Too Much CO2

Many scientists have suggested planting more trees to collect excess carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, but there is not enough room. Thirty to forty billion tons of CO2 are emitted into the atmosphere each year. The entire contiguous United States with trees to capture about 10% of the CO2 emitted. There is not enough room on the planet to have farmland to feed the population and plant the necessary number of trees capture the necessary amount of CO2 that would help meet the goals set by the Paris Agreement.

The Goals set by the Paris Agreement are to keep the global temperature increase to well below two degrees Celsius while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to one and a half degrees. With the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere rising, the global temperature will continue to rise as well. Researchers from Columbia University have been looking at how plants handle climate change, and the results are not good. Plants that live in extreme conditions, with frequent droughts or heat waves, cannot absorb as much CO2 as plants in a stable environment. The researchers found that plants are only absorbing half as much carbon as they would if climate change was not happening. 

There have been many efforts to try and curb the increase in carbon dioxide found within the atmosphere. In July of 2016, 800,000 volunteers in India planted fifty million tree saplings. This is a very good first start in a reduction in CO2 levels, but this would have to be replicated 800 times in order to cancel out the CO2 created by humans. Many countries have regulations that require logging companies top replace the trees that are cut. In the United States, it is estimated that three-quarters of all trees planted in 2017 were planted by forest products companies and private timberland owners.

We are coming to a point where new legislation has to be passed to reduce the amount of CO2 produced every year. The trees around the globe are no longer enough to slow down or stop climate change.

Continue reading

Ozone Layer Depletion

The ozone layer is an invisible layer of protection around the planet that protects us from the sun’s harmful rays. This crucial layer is depleting because of pollution, mainly Chlorine and Bromide found in Chloro-floro carbons (CFCs). When these toxic gases reach the upper atmosphere, they make holes in the ozone layer. The biggest hole is above Antarctica.

Layers of the atmosphere

In the 1970s, ozone depletion was a huge concern. Several countries, including the United States, banned the use of CFCs as aerosol propellants. However, global production of CFCs has grown rapidly as new uses were found for these chemicals. Refrigeration, fire suppression, and foam insulation are the major uses for these chemicals today. When these items are thrown away and/or broken, the CFCs get released into the atmosphere.

One atom of chlorine can destroy more than 100,000 ozone molecules. This is a major issue because the ozone cannot be replaced fast enough. The hole over Antarctica reoccurs every year from August to October. Recently NASA scientists have documented proof that the hole is actually recovering because of the CFC phase-down. If efforts keep pushing to use fewer CFCs, the ozone layer is projected to heal in the (non-polar) Northern Hemisphere by the 2030s. The Southern Hemisphere will heal by the 2050s and the polar regions by 2060.

 

Continue reading

Coastal Erosion in New England

Over the last 150 years, there has been a 68% erosion of beaches within the Mid Atlantic and New England regions. Recently, Nor’Easters, hurricanes, and other coastal storms have increased in frequency and size. When large storms hit, parts of the beaches are swept away. Beaches in the Mid-Atlantic and New England are eroding about 1.6 feet per year. The worst case was found in southern Virginia where the coast eroded about 60 feet per year. These alarming rates have inspired some towns to take their own initiative.

Many coastal towns have started bringing new sand to their beaches in order to reconstruct the damage. Beach restorations are slowing erosion, on a minor scale. Recent studies have shown that these efforts have dropped the percentage of beach erosion from 68% to 60%. In New Jersey researches found that houses crammed agast beaches have also slowed erosion. All of these restoration efforts cost thousands of dollars and only offer a short-term improvement. Major storms will continue to strengthen and sea levels will continue to rise making it hard to stop or slow the erosion.

Sea level rise is also a huge problem when it comes to beach erosion. The sea level is projected to rise 3 feet, by the end of the century. If the sea level continues to rise at a rapid rate most of the coast will be underwater in the near future. More than 90 coastal communities are already battling repeated flooding. In less than 20 years, that number is expected to roughly double to more than 170 communities. As the sea level continues to rise and the coastal storms continue to strengthen many communities, in New England and the Mid-Atlantic, will need to evacuate because of erosion and flooding.

Continue reading

Surprising Truth Behind Corn Production

Corn is one of the most widely produced and consumed crops in the world. One Washington Post article by Roberto A. Ferdman stated, “The grain is so ubiquitous that it would take longer to list the foods that contain traces of it than to pinpoint the ones that don’t.” Corn is used in everything but is not sustainably farmed. Corn production involves inefficient water usage, causes runoff from pesticides, and impacts sensitive land areas.

When corn is growing, many pesticides are sprayed. Once the plants get watered, runoff is created and ends up in the nearest body of water. If corn production continues to rise, the Mississippi riverbed nitrogen pollution will increase 34% over the next couple of years. Mass production of corn also wastes tons of water. Seven to eight thousand gallons of water are lost daily from evaporation alone. States like Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas have seen a drop in groundwater because of the high corn production. Continuing to produce corn on a large scale will eventually dry up the groundwater and pollute many important bodies of water from pesticide runoff.

Another huge problem is the impact corn production has on sensitive land areas. Modern machine irrigation and pesticides have killed the idea of crop rotation. In the past, the crops were rotated to keep different parts of the land healthy for the next year. If the soil gets overworked, it will become unusable and nothing will be able to grow on it. This is happening in many places where corn if farmed regularly.

Corn is a huge product that is consumed all over the world. If corn production keeps moving in the same direction, there will be many environmental consequences. A few states have seen a large decrease in groundwater and a large increase in pesticide pollution. These are the biggest problem because if the groundwater gets used and the pesticides keep polluting major bodies of water, many ecosystems will be damaged and organisms will die. Another issue is the overworking of the soil causes unuseable conditions for production. This will cause many parts of the U.S. dead old farms where nothing can grow.

Continue reading

Tree Mortality in the Rocky Mountain Forests

Rising temperatures and lack of rain are causes hundreds of thousands of trees to die in the Rocky Mountains forests. Global warming has boosted existing stresses that will eventually cause a dramatic reduction in the number of tree species. The main causes for the mass tree casualties include bark beetle infestation and higher wildfire risk. The mortality rate of trees has doubled in old-growth, with no compensating increase in the number of seedlings.

Increasing temperatures are reducing the amount of water available for the trees to flourish. Earlier snowmelt and snowpack reduction produce enough water for the beginning of the growing season, but by the end of the season, there is a shortage. Drier Conditions make the soil unable to sustain the tree life growing within. Poor soil quality makes it hard for the seedlings to grow, so the tree population does not expand easily. By 2060, the soil is projected to be climatically unsuitable. Lack of rain also causes better conditions for a wildfire. The percentage of wildfires has exploded to 73% more frequently, which translates to 18 more every year. As the temperature increases, conditions become drier causing more trees to suffer each year.

Bark Beetles are one of the biggest killers. Warming temperatures cause the beetles to reproduce more within the population. The beetles burrow into the trees and eventually kill them. The U.S. Forest Service estimates that around 100,000 trees die every day in southern Wyoming and northern Colorado alone because of bark beetle infestation. In order for this number to decrease, the population of beetles needs to stop growing.

If the global temperature continues to rise and the conditions continue to become drier, the population of trees in the Rocky Mountain forests will soon diminish.

Continue reading

Melting Glaciers

When climate change is discussed, melting glaciers are usually the main topic. In 1910, President Taft created Glacier National Park. It used to be home to about 150 glaciers. Since the creation, that number has decreased to less than 30 glaciers, and many of the ones remaining have shrunk by two-thirds. Scientists predict that within the next 30 years most, if not all, of the glaciers in the park will disappear.

Glacier National Park is not the only location impacted by climate change. Ice is changing everywhere on Earth. Snow on Kilimanjaro, glaciers in the Himalayas, and even the Arctic sea ice have all been melting and alarming rates. These are places where the snow and ice are common and usually stays around for most of the year. The rapid melting is extremely alarming to scientists, researchers, and even just the residents.

When all of this ice melts, the water travels to the oceans causing sea level rise. Sea level rise is dangerous because if the water gets high enough many coastal cities will be washed away. The main driver for sea level rise is the melting ice sheet in Greenland and the Arctic sea. When large chunks of ice break away from a land mass, the sea level rises. So, with the Earth’s temperature increasing there are many large ice chunks breaking away from land causing a mass rising all over the globe. Continue reading

Are Electric Cars Better?

Many people just assume that an electric vehicle produces less greenhouse gas emissions than a gas car. The actual daily use of an electric car is creating very little emissions compared to a gas car. But when you look at the entire life span of an electric car, from manufacturing all the way to a junkyard, you would see a huge difference.

The manufacturing of an electric car takes double the energy and has twice as much impact on the environment than a gas car. Disposing of the battery is also very harmful to the environment. Tesla has a battery recycling program for all of the cars they produce, but all of the cars are not brought to this and all the other manufacturers do not have this process. Tesla takes back the old batteries and breaks them down for their raw material to use again. This batter recycling process actually works well when it is done correctly. But not every company recycles and not all batteries are brought back to be recycled.

In the world of gas cars, technology is being improved all the time. Gasoline vehicle efficiency is improving by nearly 4% per year. Electric car companies are not making any improvements to their efficiency at all.

Greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide, are one of the leading factors causing climate change and the greenhouse effect. Air pollutants can be deposited into the soil, water, and the air causing huge impacts on the ecosystem and all-around life in certain areas.

The manufacturing process is harmful to the environment and really causes the electric car industry to produce more carbon dioxide emissions than gas cars. Carbon dioxide is linked to the greenhouse effect raising the overall temperature of the globe and killing much of the ocean life. If change is not implemented soon, climate change will get even worse and many ecosystems throughout the world will be destroyed.

Continue reading

Climate Change is Making Hurricanes Stronger

With climate change impacting temperatures all over the world, there has been a drastic change in the power and frequency of hurricanes. The reason for this is the warming of our oceans. The hurricanes feed off of the warm water and become stronger. If they continue to get stronger many lesser developed countries are going to have major problems recovering. And even places in the United States will feel the impact.

Satellite image of Hurricane Maria *

Puerto Rico has been hit by a couple of powerful hurricanes in the past few years. The damage has not only impacted the residents but the ecosystem as well. A new study being conducted by the University of New Hampshire found extremely high levels of nitrate in streams and watersheds.

Plants thrive on nitrate, but when too much is present, it is bad for the ecosystem as a whole. If the nitrate makes its way into the ocean, huge portions of the ecosystem of the coast, even the trees, and plants that live around the island will be hurt and can even be destroyed completely.

Much of the excess nitrate comes from fertilizers and other agricultural equipment. When the hurricanes rip through the island, runoff happens and all of the terrible chemicals from all around wash into the nearest body of water.

This terrible rampage of natural disasters caused by climate change need to be stopped as soon as possible or life on this planet will soon diminish. Continue reading

Coral Bleaching

Coral bleaching is a major issue around the world. Bleaching happens when the ocean water gets too warm for the coral. Corals are thermally sensitive, so they can only tolerate a small range of temperature. With climate change warming up our oceans, coral reefs are bleaching all over the world.

Zooxanthellae are marine algae that live inside coral and provide them with color and energy. If the temperature becomes too warm, the algae die. When the algae die, coral tissue becomes transparent, showing white coral skeleton.

 

Bleached coral

Healthy coral

In recent decades, the Great Barrier Reef has experienced two major bleaching events. These happened in the summers of 1998 and 2002 when, respectively, 42% and 54% of reefs were affected by bleaching. In 2005, the United States lost half of its reefs in the Caribbean because of a major bleaching event.

Bleaching is a huge step towards death in the life of coral. Without coral, there is a loss of habitat for mass amounts of sea life. While coral is being bleached and dying all throughout the Earth’s oceans, the animals that live on them are losing a home.

One of the biggest ways we can help to slow the beaching is awareness. If people learn about what is actually happening and understand how large of a problem it is, then policies can be put into place. The ocean is a huge mystery to basically all people who do not study it. Knowledge and understanding are the biggest allies to help end coral bleaching and prevent any further damage. Continue reading