Earth Wise

A look at our changing environment.

You are here: Home / Archives for organic

organic

A New Problem For New York Apples | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

New York is the second largest apple-producing state in the country, trailing only Washington state.  New York averages nearly 30 million bushels of apples annually from approximately 600 commercial growers.  The apple industry supports 10,000 direct agricultural jobs as well as 7,500 indirect jobs involved with fruit handling, distribution, marketing and exporting.

Thus, there is considerable concern about the recent discovery by Cornell plant pathologists of a new fungal pathogen that causes bitter rot disease in apples.  They also found a second related fungus that is known to cause rot disease in other fruits but has now been found for the first time in apples.  The study was published in early July in the journal Scientific Reports.

Both of these pathogens belong to the genus Colletotichrum, which contains 189 species of fungi that cause devastating rot diseases in multiple fruit crops, including bananas, strawberries, citrus, avocados, papayas, mangoes and apples.

Unless protective measures are taken in a timely manner, apple losses from bitter rot in New York state can average up to 25% per year.  Some organic farms have lost essentially all of their crop at times.  Bitter rot also can destroy up to 5% of marketable fruit in post-harvest storage.

The Cornell study of samples from eight New York counties found both the Colletotrichum chrysophilum fungus, that had not been found in apples before, and a newly-discovered fungus that they named Colletotrichum noveboracense, after the Latin name for New York State.

The researchers plan to work with other plant pathologists and apple breeders to identify possible genes that confer natural resistance to Colletotrichum fungi that can be bred into apple cultivars.

**********

Web Links

Scientists identify new pathogen in NY apples

Photo, posted October 12, 2018, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Strategies To Promote Green Products | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Green products are environmentally-friendly products with features that are less harmful to people and the planet.  For instance, green products may require fewer resources to produce, consume less energy, contain non-toxic ingredients, or create fewer emissions.  Some examples include biodegradable waste bags, LED light bulbs, low-flow shower heads, organic cotton clothing, and reusable coffee cups and water bottles.  

But according to new research from two universities in the United Kingdom, companies looking to promote their latest environmentally-friendly product should actually downplay its greenness if they want consumers to buy it.

The study, by researchers from the University of East Anglia and the University of Leeds, found advertising that highlights a product’s green attributes can lead consumers to associate it with weak performance.  The findings, which were recently published in the Journal of Advertising, indicate that companies should downplay a product’s green qualities and instead promote it on more traditional aspects.

An example of these two distinct advertising strategies – green emphasis versus green understatement – can be found in the auto industry.  Car manufacturer Toyota prominently highlights the low emissions and low fuel consumption features of the Prius, employing what the researchers term as ‘explicit signals’.  In contrast, automaker Tesla reduces the prominence of its green attributes, focusing instead on its cars’ acceleration, handling, and other performance-related characteristics.  This is known as the ‘implicit signals’ marketing approach.

After conducting two experiments, the research team found that the implicit, rather than explicit, marketing approach about greenness leads to higher performance evaluations and purchase intent.

Consumers appear more likely to engage in pro-social actions when it’s accompanied by some form of personal benefit. 

**********

Web Links

Highlighting product greenness may put consumers off buying

Photo, posted December 21, 2019, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Jet Fuel From Acetone | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Acetone is a common organic solvent.  It is used to make plastic, fibers, drugs, and other chemicals.  It is commonly used by consumers as nail polish remover.  Acetone is a manufactured chemical, but it is also found naturally in the environment in plants, among other places. There are now companies that produce acetone entirely by fermentation of plant feedstocks, such as corn.

Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have now developed a process by which acetone can be converted into a fuel additive that can improve the performance of petroleum-based jet fuel, providing both environmental and economic benefits.

The process takes biomass-derived acetone and converts it to isophorone, which they produce by a process called photochemical cycloaddition that creates more complex hydrocarbons.  They then use ultraviolet light to convert the isophorone into cyclobutane, which is a type of hydrocarbon with high energy density that is suitable for aviation fuel applications.

Acetone itself is quite volatile and is unsuitable for fuel applications.  It also cannot be added directly to any fuel supply since it can dissolve engine parts and o-rings.  Cyclobutane, on the other hand, is a safer and more energy-dense fuel that can be a replacement for additives that require high-pressure hydrogen treatment in their synthesis.  Currently, most hydrogen is produced by a process that generates carbon dioxide.  The new conversion process does not result in carbon emissions.

According to the Los Alamos researchers, their process can result in a domestically generated product that will provide environmental benefits, create domestic jobs, improve U.S. energy security, and further U.S. global leadership in bioenergy technologies.

**********

Web Links

Acetone plus light creates a green jet fuel additive

Photo, posted December 18, 2007, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Myths About Organic Food

By Leave a Comment

There is much to be said in favor of organic food.  The organic produce industry took in $65 billion in 2016 and that farming method is clearly increasingly popular and is here to stay.   Nevertheless, there are various misconceptions and inaccuracies related to organic food.

[Read more…] about Myths About Organic Food

Greening Halloween

By Leave a Comment

According to the National Retail Federation, 179 million Americans are expected to spend $9.1 billion – or nearly $84 per person – on Halloween festivities this year, reaching a new record high.  But it’s not just our wallets that take a beating.  The planet also pays quite a price. 

[Read more…] about Greening Halloween

Help Save The Bees

By

Globally, 40% of invertebrate pollinator species, such as bees and butterflies, are facing extinction.  And since approximately three-quarters of the world’s food crops depend on pollination, the decline of these pollinators could pose a threat to food security around the globe. 

[Read more…] about Help Save The Bees

Big Changes To Big Poultry

By

Perdue Farms, the fourth-largest poultry producer in the United States, produces over 60 million pounds of chicken a week.  They are arguably the most progressive of the giant poultry companies.  Two years ago, they were the first to renounce routine antibiotic use.   In late June, they announced a comprehensive animal-welfare plan – the first among large producers – that will change how its chickens are bred, raised and killed.

[Read more…] about Big Changes To Big Poultry

Organic Food Is Increasingly Affordable

By

Organic food is increasingly popular.  Food chains like Sprouts and Whole Foods as well as local food coops and health food stores have led the charge.  More recently, major supermarket chains have growing organic departments in their stores.  In fact, in 2015, sales of organic foods in the U.S. reached $43 billion, an increase of 11% over just the the previous year. 

[Read more…] about Organic Food Is Increasingly Affordable

Ugly Produce

By

Estimates are that as much as 40% of produce in America is wasted.  We throw out fruits and vegetables for a variety of reasons, but one of the most unfortunate is when produce is tossed simply because it doesn’t look good enough.   Misshapen tomatoes, lumpy carrots, double-lobed potatoes, and crooked cucumbers end up in the waste bin instead of on our plates.

[Read more…] about Ugly Produce

Food Deserts

By

A food desert is a geographic area – often an urban area – where affordable and nutritious food is difficult to obtain, particularly for those without access to an automobile.   Food deserts disproportionately affect occupants of poor, low-income neighborhoods where there are often no groceries stores or farmer’s markets.  These are places were food comes from convenience stores or fast-food chains.  More than 20 million Americans are thought to live in food deserts.

[Read more…] about Food Deserts

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

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