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Lithium In The Salton Sea | Earth Wise

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The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, extremely salty body of water in the southern end of California.  It was formed from an inflow of water from the Colorado River in 1905 in the aftermath of a collapse of a canal during spring floods.  At one time, it was a thriving tourist destination and site of real estate speculation.  It was also a crucial habitat for migratory birds and various aquatic species.

Over the past 20 years, the Salton Sea has become increasingly desiccated and polluted with agricultural runoff and waste.  Rising salinity and the shrinking water supply from the Colorado River has made it uninhabitable for many species.

Recently, the Salton Sea has attracted new attention because of untouched lithium deposits located beneath its shores.  The general area has acquired the moniker “Lithium Valley” and has become a place where major energy companies are exploring advanced mining techniques such as Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE).  This new technique enables lithium to be captured from brine deposits without resource-intensive open-pit mining or evaporation pond processes.

Lithium is crucial for making the batteries that power electric vehicles.  DLE mining has attracted large investments from billionaires like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos. 

Lithium mining has generated major controversies because of its potential to damage the environment.  Whether the new mining techniques can avoid these problems and tap into the potential resources near the Salton Sea remains to be seen.  According to experts, the aquifers near the Salton Sea hold enough lithium to supply close to 40% of the global demand.

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As Companies Eye Massive Lithium Deposits in California’s Salton Sea, Locals Anticipate a Mixed Bag

Photo, posted October 28, 2021, courtesy of Christian Collins via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Electric Steel Furnaces | Earth Wise

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Steel was first made thousands of years ago.  The discovery that heating up iron ore in a hot enough charcoal fire could purify the iron into a strong and valuable material was the start of the Iron Age.  In many ways, things have changed very little since then.

Global iron and steel production accounts for 7% of society’s carbon emissions. Making steel generally involves burning coal in a blast furnace to produce the very high temperatures required to turn iron into steel.  The coal is used both as a feedstock and as a fuel.  Steel is made from iron and a substance called coke, which is basically coal that has been carbonized at high temperatures.  Coal itself is burned to provide the high temperatures needed.

A new analysis from the Global Energy Monitor think tank shows that the global steel industry is slowly embracing electric-arc furnaces to produce the necessary heat, which is a cleaner alternative.  The analysis found that 43% of forthcoming steelmaking capacity will rely on electric-arc furnaces, up from 33% last year.

According to the study, the shift to cleaner steel is not happening fast enough.  To meet the emissions reductions goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, electric-arc furnaces must account for 53% of global steelmaking capacity by 2050.  Based on the current plans, those furnaces would only account for 32% of total capacity by that year.

In order to meet these goals, the steel industry will need to retire or cancel about 381 million tons of coal-based manufacturing capacity and add 670 million tons of electric-arc furnace capacity. 

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Steel Industry Pivoting to Electric Furnaces, Analysis Shows

Photo, posted March 3, 2012, courtesy of Jeronimo Nisa via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The World’s Hottest Day | Earth Wise

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Early in July – for four days in a row – the average global temperature was the highest ever recorded.  As many places around the world endured dangerous heatwaves, the average global temperature on the fourth of July reached 62.92 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest ever recorded by human-made instruments.  On July 6th, the global temperature climbed even further to 63.01 degrees.

The average global temperature on an annual basis was about 56.7 degrees from the 1880s through the 1910s.  Temperatures rose a bit after that but ended up about 57.2 degrees until the 1980s.  After that, temperatures have risen fairly steadily as heat-trapping gases have accumulated in the atmosphere driving the current average above 58 degrees.

Global temperatures have only been directly measured since the mid-20th century.  There are proxy measurements from sources like tree rings, ice core samples, glacier measurements, and more that indicate that the recent readings may be the warmest days the earth has seen in millennia.

Average global temperature is determined using temperature readings at thousands of locations on both land and sea across the entire planet.  Those readings are compared with average temperatures at those locations for the date and the difference (known as the temperature anomaly) used to calculate a global average.

With the recent arrival of the El Niño in the Pacific Ocean, it is likely that the warming already being driven by greenhouse gas accumulation will intensify further. 

In a summer already marked by extreme heatwaves in many locations, having the entire planet 4 or 5 degrees hotter than normal is a very big deal and most certainly not a record to celebrate.

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Earth reaches hottest day ever recorded 4 days in a row

Photo, posted October 29, 2008, courtesy of Darek via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Big Year For Rooftop Solar | Earth Wise

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The global capacity of rooftop solar power grew by 49% in 2022.  Overall, the installed amount of rooftop solar grew from 79 gigawatts to 118 gigawatts last year and it is projected to reach 159 gigawatts by the end of this year.  By comparison, a typical nuclear power plant can produce 1 gigawatt; a gas-powered power plant is typically half a gigawatt.

Rooftop solar constitutes a relatively small fraction of the total global installed solar capacity, which is dominated by utility-scale solar arrays.  Total installed solar capacity rose from 950 gigawatts to 1,177 gigawatts last year and is projected to reach 1,518 gigawatts this year.  That is enough power to meet more than half the electricity demand of the European Union.

The rapid growth of solar power can only continue if there is more energy storage put in place to manage the peaks and troughs in solar output.  Countries will also need to upgrade their power grids to be able to transport excess solar power from where it is generated to where it is needed.   Bottlenecks in the grids of most of the leading solar-producing nations are already interfering with further solar development.

The overall potential for rooftop solar is based on the number of rooftops that would be suitable for solar power, which depends on the size, shading, orientation, and location of the roofs.  According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, rooftops in the United States have the potential for more than 1,000 gigawatts of solar capacity. Currently, only about 4% of US homes have rooftop solar. 

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Rooftop Solar Grew Nearly 50 Percent Globally Last Year

Photo, posted November 16, 2022, courtesy of Oliver Knight 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

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

Wildfire Smoke And Global Weather | Earth Wise

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In 2019 and 2020, wildfires burned 72,000 square miles in Australia, roughly the same area as the entire country of Syria. During the nine months when the fires raged, persistent and widespread plumes of smoke filled the atmosphere.

These aerosols brightened a vast area of clouds above the subtropical Pacific Ocean.  Beneath these clouds, the surface of the ocean and the atmosphere cooled.  The effect of this was an unexpected and long-lasting cool phase of the Pacific’s La Niña-El Niño cycle.

A new modeling study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado quantified the extent to which aerosols from the Australian wildfires made clouds over the tropical Pacific reflect more sunlight back towards space.  The resultant cooling shifted the cloud and rain belt known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone northward.  These effects may have helped trigger the unusual three-year-long La Niña, which lasted from late 2019 through 2022.

The impacts of that La Niña included intensifying drought and famine in Eastern Africa and priming the Atlantic Ocean for hurricanes.  2020 was the most active tropical storm season on record, with 31 storm systems, including 11 that made landfall in the U.S.

The study highlights widespread multi-year climate impacts caused by an unprecedented wildfire season.  The wildfires set off a chain of events that influenced weather far from where the fires occurred.  In the future, climate experts will need to include the potential effects of wildfires in their forecasts.

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How Wildfire Smoke from Australia Affected Climate Events Around the World

Photo, posted December 19, 2019, courtesy of Simon Rumi via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Rare Earths And The Energy Transition | Earth Wise

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Limiting the rise in global temperature to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius requires decarbonization.  This means slashing fossil fuel use, switching to renewable energy sources, and electrifying as many sectors of the economy as possible.  Doing these things requires huge numbers of wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles, and storage batteries.   All of them use rare earth elements and other critical metals.

The 17 rare earth elements are actually common, but they are called rare because they are seldom found in sufficient quantities to be extracted easily or economically. 

China once supplied 97% of the world’s rare earth elements as a result of government support, cheap labor, lax environmental regulations, and low prices.  Once the world started to realize the dangers of being so dependent on China, many countries began developing their own rare earth element production. (However, today China still produces 60-70% of the world’s rare earth elements).

It is difficult to mine rare earth elements without causing environmental damage.  The prevalent extraction techniques involve toxic chemicals that can leach into the environment and, because rare earths are often found near radioactive elements, mining often brings dangerous radioactive waste into the environment.

Researchers are working on ways to make rare earth mining more sustainable.  Some of these include biomining – which uses microbes to extract rare earths from ores, electrical methods to free rare earths from ores, and so-called agromining, which is growing plants that hyperaccumulate rare earths from the soil into their tissues.

Making rare earth mining more sustainable and less harmful to the environment is an essential part of the world’s future.

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The Energy Transition Will Need More Rare Earth Elements. Can We Secure Them Sustainably?

Photo, posted November 18, 2008, courtesy of the Oregon Department of Transportation via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Storing Carbon Dioxide In The Ocean | Earth Wise

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Reducing the amount of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere means either shutting down emission sources (primarily curbing the use of fossil fuels) or capturing the CO2 as it is emitted.  Capturing carbon dioxide from smokestacks and other point sources with high concentrations is relatively efficient and can make economic sense.  Removing it from the air, which even at today’s dangerously high levels contains only 400 parts per million, is difficult and energy intensive.  And even when it is removed, it then must be stored somewhere.

Researchers at Lehigh University have developed a novel way to capture carbon dioxide from the air and store it in what is effectively the infinite sink of the ocean.  The approach uses an innovative copper-containing filter that essentially converts CO2 into sodium bicarbonate (better known as baking soda.)  The bicarbonate can be released harmlessly into the ocean.

This technique has produced a 300 percent increase in the amount of carbon dioxide captured compared with existing direct air capture methods.   It does not require any specific level of carbon dioxide to work.  The filter becomes saturated with the gas molecules as air is blown through it.  Once this occurs, seawater is passed through the filter and the CO2 is converted to dissolved bicarbonate.  Dumping it into the ocean has no adverse effect on the ocean.  It doesn’t change the salinity at all, and the stuff is slightly alkaline, which will help reduce ocean acidification.

Reusing the filter requires cleaning it with a sodium hydroxide solution, which can be created from seawater using electricity generated by waves, wind, or sun.

The filter, called DeCarbonHIX, is attracting interest from companies based in countries around the world.

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Path to net-zero carbon capture and storage may lead to ocean

Photo, posted March 10, 2007, courtesy of Gail via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

An Accelerating Rate Of Mountain Forest Loss | Earth Wise

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Mountains contribute disproportionately to the Earth’s diversity of life.  While mountains account for about 25% of the land area on Earth, they are home to more than 85% of the mammal, bird, and amphibian species.  But alarmingly, forested mountain habitats in which these species live are disappearing, and they appear to be disappearing at an accelerating rate.

According to a new study recently published in the journal One Earth, more than 300,000 square miles of mountain forest has been lost globally since 2000, which is an area larger than the state of Texas. 

A research team led by scientists from Leeds University in the United Kingdom and the Southern University of Science and Technology in China tracked changes in mountain forests on an annual basis from 2001 to 2018.  The researchers found logging to be the biggest driver of mountain forest loss, responsible for 42% of the overall decline.  This is followed by wildfires at 29%, so-called “slash-and-burn” cultivation at 15%, and permanent or semi-permanent agriculture at 10%.  Significant losses occurred in Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, and South America, but not in Oceania or North America.

The research team also found that the rate of mountain forest loss seems to be accelerating: in fact, the annual rate of loss increased 50% from 2010-2018 when compared with 2001-2009.

While developing additional forest protection strategies and interventions is critical, the researchers emphasize the importance of also considering food production, livelihoods, and human wellbeing in any new measures.

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Mountain forests are being lost at an accelerating rate, putting biodiversity at risk

Photo, posted December 6, 2018, courtesy of Lance Cheung / USDA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Insects On The Menu | Earth Wise

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Insects on the menu as EU approves two for human consumption

World Hunger Surged in 2020, U.N. Says

A global food crisis

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

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The Enormous Cost Of Steel Corrosion | Earth Wise

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Global steel production has been rising for decades.  Because steel corrodes over time, part of the demand for more steel comes from the need to replace the steel used in construction materials – in everything from bridges to cars – that has become corroded over time.  Studies have estimated that the economic cost of corrosion is an astonishing 3 to 4% of a nation’s gross domestic product.  Globally, this means that steel corrosion costs the world trillions – yes, trillions with a T – of dollars each year.

On top of the staggering economic impact of corrosion, there is the fact that steel production is one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters of any industry, accounting for more than 25% of all manufacturing sector carbon emissions.  In fact, steel manufacturing causes over 10% of total global carbon emissions.  

As a result of regulations placed on the steel industry, technological advances in the steelmaking process have resulted in a 61% reduction in the industry’s energy consumption over the last 50 years.   There are continuing efforts to reduce the energy consumption of steel making and to move away from the use of fossil fuels to produce the needed energy.  But without significant improvements, just the emissions associated with replacing corroded steel could make the goals set by the Paris Climate Agreement unfeasible.

It’s hard to believe that something costing the world trillions of dollars and has a major negative impact on the climate is largely invisible.  Steel corrosion is an enormous societal challenge that has gone under the  radar for decades and therefore has not received anything like the attention it deserves.

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Reducing steel corrosion vital to combating climate change

Photo, posted July 24, 2008, courtesy of Phil Whitehouse via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

City Greenery And Carbon Emissions | Earth Wise

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According to the United Nations, more than half of the world’s population currently lives in cities.  Projections show that the combination of urbanization and global population growth could add another 2.5 billion people to cities by 2050. 

Unsurprisingly, cities are a major contributor to climate change.  According to U.N. estimates, cities are responsible for 75% of global carbon dioxide emissions, with transportation and buildings being among the largest contributors. 

According to a new study of vegetation across New York City and some adjoining urban areas, photosynthesis by trees and grasses on many summer days absorbs all the carbon emissions produced by cars, trucks and buses, and then some.  In fact, on many summer days, the total carbon uptake in the region equaled up to 40% of a summer afternoon’s total emissions from all sources in the City. The results, which were recently published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, further highlights the critical importance of urban greenery.

Most previous studies have analyzed the carbon uptake of vegetation by looking at the contiguous tracts of green spaces, but this only comprises about 10% of metro areas.  Using detailed aerial radar imagery of New York City that mapped vegetation in unprecedented 6-inch grids, the researchers were able to include the other 90% of the metro area typically left out in most models. 

Since carbon uptake by vegetation only occurs during the growing season, green spaces in cities situated in warmer climates likely play a larger role in carbon uptake. 

As city populations swell around the world, every bit of urban greenery is critical in the fight against climate change. 

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New York City’s greenery absorbs a surprising amount of its carbon emissions

68% of the world population projected to live in urban areas by 2050, says UN

Photo, posted October 5, 2009, courtesy of David Orban via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Energy From Rice Straw | Earth Wise

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Rice straw is produced as a byproduct of rice production.  Globally, as much as a billion tons of rice straw is produced each year, three-quarters of it in Asia.  Straw incorporation in soil for fertilization is not practical in most places because with multiple crops per year, there is not enough time for the material to decompose and become good fertilizer.  As a result, open-field straw burning is increasingly the standard practice.

Scientists at Aston University in Birmingham in the UK are embarking on a project to convert rice straw in Indonesia into low-cost energy on a commercial scale.

Indonesia produces 100 million tons of rice waste each year, of which 60% is burned in open fields, causing air pollution. 

The Aston researchers are developing a biomass conversion process based on pyrolysis.  This involves heating the rice straw to high temperatures over 900 degrees Fahrenheit to break it down, producing vapor and solid products.  Both of these things can be used to generate electricity.

A new combustion engine designed by a company called Carnot Limited is capable of converting 70% of the thermal energy extracted from the rice straw into electricity.

Energy extracted in this way could help low and middle-income countries to create their own locally generated energy, thereby reducing emissions, creating jobs, and improving human health.   The biomass electricity is predicted to be cheaper than solar, geothermal, wind, coal, or even subsidized gas-generated power.

The Aston University project will help develop a business model that could support companies and communities to produce local, cheap energy in Indonesia and other countries with biomass capacity. 

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Aston University to help power Indonesia with affordable energy made from rice straw

Photo, posted September 11, 2006, courtesy of Kristen McQuillin via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Tracking Global Forest Changes | Earth Wise

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India is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world.  An estimated 47,000 plant species and 89,000 animal species can be found in India, with more than 10% of each thought to be on the list of threatened species.

India is also one of the 10 most forest-rich countries in the world.  Trees cover approximately 25% of the nation.  But this is still a significant decline from years past.  In fact, between the 1890s and 1990s, a combination of rapid development and resource overexploitation caused India to lose nearly 80% of its native forest area.  Today, as India’s forests continue to disappear, researchers are trying to help preserve what forest remains. 

Using satellite-monitoring data, researchers from The Ohio State University have developed a deep learning algorithm that could provide real-time land use and land cover maps for parts of India. 

The land use monitoring system was trained using satellite data from Norway’s International Climate and Forests Initiative.  By combining this data with a global land cover map produced by Tsinghua University in China, the researcher team’s deep learning model was able to acquire a more detailed type of base map of the area.  Using their model, the researchers were able to process 10 monthly maps.  Their research was recently  presented at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.   

Using these maps, the researchers were able to detect seasonal shifts across india.  These include changes to barren land, how crop land was affected by monsoons, and the distribution of forests in mountainous regions. 

Understanding the impact of these seasonal changes will help scientists better predict the effects of climate change on forests.

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Using deep learning to monitor India’s disappearing forest cover

Photo, posted January 20, 2013, courtesy of Frontier Official via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Growing Threat To Wheat | Earth Wise

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Wheat is one of the most widely-grown crops in the world and plays a major role in human nutrition.  In fact, wheat contributes approximately 20% of the protein and 20% of the calories consumed by humans globally.  It is grown on every continent except Antarctica.  

But wheat is under growing attacks from harmful toxins.  According to a new study by researchers from the University of Bath and the University of Exeter in the U.K., almost half of wheat crops across Europe are impacted by the fungal infection that gives rise to mycotoxins.

Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins produced by the fungus that causes Fusarium Head Blight.  Fusarium Head Blight is a disease that affects wheat and other grains growing in the field. Eating products contaminated with mycotoxins can cause sickness in humans and livestock, including vomiting and other gastrointestinal problems.

In the study, the research team examined 10 years of government and agribusiness data, which tracked Fusarium mycotoxins in wheat entering the food and animal supply chains across Europe and the U.K.  Half of the wheat intended for human food in Europe contained the Fusarium mycotoxin.  In the UK, 70% of wheat was contaminated.

Governments set legal limits on mycotoxin contamination levels in wheat that is to be consumed by humans. But with the ubiquitous nature of these mycotoxins, the effect of constant, low-level exposure in the diet over the course of a lifetime is not known. 

With climate change and the war in Ukraine already impacting both wheat yield and price, preventing toxin contamination is critical to help maintain a stable crop price and to protect global good security. 

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Harmful fungal toxins in wheat: a growing threat across Europe

Photo, posted July 11, 2011, courtesy of Maria Keays via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Renewables Will Overtake Coal | Earth Wise

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According to a recent report by the International Energy Agency, worldwide growth in renewable power capacity is set to double in the next five years.  In fact, by 2027, the world will add as much renewable power as it did over the previous 20 years.

Of particular significance is that renewables are going to overtake coal as the largest source of electricity generation by early 2025.

The global energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine has had multiple effects on the evolution of the energy system.  While the war has driven a resurgence in fossil fuel consumption in Europe in order to replace gas from Russia, that resurgence is expected to be short-lived.  Instead, the current energy crisis may turn out to be an historic turning point toward a cleaner and more secure energy system.

Soaring fossil-fuel prices triggered by the war have caused many countries to respond by embracing wind turbines, solar panels, nuclear power plants, hydrogen fuels, electric vehicles, and electric heat pumps.  In the US, Congress approved more than $370 billion in spending for clean energy technologies as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.  China, India, South Korea, and Japan have all increased their national targets for renewable power.   However, heating and cooling buildings with renewable power remains a sector needing larger improvement, according to the energy agency.

Overall, the expansion of renewable power over the next five years is now projected to happen much faster than what was projected just one year ago. The new IEA report revised last year’s forecast for renewables growth by 30% as a result of the introduction of new policies by many of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters.

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Renewables Will Overtake Coal by Early 2025, Energy Agency Says

Photo, posted March 8, 2021, courtesy of Stanze via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Triple La Niña | Earth Wise

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La Niña is an oceanic phenomenon consisting of cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropic Pacific.  It is essentially the opposite of the better-known El Niño.   These sea-surface phenomena affect weather across the globe.  As one oceanographer put it:  when the Pacific speaks, the whole world listens.

There is currently a La Niña underway, and it is the third consecutive northern hemisphere winter that has had one.  This so-called triple-dip event is rather rare.  The only other times they have been recorded over the past 70 years were in 1954-56, 1973-76, and 1998-2001.

La Niñas appear when strong easterly trade winds increase the upwelling of cooler water from the depths of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean near the equator.  This causes large-scale cooling of the ocean surface.  The cooler ocean surface modifies the moisture content of the atmosphere across the Pacific and can cause shifts in the path of jet streams that intensifies rainfall in some places and causes droughts in others.

These weather effects tend to include floods in northern Australia, Indonesia, and southeast Asia and, in contrast, drought in the American southwest.  In North America, cooler and stormier conditions often occur across the Pacific Northwest while the weather becomes warmer across the southern US and northern Mexico.

In the spring, the tropic Pacific essentially resets itself and starts building toward whatever condition will happen in the following winter, be it another La Niña or possibly an El Niño.   For the time being, forecasters expect the current La Niña to persist through February.

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La Niña Times Three

Photo, posted March 10, 2007, courtesy of Gail via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Carbon Capture Booming | Earth Wise

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For the world to reach a state of net-zero emissions, it is going to require more than the ongoing transition to renewable energy sources.  There will also need to be efforts to capture the emissions from sources that can’t easily eliminate their pollution.  These include steel mills, cement plants, and other industrial sites.  At least for the foreseeable future,  a number of essential industries have no other viable path to deep decarbonization, and carbon capture and storage projects are the only promising strategy on hand.

Companies use CCS to filter emissions from fossil fuel power plants and industrial facilities and then bury the captured carbon underground, often in deep caverns.

Over the past 12 months, the pipeline for carbon capture and storage projects has grown by 44%.  This year, firms have announced 61 new CCS projects, bringing the total number of commercial projects in the global pipeline to 196, which includes about 30 that are already in operation.  Another 11 are under construction, and 153 are in development.

When all of these projects are completed, they will have the capacity to capture a total of about 270 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.  Estimates are that there need to be 1,400 million tons locked away each year to reach zero-emissions.  So, the existing project pipeline constitutes about 20% of what is ultimately needed.

The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act boosts tax incentives for carbon capture.  Analysts believe this could multiply U.S. deployment of the technology more than 10-fold.  Globally, it is expected that CCS will continue its rapid growth as countries ramp up investments in the technology.

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Carbon Capture Projects See Meteoric Growth in 2022

Photo, posted August 22, 2022, courtesy of Nenad Stojkovic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Carbon Inequality | Earth Wise

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Everyone contributes to climate change through the generation of greenhouse gas emissions, but individual contributions vary greatly.   A study at the Paris School of Economics has determined that just 1 percent of the population is responsible for nearly a quarter of global carbon emissions growth since 1990.

The study estimated emissions from individuals’ consumption and their financial investments, and also from government spending in their country.  Individuals are responsible for carbon emissions as a result of their own activities, but they also bear their share of responsibility for the emissions of the firms that they own or invest in. 

In 2019, people living in sub-Saharan Africa produced an average of 1.8 tons of CO2 equivalent per capita.  In North America, the average per capita was more than 10 times higher.  Meanwhile, the top 10% of North America’s emitters produced more than 75 tons each.

From 1990 to 2019, the bottom 50% of emitters was responsible for just 16% of emissions growth, while the top 1% was responsible for 23%.  The top 0.1% saw emissions growth of 80%.

The inequality between rich and poor is driven more by inequality within countries than by inequality between countries.  This is particularly true for wealthy countries.  For example, over the study period, the top 1% saw their emissions grow by 26% while emissions actually declined 5-15% among low and middle earners even in wealthy nations.

Economic inequality drives a lot of the dynamics taking place within many countries around the world, and this even applies to pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

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Global carbon inequality over 1990–2019

Photo, posted December 11, 2017, courtesy of Bernal Saborio via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

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