Planet Week: Industrial fishing has a carbon problem
Welcome to Planet Week, where we highlight the last week of environmental news and what it means for our Planet.
Welcome to Planet Week, where we highlight the last week of environmental news and what it means for our Planet.
Last week, Deb Haaland was confirmed as interior secretary, making her the first Native American to hold a United States cabinet position. Researchers found that climate change has displaced over 10 million people in the last six months. And tornadoes and thunderstorms slammed the Southeastern U.S.
In case you missed it, here’s what else happened around the Planet:
Monday, March 15
Sand storm blankets Beijing
Last week, the largest and strongest dust storm in a decade swept across northern China, after killing six people in Mongolia over the weekend.
Beijing was particularly hard hit, with PM2.5 — a common air pollutant— reaching 655 micrograms per cubic meter of air (the World Health Organization considers anything over 25 unsafe).
Deforestation and soil erosion are likely driving this intensity. Vox has the full story.
Turns out, Greenland can melt
By uncovering ancient plants a mile below Greenland’s surface, a research team concludes that Greenland was iceless less than a million years ago. The findings, published Monday, show that if Greenland was iceless before, it can be iceless again.
As global temperatures continue to rise, Greenland’s ice sheet could collapse, raising sea levels by over 20 feet, devastating coastal communities, and displacing millions of people.
“We don’t want to see what that looks like,” Andrew Christ, lead author of the study, told The Washington Post. “It underscores the urgency of needing to change the way things are going right now.”
Tuesday, March 16
Air quality (temporarily) improved last year
Pandemic lockdowns improved air quality by 84% last year, according to IQAir’s new World Air Quality Report. But these gains are unlikely to stay, especially if we can’t shake our dependence on fossil fuels.
“In 2021, we will likely see an increase in air pollution due to human activity, again,” said Frank Hammes, CEO of IQAir, in a statement. “We hope this report will highlight that urgent action is both possible and necessary to combat air pollution, which remains the world’s greatest environmental health threat.”
Despite temporary gains, only 24 of 106 monitored countries met World Health Organization guidelines for PM2.5. And while China’s air pollution dropped 86%, the U.S.’s air pollution actually rose 6.7% because of record wildfires out West. Meanwhile, India remains one of the worst countries for air quality, netting 22 of the top 30 polluted cities globally. CNN has the story.
Beef’s seaweed solution
The world has a cow problem. Because they burp and fart, cows are a surprisingly significant source of methane, an extremely potent greenhouse gas. But what if all cows need is a change in diet?
A new study finds that mixing red seaweed into cow feed can cut methane emissions by 82%. The sample size was relatively small (21 steers) and had a lot of variability, but it’s still a step in the right direction. Applied commercially (and sustainably), red seaweed could put a big dent in global agriculture emissions. Read more in Grist.
Chevron’s under attack for greenwashing
Big Oil is trying to rebrand itself as climate-friendly, and environmentalists are having none of it, Earther reports. On Tuesday, a coalition of green groups filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, alleging that Chevron is overstating its commitment to the Planet.
“Chevron spent decades sowing doubt about the science of climate change,” said Anusha Narayanan, climate campaign manager at Greenpeace USA, in a statement. “Now in the face of widespread public support for climate action, the company is misrepresenting its role in the climate crisis and deceptively casting itself as an ally.”
In a statement provided to Bloomberg, Chevron said that the complaint was “frivolous” and that it’s engaging in “honest conversations about the energy transition.” Unfortunately for Chevron, Big Oil has a pretty spotty track record for honesty.
Wednesday, March 17
Industrial fishing has a carbon problem
To curb emissions we should look to the bottom of the ocean. A new study finds that bottom trawling — an industrial fishing practice that scours the ocean floor with weighted nets — releases more CO2 than global air travel. Unsurprisingly, trawling also devastates biodiversity.
The study lays out a roadmap for confronting both the climate and wildlife crises occurring under the sea. Specifically, researchers argue that more marine protected areas, which ban fishing, could actually benefit the fishing industry by boosting stocks, while simultaneously combatting ecological collapse and climate change.
“Most people still see the ocean as a victim of climate change,” Enric Sala, lead author of the study, told TIME. “What people don’t realize is that nature is half of the solution to the climate crisis.”
Thursday, March 18
Big Oil’s dirty secret
For at least 50 years, fossil fuel giants knowingly bloodied their hands. Documents acquired by The Guardian show that oil firms knew about the harmful impacts of air pollution decades ago yet continued to fight clean-air regulations.
Internal memos and reports confirm that oil companies Shell, Exxon, and Esso even knew this air pollution could harm their own workers, who may been experiencing birth defects among their children.
“The response from fossil-fuel interests has been from the same playbook — first they know, then they scheme, then they deny and then they delay,” said Geoffrey Supran, a researcher at Harvard University, told The Guardian. “They’ve fallen back on delay, subtle forms of propaganda and the undermining of regulation.”
Bonus
Miracle animals
The World Wildlife Fund estimates the world has seen a 60% decrease in the population sizes of mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians. But humans are more aware of these issues than ever before — and our conservation efforts are bringing some animals back from the brink of extinction. Euronews shares some of their inspiring stories.
See you next week.
— Brandon and Sam