water pollution

The Climate Impact Of Diets | Earth Wise

August 24, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The food system is responsible for 70% of the world’s freshwater use and almost 80% of freshwater pollution. About three-quarters of the ice-free land area of the planet has been affected by human use, primarily for agriculture. Land-use change such as deforestation is a major source of biodiversity loss. What we choose to eat has a major effect on how the food system impacts the environment.

A comprehensive study by researchers at several UK universities has found that a plant-based diet yields one-fourth as much greenhouse gases as a diet rich in meat. Vegan diets produce 75% less heat-trapping gas, generate 75% less water pollution, and use 75% less land than meat-rich diets.

Just going to a low-meat diet cuts the environmental cost of a high-meat diet in half. Pescatarian diets perform better than low-meat diets, and vegetarian diets do even a little better than that.

There are a variety of reasons why many people won’t, can’t, or even shouldn’t become vegans. What should be learned from this study is that our dietary choices have a major environmental impact. So, taking actions like cutting down the amount of meat and dairy – which most people can do with relative ease – can be valuable.

There are many choices with respect to where we live, how we get from place to place, where we get our food, and, yes, what food we eat, that impact the environment. We are not all going to do the best possible thing in all these cases, but if we each make some choices that at least help, it can make a big difference.

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Vegan Diets Have One-Fourth the Climate Impact of Meat-Heavy Diets, Study Finds

Photo, posted November 5, 2017, courtesy of Stephanie Kraus 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

Air Pollution: The Greatest Danger | Earth Wise

June 27, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The effort to reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of fossil fuels has largely been driven by the potentially catastrophic consequences of global climate change. The need to stop dumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has become increasingly urgent. But there is an equally compelling reason to stop burning fossil fuels. According to a study published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, outdoor air pollution is “the largest existential threat to human and planetary health.”

Pollution of various types was responsible for an estimated 9 million deaths around the world in 2019. Half of those fatalities – 4.5 million deaths – were the result of outdoor air pollution coming from vehicles and industrial sources like power plants and factories.

The number of deaths attributed to air pollution has increased by 55% just since the year 2000.

The growth in air pollution deaths has offset a decline in deaths from other pollution sources that especially affect people living in extreme poverty, such as indoor air pollution and water pollution. Overall, countries with lower collective incomes tend to bear a disproportionate share of pollution deaths. Roughly 16% of deaths around the world are attributable to pollution, also resulting in more than $4 trillion in economic losses.

The peer-reviewed study was produced by the 2017 Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health. The study notes that despite the enormous health, social, and economic impacts of pollution, preventing it is largely overlooked in the international development agenda. The study calls upon governments, businesses, and other entities to abandon fossil fuels and adopt clean energy sources.

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Study Identifies Outdoor Air Pollution as the ‘Largest Existential Threat to Human and Planetary Health’

Photo, posted November 4, 2019, courtesy of Ninara via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Metals In Western Water Supplies | Earth Wise

October 29, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A new study published by the University of Colorado Boulder looked at the problem of rivers being contaminated by acid rock drainage. Rocks that include sulfide-based minerals, such as pyrite, oxidize when exposed to air and water. The resulting chemical reaction produces sulfuric acid which, when present in water, dissolves metals like lead, cadmium, and zinc. The recent study found that rare earth elements are also leached out of rock by this process.

Rock drainage occurs naturally throughout the western United States, but historic mines that disturbed large amounts of rocks and soil have dramatically increased this process and have led to growing downstream water pollution. Upwards of forty percent of the headwaters of major rivers in the West are contaminated by some form of acid mine or rock drainage.

The warming climate has brought longer summers and less snow in winters. Longer, lower stream flows make it easier for metals to leach into watersheds and concentrate the metals that would otherwise be diluted by snowmelt.

Rare earth elements are essential components of many high-tech devices such as computers, hard drives, and cell phones. There is not a long history of studying the hazards they might represent when they enter the environment.

The study looked at the Snake River watershed in Colorado and found that increasing amounts of rare earth elements are entering Colorado water supplies. Concentrations of rare earth elements are not ordinarily monitored and there are no water quality standards set for them.

According to the researchers, once rare earth elements get into water, they tend to stay there. Traditional treatment processes don’t remove them. It is a growing problem that needs to be addressed.

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Rare earth elements and old mines spell trouble for Western water supplies

Photo, posted October 27, 2007, courtesy of Dion Gillard via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Saving Costs And Reducing Emissions From Shipping | Earth Wise

March 2, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

International shipping is a large and growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. Maritime transport produces about a billion tons of CO2 annually, accounting for about 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The environmental impact of shipping includes air pollution, water pollution, and even acoustic pollution. In many coastal areas, ships are responsible for more than 18% of some air pollutants. Overall, there are more than 100,000 transport ships at sea, of which about 6,000 are large container ships.

In recent years, the shipping sector has had both internal willingness and external pressure to reduce emissions, but shipping is a tough, competitive business and it isn’t easy to stay competitive and help protect the environment.

A recent study at Abo Akademi University in Finland has found that improved ship utilization rates and investments in environmentally sustainable technologies for enhanced energy efficiency would significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Of equal importance, those same measures would contribute to lowering of freight costs.

If the same cargo volume can be shipped using less fuel, shipping companies will gain major savings in terms of fuel costs. Digitalization can provide valuable benefits. For example, new digital planning and booking systems would enable smarter use of routes while also diminishing traffic with half-empty vessels or even ones with no cargo aboard. Reducing such underutilization would improve the capacity utilization rate and eliminate emissions caused by so-called ballast traffic.

Global shipping continues to grow. It is essential that it becomes smarter and more efficient to protect the environment and improve its economics.

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Environmentally friendly shipping helps to reduce freight costs

Photo, posted February 18, 2016, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Trouble With China And Climate Progress

July 12, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

With the United States backing away from the Paris climate agreement and with Europe taking a less active role in climate negotiations, China has become the bellwether on global climate change. Recent climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany were rather acrimonious as countries accused other countries of not doing their part or keeping their promises.

The Deadly Cost Of Pollution

December 8, 2017 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

There is deservedly a great deal of focus on the effects that carbon pollution is having upon the climate and most countries around the world are working to reduce their emissions. However, even if climate effects were not a serious threat to humanity, pollution is a deadly menace to human health.