humanity

Planting Rocks To Capture Carbon | Earth Wise

September 8, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Getting humanity to stop dumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere continues to be very challenging regardless of how increasingly apparent the need to do so becomes. For this reason, climate change mitigation strategies increasingly include interventions in the form of removing carbon dioxide that is already there. There are a variety of ways to draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, but they face a host of technological, economic, and even environmental difficulties.

A new study at Yale University evaluated a type of climate intervention called enhanced rock weathering. Rock weathering is a natural chemical process by which certain minerals absorb carbon dioxide over time. Enhanced rock weathering is simply speeding up weathering such so it can have beneficial results soon enough to make a difference.

The study explored the potential of applying crushed basalt, which is a fast-weathering rock that forms when lava cools, to agricultural fields around the world. Basically, the idea is for farmers to mix the crushed rocks into their fields. There is no real downside to doing this. In fact, adding crushed basalt to fields rejuvenates depleted soils and helps counter ocean acidification.

The study simulated the results of enhanced rock weathering on 1,000 agricultural sites around the world. Over a 75-year period, these sites would remove 64 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This is roughly the amount climate scientists believe is needed to take out of the atmosphere.

Enhanced rock weathering has been used on a small scale on farms around the world. Perhaps it is time to ramp up its use.

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‘Planting’ rocks in farms, along with emissions reductions, could help meet key IPCC carbon removal goal

Photo, posted January 14, 2023, courtesy of Ron Reiring via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Humanity Weighs On The World | Earth Wise

April 6, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

There are countless ways in which humankind has had disproportionate effects on our planet and most of those effects have been negative. A recent study led by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel looked at the total combined weight of various groups of mammals on Earth. The results are that human beings and our domesticated mammals are the overwhelming majority of the total mass of mammals.

We think of large land mammals – elephants, bears, bison, wildebeests, and so on – as adding up to a massive amount of animal matter. The study determined that all wild land mammals put together add up to about 22 million metric tons. Wild marine mammals – such as dolphins and whales – add up to about 40 million tons in total. These sound like pretty big numbers until we look at the human and human-created side of the equation.

The study found that humans weigh about 390 million metric tons, while domesticated mammals – like sheep, cows, and pigs as well as dogs and cats – weigh about 630 million metric tons combined.

All told, wild mammals account for only 6% of all mammals by weight. People and their domesticated animals make up the other 94%. This enormous imbalance is an indication of how profoundly humans have reshaped life on Earth. House cats total twice the weight of African elephants and pigs add up to twice the weight of all wild land animals combined.

The conclusion to draw from the big picture here is that wild animals on Earth are not doing very well. We already knew this from many other perspectives, but this census by weight presents a stark picture of the extent to which we have taken over the planet and its ecosystems.

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Total Weight of Wild Land Mammals Less Than One-Tenth Weight of All Humans

Photo, posted December 27, 2006, courtesy of Nigel Hoult via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

An Agreement To Protect Biodiversity | Earth Wise

January 18, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal in December concluded with a historic deal aimed at stemming the rising tide of extinctions. Nearly 200 countries signed on to the agreement to protect 30% of the Earth’s land and sea by the end of this decade.

Part of the agreement also pledges that countries will reduce fertilizer runoff from farms by 50%, reduce the use of harmful pesticides by 50%, and stem the flow of invasive species.

Of course, all of these promises are only words unless they are backed up by actions and actions cost money. The agreement promises to direct $200 billion a year towards biodiversity by the end of this decade. Wealthy countries were urged to provide $100 billion a year to fund the actions of poorer countries, but they resisted the pressure. Eventually, they did agree to send $30 billion a year to developing countries by 2030.

It is a significant step forward to establish clear targets for stopping biodiversity loss. However, the ultimate success of the pact will depend on the willingness of countries to cooperate and compromise.

According to UN estimates, about a million species across the globe face extinction as a result of rising temperatures, air and water pollution, invasive species, and habitat loss due to development. At present, only 16% of land and 8% of the oceans are within protected areas.

The UN Environment Program stated that “for far too long humanity has paved over, fragmented, over-extracted, and destroyed the natural world on which we all depend. Now is our chance to shore up and strengthen the web of life, so it can carry the full weight of generations to come.”

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In Historic Deal, Countries Agree to Protect 30 Percent of Earth to Halt Biodiversity Loss

Photo, posted August 13, 2015, courtesy of Andrew H via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Reshaping Our Planet | Earth Wise

July 12, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

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.

The Earth Itself Is Quieter | Earth Wise

May 15, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Our stories often discuss how human activities change the natural environment. With most of us confined to our homes, the lack of human activities is having profound effects on the environment. We are talking about some of these this week.

With about a third of the world’s population sheltering in place, our planet is much quieter these days. It isn’t just our machines, vehicles, and factories that are making less noise. The earth itself is quieter. There has been a reduction in the earth’s seismic vibrations.

According to the journal Nature, various human-powered movements contribute to the persistent vibration of the earth’s crust. Things like engines firing up in factories, trains pulling into stations, and trucks barreling down highways all make contributions to seismic activity. Taken individually, such things are insignificant, but taken together, they produce a background of seismic noise that makes it difficult for seismologists to detect natural signals such as volcanic activity and earthquake aftershocks.

With much human activity on pause during the coronavirus outbreak, seismologists across the globe are seeing significant reductions in background seismic noise levels.

This respite in seismic noise, for as long as it lasts, represents an opportunity for scientists to better study the natural activity in the earth’s crust. Researchers studying the impact of ocean waves to predict volcanic activity and those who triangulate the location of earthquake epicenters may be able to make more sensitive measurements than under normal conditions.

There are very few positive things one can say about the coronavirus crisis, but it is providing opportunities to study and observe aspects of the natural world that are ordinarily drowned out by the bustle of humanity.

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Coronavirus lockdowns across the globe are actually causing the Earth to move less

Photo, posted March 9, 2020, courtesy of Jeremy Segrottvia Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Immersion In Nature Is Good for You | Earth Wise

February 20, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

There is a growing body of research that shows that getting outdoors in nature can be good for people’s health and well-being. There are so many studies supporting this idea that policymakers, employers, and healthcare providers are increasingly considering this need for nature in how they plan and operate.

A new study of 20,000 people by researchers at the University of Exeter in the UK actually looked at how much exposure to nature was enough to make people say they feel healthy and have a sense of well-being. The answer turned out to be 2 hours a week. And the correlation was strong. People who didn’t meet that threshold did not report the benefits.

Studies have shown that time in nature – as long as people feel safe where they are – is an antidote for stress. It can lower blood pressure and stress hormone levels, reduce nervous system arousal, enhance immune system function, increase self-esteem, reduce anxiety, and improve mood. Most of these studies are correlational rather than causal, but the results tend to be robust.

Given all this, cities are adding or enhancing parks, and schools and other institutions are being designed with large windows and access to trees and green space. The Scandinavian tradition of “forest schools” – where learning takes place in natural settings outdoors -.is finding a home in the US. Japanese researchers study the effects of “forest bathing”, a poetic term for walking in the woods.

With two-thirds of humanity projected to be living in cities by 2050, we are awakening to the idea that we need to be able to spend time in nature for our own wellbeing, even if it’s just a walk in a park.

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Ecopsychology: How Immersion in Nature Benefits Your Health

Photo, posted November 6, 2011, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Conspicuous Consumption

February 6, 2020 By EarthWise 2 Comments

Human civilization consumes vast amounts of material. The Circle Economy think tank actually puts some numbers on it. According to their latest report, the amount of material consumed by humanity has passed 100 billion tons every year. So, on average, every person on Earth uses more than 13 tons of materials per year.

That number has quadrupled since 1970, which is far faster than the population, which has only doubled during that time. In the past two years alone, consumption has jumped by more than 8%. While this has been going on, the proportion being recycled has been falling.

Of the 100 billion tons of materials, half of the total is sand, clay, gravel, and cement used for building, along with other minerals used for fertilizer. Coal, oil and gas make up 15% and metal ores 10%. The final quarter are plants and trees used for food and fuel. About 40% of all materials are turned into housing. A third of the annual materials consumed remain in use, such as in buildings or vehicles. But 15% is emitted into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases and a third is treated as waste.

The global emergencies of climate change and disappearing wildlife have been driven by the unsustainable extraction of fossil fuels, metals, building materials, and trees. The authors of the report warn that if we continue to treat the world’s resources as limitless, we are heading for a global disaster.

The Circle Economy think tank promotes the idea of a circular economy in which renewable energy supports systems where waste and pollution are reduced to zero. Some nations are taking steps towards circular economies, while others are not. This is a problem we can’t allow to be unaddressed.

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World Consumes 100 Billion Tons of Materials Every Year, Report Finds

Photo, posted March 13, 2015, courtesy of Joyce Cory via Flickr.

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A Powerful Case For Protecting Whales

October 24, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Efforts to mitigate climate change typically face two major challenges. One is to find effective ways to reduce the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The other is how to raise enough money to implement climate mitigation strategies.

Many proposed solutions to climate change, like carbon capture and storage, are complex, expensive, and in some cases, untested. What if there was a low-tech solution that was effective and economical?

Well, it turns out there is one, and it comes from a surprisingly simple, “no-tech” strategy to capture CO2: increase global whale populations.

According to a recent analysis by economists with the International Monetary Fund, whales help fight climate change by sequestering CO2 in the ocean.

Whales sequester carbon in a few ways. They hoard it in their fat and protein-rich bodies, stockpiling tons of carbon apiece. When whales die, they turn into literal carbon sinks on the ocean floor. While alive, whales dive to feed on tiny marine organisms like krill and plankton before surfacing to breathe and excrete. Those latter activities release an enormous plume of nutrients, including nitrogen, iron, and phosphorous, into the water. These so-called “poo-namis” stimulate the growth of phytoplankton, microscopic marine algae that pull CO2 out of the air and return oxygen to the air via photosynthesis. Phytoplankton are responsible for every other breath we take, contributing at least 50% of all oxygen to the atmosphere and capturing approximately 40% of all CO2 produced.

With other economic benefits like ecotourism factored in, economists estimate that each whale is worth $2 million over its lifetime, making the entire global population possibly a one trillion dollar asset to humanity.

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How much is a whale worth?

Photo, posted June 12, 2013, courtesy of Gregory Smith via Flickr.

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Can We Remove Enough CO2 From The Air?

January 9, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to set new records and the effects of climate change grow stronger, humanity has continued to procrastinate on reducing emissions. As a result, it is increasingly clear that any strategy to avoid runaway climate change will have to involve the use of “negative emissions”- techniques or technologies that actually remove CO2 from the air.

There are both low-tech and high-tech methods for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and both are likely to be needed.

On the low-tech side, afforestation (planting trees where there were none before), reforestation, changes in forest management, rebuilding the carbon backbone in agricultural soils, and the use of energy from waste biomass are all ways to take carbon out of the atmosphere.

On the high-tech side, direct air capture technologies that take CO2 out of the air and store it in the ground are making rapid progress. Right now, they are still very expensive,but that is changing. There is an analogy to wind and solar technology. Not very long ago, both of those technologies were quite expensive but now their costs have plummeted to the point where they are often the cheapest way to make electricity. With sufficient development effort and deployment, direct air capture technology could become quite affordable.

Some people advocate geoengineering as a solution for climate change. While removing carbon dioxide amounts to tackling the root cause of the warming climate,geoengineering would address the problem by changing the climate again in some other way. It is at best an extremely dangerous approach.

Removing CO2 using a combination of natural and man-made techniques is an important part of mitigating the effects of climate change.

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