Earth Wise

By Randy SimonScience Education Self-Improvement Natural Sciences Nature

Earth Wise episodes

June 21, 2019 Bad News For Penguins
The second-largest breeding colony of emperor penguins in Antarctica, located in the Waddell Sea, has experienced “catastrophic breeding failure” for the past three years. Nearly all of the colony’s chicks have failed to survive due to the breakup of sea ice, according to a new study published in the journal Antarctic Science.
The colony was once home to 14,000 to 25,000 breeding pairs, which
represents as much as 9% of the global emperor penguin population. Emperor penguins are the tallest and heaviest
of all living penguins, reaching up to 4 feet in height and weighing between 50
and 100 pounds. They are the only
penguin species that breeds during the Antarctic winter and their lengthy treks
to breeding colonies have been the subject of numerous films and television
shows.
Sea ice at Halley Bay in Antarctica had been stable and reliable for
nearly 60 years but stormy weather in 2016 driven by El Nino conditions, strong
winds, and record low ice extent caused the ice on which penguin chicks gather
to break up. This happened again in 2017
and 2018. By last year, just a few
hundred adult pairs were present at the breeding site and almost no chicks
survived the ice breakup.
Researchers say that they have never seen a breeding failure on a
scale like this in 60 years of studying the colonies. On a more positive note, while the population
of the Halley Bay site has collapsed, the Dawson-Lambton breeding area –
located about 34 miles away – has actually seen significant growth over the
past four years. While this is
encouraging, the growth at Dawson-Lambton does not fully compensate for the
losses at Halley Bay, which was once considered relatively safe from the
impacts of climate change.
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Web Links
Emperor Penguin Colony Experiences “Catastrophic Breeding Failure”
Photo, posted February 22, 2011, courtesy of Krishna via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
June 20, 2019 A Sensor For Spoiled Milk
A new sensor technology developed at Washington State University may eventually make expiration dates on milk a thing of the past. The sensor essentially can ‘smell’ whether milk is still good or has gone bad.
The sensor consists of chemically coated nanoparticles that react to
the gas produced when bacterial growth on milk has taken place. When such bacteria grow, they produce a
volatile compound that doesn’t smell good.
So, when we open a carton of milk that has begun to spoil, our noses
tell us so immediately.
The new sensor does not have to be in contact with the milk. It detects the volatile gases produced by the
bacteria and it changes color. So far, it has only been demonstrated in a
controlled lab environment.
To really be useful, the sensor would ideally be able to show how long
the milk has before it spoils.
Currently, it only shows whether it is ok or already spoiled. The
researchers are working on the enhanced version of the sensor.
The researchers envision working with the dairy industry to integrate
the sensor technology into a milk bottle’s plastic cap so that consumers can
easily see how much longer the milk will stay fresh. Current expiration dates on milk are based on
best-case scenarios. They are only accurate if the milk has been stored at the
correct temperature the entire time.
Unfortunately, milk can inadvertently spend time above refrigerator
temperature during shipment or transportation home from the store. If the new sensor technology can be
successfully developed, it will be possible to know for sure whether that
bottle of milk is good.
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Web Links
Sensor can detect spoiled milk before opening
Photo, posted March 8, 2011, courtesy of Roxanne Ready via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
June 19, 2019 Schools And Solar Power
A new study from Stanford University looked at the benefits of installing solar panels on the rooftops of schools. According to the study, taking advantage of all the viable space for solar panels could allow schools to meet up to 75% of their electricity needs and reduce the education sector’s carbon footprint by as much as 28%.
Given the long list of spending priorities for schools, solar power seems
like a luxury item. But the Department
of Energy estimates that K-12 schools spend more than $6 billion a year on
energy and, in many districts, energy costs are second only to salaries. In the higher education sector, yearly energy
costs add up to more than $14 billion.
In total, educational institutions account for approximately 11% of
energy consumption by U.S. buildings and 4% of the nation’s carbon emissions.
The Stanford study suggests that investments in the right solar
projects combined with the right incentives from states could free up
much-needed money in school budgets.
To no surprise, the study finds that three large, sunny states –
Texas, California, and Florida – have the greatest potential for generating
electricity from solar panels on school rooftops.
Apart from measurable effects on air pollution and electricity bills,
solar installations at schools can also provide new learning opportunities for
students. In fact, some schools are
already using data from their on-site solar energy systems to teach students
basic ideas about fractions, as an example, as well as more sophisticated
concepts such how shifting solar panel angles can affect power production.
According to the study, nearly all states could reap value from school
solar projects.
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Web Links
What happens when schools go solar?
Photo, posted February 28, 2011, courtesy of Black Rock Solar via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
June 18, 2019 Forecasting A Massive Dead Zone
The Gulf of Mexico dead zone occurs every summer, and is considered one of the largest dead zones in the world. This cyclical event occurs where the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico, just off the coast of Louisiana and Texas.
This annual dead zone is primarily caused by excess nutrient pollution from human activities, such as urbanization and agriculture, occurring throughout the Mississippi River watershed. Washed off the land by spring rains, these excess nutrients stimulate an overgrowth of algae once they reach the Gulf of Mexico. The algae in the Gulf eventually die, and then sink and decompose in the water. The resulting area of the ocean ends up with a condition known as hypoxia, which is an insufficient amount of oxygen to support most marine life. In hypoxic or dead zones, animals that can’t swim away will often suffocate and die.
Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
estimate that this year the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico will be
approximately 8,000 square miles, which is roughly the size of
Massachusetts. The research team uses
U.S. Geological Survey river flow and nutrient data to make its forecast.
According to NOAA, the abnormally high amount of spring rainfall is a
major factor contributing to this year’s dead zone. Last month, nitrate loads entering the
Mississippi River watershed were 18% above the long-term average, and
phosphorus loads were about 49% above the long-term average.
While the 2019 forecast is slightly less than the record size of more than 8,700 square miles set in 2017, it’s still much larger than the five year average size of 5,700.
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Web Links
Very large dead zone forecast for the Gulf of Mexico
Massive 8,000-mile ‘dead zone’ could be one of the gulf’s largest
Photo, posted May 22, 2009, courtesy of Michael McCarthy via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
June 17, 2019 Wildlife Bridges
Highway accidents involving animals are a big problem for both people and animals. About 200 people die every year in the U.S. as a result of collisions with animals. In total, one to two million large animals are killed by motorists every year. And these crashes are expensive: deer-car collisions cost an average of more than $8,000 each; elk-vehicle collisions about $25,000; and moose-vehicle collisions over $44,000.
In the United States, there are 21 threatened and endangered species
whose very survival is threatened by road mortalities. These include Key deer in Florida, bighorn
sheep in California, and red-bellied turtles in Alabama.
One solution that has been quite effective around the world in
reducing car-animal collisions is wildlife overpasses and underpasses. Crossings and fencing that guide animals over
or under highways reduce collisions by 85-95%.
These traffic-spanning bridges and tunnels have been popular in Europe
since the 1950s. The overpasses usually
look much like regular overpasses for cars but are decked out with native
flora. The underpasses, which assist
shyer and smaller animals, are typically invisible to drivers.
Washington State has recently started building wildlife bridges and
underpasses on Interstate 90. These
passes will allow elk, black bears, mountain lions, pika, and even trout to
traverse what was once a near-impenetrable barrier of road.
Some animals that are accustomed to human structures start using the
crossings almost immediately. For
others, there is learning curve. As in
many things, the early adapters are important as they provide paths and model
behavior that more reticent animals learn to follow.
Wildlife bridges are a very good thing for wildlife and for people.
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Web Links
How wildlife bridges over highways make animals—and people—safer
Photo, posted July 22, 2017, courtesy of David Fulmer via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
June 14, 2019 One Million Extinctions
A group of 145 expert authors from 50 countries has produced a report based upon a review of 15,000 scientific and government sources that is the first comprehensive look at the state of the planet’s biodiversity in 15 years. The conclusions are alarming.
Thanks to human pressures, one million species may be pushed to
extinction in the next few years, something with serious consequences for human
beings as well as the rest of life on earth.
Based upon scientific studies as well as indigenous and local knowledge, the evidence is overwhelming that human activities are the primary cause of nature’s decline. The report ranked the major drivers of species decline as land conversion, including deforestation; overfishing; bush meat hunting and poaching; climate change; pollution; and invasive alien species.
The tremendous variety of living species on our plant which number at
least 8.7 million and perhaps many more – biodiversity – constitutes a
life-supporting safety net that provides our food, clean water, air, energy,
and more.
In parts of the ocean, little life remains but green slime. Some remote tropical forests are nearly
silent because insects have vanished.
Many grasslands are becoming deserts.
Human activity has severely altered more than 75% of Earth’s land areas
and has impacted 66% of the oceans. The
world’s oceans increasingly are characterized by plastics, dead zones,
overfishing, and acidification.
The main message of the 1,500-page report is that transformative
change is urgently needed. In order to
safeguard a healthy planet, society needs to shift from a sole focus on chasing
economic growth. This won’t be easy, but
we must come to the understanding that nature is the foundation for development
before it is too late.
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Web Links
One million species at risk of extinction, UN report warns
Photo, posted January 1, 2014, courtesy of Eric Kilby via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
June 13, 2019 Our Growing Appetite For Energy
Energy consumption in the United States set a record high in 2018. Overall, energy consumption reached 101.2 quadrillion BTUs or quads last year, breaking the previous record of 101.0 set in 2007. Most of us are not too familiar with quadrillions of anything, nor with BTUs for that matter. If it is any more illuminating, 101 quads are the equivalent of about 300 billion kilowatt hours. Our energy use increased by 3.6% from 2017, which was the largest annual increase since 2010.
Wind, solar, and natural gas provided the largest increases in energy supply. In 2018, solar and wind energy were both up by 0.18 quads, representing a 22% gain for solar and a 7.5% increase for wind. Over the past ten years, overall renewable energy has doubled in the U.S., with wind increasing by a factor of 5 since 2008 and solar by an amazing factor of 48.
Natural gas generation increased by 10.7%, or a total of 3 quads over
the previous year. The growth in
natural gas use isn’t good news, but since much of it represents replacing
coal, it at least corresponds to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
The unfortunate part of our energy consumption is that the majority of
it is still in the form of “rejected energy”.
It most often takes the form of waste heat, such as the warm exhaust
from automobiles and furnaces. The
efficiency of our cars, lightbulbs and factories determines how much waste heat
is produced and in turn how much fuel and electricity can be put to productive
use.
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Web Links
US energy consumption hits record high in 2018, solar/wind/natural gas grow
Photo, posted April 27, 2015, courtesy of Mathias Appel via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
June 12, 2019 The Future Of Animals
Researchers at the University of Southampton have forecast a global shift towards smaller birds and mammals over the next century.
According to the research team, small, fast-lived, highly fertile, and
insect-eating animals, which can thrive in all sorts of habitats, will
predominate in the future. Rodents and
songbirds are examples of the so-called ‘winners.’ Less adaptable, slow-lived species, requiring
specialist habitats, will be more likely to face extinction. Among the so-called ‘losers’ are the black
rhino and the tawny eagle.
The researchers focused on more than 15,000 living mammals and birds and considered the following five characteristics: body mass, breadth of habitat, diet, litter or clutch size, and length of time between generations. Using this data and data from the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species, the researchers used modern statistical tools to project and evaluate the loss of biodiversity.
The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature
Communications, predicts that the average body mass of mammals will
collectively decline by 25% over just the next 100 years. Over the past 130,000 years, the average body
size of mammals only declined 14%.
This substantial downsizing of animals is forecasted to occur due to
the effects of ecological change. But, according to the study’s lead author,
the loss of these species, which perform unique functions within the global
ecosystem, may ironically wind up being a driver of change as well.
The researchers hope future studies will further explore the long-term
effects of species extinction on habitats and ecosystems.
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Web Links
Study predicts shift to smaller animals over next century
Photo, posted April 6, 2013, courtesy of Nic Trott via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
June 11, 2019 Meal Kits And The Environment
Meal kit services have become extremely popular in recent years. These are companies that deliver a box of pre-portioned ingredients and a chef-created recipe to your door to make home-cooked meals easy and practical for busy people. Leading companies like Blue Apron, HelloFresh, and Plated have been joined by dozens of others competing in the meal kit market. As of last year, annual sales for these things were over $3 billion and growing at more than a 20% annual rate.
A major rap against meal kits has been their environmental impact,
mostly centered around the amount of packaging waste they generate. While there is most certainly lots of
packaging waste associated with meal kits, it turns out that their overall carbon
footprint is actually rather good compared with conventional ways to make
homecooked meals.
A study from the University of Michigan looked at the cradle-to-grave
impact of meal kits, taking into account every major step in the lifetime of
the food ingredients and the packaging – agricultural production, packaging
production, distribution, supply chain losses, consumption, and waste
generation.
Surprisingly, meal kits have a much lower overall carbon footprint
than the same meals made from ingredients purchased at the grocery store – even
including their packaging. The main
reason is that pre-portioned ingredients and a streamlined supply chain lower
overall food losses and waste for meal kits compared to store-bought
meals. Pre-portioning simply results in
fewer ingredients that end up being wasted.
Meal kits also have radically different supply chain structures than
foods sold in supermarkets.
Whether the economics and culinary aspects of meals kits are
advantageous for many people is an open question, but apparently from an
environmental perspective, they are just fine.
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Web Links
Climate change has worsened global economic inequality
Photo, posted June 11, 2018, courtesy of Marco Verch via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
2 min
June 10, 2019 Mass Timber
Mass timber is a type of construction typically characterized by the use of large solid wood panels for wall, floor, and roof construction. Large structural panels, posts, and beams glued under pressure or nailed together in layers, with the wood’s grain stacked perpendicular for extra strength – are prized as innovative building materials, superior to concrete and steel in many ways. Mass timber has pushed the perceived boundaries of wood construction, leading to building heights and spans that traditionally have required concrete, steel or masonry for structural support. The move to mass timber has become something of a construction revolution and many see it as a significant part of a climate change solution.
The question is just how green is mass timber
construction? How sustainable is it in
terms of the forest management, logging, manufacture and transportation of wood
products involved?
A number of environmental groups are very
skeptical. There is not yet
comprehensive data on the subject. Only
recently have interdisciplinary scientists begun to study the potential climate
impacts of the wide use of mass timber.
Despite these questions, the mass timber
industry is taking off. Demand for mass
timber posts and beams has led to new sawmills opening in the U.S. Northwest
and many new jobs for loggers.
The aesthetics and economics of mass timber
are both very attractive compared with conventional large-scale construction
materials. The real unknowns relate to
the environmental impact of its widespread use.
If that can take place in a sustainable and environmentally
conscientious way, it would be very important in the fight against climate
change. Carbon dioxide emissions from
the building industry account for more than a third of global emissions,
primarily from the concrete and steel industries.
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Web Links
As Mass Timber Takes Off, How Green Is This New Building Material?
Photo, posted March 19, 2018, courtesy of Freres Lumber Co 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.