Earth Wise

By Randy SimonScience Education Self-Improvement Natural Sciences Nature

Earth Wise episodes

August 16, 2019 Lots Of Renewable Energy Jobs
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, there were 11 million people employed in renewable energy worldwide in 2018. This compares with 10.3 million in 2017. So roughly three-quarters of a million new jobs were added last year. As more and more countries manufacture, trade and install renewable energy technologies, renewables jobs continue to reach new high levels.
The geographic footprint of renewable energy jobs is changing. Until now, renewable energy industries have
remained relatively concentrated in a handful of major markets such as China,
the US, and the European Union. But more
recently, East and Southeast Asian countries have emerged alongside China as
key exporters of solar technology.
Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam were responsible for a greater share of
growth in renewables last year. Overall,
Asia has a 60% share of renewable energy jobs worldwide.
Beyond climate goals, low-carbon economic growth has become a driver
for renewables technology. Renewables
deliver on all the major elements of sustainable development: environmental, economic and social.
The solar photovoltaic industry continues to be the most dynamic renewable enterprise. It accounts for a third of the renewable energy workforce with more than three million jobs.
Biofuel jobs were up by 6% to over 2 million. Wind power supports 1.2 million jobs, with onshore projects predominant. But the offshore wind segment is gaining traction. Hydropower is still the largest installed capacity of all renewables but is now only expanding slowly. The hydropower sector employs 2.1 million people directly, three-quarters in operations and maintenance.
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Renewable energy market employs 11 million in 2018 – IRENA
Photo, posted January 11, 2012, courtesy of the Oregon Department of Transportation via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
August 15, 2019 Climate Change And Nutrients
Ending hunger isn’t a question of producing enough food. Globally, enough food is produced to feed all 7.7 billion people on the planet. But despite this, approximately 1 in 9 people go hungry. Conflict, natural disasters, and extreme poverty are some of the main drivers of global hunger.
Climate change is another. The
more frequent and intense extreme weather events increase food insecurity and
malnutrition by destroying land, livestock, crops, and food supplies. Climate change makes growing crops harder
every year, especially for those who lack the tools and technology to adapt.
But the challenge of reducing hunger and malnutrition is to not only
produce foods that provide enough calories, but to also produce foods
that make enough necessary nutrients widely available. According to new research, climate change is
projected to significantly reduce the availability of critical nutrients such
as protein, iron, and zinc over the next 30 years. The total impact of climate change could reduce global per
capita nutrient availability of protein, iron, and zinc by 19.5%, 14.4%, and
14.6%, respectively.
While higher levels of carbon dioxide can boost growth in plants,
wheat, rice, corn, barley, potatoes, soybeans, and vegetables are all projected
to suffer nutrient losses of about 3% on average by 2050 due to the elevated
CO2 levels.
The study, which
was co-authored
by an international group of researchers and published in the peer-reviewed
journal, Lancet Planetary Health, represents the most comprehensive synthesis
of the impacts of climate change on the availability of nutrients in the global
food supply to date.
Climate change is complicating the quest to end global hunger and
malnutrition.
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Rising CO2, climate change projected to reduce availability of nutrients worldwide
Photo, posted April 30, 2015, courtesy of Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
August 14, 2019 Trees And Methane
The Amazon is a source of many mysteries. One that was as troubling as it was mysterious was the large amounts of methane emissions coming from the rainforest that were observed by satellites but that nobody could find on the ground. In total, there were 20 million tons of methane whose origin was unknown.
An expedition by a British postdoctoral researcher who spent two
months strapping gas-measuring equipment to thousands of trees has solved the
mystery. It turns out that trees,
especially in the extensive flooded forests, were stimulating methane
production in the waterlogged soils and pumping it into the atmosphere.
This research has uncovered a previously-ignored major source of the
second most important greenhouse gas in the world. Apparently, most of the world’s estimated 3
trillion trees emit methane at least some of the time.
This in no way implies that trees are bad for the climate and therefore should be cut down. The reality is that the carbon storage capability of trees far outweighs their methane emissions. But since corporations these days are planting trees to offset their carbon emissions, it is essential to know if their numbers add up. Carbon accounting has to include the complex chemistry of trees and methane.
Wetland tree trunks can act as passive conduits for methane generated
by micro-organisms in waterlogged soils.
The solid-looking trunks contain spaces and channels through which gases
travel up and down. But in wetland
systems, trees also create the conditions, and provide the raw materials, for
methane generation by micro-organisms.
Trees are essentially bioreactors.
Some trees even actively generate methane from photochemical reactions
in their foliage.
Understanding the interactions of ecosystems and the atmosphere is a
complicated business.
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Scientists Zero in on Trees as a Surprisingly Large Source of Methane
Photo, posted December 13, 2008, courtesy of Ivan Mlinaric via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
August 13, 2019 Cities And Monarch Butterflies
Monarchs are some of the most well-known butterflies in the U.S. It is well-known that populations of the iconic orange-and-black butterflies have been in a steep decline for the last 20 years. In fact, the Monarch population has declined by 80% over that period.
Milkweed, the only plant that Monarchs can lay their eggs on,
continues to disappear across the United States and with it, the butterflies
can disappear too.
Two new studies published in the journal Frontiers of Ecology and
Evolution show that one of the most important things that can be
done to save the Monarchs is to plant milkweed in cities.
We tend to think of cities as being the enemy of nature. But metropolitan areas actually matter for
wildlife conservation and that is especially true for pollinators like
butterflies that can actually survive with very small patches of habitat.
The new study estimates the amount of habitat in cities that is
available to Monarchs and other pollinators and how much more can potentially
be added. It looked at cities from the
Monarch’s point of view by identifying the best places and most effective ways
to engage land owners to transform low-quality green space – such as lawns –
into high-quality homes for butterflies and other wildlife.
Just because urban dwellers can plant milkweed doesn’t always mean
that they will. There has to be a public
perception that milkweed and other native flowers are acceptable and beautiful
elements in home landscaping. It will
require some shifting of societal norms of what is desirable in neighborhood
gardens in order for cities to be able to do their part in protecting
butterflies and other species struggling in the modern world.
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Cities are Key to Saving Monarch Butterflies
Photo, posted August 31, 2012, courtesy of Chris via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
August 12, 2019 A Solar-Powered Airport
The Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport in Tennessee has become the first airport in the United States to run entirely on solar power. The small airport operates over 60,000 flights a year and has recently completed work on a 12-acre, 2.64-megawatt solar farm that generates enough clean electricity to account for the airport’s total energy needs.
The project was funded largely by the Federal Aviation Administration,
cost $10 million, and took nine years to complete. The facility uses onsite batteries to help
power operations at night. The
installation is expected to last 30 to 40 years.
The solar farm is in the southwest corner of the airfield on land that
is unusable for aviation purposes. It is
visible from the two runways at the airport.
Officials from nearly 50 airports around the world have visited or
contacted the Chattanooga airfield in recent years to learn about its solar
operations. Several major airports,
including San Diego and London’s Gatwick, have also installed solar panels that
provide a portion of their power needs.
The world’s busiest airport – Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson – is looking
into constructing renewable energy microgrids to power part of its
operations. Airports generally have
plenty of vacant land that can be used for solar panels that can lower their
power bills.
The largest airport solar installation is actually Cochin
International in Kerala, India, which became 100% solar powered in 2015. It is the 7th largest airport in
India. Its solar array has nearly 30
megawatts of capacity. Airport managers
there were fed up with huge electric bills and invested about $9 million to
install the solar array. It is expected
to have paid for itself in the next couple of years.
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Chattanooga Becomes First U.S. Airport to Run Entirely On Solar
Photo courtesy of Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
August 09, 2019 Off-The-Charts Heat
There have been some blistering heatwaves this summer – in Europe, in the Middle East, and here in the United States. A new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists projects that within the next 20 years, millions of people in the United States could be exposed to dangerous “off-the-charts” heat index conditions of 127 degrees Fahrenheit or more. Within 60 years, over one-third of the population could be exposed to such conditions.
Extreme heat kills hundreds of people every year across the U.S. Our bodies’ natural cooling process is
affected by humidity and the combined heat index measures the impact of high
temperature and high humidity. When the
combined heat index reaches 90 degrees, it is considered to be a “dangerous
day”, when many groups of people are at serious risk.
Because of the warming climate, the number of dangerous days has been
increasing in many parts of the country.
Unless there is success in limiting the effects of climate change, by
2050, even relatively temperate cities like Detroit, Minneapolis, New York, and
Chicago will have 50 or more dangerous days a year. Places like Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and
Miami will experience dangerous days for half of the year.
The National Weather Service’s heat index goes up to 127 degrees Fahrenheit. But in as soon as 20 years, the Southeast,
Southern Great Plains, and Midwest will begin to experience days that are so
hot that they are “off the charts.”
These extreme conditions could still be avoided with steep, rapid
carbon emission reductions. But however
successful we are going forward, the US will still be significantly warmer than
today with 85 urban areas exposed to 30 or more days with a heat index above
105 degrees, compared with just three urban areas historically.
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‘Off-the-charts’ heat to affect millions in U.S. in coming decades
Photo, posted August 8, 2008, courtesy of Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
August 08, 2019 Keeping Lights On For Turtles
Gillnets are one of the most common types of fishing gear and are used extensively in most places where people fish for food. They operate by suspending a wall of netting in the water column.
Unfortunately, they are not selective in the species they catch. Sea turtles are one of the most common
bycatch species that become entangled in these nets. When turtles are caught in gillnets, they can
drown and die. Marine mammals, seabirds,
and sharks are also frequently caught in gillnets.
Recently, researchers have been experimenting with illuminating the
nets with LED lights to see if increasing net visibility reduces sea turtle
bycatch.
Studies in Mexico show green sea turtle bycatch is reduced between
40-60% with no changes in target catch.
Studies in Peru show green sea turtle bycatch is reduced between 65-80%
with no changes in target catch. Studies
in Indonesia show green olive ridley, and hawksbill sea turtle bycatch is
reduced by 60% with increases in target catch and catch value.
Recent research shows that net illumination also reduces bycatch of
other protected species such as seabirds, sharks and rays, as well as dolphins
and porpoises.
The use of illuminated gillnets could prove beneficial to both sea
turtles and fisherman by reducing the bycatch that can damage fishing
gear.
Studies are now underway off the coast of North Carolina, where state gillnet fisheries are carefully managed to reduce turtle bycatch. Initial studies show that net illumination does not change target catch rates and may even decrease the bycatch of unwanted fish species. When it comes to protecting sea turtles, it looks like a good idea to keep the lights on.
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Illuminated Nets Could Provide A Brighter Future For Sea Turtles
Photo, posted June 2, 2016, courtesy of NOAA via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
August 07, 2019 Climate Change And Energy Demand
Human beings are utterly dependent upon energy both for our well-being and for societal development. Our energy use is highly dependent upon climate since so much energy is expended either keeping us warm in winter or cool in summer. As the climate changes, it is important to understand how energy demand is likely to be affected.
A new study published in Nature Communications by researchers
in Austria, Italy and the United States explored this topic. The study is a global analysis using
temperature projections from 21 climate models, and population and economy
projections for five socioeconomic scenarios.
The purpose was to determine how energy demand would shift relative to
today’s climate under modest and high-warming scenarios by the year 2050.
The findings indicate that, compared to scenarios in which energy demand is driven only by population and income growth, climate change will increase the global demand for energy by 11-27% by the year 2050 under a modest warming scenario. With vigorous climate warming, energy demand would increase by 25-58%. (Large areas of the tropics, as well as southern Europe, China, and the US are likely to experience the highest increases).
These findings are important because if energy use rises and leads to
additional emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, it will be increasingly
difficult to mitigate future climate warming.
Quantifying this risk provides even more incentive for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions before these effects upon demand are realized and it
becomes even more difficult to prevent further impacts.
Policymakers need to be aware that even moderate levels of climate
change will lead to increases in energy demand that will make it increasingly
difficult to minimize the harmful effects on their societies.
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More energy needed to cope with climate change
Photo, posted December 15, 2008, courtesy of Matt Hintsa via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
August 06, 2019 Another Bad Year For Bees
The latest annual nationwide survey of beekeepers in the US revealed that honeybees are still dying off at an alarming rate. According to the survey, beekeepers across the country lost 40.7% of their honey bee colonies from April 2018 to April 2019.
This annual loss represents a slight increase over the average annual
loss of 38.7%. Of greater concern is
that winter losses of 37.7% were the highest reported since these annual
surveys began 13 years ago and are almost 9% higher than the survey average.
These results are very troubling considering that the elevated losses
are continuing even after a decade of intense work trying to understand and
reduce colony loss. Evidently, there has
not been much progress.
The number one concern among beekeepers is varroa mites, which are lethal parasites that can readily spread from colony to colony. These mites have been decimating bee colonies for years. Products developed to remove mites seem to be getting less and less effective.
But mites are not the only problem for bees. Land use changes have resulted in reduced
availability of pollen sources for bees.
Add to that pesticide exposures, environmental factors, and even
problems with beekeeping practices. In
addition, extreme weather conditions such as wildfires and floods are only
adding to the problems facing bees.
The tools that used to work for beekeepers seem to be failing and they
are already stretched to their limits trying to keep their bees alive. Honey
bees pollinate $15 billion worth of food crops in the United States each year.
The problems facing bees are a problem for all of us.
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U.S. Beekeepers Suffered Higher than Average Colony Loss Last Year, with Winter Losses the Highest Recorded, According to UMD-Led Annual Survey
Photo, posted June 3, 2009, courtesy of Jennifer C via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
August 05, 2019 A Green Way To Turn Blue
Indigo dye is what is used to color denim cloth and blue jeans. Historically, the dye came from a tropical plant most often found on the Indian subcontinent. Eventually, it became economically favorable to synthesize the dye instead and almost all of the 50,000 tons of the dye used annually is synthetic.
The processes used to make synthetic indigo are efficient and inexpensive, but they often require toxic chemicals and create a lot of dangerous waste. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Joint BioEnergy Institute have now developed an eco-friendly production platform for a blue pigment called indigoidine. It has a similarly vividly saturated blue hue as synthetic indigo.
The researchers were investigating the ability of various fungal strains to express large enzymes known as NRPSs. They chose an NRPS that converts two amino acid molecules into indigoidine – a blue pigment – in order to make it easy to tell if the strain engineering had worked. Having the culture turn blue was an effective indicator.
Their primary interest was not the pigment but when they saw just how
blue the culture was for one particular fungus, they realized that the fungal
strain did not just produce indigoidine; it produced large amounts of it.
Thus they have found a way to efficiently produce a blue pigment that
uses inexpensive, sustainable carbon sources instead of harsh chemicals. There is already a great deal of interest
from the textile industry, where many companies are eager for more sustainably
sourced pigments because customers are increasingly aware of the impacts of
conventional dyes.
Thanks to a talented fungus called Rhodosporidium toruloides, there may now be a green way to turn blue.
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Blue Pigment from Engineered Fungi Could Help Turn the Textile Industry Green
Photo, posted March 7, 2006, courtesy of Willi Heidelbach via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min

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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.