Earth Wise

Wind-powered electricity has been increasing its contribution to the American energy mix for years as the number of installed turbines has rapidly grown.  In the final months of 2020, wind power set a number of new records.  Strong wind conditions in November and December, especially in the central states, led to record output from wind […]

It’s no secret that our planet is heating up.  Scientists have concluded that the changing climate is primarily the result of increased human-caused (or anthropogenic) greenhouse gas emissions.  Some of the effects of global climate change include thawing permafrost, warming oceans, intensifying storms and wildfires, and rising seas.      In southern China, the surge in greenhouse […]

Colorado has warmed by nearly 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1980s because of human-caused climate change.   As a result, many mammal species have shifted uphill to escape the heat. The golden-mantled ground squirrel is a popular sight among tourists in the Rocky Mountains.  It is one of the most photographed animals there as they pose […]

According to the first-ever comprehensive assessment of net bird populations published in 2019, nearly three billion birds have disappeared in the United States and Canada since 1970.  The study, by researchers from the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, found that North American bird populations have lost 2.9 billion breeding adults during that timespan.  Forests lost […]

Litter is persistent and widespread in rivers worldwide.  The world’s major rivers and estuaries are hotspots for plastic waste.  Trash and microparticles wash down tributaries and build up before rivers enter oceans. New research published in the journal Freshwater Biology has found that as this waste accumulates, aquatic river species like insects and snails are […]

In 2019, we reported that new emissions of chlorofluorocarbons from eastern Asia were threatening the recovery of the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere.  An unexpected spike in CFC emissions was threatening to undo the progress made under the Montreal Protocol, the international treaty under which every country in the world agreed to phase out […]

The early months of the Covid-19 pandemic last year saw dramatic reductions in travel and many forms of commerce.  With much of human activity greatly curtailed, greenhouse gas emissions were greatly reduced.   And yet, all of that did not slow down global warming: 2020 ended up tied with 2016 as the warmest year on record […]

As plants and animals around the world grapple with climate change, invasive species, disease, and other threats, conservationists grapple with the issue of what it means to protect what is natural and how far to go to prevent extinctions. Australia is where many of these issues have risen to the forefront.  Imported mammals – particularly […]

According to a new study by Oregon State University researchers, co-developing land for both solar voltaic power and agriculture could provide 20% of total electricity generation in the United States with an investment of less than 1% of the annual U.S. budget. The concept is known as agrivoltaics – using the same land for both […]

When talking about the causes of climate warming, it is common practice to bundle together various pollutants and express their effects in terms of “CO2 equivalence.”  This involves comparing climate effects of the pollutants on a 100-year timescale.  Recent research from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Germany points out the problems with this […]