Tag Archives: environmental science

The Escalator to Extinction

Posted on April 14, 2021 by | Leave a comment

On those rare summer days when the temperature is climbing to nearly forty degrees celsius, you have probably dreamed of climbing into a freezer. Well, this desperation to escape the heat is not unique to us. As humanity drives the temperature up through global warming, many tropical species are in desperate need of a good fan. But with a lack of appliances in the tropical wilderness, they are starting to migrate up mountains to escape the heat. However, this one way escalator ride up the mountain may be leading to extinction. 

Source: Pixabay.com

Dr. Freeman’s Research: 

Dr. Benjamin Freeman, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of British Columbia, aims to understand how global warming is impacting where montane (mountain-dwelling) species live. His recent study highlights how climate change is causing species to shift upward, which can lead to the extinction of species living higher up on mountains. This phenomenon is known as the “escalator to extinction” which is explained by the video below: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOoO2_DxwS0&ab_channel=MatthewLim

To make these conclusions, Dr. Freeman examined datasets from various studies that measured elevational shifts associated with global warming over the last 100 years. Based on his findings, the escalator to extinction is around the corner for tropical montane species. 

Effects of the escalator to extinction: 

This phenomenon can have various effects on montane species and our society as discussed in the following podcast.

Thank you to freesound.org for providing the sound effects used in our podcast (plasterbrain, InspectorJ)

In the podcast, Dr. Freeman mentions that less available land at higher altitudes of a mountain are threatening montane species. 

Why is this the case?

Less available land at higher altitudes often means less resources for organisms to use. Thus, as species continue to shift upslope to evade the heat, there will be increased competition within species populations and between different species. This competition for resources such as food and habitat will likely result in the strongest species surviving, and lead to extirpations (loss of species populations) of weaker species. Some examples of extirpations caused by the escalator to extinction are populations of the White-eared Solitaire and Fulvous-breasted Flatbill as found by a previous study by Dr. Freeman.

Furthermore, temperature-dependent (requiring specific temperature to survive) crop diseases such as Agrobacterium tumefaciens shifting upslope can greatly affect human populations living in mountains. For example, introducing new crop diseases can lead to lower crop yields. Thus, human communities in mountains can potentially face unexpected food shortages, and be forced to find different sources of food. 

How can we prevent this? 

If we cannot stop global warming, we must guide animals to higher elevations to save them from extinction. Many species go extinct because they are restricted from higher elevations due to human agricultural activities that divide up lands. One possible way to facilitate their upward migration is through the development of corridors that give species a path to higher elevations. In addition, we can plant trees at higher altitudes to provide new habitats for these displaced organisms.

Once grown, these newly planted trees will provide accessible habitats for species and as a result, potentially reduce extirpation events. 

Source: commons.wikimedia.org/

But really, the best thing we can do is raise awareness of this critical issue.

-Karnvir Dhillon, Declan O’Driscoll, Samantha Nalliah, Matthew Lim 

 

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Science Communication, Science in the News

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Reusable Grocery Bags… It’s Complicated

Posted on April 5, 2021 by | Leave a comment

I hope you don’t like your groceries in a plastic bag, because that may be a thing of the past very soon! As the world looks to reduce plastic waste, many countries have banned the use of single-use plastic bags – with Vancouver to follow suit by 2021. Greener alternatives—biodegradable or compostable (BoC) plastic bags, paper bags, reusable plastic bags, and cotton totes—have been steadily becoming more popular for many shoppers.

Some alternatives to single-use plastic bags. Adapted from Plastic Education.

But what’s really the truth? How much better are these so-called greener alternatives?

What if I told you that the chic tote you bought for yourself is actually much, much worse for the environment than a plastic bag?

What’s it take to make these bags?

To get a good grasp of the environmental impact these bags can have, we need to look at the full picture. Turns out, the bulk of the environmental impact of these bags come from the production stage. Let’s have a quick overview of how each type of bag is made.

The single-use plastic bag—in all of its environmentally unfriendly glory—is produced from petroleum. The thicker, reusable plastic bags are also made from petroleum, except they require quite more. On the other hand, we make BoC plastic bags from plant-based materials such as starch! Wood pulp is required for paper bags, and of course, cotton (which requires loads of resources) is needed to make cotton totes.

A cotton field. Source: Jimmy Smith, Flickr

So how does this play into the environmental impact?

There are many studies called life cycle assessments (LCA) which examine how a product is made, used, then disposed of. In 2018, the Denmark Environmental Protection Agency conducted a LCA of the different types of grocery bags. For each type, they looked at the total environmental impact (greenhouse gas release, ozone depletion, water depletion, toxicity, and more).

“Greener alternative”… well, no, not really.

The big question is, how many times do you need to use your reusable bags in order to have less impact than if you used single-use plastic bags?

You might want to hold onto your seat. For the total environmental impact, you’d want to use your BoC plastic bags, paper bags, and reusable plastic bags at least 40 times in order to beat single-use plastic bags. And for the cotton tote? You would need to reuse it 7100 times. It’s even higher for organic cotton, since organic crop yields are lower: try 20000 times. If you use your tote three times a week, it would take 45 years (128 if organic) to break even with single-use plastic bags!

It’s intuitive to think that the greener alternatives would be better for the environment. Single-use plastic bags do not break down, and end up in landfills, whereas alternatives could be either biodegradable or used many, many times before they break and become unusable. It goes to show that it’s important to consider not just the disposal of a product, but also the production and resources that go into making it.

For more information, check out this video from SciShow!

 

-Sam Jung

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6-Month Summers by 2100

Posted on March 27, 2021 by | 3 comments

Have you noticed the length of summer increase within your own lifetime? Do you wonder what the seasons will look like by the end of this century? A team of researchers completed a study, published last month, that examined how climate change is influencing the length of our seasons, and how they may look by 2100. 

Seasonal change at a Ryton pond. Source: Keith Hall

In order to understand how our seasons may change in the future, the researchers looked at historical climate data from the years of 1952-2011, specifically in the Northern Hemisphere. They defined the start of winter as the onset of temperatures in the coldest 25% of the specific time period they were looking at. Similarly, they defined summer as the onset of temperatures in the hottest 25% of the time period. Their results showed that the length of summer increased from 78 to 95 days from 1952-2011, and that spring, autumn and winter decreased from 124 to 115, 87 to 82, and 76 to 73 days, respectively. All seasons showed an increase in average temperature. 

It is thought that if these trends continue in the same manor, that summer in the Northern Hemisphere will last for 6 months by the year 2100. Furthermore, winter will not be longer than 2 months, and summer and autumn will both shrink significantly as well.

How would this impact our world?

Changing the length of seasons has numerous environmental and health risks. For example, it can greatly impact agriculture, as drastic weather can damage plant growth. An increase in summer would also mean that disease-carrying mosquitoes can increase their range, heading north. Longer summers also lead to an increase in wildfire frequency and intensity. In 2020, we saw how devastating wildfires can be, with the Australian bushfire crisis. Furthermore, seasonal changes show animals shift their migration patterns, and plants start budding earlier, this creates a distortion in plant-animal interaction, disrupting environmental communities.

How can we help?

It can seem rather daunting when we hear stories like this, and as regular citizens, it’s hard to understand what exactly is in our control. Large corporations and our governments hold the key to mitigating climate change, so what can we do? Well, every action counts – big and small. One action you can take is researching what your own local government is doing to combat the climate crisis. If you feel like they could be doing more, write to them. Make your voice heard – and continue to make small changes like biking instead of driving, and recycling regularly.

– Madeline Filewych

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Microalgae Used to Create Biodiesel: An Organism That Can Save Our Planet?

Posted on March 11, 2021 by | 1 comment

As time continues to move forward, global climate change is becoming an ever-growing issue. In order to mitigate the effects of global warming, we as a society need to change our ways of living. Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization, there is an increased amount of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere that are slowly damaging the earth. In today’s world, most of the energy production is coming from fossil fuel burning, which is the key source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to the atmosphere. Energy demand will continue to increase and as of right now, fossil fuels still contribute to 82% of the global demand. The figure below displays gas emissions from various modes of transportation.

Source: bbc.com

An article written in 2020, by Ashokkumar Veeramuthu and team, describes the potential use of microalgae to produce biodiesel. You may be asking, what are microalgae and what the heck is biodiesel? Let’s jump straight into it.

What is Biodiesel?

Biodiesel is made from materials such as plant oils. It’s an alternative to petroleum diesel and emits much less harmful substances into the atmosphere. Since we are slowly killing our planet, replacing our non-renewable energy sources with green alternative sources doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

Why use Microalgae?

You may be wondering, what is so special about microalgae? Why can’t we use some type of terrestrial plant like corn to produce biodiesel? Studies show that the use of microalgae is the best option for the production of a renewable and sustainable source of energy. Microalgae are photosynthetic organisms living in wet environments that can convert sunlight, water and CO2 into biofuel. There has been a shift of attention towards microalgae to produce biodiesel because microalgae provide many advantages over terrestrial plants. The benefits of microalgae include high lipid concentrations (which can easily be converted to biodiesel through a process called transesterification), rapid growth and minimal nutrient requirements. The table below compares values of the biodiesel productivity of microalgae and other plants.

Biodiesel productivity of different feedstocks. Source: intechopen.com

Microalgae also tend to grow 10x more rapidly than terrestrial plants and less than 10% of the land is required to produce the same amount of biomass. Additionally, microalgae don’t require large amounts of fertilizers to grow, unlike terrestrial plants. The cultivation of microalgae can be carried out by using wastewater, since it is rich in key nutrients. Furthermore, the use of wastewater decreases costs greatly and makes biodiesel production commercially viable.

This video showcases the general process of biodiesel production in a nutshell:

Source: David T. Kearns (YouTube)

In today’s world, there’s a shift of attention to deal with the issue of climate change. From Elon Musk creating fully electric vehicles to Joe Biden rejoining the Paris climate accord within hours into presidency, we as humans are finally taking initiative to save our planet. The future of creating fuels from microalgae sounds promising and having a range of renewable sources of green energy will be beneficial to us in the coming time.

– Parwaz Gill

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Microalgae Used to Create Biodiesel: An Organism That Can Save Our Planet?

Posted on February 6, 2021 by | Leave a comment

It is quite obvious by now that if we don’t change our ways of living, our planet is doomed. Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization, there is an increased amount of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere that are slowly damaging the earth. In today’s society, most of the energy production is coming from fossil fuel combustion and this is the key source of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. The primary energy demand will continue to increase and as of right now, fossil fuels still contribute to 82% of the global demand of energy.

Source: bbc.com

An article written by Ashokkumar Veeramuthu and team describes the potential use of microalgae to produce biodiesel. You may be asking, what are microalgae and what the heck is biodiesel? Let’s jump straight into it.

What is Biodiesel?

Biodiesel is made from materials such as plant oils and animal fats. It’s an alternative to petroleum diesel and has a more favourable combustion profile as it emits much less CO, CO2 and SO2 into the atmosphere. Since we are slowly killing our planet, replacing our non-renewable energy sources with green alternative sources doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

Why Use Microalgae?

You may be wondering, what is so special about microalgae? Why can’t we use some type of terrestrial plant like corn to produce biodiesel? Studies show that the use of microalgae is the best option for the production of a renewable and sustainable source of energy. Microalgae are unicellular photosynthetic organisms living in aqueous environments that convert sunlight, water and CO2 into algal biomass. The reason why there has been a shift of attention towards microalgae to produce biodiesel is because microalgae provide a large range of advantages compared to terrestrial plants. The benefits of microalgae include high lipid concentrations (which can easily be converted to biodiesel through a process called transesterification), rapid growth and minimal nutrient requirements. The table below compares values of the biodiesel productivity of microalgae and other plants.

Amount of biodiesel productivity for different feedstocks. Source: intechopen.com

Microalgae also tend to grow 10 times more rapidly than terrestrial plants and less than a tenth amount of land is required to produce the same amount of biomass. Additionally, microalgae don’t require immense amount of fertilizers to grow unlike terrestrial plants. The cultivation of microalgae can be carried out by using wastewater, since it is rich in key nutrients. Furthermore, the use of wastewater decreases costs of cultivation greatly and makes biodiesel production commercially viable.

This video showcases the whole process in a nutshell:

 Source: David T. Kearns (YouTube)

In today’s world, there’s a shift of attention to deal with the issue of climate change. From Elon Musk creating fully electric vehicles to Joe Biden rejoining the Paris climate accord within hours into presidency, we as humans are finally taking initiative to save our planet. The future of creating fuels from microalgae sounds promising and having a range of renewable sources of green energy will be beneficial to us in the coming time.

– Parwaz Gill

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Methane Reduction and the Magic of Mushrooms

Posted on February 1, 2021 by | Leave a comment

When you think of Reishi mushrooms, what do you think of? A delicious food? A health fad? Well it may surprise you to know that beyond everyday consumption, Reishi mushrooms have a high potential for impacting our atmospheric conditions. A recent study done by researchers at the University of Minnesota examines certain fungus’ ability to capture and filter methane, and its impact on the current climate crisis.

 

Reishi Mushrooms. Source: Pixabay

 

Why is methane a problem?

Methane, a greenhouse gas, is one of many chemicals that contributes to the rise of global temperatures. It has many sources, both biological and man-made, the most common being agricultural practices, wetlands, and transportation of coal and natural gas. While most research is being done to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, it is just as important to address methane emissions, as in the first two decades of release, methane can be up to 84% more potent than carbon dioxide. Methane is incredibly effective at absorbing heat, which is what makes the chemical so detrimental to atmospheric conditions.

 

How do Reishi mushrooms help?

While there are currently other organisms that can break down methane, removing it from the atmosphere, there is one critical way that Reishi stands out:

In order for Reishi to degrade methane, the gas does not need to travel through any kind of biofilm, which decreases the total time needed for degradation. 

The cells that make up fungal structures, called hyphae, are able to extend and grow deep within the soil and other environments. When nutrients are detected, they travel through the hyphae until the desired location with the fungus is reached. There is a specific special protein, called hydrophobins, which is found on the exterior of the hyphae, which is responsible for trapping gases such as methane. Once trapped, the gas is transported within the fungus and is degraded as needed.

Mushroom hyphae. Source: Wiki Commons

The researchers who conducted the study found that Reishi mushrooms that are grown outside of the soil have a better removal rate, compared to those in the soil, where natural microbes may out-compete the mushrooms for nutrients. Shockingly, the researchers found that even dead fungi had some function at removing methane from the surrounding air.

While there is still a need for more research to be completed, it can be comforting to know that there are solutions to global warming that can come from the most unlikely places.

– Madeline Filewych

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