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Beware: Organic Carbon in your groundwater is on the Rise!

There have been recent reports, that due to climate change, levels of organic Carbon in our groundwater streams are on the rise. Currently, over half the world’s population faces this “looming threat”. The name of this substance is dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and the higher the concentration of DOC in water, the more difficult and expensive it is to make this groundwater drinkable. These scientists took data from over 32 countries across 6 continents, with a dataset of 9404. We have seen rising of carbon levels in other more specific examples of climate change, for example in the melting of permafrost. We have learned in class that the melting of permafrost causes a rise in carbon emissions into our environment. In another article, scientists discovered that the amount of carbon that is released into the environment from melted permafrost is equivalent to Japan’s carbon emissions in a single year. This issue is continuing to pick up speed, and is constantly accelerating global warming.

https://www.enn.com/articles/62559-natural-contaminant-threat-to-drinking-water-from-groundwater

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/12/12/21011445/permafrost-melting-arctic-report-card-noaa

#water climatechange carbon

The Dangers of Overfishing

Overfishing has been a problem that the environment has been facing for many years, and that is still occurring today. In South Africa specifically, locals are being run out of jobs and the entire ecosystem is changing as certain species are removed from the environment. In an article written by Sukaina Ishmail, they discuss specifically how the overfishing of bronze whaler sharks is threatening the tourism economy in Cape Town. As a response, environmentalists in the area are campaigning for the implementation of marine reserves. Currently, those who run shark-cage activities receive 85,000 tourists a year and have over 250 employees. The run out of bronze whaler sharks could mean a big hit to this tourism.

The reason I chose to look up the effects of overfishing is in the Oceanography class I am currently taking we watched a documentary about the impact that it has globally. 90% of the fish in the ocean have been wiped out. The removal of one species from an environment can mess up the entire ecosystem, for example in Newfoundland when cod was wiped out, the lobster population massively spiked. In addition to this, aquatic farming is not a suitable replacement or response to overfishing because the farmed fish eat more wild fish than fish are farmed. Right now the best way to counteract overfishing is to support the preservation of marine wildlife, although the goal seems unreachable due to the expenses, it is important to try and support organizations that are attempting to create marine preservations. Also eat small fish, such as anchovies, rather than larger ones or fish that are endangered.

Corona outbreak causes a decrease in China’s greenhouse gas emissions

As the coronavirus is currently making its way across the US, the negative effects are surrounding the news. At the moment, China is trying to control the outbreak and mitigate damage. Through this process, their use of fossil fuels has extremely dropped. In 2019, China hit its all-time high of fossil fuel emissions and became the global leader. In the past few weeks, their emissions have dropped by around 25%. The virus has massively decreased China’s demand for air travel and oil. Since 1900, global fossil fuel use has been at a continuous trend upward only really slowing down for periods of economic despair such as the recession of 2008 and the fall of the Soviet Union. This temporary dip in fossil fuel use is about the same amount of emissions that New York State produces in a year. Although there is a current slump in emissions, there is a suspected rebound that will likely make up for and exceed the current deficit. The restriction of travel across China has caused a 40% decrease in NO2 from cars and truck industries.

Is the Clean Air Act Still Working

In 2001 the Environmental Protection Agency instituted the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule. The rule requires the eastern half of the country to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The study also found that premature deaths concerning pollution from transportation and electric generation have been on the decline since 2005. But is that enough?

Unfortunately, no. While there has been a lot of work done to premature deaths related to power generation and transportation pollution, the study found that residential and commercial emissions are now the leading cause of cross-state early deaths.

The study investigated the effects of ozone and fine airborne particles (PM2.5) in the continental U.S. from 2005 to 20018. The study not only found that in New York, but nearly two-thirds of premature deaths are also attributable to pollution from sources in other states. But, air pollution is responsible for five to ten percent of the total annual premature mortality in the continental U.S. Interestingly, most of the pollutants that caused the premature death blew in from other states. For example, ozone and PM2.5 emitted in Wyoming and North Dakota were carried eastward and led to more deaths in eastern states.

Considering that we just took an exam on the six Criteria Pollutants and the Clean Air Act, this article caught my attention because I believed that the Clean Air Act was the only air pollutant regulation on the books. It is uplifting to know that the EPA is still working to introduce more stringent rules and regulations to promote the ever-changing emitters of pollutants. However, there is still more work to be done on emissions from homes and commercial buildings than large industries. This is where individuals can have a significant impact on the environment by improving the efficiency of their homes and businesses.

#clean #air #EPA #criteria pollutants environmental

Net Zero Isn’t Enough to Solve Climate Change

Congress has seemed to latch onto this climate idea of “net-zero” which targets the removal of as much carbon from the atmosphere as is put in by 2050. The “net-zero” plan has a huge red flag; it is being embraced by some of the biggest carbon polluters; why is that? The net-zero plan contains two responses to rising temperatures. The first is to stop releasing GHG’s in the first place and the second is removing CO2 from the atmosphere using “negative emissions technology”. The net-zero plan is met when these two balance out. The problems lie in the uncertainty when these two processes interact. Paying more attention to one could lead to other environmental or social risks. The technology needed for carbon dioxide removal is risky and potentially dangerous. However, the main problem of the net-zero plan is it relies on the “promises of future carbon removal instead of reducing emissions now.” It puts the burden of climate change on future generations. Congress should try to resort to clean energy and push for an honest near-zero target level.

Many environmentalists have opposed nuclear power, citing its dangers and the difficulty of disposing of its radioactive waste. But a Pulitzer Prize-winning author argues that nuclear is safer than most energy sources and is needed if the world hopes to radically decrease its carbon emissions.

Nuclear Power is largely condemned upon worldwide, mainly due to fear of deadly accidents and the problem of nuclear waste disposal. Though nuclear energy is not the whole energy solution, we can not afford to completely ignore it.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of nuclear power? To start, a nuclear power plant only releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere at a similar rate to solar power, which is about 4-5% the amount that a natural-gas plant does. Another benefit is that nuclear operates at much higher capacity factors than any renewable or non-renewable. Nuclear plants in the US operate at full power 92% of the time, while all renewables produce energy less than half the time and coal or gas plants operate roughly half the time. Third, nuclear sources actually release less radiation into the environment, due to the amount of chemicals released in the fly ash of coal around the world.

Some drawbacks are the danger that a nuclear facility meltdown poses, as well as the technological component of waste disposal- “Where are we going to put it?” Investigation into other plant disasters show that failures in hydroelectric plants and gas leakages from other plants pose a much bigger threat to human health than a nuclear plant does.

“Most U.S. spent fuel, more than 90 percent of which could be recycled to extend nuclear power production by hundreds of years, is stored at present safely in impenetrable concrete-and-steel dry casks on the grounds of operating reactors, its radiation slowly declining.” There are obviously political disputes about nuclear waste disposal, but it is already technologically feasible. There is a salt bed, a remain of an ancient sea in the midwest, that could store the nuclear waste of the entire world for the next 1000 years.

The Carbon Fog

Over the past few decades, we have been emitting carbon at very high levels. With about scientist reports that confirm the negative effect it has on us, you would think we would make more drastic changes to lower our carbon emission; but it seems like we have no plan on stopping now. New reports form scientists have stated that there is so much carbon in much atmosphere that the last time we had this much was about 3 million years ago. In the existence of our species, we have never encountered a period that contained as much carbon in our atmosphere, and we are headed into a future of unknown possibilities. Recent reports have stated that there is a new high of carbon in our atmosphere of a ration of 400 ppm. These levels should be entirely unacceptable. We have already seen some of the effects, like the melting of the ice caps. Since the 1950s, the amount of carbon emotion has risen nearly 100ppm. The rapid increase In the amount of Carbon is very alarming for this short period. What makes it worse is that as the years go on, we are also emitting it more frequently. By next year the level of carbon in our atmosphere is esteemed to go up to 17ppm to 417ppm. At this rate, we would go up another 100 ppm in the next 7-8 years. What's next? Four years? Two? If we don’t do something fast, we will be feeling more of the effects in years to come. The main thing that needs to be done is to raise awareness- many countries still emit a lot of carbon and have little to no laws restricting it. By setting a global standard for the world based on environmental ethics, we can make sure everyone is following the rules about keeping the rise of carbon in the atmosphere. We can do this by first starting here in the U.S. through things like Climate protest, holding informational seminars, and supporting/voting for political options that are environmentally aware, and have a plan to attack situations like this.

Due to the fact that Congress has made little to no attempt to tighten its grip on carbon emission, it is evident that we need to do a better job in selecting who leads us. As time goes by, we can only hope that people recognize the potential danger and act. until then, you should try to watch the amount of carbon to emit and help us make a positive step towards a cleaner future. .

Brewing Up Barley and Wheat as the New Plastic

In the 1960s, plastic packaging rings were introduced to the public and what seemingly made holding several bottles or cans much easier began to quickly find its way into our water systems. Many people, including myself, love enjoying a cold beverage while relaxing at the beach or spending the day out on a boat, however the plastic rings ultimately leave waste that is being released into the oceans and causing severe harm to the fish, seabirds, and turtles. Only twenty-four years after this harmful yet convenient invention became a phenomenon, in 1984, the New York Times reported data that shows the severity of this issue. The deaths of seabirds a year averaged from one to two million and more than 100,000 sea mammals were being killed during this same time. Animals and other sea life find themselves entrapped in these rings and are unable to get out, resulting in vast numbers of human caused deaths. Beer companies have been feeling responsible for much of this, being that many of the plastic rings are found on six-packs of beer cans or bottles. Many companies , such as Corona and Carlsberg, have been experimenting with eco-friendly alternatives, but one company located in Delray Beach, FL has shown signs of great success. Saltwater Brewery utilizes wheat and barley ribbon saved from the brewing process, making the rings 100% biodegradable and entirely edible and safe for the turtles and other sea animals. I spent much of my childhood in Florida participating in beach clean ups and turtle preservation efforts, so I truly understand the seriousness of this as well as the reality of it. Just as I would always see, volunteers at a beach cleanup off of Elmer’s Island in 2017 collected more than 170 plastic six-pack packaging rings. The Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans are bordered by 192 countries. These countries alone produced an estimated amount of 275 million tons of plastic waste in 2010 and about eight million tons of this waste entered the oceans. With plastic consumption only increasing, it is predicted that by 2025 plastic waste could reach 400 million tons per year. However, with companies such as Saltwater Brewery working towards environmentally friendly alternatives and now available in major stores like Whole Foods and Publix, there is great hope for the reduction of plastic rings and therefore much more turtle friendly oceans in the future.

Locust Invasion: Swarming the Middle East and Parts of Africa

There have been a series of locust swarms in countries like Kenya and Pakistan. Interestingly, China has suggested using ducks to battle the swarms of locusts, insisting that they can deploy approximately 100,000 ducks to highly infested areas. These locusts have been eating many of the crops growing in these countries, resulting in a lack of substantial crops. According to agricultural experts, “a single duck can eat more than 200 locusts a day and can be more effective than pesticides” (BBC News). There are targeted programs against these locusts, as they have been devastating crops in parts of East Africa and the Middle East. However, the arid conditions of these countries may be problematic for the ducks, as they are dependent on water and wetter environments.

In the last few weeks, swarms of fast-moving desert locusts have taken over the skies, practically blinding villagers and animals on a daily basis. According to scientists, these creatures “can travel over 80 miles in one day” and their swarms that contain “as many as 80 million locust adults in each square kilometer (can) eat the same amount of food daily as about 35,000 people” (New York Times). This is an extreme risk to food security for any country that begins to accumulate this swarm of locusts. These locusts can travel very far in just a singular day, so neighboring countries who have not been affected by their masses have been worried for their crops.

There is now a depletion in the pesticide supply for these countries. China’s suggestion of a “duck army” is said to be in the works, as many countries have declared this locust swarm a state of emergency. As we have discussed in class, however, it would be interesting to know whether placing ducks into an environment to consume the locusts would result in environmental changes.

Kenya creates energy-effective means of water desalination.

Fresh water is still considered to be a luxury product in various parts of the world. “One out of nine people does not have access to clean drinking water”, this is an insane statistic to think about based off how available clean drinking water is to us in the United states. As we have learned through other, we are a financially stable country, we still have access to many good water sources such as rivers, and lakes where other countries do not, and only have access to oceans. Clearly making fresh water into safe drinking water is much easier in countries like the United States, but for countries like Kenya, turning ocean water to safe drinking water is difficult and expensive. Thanks to new technologies though, places around the world are improving. One of the most active NGOs that are trying to fight is the access to clean drinking water, this group is called Give Power and their mission is to install solar power technology that can help countries dealing with drinking water issues. A village in Kenya, called Kiunga, got installed a solar-power desalination system. This machine turns ocean water into drinkable water, and can product 70 thousand liters a day, which is enough 35 people. For Kiunga this is a huge improvement, before this they had to travel 1-hour each way to get water, that was still full of parasites.

Generally, the desalination process requires a lot of chemicals to be added for the process to happen but Give Power has found a solution to not have to add these. Chemicals, from using solar panels, Tesla batteries and water pumps. This is huge technological advancement that will help millions of people around the world.

Jeff Bezos Commits $10 Billion to Address Climate Change

We all know Jeff Bezos to be the richest man in the world, but now we can think of him as a climate change activist too! Amazons Cheif Executive wrote on Instagram that his $10 billion dollar effort will help fund scientists, activists, and non-governmental organizations and that he “wants to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share.” In September of this year, Bezos unveiled the climate pledge, where he announced that Amazon would be carbon-neutral by 2040, meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement 10 years ahead of schedule. Knowing how big Amazon is in not only the U.S. but the world, the impact it has on our environment is huge. Since the fall, Amazon was in the top 150 carbon dioxide emitters in the world next to oil and gas producers. They revealed that they emitted about 44.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2018. Someone as wealthy as Jeff Bezos can impact our climate negatively like he has been, but he can equally impact our climate positively like he did with his fund. I think the richest people in our world should take advantage of the voice they have like he did. Amazon's success skyrocketed and there is no denying that, but Bezos used the opportunity he had to show the world that he understands the impact his company has on our climate.

Bahamas to Rebuild Power Grid Using Solar Energy

Having suffered five Category 5 hurricanes in the last three years, scientists are trying to figure out why hurricanes are becoming more powerful and deadly, with an emphasis on climate change. The devastation that hurricane Dorian has caused nearly 7 months ago sparks a call for various changes to be made, with am emphasis on energy and sustainability. CBS reported a resident of Hope Town, one of the various locations impacted by the recent storms, talking about the devastation and how “generators can be heard all the time” and that the substation in a nearby harbor, which feeds the districts power supply, is destroyed, requiring months of work and reconstruction. Many other small islands in the Bahamas face similar situations after the recent storms, with a total estimated loss of $3.4 billion.

Prime Minister Hubert Minnis believes that the way to restore efficient and sustainable power is through micro-grids, or solar arrays, with batteries that can store power when the sun isn't out. They intend on making these grids extremely wind-resistant to prevent them from being destroyed from potential storms. Prime minister Minnis intends on showing the world what can be done with regard to renewable energy. The Bahamas’ goal is to produce at least 30% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. Natural disasters have devastated the Bahamas, and the plan to create many of these resilient solar arrays could be a potential solution to preventing such a great loss from happening again, in addition to showing the world how to respond and resort to renewable energy.

Mississippi River Project Begins in Massachusetts

There has been documentation of flooding in Louisiana dating back to 1734 and to this day not much has changed. Over the past several years the river banks of the Mississippi River have been receding due to high levels of water. In Louisiana over 2,000 square miles of land have been lost due to rising water levels and sediment. Engineers are working with the state to set up a 50 year plan to restore lost land. The first thought was to restore the wetland but realized it would be nearly impossible to restore it all. The solution to this problem was creating a series of diversions. This would help with flooding. A $4 Million testing facility has been built in Holden Massachusetts in order to test the engineers’ methods on a smaller scale. The testing center is 1/65th of the actual river size and an exact replica of one specific bend. Officials took this approach because they wanted to use a smaller scale to see if their plan was going to be successful rather than spending $1.4 billion on the final project for it not to work. A common experiment that is done at the testing facility involves red dye. The dye allows the engineers to see how the water current flows. This is done to make sure that ships in the “navigation Channel” would not be diverted. They found that they needed to also take the sand and sediment into consideration. In order to do this they manufactured an acrylic based sand that would act similar to the sand in the Mississippi river.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/climate/louisiana-mississippi-river-model.html

https://www.weather.gov/lix/ms_flood_history

Carbon Sucks!

We, yes you and I, face possibly the largest issue in the history of humanity. Climate change...the truthful scientific matter that is not up for debate. While the Paris Accord strives to decrease global emissions and prevent the rise of global temperatures from reaching 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius, scientists aren’t convinced we have looked everywhere for the solutions. Of course an increase in renewables and the popularity of a carbon tax are promising, but what if we could literally suck the carbon dioxide out of our air?

A company called Carbon Engineering is backed by Bill Gates and oil giants like Chevron has created a system that finally makes sense. Fans move carbon dioxide into a chain of various chemical reactions to create synthetic fuels. Previously it cost up to $600 dollars to remove just 1 ton of carbon via this Direct Air Capture process, this has decreased to $100 and is only getting lower. A carbon free synthetic fuel was concocted to support the financial viability of this carbon removal process. In Switzerland, Climeworks is testing the use of these suckers on farms to feed plants in greenhouses.

It is estimated that it would take 250,000 of these to offset current emissions.

The Future of Skiing

In the winter, skiing is a favorite pastime of millions of Americans alone, let alone those who travel to Switzerland, France, or Canada to visit some of the biggest and best ski resorts. Skiing is a huge industry that generates billions of dollars annually, supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, and brings in several billion dollars in salaries.

There’s nothing quite like skiing, anyway; the drop down the mountain, the rush as you speed down the slopes, the memories you create with good friends and family.

Unfortunately, the future of skiing is grim.

Due to rising global temperatures, ski resorts everywhere have already started seeing changes. Porter Fox wrote a grand, sweeping article about the future of snow in America, which he documented on a 1,000-mile road trip through the Cascades and Northern Rockies.

In his travels, Fox spoke to ski shop owners, local ski bums and legends, the director of the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, ski patrollers, snow-boarding icons, and meteorologists to get a grasp on just how large of an impact we will see in coming years.

The general consensus is much the same. Spring arrives almost three weeks earlier now than it did in the 1960’s, spring snowpack in many western states has dropped 50-70% since the early 1900’s, and future projections estimate that two-thirds of highly-prized ski resorts are in danger of closing by 2100. Fox even predicted that by 2100, only four of the 14 major ski resorts in the northeast will be economically viable.

Once detailing the current threats to our ski industry and what the future will look like if no action is taken, Fox leaps into what can be done. In 2007, snowboarder Jeremy Jones founded the organization Protect Our Winters (POW), whose goal is to both save winter sports and to use the “influence, economic clout, and passion of the winter-sports community to push Congress to pass large-scale climate change legislation” (Fox).

POW board member and Aspen Skiing Company Vice President of Sustainability Auden Schendler discusses much of what our Environmental Science class discusses; the idea that there must be a national price on carbon and action taken by the EPA to reduce emissions. He talks about how there must be incentives for clean energy, and how we need to have state and national energy standards. Fox then speaks about energy, and how there are choices beyond coal-fired plants that are clean and do not do damage.

One statement from Fox’s article really stood out to me: “With all of the incurable things on the planet—cancer, Alzheimer’s, frostbite—it seems odd that the one thing humanity knows how to fix is the one that might be the most damaging.” This statement is kind of a shocker, because it’s so accurate; we know what needs to be done, we have predictions of what will happen if no action is taken, and yet it is taking years and years to take the necessary steps.

Fox’s article is a strong, poignant piece highlighting both the love of winter sports and the bleak future that awaits us if action is not taken in the present. Without strict regulations and standards today, we look at a hot, dry, snow-less and ski-less future.

Climate change is affecting industries and individuals everywhere, and we need strong action from global leaders today to steer us into the bright, clean future that we know is possible-- but only if we work together, and take action now.

Wastewater utilities object to Democratic proposals in Congress that could hold them liable for the cost of PFAS removal.

This article talks about the question of who is liable for the cost of PFOA removal. It discusses a current push from congress to declare PFOAs "hazardous substances" under the Superfund Act. This could potentially hold wastewater facilities responsible for PFOA contamination. Wastewater facilities argue that they should be exempt from the bill because their facilities only act as conduits to the chemical since they do not produce it. The other part of the article discusses a potential lawsuit filed by environmental groups in North Carolina. They want to sue the city of Burlington and their wastewater utilities for not removing PFOAs before they enter a nearby river. I found this article interesting because although I think the industries should be held accountable for their pollution, the wastewater facilities should not be allowing these chemicals to pass through their systems without being removed/treated.

#wastewater treatment

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