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Vegetation and climate change

May 20, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Temperatures have been steadily rising around the world as a result of the increased greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. This warming trend has led to more frequent and intense heat waves, droughts, and other extreme weather events. Rising temperatures are also impacting human health, leading to increased risks of heat-related illnesses and a higher number of fatalities during extreme heat events.

One simple but effective way to reduce the health risks from extreme heat is to increase urban vegetation. According to new research led by scientists from Monash University in Australia, increasing urban vegetation by 30% could save more than one-third of all heat-related deaths. The study, which was recently published in The Lancet Planetary Health, examined more than 11,000 urban areas and found that increasing greenery could have saved up to 1.16 million lives worldwide between 2000 and 2019.

The impact of increasing urban vegetation on heat-related deaths varies by climate, greenness, socioeconomic, and demographic factors, with the greatest benefits seen in Southern Asia, Eastern Europe, and Eastern Asia.

Vegetation has a cooling effect on temperature. Vegetation helps regulate the Earth’s climate by absorbing carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, which helps to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Vegetation also cools the environment through shading, moisture release, and evapotranspiration, which reduces temperatures and mitigates heat-related health risks.

Incorporating more vegetation into urban areas is a powerful solution to mitigate the impacts of climate change and protect human health.

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Increasing urban vegetation could have saved over 1.1m lives in two decades

Photo, posted July 1, 2023, courtesy of Lauri via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Saving Florida’s Corals | Earth Wise

September 6, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

When corals are exposed to extended periods of excess heat, they are subject to bleaching, which occurs when they expel the algae that live within their structure. Bleaching can lead to coral death.

This summer, temperatures in the Florida Keys crossed the bleaching threshold in mid-June and remained above it for extended periods of time. This cumulative heat exposure leads to widespread bleaching and significant die-offs. The last major mass bleaching event in the Florida Keys occurred in 2014 and 2015.

The Coral Restoration Foundation has been receiving reports ranging from partial bleaching to mass coral mortality throughout the keys. Several coral restoration sites in the lower Keys have been totally lost already.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its state agency, university, and non-profit partners have initiated actions to try to save Florida’s corals.

They have halted all restoration-related planting and are evacuating some of their nursery-grown stock to climate-controlled labs. They are considering interventions such as shading coral nurseries or even high-value reef sites. They are also considering feeding nursery and wild corals until the waters cool off enough for algae to return.

Modeling indicates that there is a 70-100% chance that the extreme heat in the North Atlantic will persist through September-October. NOAA and its partners will continue to do what they can to save Florida’s Coral Reef for the marine and human communities that depend on them.

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NOAA and partners race to rescue remaining Florida corals from historic ocean heat wave

Photo, posted April 19, 2012, courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Big Year For Rooftop Solar | Earth Wise

July 19, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The global capacity of rooftop solar power grew by 49% in 2022. Overall, the installed amount of rooftop solar grew from 79 gigawatts to 118 gigawatts last year and it is projected to reach 159 gigawatts by the end of this year. By comparison, a typical nuclear power plant can produce 1 gigawatt; a gas-powered power plant is typically half a gigawatt.

Rooftop solar constitutes a relatively small fraction of the total global installed solar capacity, which is dominated by utility-scale solar arrays. Total installed solar capacity rose from 950 gigawatts to 1,177 gigawatts last year and is projected to reach 1,518 gigawatts this year. That is enough power to meet more than half the electricity demand of the European Union.

The rapid growth of solar power can only continue if there is more energy storage put in place to manage the peaks and troughs in solar output. Countries will also need to upgrade their power grids to be able to transport excess solar power from where it is generated to where it is needed. Bottlenecks in the grids of most of the leading solar-producing nations are already interfering with further solar development.

The overall potential for rooftop solar is based on the number of rooftops that would be suitable for solar power, which depends on the size, shading, orientation, and location of the roofs. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, rooftops in the United States have the potential for more than 1,000 gigawatts of solar capacity. Currently, only about 4% of US homes have rooftop solar.

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Rooftop Solar Grew Nearly 50 Percent Globally Last Year

Photo, posted November 16, 2022, courtesy of Oliver Knight via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Prospects For Floating Solar | Earth Wise

October 10, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Countries are trying to figure out how to get enough energy from solar and wind generation to completely decarbonize their economies. According to some estimates, nations might have to devote between half a percent and five percent of their land area to solar panels to get the job done. Half a percent is about the amount of the U.S. that is covered by paved roads. While there is lots of open land in many parts of the country, covering it with solar panels might not be acceptable to farmers, conservationists, or other interested parties.

One way to deploy more solar panels without using up land is the use of floating solar panels. Floating photovoltaic systems – also known as floatovoltaics – are becoming increasingly common, especially in Asia. This year, China installed one of the largest floatovoltaic systems in the world on a reservoir near the city of Dezhou.

Floating solar panels stay cooler and run more efficiently than those on land. The panels also help prevent evaporation from their watery homes and the shading they provide also help to minimize algal blooms. Solar installations on reservoirs generally puts them near cities, making it easier to feed power into urban grids.

On the other hand, floating solar systems need to be able to withstand water and waves and are generally more expensive to build than land-based systems.

At present, the installed global capacity of floating solar is only about 3 gigawatts, compared with more than 700 gigawatts of land-based systems. However, reservoirs around the world collectively cover an area about the size of France. Covering just 10 percent of them with floating solar could produce as much power as all the fossil-fuel plants in operation worldwide.

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Solar Takes a Swim

Photo, posted March 7, 2019, courtesy of Hedgerow INC via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A High-Tech Fire Alarm | Earth Wise

July 23, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

In recent years, wildfires have been a global problem, notably in California, Brazil, and Australia. It has become increasingly important to be able to respond to new fires as soon and as quickly as possible. Such response can make the task of extinguishing them easier, thereby reducing the amount of damage and the loss of property and life.

Traditional methods for detecting forest fires include satellite monitoring, ground patrols, and watch towers, all of which have high labor and financial costs but suffer from low efficiency. Remote sensing technologies are becoming increasingly common but rely on batteries for power, requiring servicing in remote locations to replace depleted batteries. Solar cells represent an alternative to batteries, but it is challenging to use them in forests because of shading and foliage coverage.

A team of researchers at Michigan State University has developed a remote forest fire detection and alarm system powered by nothing more than the movement of tree limbs in the wind. The device is known as an MC-TENG, which is an acronym for multilayered cylindrical triboelectric nanogenerator. The triboelectric effect is a phenomenon where certain materials become electrically charged when they separate from a second material with which they were previously in contact. In the new device, two cylindrical sleeves fit within one another – one anchored and the other free to slide. The device is tied to a tree branch and when the branch sporadically moves in the wind, electricity is generated and stored in a carbon-nanotube-based micro supercapacitor. This powers a sensing system that can continuously monitor environmental conditions without requiring any maintenance.

A combination of carbon monoxide and temperature sensors provides a high-tech fire alarm that can operate continuously in the most remote forest.

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Self-Powered Alarm Fights Forest Fires, Monitors Environment

Photo, posted August 3, 2012, courtesy of Lukas Schlagenhauf via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Liana Vines And Carbon

May 25, 2017 By EarthWise

Liana vines are long-stemmed, woody vines that are rooted in the soil at ground level and use trees or other means of vertical support to climb up to the canopy to gain access to sunlight. There are numerous varieties from many plant families. And, for reasons that are not entirely clear, their abundance has doubled in recent decades.