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Reducing emissions from ocean shipping

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Ocean shipping is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions, accounting for about 3% of the total.  It is a key part of international trade, moving goods like electronics, automobiles, and oil.  It relies on fossil fuels, and, without significant changes, shipping’s emissions could more than double by 2050.  Ocean shipping is one of the world’s most difficult to decarbonize industrial sectors.

Scientists at the University of Southern California and Caltech, collaborating with a startup company called Calcarea, have developed a shipboard system that could remove up to half of the carbon dioxide emitted by shipping vessels. The system is fairly simple and scalable.

The process mimics a natural chemical reaction that takes place in the ocean.  As a cargo ship moves through seawater, the CO2 from the ship’s exhaust is absorbed into water that is pumped onboard.  This makes the water more acidic.  The treated water is then passed through a bed of limestone, where it reacts with the rock to form bicarbonate, which is a stable compound that already exists naturally in seawater.  The treated seawater, now stripped of the carbon dioxide, is dumped back into the ocean.

Sophisticated ocean modeling examined what would happen when the bicarbonate-rich water is released back into the sea over a hypothetical 10-year period.  The model showed a negligible impact on ocean pH and chemistry.

The researchers estimate that widespread adoption of the technique could reduce shipping-related carbon dioxide emissions by 50%.  The startup company Calcarea is working to bring the technology to market and is in early discussions with commercial shippers.

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USC technology may reduce shipping emissions by half

Photo, posted November 14, 2017, courtesy of Bernard Spragg via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Reducing methane from cattle

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Livestock is responsible for almost 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions.  Most of that is in the form of methane that cattle release when they burp.  Grazing cattle produce more methane than feedlot cattle or dairy cows because they eat more fiber from grass.  There are 9 million dairy cows in the U.S. but more than 64 million beef cattle.

Beef cattle spend most of their lives grazing in pastures and producing methane.  Controlling the food of pasture-raised cattle is difficult because they often graze far from ranches for extended periods of time.  During the winter and during times when grass is scarce, ranchers supplement the diet of cattle.

A new study by researchers at the University of California – Davis has found that feeding grazing cattle a seaweed supplement in pellet form reduced their methane emissions by nearly 40% without affecting their health or weight.  There have been previous studies that showed seaweed cut methane emissions by 82% in feedlot cattle and over 50% in dairy cows.  But this is the first study to test the effects of seaweed on grazing beef cattle.

The seaweed pellets were made available to grazing cattle and they ate the supplement voluntarily.  Compared to a group of cattle who didn’t receive the supplements, the seaweed eaters had a 40% reduction in methane emissions.

Other research studies to reduce methane emissions using feed additives have taken place in controlled environments with daily supplements.  This method provides a way to make a seaweed supplement easily available to grazing animals.  It could even be introduced through a lick block for cattle.

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Feeding Grazing Cattle Seaweed Cuts Methane Emissions by Almost 40%

Photo, posted February 18, 2016, courtesy of Beverly Moseley/NRCS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Reducing emissions from cement

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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

Pollution in downwind states

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Air pollution is a serious health threat.  It is associated with asthma and can lead to chronic disease, cancer, and premature death.  Globally, air pollution kills 7 to 9 million people, and 200,000 Americans die from it each year.

There are multiple sources of air pollution including automobiles, power plants, and other industrial activities.  Exposure to pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter does not require living or working near their sources.  Winds can carry pollution great distances including across state lines.  

The Clean Air Act included the EPA’s “Good Neighbor Plan”, which requires “upwind” states to implement plans to reduce emissions from power plants and other industrial sources.  However, three states – Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia – along with various industrial companies and trade organizations sued the EPA when it tried to enforce these plans.  A recent Supreme Court decision to block a federal rule curbing interstate air pollution further complicates efforts to reduce emissions.

As a result, there is a disproportionate burden on downwind states.  They face major challenges in demonstrating and attributing air pollution to sources across state lines and pursuing legal actions to get the EPA to address their problems.

A recent study by the University of Notre Dame looking at all the complex issues related to interstate pollution underscored how the regulatory system continues to be hamstrung when attempting to address a serious threat to human health and the environment.

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Downwind states face disproportionate burden of air pollution

Photo, posted February 19, 2021, courtesy of David Wilson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Cutting Deforestation | Earth Wise

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Deforestation is a major contributor to climate change because the destruction of tropical rainforests worldwide eliminates a crucial natural sink for carbon.  Between 2015 and 2020, roughly 39,000 square miles of forest were cut down, an area about 70% the size of the entire state of New York.  In many places, such as the Amazon and Congo Basins, deforestation continues to accelerate.  In Bolivia, deforestation rose 59% over the past five years; in Ghana, the rise was 71%.

A new report from the World Resources Institute revealed one bright spot in the deforestation story:  both Indonesia and Malaysia have cut deforestation by more than half in recent years.  The two countries have managed to keep rates of primary forest loss to near record-low levels.

Over the past five years, Indonesia saw a 64% decline and Malaysia a 57% decline in deforestation.  Indonesia is the second largest source of deforestation with only Brazil removing more trees.

Indonesia has a national goal of having its forests absorb more carbon than they release by 2030.  They have moved to curb logging and limit the clearing of land for palm oil plantations.  They have also ramped up efforts to suppress forest fires.

It is good that Indonesia and Malaysia and some other countries have shown progress in reducing forest loss.  However, too many other countries have seen continued activities and policies that are causing acceleration of deforestation in critical areas.  Protecting forests is an important part of the effort to mitigate the effects of climate change.  Preserving forests also is essential for protecting the people and the biodiversity that depend on them.

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Indonesia, Malaysia Have Cut Deforestation in Half in Last Half-Decade

Photo, posted March 22, 2021, courtesy EPJT Tours via of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Reducing Cattle-Driven Deforestation | Earth Wise

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The Amazon rainforest is the biggest rainforest in the world, larger than the next two biggest combined.  It covers more than three million square miles, roughly the size of the lower 48 states.  The Amazon functions as a critical sink for carbon in the atmosphere.

However, human activity has removed more than 10% of the vegetation from the Amazon rainforest since the 1960s.  Cattle ranching accounts for roughly 70% of Amazon deforestation – much of which is illegal.   

According to a study recently published in the journal Global Environmental Change, companies’ ‘zero-deforestation’ commitments could reduce cattle-driven deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 50%.   Better adoption and implementation of company supply chain policies for Brazilian beef and leather could significantly reduce carbon emissions. 

Between 2010 and 2018, some of the world’s largest slaughterhouses reduced cattle-driven deforestation by 15% through their commitment to zero-deforestation policies.  If these policies were fully implemented and adopted across all cattle companies operating in the Amazon, more than 9,200 square miles of forest could have been spared over the same time period, effectively halving the cattle-driven deforestation in Brazil.  

Zero-deforestation commitments currently cover 82% of beef exported from the Brazilian Amazon for trade internationally.  However, a large amount of beef production destined for Brazil’s domestic markets is not covered.

The researchers say a mix of interventions by both the private and public sector is needed to improve cattle-rearing practices and help reduce deforestation in countries like Brazil.

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Companies’ zero-deforestation commitments have potential to halve cattle-driven deforestation in Brazilian Amazon

Photo, posted January 17, 2011, courtesy of Kelly Sato via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Are Companies Really Reducing Emissions? | Earth Wise

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Many companies around the world are declaring tremendous progress in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.  Sometimes these claims are the result of actions that really do  reduce emissions but other times they are the result of something called “market-based accounting”. Businesses buy credits from clean energy providers that allows them to say they are running on green power when they actually are not.

The market analysis firm Bloomberg Green analyzed almost 6,000 climate reports filed by corporations last year and found that over 1,300 of them employed market-based accounting to erase over 120 million tons of emissions from their records.

Some clean energy contracts do have major climate benefits.  For example, companies like Amazon, Nestle, and Target have signed long-term power purchase agreements that ultimately help renewable developers finance new energy projects.

On the other hand, renewable energy credits are often short-term transactions with existing facilities and do little to stimulate investment or otherwise lead to greater use of green power.  They simply shift around ownership of existing renewable energy without doing anything new for the climate.

Some companies have made meaningful cuts to their pollution by putting solar panels on their roofs, upgrading their lighting and air conditioning equipment, and so on.  But many are reluctant to spend their capital in this way, even if it eventually saves money through lower electric bills.

Customers and shareholders want to see corporations do their part in reducing emissions.  But too many are making grandiose claims enabled by market-based accounting while doing far too little to help the environment.  Dubious claims of climate progress are not harmless; it is essential for the world’s companies to really do their share.

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What Really Happens When Emissions Vanish

Photo, posted July 16, 2014, courtesy of Mike Mozart via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Reducing Agriculture’s Carbon Footprint | Earth Wise

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Agriculture is responsible for about 10% of greenhouse gas emissions.  Those emissions come from livestock such as cows, the disturbance of agricultural soils, and activities like rice production.

Recent research from Texas A&M University presents sustainable solutions for grazing agriculture.  According to the research, published in the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, ruminant animals like cattle contribute to the maintenance of healthy soils and grasslands, and proper grazing management can reduce the industry’s carbon emissions and overall footprint.

Grassland ecosystems co-evolved with herbivores over thousands of years.  These complex, dynamic ecosystems include grasses, soil biota, grazing animals, and predators.  The ecosystems degrade in the absence of periodic grazing.

The research contends that ruminant livestock are an important tool for achieving sustainable agriculture with appropriate grazing management.  With such management, grazing cattle on permanent perennial grasslands helps develop soil biology to improve soil carbon, rainfall infiltration, and soil fertility.

Permanent cover of forage plants is highly effective in reducing soil erosion and increasing soil infiltration.  Ruminants consuming grazed forages under appropriate management results in considerably more carbon sequestration than carbon emissions.

This overall approach is known as regenerative agriculture and is built around the ideas of practices that restore soil health and ecosystem function to support healthy agroecosystems. 

These ideas constitute alternatives to ones that call for the reduction or elimination of cattle and livestock agricultural production.  The future of agriculture needs to consider the full impacts of the entire food production chain and its environmental impacts.

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Grazing Cattle Can Reduce Agriculture’s Carbon Footprint

Photo, posted April 27, 2010, courtesy of Beverly Moseley/USDA NRCS Texas via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Progress Towards Carbon-Free Power | Earth Wise

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Climate change has driven countries, states, utilities, and corporations to set goals to eliminate power-sector carbon emissions.  So far, 17 U.S. states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico have adopted laws or executive orders to achieve 100% carbon-free electricity over the next couple of decades.  Forty-six U.S. utilities have pledged to go carbon-free no later than 2050.   Adding these together, these government and industry goals cover about half of the U.S. population and economy.

New research from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has analyzed historical trends to determine how much progress the power sector has already made in reducing emissions.  The study focused on the 2005 Annual Energy Outlook from the U.S. government’s Energy Information Administration.

If the previous growth in emissions had continued from 2005 to 2020, annual CO2 emissions would have risen from 2,400 to 3,000 million metric tons.  But actual 2020 emissions fell to only 1,450 metric tons.  So, by this metric, the U.S. power sector cut emission by 52% below projected levels.

According to the study, total consumer electricity costs were 18% lower than projected values, but meanwhile, the number of jobs in electricity generation was 29% higher. 

Among the driving forces for these trends were wind and solar power dramatically outperforming earlier expectations, delivering 13 times more generation in 2020 than projected. 

The study shows that dramatic changes in emissions are possible over a 15-year span, but much has to happen over the next 15 years to ensure the progress required to meet the ambitious goals set for emissions reductions.

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U.S. Power Sector is Halfway to Zero Carbon Emissions

Photo, posted April 18, 2020, courtesy of Roman Ranniew via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Reducing Emissions From Natural Gas Processing

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Qatar, a small country in the Middle East with a population of about 2.5 million has the highest per capita income of any country in the world.  This is largely a result of being one of the world’s top producers of natural gas.  The upshot of that is that the tiny country has the dubious honor of being the world’s leading emitter of CO2 per capita.

Texas A&M University has a campus in Qatar and researchers there in collaboration with colleagues at the main campus in College Station, Texas have developed a new reactor technology that can help Qatar process its wealth of natural gas while reducing the country’s carbon footprint.

The technology processes natural gas and captured CO2 to produce both syngas – which is a valuable precursor for many products – and high-quality carbon nanotubes, all without releasing CO2 into the atmosphere.

Natural gas reforming is a process by which syngas – a feedstock for liquid hydrocarbons and ultraclean fuels- is produced.  The process requires lots of heat and emits CO2.  The new technology adds a novel CARGEN (or CARbon GENerator) reactor that advances the natural gas reforming process and includes a catalyst that captures the CO2 emissions and produces nanotubes.  The reactor can be driven by either electric or solar power, eliminating the need to burn fuel that ordinarily results in more carbon emissions.

The result is that Qatar’s CO2 emissions would be converted into two products that are important to its economy.  In particular, carbon nanotubes are very expensive and extremely versatile, and can be used to manufacture products such as computers and other high-quality materials.

The next step for the researchers is to partner with industry collaborators to further scale up the technology.

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Qatar Researchers Develop Natural Gas Processing Technology That Could Reduce Qatar’s Carbon Footprint

Photo, posted September 30, 2012, courtesy of Jimmy Baikovicius via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Reducing Polar Bear Attacks

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The increasing reduction of sea ice in the Arctic is changing the behavior of polar bears.  Because they are spending more time on land, they are interacting with people much more frequently, occasionally with deadly results.

A study, published in 2017, looked at 144 years’ worth of polar bear attacks on humans in the Arctic.  Between 1960 and 2009, there were a reported 47 attacks by polar bears on people – between 7 and 12 per decade.  Between 2010 and 2014, as sea ice reached record lows, there were 15 attacks, a record for a four-year period.  Since 2000, 88% of attacks have occurred between July and December, when sea ice is at its lowest level of the year.

Last July, a young male polar bear attacked and killed a man who was berry picking with his children.  A month later, a mother polar bear attacked and killed an Inuit hunter and injured two others.  This was the first known fatal attack by a mother polar bear.

As a result, Inuit communities in the Nunavut region are asking for higher legal polar bear harvest quotas, arguing that bear populations have increased to a dangerous level.

These recent human fatalities have also provided an impetus for developing new non-lethal conflict-resolution tools than can be used in northern communities before more people as well as bears are killed.

There are now polar bear patrol teams tasked with driving bears away from settlements.  There is a bear hotline and electric fencing around sled dog compounds.

The changing face of the Arctic is creating growing stress on the polar bear population and on the people who make their home in that region.

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As Polar Bear Attacks Increase in Warming Arctic, a Search for Solutions

Photo, posted September 28, 2015, courtesy of Anita Ritenour via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

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