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A hidden global water crisis

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A major crisis is unfolding beneath our feet: Earth’s continents are losing freshwater at unprecedented rates.  Recent satellite data has uncovered a hidden global water crisis, suggesting the problem is more urgent than previously thought. 

The study, which was led by researchers from Arizona State University, found that since 2002, climate change, unsustainable groundwater use, and extreme droughts have driven dramatic declines in the planet’s freshwater reserves.

The research team found that drying areas on land are expanding at a rate roughly twice the size of California every year.  Additionally, the rate at which dry areas are getting drier now outpaces the rate at which wet areas are getting wetter, reversing long-standing hydrological patterns.   

Approximately 75% of the world’s population lives in countries that have been losing freshwater for more than two decades.  As the availability of freshwater dramatically shrinks, the global population continues to expand. 

The study, which was recently published in the journal Science Advances, identifies four continental-scale “mega-drying” regions, all located in the northern hemisphere, and warns of severe consequences for water security, agriculture, sea level rise, and global stability. 

The researchers identified the type of water loss on land, and for the first time, found that 68% came from groundwater.  Groundwater loss alone now contributes more to sea level rise than melting ice sheets. 

The findings stress the urgent need for sustainable water management, international cooperation, and global policies to slow groundwater loss.

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Satellites just revealed a hidden global water crisis—and it’s worse than melting ice

Unprecedented continental drying, shrinking freshwater availability, and increasing land contributions to sea level rise

Photo, posted January 16, 2012, courtesy of Kecko via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Modeling geoengineering

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As the impacts of climate change continue to mount up, there is increasing interest in radical intervention measures designed to keep a lid on rising global temperatures.  Such measures are fraught with potential dangers and unintended consequences but there is no guarantee that one or another of them might still be attempted in the future.  Increasing international interest in geoengineering as a potential strategy for mitigating climate change has created a pressing need to consider its impact before any potentially irreversible actions are taken.

The Natural Environment Research Council in the UK is funding four research projects aimed at understanding the potential consequences of solar radiation modification (SRM) being deployed in the real world.

SRM consists of methods to reflect some of the Sun’s radiation back into space instead of allowing it to reach and warm the earth. 

One approach is stratospheric aerosol intervention in which particles such as sulfates are introduced into the upper atmosphere to reflect sunlight thereby producing a dimming effect.   The idea is to mimic the effects of large volcanic eruptions, which naturally send sulfates into the atmosphere.

A second approach is marine cloud brightening, which increases the reflectivity of clouds over the ocean by spraying very small droplets of sea water into the air.  The fine particles of sea salt enhance cloud condensation nuclei, producing more cloud droplets and making clouds more reflective.

The research aims to deliver independent risk analyses to inform policymakers about the potential environmental impacts of SRM.

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Scientists to model the impact of controlling Earth’s temperature by reflecting solar radiation

Photo, posted May 6, 2009, courtesy of Denys Zadorozhnyi via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Fighting honey fraud

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Honey fraud is a significant issue for the food industry.  What is honey fraud?  Typically, it involves mislabeling where honey was produced or what types of flowers the bees collected nectar from.  Honey made from a single type of flower is often more expensive because of the unique flavor it provides or from potential health benefits.  Sometimes even cheap alternatives like sugar syrups are labelled as honey.  It turns out that honey is one of the most fraud-prone commodities in global trade, with fraud estimated to occur in up to 10% of the honey traded internationally.  Honey from some countries, such as China and India, has had 30% or more of samples found to be fraudulent.

Researchers at McGill University in Montreal have developed an AI-powered method to verify the origin of honey thereby ensuring that what is on the label corresponds to what is in the jar.

The McGill method can determine what kind of flowers the bees visited to produce a particular sample of honey.  Previous honey authentication involved pollen analysis, which is ineffective for honey that was processed or filtered.  The new method uses high-resolution mass spectrometry which captures a unique chemical “fingerprint” from the honey.  Machine learning algorithms read the fingerprint to identify the honey’s origin.

The researchers tested their methodology on a variety of honey samples which they then compared with honey from known botanical sources.  Using previous methods for honey authentication can take days.  The McGill method takes only minutes and works regardless of how the honey was processed.

According to the researchers, people deserve to know that the honey they buy is what it claims to be, and honest honey producers deserve protection from fraudulent competitors.

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Fighting honey fraud with AI technology

Photo, posted May 6, 2012, courtesy of Emma Jane via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The dangers of deep sea mining

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The White House is considering an executive order that would fast-track permitting for deep-sea mining in international waters and allow mining companies to bypass a United Nations-backed review process.

Deep sea mining is the extraction of minerals from the seabed in the deep ocean.  Most of the interest is in what are known as polymetallic nodules, which are potato-sized mineral deposits that have built up in layers over thousands of years. They are located several miles below the surface, primarily in what is called the Clarion-Clipperton zone, which is an environmental management area of the Pacific Ocean about halfway between Mexico and Hawaii.

A new multiyear study led by UK’s National Oceanography Center and published in the journal Nature found that the site of a deep-sea mining test in 1979 still showed lower levels of biodiversity than in neighboring undisturbed sites 44 years later.

Much is not known about the undersea nodules.  We know that they produce oxygen.  If the nodules are removed, will that reduce the amount of oxygen in the deep sea and affect the organisms that live there?  If mining occurs, what effect will the metal-containing sediment plumes churned up by the mining process have? 

The nodule fields sustain highly specialized animal and microbial communities.  More than 20 billion tons of nodules are estimated to lie on the seabed of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.  If large-scale mining takes place, and there is much interest in that happening, it is important to find out what the impact will be on the ocean and its ecosystems because it is likely to be largely irreversible.

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Deep sea mining for rare metals impacts marine life for decades, scientists say

Photo, posted September 4, 2014, courtesy of James St. John via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A brief bout of bad air in Scotland

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Scotland, and the UK in general, used to suffer from sulfur dioxide pollution.  Industrial and domestic emissions, especially from burning coal, contributed heavily to urban air leading to the London smog of the 1950s and the acid rain of the 1980s.  But national air pollution agreements and various international measures have been highly successful in reducing sulfur dioxide emissions.  Desulfurization of coal-fired powerplants and the introduction of ultralow sulfur fuels among other measures have decreased sulfur dioxide emission by 98% since 1970. 

As a result, it came as quite a surprise on May 31st when Edinburgh saw sulfur dioxide levels higher than had been observed in over 30 years.  The levels greatly exceeded air quality objectives for 10 hours with concentrations even creeping towards workplace exposure limits.

What happened?  For once, it was nothing that people did.  Two days earlier, a volcanic fissure eruption took place in the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, some 850 miles from Edinburgh.  Because of an unusual meteorological configuration, the prevailing winds sent the plume of volcanic gases southward towards Scotland.  Had the eruption taken place 60 miles further north or happened a few hours later, the plume of gases would have missed the UK entirely and would have traveled north to the Arctic region.

Icelandic volcanic eruptions have impacted air travel in Europe on a number of occasions.  This non-explosive eruption had little impact outside of its local region, but it turned out to briefly wreak havoc in Scotland.  Fortunately, this pollution event was short-lived.

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Atmospheric sulphur dioxide levels reach historic high in Scotland following Icelandic volcano eruption

Photo, posted November 17, 2021, courtesy of Catherine Poh Huay Tan via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Methane Emissions And The Paris Agreement | Earth Wise

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The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted at the UN Climate Change Conference in 2015.  Its goal is to strengthen the global response to climate change by committing to limit the rise in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and pursue efforts to limit that increase to just 1.5°C. 

Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement requires reaching net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by or around 2050, as well as deep reductions in methane and other emissions. 

According to a new study by researchers from Simon Fraser University in Canada, reductions in methane emissions are needed urgently  if we are to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.  The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature’s Communications Earth & Environment, suggests that global warming levels could be kept below 2°C if methane mitigation efforts are initiated globally before 2030.  However, delaying methane mitigation to the year 2040 or beyond would increase the risk of exceeding 2°C, even if net-zero carbon dioxide emissions were achieved.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, second only to carbon dioxide in contributing to global temperature increases over the last two centuries.  However, methane is known to warm the planet 86 times more effectively than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.

During the past 40 years, more than 60% of global methane emissions have been produced as a result of human activities, such as fossil fuel exploitation, livestock production, and waste from landfills.

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Delaying methane mitigation increases risk of breaching Paris Agreement climate goal, study finds

Photo, posted July 22, 2011, courtesy of Steven W. via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Airplane Turbulence And Climate Change | Earth Wise

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If you’ve ever been on an airplane, chances are pretty good that you’ve experienced turbulence.  As the busy summer travel season kicks off, travelers are being encouraged to brace themselves for a bumpier-than-usual ride. 

There has been a major increase in the number of severe turbulence cases on both domestic and international flights.  According to a new study by researchers from the University of Reading in the U.K., climate change is leading to this increase in turbulence, driving up costs (via wear and tear on aircrafts), and increasing the risks for passengers and flight attendants.  In the United States alone, turbulence costs the airline industry $150-$500 million annually. 

The study, which was recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, found that warmer air, caused by carbon emissions, is creating bumpier flights around the world.  In fact, the study found that severe turbulence in the North Atlantic is up by 55% since 1979. 

The changing climate is affecting air travel in other ways as well.  A faster jet stream across the Atlantic is altering travel times.  Rising temperatures are reducing the weight that aircraft can carry.  Rising seas are threatening low-lying coastal airports around the world. 

But carbon emissions from aviation are also a significant driver of the climate crisis.  Air travel accounts for approximately 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and is one of the fastest growing sources of emissions. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, emissions from international air travel are expected to triple by 2050.

The future is shaping up to be a bumpy ride.

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Climate crisis leading to more turbulence during flights, says study

Evidence for Large Increases in Clear-Air Turbulence Over the Past Four Decades

Climate Scientist Explains Increase In Airplane Turbulence

Airports and Rising Seas

Photo, posted May 9, 2018, courtesy of Steve Lynes via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Sea Level Rise And Global Security | Earth Wise

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Recently, United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres addressed the U.N. Security Council on the issue of the security threats created by rising sea levels. In the past, some members of the Security Council – notably Brazil, China, Russia, and at times, India – have argued that the U.N.’s climate program should address such issues and that the Security Council doesn’t have a mandate or the expertise to consider the issue.   The underlying problem is that by addressing the security issues created by rising seas, other sensitive geopolitical issues might come to the forefront.

Guterres’ speech focused on the real possibility that rising seas could disrupt and destabilize global societies unless there is an organized international effort to get ahead of the problem.  Major cities facing serious impacts from rising seas include Cairo, Lagos, Bangkok, Jakarta, Mumbai, Shanghai, Copenhagen, London, Los Angeles, New York, and Buenos Aires, among others.

In all, Guterres said that the danger is most acute for about 900 million people living in low-lying coastal areas.  Some countries, particularly small island developing countries, could disappear entirely.

The world is already facing refugee crises related to politics, warfare, and extreme weather.  The flood of refugees created by rising seas could be biblical in magnitude.

The confluence of climate change and global security is growing steadily.  As the global body primarily responsible for maintaining international peace and security, the U.N. Security Council cannot duck this issue much longer.  It has a critical role to play in building the political will required to address the security challenges looming from rising seas.

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Sea Level Rise Could Drive 1 in 10 People from Their Homes, with Dangerous Implications for International Peace, UN Secretary General Warns

Photo, posted July 19, 2021, courtesy of Face of the World via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Shipping And The Endangered Whale Shark | Earth Wise

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Whale sharks are the largest fish in the world.  While they measure up to 60 feet long and weigh up to 15 tons – larger and heavier than a school bus – whale sharks are actually harmless.  They are a graceful, slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark.  They are found in marine environments around the world and play an important role in the marine food web and healthy ocean ecosystems.

Whale sharks are an endangered species.  According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, growing human pressures are putting whale sharks at an increased risk of extinction.  The numbers of these gentle giants have declined by more than 50% over the last 75 years despite many international protections.  Fishing bycatch, poaching, and collisions with ships are the main drivers of the population decline. 

According to new research from marine biologists from the Marine Biological Association and the University of Southampton in the U.K., lethal collisions between whale sharks and large ships are vastly underestimated, and could be the reason why populations are continuing to fall.  Whale sharks spend a large amount of time in surface waters in coastal regions, and the research team theorized that collisions with ships could be causing significant whale shark deaths. 

In the study, researchers tracked the global movements of both ships and whale sharks, and then mapped so-called hotspots where their movements overlapped.  The research team found that more than 90% of whale shark movements fell under the footprint of shipping activity.

While many conservation measures have been taken to protect whale sharks, no international regulations currently exist to protect them from ship collisions.  The researchers say it’s time for that to change. 

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Shipping poses significant threat to the endangered whale shark

Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus)

Global collision-risk hotspots of marine traffic and the world’s largest fish

Photo, posted July 8, 2010, courtesy of Marcel Ekker via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Is It Too Late To Save The Vaquita? | Earth Wise

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The vaquita porpoise, the world’s smallest marine mammal, is on the brink of extinction.  Scientists estimate that just 10 or fewer vaquitas are left despite international conservation efforts. Found only in Mexico’s Upper Gulf of California, the vaquita is the most endangered marine mammal on the planet. 

According to the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita, the number one threat facing vaquitas is gillnets. The porpoises get trapped in these nets and drown.  Gillnets are often used illegally in the region to catch shrimp and fish, including the critically-endangered totoaba.  The totoaba’s swim bladder is considered a delicacy in Asia and can fetch thousands of dollars.  Despite Mexico banning both totoaba fishing and the use of gillnets in the vaquitas’ habitat, many say the bans are not always enforced.  

But there is a reason to be hopeful.  According to a genetic analysis led by researchers at UCLA, the critically-endangered species actually remains relatively healthy and can potentially survive if illegal fishing practices cease immediately. 

In the study, which was recently published in the journal Science, the research team analyzed the genomes of 20 vaquitas between 1985 and 2017 and ran simulations to predict the species’ extinction risk over the next 50 years.  The researchers concluded that if gillnet fishing ends immediately, the vaquita has a very high chance of recovery.  If the practice continues, however, even moderately, the likelihood of a recovery plummets. 

According to the research team, the surviving vaquitas are actively reproducing and seem healthy.  But poachers’ gillnets will continue to pose an existential threat to the species until more measures are taken to protect the vaquita. 

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Only 10 vaquita porpoises survive, but species may not be doomed, scientists say

Photo, posted October 18, 2008, courtesy of Paul Olson / NOAA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Tourism And Invasive Species | Earth Wise

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Tourism has experienced exponential growth during the past 70 years.  In 1950, there were 25 million international tourist arrivals.  By 1990, it had ballooned to 435 million.  Between 1990 and 2018, the numbers more than tripled reaching more than 1.4 billion.  And by 2030, the number of international tourist arrivals is expected to reach 1.8 billion.

Tourism is vital to the success of many economies around the world.  Tourism can boost revenue, provide jobs, develop infrastructure, protect wildlife, and help preserve heritage sites and cultures.  But there can also be many downsides to tourism, one of which is that it can contribute to the introduction and spread of invasive species.  Non-native organisms can cause all sorts of social, environmental, and economic damage.   

Tourists help spread invasive organisms far and wide.  These organisms hitch rides in their luggage and on their shoes and clothing.  A 2011 study in New Zealand found that for every gram of soil on the shoes of in-bound international passengers, there were 2.5 plant seeds, 41 roundworms, 0.004 insects and mites, and many microorganisms. 

A new study by researchers from the University of Melbourne in Australia and AgResearch New Zealand examined to what degree tourism plays a role in the spread of invasive species.  According to the study, which was recently published in the journal NeoBiota, the research team found that the number of nights spent in hotels significantly correlated to the incursion of invasive species during that period.

Creating effective mechanisms to prevent the introduction of invasive species in the first place is the best way to prevent this problem. 

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Unwelcome guests: International tourism and travel can be a pathway for introducing invasive species

Number of tourist arrivals

Photo, posted March 27, 2005, courtesy of John via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Fighting Disease in Cavendish Bananas | Earth Wise

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Cavendish bananas account for about half of global banana production and the vast majority of bananas entering international trade.  The plant is unable to reproduce sexually and instead is propagated via identical clones.  So, the genetic diversity of the Cavendish banana is exceedingly low. 

In 2008, Cavendish cultivars in Sumatra and Malaysia started to be attacked by Panama disease, a wilting disease caused by a fungus.  In 2019, Panama disease was discovered on banana farms in the coastal Caribbean region, its first occurrence in the Americas.  In the 1950s, Panama disease wiped out the Gros Michel banana, the commercial predecessor of the Cavendish.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have found a novel way to combine two species of grass-like plants – which include bananas, rice, and wheat – using embryonic tissue from their seeds.  The technique allows beneficial characteristics, such as disease resistance, to be added to the plants.

Joining the shoot of one plant to the root of another to grow as one plant is known as grafting.  It was thought to be impossible to do with grass-like plants – called monocotyledonous  grasses – because they lack a certain tissue type in their stems.  But the new research, published in the journal Nature, showed it can be done with the plants in their earliest embryonic stages.

Cavendish bananas are sterile, so disease resistance can’t be bred into future generations.  But the grafting technique may provide a way to produce Cavendish banana plants that are resistant to Panama disease.  It may be possible to save an important food crop before it is too late.

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New grafting technique could combat the disease threatening Cavendish bananas

Photo, posted July 1, 2015, courtesy of Augustus Binu via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Reducing Emissions From Shipping And Aviation | Earth Wise

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The global marine shipping and aviation industries are each responsible for about 3% of greenhouse gas emissions.  These are relatively small numbers, but as other industries decarbonize, the contributions from shipping and aviation will loom larger and larger.

In October, both of these industries made commitments to reach net zero emissions by 2050.  How can they do it?  We don’t really have the details of the technologies to be used, and neither do these industries.  But there are ideas being considered.

For both ships and planes, the solution for short-distance trips can be electrification.  Electric planes are in the works for short distances.  Battery-powered container ships are also under development.  But the electrification of longer international and intercontinental routes for both industries is very difficult.  The size and weight of batteries needed for long hauls are major challenges to overcome.

The low-carbon solution slowly being deployed in aviation is sustainable aviation fuel made from renewable sources. Longer term, green hydrogen fuel for planes may be a solution.  For shipping, hydrogen may play an even larger role.  As in the other potential uses for hydrogen, the essential requirement is to be able to produce hydrogen in a way that does not emit greenhouse gases.

There are multiple ways to move towards the decarbonization of both aviation and shipping.  Which will turn out to be the most practical and successful is not yet known.  What is essential is for both industries to follow through on their commitments to research, develop, and deploy zero-carbon solutions.  They appear to have embraced the vision for the future.  Now comes the hard work of achieving that vision.

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Shipping & Aviation Plan To Go Net Zero. How?

Photo, posted August 8, 2014, courtesy of Tomas Del Coro via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Small-Scale Climate Solutions | Earth Wise

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In order to meet international climate targets, we need to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half over the next decade and reach net-zero by mid-century.  Achieving this will require unprecedented and rapid changes in how energy is supplied, distributed and used.

Researchers at several European universities collected data on a wide variety of energy technologies at different scales and tested how well they performed in accomplishing an accelerated low-carbon transformation. 

Large-scale, costly, non-divisible or so-called lumpy technologies, such as utility-scale generation, nuclear power, carbon capture and storage, high-speed transportation, and whole-building retrofits are often seen as the most effective way to achieve emission-reduction goals. A key finding of their study is that low-carbon technologies that are smaller scale and can be mass deployed are more likely to enable a faster transition to net-zero emissions.

So-called granular options include solar panels, electricity storage batteries, heat pumps, smart thermostats, electric bikes, and ride-share services.  These options scale not by becoming larger but by replicating.

Small-scale options are quicker to deploy, their technologies have shorter lifespans and are less complex, so innovations and improvements can be brought to market more rapidly.  They are also more widely accessible and help create more jobs, giving governments a sound basis for strengthening climate policies.

However, smaller-scale technologies are not a panacea.  There are no small-scale replacements for industrial plants and other kinds of major infrastructure, but in many different contexts, they can outperform larger-scale alternatives as a means of accelerating the low-carbon transformation.

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Smaller scale solutions needed for rapid progress towards emissions targets

Photo, posted April 8, 2019, courtesy of the City of St Pete via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Saving Costs And Reducing Emissions From Shipping | Earth Wise

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International shipping is a large and growing source of greenhouse gas emissions.  Maritime transport produces about a billion tons of CO2 annually, accounting for about 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.  The environmental impact of shipping includes air pollution, water pollution, and even acoustic pollution.  In many coastal areas, ships are responsible for more than 18% of some air pollutants.  Overall, there are more than 100,000 transport ships at sea, of which about 6,000 are large container ships.

In recent years, the shipping sector has had both internal willingness and external pressure to reduce emissions, but shipping is a tough, competitive business and it isn’t easy to stay competitive and help protect the environment.

A recent study at Abo Akademi University in Finland has found that improved ship utilization rates and investments in environmentally sustainable technologies for enhanced energy efficiency would significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.  Of equal importance, those same measures would contribute to lowering of freight costs.

If the same cargo volume can be shipped using less fuel, shipping companies will gain major savings in terms of fuel costs.  Digitalization can provide valuable benefits.  For example, new digital planning and booking systems would enable smarter use of routes while also diminishing traffic with half-empty vessels or even ones with no cargo aboard.  Reducing such underutilization would improve the capacity utilization rate and eliminate emissions caused by so-called ballast traffic.

Global shipping continues to grow.  It is essential that it becomes smarter and more efficient to protect the environment and improve its economics.

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Environmentally friendly shipping helps to reduce freight costs

Photo, posted February 18, 2016, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Volunteer Tourism | Earth Wise

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Spending vacation time in a disaster zone seems like a crazy idea, but so-called volunteer tourism can actually be a big help to communities trying to recover from natural disasters.  It can also be a unique and rewarding experience for the volunteers.

Such volunteer tourism should not be confused with “disaster tourism”, the unfortunate practice of rushing to the scene of a calamity to gawk.  That is certainly no help to anyone.

When disaster strikes a destination usually frequented by tourists, people naturally tend to stay away, leaving communities to deal with the loss of tourism income on top of the costs of repair and recovery.

A study by UTS, a technology university in Sydney, Australia, looked at the effects of volunteer tourism in the wake of the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal.  They found that when it is done in an ethical matter than takes into account local conditions and the affected community, volunteer tourism can aid recovery and resilience.

In the months following the earthquake, most relief organizations asked international volunteers not to come unless they had specific expertise, such as medical skills, building skills, or emergency response experience.  Eventually, Nepal relaxed conditions to include volunteers to help rebuild homes and schools, to intern in hospitals, and to support NGOs and to re-establish sustainable agriculture.

According to the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents, almost one third of the tours booked to Nepal in the two years after the earthquake comprised groups who combined tourism with volunteering or philanthropy.

Volunteer tourism isn’t for everyone and for every situation, but for places that rely on tourism for their economy, building volunteer tourism into the recovery process can be a good strategy.

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Volunteer tourism can aid disaster recovery

Photo, posted July 2, 2015, courtesy of the World Humanitarian Summit via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Endangered Language Species

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There are approximately 7,000 languages spoken in the world today but only about half of them are expected to survive this century.  There are many factors contributing to the decline in languages.  Perhaps the most significant is globalization, which pushes countries and individuals to shift to national or international languages for economic reasons.   Other factors include the lack of support for regional languages in educational systems and mass media, persecution of minority linguistic groups by governments, and disruption of communities during war and emigration.

Predicting which languages will survive and which won’t is difficult.  A potential tipping point for languages is the same one affecting the survival of species:  climate change.  Many small linguistic communities are located on islands and coastlines that are vulnerable to hurricanes and rising sea levels.  Other communities live in places where increases in temperatures and erratic rainfall threaten traditional farming and fishing economies.

These climate-related changes will force communities to relocate,creating climate change refugees. Dispersing these people will lead to the splintering of linguistic communities and the need for the use of other languages.  Such changes will place additional pressures on languages that are already struggling to survive.

There are endangered languages in many places around the world.  Some are exotic such as the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, which is home to dozens of distinct languages spoken by no more than a few thousand people. Others are much closer to home, such as in indigenous communities in Canada.

The rich tapestry of human language is just another of many things threatened by the changing climate.

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The Conversation: The impact of climate change on language loss

Photo, posted May 19, 2009, courtesy of Flickr. 

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Japan And Whaling

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The commercial hunting of whales nearly drove the giant mammals to extinction.  By the 1960s, as hunting technologies improved and ships began to resemble floating factories, it became clear that whaling could not continue unchecked. 

But despite all this, commercial whaling was never actually banned.  Instead, in 1986, members of the International Whaling Committee (IWC) agreed to a whaling moratorium in order to allow whale stocks to recover.  Pro-whaling nations like Japan, Iceland, and Norway expected the moratorium to be temporary until the whales stocks recovered, and a consensus on catch quotas could be established.  But the temporary moratorium became a quasi-permanent ban, much to the delight of conservationists and to the dismay of whaling nations. 

As a result, Japan recently announced it is leaving the international agreement and plans to resume commercial whaling.  The agreement though never really stopped Japanese whaling in the first place, because it allowed the country to kill whales for scientific research.  Japan has had an annual Antarctic catch quota of 333 minke whales, producing notoriously little in terms of whale science while producing  lots of whale meat.  As part of its withdrawal from the IWC, Japan will cease its Antarctic hunts and limit whalers to its own waters.  Commercial Japanese whaling will resume in July. 

Once popular in Japan, whale meat consumption has plummeted, falling 98% between 1962 and 2016. The industry employs fewer than 1,000 people and is dependent on government subsidies. 

Many governments and conservationist groups condemned Japan’s withdrawal, declaring the move out of step with the international community.  They argue that, rather than hunting whales, urgent action is needed to conserve marine ecosystems. 

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Japan to Resume Commercial Whaling, Defying International Ban

Photo, posted February 5, 2009, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

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