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The Colorado River crisis

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The Colorado River serves nearly 40 million people in seven U.S. states and Mexico.  It provides water for 5 million acres of farmland.  Increasing demand from growing populations, damming, diversion, and drought have been draining the Colorado at alarming rates.  This critical resource supports countless economies, communities, and ecologies stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California.  The Colorado River essentially has made the cities of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver, and Phoenix possible.

How the water of the Colorado is distributed is determined by an agreement that is over 100 years old:  the Colorado River Compact.  It was made at a time when people thought there was more water than really was there.  And at the time, no one thought that the seven states would need to use the water they were allocated down to the last drop.

There have been various measures over the years to conserve water from the Colorado River, including the Colorado River Interim Guidelines in 2007.  Those guidelines will expire in 2026 and negotiations are beginning to take place among the many stakeholders scrambling for water rights.  Apart from the seven U.S. states and Mexico, there are 30 tribal nations involved.  Collaborative governance is complicated when it crosses multiple jurisdictions with their own laws and legal precedents.  The goal is to put in place a new agreement to protect the Colorado River.

Rapidly-growing populations in major cities, a 20-year megadrought, and historically low water levels in America’s two largest reservoirs have put enormous pressure on the Colorado River.  Creating a plan to protect the lifeblood of the American West is essential.

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Addressing the Colorado River crisis

Photo, posted June 18, 2022, courtesy of Jeff Hollett via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Air pollution in India

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India is one of the world’s most polluted countries.  In fact, of the 30 cities with the worst air pollution around the globe, 21 of them can be found in India. 

India’s capital city, New Delhi, is the most polluted city in the world.  Concentrations of fine particulate matter (known as PM2.5) in Delhi, which is the name of the larger city that includes the capital New Delhi, are nearly 10 times greater than the World Health Organization guidelines. 

To reduce air pollution in Delhi, officials have focused on measures within the city limits, including boosting public transportation and regulating pollution from industry. 

But according to a review carried out by the University of Surrey and regional government officials in Delhi, the city will also need the help of its neighbors to tackle its killer smog problem.  Some of the pollution plaguing Delhi comes from rural areas in the region –  from things like crop burning, wood stoves, and power plants.  The review, which was part of a paper recently published in the journal Sustainable Horizons, also recommends drafting regional air quality plans, producing smog forecasts, and creating airshed councils to help improve coordination. 

Exposure to air pollution can cause all sorts of major health problems, including asthma, respiratory inflammation, as well as  jeopardize lung function, and even promote cancer.  Long-term exposure to PM2.5 is linked to premature death.  In fact, air pollution causes an estimated 670,000 deaths every year in India. 

Since air pollution doesn’t respect boundaries or borders, solutions require collaboration and the need to focus efforts more broadly in order to achieve emissions reduction goals. 

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Delhi smog: India’s cities must look beyond their limits to clean up air pollution

Photo, posted December 27, 2019, courtesy of Ninara via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Assisted Colonization | Earth Wise

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As the pace of climate change continues to quicken, many species seem to be unable to keep up and could face extinction as a result.   There is a potential strategy for people to help species reach places with more suitable physical and biological conditions.  People could carry endangered animals to habitats cut off by mountains, rivers, or human-made barriers.  They could plant endangered trees higher up mountain slopes or to locations further north.  Such actions have been termed assisted colonization.

People have been moving species around the world throughout human history for various reasons either intentionally or inadvertently.  But as a conservation strategy, assisted colonization is quite controversial.

The argument is whether the risk of moving species to more favorable conditions outweighs the risk of inaction.  The salvation of one species could mean the destruction of another.   A species that seems perfectly innocuous when moved to one place can become a rampant invader in another.

An upcoming international conference on Biological Diversity to be held this fall in China may take up the issue of creating a set of guidelines on assisted colonization.   Such guidelines would help people assess which species to focus on; where, when, and how to move them; how to weigh the risks of action and inaction; and how to conduct such actions across international borders.  Assisted colonization may be useful in some instances and not in others.  There needs to be a way for the world to decide whether it is warranted or not.  With climate change posing a growing threat to many of the world’s species, this is an issue that should be addressed.

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Amid Climate Pressures, a Call for a Plan to Move Endangered Species

Photo, posted July 16, 2014, courtesy of Mark Spangler via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Oil Platforms And Fish | Earth Wise

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It is well-known that offshore oil platforms become major habitats for fish.  Their support structures rise hundreds of feet through the water column and basically create a prefabricated reef for marine life.   Many of these platforms will soon be decommissioned and government agencies are considering the consequences to undersea life when this happens.

Researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara have looked at how various decommissioning scenarios would affect undersea ecosystems. They found that completely removing a platform could reduce fish biomass by an average of 95%.  In contrast, removing just the top part of the rig could keep losses to around 10%.

California is looking at several possibilities for decommissioning 27 oil platforms off of its coast.  The three options are:  leave the platform in place, remove all of it, or remove just the top part of it.  Each option entails its own economic and ecological consequences.

The research team studied the size and composition of fish communities at 24 platforms and created models for each of the decommissioning scenarios.  The partial removal approach involved stripping away all structures within 26 meters of the surface.  This number would eliminate the need for a lighted buoy where the support structure remained according to U.S. Coast Guard guidelines.

For the 24 structures studied, leaving them entirely in place would support over 29,000 kilograms of fish biomass.  Removing just the top 26 meters would support nearly 28,000 kilograms.  Removing the platforms entirely would support only 500 kilograms of fish biomass.

As California weighs how to decommission its oil platforms, studies like this will be critical to making informed decisions.

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Oil Platforms’ Fishy Future

Photo, posted June 4, 2019, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Labeling Of GMO Foods

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American consumers will soon be able to discern whether or not foods contain genetically-modified ingredients.  The USDA’s so-called ‘National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard’ will be required for foods that have been altered in a way that doesn’t occur naturally. The mandatory compliance date is January 1st, 2022. 

While this does sound like great news, there are some major drawbacks.  The new guidelines use the uncommon term “bioengineered” instead of “genetically-modified” or “GMO.” The guidelines also allow the disclosure of bioengineered (or B.E.) ingredients in several formats: as text, a symbol, a phone number (that consumers can call for more info), or a digital link printed on the packaging.  Companies are allowed to use a QR code that asks consumers to “scan here for more food information.”  Scanning the QR code will bring consumers to a website where the GMO disclosure can be found. 

Advocates of the various labeling options say it’ll make it easier and faster for companies to comply with the new guidelines.  But critics worry consumers will find it confusing and restrict access for those without smartphones.  They say that companies who elect to use a QR code or phone number should be required to include the word “bioengineered” on their packaging.

Another drawback is that products won’t have to be labeled as ‘bioengineered’ if they’ve been processed to the point where their bioengineered DNA can’t be detected.  Examples include refined beet sugar, soybean oil, and high fructose corn syrup.  

The fight over the labeling of GMO foods has raged for many years.  But this labeling mandate falls short of consumer expectations by hiding the information about GMOs instead of disclosing it. We should expect better. 

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Government lays out the rules for labeling for genetically modified foods

Photo, posted August 24, 2015, courtesy of Rob Bertholf via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Septic Systems and Water Contaminants

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A recent study has shown that septic systems in the U.S. routinely discharge pharmaceuticals, consumer product chemicals and other potentially hazardous substances into the environment.   The comprehensive study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, raises health concerns since these chemicals can end up in groundwater and drinking water supplies.

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European Lessons On Food Waste

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Americans toss out an almost unbelievable $161 billion worth of food every year.  There are numerous efforts underway to address this problem, but they are mostly at the local level or in the business sector.   To date, we have no national- or international-level policies that tackle the issue.  In this regard, Europe is way ahead of us.

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