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A Miracle Tree | Earth Wise

September 27, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The world needs to be fed without destroying the environment. We need to grow more trees to store more carbon on earth and reduce the amount in the atmosphere. But meanwhile, we decimate rainforests to produce palm oil and grow soybeans.

A startup company in California called Terviva thinks they have a solution. It’s called pongamia, which is an ordinary looking tropical tree. It produces beans packed with protein and oil, much like soybeans. However, it has the potential to produce much more nutrition per acre than soybeans and it is hardy enough to grow on pretty much any kind of land without the use of pesticides, fertilizers, or irrigation. In short, it is a miracle crop for a hot and hungry planet that is running out of fertile farmland and fresh water.

Pongamia is not a new or rare tree. It is common in India but grows all over the world. It is often planted as an ornamental here in the U.S.

The initial idea for making use of the hardy tree was to use its oil as a biofuel. The seeds of pongamia are known to have a bitter taste and disagreeable odor, which is why the seeds or oil were never used for human or animal feed. However, Terviva has developed a way to de-bitter pongamia oil. Once this is done, it becomes a golden-colored substitute for olive oil. It also has enormous potential as a protein for plant-based milks and meats, since it contains all nine essential amino acids.

Terviva has raised more than $100 million to further develop pongamia and is now partnering with Danone, a $25 billion multinational food company, to develop pongamia as a climate-friendly, climate-resilient, non-GMO alternative to soy and palm oil.

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This super-tree could help feed the world and fight climate change

Photo, posted December 15, 2015, courtesy of Lauren Gutierrez via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Hot July | Earth Wise

August 24, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

At the beginning of July, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s monthly climate outlook predicted temperatures well above average across much of the United States. The prediction was quite correct. Beyond that, world-wide, there were multiple heat waves, especially in Europe and Asia, where there were thousands of heat-related deaths. On July 19th, the United Kingdom had its hottest day ever reported with a temperature over 104 degrees.

In the U.S., a series of atmospheric high-pressure systems resulted in stagnant heat domes, which resulted in more than 150 million people living under heat warnings and advisories. Nearly every part of the continental U.S. saw above-average temperatures. There were record-breaking triple-digit highs in several states, sometimes persisting for days.

The south-central part of the country developed a ridge of high pressure that established a heat dome that acted like a lid, trapping hot air over that area. The extreme heat persisted throughout the month, at times expanding to the Southwest, Upper Midwest, and Southeast.

In the second half of the month, the Great Plains experienced temperatures as high as 115 degrees. Utah and Oklahoma both broke long-standing records for the most consecutive days on which temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. Utah saw 16 straight days over 100.

In the Pacific Northwest temperatures reached 110 degrees in Dallasport, Washington, and 114 in Medford, Oregon. In the Northeast, Newark, New Jersey saw a record-breaking five straight days over 100 degrees.

In Albany, New York, where the average daily high temperature is 82 degrees in July, there were 10 days in the 90s, with highs of 97 on three occasions.

July was a hot month indeed.

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A July of Extremes

Photo, posted July 10, 2022, courtesy of Dominic Alves via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The All-Time Hottest Day | Earth Wise

February 14, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

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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The Hottest June | Earth Wise

July 29, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A series of heatwaves from coast to coast caused June 2021 to be the hottest June on record in the U.S. The average June temperature across the contiguous U.S. was 72.6 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the hottest June in 127 years of record keeping and breaking the previous record set in 2016 by nearly a full degree. Eight states had their hottest June on record and six others marked their second hottest June.

One of the most extreme heatwaves in modern history impacted the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. and western Canada late in the month. Temperature records were not merely broken in the region; they were smashed over an incredibly hot four-day period from June 26th through June 29th when all-time records over 100 degrees were set at dozens of locations.

Portland, Oregon’s average high temperature over this period was 112 degrees, breaking the previous 3-day record by an amazing 6 degrees. The high on June 28th was 116 degrees, an all-time record for the city. Seattle set back-to-back all-time heat records of 104 on June 27th and then 108 on June 28th. In the previous 126 years, Seattle had only hit 100 degrees three times. It reached that mark 3 days in a row in June.

Crossing the border, the town of Lytton, British Columbia reached a temperature of 121 degrees on June 29th, the third day in a row in which the town registered a new all-time high temperature ever measured in Canada. To put this in perspective, this temperature is hotter than has ever been recorded in Las Vegas.

June was a hot month indeed.

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June 2021 was the hottest June on record for U.S.

Astounding heat obliterates all-time records across the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada in June 2021

Photo, posted July 7, 2021, courtesy of Poyson / GPA Photo Archive via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Hot Year Continues | Earth Wise

December 8, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s monthly global climate report for October reports yet another month of high temperatures. October 2020 was the fourth-hottest October on record, continuing the pace for the year to be the second hottest on record.

The 10 warmest Octobers have occurred since 2005 and the seven warmest have all occurred in the last seven years. Europe had its warmest October ever, surpassing the previous record set in 2001.

For the year to date, the global temperature was a full degree Celsius (or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 20th century average. This was just 0.03 Celsius degrees lower than the record set in 2016. Europe and Asia have had their warmest year-to-date period on record.

Other notable observations in the report included that Arctic sea ice coverage was almost 37% below the 1981-2010 average and was the smallest October coverage on record. The previous record was set last year.

Heat records were set around the world including parts of the northern and western Pacific Ocean, southern North America, South America, eastern Europe, the northern Middle East, the eastern Mediterranean Sea, southern Asia, and in small areas across the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

Despite the record global temperatures, the Northern Hemisphere’s snow coverage in October was the 10th largest over the past 53 years. The snow coverage in North America was the largest on record for October.

Adding in the extremely active hurricane season, with 12 hurricanes and 29 tropical depressions, weather around the world continues to be anything but typical.

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Remarkably warm October fuels march toward 2nd-hottest year

Photo, posted February 8, 2016, courtesy of Jasmin Toubi via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Hottest September | Earth Wise

November 5, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Here’s a news item that is like many other recent news items: September 2020 was the hottest September since 1880, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The warm September is a part of a year that so far is poised to be at least the second hottest year in the 141-year climate record.

The ten warmest Septembers on record have all occurred since 2005, and the seven warmest Septembers have occurred in the past seven years.

So far, the year-to-date average global temperature has been the second warmest on record, being just 0.07 degrees Fahrenheit lower than the record year-to-date temperature set in 2016. Expectations are that 2020 will end up somewhere among the three warmest years on record for the globe.

September was warm in many places around the world. California and Oregon had their warmest September ever. Europe had its warmest September on record, Asia had its second warmest September on record as did Australia and South America.

So far, it has been the hottest year-to-date on record in Europe, Asia, and the Gulf of Mexico. No land or ocean areas anywhere had record-cold year-to-date temperatures.

Global temperatures represent an average over the entire surface of the planet. The fact that the global temperature is now nearly one Celsius degree above the 20th century average means that a vast amount of heat has been added in order to warm all the oceans, atmosphere, and land by that much. So, every uptick in global temperature is a big deal.

Meanwhile, the average Arctic sea ice coverage for September was the second smallest on record. The 14 smallest minimum annual sea ice extents have all occurred in the past 14 years.

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Earth just had its hottest September on record

Photo, posted September 2, 2020, courtesy of Tim Vrtiska via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Hot July | Earth Wise

September 2, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The numbers are in and, unsurprisingly, July was a hot month. July 2020 tied for the second-hottest July on record for the planet, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In our own backyard, the Northern Hemisphere saw the hottest July ever, breaking the previous record set just last year.

The July 2020 global temperature was 62.06 Fahrenheit, which is 1.66 degrees above the 20th-century average. The combined land and ocean surface average temperature for the Northern Hemisphere, the highest ever recorded for July, was 2.12 degrees F above average, breaking the previous record by 0.14 degrees.

Record-hot July temperatures were also recorded across parts of southeastern Asia, northern South America, across the west and northern Pacific Ocean, the northern Indian Ocean, and parts of the Caribbean Sea.

The year-to-date global land and ocean surface temperature was the second highest in the 141 years of record keeping at 58.79 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 1.89 degrees F above the 20th-century average.

So far it is been the hottest year to date on record across a large portion of northern Asia, parts of Europe, China, Mexico, northern South America, as well as the Atlantic, northern Indian and Pacific oceans.

Meanwhile, the extent of sea ice in the Arctic for July 2020 was the smallest ever measured in the 42 years of record-keeping, over 23% below the 1981-2010 average. July’s Arctic sea ice extent was smaller than the previous record (set last year) by 120,000 square miles, an area roughly the size of New Mexico.

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July 2020 was record hot for N. Hemisphere, 2nd hottest for planet

Photo, posted July 24, 2018, courtesy of Maria Eklund Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Dust From The Sahara | Earth Wise

July 9, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A vast cloud of dust from the Sahara Desert blanketed the Caribbean in late June before drifting across the southeastern U.S. The phenomenon is nothing new; only the magnitude of the occurrence this time around was unusual. According to experts, this is the most significant Sahara dust event in 50 years.

The Sahara Desert is the major source on Earth of mineral dust, with some 60-200 million tons of it per year being lifted into the atmosphere. Convection currents over hot desert areas lift the dust to very high altitudes. From there, it can be transported worldwide by winds. The dust, combined with the extremely hot, dry air of the Sahara Desert often forms an atmospheric layer called the Saharan Air Layer, which can have significant effects on tropical weather by interfering with the development of hurricanes. The Saharan Air Layer typically moves across the North Atlantic every three to five days from late spring to early fall, peaking in the middle of the summer. It can occupy a layer as much as two miles thick in the atmosphere.

The dust plume this summer was highly visible from space, covering thousands of miles of the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

A common effect of Sahara dust is that normally blue skies can acquire a milky haze, but beyond that can lead to spectacular sunsets. But apart from the visual spectacle, the dust can aggravate the conditions of people with asthma, respiratory illnesses, and allergies. On the positive side, as long as the dust is around, it is much less likely that tropical storms and hurricanes will form.

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Sahara dust blankets Caribbean, air quality hazardous

Photo, posted June 22, 2020, courtesy of Sagar Rana via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Another Hot November

January 3, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

This past fall saw yet more of the high temperatures the world has been experiencing in recent times. Both the season (September through November) and the year to date were the second hottest in recorded history. November itself was the second-hottest November in the 140-year global climate record.

The high temperatures were felt at both ends of the world. Sea ice coverage across both the Arctic and Antarctic oceans fell to near-record lows in November. Arctic sea ice coverage was nearly 13% below the 1981-2010 average, while Antarctic coverage was 6.35% below average.

The average global land and ocean surface temperature for November was 1.66 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20^th century average. The year-to-date global temperature was 1.69 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20^th century average. These numbers correspond to almost a 1-degree Celsius increase, which should be compared with the Paris Climate Accord goal of keeping that increase to no more than 1.5 degrees.

November was the hottest November on record for South America, Africa, and the Hawaiian Islands. The Caribbean had its second-hottest November, and Europe had its seventh hottest on record.

The world’s average sea surface temperature ranked second warmest for the year to date and was only 0.05 degrees cooler than the all-time record.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issues monthly global climate reports and for quite some time, these reports seem to all be the same. Another new record for heat or at least another near record. We have to expect that this trend will continue at least until the world starts making progress in dealing with its root cause.

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November 2019 was 2nd hottest on record for the planet

Photo, posted July 20, 2016, courtesy of Salehin Chowdhury via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Europe Is Warming Faster Than Predicted

October 9, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A new study has found that Europe is warming faster than even climate models projected. The number of summer days with extreme heat in Europe has tripled since the 1950s, while the number of days with extreme cold has decreased by factors of two or three depending on the region.

According to climate scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, the climate trends are much larger than what would come from natural variability and are a clear signal of climate change. Extremely hot days in Europe have become hotter by an average of more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit while extremely cold days have warmed by more than 5 degrees. The research examined data from weather stations across Europe from 1950 to 2018. Over 90% of the stations recorded increasing temperatures over time, a percentage much too high to be purely from natural climate variability. The results also showed that the region was warming even faster than climate models projected.

The research results come after an extremely hot summer in Europe. Southern France hit 114.8 degrees, a new record, in June. Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium all recorded all-time national temperature highs. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently announced that July was the hottest month ever recorded.

European summers and winters will only grow hotter in the coming years as climate change accelerates. The rapidly increasing temperatures will impact cities and people that are unprepared for them and pose real risks for residents in the coming decades. Extreme heat is dangerous because it stresses the human body, potentially leading to heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

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Europe warming faster than expected due to climate change

Photo, posted July 30, 2011, courtesy of Marcel de Jong via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Agrivoltaics

September 24, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A new study by Oregon State University has found that the most productive places on Earth for solar power are farmlands. In fact, if less than 1% of agricultural land was converted to solar panels, it would be sufficient to fulfill global electricity demand.

The concept of co-developing the same area of land for both solar photovoltaic power and conventional agriculture is known as agrivoltaics.

The synergy between agriculture and solar power is not surprising. People have been growing crops around the planet for at least 8,000 years and, long ago, farmers found the best places to grow them which turn out to also the best places to harvest solar energy. The needs for solar panels are pretty similar to those of food crops. The efficiency of the panels decreases if they get too hot. Barren land is hotter than cropland, so the productivity of solar panels is less in such places.

The Oregon State Study analyzed power production data collected by Tesla, which had installed five large grid-tied, ground-mounted solar electric arrays owned by Oregon State. The researchers monitored air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, soil moisture, and incoming solar energy. With the data, they developed a model for the best conditions for solar panel productivity and they coincide with excellent conditions for agriculture. Solar panels are kind of like people with regard to the weather: they are happier when it is cool and breezy and dry.

Previously-published research shows that solar panels actually increase crop yields on pasture or agricultural fields.

These new results have implications for the current practice of constructing large solar arrays in deserts. Agricultural lands may be a much better option for both solar production and crop production.

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Installing solar panels on agricultural lands maximizes their efficiency, new study shows

Photo, posted April 20, 2011, courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Trees And The Future Of Cities

April 16, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The shade of a single tree is a welcome source of relief on a hot summer day. But even a relatively small patch of woods can have a profound cooling effect. A new study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison looks at the role trees play in keeping towns and cities cool.

According to the study, the right amount of tree cover can lower daytime temperatures in the summer by as much as 10 degrees. The effects are noticeable from neighborhood to neighborhood and even on a block-by-block basis.

Cities are well-known to be hot spots due to the urban heat islanding effect. Using trees to keep temperatures more comfortable in cities can make a big difference for the people who live and work there.

The man-made structures of cities – roads, sidewalks, and buildings – absorb heat from the sun during the day and slowly release it at night. Trees, on the other hand, not only shade those structures from the sun, but they also transpire -or release water in the air through their leaves – which helps to cool things down.

According to the study, to get maximum cooling benefits, tree canopies must exceed forty percent, meaning that city blocks need to be nearly halfway covered by tree branches and leaves. To get the biggest bang for the buck, cities should start planting more trees in areas that are already near the forty percent threshold. But

trees can’t just be in parks. They need to be in places where people are active.

If we want the places where we live to be more comfortable and resilient in a warming world, we need to plant more trees.

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Study suggests trees are crucial to the future of our cities

Photo, posted May 26, 2012, courtesy of Mislav Marohnic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

2018 Was A Wet Year

March 20, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Recent news reports noted that 2018 was the fourth hottest year on record. But the changing climate is not just about temperature. 2018 was also the third-wettest year since 1895, when steady record-keeping began.

Overall, the U.S. recorded 4.68 inches more precipitation in 2018 than the 20th century average. But all that rain and snow was nothing like evenly distributed. The eastern half of the country – especially in places like North Carolina and Virginia – saw record amounts of precipitation, while most of the West remained stuck in drought.

The warming climate leads to precipitation extremes at both ends, meaning that wet places are likely to get wetter and dry places drier. There has been a marked upward trend in short-duration extreme events. For example, Cyclone Mekunu dumped almost 13 inches of rain on Salalah, Oman in 36 hours, more than double its annual average rainfall.

In the southeast and eastern U.S., the trend toward stronger storm events is mostly driven by strong warming of the oceans that fringe their shores. Warm oceans evaporate more water into the air and warm air holds more water than cooler air. Warmer, moisture-laden air acts like a blanket over the land, keeping heat trapped near the ground. Many of the states that had their wettest-ever years also set records for high minimum temperatures – their coldest temperatures were less cold than in the past.

Air temperatures are projected to warm up even further in the coming years and, as a result, many scientists are anticipating that extreme precipitation events will only get more extreme. The pattern of drought in the west and wetness in the east is likely to stay.

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2018 was the U.S.’s third-wettest year on record—here’s why

Photo, posted August 18, 2018, courtesy of Jim Lukach via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The New Normal Weather

March 13, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

We often hear about how the weather is getting stranger all the time, but do most of us really think so? What kinds of weather do we really find remarkable and has that been changing?

A study led by the University of California, Davis used some very modern tools to examine the question of what people might consider to be “normal” weather. To reach their conclusions, they quantified the timeless pastime of talking about the weather by analyzing Twitter posts. They sampled over 2 billion geolocated tweets to determine what kind of events generated the most posts about the weather.

Unsurprisingly, they found that people most often tweet when temperatures are unusual for a particular place and time of year. However, if the same weather persisted year after year, it generated less comment on Twitter, indicating that people began to view it as normal in a relatively short amount of time.

The study indicates that people have short memories when it comes to what they consider normal weather. On average, most people base their idea of normal weather on what has happened in just the past two up to maybe eight years. This disconnect with the historical climate record may obscure the public’s perception of climate change.

After repeat exposures to historically-extreme temperatures, people talk less about the weather, even though particularly hot or cold weather conditions make them unhappy and grumpy. Even though we are experiencing conditions that are historically extreme, we might not consider them to be particularly unusual if we tend to forget what happened more than a few years ago. Things may be getting worse, but they apparently are just the new normal.

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