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Earth Wise

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A look at our changing environment.

education natural sciences

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2:00

Mixed news for the Great Barrier Reef

Earth Wise ·

2024/08/27

A prolonged and widespread coral bleaching event in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has taken place this year. It is the fifth such event over the past eight years and appears to be one of the worst ever. According to preliminary analysis, 97% of corals in some areas of the northern part of the reef died as a result of the bleaching. Over the entire length of the reef – which is more than 1,200 miles long – bleaching was observed on 74% of the more than 1,000 individual reefs that make up the Great

2:00

Pollution in downwind states

Earth Wise ·

2024/08/26

Air pollution is a serious health threat. It is associated with asthma and can lead to chronic disease, cancer, and premature death. Globally, air pollution kills 7 to 9 million people, and 200,000 Americans die from it each year. There are multiple sources of air pollution including automobiles, power plants, and other industrial activities. Exposure to pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter does not require living or working near their sources. Winds can carry

2:00

How warm is It?

Earth Wise ·

2024/08/08

As of June, the world had seen 13 consecutive months of record-breaking heat. The average global temperature over the last 12 of those months measured 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than the preindustrial era. This means that the world has at least temporarily exceeded the temperature target set forth in the Paris Climate Agreement.Does this mean that climate change has gotten to the point where keeping temperatures below that goal is no longer possible? Not necessarily. Temperatures could drop

2:00

Geological thermal energy storage

Earth Wise ·

2024/08/07

The electricity grid is increasingly using solar and wind power. Depending on those two sources requires the ability to store energy to have on hand when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. Energy needs to be stored away to be used hours, days, or even weeks after it is produced.Energy storage is booming. California has increased its energy storage capacity tenfold in recent times. One day in April, storage batteries were the largest source of electricity in the state for a period

2:00

The end of the Chevron deference

Earth Wise ·

2024/08/06

At the end of June, the US Supreme Court upended 40 years of legal precedent in a ruling that sharply limited the regulatory authority of federal agencies. The so-called Chevron Deference doctrine stated that when a legislative delegation to an administrative agency on a particular issue or question was not explicit but rather implicit, a court may not substitute its own interpretation of the statue for a reasonable interpretation made by the administrative agency. Under the new ruling, courts

2:00

Wind farms and sea farms

Earth Wise ·

2024/08/05

There has been increasing use of agriculture coexisting with solar farms. This dual use of land is a win-win situation. Recently, Danish researchers have been investigating the potential for farming marine products at offshore wind farms. Scandinavia’s largest wind farm, Kriegers Flak, is the site of a four-year-old project in which long lines are stretched between the wind farm’s pylons and are used to grow mussels and seaweed. With the first harvest that has taken place after 18 months, it is

2:00

Clean energy investment at record levels

Earth Wise ·

2024/07/26

According to a new study by the International Energy Agency, global clean energy investment will be nearly twice that of fossil fuels this year. The surging funding for clean energy is being driven by a combination of lower costs for renewable energy and by improving supply chains.In 2024, the world’s investments in energy are expected to surpass $3 trillion dollars for the first time. About $2 trillion of that will be directed at green technologies that include renewable power sources, grids,

2:00

Eliminating plastic shipping pillows

Earth Wise ·

2024/07/17

Anyone who gets packages from Amazon is familiar with the plastic air pillows used to keep products safe in transit. Amazon uses almost 15 billion of them a year in North America.Environmentalists have been urging Amazon and other vendors to cut down on the use of plastic packaging. The air-filled plastic pillows are made from plastic film, which is the most common form of plastic litter found in the sea and in seabeds along the shore. Plastic film can be deadly to wildlife such as sea turtles

2:00

Potential for floating solar

Earth Wise ·

2024/07/16

As installations of utility-scale solar power continue to expand around the world, there is the issue of where to put them. They do take up considerable amounts of space and, in many places, available land is at a premium. An alternative to taking up available land with solar panels is to deploy them on the surfaces of lakes and reservoirs. A study by researchers at Bangor and Lancaster Universities in the UK calculated the potential electrical output for floating photovoltaic installation on

2:00

Dark chocolate is not so dangerous

Earth Wise ·

2024/07/15

Last year, Consumer Reports published a story stating that a third of chocolate products contain potentially dangerous amounts of heavy metals, in particular lead and cadmium. Since it contains much more cacao, dark chocolate was singled out as the most worrisome product. Needless to say, chocolate lovers found this report quite alarming. A new study by Tulane University published in Food Research International employed a larger sample size, expanded the scope of testing to 16 metals, and

2:00

Seashells inspire better concrete

Earth Wise ·

2024/07/10

Mother of pearl – also known as nacre – is a natural material found in certain seashells such as those of oysters and abalone. On the microscopic level, it consists of hexagonal tablets of the hard mineral aragonite glued together by a soft biopolymer. The aragonite gives nacre its strength, and the biopolymer adds flexibility and crack resistance. Scientists at Princeton University have developed innovative composite materials inspired by nacre by utilizing conventional construction materials

2:00

The most endangered marine mammal

Earth Wise ·

2024/07/09

For the better part of a decade, conservationists have been trying to eliminate the use of gill nets by fishermen in the Gulf of California. Species such as the corvina fish have been decimated by the use of this fishing gear. The nets also trap other marine creatures, include the rare and elusive vaquita porpoise. The vaquita is the world’s smallest porpoise, measuring no more than five feet in length. It is the most endangered marine mammal. They live only in the Gulf of California, which is

2:00

Thawing permafrost: Is it a ticking timebomb?

Earth Wise ·

2024/07/08

Permafrost covers about a quarter of the landmass in the Northern Hemisphere. It stores vast quantities of organic carbon in the form of dead plant matter. As long as it stays frozen, it is no threat to the climate. But as it thaws, microorganisms start breaking down that plant matter and large amounts of carbon are released into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide and methane. This process has often been described as a ticking timebomb for the climate. The theory is that once global

2:00

Biofuel refineries and toxic pollution

Earth Wise ·

2024/07/05

There have been decades of government support for renewable, crop-based fuels – primarily corn ethanol. In fact, it is a required component of gasoline sold in this country. The biofuels industry has long claimed ethanol to be a clean, greener alternative to petroleum.There have been arguments all along that the environmental benefits of corn ethanol are dubious at best because of the energy required to produce the stuff. There are also issues related to burning a food crop instead of feeding it

2:00

A brief bout of bad air in Scotland

Earth Wise ·

2024/07/03

Scotland, and the UK in general, used to suffer from sulfur dioxide pollution. Industrial and domestic emissions, especially from burning coal, contributed heavily to urban air leading to the London smog of the 1950s and the acid rain of the 1980s. But national air pollution agreements and various international measures have been highly successful in reducing sulfur dioxide emissions. Desulfurization of coal-fired powerplants and the introduction of ultralow sulfur fuels among other measures have

2:00

Industrial heat and solar power

Earth Wise ·

2024/07/02

Many industrial processes require extremely high temperatures, typically more than 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. This heat is generally produced by burning fossil fuels – either coal or natural gas – which emits large amounts of greenhouse gases. This level of heat cannot be economically produced using renewable electricity. As a consequence, decarbonizing these industrial processes is very difficult.Researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland have recently demonstrated a new method of obtaining

2:00

Benefits of electric school buses

Earth Wise ·

2024/07/01

There are about half a million school buses in use in the U.S. A large number of them are older, highly polluting diesel buses. There are well-established health and climate benefits of switching from diesel vehicles to electric vehicles but making the switch is expensive. Diesel buses generally cost between $65,000 to $120,000, depending on the type and configuration. Electric buses cost about $250,000 each. The substantial cost makes it a difficult decision for local, state, and federal

2:00

Minerals from seawater

Earth Wise ·

2024/06/27

There are about 18,000 desalination plants around the world that take in 23 trillion gallons of water each year. The plants produce more than 37 billion gallons of brine – enough to fill 50,000 Olympic-size swimming pools – every day. Disposing of this brine is an ongoing challenge. Dumping it into the ocean can damage marine ecosystems. Inland desalination plants either bury this waste or inject it into wells, adding further cost and complexity to the already expensive process of

2:00

Around-the-clock clean energy

Earth Wise ·

2024/06/14

Using solar and wind power can go a long way toward replacing fossil fuel-generated electricity, particularly with the addition of battery energy storage. But because of the intermittent nature of both sun and wind, other sources are still needed. There is also the need for ways to produce high temperature for industrial processes. Complete decarbonization will require a host of complementary technologies.A spinout company from MIT called 247Solar is building high-temperature concentrated solar

2:00

Deer vs. caribou

Earth Wise ·

2024/06/13

The combination of a warming climate and human disruption of traditional habitats has been causing changes in the ranges of many animal species. Over the past century, white-tailed deer have greatly expanded their range in North America. Researchers from a group of Canadian institutions have been investigating the expansion of the deer in the boreal forest of Western Canada. A five-year study used 300 wildlife cameras throughout the region to track the activities of large mammals. Climate change

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