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Scientists Call For Geoengineering Research | Earth Wise

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A group of more than 60 climate researchers has published an open letter calling for accelerated research into what is called solar radiation management.  This means changing the amount of solar energy reaching the surface of the earth by adding various substances into the stratosphere or into the clouds in order to help cool down the planet.

This form of geoengineering is controversial to say the least.  While such approaches would most likely be successful in cooling things down, such climate manipulation could have dangerous and unexpected consequences.

For their part, the scientists explicitly state that they do not support the use of solar radiation management or SRM.  Their position is that our current level of knowledge is not sufficient to accurately assess potential risks and consequences.  What they are advocating is for scientific research to be conducted to support the assessment of the potential effectiveness of various SRM techniques, to determine how these techniques would affect climate change under various greenhouse gas scenarios, and to determine the capabilities for detecting and attributing possible impacts of SRM interventions.

The letter was a response to a larger group of scientists and academics who called for a strict ban on geoengineering, saying that it could divert attention and resources from much-needed greenhouse gas reductions.  The new letter claims that gaining additional knowledge about SRM is a critical part of making effective and ethical decisions about its implementation.  They state that we have no right to ban the ability to search for a solution to the mess we created.

Opponents of such research are concerned that even pursuing it normalizes in the public eye what could potentially be a catastrophically dangerous activity.

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60 Scientists Call for Accelerated Research Into ‘Solar Radiation Management’ That Could Temporarily Mask Global Warming

Photo, posted February 11, 2006, courtesy of Janice Waltzer via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Pulling Carbon Dioxide Out Of Seawater | Earth Wise

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The world’s largest sink for carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is the ocean.  The world’s oceans soak up 30-40% of all the gas produced by human activities.  Dissolving carbon dioxide in water produces carbonic acid.   This is the reason that oceans are becoming increasingly acidic, which is causing serious damage to ocean ecosystems.

There are many efforts underway aimed at directly removing carbon dioxide from the air as a way to mitigate the effects of ongoing emissions.  But another possibility is to remove CO2 directly from ocean water.  Existing methods for doing it involve the use of expensive membranes and complex chemicals. The economics of such methods are quite unfavorable.

Recently, a team of researchers at MIT has identified what they claim is a truly efficient and inexpensive removal mechanism. It involves a reversible process based on membrane-free electrochemical cells.  Electrodes in the cells release protons that are introduced to seawater which drive the release of carbon dioxide dissolved in the water. The carbon dioxide can be collected and the processed water ends up being alkaline.

Running this process at a site that is already collecting seawater – such as at a desalination plant – would be an effective way to collect carbon dioxide as well as help mitigate ocean acidification.

Once the carbon dioxide is removed from the water, it still needs to be disposed of, just as is the case for other carbon removal processes.  It could be turned into useful chemicals or it could be stored in underground caverns.  But this approach is fairly unique in that the carbon dioxide has already been captured by the ocean.  The issue remains what to do with it.

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How to pull carbon dioxide out of seawater

Photo, posted January 19, 2016, courtesy of Judy Dean via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Sustainable Jet Fuel | Earth Wise

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For several years, a few airlines, notably United here in the US, have been experimenting with the use of sustainable jet fuel.  Sustainable aviation fuel is made from such things as used cooking oil and agricultural waste.  It produces up to 80% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional jet fuel. 

To date, when used it has been blended with fossil fuel jet fuel at a fairly low level.  United is the largest consumer of sustainable jet fuel in the US, but it accounts for less than one percent of the airline’s total fuel consumption.  Unfortunately, sustainable fuel can be as much as three times more expensive than conventional jet fuel.

Because of increasing governmental policy changes, technological breakthroughs, and climate commitments by airlines, efforts to increase the viability of sustainable jet fuel are ramping up.

Recently, United Airlines, Air Canada, Boeing, Honeywell, and JP Morgan Chase made initial contributions of $100 million to a new venture capital fund that will invest in sustainable fuel technology.  United expects the fund to grow to $500 million and make about two dozen investments over the next three years. 

Emissions from aviation contribute more than two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions each year.  Like many big companies, United Airlines has pledged to stop adding carbon emissions to the environment by 2050.  Unlike many, United has also pledged to eliminate emissions without using carbon offsets, which is effectively paying others to do their dirty work without cleaning up their own operations.

Multiple sustainable fuel companies in the US and abroad are working on a variety of ways to make aviation fuel from sustainable sources.

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A Sudden Rush to Make Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mainstream

Photo, posted August 18, 2021, courtesy of Ronen Fefer 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

2022 Temperature Report | Earth Wise

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The average surface temperature for the Earth in 2022 tied with 2015 as the fifth warmest on record.  The warming trend for the planet continued with global temperatures 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit above the average baseline for 1951-1980 that NASA uses for its studies. Compared with the late 19th century average used in setting climate goals, global temperatures are up about 1.1 degrees Celsius, or 2 degrees Fahrenheit.

Overall, the past nine years have been the warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1880.   The rising temperatures have moved in concert with rising levels of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere from human activity.  Many factors can affect the average temperature in any given year including El Nino and La Nina conditions in the Pacific.  But the longer-term trend is quite clear.  Global temperatures continue to rise.

Greenhouse gas emissions have reached all-time high levels despite increasing efforts to reduce them.  There was a real drop in levels in 2020 due to reduced activity during COVID-19 lockdowns, but they rebounded soon thereafter. 

The Arctic region continues to experience the strongest warming trends, as much as four times the global average.  Arctic warming has a major impact on weather at lower latitudes as it changes the behavior of the jet stream as well as affecting ocean currents and water temperatures.

As global temperatures continue to rise, rainfall and tropical storms have become more intense, droughts have become more severe, and ocean storm surges have had increasing impact.  From torrential monsoons in Asia to megadroughts in the U.S. Southwest, extreme weather has become the new normal.

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NASA Says 2022 Fifth Warmest Year on Record, Warming Trend Continues

Photo, posted June 20, 2020, courtesy of Daxis via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Carbon Capture In Wyoming | Earth Wise

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Wyoming produces about 40% of our country’s coal and many towns in the state were built because of and make their living from it.  With coal’s plummeting share in the nation’s electricity, there is a great deal of anxiety among residents of those towns.

As carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere continue to climb, there is a growing sense that cutting emissions will not happen quickly enough and it will be necessary to pull the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere.  The current long-term government climate strategy assumes that carbon removal will account for 6 to 8 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas reductions by 2050.

The Inflation Reduction Act passed in August provides $3.5 billion to help build “direct air capture hubs” around the country, with an emphasis on fossil fuel-dependent communities such as many in Wyoming. 

The town of Rock Springs, Wyoming is home to the Jim Bridger Coal Plant. A company called CarbonCapture, Inc., is launching Project Bison, which will build a direct air capture facility outside of town that is set to begin operations next year.  It will initially capture 10,000 metric tons of CO2 per year but plans to expand that to 5 million tons a year by 2030. 

That would be far more than any current carbon capture plant can do. The largest plant in the world, located in Iceland, pulls in only about 4,000 metric tons a year.

There are many problems associated with carbon capture.  It uses up very large amounts of energy, possibly presents environmental problems, and is very expensive.  In short, the technology has a long way to go before becoming viable.  However, this may ultimately be another example where necessity is the mother of invention.

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Carbon Removal Is Coming to Fossil Fuel Country. Can It Bring Jobs and Climate Action?

Photo, posted July 22, 2012, courtesy of Max Phillips 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

It Really Is Greenhouse Gases | Earth Wise

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The scientific consensus that human-generated carbon dioxide is changing the climate began to form in the 1980s. 

For a long time, the changes to the climate were simply denied.  After a while, as those changes became increasingly hard to ignore, the argument shifted to the changes being real but not caused by anything people are doing.  The multi-trillion-dollar fossil fuel industry was strongly motivated to focus attention away from the association between carbon dioxide and climate change.

The greenhouse gas effect has been known since the 19th century.  It isn’t just real; it is essential to life on earth.  Without sufficient levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to trap some of the sun’s heat, the earth would be an ice planet incapable of supporting much in the way of life.  But there can be too much of a good thing.

Naysayers continue to grasp at alternative explanations for the warming planet rather than the inconvenient truth.  Some people try to claim that it is the release of heat from all our energy-generating activities -power plants, heaters and air conditioners, vehicles, and so on – that is warming the planet.

That issue has been studied in detail.  Human activity does generate a lot of heat and, technically speaking, that heat does help warm the planet.  However, the sun dumps 10,000 times more heat on the earth than all of human energy production added together.  Just the normal fluctuations in solar energy are 10 times larger than everything we do put together.

What is increasingly warming the planet is not the continuing energy striking the earth; it is primarily the fact that growing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are trapping more and more of that heat and preventing it from escaping into space.

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Integrating anthropogenic heat flux with global climate models

Photo, posted August 25, 2009, courtesy of Gerald Simmons via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Food Waste And The Environment | Earth Wise

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It is tragic that 31% of the world’s food production goes uneaten.  About 14% isn’t distributed after it is harvested.  Another 17% ends up wasted in retail or by consumers.  Worldwide, the amount of food that is wasted is enough to feed more than a billion people while at least 828 million people continue to be affected by hunger.  To make matters worse, food waste accounts for 8 to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is at least double that of aviation.  Food waste, rotting away in landfills, produces methane gas, a major source of global warming.

Around the world, there are efforts being launched to try to improve the situation.  California now has a law that requires grocery stores to donate edible food that would otherwise be disposed of or they face fines.  The state’s cities and counties are required to reduce the amount of organic waste going into landfills by 75% by 2025 and compost it instead.

In London, grocers no longer put date labels on fruits and vegetables because the labels were leading people to trash perfectly good food.  France now requires supermarkets and large caterers to donate food that is still safe to eat.

South Korea has little space for landfills.  So, the country has been campaigning against throwing away food for 20 years.  Nearly all organic waste in the country is turned into animal feed, compost, or biogas.  Koreans even have to pay for throwing out food waste.  There are now trash bins equipped with electronic sensors that weigh food waste.

All of these things can help.  There is no single magic bullet for reducing food waste, but it is essential to do for so many reasons.

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Inside the Global Effort to Keep Perfectly Good Food Out of the Dump

Photo, posted November 30, 2020, courtesy of Marco Verch 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

Electrifying Delivery Vehicles | Earth Wise

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Most of the buzz about electric vehicles relates to passenger cars as the auto industry is making a major transition away from gasoline power.  Recently, pickup trucks have started to get some attention as well as Ford’s electric version of the F-150 truck has hit the streets and the long-awaited Tesla Cybertruck will be introduced next year.  There hasn’t been as much talk about delivery vehicles, but there should be.

There are about 15 million delivery vehicles in the U.S., and they are a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.   The post office alone has a quarter million of them.  Such vehicles are especially attractive candidates for electrification.  Most travel relatively consistent and short routes, which makes it easier for companies to be able to charge them and keep them charged.

Electrifying delivery vehicles in cities is especially important because the vehicles travel into and through residential neighborhoods, spreading pollution and particulates as they go.

Some provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act provide credits for the purchase of commercial vehicles.  Light-duty vans and trucks qualify for a credit of as much as $7,500.  Medium- and heavy-duty trucks qualify for credits as high as $40,000.  In addition, substantial tax credits are available for the installation of charging equipment.

According to a study by the Rocky Mountain Institute, sixty percent of new truck sales could be electric by 2030.  By 2035, the trucking industry could cut its emissions in half.

American companies are already stepping up to the plate.  Amazon plans to deploy 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from new automaker Rivian.  Walmart, UPS, FedEx, and others have also committed to electrified trucks.

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The Climate Bill Will Electrify More Delivery Vans and Trucks

Photo, posted August 1, 2021, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Food For The Future | Earth Wise

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Researchers predict that climate change will negatively impact most staple food crops, including rice, corn, and soybeans.  Therefore, climate resilient food crops – those that are salt, drought, and heat resilient – will have an important role to play in global food security.  Examples of climate resilient crops include quinoa, kernza, amaranth, millet, and tepary beans.    

According to a new study by researchers from Northwestern University, breadfruit – a starchy tree fruit native to the Pacific Islands – will be relatively unaffected by climate change.  Because breadfruit is climate resilient and well-suited to grow in regions with high levels of food insecurity, the research team suggests breadfruit could be a part of the solution to global hunger.

While it has ”fruit” in its name, breadfruit is more like a potato.  It’s starchy and seedless, and is closely related to jackfruit.  Breadfruit is nutrient-rich, and high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals.  It can be steamed, roasted, fried, fermented, and even turned into flour.  People in tropical regions around the world have been eating breadfruit for thousands of years. 

In the study, which was recently published in the journal PLOS Climate, researchers determined the climate conditions necessary to cultivate breadfruit and then looked at how these conditions are predicted to change in the future.  They examined two future climate scenarios: one that reflects high greenhouse-gas emissions and another in which emissions stabilize.

In both scenarios, the regions suitable for breadfruit cultivation were mostly unaffected.  Additionally, the researchers identified new suitable land where breadfruit cultivation could expand.   

As the climate continues to change, breadfruit might soon be on a table near you.

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Climate-resilient breadfruit might be the food of the future

Photo, posted August 11, 2007, courtesy of Malcolm Manners via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Plant-Based Foods And CO2 Emissions | Earth Wise

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We often hear how eating locally-sourced food is a way to minimize the carbon footprint of our diet.  But from a climate impact perspective, this only has a significant impact if transportation is responsible for a large portion of a food’s final carbon footprint.  In many cases, the greenhouse gas emissions related to transportation make up only a small portion of the total emissions from food, and what we eat is far more important.

In general, beef and lamb have the biggest climate footprint per gram of protein.  Plant-based foods tend to have the smallest impact. Pork and chicken are somewhere in the middle. 

According to new research, U.S. food production could reduce its agricultural carbon footprint between 2.5% and 13.5% by embracing plant-based alternatives to beef.  The study, from researchers at Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, and international partners, found that most of the reduction would be achieved by decreasing the number of cows needed for beef production by two to twelve million animals.  The research was recently published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health.

However, the researchers also found that acting to reduce climate change in this manner could have unintended consequences.  For example, economic models from the research team show that the growth in popularity of plant-based beef could disrupt the agricultural workforce, threatening more than 1.5 million jobs. 

But in the big picture, doing nothing will cost much more than doing something to slow climate change.  Shifting diets away from meat and other animal products and towards more plant-based foods will help shrink carbon footprints and mitigate climate change.  It’s a win-win for the planet and for human health. 

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Plant-based ‘beef’ reduces CO2 but threatens ag jobs

Photo, posted November 27, 2018, courtesy of Sarah Stierch via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Saving Lives With Air Conditioning | Earth Wise

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This summer, extreme heatwaves struck the United States, Europe, and Africa.  Thousands of people died as a result.  In July, the impact of extreme heat in places ill-prepared for it was evident.  In the U.K., where air conditioning is uncommon, public transportation shut down, schools and offices closed, and hospitals cancelled non-emergency procedures.

Air conditioning, which we mostly take for granted in this country, is a life-saving tool during extreme heat waves.  However, only about 8% of the 2.8 billion people living in the hottest – and often poorest – parts of the world have AC in their homes.

A new study at Harvard modeled the future demand for air conditioning as the number of days with extreme heat continues to increase across the globe.  The researchers identified a massive gap between current AC capacity and what will be needed by 2050 to save lives, particularly in low-income and developing countries.

If the rate of greenhouse gas emissions continues on its present course, the study concluded that that at least 70% of the population in several countries will require air conditioning by 2050.  The number will be even higher in equatorial countries like India and Indonesia.  At this point, even if the goals of the Paris Climate Accords are met, an average of 40-50% of the population in many of the world’s warmest countries will still require AC.

The research looked at various scenarios.  One in which emissions continue to increase leads to widespread need for air conditioning even in temperate countries.  In Germany, 92% of the population would need it, and here in the U.S., 96% would need it.

Planning for future power systems must take into account the essential needs of a warming world.

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In a hotter world, air conditioning isn’t a luxury, it’s a lifesaver

Photo, posted July 24, 2021, courtesy of Phyxter Home Services via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Feeding Cows Seaweed | Earth Wise

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When cows digest their food, they burp, and when they burp, they release methane.  This is called enteric methane and it’s a real problem.  A single cow belches out 220 pounds of methane each year, which is the greenhouse gas equivalent of burning over 900 gallons of gasoline.  That’s more than the average car uses in a year.

Several studies have shown that feeding cows seaweed has the potential to substantially reduce the amount of methane in cow burps.  The latest comes from a trial that took place at the Straus Family Creamery, an organic dairy producer in Marin County, California.

The trial used a new seaweed-derived feed additive called Brominata.  Brominata is made of a red seaweed called Asparagopsis taxiformis.  The addition of the seaweed to the cows’ diets on the Straus farm resulted in an 52% average reduction in enteric methane emissions.  One cow in the study showed a reduction of 92%.

Cutting enteric methane emissions in half would be a huge improvement that would be quite difficult to achieve by convincing enough people to reduce meat and dairy consumption.

The California Air Resources Board has identified feed additives as an emissions-reduction strategy for the dairy industry.  There are now some synthetic feed additives that have been developed that reduce enteric methane, but they haven’tyet  received FDA approval for use in the U.S.  Brominata has been approved as Generally Regarded as Safe by the California Food and Drug Administration.  Whether it and similar seaweed-based feeds can be produced in sufficient quantity and without adverse environmental effects remains to be seen.  But it is an intriguing approach to solving a complicated problem.

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Feeding Cows Seaweed Reduces Their Methane Emissions, but California Farms Are a Long Way From Scaling Up the Practice

Photo, posted November 10, 2015, courtesy of Lance Cheung/USDA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Reshaping Our Planet | Earth Wise

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Methane From Thawing Permafrost | Earth Wise

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The Arctic permafrost contains a massive amount of carbon in the form of frozen soil, which contains remnants of plants and animals that died millennia ago.  Estimates are that there is 2 ½ times as much carbon trapped in this Arctic soil than there is in total in the atmosphere today.

As the Arctic warms, the permafrost is starting to thaw.  Once that happens, microbes begin to consume the previously frozen organic matter trapped in the soil.  As part of this process, the microbes produce large amounts of methane, which is an extremely potent greenhouse gas.   Thus, there continues to be great concern that wide-scale thawing of the permafrost would result in massive amounts of methane being released into the atmosphere.

A recent study in northern Sweden revealed a glimmer of hope.  The study gauged methane emissions from a swath of permafrost that thawed in the 1980s and another that thawed 10 or 15 years later. 

In the first area, as ice melted underground, water on the surface sank down into the soil.  As the surface dried out, new plants emerged that helped to keep methane emissions buried underground.

Grasses found in wet areas have straw-like structures that convey oxygen to their roots.  The straws also allow methane in the soil to escape into the atmosphere.  As the areas dry out, other plants lacking the straws can sometimes replace the grasses.  When methane can’t escape, soil bacteria break it down into carbon dioxide.

The result is that the permafrost releases only a tenth of the methane as expected.  The hope is that changes in plant cover driven by climate change may limit methane emissions from thawing permafrost.

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Thawing Permafrost In Sweden Releases Less Methane Than Feared, Study Finds

Photo, posted July 7, 2014, courtesy of NPS Climate Change Response via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Air Pollution: The Greatest Danger | Earth Wise            

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The effort to reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of fossil fuels has largely been driven by the potentially catastrophic consequences of global climate change.  The need to stop dumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has become increasingly urgent.  But there is an equally compelling reason to stop burning fossil fuels.  According to a study published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, outdoor air pollution is “the largest existential threat to human and planetary health.”

Pollution of various types was responsible for an estimated 9 million deaths around the world in 2019.  Half of those fatalities – 4.5 million deaths – were the result of outdoor air pollution coming from vehicles and industrial sources like power plants and factories.

The number of deaths attributed to air pollution has increased by 55% just since the year 2000.

The growth in air pollution deaths has offset a decline in deaths from other pollution sources that especially affect people living in extreme poverty, such as indoor air pollution and water pollution.  Overall, countries with lower collective incomes tend to bear a disproportionate share of pollution deaths.  Roughly 16% of deaths around the world are attributable to pollution, also resulting in more than $4 trillion in economic losses.

The peer-reviewed study was produced by the 2017 Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health.  The study notes that despite the enormous health, social, and economic impacts of pollution, preventing it is largely overlooked in the international development agenda.  The study calls upon governments, businesses, and other entities to abandon fossil fuels and adopt clean energy sources.

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Study Identifies Outdoor Air Pollution as the ‘Largest Existential Threat to Human and Planetary Health’

Photo, posted November 4, 2019, courtesy of Ninara via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Climate Change And Sleep | Earth Wise

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It’s no secret that our planet is heating up.  According to scientists, the warming is primarily the result of increased anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.  In fact, human activities are responsible for nearly all of the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions over the last 150 years. 

Climate change has already left observable effects on the planet.  For example, glaciers have shrunk, oceans have warmed, heatwaves have become more intense, and plant and animal ranges have shifted.

Most research examining the impact of climate change on human life has centered around extreme weather events and how they will affect social and economic health.  But climate change may also have a major influence on fundamental daily human activities, like sleep, that are essential to well-being.   

According to a new study recently published in the journal One Earth, scientists have found that increasing temperatures are negatively impacting human sleep around the globe.  In the study, the research team analyzed anonymized global sleep data from sleep-tracking wristbands.  The data included 7 million nightly sleep records from more than 47,000 adults across 68 countries, spanning all continents except Antarctica.     

Before the year 2100, researchers say that suboptimal temperatures may erode 50 to 58 hours of sleep per person per year.  On warm nights – where temperatures are greater than 86 degrees Fahrenheit – sleep declines an average of more than 14 minutes.  To little surprise, they found that the effect of increasing temperatures on sleep loss is substantially greater for residents in lower income countries as well as in older adults. 

Sleep is an essential restorative process integral to human health and productivity.  And it’s threatened by our changing climate. 

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Climate change likely to reduce the amount of sleep that people get per year

Photo, posted March 16, 2006, courtesy of Joe Green via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Primary Ways To Mitigate Climate Change | Earth Wise

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The most recent report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that the world must halt the increase in greenhouse gases within three years, reduce emissions by 43% in the next seven years, and eliminate them entirely by 2050.  Otherwise, there will likely be catastrophic and irreversible impacts on the climate.

With respect to achieving these reductions, the report emphasizes decarbonizing the energy sector through electrification by replacing fossil fuels anywhere and everywhere possible.  Where that isn’t yet practical – such as in shipping and aviation – the use of biofuels and hydrogen can provide a stopgap until battery technology becomes a viable alternative.

The economics of this approach continue to improve.  Since 2010, the cost of wind, solar, and batteries has declined by as much as 85%.  In many cases, costs have fallen below those of fossil fuels.  Nonetheless, the report stresses that continuing to provide national, state, and local incentives for using renewable energy is a key factor in achieving the necessary reductions.

However, reducing emissions will no longer be enough.  This is the first major IPCC report that states that man-made carbon dioxide removal strategies will be necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.  So-called natural carbon storage options, like planting trees and using farming methods that sequester carbon in soil, are also important parts of the strategy.

It is up to governments, policymakers, and investors to implement the necessary changes to mitigate climate change.  There is lots of talk about it, but it will take concerted action to avoid increasingly dire consequences.

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Report highlights affordable, available ways to mitigate climate change now

Photo, posted September 8, 2007, courtesy of Kevin Dooley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a regional public radio network serving parts of seven northeastern states (more...)