rising temperatures

Global Aquaculture And Environmental Change | Earth Wise

August 9, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Blue foods are fish, invertebrates, algae, and aquatic plants that are captured or cultured in freshwater and marine ecosystems. They include approximately 2,200 species of fish, shellfish, plants and algae as well as more than 500 species farmed in freshwater. Blue foods play a central role in food and nutrition security for billions of people, and are a cornerstone of the livelihoods, economies, and cultures of many communities around the world.

But many of the world’s largest aquatic food producers are highly vulnerable to human-induced environmental change. According to a new paper recently published in the journal Nature Sustainability, more than 90% of global blue food production is at risk from environmental changes, with top producers like the United States, Norway, and China facing the biggest threat. Alarmingly, the research also found that some of the highest-risk countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa demonstrate the lowest capacity for adaptation.

The paper is the first-ever global analysis of environmental stressors impacting the production quantity and safety of blue foods. A total of 17 anthropogenic stressors were surveyed, including rising seas and temperatures, ocean acidification, changes in rainfall, algal blooms, pollution, and pesticides.

The research is one of seven scientific papers published by the Blue Food Assessment as part of a global effort to inform future aquatic food sustainability.

The report calls for more transboundary collaboration and for a diversification of blue food production in high-risk countries to cope with the impact of environmental change.

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Vulnerability of blue foods to human-induced environmental change

New research finds that more than 90% of global aquaculture faces substantial risk from environmental change

Photo, posted December 30, 2014, courtesy of NOAA’s National Ocean Service via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Fungus And Carbon Storage | Earth Wise

July 26, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

It is well-known that plants and trees store enormous amounts of carbon. What has not been common knowledge is that the vast underground network of fungi across the world’s lands stores billions of tons carbon, roughly equivalent to 36% of yearly global fossil fuel emissions.

These mycorrhizal fungi form symbiotic relationships with almost all land plants. The fungi transport carbon, converted by sugars and fats by plants, into soil. They have been supporting life on land for at least 450 million years and form sprawling underground networks everywhere – even beneath roads, gardens, and houses – on every continent on earth.

An international team of scientists analyzed hundreds of studies looking at plant-soil processes to understand how much carbon is being stored by fungi on a global scale. The findings, published in the journal Current Biology, revealed that over 13 billion tons of CO2 is transferred from plants to fungi each year, more than China emits annually. This process transforms the soil beneath our feet to a massive carbon pool and constitutes the most effective carbon storage activity in the world.

Given that fungi have such a crucial role in mitigating carbon emissions, the researchers are recommending that fungi should be considered in biodiversity and conservation policies. More needs to be done in protecting the underground networks of mycorrhizal fungi. The UN has warned that human activities are degrading soils and that 90% of the world’s soils could be degraded by 2050. Not only would this obviously be very bad for the productivity of crops and plants, but we now know this could be catastrophic for curbing climate change and rising temperatures.

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Fungi stores a third of carbon from fossil fuel emissions and could be essential to reaching net zero

Photo, posted May 28, 2023, courtesy of Geoff McKay via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

California Storms And The Megadrought | Earth Wise

February 22, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

California experienced its wettest 10-day period in 25 years as a result of a series of storms driven by atmospheric rivers in January. The Rocky Mountains got buried in snow from the same weather pattern. For the drought-stricken West, the storms were good news. But they are not the cure for what’s been ailing the region.

In California, the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains has been greatly enhanced, containing twice as much snow as is considered average for this time of year. Without a doubt, it will reduce the impact of the drought that has plagued the state for 23 years. But one big storm or even a series of them is not enough to undo years of minimal precipitation and rising temperatures. Many of the states’ largest reservoirs remain well below historical averages despite the record-breaking rain. It would take several wet years to really allow the state to recover from the drought.

The snowfall in the Rockies is crucial because it is the source of more than two-thirds of the water in the Colorado River. The Colorado River is the water lifeline for 40 million people from Wyoming to Mexico.

The ongoing shrinking of the Colorado River is a crisis that has created massive problems for the multibillion-dollar agriculture industry and for many large cities, including Denver, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. Two of the nation’s largest reservoirs – Lake Mead and Lake Powell – are filled by the Colorado River. The historic low levels of these reservoirs have threatened the functioning of hydropower facilities that provide electricity to millions of people.

The January storms were good news for the West, but its problems are not over.

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This Winter’s Rain and Snow Won’t be Enough to Pull the West Out of Drought

Photo, posted September 18, 2022, courtesy of Sarah Stierch via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

An Agreement To Protect Biodiversity | Earth Wise

January 18, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal in December concluded with a historic deal aimed at stemming the rising tide of extinctions. Nearly 200 countries signed on to the agreement to protect 30% of the Earth’s land and sea by the end of this decade.

Part of the agreement also pledges that countries will reduce fertilizer runoff from farms by 50%, reduce the use of harmful pesticides by 50%, and stem the flow of invasive species.

Of course, all of these promises are only words unless they are backed up by actions and actions cost money. The agreement promises to direct $200 billion a year towards biodiversity by the end of this decade. Wealthy countries were urged to provide $100 billion a year to fund the actions of poorer countries, but they resisted the pressure. Eventually, they did agree to send $30 billion a year to developing countries by 2030.

It is a significant step forward to establish clear targets for stopping biodiversity loss. However, the ultimate success of the pact will depend on the willingness of countries to cooperate and compromise.

According to UN estimates, about a million species across the globe face extinction as a result of rising temperatures, air and water pollution, invasive species, and habitat loss due to development. At present, only 16% of land and 8% of the oceans are within protected areas.

The UN Environment Program stated that “for far too long humanity has paved over, fragmented, over-extracted, and destroyed the natural world on which we all depend. Now is our chance to shore up and strengthen the web of life, so it can carry the full weight of generations to come.”

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In Historic Deal, Countries Agree to Protect 30 Percent of Earth to Halt Biodiversity Loss

Photo, posted August 13, 2015, courtesy of Andrew H via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Hot Year With Record GHG Levels | Earth Wise

February 25, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Last year was a year that saw rising temperatures and rising levels of greenhouse gases. 2021 was the fifth-hottest year on record. The average global temperature was nearly 1.2 degrees Celsius or 2.1 Fahrenheit degrees higher than the preindustrial average. The past seven years were the hottest ever by a significant margin.

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached 414 parts per million, compared with preindustrial levels of 280 parts per million. Concentrations of methane reached 1876 parts per billion, the highest levels ever recorded.

Apart from these global measurements, local and regional weather saw the effects of the heating planet. Extreme temperatures were common with the hottest summer in Europe, heatwaves in the Mediterranean, and unprecedented high temperatures in North America.

The West Coast of the US, northeast Canada, Greenland, and parts of north Africa and the Middle East all experienced the highest above-average temperatures. However, some places, including Australia, Antarctica, Siberia, and much of the Pacific Ocean often saw below-average temperatures, even though the same places occasionally experienced record high temperatures.

The Covid-19 pandemic and its economic disruptions continued to lead to some reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, but in the US, emissions from energy use and industry nonetheless grew 6.2% in 2021 after falling more than 10% in 2020.

Carbon dioxide and methane concentrations are continuing to increase each year and don’t appear to be slowing down. As long as this situation persists, global temperatures will continue to rise, and extreme and erratic weather will be more and more commonplace.

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2021 Rated One of the Hottest Years Ever as CO2 Levels Hit Record High

Photo, posted November 11, 2011, courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Polar Bears And Melting Sea Ice | Earth Wise

January 14, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Climate change poses a major threat to polar bear survival. The polar bear, whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, depends on sea ice for nearly all of its lifecycle functions. And rising temperatures are causing this sea ice to disappear.

Climate change-driven sea ice loss is the primary threat to the future of this iconic species. In fact, polar bears were the first animal listed as endangered because of the forecasted impacts of climate change.

Melting sea ice as a result of climate change continues to plague polar bear survival. According to a new study by researchers from Washington State University, polar bears in the Beaufort Sea have had to travel far outside their traditional arctic hunting grounds in recent years for food. This has contributed to an almost 30% decrease in their population.

Researchers used satellite tracking data to analyze the movement patterns of female polar bears from 1986-2016 in the Beaufort Sea area north of Alaska. Over the last two decades, they found that polar bears are having to travel farther north of their traditional hunting grounds on the continental shelf to remain on their receding sea ice habitat.

The research team also found that around 20% of the polar bear population in the Beaufort Sea is foregoing its traditional sea ice hunting grounds altogether in the summer and fall. Instead, these bears are moving inland in search of food.

Scientists estimate that 800 or so polar bears remain in the southern Beaufort Sea. Curbing global greenhouse gas emissions in order to protect polar bear habitat may be the only way to help these animals survive.

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Melting sea ice forces polar bears to travel farther for food

Photo, posted September 27, 2015, courtesy of Anita Ritenour via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Climate Change And Crops | Earth Wise

December 22, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A new NASA study published in the journal Nature Food looks at the impact of global climate change on food crops. According to the study, declines in global crop yields are likely to become apparent by 2030 if high greenhouse gas emissions continue.

The study used advanced climate and agriculture models to predict the effects of projected increases in temperature, shifts in rainfall patterns, and elevated surface carbon dioxide concentrations from human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

These climate changes would make it more difficult to grow corn in the tropics but would actually expand wheat’s growing range. The reduction in corn yields could be as much as 24% by late in the century. Corn Is grown all over the world and large quantities are produced in countries nearer to the equator. As temperatures rise in countries such as the US, Brazil, and China, yields are likely to decline because of the increased stress on the plants.

Wheat, which grows best in temperate climates may see a broader area where it can be grown as temperatures rise, but these gains are likely to level off by mid-century.

Rising temperature is not the only factor influencing crop yields. Rising carbon dioxide levels have a positive effect on photosynthesis and therefore on crop yields, especially for wheat. But changing rainfall patterns and rising temperatures can affect the length of growing seasons and accelerate crop maturity. This can result in the production of less grain than in a longer development period.

The changing climate has complicated effects on the growth of breadbasket crops and will be felt worldwide.

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Global Climate Change Impact on Crops Expected Within 10 Years, NASA Study Finds

Photo, posted September 8, 2004, courtesy of Lynn Ketchum/Oregon State University via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Coastal Northeast Is A Hotspot | Earth Wise

November 16, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Global warming is, obviously, a world-wide phenomenon. When the concept of a 2 degrees Celsius temperature rise is discussed, it refers to the average global temperature and the effects that would have on such things as sea level rise and weather patterns. But the effects of the changing climate are not homogeneous. Very different things can happen and are happening in different places.

One such place is the coastal northeastern United States, which is a global warming hotspot. The region is heating faster than most regions of North America and, indeed, 2 degrees of summer warming has already happened in the Northeast.

New research led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst has determined that this heating is linked to significant alterations in the ocean and atmospheric conditions over the North Atlantic.

Several studies have found that the Atlantic Meridional Circulation is slowing down. The AMOC conveys warm, salty water from the tropics north towards Greenland, where it cools and sinks. The cooled water than flows back south as deep-water currents. As the warming climate melts glaciers in Greenland, the circulation slows down, less cooled water arrives in the south, and there is more heating of the ocean off the Northeastern coast.

At the same time, the North Atlantic Oscillation, a weather phenomenon that governs the strength and position of the winds that blow from the U.S. over the Atlantic, has tended to settle into a pattern that enhances the influence of ocean air on the eastern seaboard climate. Warmer ocean air being blown over the region has led to rising temperatures in Boston, New York, and Providence, Rhode Island.

As the average temperature of the world rises, some places will warm more quickly and others more slowly.

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The Coastal Northeastern U.S. Is A Global Warming Hotspot

Photo, posted August 8, 2010, courtesy of Doug Kerr via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Climate Change And Heat-Related Deaths | Earth Wise

July 14, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

According to a new study recently published in the journal Nature Climate Change, more than one-third of the world’s heat-related deaths each year are attributable to human-induced climate change.

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK and the University of Bern in Switzerland analyzed data from 732 locations in 43 countries. They took observed temperatures and compared them with 10 computer models simulating a world without climate change. By applying this technique to their data, the researchers were able to calculate for the first time the actual contribution of anthropogenic climate change in increasing mortality risks due to heat.

The research team found that 37% of all heat-related deaths between 1991 and 2018 were attributable to the warming of the planet due to human activities. This percentage was highest in South America, Central America, and South-East Asia.

In the United States, 35% of heat deaths were found to be a result of climate change. New York had the most heat-related deaths at 141, and Honolulu had the highest percentage of heat deaths attributable to climate change at 82%.

But scientists caution that this is only a small portion of the climate’s overall impact. Many more people die from other extreme weather amplified by climate change, including severe storms, floods, and droughts. Heat-related death figures will grow exponentially as temperatures rise.

According to the research team, the study’s findings highlight the need to adopt stronger climate change mitigation strategies, and to implement interventions to protect people from the adverse consequences of heat exposure.

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Global warming already responsible for one in three heat-related deaths

Photo, posted April 14, 2017, courtesy of Karim Bench via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Not Such Climate Champions | Earth Wise

April 5, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The goal of the Paris Climate Accord is to limit warming to below 2 degrees Celsius and if possible to stay as close as close to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Nations around the world have made commitments to drastically reduce their carbon dioxide emissions from the use of fossil fuels that are in large part responsible for the rising temperatures.

There are a number of countries that proudly claim to be leading the world in the fight against climate change but who are actually still a major part of the problem. Among these are Norway, the UK, and Canada.

Norway powers its streetlamps with renewables, runs its public transportation system entirely by renewable energy, and leads the world in the adoption of electric cars. Both the UK and Canada have set ambitious targets for emissions reductions leading to zero net emissions by 2050.

The problem is that under the Paris Agreement, each country is only responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions produced within its territory. That means that the UK, Canada, and Norway (like many other countries) don’t need to worry about the emissions caused by the burning of their oil, gas, and coal in other places around the world.

Norway’s annual domestic emissions reached about 53 million tons in 2017 according to its government. The emissions from the oil and gas Norway sold abroad reached roughly 470 million tons in 2017. Canada has huge proven oil reserves it is exploiting.

Canada, Norway, and the UK all plan to keep producing fossil fuels, investing in new fossil fuel projects, and explorations. As long as this continues, these countries are not really climate champions; they are climate hypocrites.

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Norway, the UK and Canada are not climate champions. They are climate hypocrites

Photo, posted September 4, 2008, courtesy of Statkraft via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Caspian Sea And Climate Change | Earth Wise

January 22, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, global sea levels have been rising over the past century, and the rate has increased in recent decades. Sea levels are currently rising about one-eighth of an inch every year.

Sea level rise is caused primarily by two factors related to climate change: the added water from melting glaciers and ice sheets, and the expansion of seawater as it warms. While climate change is causing global sea levels to rise, higher temperatures in other regions are having exactly the opposite effect. The water levels are falling.

According to researchers from the University of Bremen in Germany, the Caspian Sea is a perfect example of how a body of water will change. While it is named a sea due to its size and high salinity, the Caspian Sea is actually a lake. In fact, it’s the largest lake in the world. Its largest inflow is the Volga River and it has no natural connection to the ocean. Its water level is determined by the proportional influences of inflow, precipitation, and evaporation. Climate change is causing increased evaporation, which leads to a declining water level.

According to the research team, the water level of the Caspian Sea could fall by 29 to 59 feet during this century.

The Caspian Sea is surrounded by Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia. It’s an important regional water reservoir, and a biological and commercial center.

The researchers hope the Caspian Sea will be used as an example in scientific research to assess the vulnerability of other regions to falling water levels.

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Climate crisis is causing lakes to shrink

Photo, posted October 31, 2016, courtesy of Amanderson2 via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Marine Life Moving The Wrong Way | Earth Wise

October 26, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

As the oceans have warmed in recent decades, various marine species ranging from whales to corals have begun to shift poleward in search of cooler waters. But a new study, reported in the journal Nature Climate Change, found that many sedentary marine species – including snails, worms, and mussels – are actually being transported in the wrong direction.

What is happening is that bottom-dwelling species – also known as benthic species – in the northwest Atlantic Ocean are spawning earlier in the year because of the warmer water temperatures. But earlier in the year is when ocean currents travel southward. As a result, the larvae of these animals are being carried into warmer waters rather than cooler ones, threatening their survival and shrinking their ranges. These larvae grow into adults in these warmer regions and are basically trapped there. This creates a feedback loop where the situation for the species gets worse and worse. Species like common sand dollars and the economically important blue mussel have had a 30 to 50% contraction of their ranges.

The result is that a number of bottom-dwelling species that previously were quite abundant have entirely disappeared from the outer shelf.

The researchers at Rutgers University likened this “wrong-way migration” of bottom-dwelling marine life to so-called elevator-to-extinction events that have been taking place in mountainous regions. This is where species such as birds and butterflies move to higher and higher elevations to escape rising temperatures until there is nowhere else for them to go.

The essential fact that this research reveals is that species don’t necessarily move to places where the climate is congenial for them. They may unfortunately end up migrating to even worse conditions.

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As Oceans Warm, Some Species Are Moving in the Wrong Direction

Photo, posted June 10, 2016, courtesy of James_Seattle via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Record Antarctic Temperature | Earth Wise

March 5, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

It is still early in the year, but extreme weather events are already piling up. January was the warmest month on record globally and there have been many records shattered in Europe and Asia. A number of places in Eastern Europe, including parts of Russia, have seen temperatures 12 to 13 degrees above average.

While the warming of the Arctic has been in the news with increasing frequency, the Antarctic is also seeing rising temperatures and is one of the fastest-warming regions in the world.

On February 6th, Esperanza Base along Antarctica’s Trinity Peninsula measured a temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the highest temperature ever recorded on that continent. This rather balmy temperature narrowly beat out the previous record of 63.5 degrees, which occurred in March of 2015.

This one-time reading is certainly anomalous, and scientists say it is associated with a ridge of high pressure that was lingering over the region for several days. Local wind conditions led to additional warming.

However, the conditions leading to record-breaking high temperatures are not one-time anomalous events. Over the past 50 years, temperatures in the Antarctic have surged by an extraordinary 5 degrees in response to the Earth’s rapidly warming climate. A rise of five degrees in day-to-day weather is no big deal. A five-degree rise in a region’s average temperature is enormous.

About 87% of the glaciers along the west coast of Antarctica’s Trinity Peninsula have retreated over that 50-year period, most of which doing so during just the past 12 years.

Some researchers claim that the new temperature record is an extreme event that doesn’t tell us anything about the changing climate. Many others are convinced that there will be many more high temperature records to follow.

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