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The Cost of Cleaning Up Ocean Plastic | Earth Wise

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Small island developing states increasingly find themselves with large amounts of plastic waste.  A recent study looked at the financial cost for removing it.

Aldabra Atoll is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Seychelles.  It is the world’s second-largest coral atoll and is the home of 307 species of animals and plants, including the largest population of giant tortoises in the world.  Aldabra has been called one of the wonders of the world and one of the crown jewels of the Indian Ocean.

Last year, a team from the University of Oxford and the Seychelles Island Foundation, spent five weeks removing litter that had washed up on Aldabra’s shores.  In total, they removed 25 tons of plastic litter which, to their surprise, was dominated by waste from the fishing industry.  The researchers now estimate that over 500 tons of litter remain on the island, 83% of which consists of buoys, ropes, nets, and, of all things, over 300,000 individual flipflops.  This is the largest accumulation of plastic waste reported for any single island in the world.

According to the study, the cost to clean up the entire island would be nearly $5 million, requiring 18,000 person-hours of labor.  A project of this magnitude is beyond the capacity of non-profit organizations like the Seychelles Islands Foundation.

The plastic pollution in Aldabra is related to the fishing industry in Seychelles, which provides tuna to high-income markets around the world.  The research highlights how even remote highly protected island ecosystems are impacted by global pollution and how difficult and costly it is to remedy.

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Millions of dollars to clean up tuna nets and flip flops from island state

Photo, posted December 27, 2016, courtesy of David Stanley via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Native Bees In A Honeybee World | Earth Wise

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There is a great deal of attention on the plight of bees and other pollinators.  Much of that focuses on the problems plaguing the large, domesticated honeybee colonies that are trucked from region to region to pollinate everything from almonds to fruit trees.  Managed bee colonies have recently been losing more than 40% of their population over the course of a year.  But overall, honeybees are still relatively safe. They are a globally distributed, domesticated species and are not remotely threatened with extinction.

But another group of bees – native bees – faces a different range of threats, most linked to habitat loss.   Worldwide, roughly 20,000 native bee species have evolved over millions of years to thrive in countless habitats, where they have specialized in pollinating specific flowers and plants – in some cases just a single plant.

Scientists have estimated that, globally, 1 in 6 bee species is regionally extinct. In the United States there are about 4,000 native bee species, most of which are solitary bees that nest in the ground or cavities, with many that require just one or a few plant species for sustenance. At least 23 percent of U.S. native bees have declined, with bees in areas with heavy commodity-crop production particularly hard hit due to habitat loss and pesticide use. Other threats to native bees include climate-driven sea-level rise and increased temperatures, loss of host plants, and competition and disease from non-native honeybees. 50% of Midwestern native bee species disappeared from their historic ranges in the last 100 years.   Four of our bumblebee species declined 96% in the last 20 years, and three species are believed to already be extinct. 

Native bees are in big trouble.

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Backyard Battle: Helping Native Bees Thrive in a Honeybee World

Photo, posted December 2, 2017, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Side Effects Of Geoengineering | Earth Wise

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As the world struggles to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the global climate, some researchers are exploring proposals to deliberately engineer climate changes to counteract the warming trend.  One of the most widely discussed approaches is to shade the Earth from a portion of the sun’s heat by injecting the stratosphere with reflective aerosol particles.  Proponents of this idea point out that volcanoes do essentially the same thing, although generally for only a limited amount of time.  Particularly large eruptions, such as the Krakatowa eruption of 1883, wreaked havoc with weather around the world for an entire year.

Schemes to launch reflective aerosols – using planes, balloons, and even blimps – appear to be quite feasible from the standpoint of physically accomplishing them. But this says nothing about the political, ethical, and societal issues involved.  The point is that such an approach could indeed lower global temperatures and thereby potentially offset the warming effects of greenhouse gases.

A study by scientists at MIT looked at what other effects such a solar geoengineering project might have on the climate.  Their modeling concluded that it would significantly change storm tracks in the middle and high latitudes.  These tracks give rise to cyclones, hurricanes, and many more ordinary weather phenomena.

According to the study, the northern hemisphere would have weakened storm tracks, leading to less powerful winter storms, but also stagnant conditions in summer and less wind to clear away air pollution.  In the southern hemisphere, there would be more powerful storm tracks.

Aside from turning the world’s weather patterns inside out, solar geoengineering would do nothing to address the serious issue of ocean acidification caused by increasing carbon dioxide levels.

As many have pointed out, playing the geoengineering game would have many unintended consequences.

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Study: Reflecting sunlight to cool the planet will cause other global changes

Photo courtesy of MIT.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Second Life For Electric Car Batteries | Earth Wise

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The number of electric cars around the world is growing steadily.  Battery technology continues to improve and the battery packs in the cars can have a long life.  Generally, the batteries are considered to require replacement only when their range has dropped below 80% of its original value.  Many are warranted to last for 8 to 10 years or more than 100,000 miles.  Some seem to do much better than that.

But however long it takes, there will eventually be a wave of used batteries whose performance is no longer deemed sufficient for vehicle use.  A new study, published in the journal Applied Energy, looked at the application of used vehicle batteries as backup storage for grid-scale solar photovoltaic installations where they could perform for more than a decade in this less demanding role.

The study looked at the economics of several scenarios including running a solar farm with no battery back up, running the same farm with brand-new batteries, and running the farm with a battery array made of repurposed vehicle batteries.

They found that the used EV battery array, if managed properly, could be a good, profitable investment provided that the batteries cost less than 60% of their original price.  They looked at the technical issues of screening batteries and combining batteries from different cars to work together.  They also looked at the economics of removing batteries from cars, collecting them, checking them over, and repackaging them.

Overall, they found that reusing vehicle batteries could ultimately meet half the forecasted demand for renewable energy backup storage over the next 10 years and would be both a technical and an economic success story.

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Solar energy farms could offer second life for electric vehicle batteries

Photo, posted June 10, 2011, courtesy of Nick Ares via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Animals And Social Distancing | Earth Wise

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As the spread of COVID-19 continues throughout the U.S. and around the world, health officials continue to ask people to keep physical space between themselves and others outside their homes.  It’s an important and effective way to slow down and prevent the spread of disease. 

But it’s not just humans who can benefit from social distancing.  It turns out that animals can, too.

Microorganisms living on or inside our bodies are important for both our health and for the development of disease.  Researchers from the University of Texas at San Antonio have found evidence for the importance of social distancing to minimize the spread of microbes among individuals.   The researchers studied wild monkeys to find out what role diet, genetics, social groupings, and distance in a social network play when it comes to the microbes found inside the gut.  The gut microbiome refers to all the microorganisms living in the digestive tract. 

The research team studied the fecal matter of 45 female colobus monkeys that congregated in eight different social groups in a small forest in Ghana.  The researchers observed major differences in gut microbiomes between the eight social groups.  But individual monkeys from different groups that were more closely connected to the population’s social network had more similar gut microbiomes.  The findings, recently published in the journal Animal Behaviour, indicate that microbes may be transmitted between monkeys during occasional encounters with other monkeys from different social groups.

Learning how microorganisms pass among monkeys can help researchers understand how diseases spread.  Understanding how diseases spread can help guide decision making during this pandemic and any future disease outbreaks. 

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Even animals benefit from social distance to prevent disease, research shows

Photo, posted January 10, 2007, courtesy of Silke Baron via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Global Emissions And The Coronavirus Shutdown | Earth Wise

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With so much of industry and personal activity curtailed by coronavirus shutdowns across the globe, it is no surprise that greenhouse gas emissions have declined.  According to new research published in the journal Nature Climate Change, average daily global greenhouse gas emissions declined 17% by early April compared to 2019 levels.

If the reopenings around the world continue and the world actually reaches pre-crisis levels by the middle of June, total CO2 emissions for the year would likely end up lower by about 4%.   If various restrictions continue until the end of the year, total global emissions could decline by 7%.

The study analyzed emissions estimates for three levels of coronavirus shutdowns and across six sectors of the economy.  It looked at trends in 69 countries, all 50 U.S. states, and 30 Chinese provinces, representing in total 86% of the world’s population and 97% of global CO2 emissions.

For the first 4 months of the year, emissions from industry declined 19%, the power sector 7%, and public buildings and commerce 21%, compared to last year.  Unsurprisingly, home energy use actually went up by about 3%.

The findings of this study only represent the effects of a short-lived decline in emissions.  As economies open back up, there is no doubt that greenhouse gas emissions will rise back to pre-Covid-19 levels.

The study also reveals that making real changes in emissions will require more than just behavior changes.  Despite billions of people staying home, companies shut down, planes grounded, and cars off the road, we still managed to pump more than 80% of the usual amount of greenhouse gases into the air for the first quarter of the year.

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Global Emissions Fell 17 Percent Due to Coronavirus Shutdowns

Photo, posted May 7, 2020, courtesy of the MTA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Microplastic Hotspots In The Ocean | Earth Wise

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Many of us are aware of the infamous ocean “garbage patches” of floating plastic.  The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is roughly the size of Texas.  But over 10 million tons of plastic waste enter the oceans each year and the floating patches only account for 1% of that total.  The remaining 99% of the plastic ends up in the deep ocean, generally in the form of microplastics – tiny fragments of large plastic debris that have broken down as well as manufactured polyethylene beads used in various products.

According to a new study published in the journal Science, there are actually microplastic hotspots on the ocean floor, formed by deep-sea currents that act as conveyer belts moving the tiny plastic fragments around.  One of these hotspots – in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the west coast of Italy – contained 1.9 million microplastic pieces in just one square meter of seafloor.  This is the highest reported value for any place in the world.

Because of their small size, microplastics can be ingested by organisms across all levels of the marine food chain and eventually find their way into human diets. 

The spatial distribution and ultimate fate of ocean microplastics are strongly controlled by near-bed thermohaline currents.  These are deep-ocean currents driven by differences in water density, which is controlled by temperature and salinity.  Thermohaline currents are known to supply oxygen and nutrients to the flora and fauna found at the ocean bottom.  As a result, deep sea biodiversity hotspots are likely to be in same places where there are microplastic hotspots.

The discovery of these deep- sea hotspots is just another reason why we need behavior and policy interventions to limit the flow of plastics into natural environments.

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Seafloor microplastic hotspots controlled by deep-sea circulation

Photo, posted September 6, 2012, courtesy of Oregon State University via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Renewable Energy And The Post-COVID World | Earth Wise

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As is the case for virtually all sectors of the global economy, the short-term prospects for wind and solar power look pretty grim.  Lockdowns, social distancing requirements, and financial upheavals have put many new projects on ice and have halted production at factories making solar panels and wind turbines.  Sales of home solar have struggled as people have put off spending during the economic slowdown.

Ironically, the shutdowns aimed at reducing the spread of the Coronavirus have led to renewable sources accounting for an increased share of power generation.  Global energy demand has plummeted and, because of the low cost of solar and wind power, sources like coal and nuclear power have been curtailed in favor of the renewables.  The dramatically reduced demand has pushed oil and gas prices to historic lows and has left fossil fuel companies struggling to find storage space for the glut of product.

When the world emerges from the pandemic, the question is whether renewable energy will end up on a faster track than before or will end up in a long-term slowdown.  The answer will depend to large extent on the choices political leaders make.

Leaders will unquestionably be designing economic recovery packages.  Such packages could accelerate the shift towards wind and solar power, or they could prop up the fossil fuel economy.  Unfortunately, leaders are prone to be motivated by lobbyists more than by the greater needs of society.  The global economic upheaval represents a real opportunity to change the pace of efforts to address climate change.  Whether that change is a positive one or a negative one is just another looming question facing society when we emerge from the pandemic.

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How Renewable Energy Could Emerge on Top After the Pandemic

Photo, posted April 12, 2020, courtesy of Jeremy Segrott via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Recovering Marine Life By 2050 | Earth Wise

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Marine life has faced challenges for a long time.   There have been centuries of overfishing in many places and pollution of various types has been especially harmful in recent decades.   But despite all of this, a new scientific review published in the journal Nature contends that marine life in the world’s oceans could be fully restored in as little as 30 years provided that aggressive conservation policies are adopted.

The research spotlights the strong resiliency of ocean animals and cites the successful recovery of a number of marine species, including humpback whales.

The study indicates that nations around the world must agree to designate 20 to 30 percent of the oceans as marine protected areas, institute sustainable fishing guidelines, and regulate pollution.  These measures would not come cheaply.  The estimated cost would be around $20 billion a year. 

However, the report also estimates that the economic return on this investment would be tenfold and would create millions of new jobs.  Rebuilding fish stocks and maintaining sustainable fishing policies could increase global profits of the seafood industry by over $50 billion a year.  Conserving coastal wetlands could save the insurance industry more than $50 billion a year as well by reducing storm damage.

A major sticking point, however, is climate change.  Climate change is increasing ocean temperatures and driving acidification.  Unless these changes are brought under control, the restoration of marine life is not going to be successful.  We have reached the point where it is within our power to choose between a future with a resilient and vibrant ocean or an irreversibly disrupted ocean.  Whether we embrace that challenge remains to be seen.

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Marine Life Could Recover By 2050 With the Right Policies, Study Finds

Photo, posted April 20, 2012, courtesy of Matthias Hiltner via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Electric Cars And The Environment | Earth Wise

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There are articles in the media all the time questioning whether electric cars are really better for the environment than those powered by fossil fuels.  The usual argument is that once emissions from vehicle production and electricity generation are taken into account, electric cars are no greener than gas cars, or even worse for the environment.  Of course, these arguments tend to be made by oil companies and their supporters.

A new study by three European universities looked at this very issue in detail. They carried out a life-cycle assessment in which they not only calculated greenhouse gas emissions generated when using cars, but also in the production chain and waste processing.

Their conclusions are that under current conditions, driving an electric car is better for the climate than conventional gasoline cars in 95% of the world.  The only exceptions are places like Poland, where almost all electricity comes from coal-fired plants.

Average lifetime emissions associated with electric cars are up to 70% lower than gas cars in countries like Sweden and France and about 30% lower in England.

It is important to note than in a few years, even inefficient electric cars will be less emission-intensive than gas cars because electricity generation is becoming less carbon-intensive all the time.  The study projects that by 2050, half of the world’s cars will be electric resulting in carbon dioxide emission reductions of 1.5 billion tons.

The study states that the idea that electric cars could increase emissions is a myth.  The detailed study has run the numbers for all around the world and even in the worst-case scenario, there would be a reduction in emissions in almost all cases.

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Electric cars better for climate in 95% of the world

Photo, posted February 13, 2019, courtesy of Guillaume Vachey via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Solar And Wind Power In China | Earth Wise

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Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a global challenge and nowhere is that challenge greater than in China.  China accounts for 30% of the world’s emissions and much of that comes from coal power plants.  If the world is going to reach its climate targets, China is going to have to replace as much as possible of its current power mix with renewable energy.

As of 2018, China still made 69% of its electricity from fossil fuels.  Its vast coal reserves have driven its rapid industrialization and better standard of living.  But terrible air pollution problems along with climate issues have led to heavy investments and rapid expansion of both wind and solar power in China.

China is now a world leader in renewable energy, both in terms of producing and using renewable power.  At the start of 2016, China had installed a total of 145,000 megawatts of wind power, which is 3,000 MW more than all 28 European Union countries combined.  And this has occurred even though China only started developing their wind power industry 30 years later than the first EU countries.

Until 2009, China exported almost all the solar panels it produced.  But gradually China began to use solar energy in a big way.  The industry took off in 2014, and growth has been exponential.  Solar power production in China is now almost as extensive as wind power.

One has to consider that much of China’s electricity production is used by industries that produce products for the rest of the world.  In effect, these are exported emissions.  China has a long way to go in replacing its fossil fuel generation and we all have a stake in China succeeding in the task.

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China’s rapid development of solar and wind power

Photo, posted November 12, 2007, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Foods of the Future? | Earth Wise

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In a world where many go hungry in the context of rapidly changing environments, many experts contend that alternative food sources will be necessary to solve global food security problems.  So-called novel food sources are central to this conversation, defined as foods with no history of consumption in a region – or perhaps anywhere.

Three popular examples are lab-grown meat, insect farming, and seaweed aquaculture.  Each of these offer opportunities as well as challenges.

Lab-grown meat can refer to actual animal tissues raised in vats as well as the increasingly common cultured plant products made to resemble meat.  Lab-grown meat faces push back from the livestock industry that contends it should not be labeled as any kind of meat. While results to date are positive, barriers still remain including concerns over product taste, healthiness, and cost.  And while less land- and water-intensive than conventional livestock, cultured meat production is still energy intensive.

Insects do form a significant part of diets across the globe but have yet to be embraced in any substantial way in western cultures.  Nutritionally, numerous species of insects are rich in key proteins, micronutrients, and minerals.  But the “yuck factor” is a big barrier to cross.

Seaweed is a long-established part of many East Asian diets and has many potential dietary uses.  Several selectively bred varieties of seaweed supply a range of valuable nutrients.  Growing seaweed does not tax freshwater and terrestrial resources.  But intensively cultivated seaweeds would have potential negative effects on local marine ecosystems.

There is no single solution to complex issues like food security.  Novel foods may very well form part of the solution to a growing food crisis.

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Insects, seaweed and lab-grown meat could be the foods of the future

Photo, posted March 12, 2009, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Solar-Powered Desalination | Earth Wise

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About 1% of the world’s population is dependent on desalinated water to meet daily needs, but water scarcity is a growing problem that experts believe will affect 14% of the world’s population within the next five years.

Desalination takes much more energy than, for example, transporting fresh water over large distances.  In general, desalination costs are much higher than those associated with fresh water, but beyond costs, freshwater is simply not always available.

Researchers at MIT and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China have developed a completely passive solar-powered desalination system that could provide more than 1.5 gallons of fresh drinking water per hour for every square meter of solar collecting area.   Such a system could provide an efficient, low-cost water source for coastal areas that are off the grid.

The system uses multiple layers of flat solar evaporators and condensers topped with transparent aerogel insulation.  The key to its efficiency is the way it uses each of its multiple stages to desalinate water.  At each stage, heat released by the previous stage is harnessed instead of wasted.  The proof-of-concept device, which was tested on an MIT building rooftop, produced more than twice as much water as the record amount produced by any previous passive solar-powered desalination system.

The researchers plan further experiments aimed at optimizing the choice of materials and configurations and to test the system under realistic conditions.  The hope is to have a technology that can play a role in alleviating water scarcity in parts of the world where electricity is scarce, but seawater and sunlight are abundant.

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Simple, solar-powered water desalination

Photo courtesy of MIT/researchers.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Another Greenhouse Gas Record

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According to the World Meteorological Organization, levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached yet another new record high.  Globally averaged concentrations of carbon dioxide reached 407.8 parts per million in 2018, up from 405.5 parts per million in 2017.

The increase year-over-year was similar to that from 2016 to 2017, and remains a little over the average for the last decade.  Global CO2 levels crossed the 400 parts per million threshold in 2015.

Concentrations of methane and nitrous oxide also increased by higher amounts than the average for the past decade, based on observations from the Global Atmosphere Watch network with stations all over the globe.

Since 1990, there has been a 43% increase in total radiative forcing – which is the warming effect on the climate from long-lived greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide accounts for about 80% of this.  The report notes that the last time the Earth experienced this high a level of CO2 was 3 to 5 million years ago. At that time, global temperatures were 2 to 3 Celsius degrees higher and sea levels were 30 to 60 feet higher than now.

The report includes data on the isotopic analysis of the CO2 in the atmosphere.  CO2 produced by fossil fuel combustion comes from plant material from millions of years ago and does not contain radiocarbon, that is, carbon-14.  CO2 from natural sources contains radiocarbon produced by cosmic rays.  The increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere contain decreasing levels of radiocarbon, indicating that the overall increase is largely due to human activities.

Overall, global efforts to date to reduce emissions have not been very successful, and this is borne out by the growing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

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Greenhouse gas concentrations in atmosphere reach yet another high

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Turning CO2 Into Rock

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As the world continues to struggle to find ways to reduce carbon emissions, there is increasing attention being paid to so-called negative emission technologies (NET), which remove and permanently sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The University of Victoria in British Columbia has brought together an international team of experts to explore the possibilities of permanently and safely sequestering CO2 as rock beneath the ocean floor.  The Solid Carbon Project seeks to extract carbon dioxide directly from the air and then, using deep-ocean technology powered by offshore solar and wind energy, inject it into sub-seafloor basalt, where it would mineralize into solid carbonate rock.

When CO2 is injected into porous basalt, a type of volcanic rock, it reacts relatively quickly with minerals to form solid carbonate, thereby permanently removing it from the atmosphere.  Because 90% of the planet’s basalt is located beneath the ocean floor, the deep ocean is the place to do this kind of carbon sequestration.

The team includes experts in ocean science, carbon mineralization, renewable energy, engineering design, and oil-and-gas drilling/injection operations. Other experts are focusing on the social and legal implications of the NET technology.

Over the next four years, the Solid Carbon Project will assess the integration of multiple existing technologies that will be needed to successfully develop this kind of carbon storage.  One of these is the direct air capture technology itself, which will need to be adapted to a renewable energy-powered offshore platform.  The best outcome technologies explored by the project will be selected for a real-world demonstration at Ocean Networks Canada’s observatory site, 9,000 feet underwater in the Cascadia Basin, off the coast of British Columbia.

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A rock-solid solution for CO2

Photo courtesy of the University of Victoria.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Another Hot November

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This past fall saw yet more of the high temperatures the world has been experiencing in recent times.  Both the season (September through November) and the year to date were the second hottest in recorded history.  November itself was the second-hottest November in the 140-year global climate record.

The high temperatures were felt at both ends of the world.  Sea ice coverage across both the Arctic and Antarctic oceans fell to near-record lows in November.  Arctic sea ice coverage was nearly 13% below the 1981-2010 average, while Antarctic coverage was 6.35% below average.

The average global land and ocean surface temperature for November was 1.66 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average.  The year-to-date global temperature was 1.69 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average.  These numbers correspond to almost a 1-degree Celsius increase, which should be compared with the Paris Climate Accord goal of keeping that increase to no more than 1.5 degrees.

November was the hottest November on record for South America, Africa, and the Hawaiian Islands.  The Caribbean had its second-hottest November, and Europe had its seventh hottest on record.

The world’s average sea surface temperature ranked second warmest for the year to date and was only 0.05 degrees cooler than the all-time record.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issues monthly global climate reports and for quite some time, these reports seem to all be the same.  Another new record for heat or at least another near record.  We have to expect that this trend will continue at least until the world starts making progress in dealing with its root cause.

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November 2019 was 2nd hottest on record for the planet

Photo, posted July 20, 2016, courtesy of Salehin Chowdhury via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Why Save Endangered Species?

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One often hears the argument that humans need to save the world’s endangered species in order to save ourselves.  Carl Safina, a marine ecologist and award-winning environmental writer, has written a thought-provoking essay that offers the viewpoint that we don’t actually need the wild species of the world but that they need us.

The truth is that human beings have thrived by destroying nature.  We have exploited other species when they were useful to us and simply pushed them aside when they weren’t.  We drove America’s most abundant bird – the passenger pigeon – to extinction.  The most abundant large mammal – the bison – was driven to functional extinction.

In today’s world, people live at high densities in places devoid of wild species and natural beauty.  And while we express concern for elephants, gorillas, sperm whales, tigers, and various other species, how would the lives of most of us be affected at all should they vanish entirely?  The unfortunate truth is that it would make little difference to our lives.

The only species that are really essential to modern living are actually microbes of decay, a few insect pollinators, and the ocean’s photosynthesizing plankton.  Life would go on little changed without most other co-inhabitants of our planet.

Safina argues that our obligation to protect endangered species does not come from our dependence upon them but rather on a moral obligation.  Humans consider ourselves to be the most moral species and, as such, we have moral obligations.  In this case, it is to protect the beauty and wonder of our world, which is not trivial but in fact is the most profound thing on earth.

Safina has much more to say about this and I strongly recommend reading his essay.  You can find the link here.

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The Real Case for Saving Species: We Don’t Need Them, But They Need Us

Photo, posted December 9, 2014, courtesy of Gerry Zambonini via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Pesticides In The Great Barrier Reef

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Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is one of the greatest natural wonders in the world and it has been under siege by warming waters and ocean acidification.  Widespread coral bleaching has damaged or destroyed large portions of the 1,400-mile long coral reef system.  But the effects of climate change are not the only threat to the reef.  Pesticides found in waterways that flow into the Great Barrier Reef are another serious problem.

According to a new study by the University of Queensland, the combined toxicity of 22 of the most common pesticides that flow into the Reef are not meeting pollution reduction targets.

Different pesticides affect different organisms.  Herbicides affect organisms that photosynthesize such as seagrass, corals, mangroves, and algae.  Insecticides affect insect larvae in freshwater, and crustaceans such as crabs, prawns, and lobsters.  Previous assessments have only examined individual pesticides and only for limited times.  The new study has utilized a methodology that estimates the combined toxicity of multiple pesticides found in the waterways that discharge into the Reef and does it for the entire wet season.

The research revealed that the pesticide reduction target set in the Australian Government’s Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan is not being met.  Only one natural resource management region – the Cape York region – was found to be meeting its target.

By having estimates of the risk posed by pesticides in the various regions and individual waterways, governments, farmers, and conservationists can see which areas pose the greatest risk and where to maximize efforts.  Stakeholders have to come together to reduce pesticide concentrations through better management practices and by using less toxic pesticides.

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High pesticide concentrations continue to enter Great Barrier Reef

Photo, posted July 29, 2010, courtesy of Kyle Taylor via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Solar-Powered Desalination

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Turning seawater into drinking water is an energy-intensive process and is therefore pretty expensive.  Worldwide, one third of people don’t have reliable access to safe drinking water and they are the least able to afford expensive ways to get it.   By 2025, half of the world’s population is expected to live in water-stressed areas.

At a newly-constructed facility in Kenya, a nonprofit company called GivePower has built a desalination system that runs on solar power.  The system started operating in the coastal area of Kiunga in July 2018 and can create nearly 20,000 gallons of fresh drinking water each day – enough for 25,000 people.

GivePower started in 2013 as a nonprofit branch of SolarCity, the solar-panel company that ultimately merged with Tesla in 2016.  However, GivePower spun off as a separate enterprise shortly before that.

GivePower mostly focuses on building solar-energy systems to provide electricity across the developing world. 

Desalination technology is not new, but it is notoriously energy-intensive because it requires high-power pumps.  The GivePower system is integrated with a solar microgrid that makes use of Tesla batteries to store energy for when the sun is not shining. 

Local residents pay about a quarter of one cent for every quart of water from the system.  The Kiunga community has faced ongoing drought and before the GivePower system was installed, was forced to drink from salt water wells, which present serious health risks.

The GivePower system cost $500,000 to build and is expected to generate $100,000 a year, to be eventually used to fund similar facilities in other places.

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A solar-powered system can turn salt water into fresh drinking water for 25,000 people per day. It could help address the world’s looming water crisis.

Photo courtesy of GivePower.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The ‘Biggest Ever’ Arctic Expedition

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The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth.  In fact, it’s warming at a rate of almost twice the global average.  And, since what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic, the world is already feeling the effects: rising sea levels, changes in climate and precipitation patterns, increasing severe weather events, and so on. 

As a result, researchers from more than a dozen countries have launched the biggest and most complex expedition ever attempted in the Arctic.  They plan to freeze Germany’s largest research vessel, the Polarstern, into Arctic sea ice, where it will remain trapped for twelve months.  The ship will drift with the sea ice as the sea ice drifts.  The vessel will serve as a research laboratory, hosting a rotating crew of 300 scientists.  The ice, the ocean, the atmosphere, and even the wildlife will all be sampled.  This year-long journey will give researchers their closest look at how the polar climate and its fragile ecosystems are changing. 

Led by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Germany, the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate project (or MOSAiC) is expected to cost about $150 million. 

One major goal of MOSAiC is to improve strikingly uncertain climate projections for the Arctic.  Climate models disagree on how much more the Arctic will warm as the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rises and sea ice shrinks.  Some project a 5ºC rise by 2100 relative to the 1986-2005 average.  Others predict a 10ºC increase. 

Understanding the complex processes occurring in the Arctic is essential for projecting the future impacts of climate change. 

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Web Links

Climate scientists prepare for largest ever Arctic expedition

Climate change: Polarstern leaves for ‘biggest ever’ Arctic expedition

Image courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility.

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...)