target to cut the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least half by 2050.

This goal has led to a variety of designs for eco-friendly ships, including car carriers, superyachts, and cargo ships with retractable sails.  But most of the designs still rely to at least some extent on engines that run on fossil fuels.

The Norwegian cruise ship company Hurtigruten has announced that it will build a zero-emissions electric cruise ship with retractable sails covered in solar panels.  The ship is expected to set sail in 2030.  Hurtigruten is a relatively small company, with a fleet of eight ships, each with a capacity of 500 passengers.  But the company hopes that its innovative plan will inspire the entire maritime industry.

The ship will predominantly run off of electric motors powered by 60 megawatt batteries that can be charged in port with renewable energy.  To reduce reliance on the battery, when it is windy, three retractable sails will rise out of the deck, reaching a maximum height of 164 feet.  The sails will be covered in solar panels that will generate energy to top off the batteries while sailing.

The ship will have 270 cabins to hold 500 passengers and 99 crew members.  The streamlined shape of the ship will result in less air resistance to further reduce energy use.

Hurtigruten already has a hybrid, battery-supported cruise ship and is currently in the process of converting its entire fleet to hybrid battery power.

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An electric cruise ship with gigantic solar sails is set to launch in 2030

Photo, posted January 15, 2023, courtesy of Bernard Spragg via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Electric Motors For Aviation | Earth Wise

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Aviation contributes about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions.  Its carbon footprint is one of the more difficult ones to reduce.  Electrifying planes would shrink that footprint considerably, but it represents a significant technical challenge.  To date, only small all-electric planes have gotten off the ground.  The electric motors in those planes generate hundreds of kilowatts of power.  To power large planes, like commercial airliners, megawatt-scale motors are required.

A team of MIT engineers is developing a 1-megawatt motor that could be a key step towards electrifying commercial aircraft.  They have designed and tested major components of the motor and have calculated how the completed design could generate one megawatt of power at a weight and size competitive with existing small aircraft engines.

To be suitable for aircraft use, motors have to be compact and lightweight.  The more power electric motors generate, the bigger they are and the more heat they produce.  Cooling motors requires additional components that take up space and add significant weight.  The MIT motor design and associated power electronics are each about the size of a typical checked suitcase and weigh less than an adult passenger.

Once the MIT team can demonstrate an entire functional motor, the design could be used to power regional aircraft and could be the enabling element of hybrid-electric propulsion systems for jet aircraft.  Possible future configurations could make use of multiple one-megawatt motors powering multiple fans distributed along aircraft wings.

Electrification of aircraft is a slow but steady area of development and technologies such as that being developed at MIT could end up meeting the practical needs of the aircraft of the future.

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Megawatt electrical motor designed by MIT engineers could help electrify aviation

Photo, posted September 14, 2019, courtesy of Dylan Agbagni via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Are Still Increasing | Earth Wise

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Recent research has found that the level of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity has reached an all-time high level of nearly 60 billion tons a year.  Despite increasing public attention, policy measures, and adoption of green technologies, the pace at which these changes have been taking place has simply not kept up with the ongoing burning of fossil fuels by increasingly industrialized societies.  The rate at which greenhouse gas emissions has increased over time has indeed slowed, but emissions need to start decreasing and as soon and as much as possible.

Human-induced warming has reached a ten-year average from 2013-2022 of 1.14 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, up from a 1.07 degrees average between 2010-2019. 

Scientists have calculated a carbon budget that describes how much more carbon dioxide can be emitted before global warming exceeds the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius that is widely predicted to lead to potentially catastrophic changes to the climate.  In 2020, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change calculated that the remaining carbon budget was about 500 billion tons of carbon dioxide.  Over the past three years, nearly half of that carbon budget has already been exhausted by the continuing onslaught of carbon emissions.

Researchers describe their study as a timely wake-up call that the pace and scale of climate action to date has been insufficient and that we need to change policy and approaches in light of the latest evidence about the state of the climate system.  Time is no longer on our side in trying to stave off the worst effects of climate change.

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Greenhouse gas emissions at ‘an all-time high’, warn scientists

Photo, posted September 18, 2015, courtesy of In Hiatus via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Europe Is Warming Very Quickly | Earth Wise

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According to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization, Europe is warming faster than any other inhabited continent.  The result of the rising temperatures has been increasingly severe heat waves, flood, and wildfires.

The Paris Climate Agreement has set a goal of limiting warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and, if at all possible, to no more than 1.5 degrees.  To date, the planet has warmed by 1.2 degrees and, with greenhouse gas emissions continuing at record levels, the temperature keeps going up.

These numbers refer to the global average.  Some places have warmed more and others less.  The Arctic has been warming four times quicker than the rest of the world.  In terms of direct impact on large populations, Europe has already surpassed the 2-degree mark, having reached 2.3 degrees last year.  In 2022, many countries in western and southwestern Europe had their warmest year on record. Weather-related economic damages totaled $2 billion, mostly as a result of storms and floods.

Europe is trying to do its part in mitigating climate change by making major gains on clean energy.  Wind and solar generated 22% of Europe’s power in 2022, which is more than either natural gas or coal produced.  Europe is trying to do its share, but the warming climate is a global phenomenon and will require a global effort to mitigate its effects.

The record-breaking heat stress experienced by Europeans last year cannot be considered a one-off occurrence.  It is part of a pattern that will make weather extremes more frequent and more intense over time.

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The Fastest-Warming Continent, Europe Has Already Heated by More Than 2 Degrees C

Photo, posted September 26, 2011, courtesy of Ben Ramirez via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Airplane Turbulence And Climate Change | Earth Wise

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If you’ve ever been on an airplane, chances are pretty good that you’ve experienced turbulence.  As the busy summer travel season kicks off, travelers are being encouraged to brace themselves for a bumpier-than-usual ride. 

There has been a major increase in the number of severe turbulence cases on both domestic and international flights.  According to a new study by researchers from the University of Reading in the U.K., climate change is leading to this increase in turbulence, driving up costs (via wear and tear on aircrafts), and increasing the risks for passengers and flight attendants.  In the United States alone, turbulence costs the airline industry $150-$500 million annually. 

The study, which was recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found that warmer air, caused by carbon emissions, is creating bumpier flights around the world.  In fact, the study found that severe turbulence in the North Atlantic is up by 55% since 1979. 

The changing climate is affecting air travel in other ways as well.  A faster jet stream across the Atlantic is altering travel times.  Rising temperatures are reducing the weight that aircraft can carry.  Rising seas are threatening low-lying coastal airports around the world. 

But carbon emissions from aviation are also a significant driver of the climate crisis.  Air travel accounts for approximately 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and is one of the fastest growing sources of emissions. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, emissions from international air travel are expected to triple by 2050.

The future is shaping up to be a bumpy ride.

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Climate crisis leading to more turbulence during flights, says study

Evidence for Large Increases in Clear-Air Turbulence Over the Past Four Decades

Climate Scientist Explains Increase In Airplane Turbulence

Airports and Rising Seas

Photo, posted May 9, 2018, courtesy of Steve Lynes via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Ocean Oxygen Levels And The Future Of Fish | Earth Wise

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Climate change is creating a cascade of effects in the world’s oceans.  Not only are ocean temperatures on the rise, but oceans are becoming more acidic, and oxygen deprived.  The warming temperatures and acidification have grabbed headlines and prompted academic research. Declining oxygen levels have not garnered as much attention.  But they spell bad news for fish.

Oxygen levels in the world’s oceans have dropped over 2% between 1960 and 2010 and are expected to decline up to 7% over the next century.  There are places in the northeast Pacific that have lost more than 15% of their oxygen.  There are a growing number of “oxygen minimum zones” where big fish cannot survive but jellyfish can.

Oceans are losing oxygen for several reasons.  First, warmer water can hold less dissolved gas than colder water.  (This is why warm soda is flatter than cold soda.)  Deeper in the ocean, oxygen levels are governed by currents that mix oxygen-rich surface water from above.  Melting ice in the warming polar regions add fresh, less-dense water that resists downward mixing in key regions.  Finally, increasing amounts of ocean bacteria in warming waters gobble up oxygen creating dead zones in the ocean.

In many places, fish species that cannot cope with lower oxygen levels are migrating from their usual homes, resulting in a decline in species diversity.  Our future oceans – warmer and oxygen-deprived – will not only hold fewer kinds of fish, but also smaller fish and even more greenhouse-gas producing bacteria.   

Climate change is bad news for fish and for the more than 3 billion people in the world who depend on seafood as a significant source of protein.

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As Ocean Oxygen Levels Dip, Fish Face an Uncertain Future

Photo, posted January 10, 2022, courtesy of Willy Goldsmith via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Reducing Cattle-Driven Deforestation | Earth Wise

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The Amazon rainforest is the biggest rainforest in the world, larger than the next two biggest combined.  It covers more than three million square miles, roughly the size of the lower 48 states.  The Amazon functions as a critical sink for carbon in the atmosphere.

However, human activity has removed more than 10% of the vegetation from the Amazon rainforest since the 1960s.  Cattle ranching accounts for roughly 70% of Amazon deforestation – much of which is illegal.   

According to a study recently published in the journal Global Environmental Change, companies’ ‘zero-deforestation’ commitments could reduce cattle-driven deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 50%.   Better adoption and implementation of company supply chain policies for Brazilian beef and leather could significantly reduce carbon emissions. 

Between 2010 and 2018, some of the world’s largest slaughterhouses reduced cattle-driven deforestation by 15% through their commitment to zero-deforestation policies.  If these policies were fully implemented and adopted across all cattle companies operating in the Amazon, more than 9,200 square miles of forest could have been spared over the same time period, effectively halving the cattle-driven deforestation in Brazil.  

Zero-deforestation commitments currently cover 82% of beef exported from the Brazilian Amazon for trade internationally.  However, a large amount of beef production destined for Brazil’s domestic markets is not covered.

The researchers say a mix of interventions by both the private and public sector is needed to improve cattle-rearing practices and help reduce deforestation in countries like Brazil.

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Companies’ zero-deforestation commitments have potential to halve cattle-driven deforestation in Brazilian Amazon

Photo, posted January 17, 2011, courtesy of Kelly Sato via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Electric Cars In Norway | Earth Wise

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We are at a relatively early stage of the electric car revolution.  EV sales are increasing rapidly, but they still comprise only a small fraction of the cars on American roads.  So, there is still lots of speculation and argument about how things will actually work when a large fraction of cars are electric.  But there is at least one place where one doesn’t have to speculate:  Norway.

Last year, 80% of new-car sales in Norway were EVs.  That country is essentially an observatory for figuring out what the electrification of vehicles will mean for the environment, workers, and life in general.  In fact, sales of internal combustion cars in Norway will end in 2025.

Based on Norway’s experience, electric vehicles bring benefits and none of the dire consequences that some critics predict.  The transition isn’t problem-free.  There have been unreliable chargers and long waits during periods of high demand.  Auto dealers and retailers have had to adapt to the changes in their businesses.  The pecking order of car brands has changed dramatically making Tesla the best-selling brand and marginalizing long-established carmakers like Renault and Fiat.

But in the bigger picture, the air in Oslo, the capital of Norway, is measurably cleaner.  The city is quieter as noisy gasoline and diesel vehicles gradually disappear.  Oslo’s greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 30% since 2009.  Meanwhile, there hasn’t been mass unemployment among gas station workers, and the electrical grid has not collapsed.

Norway is perhaps 10 years ahead of us with respect to electric cars.  There are still problems to solve, and difficulties to overcome, but so far, it looks like it will all turn out well.

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In Norway, the Electric Vehicle Future Has Already Arrived

Photo, posted October 15, 2018, courtesy of Mario Duran-Ortiz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Greenhouse Gases Continue To Rise | Earth Wise

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Despite all the focus on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, there continues to be little progress toward actually accomplishing reductions.  A combination of growing populations, increasing industrialization in the developing world, and just plain reluctance on the part of many sectors of society to act, have all contributed to the continuing buildup of climate-altering gases in the atmosphere.

Levels of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide – the three greenhouse gases produced by human activity that are the major contributors to climate change – all continued historically high rates of growth in 2022.

CO2 levels rose by 2.13 parts per million last year, roughly the same rate observed during the past decade.  The current level of 417 ppm is 50% higher than pre-industrial levels.  Increases of more than 2 ppm have occurred for 11 consecutive years.  Prior to 2013, there had never even been 3 years in row with increases of that size.

Methane levels increased by 14 parts per billion, the fourth largest increase over the past 40 years.  Methane levels in the atmosphere are now two-and-a-half times greater than their pre-industrial level. 

The third most significant greenhouse gas – nitrous oxide – also saw a large increase, reaching 24% above pre-industrial levels.

Carbon dioxide emissions are by far the most important contributor to climate change and the continuing widespread burning of fossil fuels is the primary source.  There are widespread intentions to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but those intentions have not yet resulted in sufficient actions.

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Greenhouse gases continued to increase rapidly in 2022

Photo, posted May 16, 2014, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Powering Future Ships By Wind | Earth Wise

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An innovative project out of the UK seeks to reduce carbon emissions at sea by retrofitting large ocean vessels with ultramodern wing-sails to reduce the amount of fuel required to travel the oceans.

Powering ships by wind is certainly nothing new.  However, almost every large ship today is powered entirely by fossil fuels.  A company called Smart Green Shipping has developed retrofit wing-sails called FastRigs that can be installed on existing vessels to reduce fuel consumption. They are also working on additional wind-based technology that can supply all the power required for ships.

FastRig technology is designed to be retrofitted to existing commercial vessels with available deck space – typically bulkers and tankers.  There are about 40,000 such ships that are suitable for conversion to this hybrid power system.  Installing FastRigs is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20%.

The company and the UK’s University of Southampton have been funded to investigate the potential of the technology to reduce emissions from existing ships.  The research project will develop software tools to investigate the complex interactions between the wing-sails and ship hydrodynamics to accurately assess the impact on vessel performance.  The software tools will be able to predict the fuel savings delivered by wing-sails.

Smart Green Technologies is developing technology for 100% renewable-powered, new-build ships.  The goal is to create quieter, emission-free ships in the future that do no harm to ocean environments and improve air quality in ports, towns, and cities.  Wind power harnessed using sophisticated digital software and advanced engineering represents a promising way to reduce fuel consumption and related emissions from large ocean vessels.

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Future ships could be powered by wind to fight climate change

Photo, posted October 27, 2017, courtesy of Bernard Spragg via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Hydrogen And The Methane Problem | Earth Wise

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Theoretically, hydrogen could be the fuel of the future.  It is the most common element in the universe and its combustion produces no harmful emissions.  Most industrial hydrogen comes from a process called steam reforming that extracts it from natural gas – basically methane.  Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of the process.   But it is also possible to get hydrogen by breaking down water resulting only in oxygen as a byproduct.   There is a great deal of ongoing development of so-called green hydrogen.

New research from Princeton University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has uncovered a potential problem associated with the use of hydrogen as a clean fuel. 

There is a molecule in the atmosphere called the hydroxyl radical.  It is known as “the detergent of the troposphere”.  It plays a critical role in eliminating greenhouse gases such as methane and ozone from the atmosphere.  It turns out that the hydroxyl radical also reacts with any hydrogen gas in the atmosphere and there is only so much hydroxyl to go around.  If large amounts of hydrogen were to enter the atmosphere, much of the hydroxyl radical would be used up reacting with it and there would be much less available to break down methane.  As a result, there would end up being more methane in the atmosphere, and methane is a powerful greenhouse gas.

The bottom line is that there would need to be proactive efforts to limit the amount of hydrogen getting into the atmosphere whether from producing it, transporting it, or anyplace else in the value chain.  Otherwise, the hydrogen economy would cancel out many of the climate benefits of eliminating fossil fuels.

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Switching to hydrogen fuel could prolong the methane problem

Photo, posted June 12, 2021, courtesy of Clean Air Task Force via Flickr.

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