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Generations Z and Alpha and climate change

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People’s views and level of concern about climate change tend to vary according to age, political affiliation, and other demographic categories.  But one clear trend is that young people are overwhelmingly concerned about climate change.  Given that they will ultimately suffer from its effects far more than older generations, this is not really surprising.

A new study investigated the views about climate change of 16,000 young Americans aged 16 to 25.  The study found that about 60% of respondents said they were either very or extremely worried when asked “How worried, if at all, are you about climate change and its impact on people and the planet?”  More than 85% said they experienced at least some level of climate anxiety.

There was similarity in responses across dramatically different geopolitical regions of the country.  Responses never differed by more than 25% across all surveyed populations.  Concern about climate change transcended political identification.  While the Republican group did have a lower level of concern, endorsement of climate issues was still above 50% no matter what group people identified with.

People from Generations Z and Alpha, those with fewer economic resources, people of color, and other vulnerable communities are experiencing the highest levels of climate distress. Research finds that 3% of Americans are experiencing clinically significant climate anxiety. 

The true number of people experiencing climate-triggered anxiety may be much higher as some people are hesitant or reluctant to even acknowledge that climate change is happening.  Some level of climate anxiety is undoubtedly beneficial for climate action.  People who are experiencing distress are the ones most likely to take action. 

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The Depths of Their Discontent: Young Americans Are Distraught Over Climate Change

Photo, posted April 23, 2022, courtesy of Mark Dixon via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The bloated carbon footprint of LNG

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According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the United States is the world’s largest producer of natural gas.  In fact, natural gas supplies approximately one third of the United States’ primary energy consumption, most of which is used to heat buildings and to generate electricity.  While most natural gas is delivered in its gaseous form in this country, the demand for natural gas in international markets has given rise to the use of natural gas in a liquified form. 

Liquified natural gas (LNG) is natural gas that has been cooled to a liquid state, at about -260° Fahrenheit, for easier storage and transportation.  The volume of natural gas in its liquid state is about 600 times smaller than its volume in its gaseous state, which makes it possible to transport it to places pipelines do not reach.

Liquified natural gas is considered a clean fossil fuel because burning it produces less emissions than coal and oil.  However, according to a new study by researchers from Cornell University, LNG imported from the U.S. actually has a larger climate impact than any other fossil fuel—including coal – once processing and shipping are taken into account. 

The study, which was recently published in the journal Energy Science & Engineering, found that LNG leaves a greenhouse gas footprint that is 33% worse than coal when emissions are analyzed over a 20-year time frame. 

According to the research team, there is no need for LNG as an interim energy source because the transition requires massive infrastructure expenditures.  Instead, those financial resources should be used to “build a fossil-fuel-free future as rapidly as possible.”

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Liquefied natural gas carbon footprint is worse than coal

Photo, posted November 17, 2017, courtesy of Colin Baird via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Renegade geoengineering

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As the dangers of climate change continue to grow, so has interest in geoengineering – deliberate tinkering with the earth’s climate system.  In particular, stratospheric solar geoengineering – releasing aerosols into the stratosphere to reduce the amount of heat from the sun reaching the Earth – is attracting increasing interest.  Scientists at Harvard, Cornell, Colorado State, Princeton, and the University of Chicago are all researching the topic.

Actually doing it on a scale that matters is fraught with peril from unintended consequences of disrupting the delicate interactions between the Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, land, and sea ice. 

Meanwhile, a tiny start-up company in Silicon Valley has raised more than a million dollars in venture capital and is busy releasing balloons full of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere in the name of combatting global warming.  Furthermore, they are selling so-called “cooling credits” to customers who want to offset their personal carbon emissions.

The aerosol being released is on such a small scale that it can’t possibly have a meaningful effect on temperatures.  There really isn’t scientific analysis guiding or accompanying the work. 

There are no laws prohibiting the dispersal of small amounts of sulfur dioxide in California.  Even if there were, these people could go offshore or elsewhere to do their work.  But this renegade geoengineering highlights a serious issue; namely, that there doesn’t have to be scientific, political, or any other kind of consensus for someone to undertake a potentially catastrophic attempt to alter the climate.  It’s a real worry.

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Silicon Valley Renegades Pollute the Sky to Save the Planet

Photo, posted September 24, 2006, courtesy of Doc Searls via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The impact of climate change on agriculture

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Agriculture is a major part of the climate problem and remains one of the hardest human activities to decarbonize.  Agriculture is responsible for approximately 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

On farms around the world, excess fertilizer gets broken down by microbes in the soil, releasing nitrous oxide into the atmosphere.  Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas that is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

According to a sweeping global research review recently published in the journal Science, greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture are now 18 times higher than they were in the 1960s. 

The research, which was co-written by professors at the University of Minnesota with more than 20 experts around the world, also reveals the likelihood of an emergent feedback loop between climate and agriculture.  As the changing climate puts more pressure on the global food supply, agriculture will, out of necessity, adopt practices that may exacerbate its environmental impact. Without changes in agriculture, this feedback loop could make it impossible to achieve the Paris Climate Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. 

The research identifies several agricultural practices that could improve efficiency and stabilize our food supply in the decades to come, including precision farming, perennial crop integration, agrivoltaics, nitrogen fixation, and novel genome editing. 

Finding ways to reduce the warming impact of agriculture while maintaining high crop yields are essential to both mitigating climate change and protecting our food supply from its impacts.

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Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture Suggests Even Greater Challenges to the Environment, Global Food Supply and Public Health

Photo, posted October 16, 2010, courtesy of Timlewisnm via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Tourism and climate action

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Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is one of the foremost natural wonders of the world and is a major tourist attraction.  It is well-known that the changing climate is threatening the survival of the Great Barrier Reef as well as other coral reefs around the world.  A recent study by researchers at the University of Queensland looked at the reactions of tourists to being informed about the impact of the changing climate on the reef.

The Great Barrier Reef faces many challenges.  Unprecedented marine heatwaves have triggered repeated mass coral bleaching events over the past decade. These climate driven disturbances are compounding the cumulative effects of chronic problems such as unsustainable fishing, pollution, and sedimentation as well as acute disturbances such as tropical cyclones and outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish.

Operators of five reef tourism boats assisted in the study.  As part of their boat trips, tourists were given climate information via a marine biology presentation and there were also posters around the vessel as well as regular mentions of climate change impacts and actions throughout the trip.

The tourism industry often has the idea that providing information on climate change might be detrimental to people’s enjoyment – basically a buzzkill.  But based on surveys conducted at the end of the trips, the researchers found that informing tourists about climate impact didn’t negatively affect their experience.  In fact, most tourists actually wanted more information, particularly about how they can take meaningful actions of their own.

The researchers believe that their study provides further opportunity to improve climate communication and effectively promote climate change engagement among tourists.

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Reef tourism encourages climate action

Photo, posted October 7, 2008, courtesy of eGuide Travel via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Deep sea mining

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Deep sea mining is the extraction of minerals from the ocean floor at depths greater than 660 feet and as much as 21,000 feet below the surface.  Active or extinct hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor create sulfide deposits which collect metals such as silver, gold, copper, manganese, cobalt, and zinc.  This forms polymetallic nodules – potato-sized rocklike deposits containing these valuable minerals.  There are literally trillions of these things scattered over wide areas of ocean floor.  The largest of these deposits are in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone.

Mining companies argue that land-based sources for valuable metals are running out and are critically needed for green technologies like batteries for electric vehicles and manufacturing solar panels and wind turbines.  They also claim that mining in the deep sea will be less environmentally damaging than land-based mining.

The deep sea is viewed by many as kind of a watery desert but there are actually diverse and rich ecosystems down there.  Most of the animals living in the depths are tiny, but that doesn’t make them any less important.  Many can live for a very long time.  Some invertebrates live for thousands of years.

There are currently no commercial deep sea mining operations underway.  Many countries have outlawed them.

The deep seas are the last mostly unexplored part of the Earth.  Deep sea mining will unquestionably be highly destructive to these environments.  We don’t really know what the impact of widespread deep sea mining might be, but the world continues to edge ever closer to allowing it to happen.

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Can We Mine the World’s Deep Ocean Without Destroying It?

Photo, posted March 30, 2018, courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Another ban on neonics

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There have been ominous declines in many insect populations.  Chief among them have been declines in pollinators, which have severe consequences for our food supply.  There are multiple possible causes of these declines and undoubtedly several have been involved simultaneously.

A new study on butterfly populations in the Midwest indicates that agricultural insecticides exerted the biggest impact on the diversity of butterfly populations in the Midwest during the period 1998 to 2014.  The biggest culprits were the widely used insecticides called neonicotinoids that are absorbed into the tissues of plants.

Neonics are meant for targeted pesticide use but are often used more broadly, including for corn crops.

Neonics are already well-known to be especially harmful to bees and are gradually being restricted in various places.  Quebec province passed restrictions on neonic-treated seeds in 2019.  Last December, New York signed into law a phase-out of neonic-treated seeds and a ban on non-agricultural uses of them.

Vermont has now become the second state to ban the use of neonicotinoids by virtue of its state legislature overriding a veto from Governor Phil Scott.  The law minimizes the use of neonics by requiring potential users to obtain written exemptions. 

Opponents to neonic restrictions claim that slashing their use will greatly reduce crop yields.  The experience in Quebec over the past five years is that the Canadian neonic restrictions have reduced corn and soybean crop yields by about 0.5%.  As a result of this tiny reduction, there has been a strong reduction in the amount of neonics contaminating waterways.

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Vermont Becomes Second State to Ban Bee-Killing Neonic Pesticides

New ‘Detective Work’ on Butterfly Declines Reveals a Prime Suspect

Photo, posted September 7, 2017, courtesy of Watts via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Climate change and fish migration

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The warming climate is changing the distribution of fish species.  Researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia have observed that tropical fish species are moving into temperate Australian waters.

The Eastern Australian Current is strengthening as the climate warms and larvae of tropical fish are getting caught in the current and moving into more temperate regions.  These larvae would not normally survive in the cooler Australian ocean water, but the warming current keeps the baby fish warm and increases their chances for survival.  The fish migration observed in the study is an ongoing process that has strengthened in the last few decades due to ocean warming.

The novel populations of tropical fish in these temperate ecosystems are not having much impact at the present time, but they may do so in the future.  The water is still cooler than the fishes’ natural environment and therefore they do not grow to their maximum size.  As a result, they don’t represent stiff competition for the native species – at least not yet.

As the ocean temperatures continue to rise, these tropical species will eventually grow to their full size and their diets will overlap more and more with those of temperate fish species.  Tropical herbivores tend to overgraze temperate kelp while the impact of tropical fish that eat invertebrates is less well understood.  Tropical fish with varied diets are the most successful invaders.  The ultimate effects on temperate ecosystems remain to be seen but survival may become difficult for the native fish in rapidly warming temperate ocean environments.

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Tropical fish are invading Australian ocean water

Photo, posted March 28, 2017, courtesy of Ryan McMinds via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Skiing and climate change

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According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, anthropogenic climate change resulting in higher average temperatures has caused a global decline in snowfall.  Less snow threatens to reinforce global warming, and to disrupt food, water, and livelihoods for billions of people.  

According to a new study recently published in the journal PLOS ONE, annual snow cover days in all major skiing regions are projected to decrease dramatically as a result of climate change.  In the study, the research team from the University of Bayreuth in Germany examined the impact of climate change on annual natural snow cover in seven major skiing regions.  Using the public climate database CHELSA, the researchers predicted annual snow cover days for each ski area for 2011-2040, 2041-2070, and 2071-2100 under low, high, and very high carbon emissions scenarios.

Under the high emissions scenario, 13% of ski areas are predicted to lose all natural snow cover by 2071-2100 relative to their historic baselines.  By 2071-2100, average annual snow cover days were predicted to decline by 78% in the Australian Alps, 51% in the Southern Alps, 50% in the Japanese Alps, 43% in the Andes, 42% in the European Alps, 37% in the Appalachians, and 23% in the the Rocky Mountains – all declines relative to their historic baselines.

The future losses of natural snow cover in ski areas around the world will be significant if global emissions continue unchecked.

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The future is likely less skiable, thanks to climate change

New maps show where snowfall is disappearing

Photo, posted April 14, 2006, courtesy of Kallu via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Small changes can yield big results

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Global food production is one of the largest contributors to climate change.  In fact, one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions result from food production and agriculture.  Be that as it may, we still have to eat.  But what we choose to eat has a major impact on the environment.

According to a new study by researchers at McGill University in Canada and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the U.K., partially replacing red and processed meat with plant-based proteins can increase lifespan and mitigate climate change. 

In the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Food, the researchers drew data from a national nutrition survey to analyze Canadians’ dietary records. The study modeled partial replacements (25% and 50%) of either red and processed meat or dairy with plant protein foods like nuts, seeds, legumes, and tofu, on a combination of nutrition, health, and climate outcomes.

In the study, the researchers found that a person’s diet-related carbon footprint plummets by 25% when they replace half of their intake of red and processed meats with plant protein foods. However, dairy substitutions showed smaller reductions of up to just 5%.

Meat and dairy-rich diets are known to increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. The researchers also estimated that if half of the red and processed meat in a person’s diet was replaced with plant protein foods, life expectancy would increase nearly nine months on average, due to a reduced risk of chronic disease.

The research team hopes its findings will help people make healthier and more sustainable food choices. 

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Food production is responsible for one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions

Small dietary changes can cut your carbon footprint by 25%

Photo, posted November 24, 2019, courtesy of Theo Crazzolara via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Solar forests

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Forests are one of the most iconic symbols of the power and diversity of nature but beyond that, their thick vegetation is crucial to the stability and balance of the Earth’s climate.  This is because the photosynthesis that powers the growth of plants removes carbon dioxide from the air.  Cutting down forests – especially the evergreen forests of the tropics – has played a significant role in the increasing climate crisis.  For this reason, many environmental initiatives focus on restoring destroyed forests and planting new trees.

But the truth is, even if we were to cover the entire surface of the planet with trees, there would still not be enough photosynthesis going on to absorb the huge surplus of carbon dioxide that people have been pumping into the atmosphere for the past 150 years.

A study by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel looked at the impact of erecting fields of dark covered solar panels – so-called solar forests – that would generate electricity, thereby replacing power stations that use fossil fuels.  But dark fields absorb heat which eventually returns to the atmosphere.

The question is:  what is the best use of a plot of land in terms of the effect on the climate?  Planting a forest or erecting fields of solar panels?

The answer depends on where the land is.  In arid environments, building solar farms is far more effective and practical than planting forests.  But in humid places, forests currently absorb close to a third of humanity’s annual carbon emissions. 

The study concludes that combining planting and rehabilitating forests in humid regions and erecting fields of solar panels in arid regions is the most effective strategy.

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The Solar Forest

Photo, posted December 27, 2015, courtesy of Gerry Machen via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Cleaning the grid can create messes

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The electric grid is increasingly embracing renewable energy sources like solar and wind power as well as the energy storage systems that support them.  These generation sources differ from traditional sources in that they produce direct current electricity rather than alternating current electricity.  Our power grid runs on alternating current.  Traditional generators produce alternating current that synchronizes with the grid.  Wind and solar power connect to the grid using electronic power converters called inverters that produce the required alternating current. 

All of this technical detail is something we don’t pay much attention to, except that the current state of inverter technology can lead to some problems that don’t exist with a fully synchronous power system. 

The electric grid frequently experiences disruptive events like trees falling on powerlines, squirrels shorting out substation equipment, and so on.  These things normally don’t cause widespread trouble, although there have been notable exceptions such as the massive Northeast blackout of 2003 triggered by an overloaded transmission line drooping onto foliage.

The issue with inverters is that they can shut down in the presence of certain disturbances to the grid.  This has happened on a number of occasions and has exposed vulnerabilities that need to be addressed by the industry.  Inverter-based resources currently constitute only a relatively small fraction of the grid, but that fraction is growing steadily and can have an increasingly widespread impact.  The grid was built predominantly for synchronous generation, and it must be adapted and improved to assure the reliability that is required and expected.  It is an issue that can’t be ignored.

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Renewables are cleaning the grid. They’re also messing it up

Photo, posted July 5, 2017, courtesy of Sue Thompson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Sustainable New Year’s resolutions

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Every year, millions of people around the world make resolutions to spark positive change in the new year.  Popular resolutions include improving health and fitness, traveling more, spending less, and so on. With 2024 just around the corner, here are six resolution ideas to reduce our climate impact: 

Shop More Sustainably.  Choose eco-friendly brands and products with minimal environmental impact, including locally-produced goods and reusable items whenever possible. 

Switch To Clean Energy.  Purchase green power, install renewable energy systems to generate electricity, or switch to renewable resources for home and water heating and cooling needs. 

Reduce Food Waste.  Food waste is a significant global issue with environmental, economic, and social implications.  In the U.S., an estimated 30-40% of the total food supply is never eaten.  Meal plan and only shop for what you need.  And freeze any leftovers.   

Adopt A More Plant-Based Diet.  Transition to a more plant-based diet in order to shrink the ecological footprint of food production.  Resource-intensive animal-based foods like meat, dairy, and eggs are one of the chief contributors to climate change. 

Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Transportation.  Opt for eco-friendly transportation and energy-efficient practices in order to lower emissions.  Examples include driving a battery-electric car and utilizing public transportation. 

Get Involved In Conservation Advocacy.  Support and engage in environmental causes, and help promote conservation and sustainable practices. 

As we ring in the new year, let’s raise our glasses to a cleaner and greener 2024.

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Photo, posted August 3, 2018, courtesy of Ella Olsson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Electric planes: Fantasy or reality?

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Airplanes have been around for over a century, but the idea of powering them with electricity rather than with liquid fuels has been little more than a fantasy.  Over the years, billions of dollars have been invested trying to make electric planes practical.  In recent times, progress on battery technology has provided a much-needed boost for the field.

Electric planes are nowhere near becoming competitive with long distance commercial aircraft.  The weight and power requirements for such craft are far beyond what electric plane technology can do.  But electric planes could offer a very practical solution for transporting relatively small numbers of passengers over relatively short distances.

A plane built by the well-funded private company Beta Technologies has flown as far as 386 miles on a single battery charge.  The company envisions such planes to be mostly used for trips of 100 to 150 miles.  These planes could open new opportunities, like better connecting rural areas that have little or no direct air service.

Their latest model was tested on a trip between Burlington, Vermont and Florida, making multiple stops and flying through congested airspace over Boston, New York, and Washington.

Commercial versions of the planes will likely have lift rotors to take off and land like helicopters, making them deployable in a wide range of places.  Many companies are working on electric aviation, and they have backers like major automakers, major airlines, and large investment firms. 

Electric planes are not likely to replace conventional aircraft but are likely to have a meaningful impact how we move goods and services and reconnect rural parts of the country.

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Electric Planes, Once a Fantasy, Start to Take to the Skies

Photo courtesy of Beta Technologies.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

More renewable energy for New York

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In late October, New York announced its largest state investment in renewable energy to date that includes three offshore wind projects, and 22 land-based clean energy projects totaling more than 6 GW of power generation.

The portfolio of projects is expected to create approximately 8,300 jobs and spur $20 billion in economic investments statewide.

The projects support the state’s goal to have 70% of its electricity come from renewable sources by 2030 and to have 9 GW of offshore wind operating by 2035.  The announcement represents the first set of actions taken by the State as part of New York’s 10-Point Action Plan.

The three offshore wind projects include Attentive Energy One, a 1.4 GW project that seeks to retire fossil fuel power generation in New York City.  Community Offshore Wind, a 1.3 GW project will make use of a new grid interconnection in downtown Brooklyn.  Excelsior Wind, another 1.3 GW project, will provide robust energy deliverability to Long Island. 

Apart from the offshore wind projects, there will be 14 new solar projects, six wind upgrading projects, one new wind project, and one return-to-service hydroelectric project.

The average bill impact for customers over the life of the land-based projects is estimated to be approximately 0.31%, or about 32 cents a month for the average customer.  The bill impact for customers utilizing the offshore wind projects is estimated to be about 2.7%, or $2.93 per month.

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NY to invest in 3 offshore wind farms, 22 land-based renewable projects

Photo, posted October 21, 2016, courtesy of B Sarangi via Flickr.

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Too hot for people

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The effort to mitigate the effects of climate change has a goal of keeping the global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.  To date, the average global temperature has increased by more than 1 degree.  We hear about rising sea levels, powerful storms, and various other alterations in climate and weather patterns.  A new interdisciplinary study by three institutions looked at the impact of surpassing the 1.5-degree level upon people being able to withstand heat and humidity.

Humans can only withstand certain combinations of heat and humidity before their bodies begin to experience heat-related health problems such as heat stroke and heart attacks. 

In human history, temperatures and humidity that exceed human limits have been recorded only a limited number of times and only for a few hours at a time, in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

According to the new study, if global temperatures increase by 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the 2.2 billion residents of Pakistan and India’s Indus River Valley, the one billion people living in eastern China, and the 800 million residents of sub-Saharan Africa will annually experience many hours of heat surpassing human tolerance.

If the warming continues further to 3 degrees, heat and humidity levels that surpass human tolerance would affect the Eastern Seaboard and the middle of the US from Florida to New York and from Houston to Chicago.

The worst heat stress will occur in regions that are not wealthy and that are experiencing rapid population growth.  But even wealthy nations will not escape from the expansion of conditions that are too hot for people.

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Climate-driven extreme heat may make parts of Earth too hot for humans

Photo, posted June 28, 2018, courtesy of Ivan via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The end of a supergiant iceberg

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In 2017, a supergiant iceberg known as A-68 calved from the Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica. In 2020, it drifted close to South Georgia, a British island in the South Atlantic Ocean, and then began to break up.  This iceberg was enormous – nearly the size of Delaware.  When it started to break up, it released huge quantities of fresh, cold meltwater in a relatively small region.

Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey and the University of Sheffield have studied how the melting iceberg has affected the temperature and the salinity of the ocean surface in the area.  They found that the water near the surface was 8 degrees Fahrenheit colder than normal and the water only had about two-thirds of its normal saltiness.

The effects from the melted iceberg eventually extended well beyond South Georgia as the colder, less-salty water was carried by ocean currents to form a long plume that stretched more than 600 miles across the South Atlantic.  It also took several months to disappear.

The calving of this massive iceberg provided a unique opportunity for scientists to study the impact of iceberg melting on surface ocean conditions.  A-68 was one of the largest and most studied of all icebergs.  The study has shown that each individual melting giant iceberg can have widespread and long-lasting impacts on ocean conditions, which has consequences for the plant and animal life that lives there.

Climate change is likely to lead to more giant iceberg calving in the future.  It is important to monitor these events to assess their future impacts on ocean circulation, biology, and even seafloor geology.

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Supergiant iceberg makes surrounding ocean surface colder and less salty

Photo, posted October 24, 2018, courtesy of Jefferson Beck / NASA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Fossil-free fertilizer

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Ammonia is a major industrial commodity.  About 70% of it is used to make fertilizer, with the rest for a wide range of industrial applications.  Ammonia is the starting point for all mineral nitrogen fertilizers. 

Typically, ammonia is a byproduct of isolating hydrogen from natural gas, which releases large amounts of carbon dioxide.  On a global scale, the climate impact of ammonia production is comparable to that of air travel.  The world needs more ammonia but really cannot afford the emissions that come with its production.

There are also political implications of ammonia production.  Because it relies so heavily on natural gas, ammonia supply is vulnerable to disruptions from events like the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  Sanctions imposed after the invasion have hindered fertilizer exports, driving up costs, especially in places like Africa.

A small fertilizer plant near Nairobi, Kenya will be the first farm in the world to produce its own nitrogen fertilizer on site that is free of fossil fuels.  The plant is being built by an American startup company Talus Renewables and will use solar power to strip hydrogen from water.  The hydrogen will then bond with nitrogen from the air to form liquid ammonia.  The plant will produce one ton of ammonia each day.

The typical bag of fertilizer in sub-Saharan Africa travels 6,000 miles to get there, which of course only adds to the environmental burden of using it as well as its cost.  By building a small green ammonia plant like the one coming online in Kenya, it is possible to locally produce a critical raw material in a carbon-free manner.

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Farm in Kenya First to Produce Fossil-Free Fertilizer On Site

Photo courtesy of Talus Renewables via LinkedIn.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Controlled Environment Agriculture | Earth Wise

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The term “controlled environment agriculture” (or CEA) refers to any number of systems embodying a technology-based approach to farming.  CEA can range from simple shade structures to greenhouses to full indoor or vertical farms.  At the most advanced level, CEA systems are fully automated, closed loop systems with controlled lighting, water, and ventilation.   Many systems make use of hydroponics rather than traditional soil.

The goal of CEA systems is to provide optimum growing conditions for crops and prevent disease and pest damage. 

A recent study by the University of Surrey in the UK sought to understand the impact of using CEA systems to grow lettuce, which is a high-value crop that is often grown in such systems.

The study found that, on average, CEA methods produce double the crop yields compared to field-based agriculture.  They also found that the cultivation time of CEA yields was, on average, 40 days.  This compares with an average cultivation time of 60-120 days for field-based agriculture.  More specifically, production of lettuce using CEA was 50% faster in the summer and up to 300% faster in the winter.

Climate change presents many difficult challenges to society, not the least of which is its threat to food security.  Controlled environment agriculture could allow cultivation of crops in harsh environments and in the face of changing climates.  Quantifying the benefits CEA can have on yield and growth provides important information for advancing our understanding of where and when this technology can bring the most value to society. 

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Using artificial methods for growing crops could help solve global food security

Photo, posted February 24, 2013, courtesy of Cindy Kurman / Kurman Photography via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The Climate Impact Of Diets | Earth Wise

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The food system is responsible for 70% of the world’s freshwater use and almost 80% of freshwater pollution.  About three-quarters of the ice-free land area of the planet has been affected by human use, primarily for agriculture.  Land-use change such as deforestation is a major source of biodiversity loss.  What we choose to eat has a major effect on how the food system impacts the environment.

A comprehensive study by researchers at several UK universities has found that a plant-based diet yields one-fourth as much greenhouse gases as a diet rich in meat.  Vegan diets produce 75% less heat-trapping gas, generate 75% less water pollution, and use 75% less land than meat-rich diets.

Just going to a low-meat diet cuts the environmental cost of a high-meat diet in half.  Pescatarian diets perform better than low-meat diets, and vegetarian diets do even a little better than that.

There are a variety of reasons why many people won’t, can’t, or even shouldn’t become vegans.  What should be learned from this study is that our dietary choices have a major environmental impact.  So, taking actions like cutting down the amount of meat and dairy – which most people can do with relative ease – can be valuable.

There are many choices with respect to where we live, how we get from place to place, where we get our food, and, yes, what food we eat, that impact the environment.  We are not all going to do the best possible thing in all these cases, but if we each make some choices that at least help, it can make a big difference.

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Vegan Diets Have One-Fourth the Climate Impact of Meat-Heavy Diets, Study Finds

Photo, posted November 5, 2017, courtesy of Stephanie Kraus via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

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