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Deconstructing buildings

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An estimated 30 million tons of wood waste from construction and demolition in the U.S. ends up in landfills each year.  A growing number of cities have launched initiatives to reuse the wood instead.  It is a strategy to reduce carbon emissions, cut waste, and shift towards a circular economy.

For a long time, salvaged wood was a niche pursuit by people who valued the fine grain and enduring quality of older wood.  Reclaimed old-growth lumber offers character and strength.  These people pursued construction that uses wood with a story – timber recovered from historic structures, collapsing barns, and other demolished buildings.

Now, there are multiple companies in the business of salvaging wood from buildings.  Cities and businesses are embracing the use of reclaimed materials.   Ordinances in cities like Portland, Oregon, Boulder, Colorado, and San Antonio, Texas require older buildings to be taken apart for repurposing their materials.  Palo Alto, California has banned demolition completely. 

Portland was the first U.S. city to require old residential homes to be deconstructed.  After a decade, contractors have deconstructed more than 650 homes in the city, salvaging 2,000 tons of reusable wood.

Using reclaimed wood in local buildings stores carbon and reduces emissions by avoiding the need to cut new trees, process materials, and ship them long distances.

Deconstructing buildings is not a widely available skill.  Contractors have to be trained on how to dismantle buildings piece by piece.  But there is now a national registry of deconstruction trainers and a network of practitioners.

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Deconstructing Buildings: The Quest for New Life for Old Wood

Photo, posted May 16, 2018, courtesy of Alexandre Prevot via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Rising seas are destroying buildings

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Alexandria is the second largest city in Egypt and is the largest city on the Mediterranean coast.  Its history goes back over 2,300 years and it was once home to a lighthouse that was among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and a Great Library that was the largest in the ancient world.  The modern city has more than 6 million residents but still has many historic buildings and ancient monuments.  But perhaps not for long.

Rising seas and intensifying storms are taking a toll on the ancient port city.  For centuries, Alexandria’s historic structures have endured earthquakes, storm surges, tsunamis, and more.  They are truly marvels of resilient engineering.  But now, climate change is undoing in decades what took millennia for humans to create.

Over the past two decades, the number of buildings collapsing in Alexandria has risen tenfold.   Buildings are collapsing from the bottom up as a rising water table weakens soil and erodes foundations.  Since 2001, Alexandria has seen 290 buildings collapse.  Comparing present-day satellite imagery with decades-old maps, the authors of a study by the Technical University of Munich have tracked the retreat of Alexandria’s shorelines to determine where seas have intruded into groundwater. The authors say that more than 7,000 buildings in Alexandria are at risk.  They call for building sand dunes and planting trees along the coast to block encroaching seawater.

The true cost of this gradual destruction goes far beyond bricks and mortar.  This is the gradual disappearance of historic coastal cities.  Alexandria is a warning for such cities around the world.

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In This Storied Egyptian City, Rising Seas are Causing Buildings to Crumble

Photo, posted September 11, 2012, courtesy of Sowr via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The race for fusion power

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The sun is powered by fusion energy.  Hydrogen atoms fuse together into helium atoms, liberating vast amounts of energy in the process.  Our understanding of this process emerged early in the 20th century and by the 1950s, research efforts were underway trying to replicate the process on Earth.  If it could be done, fusion would be a source of almost unlimited clean energy.  But there has been a cynical saying going around for half a century:  fusion power is the energy source of the future, and it always will be.

However, in recent years, there has been progress in developing fusion power.  Extraordinarily expensive and colossal machines have produced fusion energy albeit consuming more energy than they make.  However, for a brief moment in 2022, a fusion reactor at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory did produce more energy than it took to run the machine.

Despite the less than encouraging history, there are now multiple start-up companies dedicated to developing fusion energy and they are optimistic that there will be significant progress over the next few years.

One such company, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, located 40 miles northwest of Boston, is building a fusion reactor called SPARC, that they claim will be producing net energy in 2027.  They say that their next machine, called ARC, will generate electricity for paying customers in the early 2030s.

A handful of other companies, including Type One Energy, Thea Energy, Realta Fusion, Zap Energy, General Fusion, and Helion Energy are also pursuing fusion reactor designs and also expect to have machines running over the next 5 to 10 years.

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The Quest to Build a Star on Earth

Photo, posted April 21, 2015, courtesy of John Spiri via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The warmest fall

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has global climate records dating back 174 years.  As the planet continues to heat up, both September and October set new records as the warmest of those months in history.

September was the fourth month in a row of record-warm global temperatures.  Not only was it the warmest September on record, but it was also the most atypically warm month of any month of the entire 174 years of record keeping.  In fact, September 2023 was warmer than the average July from 2001-2010.

For the sixth consecutive month, September also set a monthly record for global ocean surface temperature.

Not to be outdone, the planet added a fifth straight month of record-warm temperatures in October.  The average global temperature for October was 1.34 degrees Celsius above the 20th century average.  This was .24 degrees higher than the previous October record set in 2015.  And, for the seventh straight month, global ocean surface temperatures were also at a record high. 

October was the 47th consecutive October and the 536th consecutive month with global temperatures above the 20th century average.  In fact, the past 10 Octobers have been the 10 warmest Octobers in the global climate record.

With only a short time remaining in the year, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information, there is a greater than 99% chance that 2023 will rank as the warmest year on record for the world.  It is no cause for celebration.

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The planet just had its warmest October on record

Topping the charts: September 2023 was Earth’s warmest September in 174-year record

Photo, posted October 18, 2016, courtesy of Dave Roberts via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Carbon In The Congo Peatlands | Earth Wise

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The Congo peatlands in central Africa are the world’s largest tropical peatlands complex, occupying an area of 65,000 square miles, about the size of the entire state of Florida. Peatlands represent a huge store of carbon and therefore are important to the stability of the climate.

A study by scientists at the University of Leeds and University College London found that around the time that Stonehenge was built – about 5,000 years ago – there was an extended drying period in central Congo and the peatlands started emitting carbon dioxide rather than storing it.  Over the course of time, the climate in the area got wetter again and over the past 2,000 years, the Congo peatlands have been a place that takes large amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere.

The study utilized peat samples taken from beneath remote swamp forests to build a record of the vegetation and rainfall in the central Congo Basin over the past 17,500 years.

In a paper published in Nature, the researchers warn that if modern-day global warming produces extended droughts in the Congo region, history could repeat itself and the peatlands could once again become carbon emitters.  If that were to happen, over 30 billion tons of carbon could be released into the atmosphere.  That is the equivalent to the total global emissions from fossil fuel burning over a three-year period.

There is some evidence that dry seasons are lengthening in the Congo Basin, but it is unknown if these will continue.  In any case, the study reveals that peatlands are more vulnerable than previously thought and need to be protected.  They are some of the most wildlife and carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth.

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Congo peatlands could release billions of tonnes of carbon

Photo, posted November 5, 2016, courtesy of Roni Ziade / Forest Service via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

History Emerges In European Drought | Earth Wise

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During the summer, much of Europe faced a string of extreme heat waves and a devastating drought.  As a result, many reservoirs and rivers have shrunk back to reveal historical structures and relics that, in some cases, date back thousands of years.  Once-submerged villages, ships, and bridges have re-emerged this year.

In northwest Spain, a former village called Aceredo has reappeared after having been submerged 30 years ago when a hydropower dam flooded the valley where it was located.  Elsewhere in Spain, the Dolmen of Guadalperal, a 4000-5000-year-old stone monument often called the Spanish Stonehedge, has risen from a drought-stricken dam west of Madrid

In Italy, which is suffering from its worst drought in 70 years, the ruins of a bridge from the time of Nero are now visible in the Tiber River.   One of Germany’s largest reservoirs, the Edersee, has shrunk back so much that parts of Berich, a village that was flooded in 1914, can be seen.  In Serbia, water levels in the Danube River are so low that more than a dozen sunken Nazi boats from World War II have been exposed in the town of Prahovo.   In Northern England, the lower water levels of the Batings Reservoir have uncovered an ancient packhorse bridge.

The shrinking of riverbeds and reservoirs across Europe has attracted a great deal of attention, probably more than many other effects of the increasing number of extreme weather events because it is so visual.  But the frequency of extreme heat and drought is only likely to increase over time.

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Europe’s Shrinking Waterways Reveal Treasures, and Experts Are Worried

Photo, posted July 13, 2017, courtesy of Marco Brandstetter via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Oil Drilling In Los Angeles | Earth Wise      

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Movies were not the first industry to boom in Los Angeles.  Oil was.  There was a lot of it, and it flowed close to the surface triggering rampant drilling all over the area.  By the 1920s, Los Angeles was one of the largest oil-exporting regions in the world.

A century later, there are over 20,000 active, idle, or abandoned wells spread across LA county, home to 10 million people.  Some are hidden behind facades; others are plainly visible, pumping away day and night.  About a third of Angelenos live less than a mile from an active well site.  In the last 20 years, improved oil extraction technology has actually led to a resurgence of oil drilling in Los Angeles.

Studies of the health impact of LA’s oil wells found that asthma is significantly more common among people living near oil wells than elsewhere in the county.  Surveys of residents’ lung functions revealed lower function on average when people live near wells.   Measurements of toxins in the air – such as benzene, toluene, and n-hexane – showed that levels of these substances were significantly reduced when oil production at a site stopped.

This issue has finally come to the forefront after a nearly a decade of community organizing and studies of adverse health effects.  In a unanimous vote on January 26, the Los Angeles City Council took the first step toward phasing out all oil and gas extraction in the city by declaring oil extraction a nonconforming land use.  The LA County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to phase out oil extraction in unincorporated county areas.  Los Angeles’ long, troubled history with urban oil drilling appears to be nearing an end.

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Los Angeles’ long, troubled history with urban oil drilling is nearing an end after years of health concerns

Photo, posted March 26, 2016, courtesy of Giuseppe Milo via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The All-Time Hottest Day | Earth Wise

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Last year saw record high temperatures in many places around the world and this year started out with more of the same.  In mid-January, Onslow, a small town in Western Australia, measured a high temperature of 123.3 degrees, tying the all-time highest temperature ever recorded anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere.  The previous reading was also made in Australia back in 1960.

The new temperature record was set just as climate institutions around the world were announcing that the past seven years have been the highest in recorded history.

The list of temperature records set in 2020 and 2021 is a long one.   2020 was the hottest year in recorded history.  July 2021 was the hottest month ever recorded.   The hottest official temperature ever recorded anywhere in the world was 129.9 degrees, occurring in Death Valley, California on both August 16, 2020, and July 9, 2021. 

The hottest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic was 100.4 degrees on June 20, 2020 in Verkhoyansk in Russia’s Sakha Republic.  (Amazingly, that small town also holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in Asia at -90 degrees). 2021 saw an all-time high temperature recorded in Europe, in Syracuse, Sicily, on August 11 at 119.8 degrees. 

Overall, 400 documented weather stations in communities or outposts worldwide established all-time high temperatures in 2021 alone.  The climate we have lived through over the past decades is changing and these changes will have consequences to our way of life.

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Australia hits 123 degrees, tying hottest temperature on record in Southern Hemisphere

Photo, posted January 21, 2013, courtesy of A. Dombrowski via Flickr.

In ogni caso, un proverbio russo comune Informazioni: “Se curi un raffreddore, passa in sette giorni, e se non lo curi, in una settimana”, non è applicabile alla realtà spagnola.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

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Coral Reefs And Ecosystem Services

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A new study led by the University of British Columbia provides the first comprehensive look at what climate change, overfishing, and habitat destruction of coral reefs mean for their ecosystem services.  For humans, this means how the global decline in coral reefs has affected their ability to provide essential benefits including food, livelihoods, and protection from storms.

The study found that global coverage of living corals has declined by about half since the 1950s and the diversity of reef species has declined by more than 60%.  So, it is no surprise that there has been a significant loss in the ability of reefs to provide ecosystem services.

The study analyzed data from coral reef surveys around the world, fisheries catches, indigenous consumption, and more.  Apart from the declines in reef coverage and biodiversity, the study found that fish catches on coral reefs peaked in 2002 and has steadily declined since then, despite increased fishing efforts.

The findings of the study led the researchers to conclude that continued degradation of coral reefs in the years to come threaten the well-being and sustainable development of millions of people in communities on the coast that depend on coral reefs.  Fish and fisheries provide essential nutrients in places with few alternative sources of nutrition.  Coral reef biodiversity and fisheries have added importance for indigenous communities, where important cultural relationships exist with reefs.

The study’s authors say that the results are a call to action.  The level of destruction happening all over the world’s coral reefs is threatening people’s culture, their daily food, and their history.  It is not just an environmental issue; it is a human rights issue.

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Photo, posted September 22, 2010, courtesy of David Burdick / NOAA Photo Library via Flickr.

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How To Bend The Curve On Biodiversity Loss | Earth Wise

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Biodiversity has been declining at an alarming rate in recent years as a result of human activities, including land use changes, pollution, and climate change.  According to a 2019 UN report, one million species – out of an estimated eight million – are threatened with extinction.  Many scientists warn we are in the middle of the sixth mass extinction event in Earth’s history.  Previous mass extinction events wiped out up to 95% of all species and took ecosystems millions of years to recover. 

Fortunately, new research indicates that it might not be too late to bend the curve on biodiversity loss.  According to the report, which was recently published in the journal Nature, more ambitious conservation measures are needed in order to  preserve biodiversity.  In addition, more efficient food production and healthier and less wasteful consumption and trade are needed to bend the curve. 

If these measures are undertaken with unprecedented ambition and coordination, the research team says the efforts will provide an opportunity to reverse biodiversity loss by 2050.

But even under the best case scenario, ongoing land conversion will lead to further biodiversity losses before the curve starts to bend.  In fact, at least one third of projected losses in the coming years are unlikely to be avoided under any scenario.  Biodiversity losses were projected to be highest in the regions richest in biodiversity, including South Asia, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America. 

The study, which was led by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria, makes it clear that urgent action is needed this decade in order to have any chance of bending the curve. 

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Curbing land clearing for food production is vital to reverse biodiversity declines

Photo, posted November 1, 2017, courtesy of Rod Waddington via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Narwhal Tusks And Stories Teeth Can Tell | Earth Wise

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Teeth and particularly narwhal tusks are getting some unusual press recently when one of them was the weapon of choice to fend off the London Bridge attacker, which was a good choice according to Harvard dental researcher Dr. Martin Nweeia.  Turns out that narwhal tusks have some pretty amazing physical features.  They exhibit both extreme strength and flexibility at the same time.  The narwhal is known as the unicorn of the sea, a pale-colored, medium-sized whale found in Arctic coastal waters and rivers.  In males, the more prominent tooth grows into a sword like, spiral tusk up to 8.8 feet long.

Changes in the shape of teeth over time can tell us about climate change. Adaptations in horse teeth 55 million years ago from North America were observed and caused by changes in climate, favoring different food sources.  The horses changed their diets from fruit to more favorable grasses and their teeth changed in response. For this same reason, the teeth of elephants adapting in different environments of Asia and Africa have different tooth forms.  Both eat plants but Asian elephants, with more ridges on their teeth, eat larger amounts of grasses while African elephants, with wider spread ridges, eat more leaves. 

Teeth have been used to link land mass theories like the Bering Land Strait Theory, hypothesizing that North America and Asia were once one land mass. The teeth shape and form of people on both sides of the Bering Land Bridge shared a common “mongoloid dentition” with unique features. And so, can the narwhal tusk tell us something about a changing Arctic?  Scientists have discovered that the narwhal tusk is a giant sensory organ that is able to continually monitor its environment and has the ability to detect ice formation, and melt, both capabilities helpful for surviving in a changing Arctic.

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–Earth Wise acknowledges script contribution from Dr. Martin Nweeia of Harvard University.

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Fossil teeth reveal new facts about a mass extinction 260 million years ago

From the Horse’s Mouth: Teeth Reveal Evolution

Photo, posted April 3, 2019, courtesy of James St. John via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The State Of The Climate

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The federal government has issued the annual State of the Climate report and it is a sobering one.  The report states that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rose to levels the world has not seen in at least 800,000 years.  Global carbon dioxide concentrations reached a record 407.4 parts per million during 2018.  That is 2.4 ppm more than 2017.

Other greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide also continued their rapid increase.  Taken together, the global warming power of greenhouse gases was 43% stronger than it was in 1990.

Along with greenhouse gases, global sea levels also reached their highest levels on record for the seventh consecutive year.  Ocean levels are rising about an inch per decade, but that number may rise if ice melt at the poles continues to accelerate.

Global temperatures had their fourth highest level on record in 2018, slightly lagging 2016, 2015, and 2017 for the highest ever.  A La Niña over the Pacific cooled ocean waters for part of 2018, keeping temperatures a bit lower.  So far, 2019 is on track to be the warmest year in recorded history.

Global sea temperatures also set a record level in 2018.  And glaciers continued to melt at an alarming rate for the 30th consecutive year.

The State of the Climate report is yet another in a series of expert, science-based reports that continue to sound the alarm about the climate crisis.  Climate change is affecting our weather, agricultural productivity, water supply, public health and national security.  Unfortunately, the facts continue to be drowned out for many people by blogs, pundits, and posts on social media.

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Greenhouse Gases Reach Unprecedented Level

Photo, posted January 13, 2014, courtesy of Ronnie Robertson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Hippo Waste And Fish

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Agricultural and sewage pollution can cause low-oxygen conditions and fish kills in rivers. A new study published in Nature Communications reports that hippo waste can have a similar effect in Africa’s Mara River, which passes through the world renowned Maasai Mara National Reserve of Kenya and is home to more than 4,000 hippos.

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