Earth Wise

By Randy Simon

From green business and new environmental legislation to how nature impacts our environment in ways never before considered, Earth Wise offers a look at our changing environment.... more

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How many episodes does Earth Wise have?

The podcast currently has 2,518 episodes available.

Earth Wise episodes:

March 27, 2019 Thoreau And Climate Change
Henry David Thoreau was a 19th-century American naturalist, philosopher, poet, essayist, and social reformer. He is best known for “Civil Disobedience,” an essay advocating for the rebellion against an unjust government, and for “Walden,” a book about his experiences living simply in nature. Now, Thoreau’s observations from “Walden” are the foundation of a new study exploring the effects of climate change on tree leaf-out and the emergence of spring wildflowers.
This research, which was recently published in the journal Ecology
Letters, relies on Thoreau’s scientific observations gathered during the 1850s
when he spent 26 months living in isolation at Walden Pond in Concord,
Massachusetts. These observations from
Thoreau were combined with current research to measure tree and wildflower
leaf-out dates for 37 different years between 1852 and 2018. “Leaf out” refers to the time in spring when
plants and trees begin producing leaves.
An alteration in this timing can have a domino effect throughout an
ecosystem.
Over the past century, temperatures in Concord, Massachusetts have
warmed five degrees Fahrenheit. As a
result, leaf-out dates have changed significantly. According to researchers, wildflowers are
leafing out about one week earlier, while trees are leafing out about two weeks
earlier than they did 160 years ago.
Ground-dwelling plants like wildflowers have a narrow window to
accomplish growth, photosynthesis, and reproduction, before the canopy trees
leaf out and block the sunlight.
Temperature-driven shifts in the timing of tree leaf-out between
Thoreau’s time and now are likely already hindering wildflower abundance and
flowering.
As the climate continues to warm, the already small window of time between wildflower emergence and tree leaf-out will likely shorten further.
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Web Links
Using Thoreau, scientists measure the impact of climate change on wildflowers
Photo, posted August 13, 2008, courtesy of Adam Pieniazek via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
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March 26, 2019 Defusing The Methane Time Bomb
Permafrost is defined as soil that remains frozen for two or more consecutive years. It is generally composed of rock, soil, sediments, and varying amounts of ice that binds it all together. The permafrost of the Arctic represents one of the largest reservoirs of organic carbon in the world. It covers vast regions of Siberia, northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland.
When permafrost thaws, microbes in the previously-frozen soil go to work digesting organic materials and release carbon dioxide and methane, both of which are greenhouse gases. Methane is 25 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, so it represents the greater threat. The massive amounts of methane that could be released by thawing permafrost have been described as a ticking time bomb threatening the world’s climate. Unfortunately, the permafrost in the Arctic is already starting to thaw as a result of climate change.
A new study by researchers at the
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis looked into the prospects
for neutralizing the threat posed by the release of methane from thawing
permafrost. They analyzed the relative
contributions of potential methane emissions from the permafrost and existing
ones from human activities. Human-caused
methane emissions from fossil fuel activities, waste dumps, and livestock
constitute a major source of the gas.
Their conclusion is that if we can greatly reduce human-generated methane release, the effects of uncontrolled Arctic methane emissions could be mitigated. It is unclear whether we can do much to stave off the Arctic methane release at this point, but the release of methane from human activities is something we can do something about. But the clock is ticking.
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Diffusing the methane bomb: We can still make a difference
Photo, posted August 14, 2011, courtesy of Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
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March 25, 2019 Glaciers And Water Supply
The world has roughly 150,000 glaciers covering about 200,000 square miles of the earth’s surface. Over the last 40 years they’ve lost the equivalent of a layer of ice 70 feet thick. Most of them are getting shorter as well. Some have shrunk to nothing; many smaller glaciers in places like the Rockies and the Andes have disappeared entirely.
Glaciers represent the snows of centuries, compressed over time to form flowing rivers of ice. They always change over time, accumulating snow in winter and losing ice to melting in summer. But in recent times, the warming climate has allowed the melting to outpace the accumulation.
Much of the discussion about the retreating glaciers relates to sea
level rise, catastrophic floods, debris flow, and the effects on rivers and
ecosystems.
But in some places, the biggest impact of the loss of glaciers is on the supply of water for people and agriculture. In Kazakhstan, Almaty, the country’s largest city depends on glacier-fed rivers for drinking water for its 2 million people and for irrigation water for crops. All across the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayan and Karakmoram mountain ranges, hundreds of millions of people rely on glacier-fed rivers for their water supplies.
A melting glacier can at first increase stream flow but eventually
reaches a tipping point and meltwater begins to taper. In the short term, the melting glaciers may
provide increased amounts of water coming down from the mountains, but
eventually the flow in the rivers will begin to decline and populations will
face a crisis.
It will be essential for people in many places to carefully plan for
their future water needs in a changing world.
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Glaciers Are Retreating. Millions Rely on Their Water.
Photo, posted September 16, 2011, courtesy of Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
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March 22, 2019 Crop Diversity
A study at the University of Toronto suggests that on a global scale, we are growing more of the same kinds of crops, and this diminishing diversity presents major challenges for agricultural sustainability.
In some places, for example here in North America, crop diversity has actually increased. Back in the 1960s, North Americans grew about 80 crops. Now there are 93.
But on a global scale, more of the same kinds of crops are being grown on much larger scales. Just four crops – soybeans, wheat, rice and corn – occupy nearly 50% of the world’s entire agricultural lands. The remaining 152 crops cover the rest. Large industrial farms often grow one crop species – usually just a single genotype – across thousands of acres of land.
This decline in global crop diversity is problematic in several
ways. On a cultural level, it threatens
regional food sovereignty. If regional
crop diversity is threatened, it makes it more difficult for people to eat or
afford foods that are culturally significant to them.
On an ecological level, the dominance by a few genetic lineages of
crops makes the agricultural system increasingly susceptible to pests or
diseases. The deadly fungus that is
threatening the world’s banana plantations is a prime current example. The Irish potato famine in the 19th
century is a tragic historical example.
As large industrial-sized farms in Asia, Europe and the Americas start to look more and more alike, the dangers of large monocultures of crops that are commercially valuable will only increase. It will be important for global governments to consider the impact of policies that affect the diversity of the agricultural system and its sustainability in an increasingly hungry world.
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Web Links
A small number of crops are dominating globally. And that’s bad news for sustainable agriculture
Photo, posted August 13, 2012, courtesy of Alasdair McKenzie via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
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March 21, 2019 Another Way To Make Solar Cells
Millions of rooftops now contain solar panels and the majority of the solar cells that make up those panels today are made from silicon. Silicon solar cells require expensive, multi-step processing conducted at very high temperatures in special clean room facilities. Despite these complications, the price of solar panels has continued to drop dramatically over the years.
But even as the price of solar cells gets lower and lower, there are
still widespread efforts to find even better ways to make them. One of those ways is with perovskite solar
cells. Perovskites are materials with a
characteristic crystal structure and are quite common in nature. Perovskites can be formed with a wide range
of elements and can exhibit a variety of properties.
They were first used to make solar cells about 10 years ago and those
first cells were unimpressive in most respects.
However, there has been steady progress since that time. The potential advantages of perovskite solar
cells are that they can be made from low-cost materials and can be manufactured
using liquid chemistry, a far cheaper process than what is used to make silicon
cells.
Researchers at MIT and several other institutions have recently
published the results of research on how to tailor the composition of
perovskite solar cells to optimize their properties. What used to be a trial-and-error process can
now become much more engineered and should lead to perovskite solar cells with
performance that could exceed that of silicon cells.
Silicon solar panels are a huge, worldwide industry and displacing them
in favor of an alternative technology is a tall order. But if perovskite cells can be optimized for
large-scale manufacturability, efficiency and durability, they could definitely
give silicon a run for its money.
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Web Links
Unleashing perovskites’ potential for solar cells
Photo courtesy of Ken Richardson/MIT.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
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2min
March 20, 2019 2018 Was A Wet Year
Recent news reports noted that 2018 was the fourth hottest year on record. But the changing climate is not just about temperature. 2018 was also the third-wettest year since 1895, when steady record-keeping began.
Overall, the U.S. recorded 4.68 inches more precipitation in 2018 than the 20th century average. But all that rain and snow was nothing like evenly distributed. The eastern half of the country – especially in places like North Carolina and Virginia – saw record amounts of precipitation, while most of the West remained stuck in drought.
The warming climate leads to precipitation extremes at both ends,
meaning that wet places are likely to get wetter and dry places drier. There has been a marked upward trend in
short-duration extreme events. For
example, Cyclone Mekunu dumped almost 13 inches of rain on Salalah, Oman in 36
hours, more than double its annual average rainfall.
In the southeast and eastern U.S., the trend toward stronger storm
events is mostly driven by strong warming of the oceans that fringe their shores. Warm oceans evaporate more water into the air
and warm air holds more water than cooler air.
Warmer, moisture-laden air acts like a blanket over the land, keeping
heat trapped near the ground. Many of
the states that had their wettest-ever years also set records for high minimum
temperatures – their coldest temperatures were less cold than in the past.
Air temperatures are projected to warm up even further in the coming
years and, as a result, many scientists are anticipating that extreme precipitation
events will only get more extreme. The
pattern of drought in the west and wetness in the east is likely to stay.
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Web Links
2018 was the U.S.’s third-wettest year on record—here’s why
Photo, posted August 18, 2018, courtesy of Jim Lukach via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
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March 19, 2019 Balloons And Seabirds
It’s no secret that there is a ton of plastic in the ocean – millions of tons, in fact. Scientists estimate that there is more 165 million tons of plastics swirling about in our oceans today, with an additional 8.8 million tons flowing in every year. As the oceans swell with plastic debris, many marine species wind up ingesting the stuff – often with dire consequences.
All this plastic trash winds up affecting more than just aquatic
species, too. According to researchers
from the University of Tasmania, a seabird that ingested a single piece of
plastic has a 20% chance of mortality.
This statistic jumps to 50% if the seabird consumes nine pieces of
plastic.
The study, which was recently published in the journal Scientific
Reports, also found that while hard plastics account for the majority of
plastic debris ingested, it’s far less likely to prove fatal than soft
plastics, such as balloons.
In fact, the researchers found that balloons or balloon fragments were
the number one marine debris risk of mortality for seabirds, killing almost one
in five of the seabirds that ingested them.
The leading cause of death among the seabirds studied was blockage of
the gastrointestinal tract. While soft
plastics only accounted for 5% of the ingested plastics, they were responsible
for more than 40% of seabird mortality.
But the researchers make clear that hard plastics were still responsible
for more than half of the study’s seabird deaths.
If we want to reduce the number of marine species dying from plastic
ingestion, we need to reduce the volume of plastic going into the ocean and do
what we can to remove what’s already there.
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Web Links
Balloons the number 1 marine debris risk of mortality for seabirds
Photo, posted July 24, 2014, courtesy of Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
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March 18, 2019 Shrinking Arctic Glaciers
The glaciers on Baffin Island, located in Canada’s northeastern Arctic, have been shrinking as the climate warms. The melting, receding glaciers have exposed fragments of ancient plants that had frozen in the places where they once grew. New research has shown that these spots have not seen the light of day for at least 40,000 years.
The entire planet has been warming since humanity started flooding the
atmosphere with greenhouse gases at the start of the Industrial Revolution, but
the effects are not uniform across the globe.
Some regions – like the Arctic – are seeing temperature rises that are
greater and faster than anywhere else in the world. As a result, glaciers in the Arctic have been
melting away at rates never before observed in modern human history.
Researchers at the University of Colorado performed radiocarbon dating experiments in order to find out when the last time was that the Arctic was as warm as today. There have been natural variations in Arctic temperatures caused by the complicated way the Earth wobbles on its axis. For example, 10,000 years ago the northern latitudes pointed at the sun more directly during the summer than they do now, providing about 9% more sunshine during the summer.
The results of the study showed that the newly-uncovered plants had
died at least 40,000 years earlier, indicating that the glaciers had not melted
back to today’s size for at least that long.
Global measurements indicate that the planet as a whole has not been as
warm as it is today for about 115,000 years, back then again a result of the
orientation of the Earth.
Well, the Earth hasn’t wobbled recently. The Arctic is melting because we are dumping
massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
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Web Links
These Arctic glaciers are smaller than ever before in human history
Photo, posted September 1, 2010, courtesy of Doryce S. via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
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March 15, 2019 The Changing Face of Electricity
The New York Times recently published an article on how electricity is made in the United States on a state-by-state basis and how it has been changing over the past two decades. Two conclusions to draw are that the mix of energy sources is wildly different from one state to another and that the mix has been changing rather dramatically in many places.
Overall, the past two decades have seen the dramatic rise in the use
of natural gas and a dramatic drop in the use of coal. Coal plants used to account for over half of
the electricity produced in the U.S. at the turn of the 21st century. Now natural gas has passed coal as the
largest energy source at roughly 1/3 of the total generated.
Switching from coal to natural gas is a good thing since modern gas
power plants emit only about half the carbon dioxide as modern coal
plants. But industry spin about “clean
gas” is just spin. Gas is not really
clean; it is just cleaner than coal. So,
having the electric grid powered by gas is not really going to solve our
emissions problems.
That being said, there are still states that make nearly all their
electricity with coal. Indiana,
Kentucky, Missouri, Utah, Wyoming, and West Virginia are on that list. Meanwhile, Delaware, Massachusetts,
Mississippi, Nevada, and Rhode Island are powered mostly by gas. Idaho, Oregon,
Washington, and Vermont rely heavily on hydropower.
Newer renewables like solar and wind are starting to make major
contributions in many states. Wind
contributes only 6% nationwide but is much bigger in places like Iowa, Kansas,
Minnesota, the Dakotas, Oklahoma and Texas.
The face of electricity continues to change.
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Web Links
How Does Your State Make Electricity?
Photo, posted March 5, 2010, courtesy of Tennessee Valley Authority via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
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March 14, 2019 Renewables Taking Over In Britain
A year-and-a-half ago, we reported on the steep decline in the use of coal in Britain, including the conversion of the giant Drax Power Station from burning coal to running on wood chips. Since then, Britain has been steadily moving away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources. The transformation is being driven by a surge in offshore wind farms currently under construction or about to begin operating. Britain is in the process of adding over 6 GW of offshore wind to its current total of 8 GW. Renewables generated one-third of the UK’s electricity last year, and half of that came from wind power.
In 2018, coal- and gas-fired power stations generated about 131 terawatt-hours of electricity in Britain. Renewable energy plants – including wind, solar, biomass, and hydropower – produced about 96 terawatt-hours. Based on the new projects coming online, renewable sources could generate 121 TWh by 2020 and fossil fuel plants are likely to fall to 105.6 TWh as more coal plants are retired. Thus, within the next year or so, renewables in Britain are likely to surpass fossil fuels in electricity generation.
The transformation in Britain has been rapid and dramatic. In 1974, the country generated 80% of its
electricity using coal. By 2016, that
number had dropped to 9%. Last April,
the British power grid went three days in a row without burning any coal. The UK is expected to shut down its remaining
coal plants by 2025, if not sooner.
At the same time, Britain’s renewable energy capacity has more than
quadrupled since 2010, jumping from 21 TWh that year to 96 TWh last year. Britain’s energy mix is changing fast and
getting significantly cleaner every year.
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Web Links
Renewables Could Surpass Fossil Fuels in Britain by 2020
Photo, posted August 2, 2008, courtesy of Richard Allaway via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
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FAQs about Earth Wise:

How many episodes does Earth Wise have?

The podcast currently has 2,518 episodes available.