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Animal farming pollution contributes to roughly ~13,000 deaths annually (subtitle: another reason to go vegan)

5/11/2021

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Published on-line yesterday ahead of the May 18 issue of the journal PNAS, a peer-reviewed study titled “Air quality-related health damages of food” reports nearly 16,000 annual deaths from agricultural air pollution, of which 80% or nearly 13,000 are attributable to animal farming. Here’s some science for you: ammonia and ultrafine particulate matter are the big culprits, with minor contributions from nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and VOCs. Ammonia is a severe respiratory tract irritant and can be lethal at high levels. Ultrafine particulates are able to get deep into the lungs, damaging the delicate membranes across which gases are exchanged. The ultrafine particulates can also get into the bloodstream and cause heart problems. Nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide both contribute to acid deposition and are respiratory tract irritants. VOCs is a broad category of volatile organic compounds, many of which are carcinogenic. Not included in this study was hydrogen sulfide, associated with the breakdown of animal waste in manure lagoons. Hydrogen sulfide is also a respiratory tract irritant and can cause neurological impairment with prolonged exposure. So all in all, a nasty mix of stuff being spewed into our atmosphere by industrial animal farms. 
It’s, of course, not news to me that animal agriculture produces air pollution (I have my students read an article about manure lagoons and airborne pollutants every year). The quantification of the number of deaths per year that are caused by the pollution was surprising. Not touched on in this article is that farm workers (often underpaid, un- or underinsured) and the rural communities surrounding these farms bear the brunt of this pollution. Many of those communities are primarily low-income and high percentage of people of color. This pollution is yet another example of environmental racism. Farm workers in factory farms are also subjected to terrible working conditions and on-the-job health hazards. And then there’s the greenhouse gas emissions: carbon dioxide from combustion of fossil fuels to power all the farm equipment, methane emitted from cows themselves, methane emitted from the decomposition of animal waste in manure lagoons, and nitrous oxide emitted from the breakdown of fertilizers used to grow feed for animals. As a reminder, the UN and other groups have advocated for a shift to plant-based diets as an important solution in the climate crisis.  
Add in the health and economic benefits, all in all, I think the arguments for a plant-based diet far outweigh any arguments for the continued consumption of animal products. Some of you will respond “but I like cheese too much.” (That’s the excuse I hear the most.) Well, there are plant-based alternatives to cheese now, some of them are quite fancy. But I’ll also say that you can wean yourself off of animal products gradually for a more successful transition. Start with the cliche “meat-free Monday” and gradually move to more and more vegan meals every week. It’s also ok if you “cheat” once in awhile. My parents are mostly vegan with the occasional splurge for a “real cheese” pizza or a piece of salmon for my father. The key is for most people to eat mostly plants as much as possible. The outcomes would be a healthier population (and less money spent on healthcare systems), a healthier planet, and less cruelty towards animals. You can do it! There are so many resources on the internet and so many great cookbooks on bookstore shelves. My current favorite cookbook is The Effortless Vegan by Sarah Nevins. Everything I’ve tried from it has been a hit! A good place to start on-line is the Forks Over Knives website. They have lots of recipes plus lots of articles on plant-based nutrition. You can also check out the Game Changers documentary on Netflix. It focuses on the benefits of plant-based diets for top athletes, but is very relatable. Of course, just Googling “vegan meals” will get you a million hits and lots of tasty stuff to drool over on-line. I actually feel like I have so many more food options than non-vegans that are stuck in the “meat and potatoes” mindset. So try experimenting with new things. Have some vegan food adventures! ​
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Forest bathing...apparently it's a thing and I do it

5/9/2021

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The first time I heard the term “forest bathing” there was an exaggerated eye roll and a muttering about new-age yuppie nonsense. But it turns out that I go forest bathing all the time. It’s called a nice long walk in the woods by myself. Today I did just that. And what a walk! It was a perfect spring day in my Boston suburb. The sun was out with a slight breeze, low 70s. Almost as soon as I entered the Town Forest, a hundred acre oasis just down the street from me, nature started putting on a show. Red-winged black birds were calling from the fringing freshwater wetland. A pair of cardinals flirted along the trail. A common flicker stared me down at eye level from a forked tree trailside. Then I heard a rustling in the leaves. I thought I’d spy a little garter snake, but instead it was a very busy mole. Then a Baltimore oriole flew across the trail in front of me, a brilliant splash of fiery orange against the new green of the leaves. It was quiet for a while after that first flurry of activity. I just enjoyed the solitude and the smell of the newly unrolled ferns. I meandered from this trail to that for an hour or so, occasionally getting scolded by a chipmunk and listening to the calls of chickadees and a couple of spring peepers. Towards the end of my walk I passed a man and his dog. Not long after a coyote ran across the trail and up into the forest. I assume it was spying on the dog and then was startled by me. It ran through the underbrush so quickly and with such agility. Blending well with the environment. If it hadn’t made so much noise on all the dead leaf litter, I never would have seen it. 
     These moments with nature are what are at stake. Will I someday walk through the forest and not hear the phoebe whistle of a chickadee or the high-pitched peep, peep, peep of a spring peeper because they have shifted farther north? In this time of COVID, I’ve been thinking lately that our species is the longest running pandemic on the planet. We infect nearly every ecosystem. Some other organisms can adapt to our presence, others succumb to our impacts, but all are affected. Viruses and other parasites typically evolve to become less deadly to their hosts, thus ensuring the genetic survival over time. At what point will we mutate en masse and become less deadly to the rest of the world? At what point will we realize that we must change to ensure our own survival? I believe we have a moral obligation to make/keep the world a livable place for all living things. 
     We’re in a critical time. The scientists of the IPCC are calling for urgent action by 2030 to limit warming to 1.5C or we risk catastrophic damage (there will still be lots of damage at 1.5C, the train has already left the station). I’m lucky to live in a state where I know I can count on my legislators to fight for climate mitigation legislation, but I still call and write to them to remind them to keep this issue at the forefront of their work. If you live in a state in which you cannot say the same about your legislators, try to do something about that. Call them regularly to support “green” legislation. Grow a network of activists that will do the same. There is power in numbers. The more constituents they hear from, the more likely they are to take action. And if they won’t change their minds on climate change, then work to replace them in the next election. As Al Gore says, “in America, political will is a renewable resource.” and “Fight like your world depends on it, because it does.” Do help with your part, check out the websites of your local chapters of 350.org and the Sierra Club. Both organizations keep up-to-date lists of climate and other environmental legislation in state legislatures. The national chapters also send alerts about national legislation to lobby for. 

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Freaking out about forest loss

4/26/2021

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This past weekend, as a mentor for the Climate Reality Project’s Climate Reality Leadership Corps Virtual US training, I was watching a broadcast by former Vice President Gore of his most updated climate change presentation. At one point, he had a slide up for just a few seconds showing forest losses by driving force (urbanization, agriculture, forestry, etc). I knew that deforestation driven by commodities was wreaking havoc on rainforests, so that part of the map was not a surprise. But I was astounded by the losses of forest to wildfires across Canada and Alaska. Extensive wildfires in cold places? What is going on? The slide was up so briefly, that I had to go back and look again. The source of the map was a group called Global Forest Watch, so naturally I had to go to the source. Global Forest Watch has an interactive map on their website. I went into the menu for land cover and chose “tree cover loss by dominant driver.” This is what came up for North America:
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There is a similar trend across Russia; wildfires are driving a lot of forest loss. Fires in boreal forests are not a new occurrence, but they are happening at higher frequency, most likely due to human-caused global warming. Warmer, drier conditions are highly correlated with fire frequency. This is worrisome because northern forests play a big role in carbon sequestration plans for countries trying to meet Paris Agreement emission targets. Of course you know this already, but when forests burn, they release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, and they result in the loss of the best carbon removal system we have going for us: trees. This is predicted to get worse in the future, of course, as temperatures rise even more and precipitation patterns shift. This is part of a positive feedback loop that is ramping up the speed of change. Don’t confuse “positive” for good here. A positive feedback loop is a phenomenon in which there is a reinforcing/intensifying  cycle. In this case, since the atmosphere is warmer and drier, there are more fires in the boreal forest. Those fires release carbon dioxide which causes the atmosphere to warm faster and the loss of forest results in reduced precipitation (trees are a vital part of the water cycle!), creating drier conditions. Now it’s warmer and drier, so more fires occur, and so on and so forth.
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What can we do? You know the drill. Personal actions add up (plant-based diet, reduced energy use, reduced plastic use, composting, etc, etc); make changes to your own lifestyle and have (gentle) conversations with your friends and family about how they can make changes to their lifestyles. Activism is also critical right now. The Biden administration has committed to action on greenhouse gases. We have to apply pressure at all levels of the government to make sure they follow through. Urge your federal legislators to support the proposed jobs and infrastructure bill that includes provisions for renewable energy, grid updates to support renewables, retrofitting of buildings to reduce energy use, etc. Check to see what climate-related bills have been introduced to your state legislature and call your state reps and senators to sponsor and vote for those bills. 
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Side note, it was my Climate Reality Leadership Corps training a couple of years ago in Atlanta that inspired this blog. There is so much bad news about climate, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and fall into despair. The training renewed a bit of hope for me. It’s helpful to work with and be around other people that share the same concerns and the same desire to do something. If you are feeling overwhelmed by it all, I encourage you to join a group, do a training, etc. It will help to be part of something bigger than yourself.
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A new chapter

1/21/2021

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Like many other Americans, I watched the inaugurations of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris yesterday with joy and an immense sense of relief. The past four years were a nightmare for those of us who value democracy, the environment, and human rights. 
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As I have written previously, the past four years marked dangerous rollbacks in environmental regulations going back decades. Yesterday President Biden (it feels so good to write that!) took the first step in dragging us up out of a deep, dark hole by signing an executive order to get the U.S. back into the Paris Agreement. 

​Photo by Tim Brenner of Reuters, posted on the CNBC website.

With the creation of a cabinet-level position of a climate envoy (John Kerry) and a national climate advisor (Gina McCarthy), Biden is setting a much needed tone of urgency in his administration. I woke up this morning feeling like we have finally turned the page and entered a new, more hopeful chapter. Of course there is MUCH work to be done on many fronts (the pandemic, racial and social justice, immigration, and the economy) but we now have an administration focused on improving the country, not television ratings and other narcissistic endeavors.

Additional, unrelated note, it was awesome to watch the first woman vice president to be sworn into office and we couldn't have dreamed a more qualified woman to fill that role than Kamala Harris.
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Photo by AP/MEGA posted on the Deadline website.
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The grasslands formerly known as the Amazon rainforest

12/29/2020

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How did I miss this story? Apparently it came out in October, so I guess I was a bit preoccupied with the election circus. I assume it flew under the radar for a lot of other people too. Here it is: on the scale of just a few decades, the combination of climate change and deforestation will likely result in the conversion of tropical rainforest to grassland in the Amazon. This article in The Guardian summarizes a peer reviewed study and aptly explains why/how this will happen. (Side note: The Guardian is one of my favorite sources for environmental stories. Of course, they’re all depressing stories that further chip away at any optimism I have left, but they are well done and it’s one of the few media outlets that seem to really focus on climate issues.)

I can’t say I’m surprised by this study (here’s a link to the original publication) but it’s deeply upsetting nonetheless. Tropical rainforests are often referred to as the “earth’s lungs”. While ⅔ of our oxygen actually comes from microorganisms in the ocean, tropical rainforests contribute a significant amount of oxygen to the atmosphere (20%) and, maybe more importantly, store carbon out of the atmosphere in all those huge, beautiful old trees. What does the loss of the Amazon rainforest mean for the planet? Many things, including 
  • A release of up to 140 billion tons of carbon to the atmosphere (Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies). 
  • A loss of 10% of the earth’s total biodiversity (25% of the terrestrial biodiversity), including thousands of plants that produce compounds of medicinal value  (World Wildlife Federation).
  • A loss of precipitation to surrounding areas (this means reduced agriculture in South America.
(Note: Thomas Lovejoy, prominent ecologist, gave an informative interview on some of the ramifications of biodiversity loss and precipitation changes. Read that here.)

Let’s start with the carbon emissions. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s, approximately 375 billion tons of carbon dioxide have been emitted from human activities (World Meteorological Society). This has contributed to the warming of the planet and resulting increases in extreme weather (droughts, wildfires, hurricanes) and sea level rise. Note that 140 billion tons of carbon would likely enter the atmosphere with the conversion of rainforest to grassland. That’s nearly 40% of all the carbon that we have already contributed to the atmosphere but in a fraction of the time it took to get to this point. We thought we were already seeing rapid change. Buckle up everybody. 

Let’s move on to the projected biodiversity loss. I’ve covered the importance of biodiversity loss in an older post (May 14, 2019) so I won’t rehash here. But needless to say, the scope of biodiversity loss that we face with the loss of the rainforest is very worrisome. Think about the potential cancer treatments that could be found in plants that grow only in the rainforest. Think about all the colorful frogs, the fascinating primates, the leaf cutter ants, the gorgeously colored birds, the rare orchids, I could go on and on (obviously, 10% of earth’s total biodiversity likely = millions of species). All that genetic potential, all that beauty will be gone.  Let’s not forget all of the species that have yet to be discovered in the rainforest and all the indigenous people that live in and depend on the rainforests. 

Then there’s the trees themselves. The trees of the rainforest actually generate about 40% of the precipitation that falls there and in surrounding areas of South America. When the trees are gone and the rainfall with it, conflicts over water resources will increase and agricultural outputs will diminish. This is a recipe for mass migration. Millions of people will be displaced, likely to North America. If conservatives in this country are upset about the current immigrant situation, they are going to be beside themselves in a couple of decades. We haven’t seen anything yet.

So, what is to be done? Well, first and foremost we need to vastly reduce greenhouse gas emissions so that we don’t fulfill the “worst case scenario” predictions of the IPCC and other models. You know how to do that: eat a vegan diet, use less energy, buy local foods, advocate for legislative change, etc. All the things I’ve mentioned in previous posts. A plant-based/vegan diet (you can do it! It’s so easy and tasty and healthy!) not only reduces your carbon footprint, but your land footprint as well. In the Amazon, deforestation is driven primarily by animal agriculture (see also this article). A global reduction in the demand for beef would slow destruction of the rainforest. In addition, the Rainforest Alliance recommends some other daily actions that individuals can take. 
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Headlines

12/13/2020

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So, it’s been a while since I’ve written anything. To be honest, this “election season” plus COVID and dealing with the school year have just really gotten me down. My stress levels have been through the roof and I have not slept through the night in months. I know that I’m not unusual. Everyone is feeling like this. One bright spot is the recent news that Biden is installing John Kerry as a climate change envoy and pledging to rejoin the Paris agreement. After four LONG years, we can start to get back on track as a nation in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, something we should have done decades ago of course, but these last four years have been a major setback. I’ve also been buoyed a bit by the news that the U.K. recently put forth a major initiative aimed at restoring natural biodiversity by cutting farm subsidies in some areas and encouraging sustainable farming methods. Also, The Guardian reports many countries are pledging to be carbon neutral by 2050 or 2060 and two North Atlantic right whale newborns were recently spotted (this is a big deal!). Some rare good news.
​     But of course, the uplifting headlines are few and far between the negative ones. Just today these are a few of the headlines I saw:
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 (Note: this is a series of depressing photos on CNN’s website. This picture is of a cow that died of dehydration in an area that has seen climate change-exacerbated drought.)
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You already knew it if you read some of my previous posts. Of course this mostly applies to those of you not eating a vegan diet.
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And the hits keep coming. I’m not going to get into it now, but as more sea ice melts in the Arctic in the summer, the rate of warming for the entire planet will increase. The Arctic is a proverbial canary in a coal mine. That particular canary stopped singing decades ago, we just turned a deaf ear.
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Sewage + warmer temperatures = low oxygen. Low oxygen = no fish. My first year environmental science students can all educate you on this issue. It's a classic.
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Every year is now the hottest year. None of this is surprising, but it’s like icing on the worst cake ever. I can’t offer any words of comfort. All I can say is that now more than ever we need to advocate our legislators for quick and radical actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We also need to take personal responsibilities: stop eating meat and dairy, buy less stuff, use less energy, etc, etc. You know the drill. Stop making excuses and do what you know has to be done. In the words of someone (?) "Do what must be done." (I feel like that's a Star Wars quote, but I have no idea who said it or which of the million Star Wars/Star Wars spin-off movies it was in.) 
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Bad news, good news

8/19/2020

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The other day, I saw a story on CNN that the current administration has approved leasing plans for oil drilling in the Coastal Plain area of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Rather than just the Area 1002 (roughly 2000 acres) that was set aside for potential oil exploration when the refuge was established, it seems like the whole Coastal Plain area (1.5 million acres) will be up for grabs. This will be devastating for wildlife. For example, there is a caribou herd that relies on the Coastal Plain area for their calving and summer feeding grounds. This decision to open the whole area to drilling will result in reductions in the caribou population and the predators and indigenous peoples that rely on the caribou. The World Wildlife Fund has a quick summary of the reasons we shouldn’t allow drilling in ANWR and the Center for American Progress has a summary of why we shouldn’t drill from energy and economy standpoints. The Gwich’in people (the original inhabitants of the land) also advocate strongly against drilling. One last link for you, Scientific American has a story on the environmental impact statement prepared by the government. By their own emission, drilling will contribute to extinctions of wildlife in the refuge. The Arctic ecosystem is already severely impacted by global warming. Do we have to double down on human impacts with more drilling? This is the time to move away from fossil fuels, not try to find more sources of them.
          Now for some rare good news, on July 6 a federal judge ordered a shutdown of construction and operations on the Dakota Access Pipeline for a full environmental and cultural impacts review. This has been a four-year legal battle between the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes and the US Army Corps of Engineers and Dakota Access, LLC. This press release from Earth Justice (the group representing the Sioux tribes) detailing the ruling and giving the history of the struggle. There are many issues with the Dakota Access Pipeline (and the similar Keystone Pipeline and Keystone XL) but I will just address the issues with what the pipelines are transporting and the fact that pipelines are prone to spills and other leakage.  
          These pipelines bring or are slated to bring tar sands oil from Canada down to refineries in the United States. Extraction and refinement of oil from tar sands results in 50% higher carbon dioxide emissions than conventional oil (see this brief explanation) and extensive habitat destruction (which is of course followed by massive biodiversity loss). If we rely on tar sands oil as our conventional sources of oil are rapidly depleted, we will accelerate and exacerbate global warming.​
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This picture shows what the natural boreal habitat should look like and what the landscape looks like after clearcutting and sand extraction. In his documentary “Before the Flood” Leonardo DiCaprio likens the tar sands landscape to Mordor in Lord of the Rings. Photo credit: © Greenpeace/John Woods
          While oil companies tout pipelines as the safer alternative to train or truck transport, it turns out that the Keystone Pipeline has frequent spills/leaks. Twenty one spills of varying sizes (sometimes underreported) occurred between 2010 and 2019. Oil spills threaten drinking water supplies and are toxic for wildlife. Despite this record of spills, the current White House administration approved the Keystone XL extension in March of 2019. 
          But let’s stay focused on the good news! The Dakota pipeline has beens stopped (for now). We are at a critical juncture in our nation’s history. These past four years have been devastating for the environment (and devastating for human rights in this country, and devastating for international relations, and...I could go on and on). I don’t think I’m being dramatic when I say that the future of our nation and the world depends on the election of Joe Biden in November. That’s my action suggestion for today. Vote for Joe Biden (and democratic candidates down the ticket) in November. Only if the democrats control the White House and Congress can we start to undo the damage that the orange occupant (I can’t bear to say or write his name; he doesn’t deserve acknowledgement) of the White House has done. 

Vote for Biden and Harris on November 3rd! (or vote early if your state allows it)
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In other news

6/15/2020

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While we have been immersed in news of the global COVID pandemic the Great Barrier Reef has experienced a major bleaching event for the third time in five years. The reef experienced the hottest water temperatures on record since people started keeping reef temperature records in 1900. The Guardian has a short summary article that is worth a read. 
           For those of you who are asking, what is bleaching? Why is it bad? Here is a little primer on corals and bleaching. Corals are a tiny colonial animal. They are related to anemones and jellyfishes, so they have tiny tentacles with stinging cells. That’s not really the important part. 
       Corals have soft bodies made of two tissue layers. Microscopic algae (single-celled organisms) called Zooxanthellae live inside the cells of the inner layer. The Zooxanthellae are photosynthetic and provide corals with most of the energy they require for living. They are also responsible for giving corals their colors (all those photosynthetic pigments). The rest of the nutritional needs of the coral are met by capturing plankton with their tentacles. While the corals themselves are soft-bodied, they do make what is referred to as a skeleton. This is a hard base of calcium carbonate that the coral sits anchored in. This must be continuously maintained and built up. The coral expends energy to do this. 
          Corals are like Goldilocks (reference to Goldilocks and the Three Bears children’s story...do people read this to their kids anymore? Am I dating myself?). They have very specific environmental needs. We’ll use temperature as an example. The corals need water that is not too cold, not too warm, but just right. If the water gets too warm (hello global warming!) the Zooxanthellae malfunction and stress the coral out. The coral then kick the Zooxanthellae out of their cells. When the Zooxanthellae are gone, the corals lose their color and appear white, hence the term “coral bleaching.” Here’s a great animation about bleaching if you want to know more details. The corals can live for a little while without their Zooxanthellae because they can still capture plankton with their tentacles and live off of stored energy. But eventually they can’t survive without all the energy the Zooxanthellae provide, so they die.
         Why should people care about corals dying? Coral reefs provide shelter and food for thousands of other species of marine organisms, most of which are not found in other ecosystems and many of which may produce compounds that could be used medicinally. This abundant wildlife supports ecotourism in many parts of the tropics and subtropics; reefs are estimated to generate $1 million per kilometer. Coral reefs also provide food for people (nearly 1 billion people are estimated to rely on reef ecosystems for food) and are important buffers to storm wave energy that could damage coastlines. 
          There is some hope that corals will become more resistant to bleaching. There are some kinds of Zooxanthellae that can tolerate higher temperatures than others. These Zooxanthellae have been found to become more common on reefs after bleaching has occurred (see Baker et al and Stat & Gates). This suggests that corals can switch to a more advantageous type of Zooxanthellae. Some researchers have even experimented with “planting” corals on reefs that have the resistant Zooxanthellae living in them. But even those heat-resistant Zooxanthellae have their limits with experimentally demonstrated high bleaching levels above 33°C. This recent heat wave on the Great Barrier reef saw temperatures of 31°C. What will the sea surface temperatures be in 10 years? By 2050? If even the most thermally tolerant corals and their zooxanthellae are subjected to temperatures over 33°C, reefs are likely to become a relic of the past and with them all the benefits that we get from the reef biodiversity. 
​          So, what can we do about it? You know the drill! Look back at my old posts for a myriad of personal actions you can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and advocate for legislative change. Most importantly, you can vote in November. We need a sea change in the government of this country. Clearly the current administration needs to go, as they have been systematically dismantling all environmental regulations in this country and consistently denying that climate change is happening (here’s a link to that climate change deregulation tracker again, just for fun. Clearly we also need to get people who understand the seriousness of the climate crisis in control of Congress. Generally, that means you should vote for Democrats and not for Republicans. It’s funny how things have changed in the past 40-something years. It was under the Republican Nixon administration that all the great environmental legislation of the 1970s was passed. George H.W. Bush even campaigned on the promise to protect Americans from the threat of climate change in 1988 (of course, the tune changed during his administration, but there was a point when he acknowledged the dangers). Now the Democrats are the party of climate change action. If Democrats control both the House and the Senate, we could get some climate change legislation passed. So, vote Democrat whenever possible. And yes, no politician is perfect, but we need some that will at least do no more damage than has already been done (that’s the low bar) and ideally some that will start to make significant progress to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (that’s the high bar...let’s shoot high).


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Pandemic

3/16/2020

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These are unsettled times. In recent weeks I have discussed the "tragedy of the commons" concept with my environmental science class. Today on the morning news, one reporter was in a supermarket showing off the barren shelves. He noted that people should just buy what they need, not all the hand sanitizer or all the soap, because by buying more than you need for the time being, you are putting someone else at risk because they can't get their hands on sanitizer or soap. Tragedy of the commons, sort of. Definitely an "everyone for themselves" scenario playing out in the markets. 

People are panicking. This is a time for common sense, not panic. Practice social distancing. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands thoroughly (get under those fingernails and in all the crevices!) and frequently with soap. [Simplified science note: most viruses, including COVID-19 are covered in a layer of lipids. These help the virus to stick to surfaces (think sticky oil on a pan). Scrubbing with soap breaks up that lipid layer so that viruses can be rinsed off your hands with water.] If you feel at all symptomatic or think you may have been exposed, stay at home and definitely stay away from your older relatives and friends, or people who have pre-existing conditions that put them at risk (cardiac issues, asthma, immune deficiencies, etc). 

Also remember to take care of your mental health. Keep yourself busy and on a schedule. Read, maybe enjoy some Netflix or similar, exercise, and eat healthy. For exercise, get outside for a walk. Feel the sunshine on your face, it makes a big difference. Many fitness studios are offering virtual classes. I've got a class scheduled for every day this week. It will be nice to see the people I usually see and will take my mind off being stuck at home during the day by myself for three weeks. I'm going to schedule some virtual lunches with friends and colleagues. Lastly, turn the news off. Maybe watch a bit in the morning, but you know it's just going to be the same stress-inducing news over and over all day. That can have a big impact on your psyche. 

On a science note, here's a video on how and why novel viruses (COVID-19, SARS) will likely  continue to originate in China. With population growth and climate change (see "They're coming" post 8/2/19), we can expect more pandemics in the future. Here are a couple of articles that touch on this: Scientific American and Vox. 
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On fire

1/11/2020

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A couple of headlines caught my eye this morning, here's one:
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I'll address the human tragedy later. The stories about koalas and kangaroos are really tugging at my heart strings. On one island alone (Kangaroo Island), it's estimated that 30,000 koalas have died, and many others are suffering from burns. This video and this one are just a couple of the many sad videos showing the plight of the wildlife. The article that goes with the headline above notes that koalas are not at risk of extinction from these fires, but many other species that are endemic to Australia and some of its unique habitats are. These are organisms that live no where else in the world. 
          The conservative Australian government is just now acknowledging that climate change has created the conditions that are fueling these fires. Extended drought and extreme heat are prolonging and intensifying fire seasons around the world, Australia is just the most recent tragic example. In the coming decades, there will be some places in the world that will become unlivable because of fires, heat, and drought. People who live in those places now are going to have to move. Combine those populations with the ones that will have to move away from coastlines, and the migration numbers become staggering and almost unbelievable. Not to mention the economic disaster that will unfold for countries that have to support domestic and international refugees and the food shortages that will get increasingly worse. These fires should be a major wake up call for the Australian government and the world that the time is now to take drastic action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I'm not going to hold my breath though. The question is, how many tragedies will it take? In the meantime, I'm going to continue to do all I can do in my own life and encourage others to do the same. 
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    -Another vegan environmentalist

    ​Boston  area

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