plans

Endangered Plants And The Changing Climate | Earth Wise

August 31, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Plants are a critical resource because of the countless ways they support life on Earth. Plants release oxygen into the atmosphere, absorb carbon dioxide, and provide food and habitat for humans and wildlife. Plants are also used to produce fibers, building materials, and medicines.

Plants form the backbone of natural ecosystems, and absorb about 30% of all the carbon dioxide emitted by humans each year. But plants are struggling to adapt in a human-dominated world. Even though they are easier and cheaper to protect than animals, plants are often overlooked in conservation efforts.

Ironically, conservation efforts appear to be overlooking a key threat to endangered plants. According to a new study led by researchers from Penn State University, all plants and lichens listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act are sensitive to climate change, but there are few plans in place to address that threat directly.

The threat that climate change poses to endangered plants and lichens had not been thoroughly evaluated in more than a decade. In the study, which was recently published in the journal PLOS Climate, the research team adapted existing assessment tools used to examine the threat of climate change for wild animals and applied them to 771 endangered plant species. The researchers found that all endangered plant and lichen species are at least slightly threatened by climate change, and little is being done to protect the listed species from that threat.

The researchers hope their findings will be used to aid future conservation planning. After all, plants can live without humans, but humans cannot live without plants.

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Climate change threatens 771 endangered plant and lichen species

Photo, posted June 12, 2014, courtesy of Mark Freeth via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Nantucket Residents Still Fighting Offshore Wind | Earth Wise

June 28, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Offshore wind in the US has had to fight to exist for a long time. The Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound off the coast of Cape Cod was envisioned over 20 years ago as a 1.5-gigawatt wind farm. Years of legal battles and other controversies saw the project start and stop multiple times with only minimal actual construction. Primary opposition came from residents who considered the turbines far off on the distant horizon to be an eyesore and threat to their property values. Eventually, the project was terminated in 2017.

Since then, offshore wind has gained substantial support in the US and multiple projects are either ongoing or in the permitting process. The 800 MW Vineyard Wind project is on track to be the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the US, with plans to eventually generate enough electricity to power 400,000 homes.

Once again, Nantucket residents are fighting against an offshore wind farm. Once again, they are making arguments that are not really what concerns them, in this case, saying that the wind turbines are a threat to the survival of endangered North Atlantic right whales.

A federal judge has recently rejected a lawsuit brought by the group Nantucket Residents Against Turbines that sought to stop the project. The judge found that the group failed to show that either the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management or the National Marine Fisheries Service violated the Endangered Species Act or the National Environmental Policy Act in its 2021 rulings on the impact of the proposed wind farm on the whales.

Undoubtedly there will be additional challenges from the group, possibly based on entirely different complaints. It’s tough to build offshore wind in Massachusetts.

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Judge rejects lawsuit by Nantucket residents to block offshore wind farm

Photo, posted November 21, 2016, courtesy of Adrian Scottow via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Protecting New York City From Flooding | Earth Wise

April 21, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Hurricane Sandy flooded Lower Manhattan in October 2012, closing Wall Street, blacking out power for 250,000 people, and killing 44 New Yorkers. Within a year, plans were in motion to build berms, floodwalls, and water gates along the city’s Lower East Side in a $770 million first phase of an overall plan to defend New York City from future floodwaters.

Plans got more and more complicated, and the price tag reached $1.45 billion before the existing plan was scrapped by former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration in 2018 without involving the community groups that were instrumental in creating the original plan. After years of lawsuits and court actions, the revised East Side Coastal Resiliency Project is finally proceeding, now at a price tag approaching $3 billion. The project will include 18 moveable floodgates and will protect 110,000 New Yorkers, including 28,000 low-income public-housing residents and is expected to be completed in 2026.

The original larger overall plan was halted in 2020 after former President Trump mocked it and claimed that it would cost $200 billion. The current plan, created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and known as the 3B alternative, calls for a combination of deployable flood barriers, floodwalls, seawalls, and elevated promenades wrapping around the lower part of Manhattan. The cost of the project is estimated to be $61 billion.

In the meantime, over 10 years after Sandy, a similar storm would have almost the same effect today as Sandy had back then.

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New York City Begins Its Climate Change Reckoning on the Lower East Side, the Hard Way

Photo, posted January 19, 2013 courtesy of Andres Alvarado via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Electric Mail Trucks | Earth Wise

January 26, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The US Postal Service recently announced that it plans to buy at least 66,000 electric vehicles by 2028. With more than 231,000 total vehicles, the Postal Services operates one of the largest civilian vehicle fleets in the world.

Last February, the Postal Service announced a plan to replace up to 165,000 older mail trucks, many of which are as much as 30 years old. The gas-powered trucks get an estimated 8.6 miles per gallon when air conditioning is running. The plan was for only 10% of the new trucks to be electric, citing the high upfront costs of electric vehicles even though they generally make up the difference by saving on fuel and maintenance costs over time.

Facing strong criticism from the Biden administration, the Postal Service shifted course and in July announced that 40% of the new trucks would be electric. With passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August, the Postal Service received $3 billion for fleet electrification and has once again changed its plans. It also announced that it intends to stop buying gas-powered delivery trucks altogether after 2026.

As part of the new plan, the Postal Service plans to upgrade hundreds of facilities across the country to accommodate electric vehicles. This will include installing chargers and streamlining delivery operations to reduce unnecessary trips.

The Postal Service is no alone in working to clean up its fleets. FedEx says it plans to completely electrify its pickup and delivery fleet by 2040. Amazon has ordered 100,000 electric vans from the start-up company Rivian.

Electrifying the postal delivery system makes abundant sense. Postal routes are predictable and there is ample charging time to meet the power needs of the fleet.

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Your Mail Truck Is Going Electric

Photo, posted January 18, 2017, courtesy of Rusty Clark via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Banning Gas Cars | Earth Wise

November 12, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The transition to electric vehicles from gas-powered vehicles is essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as air pollution in general. Currently, transportation is responsible for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.

There is no doubt that there is surging interest in electric cars. There are now millions of them being sold around the world each year. But they still represent a small fraction of new car sales in most places. Notable exceptions are several European countries such as Norway and Switzerland where plug-in vehicles are dominant. In the United States, on the other hand, EVs still represent less than 3% of new car sales.

Given the urgency in reducing vehicle emissions, many countries around the world have devised plans, goals, or laws to end the sale of gasoline cars. Gas car bans vary quite a bit around the world, but they are being implemented in many places.

There are 28 countries and US states that have imposed gas car bans to take effect over the next five to 20 years. These include European countries like Norway, Belgium, Austria, Netherlands, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Sweden, Scotland, Slovenia, the UK, France, and Spain. Asian countries include South Korea, India, Japan, China, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan. In the Middle East, Israel and Egypt have announced bans. Here in the US, New York and California both have bans starting in 2035. Canada also has announced a ban.

Car manufacturers have seen the writing on the wall. Most have started adding EVs to their lineups. Many have announced their own timetables for phasing out gas cars entirely. There are more than 15 new electric models available this year and there are many more to follow next year.

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Over 25 Countries And U.S. States Are Planning to Ban Gasoline Powered Cars

Photo, posted January 24, 2009, courtesy of Oran Viriyincy via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Regulating Plastic Pollution | Earth Wise

August 11, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Much of the world is united in the desire to do something about the problem of plastic waste. But putting in place regulations that transcend national borders is complicated.

One hundred fifteen countries have established bans on plastic bags, but globally, there are seven different definitions of what is considered a plastic bag. Things like bag thickness can determine whether something even counts as a plastic bag. These differences create loopholes that enable illegal bags to be used. For a global company like Nestle, which sells food products in 187 countries, it means complying with 187 different sets of national regulations on plastic packaging.

At least 100 nations have expressed support for a global plastic treaty. Preliminary talks are dealing with issues like setting a specific date to eliminate plastic from spilling into the ocean, creating a harmonized set of definitions and standards, coordination of national targets and plans, and creating a fund to build waste management facilities where they are most needed in less developed countries.

New plastic waste is created at a rate of over 300 million tons a year. To date, 75% of all plastic ever produced has become waste, and plastic production is expected to triple by 2050.

With public concern about plastic waste growing and increasing support by countries around the world, there is growing optimism that a global treaty to address plastic waste could be approved on a pace that could make a difference. Negotiations for international treaties can drag on for a decade or more. There is not that kind of time to spare in this case, so perhaps urgency will drive more efficient action.

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Global treaty to regulate plastic pollution gains momentum

Photo, posted February 3, 2015, courtesy of Thad Zajdowicz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.