Earth Wise

Coastal floodplains across the southeastern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States are at the leading edge of climate change’s effect on what were largely freshwater ecosystems.    Because of the low elevation and flat or gently sloping characteristics of coastal forests in these areas, they are among the most vulnerable globally to saltwater intrusion. Saltwater, […]

Most of the blame for climate change has been placed on the growing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but methane also plays a major role.  Estimates are that about 1/5 of greenhouse effect warming is caused by methane in the atmosphere.  There is far less of it than carbon dioxide, but methane is […]

Offshore wind power can supply a significant amount of energy to our hungry grid.  In many places in Europe, it is doing just that.   Here in US, it is just starting to be used in some places in the Northeast, with the first small offshore wind farm coming on line off the coast of Rhode […]

Combating climate change is a bit like treating a disease whose early stage symptoms are not very severe.  People are not as motivated as they should be.   Businesses have to comply with new regulations and spend money on new technologies, which seems like a losing proposition. But many businesses are positioning themselves to be competitive […]

College students have often spearheaded uprisings and revolutionary ideas.   A group of BYU engineering students is trying to start a solar-cell revolution. The students are led by a mechanical engineering professor named John Salmon, and they want to install solar cells in all sorts of public places including bus stops, park benches and picnic tables, […]

According to a new report from the World Wildlife Fund, the world’s animal populations have suffered widespread population declines in the last half century.  And thousands of species are now scrambling to survive.  The WWF’s 2016 Living Planet Report found a 58% overall decline in vertebrate populations between 1970 and 2012.  And if current trends […]

Genetically modified crops have been at the center of a great deal of controversy for a number of years.  There have been widespread fears that they are unsafe to eat.  Continuing studies have indicated that those fears appear to be unsubstantiated. There is, however, a more basic issue which is the motivation for using genetic […]

Post-apocalyptic fiction is all the rage these days.  There are numerous stories featuring an endless list of civilization-ending disasters:  asteroid collisions, cataclysmic earthquakes, nuclear wars, supervolcanoes, pandemics…  the list goes on and on.   Most of the time, humanity either perishes entirely, is reduced to a handful of heroic and astonishingly resourceful souls, or ends up […]

The U.S. has just turned on its first offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island.  In the meantime, offshore wind continues to grow by leaps and bounds in Europe.   Wind energy in the European Union accounts for 12% of its electricity supply.  Until 2011, offshore wind comprised only 5-10% of the newly-installed wind […]

When we think about the visual impact of energy plants, we usually envision ugly smokestacks belching out toxic fumes.  Of course, many people also consider wind turbines to be eyesores and even solar panels are often viewed unfavorably from an aesthetic point of view. A sustainable design competition known as the Land Art Generator Initiative […]