Earth Wise

A look at our changing environment.

You are here: Home / Archives for report

report

Super drivers and electric cars

By Leave a Comment

The average American driver travels about 13,400 miles a year. The top 10% of drivers average about 40,200 miles a year and account for 35% of the nation’s gasoline use from private light-duty vehicles, meaning cars, SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, and minivans.  Those 21 million Americans alone burn more gasoline than is burned each year in Brazil, Canada, and Russia combined.

These super drivers often live in rural areas and small towns, drive an average of 116 miles each weekday, and typically own vehicles that are larger and less fuel efficient.  Many have long commutes to work because they were pushed out of cities by rising housing prices.  Some are tradespeople who travel from site to site all day in their jobs. 

Given the disproportionate amount of gasoline usage by this small segment of the population, the key to cutting vehicle emissions by adopting electric vehicles may rest with super drivers.  And so far, not many of them have made the transition.

A report by the environmental nonprofit group Coltura contends that getting super drivers to switch to electric cars would lead to a much faster reduction in emissions.

The range of most recent electric cars is sufficient for most super drivers.  The obstacles remaining include availability of convenient charging stations, but that is changing.  Finding the right vehicle might also be a problem, but electric pickup trucks and large SUVs are entering the market. 

The transition to electric vehicles is important for society, and the most active drivers need to take part in it.

**********

Web Links

Are You a Super Driver? Some States Want to Help You Go Electric.

Photo, posted January 9, 2025, courtesy of Phillip Pessar via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Disappearing wetlands

By Leave a Comment

More than 170 countries gathered recently to discuss how to save wetlands, which are critical ecosystems.  However, the U.S. was a no-show for most of the summit and Russia said it will withdraw from the wetlands treaty.

Wetlands are a crucial element of all life on Earth, supplying fresh water, oxygen, habitat, and food.  The Ramsar Convention, an international treaty focused on the conservation and wise use of wetlands, is the oldest modern global environmental agreement, adopted in 1971. 

Despite this agreement, since 1970 more than 35% of wetlands have been lost or degraded.  A recent report compiled by more than 60 experts from around the world issued a dire warning that the decline of wetlands spells trouble for global food security, climate stability, and even the capacity for life on Earth to persist.

Sadly, geopolitics have overtaken even the instinct for survival.  Because of a prior resolution to monitor Ukranian wetlands harmed during Russia’s ongoing war there, Russia now intends to withdraw from the treaty.  Meanwhile, the U.S. delegate to the wetlands summit only showed up near the end of the meeting to demand that conference documents make no mention of climate change, diversity equity and inclusion, gender, UN sustainable development goals, or zero growth.

Disengagement by the United States from the world’s increasing and shared environmental problems is a global crisis that only worsens existing global crises.

**********

Web Links

Earth’s Wetlands Are Disappearing and Global Efforts to Save Them Are Unraveling

Photo, posted October 8, 2013, courtesy of Marek Kusmin via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Clean energy in New York

By Leave a Comment

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority – NYSERDA – recently issued a report on clean energy progress in the state during 2024.  The report highlighted continued and increased growth in heat pumps, electric vehicles, and solar energy.

Heat pumps, which provide both heating and cooling, have outsold gas furnaces countrywide for three straight years.  Air source heat pumps outsold gas furnaces by 37%.  This does not include ground source heat pumps, also known as geothermal heat pumps. New York offers Clean Heat rebates to offset the cost of installing heat pumps.

2024 was a good year for electric vehicles in New York with 90,221 new registrations.  More than 60 car models are eligible for New York’s Drive Clean state rebates.

New York achieved its Climate Act goal of having 6,000 MW of distributed solar power in October.  The state is expected to have more than 10,000 MW of distributed solar by 2030.

Nationwide, solar energy represented 64% of all the new electricity generation capacity installed in 2024, up from 55.5% in 2023.  Utility-scale solar generation in the lower 48 states was 36% higher in the summer of 2024 than in summer 2023.

NYSERDA’s report points out that converting to clean energy technologies can bring multiple benefits that include energy efficiency, cost savings, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.

**********

Web Links

Heat Pumps, Electric Vehicles, and Solar Scale Up Through 2024

Photo, posted April 6, 2017, courtesy of Stephen Yang / The Solutions Project via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

La Niña has arrived

By Leave a Comment

After seven months of waiting following the end of the recent El Niño condition, La Niña finally showed up in the eastern Pacific Ocean in early December.

El Niño and La Niña are climate patterns in the Pacific Ocean that can affect weather worldwide.  Normally, trade winds in the Pacific blow west along the equator, taking warm water from South America towards Asia.  To replace the warm water, cold water rises from the depths.  During El Niño, trade winds weaken and warm water is pushed back east, toward the west coast of the Americas.  As a result, areas in the northern U.S. and Canada are dryer and warmer than usual.

During La Niña, trade winds are stronger than usual, pushing more warm water toward Asia.  This results in more upwelling of cooler water from the depths.  This tends to lead to drought in the southern U.S. and heavy rains and flooding in the Pacific Northwest and Canada.  During a La Niña year, winter temperatures are warmer than normal in the South and cooler than normal in the North.

According to the report published in January by NOAA, the La Niña that has arrived is not a particularly strong one.  Sea surface temperatures are only about 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit below average in the tropical Pacific.  The report also suggests that the La Niña condition may not stick around very long.

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon adds a natural source of year-to-year variability in global temperatures.  The presence of La Niña for at least part of this year may temporarily keep the lid on rapidly climbing global temperatures.

**********

Web Links

La Niña Is Here

Photo, posted November 23, 2011, courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Forest crimes

By Leave a Comment

Wildlife trafficking is the world’s fourth largest form of organized crime, behind only drug trafficking, counterfeiting, and human trafficking.  When we hear about wildlife trafficking, we think of elephant ivory, rhino horns, tiger parts, and the like.  But so-called forest crimes, which includes poaching protected trees and illegal logging added up to somewhere between $30 billion and $100 billion during the period 2014-2018.  A 2020 report by the United Nations estimated that illegal trade just in rosewoods comprised more than 40% of the value of all trafficked species – animal and plant – during that time.

Even though rosewood comprises multiple tree species, world stocks of nearly all of them have been depleted through overexploitation. Rosewood is now protected worldwide, and some 300 species are under trade restrictions.

With a value of as much as $1.5 million per cubic meter, rosewood is at the center of a great deal of illegal activity, government corruption, and controversy.  A shipment of 30,000 illegally felled rosewood logs from Madagascar was seized at a port in Singapore in 2014. Those rosewood logs, worth at least $50 million, have been hung up in multiple legal proceedings and disputes ever since and remain in Singapore.

With huge financial stakes, it is perhaps not surprising that the U.N. estimates that as much as a third of the supposedly legal global timber trade involves illegally harvested wood.

**********

Web Links

How Traffickers Got Away with the Biggest Rosewood Heist in History

Photo, posted April 19, 2010, courtesy of Dinesh Valke via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Rivers are drying up

By Leave a Comment

According to a new U.N. report, the world’s rivers had their driest year in at least three decades.  Record heat and droughts in many places contributed to low levels of water in many of the world’s rivers.

The world faces problems of either too much or too little water. The warming climate has fueled both powerful storms with heavy rainfall and intense droughts around the globe. 

Last year was the hottest year on record, and it’s a record that is unlikely to last long.  The Mississippi River and Amazon River basins were at all-time lows.  Major rivers with headwaters in the Himalayas – the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Mekong Rivers – were all unusually dry.

According to the World Meteorological Organizations State of Global Water Resources Report, nearly half of the nearly 1,000 rivers tracked around the world had below-normal levels of water.  Only 17% had above-average levels.  Over the past 32 years, on average only a quarter of the rivers monitored had below-normal water levels and last-year’s 45% was the largest ever.

Last year’s severe heat shrank glaciers that are a crucial source of meltwater that feeds rivers.  Glaciers lost more ice last year than they have in at least 50 years.

More than half of the world’s population lives within a couple of miles of a body of fresh water.  The places with the highest population densities around the world are almost all near large rivers.  Rivers provide freshwater for irrigation, consumption, and transportation and are an important source of energy. Historically, they have played an important role in the development of human society.  The shrinking of rivers is a big deal.

**********

Web Links

World’s Rivers Are Driest They Have Been in Decades

Photo, posted August 22, 2023, courtesy of Radek Kucharski via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A dangerous invasive species

By Leave a Comment

Weeds are the bane of every gardener’s existence.  They pop up, uncontrolled and unwelcome, and must be tediously managed time and time again.  But in some cases, weeds are more than just a nuisance.  Some are a public health hazard. 

Meet giant hogweed.  Native to Europe’s Caucasus Mountains, giant hogweed belongs to the carrot family. The plant resembles Queen Anne’s Lace – on steroids. Giant hogweed can grow up to 15 feet tall with three inch stems, five-foot-wide leaves, and an umbrella-like canopy of white flowers.

Botanists brought giant hogweed to England as an ornamental plant in the 1890s.  It made its way to the U.S. via horticultural channels.  In fact, one of the first specimens was planted in a Victorian garden near Rochester, NY.  

As with most invasive plants, it quietly escaped cultivation. In the U.S., giant hogweed can be found in New England, the Mid-Atlantic Region, and the Northwest, with plants preferring moist habitat near roadside ditches and stream banks.   

While a seemingly innocent flowering plant, giant hogweed is actually one of the most hazardous plants in the U.S.  Brushing against or breaking the plant releases sap that, when combined with sunlight and moisture, can cause severe burn-like lesions, blistering sores, and purplish or blackened scars.  Getting sap in your eyes can result in temporary or even permanent blindness.

With each plant dropping up to 120,000 seeds, it’s no surprise that giant hogweed is proving difficult to eradicate.

If you suspect giant hogweed is growing near you, photograph the plant from a safe distance and report the sighting to local environmental authorities. 

**********

Web Links

Plant Pest Risk Assessment for Giant Hogweed

Giant Hogweed

Photo, posted March 22, 2021, courtesy of Scottish Invasive Species Initiative via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Dark chocolate is not so dangerous

By Leave a Comment

Last year, Consumer Reports published a story stating that a third of chocolate products contain potentially dangerous amounts of heavy metals, in particular lead and cadmium. Since it contains much more cacao, dark chocolate was singled out as the most worrisome product.  Needless to say, chocolate lovers found this report quite alarming.

A new study by Tulane University published in Food Research International employed a larger sample size, expanded the scope of testing to 16 metals, and included a risk assessment of toxic metals as well as accounted for the nutritional contribution of essential minerals.

The conclusions of the study were that dark chocolate poses no adverse risk for adults and contains nutritionally beneficial levels of essential minerals.  Some risks remain for very young children, but only from a very small number of chocolate products and only when large quantities are consumed.

The study sampled 155 dark and milk chocolates from various global brands sold in the United States.  It modeled the risk of eating one ounce of the chocolate per day or two large whole bars a week.

Only one brand exceeded the international limit for cadmium; four had cadmium levels that could pose a risk for a child weighing less than 33 pounds.  Only two bars contained lead levels above California interim standard, but neither posed adverse risks for anyone.

Lead in chocolate comes from post-harvest processing; cadmium comes from the soil.  South American chocolates generally have higher levels of metals than chocolates from Asia and West Africa.  Most dark chocolate in the U.S. is sourced from West Africa.

**********

Web Links

A dark side to dark chocolate? New study finds very minimal risk for kids from metals in chocolates

Photo, posted February 19, 2012, courtesy of Bodo via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

How to reduce pollution from food production

By Leave a Comment

Present in animal manure and synthetic fertilizers, nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth and is a critical input to enhance agricultural productivity on farms around the world.  But excessive and inefficient use of this nutrient is widespread.  In fact, up to 80% of it leaks into the environment, mostly in various polluting forms of nitrogen: ammonia and nitrogen oxides (which are harmful air pollutants), nitrous oxide (a potent greenhouse gas), and nitrate (which affects water quality).

A new report prepared for the United Nations has put forth some solutions to greatly reduce nitrogen pollution from agriculture in Europe.  A group of researchers coordinated by the U.K. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the European Commission, the Copenhagen Business School, and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment of The Netherlands produced the report.

In it, the research team puts forth its recipe to reduce nitrogen pollution in Europe.  The report’s ingredients include:

  • Reducing by 50% the average European meat and dairy consumption
  • More efficient fertilizer application and manure storage
  • Reducing food production demand by reducing food waste by retailers and consumers
  • Better wastewater treatment to capture nitrogen from sewage
  • Adopting policies addressing food production and consumption to transition them towards more sustainable systems

Taking action to reduce nitrogen pollution will require a holistic approach involving farmers, policymakers, retailers, water companies, and individuals. 

Do Europeans have an appetite for change?

**********

Web Links

Scientists provide recipe to halve pollution from food production

Photo, posted March 10, 2022, courtesy of USDA NRCS Montana via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Global climate progress is too slow

By Leave a Comment

According to a new report by the World Resources Institute, the world is making progress on climate, but the progress is not fast enough.  The report looked at 37 indicators of climate progress towards the goals set forth by the Paris Agreement.  In some areas, the progress has been substantial, but in six areas, the world has been moving in the wrong direction entirely.

The rapid growth of clean energy has brought the world to the brink of peak fossil fuels, but to avoid the catastrophic effects of warming, countries need to build out wind and solar power nearly twice as fast and shut down coal plants seven times faster.  There has been progress in curbing deforestation, but the world needs to stem forest loss four times more quickly.  More work is needed to clean up heavy industry and the consumption of meat needs to be limited more than the present level.

Areas where things are getting worse rather than better include the use of public funds and subsidies for preserving the use of fossil fuels.  Because of wars and supply shocks affecting energy markets, countries have actually ramped up fossil fuel subsidies to combat rising prices.

One area where the world is moving at the pace required to meet climate goals is in the sales of electric vehicles.  EVs accounted for 10% of car sales globally last year and if trends continue, they are predicted to account for more than 75% of cars sold by 2030.

The faster-than-predicted progress on electric cars demonstrates that transformative change is possible and could happen in other areas.

**********

Web Links

World Making Too Little Progress on Climate — Except on EV Sales, Report Finds

Photo, posted May 24, 2022, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Billion-Dollar Disasters | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

By the end of August, the United States had already broken the one-year record for the number of weather and climate disasters that caused more than $1 billion in damage.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, through August there had already been 23 billion-dollar disasters.  The previous record of 22 had been set in 2020.  The 23 this year racked up $58 billion in damages.

The unfortunate litany of events included two in August:  Hurricane Idalia, which struck Florida’s Big Bend region and the Lahaina fire storm on Maui.  Earlier in the year, winter storms in the Northeast, floods in California and Vermont, and 18 other severe storm events contributed to the record.

With a very active Atlantic hurricane season underway and the prospects for more wildfires in the west, it is likely that the record for billion-dollar disasters will climb even higher before the year ends.

The massive financial losses incurred this year highlight the need for more funding and attention to be directed toward climate resistance and adaptation.  The NOAA report urges policymakers to invest much more in getting out ahead of disasters before they strike rather than only looking for ways to help communities to pick up the pieces after disaster has struck.

Congress is currently considering $16 billion in additional funding for FEMA to keep the agency functioning in this very trying year.

As climate change continues to contribute to more intense storms and larger and more frequent wildfires, the price of adaptation and recovery efforts is likely to continue to grow.

**********

Web Links

2023 has already broken the US record for billion-dollar climate disasters

Photo, posted August 31, 2023, courtesy of Spc. Christian Wilson / The National Guard via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The Cost Of Invasive Species | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

According to a new report published by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the United Nations, invasive species introduced to new ecosystems around the world are causing more than $423 billion in estimated losses to the global economy every year.  These economic costs are incurred by harming nature, damaging food systems, and threatening human health.

According to the report, these costs have at least quadrupled every decade since 1970 and the estimates are actually conservative because it’s difficult to account for all of the effects of invasive species.

The report estimates that humans have intentionally or unintentionally introduced more than 37,000 species to places outside their natural ranges.  More than 3,500 of them are considered invasive because they are harmful to their new ecosystems.  Invasive nonnative species were a major factor in 60% of known extinctions of plants and animals.

Some species are relocated deliberately by the wildlife trade and international shipping.  Other plants and animals end up hitching a ride with ordinary travelers as they move about by car, boat, plane, or train. 

Invasions can damage human health.  Mosquitos that transmit diseases like malaria, dengue fever, and the Zika virus have become invasive around the world. The wildfires in Hawaii this summer were fueled by invasive nonnative grasses in a warming climate. 

Nearly every country in the world has agreed to participate in a sweeping agreement to preserve biodiversity and reduce invasive species.  It is an essential global goal.

**********

Web Links

Invasive Species Are Costing the Global Economy Billions, Study Finds

Photo, posted June 2, 2022, courtesy of Sam Stukel (USFWS) via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Cutting Deforestation | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

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.

**********

Web Links

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

Europe Is Warming Very Quickly | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

According to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization, Europe is warming faster than any other inhabited continent.  The result of the rising temperatures has been increasingly severe heat waves, flood, and wildfires.

The Paris Climate Agreement has set a goal of limiting warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and, if at all possible, to no more than 1.5 degrees.  To date, the planet has warmed by 1.2 degrees and, with greenhouse gas emissions continuing at record levels, the temperature keeps going up.

These numbers refer to the global average.  Some places have warmed more and others less.  The Arctic has been warming four times quicker than the rest of the world.  In terms of direct impact on large populations, Europe has already surpassed the 2-degree mark, having reached 2.3 degrees last year.  In 2022, many countries in western and southwestern Europe had their warmest year on record. Weather-related economic damages totaled $2 billion, mostly as a result of storms and floods.

Europe is trying to do its part in mitigating climate change by making major gains on clean energy.  Wind and solar generated 22% of Europe’s power in 2022, which is more than either natural gas or coal produced.  Europe is trying to do its share, but the warming climate is a global phenomenon and will require a global effort to mitigate its effects.

The record-breaking heat stress experienced by Europeans last year cannot be considered a one-off occurrence.  It is part of a pattern that will make weather extremes more frequent and more intense over time.

**********

Web Links

The Fastest-Warming Continent, Europe Has Already Heated by More Than 2 Degrees C

Photo, posted September 26, 2011, courtesy of Ben Ramirez via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Peak Fossil Fuels | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

According to a new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit that studies the energy transition, we have reached a pivot point in which fossil fuels have peaked in their use for producing electricity and are about to enter a period of decline.

The report makes the case that wind and solar power are going through a growth process that looks very much like the trend lines for the early stages of other transformative products and industries – things like automobiles and smartphones.  Such growth begins slowly for technology and products that are very expensive, but then shifts into high gear as costs shrink and efficiency rises.

The argument is that fossil fuel demand has peaked in the electricity market because the annual growth in global electricity demand is now less that the amount of electricity being generated by newly-built renewable energy plants (mostly solar and wind.)  This dynamic will squeeze out the most expensive and dirtiest energy sources over time.

Overall use of fossil fuels for electricity shifted in 2018 from a long-standing period of growth to a holding pattern in which the total amount of electricity produced has no clear trend.  According to the RMI report, this plateau in fossil fuel use is likely to continue until about 2025, and then will be followed by a long-term decline.

While the trends in fossil fuel use are quite evident, the end results are not inevitable.  There continues to be a battle between the forces trying to protect the fossil fuel status quo and those trying to change it. But strong economic forces are difficult to overcome.  Renewable energy is the lowest cost source of electricity in a growing number of locations and situations.

**********

Web Links

When Will We Hit Peak Fossil Fuels? Maybe We Already Have

Photo, posted December 27, 2015, courtesy of Gerry Machen via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

2022 Temperature Report | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

The average surface temperature for the Earth in 2022 tied with 2015 as the fifth warmest on record.  The warming trend for the planet continued with global temperatures 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit above the average baseline for 1951-1980 that NASA uses for its studies. Compared with the late 19th century average used in setting climate goals, global temperatures are up about 1.1 degrees Celsius, or 2 degrees Fahrenheit.

Overall, the past nine years have been the warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1880.   The rising temperatures have moved in concert with rising levels of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere from human activity.  Many factors can affect the average temperature in any given year including El Nino and La Nina conditions in the Pacific.  But the longer-term trend is quite clear.  Global temperatures continue to rise.

Greenhouse gas emissions have reached all-time high levels despite increasing efforts to reduce them.  There was a real drop in levels in 2020 due to reduced activity during COVID-19 lockdowns, but they rebounded soon thereafter. 

The Arctic region continues to experience the strongest warming trends, as much as four times the global average.  Arctic warming has a major impact on weather at lower latitudes as it changes the behavior of the jet stream as well as affecting ocean currents and water temperatures.

As global temperatures continue to rise, rainfall and tropical storms have become more intense, droughts have become more severe, and ocean storm surges have had increasing impact.  From torrential monsoons in Asia to megadroughts in the U.S. Southwest, extreme weather has become the new normal.

**********

Web Links

NASA Says 2022 Fifth Warmest Year on Record, Warming Trend Continues

Photo, posted June 20, 2020, courtesy of Daxis via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Renewables Will Overtake Coal | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

According to a recent report by the International Energy Agency, worldwide growth in renewable power capacity is set to double in the next five years.  In fact, by 2027, the world will add as much renewable power as it did over the previous 20 years.

Of particular significance is that renewables are going to overtake coal as the largest source of electricity generation by early 2025.

The global energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine has had multiple effects on the evolution of the energy system.  While the war has driven a resurgence in fossil fuel consumption in Europe in order to replace gas from Russia, that resurgence is expected to be short-lived.  Instead, the current energy crisis may turn out to be an historic turning point toward a cleaner and more secure energy system.

Soaring fossil-fuel prices triggered by the war have caused many countries to respond by embracing wind turbines, solar panels, nuclear power plants, hydrogen fuels, electric vehicles, and electric heat pumps.  In the US, Congress approved more than $370 billion in spending for clean energy technologies as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.  China, India, South Korea, and Japan have all increased their national targets for renewable power.   However, heating and cooling buildings with renewable power remains a sector needing larger improvement, according to the energy agency.

Overall, the expansion of renewable power over the next five years is now projected to happen much faster than what was projected just one year ago. The new IEA report revised last year’s forecast for renewables growth by 30% as a result of the introduction of new policies by many of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters.

**********

Web Links

Renewables Will Overtake Coal by Early 2025, Energy Agency Says

Photo, posted March 8, 2021, courtesy of Stanze via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The State Of The Birds | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

The U.S. Committee of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative has published the State of the Birds 2022, an assessment of bird populations in North America. The news is not good.  The report identifies 70 Tipping Point species, which are those that have lost half or more of their breeding population since 1970 and are on track to lose another half or more in the next 50 years. According to research published in Science in 2019, the United States and Canada have lost 3 billion breeding birds since 1970, which is about a quarter of the total population.

More than half of the bird species in the United States are in decline. According to the Conservation Initiative, the tipping point species in particular require proactive conservation protections to avoid becoming endangered.  Species that inhabit grasslands are declining more rapidly, while waterfowl like ducks and geese are actually increasing.  That increase is most likely a result of the investments in conservation funded by the hunting industry.

Those waterfowl gains demonstrate that when there are concerted efforts to protect and promote bird populations, positve changes can happen.  Some say that protecting birds is not a high priority given all the other crises in the world, but what is good for birds is also good for people.  For example, planting trees and other vegetation to enhance bird habitat also helps to sequester carbon, protect coastlines from storm surges, increase groundwater recharge, and reduce urban heating effects.

The loss of 3 billion birds is a major biodiversity crisis and requires action.  Bird conservation benefits wildlife, people, entire ecosystems, and our planet.

**********

Web Links

What’s Good for Birds Is Good for People and the Planet. But More Than Half of Bird Species in the U.S. Are in Decline

Photo, posted November 4, 2020, courtesy of Tom Koerner/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Reshaping Our Planet | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

Human activity – especially agriculture – has altered 70% of the land on our planet.  According to a new report from the United Nations, damage to the Earth’s lands has put the planet on “crisis footing”.

Our health, our economy, and our well-being depend on land.  The food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe all rely on status of the land to at least some extent.

According to the report, up to 40% of the planet’s land is already degraded, affecting half of the people alive today.  At current rates, an additional area nearly the size of South America will be degraded by 2050.

Degradation of land occurs in various ways, including deforestation, desertification, and the loss of wetlands or grasslands.  All of these things are caused by human activities.  As forests, savannas, wetlands, and mangrove swamps are converted to agriculture or are lost to urban expansion, greenhouse gas emissions rapidly increase, adding to the effects of climate change.  The climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and land degradation are integrally linked.

Much of the blame for degraded landscapes is on humanity’s ever-expanding need for food and the modern farming systems that produce it.  The global food system is responsible for 80% of the world’s deforestation, 70% of freshwater use, and is the greatest driver of land-based biodiversity loss.  Modern agriculture has altered the face of the planet more than any other human activity.

The report urges efforts at restoration of land.  Restoration can take multiple forms, including planting forests and shrubs or grazing livestock and growing crops between trees instead of clearing existing forests.

**********

Web Links

UN Report Says Humanity Has Altered 70 Percent of the Earth’s Land, Putting the Planet on a ‘Crisis Footing’

Photo, posted June 20, 2010, courtesy of Nicholas A. Tonelli via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Plastic Recycling Isn’t Working | Earth Wise

By Leave a Comment

A recent report from several environmental organizations shows that plastic recycling rates in the U.S. have actually declined in the last several years from about 8.7% of discarded plastic to less than 6%.   Meanwhile, since 1980, per capita plastic waste generation has increased 263%, totaling 218 pounds of plastic waste per person as of 2018.

Diminishing recycling rates don’t necessarily indicate a lack of interest by the public.  Plastic recycling is a complicated process.  There are multiple types of plastic that can’t be intermingled and there are no simple and sustainable ways to recycle many forms of plastic.   On top of that, the declining recycling rate also reflects the fact that we no longer can export our plastic waste to countries like China and Turkey, which have banned U.S. waste imports.

Recycling in general is a successful practice.  Paper recycling rates are around 66% as of 2020.  Cardboard recycling was at 88.8% in 2020, and metal recycling rates range from 27% to 76%, depending on the type of metal.  Glass recycling rates are a little over 30%.  Only plastic recycling has never reached 10%, even before shipping our waste overseas and declaring it to be recycled was going on.

According to environmental organizations focused on the global plastic problem, there is no circular economy of plastics.  Perhaps if truly biodegradable plastics became practical, economical, and widely utilized, the situation would be different.  As things stand, the only solution is to reduce the production, use, and disposal of plastics.

**********

Web Links

Plastics Recycling ‘Does Not Work,’ Environmentalists Stress as U.S. Recycling Rates Drop to 5%

Photo, posted May 13, 2021, courtesy of Ivan Radic via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

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