Good, Bad, Ugly is a weekly roundup of environmental news published every Friday.
Between quickly vanishing glaciers in western Antarctica, millions of coral deaths on the Great Barrier Reef and yet another milestone CO2 record, it was a profoundly devastating week for the environment. Perhaps most terrifying of all, a new report by the World Wildlife Fund argues that two-thirds of vertebrate life will vanish by the year 2020 if we don’t immediately take action.
On the flip side, solar and wind power are thriving. And while Antarctica’s glaciers are melting at an alarming clip, 24 countries just reached a landmark agreement to create a massive marine park in the nearby Ross Sea. We’re also finding pretty genius ways to tackle some of the planet’s biggest problems, like using rats to stop wildlife trafficking and by turning carbon into concrete.
There may be hope yet.
The Good
Half a million solar panels were installed every day in 2015, confirming we’re in the midst of a renewable energy revolution. (Photo: Scott Web / Unsplash)
We’re In the Midst of a Renewable Energy Revolution
A report released by the historically-pessimistic International Energy Agency all but declares that we’re currently enjoying a renewable energy revolution powered by the success of wind and solar. The report is full of eye-popping statistics, like the fact that more than half a million solar panels were installed every day in 2015. For the first time ever, renewables generate more power than coal. The progress is the result of shifting policy from big polluters, advances in technology and lower costs.
Vast Swath of Antarctica’s Seas Protected For the Next 35 Years
Fishing will be banned for the next three-and-a-half decades in a new, 1.4-million-acre marine park in Antarctica’s Ross Sea. The massive victory in marine conservation is the result of an agreement reached by 24 countries at the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). As the first marine park created in international waters, it could become a blueprint for future conservation efforts.
Turning Carbon Into Concrete
The Carbon Upcycling team at UCLA’s school of engineering is testing a process where carbon emissions from factories are converted into a cement-like substance that can be used to produce concrete.
Rats the Size of Cats Could Help Fight Wildlife Trafficking
The US is spending a cool $100,000 training rats to detect scales of the highly-trafficked pangolin using only their sense of smell. The same African pouched rats have been used to find TNT and diagnose tuberculosis. If the program goes well, the practice of using rodents to stop trafficking could go mainstream.
Seaweed vs. Livestock Flatulence
Scientists laced some livestock feed with seaweed and found that it reduced methane emissions from a group of sheep by a staggering 80 percent. That’s big news considering livestock burps and farts account for 5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge now will be farming seaweed on an unprecedented scale.
The EPA Vows to Do More For Communities of Color
The Environmental Protection Agency is trying to reverse its poor record on civil rights by paying more attention to communities of color facing disproportionately high rates of pollution. The agency revealed a four-year plan focusing on lead poisoning and air pollution among other issues. The response has been mixed. Victims of environmental injustice remain skeptical due to the EPA’s history of inaction.
Farm Grows a Whole Bunch of Tomatoes Using Just Seawater and the Sun
Sundrop Farm in Austrailia is using advanced hydroponic systems to grow 15 percent of Australia’s tomatoes without using agricultural essentials like soil and freshwater. The sustainable process is also fossil-fuel free.
Exxon Mobil is Spiraling Toward Irrelevance
Exxon Mobil’s clinginess to fossil fuels has led the company toward “irreversible decline.” The oil giant faces plummeting oil prices, mounting debt and a string of costly lawsuits accusing it of hiding evidence linking fossil fuels to climate change.
The Bad
The Dakota Access Pipeline is sparking protests across the US. (Photo: Fibonacci Blue / Flickr)
Donald Trump is All Tied Up in the Dakota Acess Pipeline Mess
It turns out Donald Trump invested in Energy Transfer Partners, which operates the Dakota Access Pipeline. That company’s CEO, Kelcy Warren, donated $103,000 to Trump and $66,800 to the Republican National Committee. The pipeline is mired in controversy because of its environmental impact, and because its planned construction runs through land sacred to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
Protests Against Pipeline Flare Up
Speaking of the Dakota Access Pipeline, demonstrations continue to intensify, with police in riot gear forcibly removing protesters. Authorities used bean-bag rounds, pepper spray and really annoying, high-pitched sounds to disperse demonstrators, who hurled molotov cocktails in return. Private security guards who allegedly used attack dogs and pepper spray on protesters may face charges.
A ‘Strange Pumping Effect’ Is the Latest Thing We Have to Worry About
A “weird phenomenon” is sending nasty pollutants from India and China swirling 18 kilometers into the stratosphere. Once there, the pollutants — like aerosals — could spread globally and destroy the ozone layer. The “strange pumping effect” is the result of the area’s unique geography. Pollutants pile up in the foothills before riding monsoonal winds into the atmosphere.
Deserts in Spain?
A new study claims that parts of southern Spain could become desert by the beginning of the next century if greenhouse gas emissions continue unchecked. Even if everyone lives up to their end of the Paris Agreement, southern Europe can still expect to see an increase in deserts that is unprecedented in the last 10,000 years.
Environmentally-Friendly Oil Drilling?
Ecuador’s government is extracting 23,000 barrels of oil every day from Yaksuni National Park. They claim to be doing little environmental damage by using the latest drilling technology and enforcing strict regulations. Environmentalists are dubious. Kevin Koenig, the Ecuador Program Director at Amazon Watch, criticized the government for its lack of transparency, claiming that independent scientists and journalists are barred from the drilling site.
The Ugly
Sea ice loss in West Antarctica. (Photo: NASA)
Arctic Sea Ice is Melting at an Alarming Rate
There is enough ice in West Antaractica to raise global sea levels by ten feet — and it’s melting fast. Research now suggests that ocean warming is partly to blame for a spell of melting that saw glaciers lose more than a 1,000 feet of ice in just seven years. This is especially ugly news because the warmer ocean waters are weakening ice shelves that block glaciers from spilling out to sea. Once the ice shelves are gone, the glaciers will pour into the sea and retreat. If the specific glaciers scientists are particularly concerned about in the Amundsen Sea region melt completely, global sea levels would rise by four feet.
Mass Extinction Could Claim Two-Thirds of Vertebrates by 2020
A shocking report from the World Wildlife Fund paints a bleak future, warning that two-thirds of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles could vanish by 2020. An explosion in population growth is driving the mass extinction and straining Earth’s resources. In order to avoid such a catastrophic loss of biodiversity, we need to protect more land and water and change the way we eat.
Great Barrier Reef Devastated
A little more than two weeks after Outside Magazine published the Great Barrier Reef’s obituary, scientists are reporting devastating levels of coral death in areas that were once some of the reef’s mosts pristine. Warm water linked to climate change is responsible for the bleaching, which killed millions of corals.
Global Co2 Levels Set Yet Another Climate-Change Record
CO2 levels in the atmosphere reached 400 ppm on average across the entire year for the first time ever in 2015. Experts don’t expect CO2 levels to drop below that number for generations. The World Meteorological Organization is calling this “a new era of climate change reality.” The jump was to some degree exacerbated by El Nino, but is mostly the result of a sharp increase in greenhouse gas emissions over the past few decades. How far down the rabbit hole have we come? CO2 levels prior to the Industrial Revolution were 278 ppm. Yikes.
The post Good, Bad, Ugly: Mass Extinction, Vanishing Glaciers And a ‘Strange Pumping Effect’ appeared first on Planet Experts.