Earth Wise

A look at our changing environment.

You are here: Home / Archives for greenhouse gases

greenhouse gases

Fossil fuel producing nations ignoring climate goals

By Leave a Comment

The Paris Climate Agreement has the primary goal of limiting global average temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius and preferably 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.  Meeting this goal involves reaching global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the second half of the century.  Doing so requires the substantial adoption of renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels.

The case for switching away from fossil fuels has never been stronger as the effects of the warming climate have become increasingly evident, the economics of renewable energy have become more and more favorable, and popular support for the changeover has continued to grow.  Despite all this, the world’s largest fossil fuel producers have expanded their planned output for the future, thereby pushing the world towards an ever-warmer climate.

According to the latest Production Gap Report produced by the Stockholm Environment Institute, governments now expect to produce more than twice as much coal, oil, and gas in 2030 as would be consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement.  The increase is driven by a slower projected phaseout of coal and a higher outlook for gas production by some of the top producers, including China and the United States.

The United States is the most dramatic case of a country recommitting to fossil fuels.  This year, Congress has enacted billions of dollars in new subsidies to oil and gas companies and the Trump administration has forced retiring coal plants to continue operating, expanded mining and drilling access on public lands, and delayed deadlines for drillers to comply with limits on methane pollution.  Meanwhile, it has set new roadblocks for building wind and solar energy projects.

**********

Web Links

Top Fossil Fuel Producing Nations Plan to Blow Past Climate Targets

Photo, posted May 15, 2020, courtesy of James Watt via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Heatwaves and major carbon emitters

By Leave a Comment

A new study by ETH Zurich, one of the world’s leading universities in science and engineering, demonstrates that human-induced climate change greatly increased the likelihood and intensity of over 200 global heatwaves between 2000 and 2023.  Emissions associated with each of the 180 largest producers of fossil fuels and cement contributed substantially to these events.  Emissions from these so-called carbon majors accounted for 60% of humanity’s total cumulative CO2 emissions from 1850 to 2023.

The research looked at 213 heatwaves that occurred on all seven of Earth’s continents between 2000 and 2023.  The study calculated how climate change affected the intensity and likelihood of each heatwave.

According to the study, global warming made heatwaves 20 times more likely between 2000 and 2009, and as much as 200 times more likely between 2010 and 2019, compared with the period between 1850 and 1900.

Estimates are that the 180 carbon majors are responsible for about half of the change in global mean surface temperature over time.  Furthermore, 14 of these 180 entities made the same contribution to climate change as the remaining 166 organizations combined.

While every one of us – individuals, countries, or companies – contributes to climate change, the carbon majors have especially significant responsibility.

**********

Web Links

Rising heat waves tied to fossil fuel and cement production

Photo, posted May 1, 2019, courtesy of Martin Snicer via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The U.N. meets about geoengineering

By Leave a Comment

Geoengineering refers to a wide range of mechanical or chemical methods aimed at deliberately changing the global climate system.  It includes a number of unproven concepts, one of which is intentionally polluting the upper atmosphere with thousands of tons of artificial particles such as chemical sprays or mineral dust.  This is referred to as solar radiation management or SRM.  The idea is to dim sunlight, thereby slowing the rise of global temperatures by deflecting solar energy away from the Earth’s surface before it can be trapped as heat by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The United Nations Environmental Program held workshops in May and September to address the issue of such strategies.  This official position of the UN is that strategies such as SRM are not a climate solution given that they do not actually address the underlying causes of climate change.  Recent research has shown that SRM efforts could potentially shift rainfall patterns, intensify heat waves or cold snaps, lead to overall drying, and have other unpredictable consequences.

Many participants expressed concern that the discussion focused too much on engineering aspects and not on the potential risks of such efforts.  The prevailing opinion among scientists is that SRM deployment is too dangerous and ungovernable and therefore should not be pursued.

Current geopolitical trends make the possibility of geoengineering efforts by authoritarian states disturbingly likely.  While there are international guidelines on geoengineering activities, the potential threat of unilateral efforts by rogue nations is growing.

**********

Web Links

UN Sessions on Solar Geoengineering Trigger Unease

Photo, posted May 12, 2016, courtesy of Susanne Nilsson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Greenhouse Gas Removal And Net Zero | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions can slow the progress of global warming but only reaching and sustaining net zero global emissions can halt the progress of climate change.

The move to renewable power and the use of electric transport are substantial and essential ways to reduce emissions.  But even if these transitions take place on a rapid timescale, they will not eliminate all emissions.  Many industrial activities and, especially, agriculture will continue to contribute substantial greenhouse gas emissions.   There are efforts to reduce the contributions of these things, but there are no zero-emission substitutes for most of them.

As a result, actually removing CO2 from the atmosphere once it is there is essential to achieve net zero emissions.  If greenhouse gas removal can be scaled up sufficiently, it opens the option of going “net negative”, which would be the ideal way to mitigate and, better still, reverse the effects of climate change.

There are multiple approaches to carbon dioxide removal.  Some are natural, involving ways of capturing and storing carbon in trees, biochar, and peatlands.  Others are technological.  An example is the system that has just gone into operation in Iceland that uses fans, chemicals, and heat to capture CO2 and then mineralize it in volcanic rock.   Another is a system being tested in the UK that captures CO2 from growing biomass and pipes it to storage under the North Sea.

Much of the attention on carbon capture technology is aimed at trapping the emissions from fossil fuel power plants, but the need to remove carbon dioxide that has entered the atmosphere in other ways is ultimately far greater.

**********

Web Links

CO2 removal is essential to achieving net zero

Photo, posted August 17, 2013, courtesy of Joshua Mayer via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Saving Costs And Reducing Emissions From Shipping | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

International shipping is a large and growing source of greenhouse gas emissions.  Maritime transport produces about a billion tons of CO2 annually, accounting for about 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.  The environmental impact of shipping includes air pollution, water pollution, and even acoustic pollution.  In many coastal areas, ships are responsible for more than 18% of some air pollutants.  Overall, there are more than 100,000 transport ships at sea, of which about 6,000 are large container ships.

In recent years, the shipping sector has had both internal willingness and external pressure to reduce emissions, but shipping is a tough, competitive business and it isn’t easy to stay competitive and help protect the environment.

A recent study at Abo Akademi University in Finland has found that improved ship utilization rates and investments in environmentally sustainable technologies for enhanced energy efficiency would significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.  Of equal importance, those same measures would contribute to lowering of freight costs.

If the same cargo volume can be shipped using less fuel, shipping companies will gain major savings in terms of fuel costs.  Digitalization can provide valuable benefits.  For example, new digital planning and booking systems would enable smarter use of routes while also diminishing traffic with half-empty vessels or even ones with no cargo aboard.  Reducing such underutilization would improve the capacity utilization rate and eliminate emissions caused by so-called ballast traffic.

Global shipping continues to grow.  It is essential that it becomes smarter and more efficient to protect the environment and improve its economics.

**********

Web Links

Environmentally friendly shipping helps to reduce freight costs

Photo, posted February 18, 2016, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

American Households and Food Waste | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

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

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

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

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

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

**********

Web Links

SAVE FOOD: Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction

US households waste nearly a third of the food they acquire

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

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Electric Buses In Latin America

By Leave a Comment

Latin America has become increasingly urbanized.  In fact, about 80% of the region’s population lives in cities today and by 2050, that figure could climb to 90%.  Transportation is the largest and fastest-growing source of energy-related emissions in Latin America and accounts for about a third of all of the region’s carbon dioxide emissions. 

Private vehicle ownership is rising in Latin America but at the same time, the region’s rapidly growing cities have increased demand for buses, taxis, and motorcycles.  Currently, an estimated 64,000 people die prematurely every year in Latin America and the Caribbean as a result of air pollution, which is mostly caused by transportation emissions.

Given this situation, major cities across Latin America – from Colombia to Argentina – are starting to adopt electric bus fleets.   Latin America actually has the highest use of buses per person globally.  So, the transition to electric buses is an important step toward meeting climate targets, cutting fuel costs, and improving air quality.

Medellin, Colombia – whose metropolitan area has 3.7 million people – has started to add electric buses to its fleet, the rest of which runs on natural gas.  When new units arrive from China later this year, Medellin will have the second largest electric bus fleet in Latin America, after Santiago, Chile. 

Worldwide, 425,000 electric buses are in operation, 99% in China.  Europe has a couple of thousand while the United States has only 300.  But going forward, and especially in Latin America, electric buses are the wave of the future.  Estimates are that there will be 1.3 million on the roads by 2040.

**********

Web Links

An Increasingly Urbanized Latin America Turns to Electric Buses

Photo, posted April 22, 2018, courtesy of Hans Johnson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The ‘Biggest Ever’ Arctic Expedition

By Leave a Comment

The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth.  In fact, it’s warming at a rate of almost twice the global average.  And, since what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic, the world is already feeling the effects: rising sea levels, changes in climate and precipitation patterns, increasing severe weather events, and so on. 

As a result, researchers from more than a dozen countries have launched the biggest and most complex expedition ever attempted in the Arctic.  They plan to freeze Germany’s largest research vessel, the Polarstern, into Arctic sea ice, where it will remain trapped for twelve months.  The ship will drift with the sea ice as the sea ice drifts.  The vessel will serve as a research laboratory, hosting a rotating crew of 300 scientists.  The ice, the ocean, the atmosphere, and even the wildlife will all be sampled.  This year-long journey will give researchers their closest look at how the polar climate and its fragile ecosystems are changing. 

Led by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Germany, the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate project (or MOSAiC) is expected to cost about $150 million. 

One major goal of MOSAiC is to improve strikingly uncertain climate projections for the Arctic.  Climate models disagree on how much more the Arctic will warm as the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rises and sea ice shrinks.  Some project a 5ºC rise by 2100 relative to the 1986-2005 average.  Others predict a 10ºC increase. 

Understanding the complex processes occurring in the Arctic is essential for projecting the future impacts of climate change. 

**********

Web Links

Climate scientists prepare for largest ever Arctic expedition

Climate change: Polarstern leaves for ‘biggest ever’ Arctic expedition

Image courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The U.S. Military And Climate Change

By Leave a Comment

According to new research by scientists from Durham University and Lancaster University, the United States military is one of the largest climate polluters.  The U.S. military consumes more liquid fuels and emits more greenhouse gases than most countries.  

The study, published in Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, finds that if the U.S. military were a country, it would be the 47th largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, falling between Peru and Portugal.  And this only takes into account the emissions from its liquid fuel consumption.  For this study, the U.S. military’s 2015 consumption was compared with the 2014 World Bank country liquid fuel consumption. 

In 2017, the U.S. military purchased more than 269,000 barrels of oil a day, emitting more than 25,000 kt- CO2e by burning those fuels.  The Air Force accounted for $4.9 billion worth of this fuel, followed by the Navy at $2.8 billion, the Army at $947 million, and the Marines at $36 million. 

The Air Force and the Navy are not only the U.S. military’s largest purchasers of fuel, they also use the most polluting types of fuel.  The Air Force is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases at more than 13,000 kt CO2e, nearly double that of the Navy’s 7,800 kt CO2e. 

Despite this study’s findings and a general uptick in awareness, it’s unlikely that the U.S. military’s dependence on fossil fuels will change.  That’s because the military continues to pursue open-ended operations around the globe, and the lifecycle of its existing military equipment insures dependence on hydrocarbons for many years to come. 

***********

Web Links

U.S. military consumes more hydrocarbons than most countries — massive hidden impact on climate

Photo, posted July 8, 2016, courtesy of Alan Wilson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Defusing The Methane Time Bomb

By Leave a Comment

Permafrost is defined as soil that remains frozen for two or more consecutive years.  It is generally composed of rock, soil, sediments, and varying amounts of ice that binds it all together.  The permafrost of the Arctic represents one of the largest reservoirs of organic carbon in the world.  It covers vast regions of Siberia, northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland.

When permafrost thaws, microbes in the previously-frozen soil go to work digesting organic materials and release carbon dioxide and methane, both of which are greenhouse gases.  Methane is 25 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, so it represents the greater threat.  The massive amounts of methane that could be released by thawing permafrost have been described as a ticking time bomb threatening the world’s climate.  Unfortunately, the permafrost in the Arctic is already starting to thaw as a result of climate change.

A new study by researchers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis looked into the prospects for neutralizing the threat posed by the release of methane from thawing permafrost.  They analyzed the relative contributions of potential methane emissions from the permafrost and existing ones from human activities.  Human-caused methane emissions from fossil fuel activities, waste dumps, and livestock constitute a major source of the gas.  

Their conclusion is that if we can greatly reduce human-generated methane release, the effects of uncontrolled Arctic methane emissions could be mitigated.   It is unclear whether we can do much to stave off the Arctic methane release at this point, but the release of methane from human activities is something we can do something about.  But the clock is ticking.

**********

Web Links

Diffusing the methane bomb: We can still make a difference

Photo, posted August 14, 2011, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Shrinking Arctic Glaciers

By Leave a Comment

The glaciers on Baffin Island, located in Canada’s northeastern Arctic, have been shrinking as the climate warms.  The melting, receding glaciers have exposed fragments of ancient plants that had frozen in the places where they once grew.  New research has shown that these spots have not seen the light of day for at least 40,000 years.

The entire planet has been warming since humanity started flooding the atmosphere with greenhouse gases at the start of the Industrial Revolution, but the effects are not uniform across the globe.  Some regions – like the Arctic – are seeing temperature rises that are greater and faster than anywhere else in the world.  As a result, glaciers in the Arctic have been melting away at rates never before observed in modern human history.

Researchers at the University of Colorado performed radiocarbon dating experiments in order to find out when the last time was that the Arctic was as warm as today.   There have been natural variations in Arctic temperatures caused by the complicated way the Earth wobbles on its axis.  For example, 10,000 years ago the northern latitudes pointed at the sun more directly during the summer than they do now, providing about 9% more sunshine during the summer.

The results of the study showed that the newly-uncovered plants had died at least 40,000 years earlier, indicating that the glaciers had not melted back to today’s size for at least that long.  Global measurements indicate that the planet as a whole has not been as warm as it is today for about 115,000 years, back then again a result of the orientation of the Earth.

Well, the Earth hasn’t wobbled recently.  The Arctic is melting because we are dumping massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

**********

Web Links

These Arctic glaciers are smaller than ever before in human history

Photo, posted September 1, 2010, courtesy of Doryce S. via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Geoengineering And Developing Countries

By Leave a Comment

There are some mind-boggling schemes being discussed to mitigate the global warming caused by greenhouse gases.  These include placing giant mirrors in orbit to reflect sunlight before it reaches Earth and launching millions of tons of sulfur into the stratosphere to simulate the effects of a major volcanic eruption.

[Read more…] about Geoengineering And Developing Countries

Corporate Fleets And Electric Cars

By Leave a Comment

A group of 10 major transnational corporations has launched a new global initiative to slash vehicle emissions by increasing the number of electric vehicles in their corporate fleets.  Known as EV100, the initiative commits companies to integrate EVs in their owned or leased fleets and install charging stations for customers and employees.

[Read more…] about Corporate Fleets And Electric Cars

Fuel From Greenhouse Gases

By Leave a Comment

Carbon dioxide and methane are the two greenhouse gases that are having the greatest impact on the global climate.  There are basically three ways to prevent them from getting into the atmosphere:  don’t emit them, trap them and store them away, or turn them into something useful.

[Read more…] about Fuel From Greenhouse Gases

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

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