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Car Parts From Agricultural Waste

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A new bio-composite material made from date palm fiber biomass could be used to produce sustainable, lightweight and low-cost parts for the automobile and marine industries.

A team of researchers from the UK has developed a date palm fiber polycaprolactone composite that is completely biodegradable, renewable,sustainable and recyclable, in contrast to synthetic composite materials reinforced by glass and carbon fibers. The team tested the mechanical properties of the material and found that it achieved better low-velocity impact resistance than traditional man-made composites.

The idea would be to use the material in non-structural auto parts such as car bumpers and door linings.   The result would be to reduce the weight of vehicles, contributing to less fuel consumption and lower emissions.  The new material can be produced using less energy than glass and carbon fibers and is biodegradable and therefore easier to recycle.

Date palm fibers are one of the most available natural fibers in many parts of the world.  The trees produce a large quantity of agricultural waste, which is mostly burned or land-filled,causing serious environmental problems.

Convincing industry to use a new class of materials such as natural-fiber reinforced composites is challenging.  First it is necessary to obtain consistent,reliable properties from the material. Then the industries need to work closely with the developers to test the materials and convince themselves of the viability of using them.  The team, led by researchers at the University of Portsmouth, has been working with industry to test the viability of parts made from a variety of other sustainable materials as well including flax, hemp, and jute.  Someday, our cars may have bumpers made from agricultural waste.

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Agricultural waste drives us closer to greener transport

Photo, posted October 27, 2017, courtesy of David Stanley via Flickr. 

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Extreme Botany

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The threat of extinction of many animal species is something that makes headlines.  But there are also thousands of critically endangered plants in the world and that situation has not generated nearly the same sense of urgency.  Some biologists have used the term “plant blindness” to describe humanity’s inability to appreciate the ecological and economic importance of plants.

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The Cockroaches Of The Ocean

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The coast of Northern California is home to underwater forests – huge, sprawling tangles of brown seaweed.  Kelp forests play a similar role in the oceans as the one that ordinary tree forests play on land.  Like trees, kelp absorbs carbon emissions and provides critical habitat and food for a wide range of species.

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Wildfires And The Water Supply

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Hotter and dryer conditions are leading to an increasing number of wildfires in North America and elsewhere around the world.  The damage they cause is well-known.  But one aspect of that damage that tends to be overlooked is the impact on aquatic environments and drinking water supplies.

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Capturing CO2 From The Air

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It is increasingly clear that the rate at which carbon dioxide emissions are being reduced is not sufficient to prevent dire consequences of climate change.  It appears that it will be necessary to try to actually remove carbon dioxide from the air.  Such actions are termed “negative emissions.”

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Carbon And North American Forests

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Researchers have for the first time calculated the capacity of North American forests to sequester carbon.  The detailed analysis by UC Santa Cruz and collaborators in China and Arizona considers two key factors:  the natural process of forest growth and regeneration, and effects brought about by climate change.

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Making Cities Cooler

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Cities are particularly miserable during heatwaves.   With lots of concrete and asphalt surfaces, they soak up lots of heat and re-radiate it.  Lots of tall buildings block cooling breezes.  Factor in car exhaust and heat from air conditioners and it all adds up to the urban heat island effect.  Cities can be several degrees warmer during the day and as much as 20 degrees warmer at night.  All of this extra heat is not just a comfort issue, it is a serious health problem.

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Biomass: Renewable But Not Sustainable

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Biomass is often touted as a green energy source. Just recently, the US Environmental Protection Agency declared biomass energy to be carbon neutral – a policy already embraced by many European countries. However, burning forests for fuel has hard limitations and ecological consequences.

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Tree-Planting Drones

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One of the major causes of the increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere is deforestation.   We chop down about 15 billion trees each year.  Over time, our activities have reduced the number of trees on earth by about 50%.  We do plant trees – these days, about 9 billion a year.  It is a substantial number, but still leaves a net loss of 6 billion trees annually.

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The Restoration Economy

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Deforestation is one of the largest contributors to climate change.  Forests cover about 30% of the world’s land area and are a crucial sink for carbon dioxide.   Over time, we have been steadily reducing the amount of forest in the world to obtain wood and timber, open up farmland, build towns and cities, produce paper, make palm oil, and mine for minerals.

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A Carbon Loophole

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Many power plants in Europe and elsewhere are replacing coal with wood.  For example, the Drax Power Station in Britain was its largest coal-burning plant and is now using wood pellets shipped from the southern U.S. in its boilers.    According to the carbon accounting rules at the EU and elsewhere, the process is considered to be “carbon neutral.”   But is it?

The idea is that new trees are being planted in the forests where the trees are cut to be burned in power plants.  So, there is carbon neutrality.  In principle.

European countries have embarked on a massive effort to switch to generating power from renewable energy.  While there has indeed been major growth in wind and solar power in the 28 countries of the European Union, much of the new “green” power has come from burning wood in converted coal power stations.

A group of 200 scientists wrote to the EU last September insisting that bioenergy from forest biomass is not carbon neutral and that there must be tighter rules to protect forests and their carbon.  Wood burning has become a loophole in controlling carbon emissions.

There are problems with the claims of carbon neutrality.  There is no way to know whether enough new trees are actually being planted to replace those being burned.  And then there is the time lag for tree replacement.  Trees don’t grow overnight.  There are also the carbon emissions associated with harvesting, processing and transporting wood.

There are most certainly ways in which burning biomass can be carbon neutral and can represent real progress over the use of fossil fuels.  But caution must be taken to avoid exploiting loopholes in current climate rules that might actually result in increased carbon emissions.

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Carbon Loophole: Why Is Wood Burning Counted as Green Energy?

Photo, posted April 26, 2014, courtesy of Flickr.

 

‘A Carbon Loophole’ from Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Spread Of Bark Beetles

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Bark beetles are a global scourge of evergreen forests.  Mountain pine beetles have destroyed pine trees across western North America.  Spruce beetles decimated spruce trees from New Mexico into Colorado and beyond.  Altogether, bark beetles have ravaged 85,000 square miles of forest in the western U.S, an area the size of Utah, since 2000.  They have killed trees across an additional 65,000 square miles of British Columbian forests and have caused millions of dollars of damage to the lumber industry in states like Alabama and Mississippi.

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Trees Are Not Enough

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Trees are nature’s way of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.  Growing plants take up CO2 and store it in the form of their roots, stems and leaves.  And in fact, a significant factor in the growing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been the extensive deforestation that has gone on over the past couple of centuries.

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