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manmade

Floating Solar In New York’s Capital Region | Earth Wise

June 8, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Co-developing land for both solar and solar power could provide huge benefits with minimal costs

We have previously talked about installing solar arrays on the surface of bodies of water.  The idea is especially attractive in places like Japan where land resources are scarce.  There are several floating solar installations in the UK and the idea is starting to catch on elsewhere as well.

It is quite possible that the largest municipally owned floating solar array may get built in the city of Cohoes in New York’s Capital Region if a project under consideration for federal funding moves forward.

The proposal is for an installation of 8,000 solar panels to cover about 2/3 of the 10-acre Cohoes reservoir.  Cohoes has wanted to erect a solar installation to generate power for its buildings but needed to find suitable vacant land.  The 10-acre manmade reservoir could be an excellent location for a floating solar array.

Cohoes would be the first community in the US to build and own a floating array on a manmade reservoir and could serve as a model for municipalities across the nation.  Such a project makes additional use of land that is already municipal property.  According to the city, the 3.2-megawatt array would generate over 4 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, saving the city $300-350,000 annually.

Cohoes is seeking $4.59 million in federal funding to support the project and has the support of U.S. Representative Paul Tonko for possible inclusion in the 2022 federal budget. 

Apart from generating electricity, putting solar panels on the surface of a reservoir reduces evaporation, lowers algae growth, and actually improves solar panel performance because of the cooling effect of the water.

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Cohoes reservoir could be a floating solar power pioneer

Photo courtesy of Michael Coghlan via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

PFAS In The Food Chain | Earth Wise

July 8, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

PFAS in the food chain

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of human-made chemicals that have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the globe.  PFOA and PFOS have been the most extensively produced and the most extensively studied of these chemicals. 

Exposure to PFAS has been linked to a host of adverse health effects, including thyroid hormone disruption and cancer.

PFAS compounds can be found in such things as non-stick cookware, stain-resistant carpets, water-repellent outdoor gear, and food packaging, like fast food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags. 

According to a new study, researchers from North Carolina State University have found PFAS substances in every step of the Yadkin-Pee Dee River food chain, even though the river doesn’t have a known industrial input of these compounds. 

The team collected water, sediment, algae, plant, insect, fish, crayfish, and mollusk samples at five sites along the river and analyzed them for 14 different PFAS compounds.  Nearly every sample tested contained PFAS compounds.  Biofilm contained the largest concentrations of 10 of the 14 PFAS compounds measured.  Insects, which primarily eat biofilm, had the greatest accumulation of PFAS compounds of all the living taxa the researchers sampled. 

When PFAS compounds are present at every step of the food chain, the compounds accumulate at each step leading to greater concentrations in animals that sit higher on the food chain – including humans.  This is known as biomagnification. 

Studies like this that reveal how prevalent PFAS can be within ecosystems without an industrial input highlight the need for further research into how these compounds affect the environment and human health.

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PFAS present throughout the Yadkin-Pee Dee river food chain

Photo, posted May 24, 2011, courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Rising Threat Of Rising Seas | Earth Wise

February 3, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

global sea level rising

Global sea level rose by about 6 inches during the 20th century.  It is currently rising more than twice as fast and accelerating.  The rate of rise was 2.5 times faster from 2006 to 2016 than it was for nearly all of the 20th century.

Sea level rise occurs when glaciers and ice sheets lose mass.  Much of that meltwater comes from Greenland and Antarctica.  But levels also rise because, as water warms, it expands.  Added to that are the effects of human activities such as groundwater depletion and a geological phenomenon called isostatic adjustment that is going on in parts of the East Coast where the land is actually sinking.

In Atlantic Canada, sea level rise is outpacing the global average and has already led to boardwalks swamped by swelling tides, drowned forests, submerged wharfs, and threatened historic shoreline buildings.

Recent research suggests that globally, land now occupied by 300 million people could be affected by floods at least once a year by 2050 unless carbon emissions are significantly reduced, and coastal defenses strengthened.  (This new figure is more than three times higher than earlier estimates).

Researchers at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia are studying nature-based strategies for mitigating the effects of the rising seas.  These include conserving or restoring coastal ecosystems like dunes, wetlands, and reefs which could provide protection at a lower cost than building seawalls and other man-made obstacles.  Wetlands, for example, can reduce the force of waves and act as obstacles to storm surges, while also trapping sediment and stemming erosion.  Wetlands also serve as important carbon stores, but it is estimated that roughly half of the world’s coastal wetlands have been lost over the past 100 years to human activity and extreme weather events.

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The Looming Threat of Rising Sea Levels – And What We Can Do About it

Photo, posted February 14, 2015, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Greener Concrete

August 23, 2018 By EarthWise 1 Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/EW-08-23-18-Greener-Concrete.mp3

The battle to reduce carbon emissions is heavily focused on electricity generation, transportation, buildings, and agriculture, which collectively account for more than 75% of the total.  However, there are other sources of carbon emissions that cannot be ignored.  Among industrial activities, the production of cement is responsible for 7% of industrial energy use and is the second largest industrial emitter of carbon dioxide.  Making cement accounts for about 7% of global emissions.

[Read more…] about Greener Concrete

Air Pollution And Solar Power

July 28, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-28-17-Air-Pollution-and-Solar-Power.mp3

We are well-aware of the negative effects of air pollution on human health and on the environment, but a recent study at Duke University has revealed that global solar energy production is taking a major hit due to air pollution and dust.

[Read more…] about Air Pollution And Solar Power

Dams And The Environment

July 6, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-06-17-Dams-and-the-Environment.mp3

There are an estimated 84,000 dams in the United States which impound 600,000 miles of river, or about 17% of the rivers in the country.  Within the next 15 years, more than 90% of the world’s rivers will be fragmented by at least one dam.

[Read more…] about Dams And The Environment

Spider Silk

February 15, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/EW-02-15-17-Spider-Silk.mp3

Spider silk – the protein fiber spun by spiders to make webs, nests, cocoons, and wrapping for prey that they stash away – is a remarkable substance.  Its mechanical properties combine high tensile strength and high extensibility or ductility.  This allows spider silk to absorb a lot of energy before breaking.   It is stronger than steel, but not as strong as Kevlar, for example.  On the other hand, it is tougher than either.

[Read more…] about Spider Silk

Our Air Is Killing Us

September 28, 2016 By WAMC WEB

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EW-09-28-16-Our-Air-Is-Killing-Us.mp3

Poor air quality is a serious problem.  Exposure to air pollution is linked to the premature deaths of an estimated 6.5 million people every year.  This makes air pollution the fourth largest threat to human health.  Only high blood pressure, dietary risks, and smoking are a bigger danger. 

[Read more…] about Our Air Is Killing Us

The State Of The Birds

June 6, 2016 By WAMC WEB

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/EW-06-06-16-State-of-the-Birds.mp3

The North American Bird Conservation Initiative recently released its annual “State of the Birds’ report, which is a comprehensive analysis of North American birds.  And as with many other things these days, we’re not doing well.

[Read more…] about The State Of The Birds

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