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Reducing emissions from cement

November 14, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Cement production accounts for about 7% of global carbon emissions. It is one of the most difficult challenges for emissions reduction. The emissions associated with producing cement come from both the energy used to provide heat for the process and from the chemical reactions that take place in the formation of cement. Cement is an essential building block of society, and its use is not expected to decline over time.

A German company called Heidelberg Materials is embarking on an ambitious project to reduce carbon emissions from a cement plant in Norway. They are building a facility to use absorbent chemicals to capture large quantities of carbon dioxide emitted through cement production. More than half a ton of carbon dioxide arises from every ton of cement produced at the plant.

Once the carbon dioxide is captured it will be chilled to a liquid, loaded onto ships, and carried to a terminal farther up the Norwegian coast. From there, it will be pumped into undersea rocks located 70 miles offshore and a mile and a half below the bottom of the North Sea.

With all of this complicated process going on, cement from the plant is likely to be quite expensive. It might even be two or three times the price of ordinary cement. Heidelberg Materials is counting on customers’ willingness to pay much more for cement that comes with green credentials.

Can this be economically viable? Heidelberg estimates that cement accounts for only about 2% of the cost of a large building project but as much as 50% of the emissions. As a result, using carbon-free cement could be a relatively inexpensive way for builders to reduce emissions.

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Cement Is a Big Polluter. A Plant in Norway Hopes to Clean It Up.

Photo, posted May 7, 2016, courtesy of Phillip Pessar via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Sustainable New Year’s resolutions

December 29, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

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

Phasing Out Disposables | Earth Wise

May 5, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Humans generate a remarkable amount of garbage. According to the World Bank, humans produce 4.5 trillion pounds of trash every year, with at least 33% of this garbage not managed in an environmentally-safe manner. By 2050, global garbage generation is expected to reach nearly 7.5 trillion pounds a year.

Globally, an average of 1.6 lbs of waste is generated per person per day. While high-income countries only account for 16% of the global population, they are responsible for about 34% of the world’s waste.

But almost everything humans throw away was bought from a company. Whether it was the packaging or the product itself, we purchased it from somewhere. There’s a growing movement to hold the companies responsible for the trash they produce.

Faced with increasing consumer consciousness, many companies are stepping up and announcing initiatives to reduce their waste. Starbucks is one of them. The company’s white logo-emblazoned paper cups and clear plastic cups are instantly recognizable symbols of the brand. But these ubiquitous cups are disposable and also serve as a symbol of our throwaway society.

By the end of next year, Starbucks is planning to allow customers to use their own personal mugs at every location in the U.S. and Canada. By 2025, the company wants every customer to be able to use either their own mug or to borrow a ceramic or reusable to-go mug. This borrow-a-mug program is currently being tested in eight different markets around the globe.

In lieu of regulation mandating corporate responsibility for waste, we will have to hope that more companies do the right thing.

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Starbucks is planning to phase out its iconic cups

Photo, posted June 11, 2010, courtesy of Sunghwan Yoon via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Second Life For Electric Car Batteries | Earth Wise

June 17, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The number of electric cars around the world is growing steadily. Battery technology continues to improve and the battery packs in the cars can have a long life. Generally, the batteries are considered to require replacement only when their range has dropped below 80% of its original value. Many are warranted to last for 8 to 10 years or more than 100,000 miles. Some seem to do much better than that.

But however long it takes, there will eventually be a wave of used batteries whose performance is no longer deemed sufficient for vehicle use. A new study, published in the journal Applied Energy, looked at the application of used vehicle batteries as backup storage for grid-scale solar photovoltaic installations where they could perform for more than a decade in this less demanding role.

The study looked at the economics of several scenarios including running a solar farm with no battery back up, running the same farm with brand-new batteries, and running the farm with a battery array made of repurposed vehicle batteries.

They found that the used EV battery array, if managed properly, could be a good, profitable investment provided that the batteries cost less than 60% of their original price. They looked at the technical issues of screening batteries and combining batteries from different cars to work together. They also looked at the economics of removing batteries from cars, collecting them, checking them over, and repackaging them.

Overall, they found that reusing vehicle batteries could ultimately meet half the forecasted demand for renewable energy backup storage over the next 10 years and would be both a technical and an economic success story.

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Solar energy farms could offer second life for electric vehicle batteries

Photo, posted June 10, 2011, courtesy of Nick Ares via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Another Greenhouse Gas Record

January 7, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

According to the World Meteorological Organization, levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached yet another new record high. Globally averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide reached 407.8 parts per million in 2018, up from 405.5 parts per million in 2017.

The increase year-over-year was similar to that from 2016 to 2017, and remains a little over the average for the last decade. Global CO2 levels crossed the 400 parts per million threshold in 2015.

Concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide also increased by higher amounts than the average for the past decade, based on observations from the Global Atmosphere Watch network with stations all over the globe.

Since 1990, there has been a 43% increase in total radiative forcing – which is the warming effect on the climate from long-lived greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide accounts for about 80% of this. The report notes that the last time the Earth experienced this high a level of CO2 was 3 to 5 million years ago. At that time, global temperatures were 2 to 3 Celsius degrees higher and sea levels were 30 to 60 feet higher than now.

The report includes data on the isotopic analysis of the CO2 in the atmosphere. CO2 produced by fossil fuel combustion comes from plant material from millions of years ago and does not contain radiocarbon, that is, carbon-14. CO2 from natural sources contains radiocarbon produced by cosmic rays. The increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere contain decreasing levels of radiocarbon, indicating that the overall increase is largely due to human activities.

Overall, global efforts to date to reduce emissions have not been very successful, and this is borne out by the growing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

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Greenhouse gas concentrations in atmosphere reach yet another high

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Another Bad Year For Bees

August 6, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The latest annual nationwide survey of beekeepers in the US revealed that honeybees are still dying off at an alarming rate. According to the survey, beekeepers across the country lost 40.7% of their honey bee colonies from April 2018 to April 2019.

This annual loss represents a slight increase over the average annual loss of 38.7%. Of greater concern is that winter losses of 37.7% were the highest reported since these annual surveys began 13 years ago and are almost 9% higher than the survey average.

These results are very troubling considering that the elevated losses are continuing even after a decade of intense work trying to understand and reduce colony loss. Evidently, there has not been much progress.

The number one concern among beekeepers is varroa mites, which are lethal parasites that can readily spread from colony to colony. These mites have been decimating bee colonies for years. Products developed to remove mites seem to be getting less and less effective.

But mites are not the only problem for bees. Land use changes have resulted in reduced availability of pollen sources for bees. Add to that pesticide exposures, environmental factors, and even problems with beekeeping practices. In addition, extreme weather conditions such as wildfires and floods are only adding to the problems facing bees.

The tools that used to work for beekeepers seem to be failing and they are already stretched to their limits trying to keep their bees alive. Honey bees pollinate $15 billion worth of food crops in the United States each year. The problems facing bees are a problem for all of us.

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U.S. Beekeepers Suffered Higher than Average Colony Loss Last Year, with Winter Losses the Highest Recorded, According to UMD-Led Annual Survey

Photo, posted June 3, 2009, courtesy of Jennifer C via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Fishers Helping To Clean The Oceans

August 2, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Marine litter – particularly plastics – is a global, persistent, and increasing threat to the oceans. Much of it comes from discarded materials on shore that makes their way to the sea but waste from the fishing industry is a also a major contributor to the problem.

Commercial fishers are acutely aware of the potential for marine litter to damage and even destroy their livelihoods and are starting to try to be part of the solution instead of just part of the problem.

An initiative called Fishing for Litter, which has been operating around the British coastline since 2006, is an example.

With hubs in Scotland and South West of England, FFL aims to reduce the amount of marine litter in the sea by physically removing it while also highlighting the importance of good waste management in the fishing fleet. Fishers have to assume responsibility for their own waste and dispose of it in a responsible manner. They also have a unique ability to access remote and hard to reach marine litter caused by others.

A survey of 120 commercial fishers revealed that they often found marine litter in their hauls and that keeping the sea and coasts clean was important to them.

The responsibility for reducing marine litter does not belong to any single industry or organization. It requires a collective global change of behavior. The problem directly affects fishers, so they are especially motivated to do something about it. They can make an important contribution to an issue that ultimately affects us all. Groups like Fishing for Litter are providing a model for behavior that we can only hope that others around the world can emulate.

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