By Rick Laezman* The fight against global warming is waging on many fronts. The drive to end our dependence on fossil fuels by converting to renewable power, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency continues to gain momentum and capture the attention of a concerned global populace. In our ongoing efforts, all options are on the table. Even in an ideal scenario in which everyone is driving EVs, all buildings are efficient, and most rooftops are equipped with solar panels, industrial and manufacturing activities will continue to produce CO2 and other greenhouse gases. On top of these emissions, the many megatons of gases emitted by more than a century of commercial and industrial activity will remain trapped in our atmosphere and continue their warming effect. What other steps can the world take to minimize or offset these emissions and remove existing gases from the atmosphere? Fortunately, a myriad of technologies have been developed. Just as we have figured out how to power our homes and vehicles without harmful emissions, we have also devised ways to perform the less visible but equally valuable process of capturing carbon from their sources and from the atmosphere, then putting it back into the ground or into other stable uses, where it can do no harm. Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Various methods are in use to capture carbon dioxide gas and store it someplace other than in the atmosphere. Collectively, they are referred to as Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS). According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), a global organization that conducts research and fosters dialogue among nations about energy policy, CCUS refers to a "suite of technologies." They capture carbon from industrial processes or power generation, or directly from the atmosphere, then transport it for use or storage. CCUS can be broken down into a few categories. One of the more recognized methods is point source carbon capture. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology defines point source carbon capture as methods of collecting carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from power plants to lower their emissions. A power plant may be entirely rebuilt with the new technology, or it may be "retrofitted" by adding the technology to an existing facility. Not all direct source carbon capture involves power plants. Many industrial processes, such as the production of chemicals, iron, steel, and cement, also produce CO2. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory notes that the U.S. industrial sector accounted for over 1,300 million metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2020. Targeting the cement industry will be a key strategy for the reduction of industrial emissions. Cement, one of the world's most widely consumed products, is a major source of CO2. The journal Nature notes that 30 billion tons of concrete is used each year on a global scale. More importantly, at least 8% of global emissions caused by humans comes from the cement industry. In cement manufacturing, CO2 is primarily released during the phase known as cement clinker production, which is done through a limestone calcination process. Methods are in use to capture these emissions. Direct separation involves the capture of CO2 emissions by indirectly heating the limestone. The technology strips CO2 directly from the limestone, without mixing it with other combustion gases, making it easier to capture. Putting Technology into Action Direct source technology has been deployed around the world to capture carbon emissions from the generation of power and from the manufacturing process for cement and other products. The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) notes that as of 2020, no fewer than 26 commercial-scale carbon capture projects were operating around the world with thirty-four more in various stages of development. In 2014, for example, the SaskPower Boundary Dam project in Saskatchewan, Canada, became the first commercial-scale retrofit of an existing coal-fired power plant with carbon capture technology. The captured carbon is sold locally to extraction companies to be injected into the ground and used for oil extraction in a process known as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). SaskPower boasts that the project is capable of reducing the CO2 emissions from the coal process by up to 90%, and that the facility captured 4,167 tons of carbon dioxide in January of this year, the most recent month for which figures are available. Growing Plants to Capture Carbon When it comes to some of society's most vexing problems, nature often reminds us that sustainable solutions are in plentiful supply and easy to harness. Take solar and wind power, for example. The challenge of capturing carbon is no exception. One of the first things we learn in basic biology is that humans breathe air and exhale CO2, while plants do the opposite, exhale air and breathe in CO2. This unique law of the natural world has not been lost on those pursuing technology to capture carbon. The simplest solution, of course, is to plant more plants. Reforestation, which is the planting of trees on land where they have been removed, and afforestation, which is the planting of trees on land where they have not historically existed, are legitimate approaches to increasing greenery on the planet to absorb more carbon from the atmosphere. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) takes the process one step further, by employing the carbon-absorbing properties of plants in the production of energy. It represents another effective capture method within the suite of CCUS technologies. According to the American University in Washington D.C., BECCS can be broken down into two steps or phases. In the first phase, organic material or biomass (plants) is converted into heat, electricity, or fuels. In other words, it is consumed to create energy. In the second phase, the carbon emissions from this bioenergy conversion are captured and stored in geological formations or embedded in long-lasting products. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage employs the carbon-absorbing properties of plants in the production of energy. This process takes advantage of the unique role of plants as natural consumers of carbon from the atmosphere as they grow, giving BECCS the ability to be a negative emissions technology, meaning it can remove more carbon that it emits. In this way, BECCS could serve to draw down the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. A recent study from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences estimates a global potential to sequester 3.4–5.2 gigatons (Gt) of CO2 per year via BECCS. The technology is catching on and has been implemented in several instances. Perhaps the best example may be the Illinois Industrial Carbon Capture & Storage Project in Decatur, owned by the Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Company. The project captures carbon dioxide from an ethanol production facility and sequesters it in a nearby deep saline formation. The project can capture up to 1.1 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. Taking Carbon Out of the Air Yet another capture technology may seem somewhat far-fetched. Capturing carbon directly out of the atmosphere sounds like the stuff of science fiction or the product of a vivid imagination. Make no mistake, it is real. The IEA defines direct air capture (DAC) as technologies that extract CO2 directly from the atmosphere. The process works in one of two ways. One method involves liquid systems, which pass air through chemical solutions (e.g., a hydroxide solution), that removes the CO2. The system reintegrates the chemicals back into the process by applying high-temperature heat while returning the rest of the air to the environment. Solid DAC technology makes use of solid sorbent filters that chemically bind with CO2. When the filters are heated and placed under a vacuum, they release the concentrated CO2, which is then captured for storage or use. The IEA reports that there are currently nineteen direct air capture (DAC) plants operating worldwide. Collectively, they are capturing more than 0.01 megatons (Mt) of CO2 per year. The latest plant to come online, Climeworks' Orca plant in Hellisheidi, Iceland, near Reykavík, is the world's largest. The facility consists of eight collector containers, with an annual capture capacity of 500 tons each. It came online in September 2021 and is capturing about 4 kt of CO2 per year. Where Does it All Go? All this brilliant technology raises another very important question: Where does all the carbon go once it is captured? Storage and utilization technologies address this problem. Captured carbon can be stored and used in several useful ways. The C2ES notes that carbon dioxide can be injected into geological formations and stored deep underground. These formations offer vast untapped potential for storage of carbon emissions from centuries of fossil fuel use. Options include the previously mentioned EOR, which uses injecting carbon dioxide to facilitate the extraction of oil and gas from existing sites. Oil and gas reservoirs have demonstrated their ability to store CO2 because they have held oil and gas resources in those same locations for millions of years. Other types of geological features such as deep saline formations, coal beds, basalt formations, and shale basins also have the potential to store captured CO2 deep underground. Not all carbon has to be stored underground. It can also be put into other materials that we encounter in our above-ground activities. For example, carbon can be stored in cement. Carbon mineralization injects captured CO2 into fresh concrete where it becomes permanently embedded and actually helps improve its strength. In Redding, California, two companies teamed up to construct and operate a small commercial cement plant that will capture CO2 from the kiln exhaust and convert it into a cementitious material that will be used to produce high-quality concrete. The facility is a collaboration of the construction materials supplier, Lehigh Hanson, Inc., and the Silicon Valley-based materials technology company, Fortera. CO2 can also be used to create other fuels that do not have their own carbon emissions. A facility in Sweden, owned by LiquidWind, will capture waste carbon dioxide and combine this with hydrogen, made from renewable electricity and water, to produce renewable methanol, e-methanol. The Touchstone Research Laboratory in Triadelphia, West Virginia, will feature enclosed raceway ponds where algae will be cultivated using captured CO2. The algal lipids will be recovered to produce biofuel and the algae biomass will be used in an anaerobic digestion process to produce electricity and recover nutrients. Challenges and Opportunities The possibilities for capturing, storing, and using carbon dioxide are plentiful, but challenges abound. The most formidable challenge is the costs. According to the IEA, carbon capture can cost anywhere from $15 to $120 per ton of captured carbon. Opponents also argue that capturing and sequestering carbon, or using it to extract more fossil fuels, is not the right strategy to combat global warming. Only the complete elimination of activities that burn fossil fuels will allow the planet to meet its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and stabilizing global temperatures. On the other hand, the fight against global warming is an all-encompassing challenge. All tools should be utilized. For many industries and specific facilities, other options may not be feasible. Capturing and selling carbon as a useful product creates a revenue stream that makes the technology more feasible. In those instances where reusing carbon is not feasible or desirable, regulatory penalties for carbon emissions could provide the necessary incentive. In either case, CCUS allows for a flexible transition and conversion to a greener planet. It should be considered and cultivated along with other options. *Rick Laezman is a freelance writer in Los Angeles, California, US. He has a passion for energy efficiency and innovation. He has been covering renewable power and other related subjects for more than ten years.

By Rick Laezman* More than sixty years ago, the first satellite launches captured the attention of the world. Astronauts followed soon after, and the concept of space exploration leaped from science fiction into reality. Fast-forward to the new millennium. Space travel and more importantly, satellite technology, have evolved since those early days. At the same time, the world has a whole new set of problems to solve. The U.S. Government's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) continues to occupy a lead role globally in the exploration of the skies. Of its many facilities, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in La Canada Flintridge, California, stands out as a premier facility for satellite technology. JPL has many satellite projects that gather valuable information about a multitude of subjects. It may come as a surprise to learn that not all these projects examine far-flung, extraterrestrial phenomena, such as pulsars and black holes. Many are gathering data that is vital to the study of problems right here on Earth. Of these, none is more pressing than climate change. Rendering Islands of Heat Global warming has manifested itself in many ways. For example, the accentuated effect of global warming's rising temperatures has been documented in urban environments. While buildings, roads, and other infrastructure give cities their unique character and iconic profiles, these man-made structures also absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat to a much greater degree than do natural landscapes, such as forests and water bodies. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), studies and data have found that in the United States, the heat island effect results in daytime temperatures in urban areas about 1–7°F higher than temperatures in outlying areas and nighttime temperatures about 2–5°F higher. When coupled with the already rising temperatures caused by the effects of greenhouse gases, this serves to only compound the problem for the occupants of cities, which is where more than half of the world's population (56%) resides. Data measuring heat islands is one of the products of the JPL ECOSTRESS mission. The device has been deployed on the International Space Station (ISS) since 2018, when it was launched on a SpaceX Dragon. It consists of a thermal radiometer which measures radiation emitted from the Earth's surface. The radiometer consists of a scanning mirror and telescope to focus the energy from a small spot on the Earth onto a very sensitive infrared detector. ECOSTRESS can map 90% of the continental United States in less than four days. Simon Hook, Principal Investigator for JPL on the ECOSTRESS project, describes the sophistication of the instrumentation. "We can measure the surface temperature of the Earth within a few tenths of a degree," he explains. "Measurements can be made in microseconds." The objective of the mission is to measure variations in ground temperatures to indicate how plants respond to water shortages. This will provide vital information to those studying the impact of drought and water use on agricultural practices. The information has also proved useful in the examination of heat islands. The JPL radiometer has produced a number of images that render the impact of extreme heat in urban environments. For example, an image posted to the mission website illustrates the dynamics of a heat wave that occurred in Las Vegas in June of this year. Air temperatures reached 109°F, but surface temperatures on the city's streets were much higher. The JPL images, where heat is rendered in various shades of red, show a grid pattern, mirroring the city's streets, where temperatures were measured in excess of 120°F. Heat islands present many problems for urban residents related to energy consumption and health. In some cases, the effects can contribute to higher mortality rates in heat waves. Taking account of heat islands can result in solutions that lessen their impact. The data that ECOSTRESS provides can help with the development and evaluation of those solutions. For example, the City of Los Angeles used ECOSTRESS to measure the impact of a test project to lower temperatures from paved surfaces. The city's Bureau of Street Services applied a cooling layer of white "paint" to certain test spots around the city. After application, the city measured the effects. Using data from ECOSTRESS, the city confirmed that the paint application had resulted in a temperature difference of 13°F between street surfaces in the same neighborhoods that had been painted and those that had not. Measuring the Dynamics of Dust JPL satellite technology is being used in other projects to study the effects of global warming. The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation, (EMIT) will analyze dust carried through the atmosphere from dry regions to see what effects it has on the planet. Why dust? It's a fair question. After all, it is just, well, dust. The impact of these airborne clouds of sand and dirt is far greater than what the diminutive size of the individual particles would suggest. Across the globe, strong winds carry clouds of dust in concentrations that reach mammoth proportions. According to NASA, each year, strong winds carry more than a billion metric tons of mineral dust, equal in weight to 10,000 aircraft carriers. These clouds travel from Earth’s deserts and other dry regions through the atmosphere. Across the globe, strong winds carry clouds of dust in concentrations that reach mammoth proportions. Scientists know that the dust affects the environment and climate, but they don’t have enough data to determine, in detail, what those effects are or may be in the future. EMIT can provide them with the data they are looking for. The state-of-the-art spectrometer was developed at JPL and launched to the International Space Station in June of this year. The instrument will collect more than a billion dust-source-composition measurements around the globe over the course of a year. Robert Green, Principal Investigator for the project at JPL, describes how each particle of dust is unique. "They give us signatures, like fingerprints." The instrument can detect these unique characteristics. It is "setting a new benchmark for the quality of this class of instrumentation," he explains. The information gathered by EMIT will contribute to scientific understanding of atmospheric dust clouds in five distinct ways. First, it will identify the composition of mineral dust from Earth’s remote and inaccessible desert regions. EMIT provides information on the color and composition of dust sources globally. This data will help scientists understand which kinds of dust dominate in particular regions, and it will advance their understanding of dust’s impact on climate and the Earth system. Secondly, EMIT data will clarify whether mineral dust heats or cools the planet. Currently, scientists aren't sure about the heating and cooling properties of dust because particles have different properties based on their color, which will determine if they absorb or reflect heat. EMIT will provide a detailed picture of how much dust comes from dark versus light minerals. Third, EMIT will help scientists understand how dust affects different Earth processes. Mineral dust particles vary in color because they’re made of different substances, such as iron, calcite or chlorite, and these substances have varying properties which can impact Earth systems in different ways. For example, mineral dust plays a role in cloud formation and atmospheric chemistry. When mineral dust is deposited in the ocean or forests, it can provide nutrients for growth, acting like fertilizer. When it falls on snow or ice, the dust accelerates melting, leading to more water runoff. And for humans, mineral dust can be a health hazard when inhaled. Fourth, EMIT will improve the accuracy of climate models. The data provided by the project's instruments will allow scientists to more accurately render the color and composition of atmospheric dust, and therefore to understand the effects this dust may have on climate, and that climate may have on the dust. Fifth and finally, EMIT will help scientists more accurately predict how future climate scenarios will affect the type and amount of dust in our atmosphere. As global temperatures rise, arid regions may become even drier, resulting in larger deserts with even more dust. With the help of EMIT, scientists will gain a better understanding of this compounding effect and the "feedback loop" it may have on climate itself. Understanding Global Warming from the Skies JPL and NASA have many other satellite projects underway, analyzing the endless mysteries of our skies. While "enchanted rocks" on Mars and life on distant worlds may grab headlines and pique the imagination of viewers at home, studies of Earth phenomena have equal importance. As the study of climate change becomes more earnest, the data from these projects carry greater significance and may lead to solutions that can help mankind ameliorate and cope with the monumental changes it faces. *Rick Laezman is a freelance writer in Los Angeles, California, US. He has a passion for energy efficiency and innovation. He has been covering renewable power and other related subjects for more than ten years.

By Rick Laezman* New Kinds of Renewables to Address Climate Change By harnessing the wind, sun, and other forces of nature, renewable technologies have showcased humanity's incredible imagination and inventiveness, and offered a glimpse into a more hopeful future with cleaner air, plentiful resources, and lots of energy without fossil fuels. Despite its prospects, though, current renewables have limitations. To fully meet the existential challenge posed by climate change, science, government, and industry would need to reach even further and tap even more far-out—or “way-in,” depending on how one looks at it—sources of energy that are much more plentiful and reliable even than the wind, sun, or ocean waves. Empirical research says those sources of power actually do exist. Neutrinos, static electro-magnetism, and nuclear fusion are some of the mind-bending concepts that may someday offer a superior source of energy to current forms of renewable power. They may solve the vexing problem of satisfying modern society's insatiable appetite for energy while at the same time bypassing all the challenges and eliminating all the harmful by-products presented by its generation. The Power is All Around Us As promising as they may be, the potential of these energy sources remains hypothetical. Yet, scientists continue trying to capture that potential. Take for example, the neutrino. In 1930, an Austrian scientist, Wolfgang Pauli, postulated the existence of an infinitesimally small particle present throughout the universe, a particle so tiny that he described it as "improbable." A few years later, Italian physicist Enrico Fermi named it neutrino, which is Italian for "little neutral one,” and the name stuck. It took until the 1950s for scientists to finally confirm the existence of the neutrino. It is generated by a process known as decay, which occurs whenever particles change from one type into another. This occurs in several ways, such as in the sun and stars and from "cosmic radiation" interacting with the Earth's atmosphere. There are even neutrinos still hanging around from the Big Bang that created the universe almost 14 billion years ago. Given the grandiose scale from which they are generated, neutrinos are extremely plentiful. They exist everywhere. In fact, they are the most plentiful particle with mass in the universe. A hundred trillion neutrinos pass through a human body every second. Not only are neutrinos plentiful, but they also have potential as a power source—if only it could be harnessed. So far, development of the technology that can perform that seemingly miraculous feat remains elusive. Yet, just as solar and wind power seemed far-fetched science fiction only a few decades ago, harnessing neutrinos may soon transition into the realm of reality. Enter the Neutrino Power Cube. German mathematician and entrepreneur, Holger Thorsten Schubart, has assembled a group of scientists who are working on the development of a prototype that will generate energy from neutrinos. Schubart believes that “neutrinovoltaic” technology offers an opportunity to meet “the growing energy needs of mankind without destroying the ecological balance of the planet.” He calls it “the power of the future.” The device is comprised of stacked layers of graphene, each consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms. The graphene layers can convert the kinetic energy generated by neutrinos passing through them into electricity. Neutrinos’ greatest advantage is their infinite supply. Because of their ubiquitous presence and abundance, they offer a limitless source of power that can be harnessed any place and at any time—not just when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. They would not only surpass solar and wind power as the ideal clean energy source, but fundamentally reshape the power generation and transmission dynamic as we now know it. A neutrino power cube could generate electricity anywhere it is located and whenever it is needed. Initial applications of the neutrino power cube will charge up mobile phones. Eventually they could be applied on a larger scale, powering electric vehicles, and household appliances. Electricity Without Fuel While neutrinos may transform the process of generating electricity by providing a fuel source that is infinitely small and plentiful, imagine reducing the process even further by generating electricity without the need for any fuel at all. In the 1930s, German Navy Captain and inventor Hans Coler developed a device called the Magnetstromapparat, or "Magnet Current Apparatus." The device consists only of permanent magnets, copper coils, and condensers in a static arrangement, meaning they do not move or change. No energy or motion is introduced into the device. It can generate an electric current on its own based only on the constant electromagnetism generated by the materials used to construct it. While this may not sound impressive, consider how most electricity is generated. Electricity is generated by a variety of devices, but almost all of them operate on the same basic principle: the rotation of an electromagnetic turbine surrounded by a standing coil of wire. This motion, or kinetic energy, causes electrons to begin to move. These moving electrons form a current which then travels along the wires. Those wires are connected to more wires, which deliver the current to users—factories, buildings, and homes. This is the basic principle of all electric generators, including those in hydroelectric dams, steam and gas turbines, and wind turbines. Almost all electric power generators operate by the rotation of an electromagnetic turbine requiring energy to start and maintain motion. All these devices require some form of energy to start and maintain the motion within the generator. In hydroelectric dams, the force of falling water drives the turbines. In conventional power plants, coal, gas, or other fuels are burned to generate heat and then steam, which is captured and channeled to move the turbine. In combustion turbines, hot expanding gas drives the mechanism. Finally, wind turbines rely on the force of the wind to move the blades which drive the turbine, either directly or through a system of belts and gears located inside the wind turbine. All these fuel sources have limitations. Coal and gas must be extracted and delivered to the site of the turbine before they can be consumed. Alternatively, hydro- or wind-power turbines must be situated where the fuel is plentiful and can be harnessed. This is usually in a remote location, which introduces the complicated process of transmitting the electricity to populated areas where it is used. In addition, the burning of coal and gas emits harmful greenhouse gases. Wind power itself is clean, but not always plentiful and constant. It would take a giant leap of imagination to address these limitations, but that is precisely what Hans Coler did nearly 100 years ago. His device reimagines the concept of electromagnetic power generation by eliminating the need for kinetic energy. In other words, he developed a generator without a turbine, thereby eliminating the need for fuel. The device consisted of several permanent magnets wound inside a coil of wire. Their arrangement, and in particular, their separation, creates tension or resistance, which ultimately generates a small current. In this way, the device generates electricity from the magnets themselves, without the aid of motion or fuel. Coler also developed a second device, which he called a Stromzeuger or “Current Generator,” constructed in a similar manner, but with the addition of a dry battery that provided a small input to jumpstart the process. Coler reportedly used a large version of this device to power his home for several years before it was destroyed by a bomb during World War II. British intelligence officers discovered the work on both of Coler's devices after the war ended. If Coler could power his home in such a way, then a similar device could conceivably be used to power other homes as well. Powering Like the Sun While the neutrino cube and Coler's current generators reimagine micro generation, nuclear fusion is envisioning power generation with cues from the cosmos on a much grander scale. It replicates the same process that powers the sun and other stars, and for a process that produces so much energy in the universe, the potential to generate power here on Earth is nothing short of galactic. To understand nuclear fusion, it is helpful to look at how nuclear power works in current reactors powered by a process known as fission. The two processes sound remarkably similar but are quite different. In simple terms, nuclear fission involves the splitting of uranium atoms to create heat, which is used to generate electricity. Nuclear fusion operates on an inverse principle. It compresses or combines hydrogen atoms until they fuse and turn into helium. That process also generates energy—lots of it—which can then be used to create electricity. Scientists and engineers have been trying to replicate fusion since they discovered it about a century ago. Someday, they will get it right, and when they do, the output could be so tremendous it would meet all the world's energy needs. While traditional nuclear fission reactors face their own challenges, not the least of which is public opposition and fear about radiation, the main challenge for fusion is achieving a net gain in energy production. The process of fusion requires a tremendous input of energy to create the reaction in its core. A successful nuclear fusion reactor must generate more power than it consumes, and this has been the primary obstacle to overcome. While there is no disputing that nuclear fusion has the potential to supply enormous amounts of power, so far no one has figured out how to create more power than is consumed by the process. That has not stopped scientists, governments, and businesses from continuing the search. Perhaps the most notable is the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project. The word iter translates from Latin as "the way." For this project, thirty-five nations, including China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States, are collaborating to find "the way" to harness and commercialize the power of nuclear fusion, which is expected to be a "boundless source of energy.” Mark Henderson is the Electron Cyclotron Section Leader for the ITER Organization. In putting the project into context, he says that the energy the world needs “is going to be in fusion.” The focus of ITER is a project in the south of France that will build the world's largest tokamak, a reactor based on magnetic fusion. It will be the first fusion device to produce net energy, the first to maintain fusion for long periods of time, and the first to test the ingredients necessary for the commercial production of electricity from fusion. (See ITER website.) It is a colossal effort, matching the amount of energy it has the potential to produce. ITER is projected to produce 500 MW of fusion power from 50 MW of input. That's comparable to the average-sized power plant operating today, with enough electricity to light up hundreds of thousands of homes. With a net output of 450 MW, it will demonstrate the ability of fusion to be energy profitable, and it sets the bar high. ITER is not expected to be operational until 2035. Progress is slow to produce real-world workable results, but proponents of ITER and other fusion projects argue the benefits are worth the time and the effort. Fusion is infinitely safer than nuclear fission, and it uses an abundantly plentiful and cheap renewable fuel. The consumption of hydrogen in nuclear fusion produces no greenhouse gas emissions (although it is important to note that the process for extracting hydrogen from its natural state to be used in fusion can produce greenhouse gas emissions, depending on the methods used). ITER’s Henderson describes it as a long-term investment for the future. The benefits go “beyond our generation,” he explains, “but that is not an excuse” to not try. Conclusion Throughout history, humanity has demonstrated its ability to solve seemingly intractable problems with scientific research and ingenuity. Solar photovoltaic cells, wind turbines, and other technologies show that replenishable fuels found in nature can be harnessed to generate energy without laying waste to the planet and its atmosphere. As the world population grows, and the fight against climate change accelerates, sun and wind may not be enough to power future energy needs. All options will be on the table. Research has shown that more powerful and plentiful sources of renewable power are available and can be harnessed. The neutrino power cube, the current generator, and nuclear fusion may one day pass from the imagination of their champions into the mainstream of energy production, just as solar panels and wind turbines did before them. Or perhaps some other as yet undiscovered technology will emerge. *Richard Laezman is a freelance writer in Los Angeles, California. He has a passion for energy efficiency and innovation. He has been covering renewable power and other related subjects for more than ten years.

By Rick Laezman* In a green energy world, hydrogen has the characteristics of a wonder fuel: It is plentiful, its consumption does not produce carbon emissions, and it is a clean fuel for the rapidly advancing fuel cell technology sector. Of the many experimental projects already underway, hydrogen-powered homes are demonstrating the potential—and challenges—of using hydrogen in a residential setting. Hydrogen House Sweden Perhaps the most publicized example of a hydrogen-powered residence is the so-called Hydrogen House, or Nilsson House, near Gothenburg, Sweden, pioneered by former industrial engineer Hans-Olof Nilsson. Here, hydrogen is an important fuel link in a complex utilization of many different energy technologies that allow the house to be completely carbon neutral and entirely off-grid. One of the house’s many technologies is renewable solar energy. The Nilsson House roof holds solar panels capable of generating 20 kilowatts (kW) of electricity at peak times. Because the sun does not always shine in a place as far north as Sweden, a truly sustainable home must employ technology to capture and store the solar energy for later use. Toward that end, surplus electricity charges a storage system of batteries. Any excess electricity generated after the batteries are fully charged is then “stored” in the form of hydrogen via a device known as a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer. It uses excess electricity to run an electric current through water (H2O), breaking apart the bond of hydrogen molecules (H2) with an oxygen molecule (O) and extracting the hydrogen gas, a process called electrolysis. At the Nilsson House, the hydrogen extracted by the electrolyzer is then pressurized and stored in containers (tanks). When the cold and dark winters descend on Sweden, the hydrogen is released from the storage tanks and delivered to a fuel cell, which essentially reverses the process started by the electrolyzer, producing clean electricity. The fuel cell creates an electrochemical reaction that bonds the hydrogen back to oxygen. This process releases energy in the form of electricity that is used to recharge the batteries and run the appliances in the home. The only resulting byproduct of this reaction is water, which can be reused to generate more hydrogen and start the process all over again. Or, if any Nilsson family members get thirsty, they can use the water for drinking. Yes, it’s that pure. In honor of his innovative application of these technologies, Nilsson was awarded Hydrogen Sweden’s “Swedish Hydrogen Award” on October 27, 2022. He has garnered international attention, and many advocates for a hydrogen economy have visited, studied, and applauded his home. Perhaps most remarkable is that he built and funded the house entirely on his own and has lived in it off-grid since 2015. Hydrogen House America The Nilsson House is not the only example of a residence fueled by hydrogen. Halfway across the world, the non-profit Hydrogen House Project showcases a very similar residence in Hopewell, New Jersey. It was founded by inventor Mike Strizki in 2011. Five years earlier, he had converted his own home in Hopewell to run on solar and hydrogen power. Strizki completed the project with grants from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, supplemented by his own personal funds. He describes it as “the first solar-hydrogen residence in North America.” Like the Nilsson House, the primary source of power comes from solar photovoltaic panels. Electricity generated from the solar panels powers an electrolyzer that dissociates water to form hydrogen. The hydrogen is compressed and stored in tanks and later fed into a fuel cell where it can generate electricity again. Hydrogen doesn't just fuel the home. Strizki also drives a hydrogen fuel cell-powered car, which runs on the hydrogen his home creates. Even his lawn mower runs on a hydrogen fuel cell. As an additional energy source, his house also uses a geothermal system. Strizki's home has been running effectively and completely off-grid for twenty years, prompting him to build a second hydrogen-powered home. In 2015, the Hydrogen House Project announced that it had built “the first commercially produced fully-permitted and affordable, solar-hydrogen, on/off-grid residence in the world.” This second Strizki-built home was built in the town of Pennington, also located in New Jersey. It features solar panels with 40 kW production capacity, an electrolyzer to generate hydrogen, a hydrogen fuel cell, and 20 kW capacity of fuel-cell backup power from stored hydrogen. Since then, Strizki has built eight more hydrogen homes, and is planning to build eight more. Using the technologies applied in his Hydrogen House Project, Strizki invented also a unique Off-Grid Portable Charge Station, also called the Joule Box. It packages all the innovative energy features of the hydrogen house into a compact stand-alone “box” that can provide electricity for all the amenities required in a home, enough to power a full kitchen, laundry, bathrooms, hot tub, and multimedia entertainment systems during an electric power grid failure. The Joule Box functions as a portable charge station capable of providing continuous off-grid electricity. It features tracking solar panels with GPS technology and battery back-up power storage. Optional wind turbine and onboard hydrogen gas generation can provide extra energy production and storage capacity. The box can even back-feed power into the electrical grid. The concept of a hydrogen-powered home is also catching on in other countries. In 2020, the Hydrogen House Project announced Hydrogen House Australia, which will feature two new homes being built near Sydney. Separating Benefits from Costs The enthusiasm for hydrogen as the fuel source of the future raises one glaring question: Why isn't this fuel more widely used? The answer is that, like other clean and plentiful, renewable energy sources, it’s not easy to harness hydrogen. The extraction of hydrogen from water is only carbon neutral if the electricity used for generating it comes from renewable energy, like solar or wind power. On the plus side, hydrogen is abundant. In fact, hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. The sun and other stars are essentially big balls of hydrogen gas. However, hydrogen only occurs on Earth in compound form with other elements, such as in water, natural gas, petroleum, and coal. For hydrogen to be used as a fuel, it must be separated from these other elements. Extracting hydrogen from natural gas, petroleum, and coal creates harmful carbon emissions—just the kind that a clean energy future would avoid. Separating hydrogen from water gets around this problem, but it has challenges of its own. The process of electrolysis requires energy itself. Therefore, the extraction of hydrogen from water is only carbon neutral if the electricity used for generating it comes from renewable energy, like solar or wind power. Hydrogen is an efficient fuel, but the processes of electrolysis and compression of hydrogen for storage are big energy consumers, eating away at the efficiency gained by the fuel. Another obstacle to widespread use of hydrogen is the lack of an existing supply infrastructure. Hydrogen needs to be either highly pressurized or liquified when it is stored, transported, and dispensed. Hydrogen needs to be either highly pressurized or liquified when it is stored, transported, and dispensed. For more homes, cars, buildings, and industry to be able to run on hydrogen, the national energy transportation infrastructure would have to be modified and expanded to meet those needs. The federal Department of Energy, for example, is engaged in extensive research to address these challenges. Lastly, in addition to the huge investment required to upgrade the infrastructure, people who want to use hydrogen energy would also have to retrofit their homes, shops, and offices. One look at the myriad solar panels, electrolyzers, compressors, fuel tanks, and fuel cells of the two hydrogen-powered houses in Sweden and New Jersey will remind any enthusiast of the substantial upfront investment they will have to make before tapping into this abundant resource. On the other hand, the transition to clean energy is propelled by optimism, ingenuity, and persistence. Not too long ago, solar and wind power seemed like exorbitantly expensive pipe dreams, but they are now becoming more affordable, accessible, and commonplace. In the words of the Hydrogen House Project’s Mike Strizki, “A lot of new methods are going to come out in the next couple of years to make hydrogen cheaper and renewable, and that really is the holy grail.” Getting rid of fossil fuels requires all options and possibilities. With continued research, refinement, and cost-cutting, hydrogen may soon be one of the most potent weapons against climate change. *Richard Laezman is a freelance writer in Los Angeles, California. He has a passion for energy efficiency and innovation. He has been covering renewable power and other related subjects for more than ten years.

By Rick Laezman* The race is on. As society endeavors to rid itself of fossil fuels, the transportation sector stands to undergo dramatic changes in the coming years. Already, electric vehicles (EVs) have shaken up the automobile market. Now they face a challenger as hydrogen vehicles are also catching on as a clean fuel alternative. Are hydrogen-powered vehicles a realistic option? Will they replace EVs as the leading choice for consumers who don’t want an automobile that runs on fossil fuels? Fuel Cell Basics—How an Electro-Chemical Reaction Can Power a Car Most cars are powered by an internal combustion engine (ICE) that harnesses the power of small, controlled explosions to create forward momentum. The explosions are created when gasoline is fed into the engine's internal combustion chambers, pressurized, and ignited. The energy created from these explosions propels pistons, which travel up and down a rod, transferring their energy to a drive shaft, which turns the wheels of the car. In contrast, hydrogen-powered vehicles utilize a device known as a fuel cell. Hydrogen is contained in a tank in the form of a gas, but it is not ignited and consumed in the same way that gasoline is burned in an internal combustion engine. Instead, a chemical reaction separates the molecules of the hydrogen gas in a fuel cell to create an electric current. This current provides the electricity to move the car in the same way that it does in a battery-operated car. The fuel cell features three basic components. Hydrogen passes through an anode, which is a negatively charged entry point. Oxygen enters the system at the cathode, which is positively charged. At the anode, a catalyst splits the hydrogen molecules into electrons and protons. The protons pass through the third component of the fuel cell, which is a porous electrolyte membrane. At the same time, the electrons are forced through a circuit, generating an electric current and excess heat. At the cathode, the protons and electrons reunite and combine with oxygen to complete the circuit. The only byproducts of this process are water molecules and heat. This contrasts greatly with internal combustion engines, which produce exhaust gases—one of the primary causes of airborne pollutants and greenhouse gases. What Is so Great About a Hydrogen Car? Understanding the basic elements of a fuel cell gives a hint of the many advantages of hydrogen-powered cars. First is the availability of its primary source of fuel. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, and it is just as plentiful on Earth. As mentioned, it is also clean, producing only water and heat. Fuel cell vehicles are also efficient, quiet and can travel long distances. According to Drive Clean California, a consumer's guide to clean cars provided by the California Air Resources Board, fuel cell cars can carry enough hydrogen fuel for 300–400 miles of range. That's 100–200 miles more range than most EVs and comparable to gasoline-powered cars. Drive Clean California notes that fuel cell cars are much more efficient than gasoline-powered cars. They have longer range by a factor of two. However, they carry less fuel in the tank, so the actual range comes out to be about the same. Also, like gasoline-powered cars, fuel cell vehicles can be refueled in about five minutes. That's another advantage over EVs, which charge up in about thirty minutes in only the fastest scenario. More commonly, EVs take several hours to recharge, depending on the vehicle and the charger. Like any promising technology, fuel cell cars also have disadvantages. They are more complex to build than EVs, so fewer manufacturers have embraced the concept. Hydrogen must be pressurized before it can be stored in a fuel cell, and it is a highly flammable element, so it must be stored properly to avoid combustion. The high cost to build and purchase the cars and the lack of wide availability of hydrogen fuel have stood in the way of more production and growing consumer demand. The high cost to build and purchase the cars and the lack of wide availability of hydrogen fuel have stood in the way of more production and growing consumer demand. Another challenge for hydrogen-powered vehicles is the fuel’s production. While hydrogen is ubiquitous, it occurs only in combination with other elements, such as water, natural gas, petroleum, and coal. Because of this unique characteristic, hydrogen can only be used for generating electricity after it is separated from the other element it is combined with. The Many Colors of Hydrogen The most cost-effective way to produce hydrogen on a large scale is to separate it from fossil fuels, such as natural gas, oil, and coal. But this process, which creates what is known as “grey hydrogen,” also emits harmful CO2—the very thing the transportation sector is trying to reduce in its effort to combat global warming. Hydrogen can also be separated from natural gas through a process that involves steam separation. Known as “blue hydrogen,” this process still produces carbon emissions, but they are captured and stored before they can be released into the atmosphere. Finally, there is “green hydrogen,” the cleanest option. This produces no harmful greenhouse gases because it separates hydrogen from water using renewable energy. Green hydrogen is produced from a process called electrolysis, which works a lot like a fuel cell, only in reverse. It runs an electric current through water molecules and splits them into hydrogen and oxygen. While it may seem that green power has solved the problem of producing hydrogen without generating harmful greenhouse gases, it faces challenges of availability and cost. When the electricity is generated by renewable power, such as solar and wind, the entire cycle from start to finish is completely free of any carbon emissions (aside from the initial emissions required to produce solar and wind power). While it may seem that green power has solved the problem of producing hydrogen without generating harmful greenhouse gases, it faces challenges of its own. It is a far-off goal to develop renewable generating capacity to support electrolysis on a scale large enough to fuel a global adoption of hydrogen fuel-cell cars. It would require an even greater rollout of renewable energy than is already needed to power the world's escalating demand for clean electricity, and the cost of doing so is equally daunting. Another obstacle to widespread use of hydrogen is the lack of existing infrastructure. Hydrogen must be either highly pressurized or liquified when it is transported. Furthermore, it is not as dense as gasoline, so the volume of hydrogen that is needed to fuel a mass market of fuel cell cars is much greater than the volume of gasoline needed for ICE cars. For more cars to be able to run on hydrogen, the nation's existing storage and transportation infrastructure would have to be modified to accommodate the unique needs of this fuel. At this point, the US does not have the pipelines, delivery, and storage systems to handle these needs on a macro scale. Powering On These challenges have not slowed the movement for hydrogen fuel-cell cars. The prospects and benefits are too good to overlook. For example, American engineer, Mike Strizki, has built a home in Hopewell, New Jersey, that is completely off-grid and powered by a unique combination of solar, geothermal, and hydrogen energy. The latter is generated by an electrolyzer (through electrolysis) that is powered by his solar panels. His home is not the only thing powered by hydrogen. Strizki boasts that his lawn mower, motorcycle, All Terrain Vehicle (ATV), and his customized fuel cell car are all fueled by hydrogen his home produces. His car features two fuel cell stacks and an electric motor that was switched out of a bus. He tells a story about how he drove the car across the desert to Las Vegas and stopped along the way to drink the water that came out of his tailpipe. According to Strizki, hydrogen technology is here and it’s ready. “This is not the future, this is now.” He adds that great things are in store. “We are now at the very beginning of the learning curve of this technology,” he says. Hydrogen Cars Are Coming to Market At least two auto manufacturers are attempting to embrace hydrogen on a market scale. Korean automaker Hyundai describes its fuel cell vehicle, the Nexo, as “the world’s first dedicated hydrogen-powered SUV.” According to the company, the car has an estimated range of up to 380 miles. However, the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) is just over $60,000, which would not be considered affordable by the average car shopper. Another option is the Toyota Mirai. It has relatively the same fuel efficiency and range, while having a starting price of $49,000. Hydrogen cars have a lot of catching up to do if they are to compete with EVs. According to Car and Driver Magazine, by mid-2022, less than 15,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles could be found on US roads, and virtually all of them were in California. In contrast, about 2.5 million EVs have been sold in the U.S. While hydrogen isn't winning the competition against EVs in the open market, certain advantages may make it a favorite for certain specific types of travel. For example, long-haul trucks may be an ideal use for fuel cells because they won't have to stop as often to charge up. Garbage trucks are also a prime candidate for fuel cells because their frequent stopping and starting wears down an electric battery. The best approach may be incremental. Just as hybrids helped introduce consumers gradually to EVs— think of the Toyota Prius—a similar concept may encourage the public to embrace hydrogen. A vehicle that is powered both by an electric battery and a fuel cell will combine the best of both technologies, offering consumers a smooth transition to the technology while the supporting infrastructure is built out. Last year, French carmaker, Renault, introduced just such a model with its electric-hydrogen hybrid concept car. The “Scenic Vision” incorporates a hydrogen engine, electric motor, battery, fuel cell, and hydrogen tank. The greatest advantage to this combination is its greatly extended range. Renault boasts that the fuel cell enables the car to drive nearly 500 miles before having to recharge the battery. That's about 200 miles more than either an all-electric or a gasoline-powered car. The Future of Hydrogen All options are on the table when it comes to fighting global warming. The potential of hydrogen has been recognized. Whether society, technology, and markets can combine to make it effective remains an unanswered question. In the words of the hydrogen champion Mike Strizki, “A lot of new methods are going to come out in the next couple of years to make hydrogen cheaper and renewable, and that really is the holy grail.” If he is correct, many future automobile purchases may just be a clean, new, hydrogen fuel-cell car. *Richard Laezman is a freelance writer in Los Angeles, California. He has a passion for energy efficiency and innovation. He has been covering renewable power and other related subjects for more than ten years.

By Rick Laezman* Every step closer to a sustainable, carbon-free future brings another set of problems to solve. For example, wind power can generate pollution-free electricity, but turbines kill birds and must be disposed of after twenty years. Large-scale solar installations take up sensitive environmental habitats, and solar panels are produced with fossil fuels and toxic chemicals. Even the innocuous but ubiquitous cell phones create environmental problems related to their manufacturing, recycling, or disposal. The latest technology breakthroughs in energy innovation face a similar dilemma. Electric vehicle (EV) production is taking off because their popularity is increasing. But the materials used in EV batteries are problematic. Specifically, cobalt is an essential metal in today’s EV batteries, and its extraction is fraught with environmental and humanitarian issues. As EV numbers continue to surge, the world must grapple with these challenges for the industry to be truly sustainable. Why is Cobalt Valuable? Most consumers are blissfully ignorant about the details of the products they love to use. For example, most don't know how a cell phone or a computer or a television are made, what basic raw materials they are composed of, what environmental issues are created by the extraction of these materials, or what ethical problems are caused by their manufacturing processes. EVs are no exception. Everyone would love to drive them and whisk past the gas station. But few have an idea about what they are made of or what problems they may cause. Take, for example, cobalt. It appears in the 27th position on the periodic table of elements, where it rests comfortably in good company between Iron (Fe) and Nickel (Ni), which are in the 26th and 28th positions, respectively. Cobalt has a lot of valuable uses, including commercial, industrial, and military applications. Many of these uses are strategic and critical, such as magnets, jet turbines, and cancer treatments. It is even used in paint, ink, and varnish dye for porcelain and ceramics. Cobalt is most commonly used as an essential element in the cathode of a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which powers EVs. Other materials, like nickel and aluminum, can perform the same function but less effectively. Cobalt is extracted on every continent of the world except the Arctic. There is even cobalt on the ocean floor. The surging growth of EV production is exacerbating some of the problems associated with the extraction process of cobalt in certain countries with large deposits. One of the largest deposits can be found in a region known as the Central African Copperbelt. One of the largest deposits can be found in a region known as the Central African Copperbelt. It includes portions of Zambia and, most notably, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Harboring roughly half of the world's cobalt ore reserves and producing about 70% of the world's cobalt, the DRC is by far the largest producer of cobalt in the world. Alarming Extraction Practices The DRC’s cobalt-extraction industry exhibits critical environmental and humanitarian issues. Cobalt mining negatively impacts the natural environment as well as the human environment. The machinery and equipment ​​used to extract cobalt, and the generation of power they consume, emit greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. In addition, methods such as open-pit mining, acid leaching, and vapometallurgy (a process that utilizes carbon monoxide gas to extract cobalt) release toxins into the environment through the air, land, and water. Cobalt mining negatively impacts the natural environment as well as the human environment. For example, blasting releases excess nitrogen into the water supply. This can lead to a process known as eutrophication, which causes excess algae growth that can choke off an ecosystem, killing plants and animals. Dust particles released from drilling, blasting, loading and unloading, waste rocks, and other by-products contribute to air and land pollution that can cause breathing problems and environmental contamination. Cobalt’s radioactive properties make it beneficial in the treatment of cancer. However, these same properties make cobalt very dangerous, and its unmoderated release into the environment during the mining process has the inverse effect of making it a carcinogenic pollutant. As if these environmental effects were not harmful enough, cobalt mining also has another dark side. Much of the extraction in the DRC is done by so-called artisanal and small-scale mining, otherwise known as ASM. Sadly, these practitioners are known to engage in human rights abuses of their workers. In addition to exposing miners to unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, they also employ children as laborers. Many observers equate the ASM practices to slavery. Siddharth Kara, a visiting scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health and an expert on modern slavery, has studied the working conditions in the cobalt mines of the DRC. In his book, Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives, he offers an exposé of the conditions, as told through the testimonies of the Congolese people themselves. He describes the environment for workers in the harshest teams​, ​​​​calling them "absolutely subhuman, gut-wrenching conditions.” Forbes Magazine reports that Pope Francis reacted similarly on a recent visit to the DRC, calling the working conditions “terrible forms of exploitation, unworthy of humanity and of creation.” Furthermore, he implored the foreign corporations that own many of the mines to “stop choking Africa.” Clean Cobalt? With all its faults, can cobalt mining in the DRC become a sustainable industry? Demand for the mineral will continue to rise globally, as EVs and other battery-powered technology take an ever-expanding role in the world’s fight against climate change. Cobalt is a valuable raw material for the DRC. It brings essential commerce, wealth, and opportunity to the country. Yet, according to the World Bank, the DRC is one of the five poorest countries on the globe. Many of its low-income families are employed by the ASMs, and their employment, no matter how dangerous, is a ​​lifeline to economic sustenance and prosperity. With all this in mind, efforts are underway to make cobalt mining in the DRC more humane and environmentally responsible. The World Economic Forum offers several recommendations for addressing the most pernicious effects of cobalt mining. It outlines these recommendations in a white paper published in 2020. The white paper recommendations include what is described as the “formalization” of a traditionally informal economy. This means adopting common and accepted standards, metrics, monitoring, assessment, and information-sharing to ensure all stakeholders are engaged and working toward the same goals. This is a long-handed way of saying that the ASMs should be regulated and subject to strong oversight. The concepts of formalization and other regulatory reforms face no shortage of obstacles. Resistance to regulation from the mining industry and corruption within the national government top the list. It should also be noted that ​Chinese​​​ companies have an outsized presence in the DRC cobalt mining industry. Their cooperation and support are essential for any reforms to work. Experts in the field are also exploring alternatives to cobalt. For example, nickel and manganese can be used as substitutes for cobalt in the EV battery cathodes. Some researchers are even exploring battery technology that avoids the use of these materials at all. Finally, some critics argue these efforts are an exercise in “problem shifting.” Substituting alternative minerals creates new and sometimes worse environmental problems. The only real solution would be to limit the use of EVs and vehicles through urban planning that reduces dependence on individual vehicles and relies more on public transit and other forms of mobility that are not harmful to the environment. But judging from the continuous tremendous global popularity of vehicles and growing popularity of EVs, a solution that falls somewhere short of this extreme is probably more feasible. *Rick Laezman is a freelance writer in Los Angeles, California, US. He has a passion for energy efficiency and innovation. He has been covering renewable power and other related subjects for more than ten years.

By By Richard Kemeny* As we continue along the path to a warmer world, a vast, global migration is happening. The habitats animals have evolved to occupy are on the move, and to survive, each species must follow. This mass migration is set to ramp up in the future with huge implications for the animals and humans that depend on them for their livelihoods. At the same time, walls, fences, and fortifications are being constructed along borders under the auspices of national security. Designed to stop the flow of human migrants, they may prevent animals from crossing too. Without mitigation efforts and international cooperation, many species will come under increasing pressure and are at risk of dying out. By 2012, over 13% of the world’s international boundaries already had some form of physical barrier installed, and demand continues to rise. These structures fragment habitats, degrading the connectivity between landscapes and splitting populations apart. Barriers can stop animals from finding a mate, prey, or water, or from exchanging genetic information to sustain healthy populations in the wild. The US-Mexico wall, if completed, would render impossible the migration of endangered animals between the two countries, such as the Mexican grey wolf and the Sonoran pronghorn. This would weaken already threatened populations and could lead to their eventual demise. Winged animals are vulnerable too: low-flying pygmy owls and the Quino checkerspot butterfly would also struggle to pass, several reports have found. While progress has now been halted under the Biden administration, construction works have already caused widespread and deep ecological damage, says Laiken Jordal, Borderlands Campaign Manager for the Center for Ecological Biodiversity. “We know it’s horrific, we know it will cause localized extinction of some species...but the true lasting effects of this project, a lot of them are still unknown,” he says. Toward the end of the century, the specific climate niche of a startling number of species will have moved to a different country. The problem is by no means limited to North America, however. Around the world, new barriers are rising at political borders. New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences analyzed the combined impact of climate-driven animal migration and the growing presence of border fortifications. A team of researchers led by Mark Titley at Durham University modeled the impacts of climate change on animal migration patterns and how the shifting ecological boundaries would overlap with political ones. They discovered that toward the end of the century, the specific climatic niche of a startling number of species will have moved to a different country. While most animals are not aware of political boundaries, huge problems can arise. “Our simulations show that species will move generally towards the poles and to higher altitudes as the climate changes,” says Titley. “For the US-Mexico border, this means the vast majority of cross-border movement is projected to be northward from Mexico into the USA,” he says. Titley’s research examined the niches of over 12,700 species of birds and most terrestrial mammals. The team then compared the results to projections of how environmental ranges would change under the four carbon emissions scenarios used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The findings were combined with spatial data on national boundaries around the world, including fortifications currently under construction. Under the highest rate of carbon emissions, the researchers found that by the year 2070, around 35% of mammals and 29% of birds would have over half of their climatic niches in new countries. Over half of the modeled animals would have more than a fifth of their new niche beyond a current national boundary. “In some regions, particularly where governance and cross-border collaboration are already weak and human pressures are high, this will be challenging,” the authors write. Most of the movement is expected in central and eastern Africa, in the Himalayas, the western Amazon region, between China and Russia, and on the US-Mexico border. Even with no physical barrier, animals may still migrate into new jurisdictions with completely different conservation levels. Fortifications add further difficulties. The US-Mexico border has already shrunk populations of pumas and coatis, research has found. Border fencing in Central Asia appears to be impeding ungulate migrations. Razor-wire fencing set up on the border between Slovenia and Croatia in 2015 has killed herons and ungulates, such as red deer and wild boar. Overall, fortified borders intersected with the ranges of 18.5% of all non-flying mammals surveyed, the PNAS study found. Borders that could be particularly damaging ecologically include the fence being set up between India and Myanmar and fences on the frontier between China and Russia. Jordal says they are already noticing a northward shift of habitat of a range of species at the US-Mexico borderlands. “As habitats shift, for wildlife it’s like they're having the rug pulled out from under them, and if they want to survive they’ll have to stay on it as it moves,” he says. “But now they’ll be met with this impassable thirty-foot high metal wall stopping them from tracking their habitats as climate change progresses. We certainly expect to see dead animals on the south side of the wall if they haven’t been able to access cooler habitats to the north,” Jordal says. The impacts on each species will depend on how much suitable climate remains on the side it is trapped on. If this dwindles, and escape is impossible, many populations could decline and eventually die out. “Even if their populations are reduced to smaller sizes but not fully lost, it can be a big problem as it makes them increasingly vulnerable to other threats like habitat loss, hunting, or random weather events,” Titley says. International cooperation, though often challenging to achieve, is critical to tackling shared ecological threats. There are several mitigation efforts that could help. Where there are no barriers, ecologists can ensure habitats are still connected between countries. Neighboring countries can create trans frontier conservation areas, which provide habitat continuity across political borders. These are already being trialed in Africa, says Titley, where a cooperation between national parks in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has led to an increase in the local gorilla populations. Yet the study found the largest effects of climate-driven climate migration to be in countries with lower GDP and governance levels, which may complicate conservation efforts in the areas that need it most. Where border barriers exist, thoughtful design could go a long way to help animals cross them. “This could include smaller gaps to allow small-bodied animals to pass through, or larger openings in ecologically important places where human migratory pressures are low,” Titley says. As with many of the consequences of climate change, addressing the source is by far the most effective solution. “It's important to remember there's no substitute for deep and swift cuts to greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change, and therefore these animal movements, in the first place,” Titley says. *Richard Kemeny is a freelance science journalist from the UK. He writes about archaeology, earth sciences, biology, ecology and the environment. Follow him on Twitter @rakemeny.

By Richard Kemeny* In many parts of the world, fields are filled with grazing animals—but few trees or crops. Now a different approach—silvopasture or the intentional practice of combining trees, livestock, and forage plants on the same land—is growing in popularity due to its many benefits for people, animals, plants, and the environment. In Brazil, a country battling deforestation in its Amazon basin and other parts of its land, some farmers are exploring ways to increase silvopasturing. Deforestation Imperils Land and Air Forests around the world are under threat from rising deforestation and the local and global effects of climate change. Indeed, agricultural expansion is the cause of 80% of deforestation in the global tropics and sub-tropics. In Brazil, cattle-ranching is one of the leading drivers of deforestation. Ranchers clear away forests, releasing vast amounts of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. If they use unmanaged cattle ranching, in which animals roam free, their herds soon tarnish the land, leaving it less productive, damaging soils and eventually leaving little to no vegetation—meaning less carbon is absorbed by the land. Ranchers move on to new ground, and the cycle continues. Silvopasture could help to alleviate some of these problems. It’s estimated that around 1.36 billion acres of land are currently under silvopasture worldwide, with successful large-scale projects in places spread as far as Japan and Portugal. While the amount of silvopasture land in Brazil has been rising, widespread adoption of this practice still faces several challenges. Silvopasture and Healthy Landscapes Silvopasture is created either by planting trees on existing pasture, or only removing certain areas of woodland when preparing land for grazing or agriculture. When a silvopasture site is brought into balance, there should be a healthy growth of grassland that feeds the animals and helps recycle nutrients into the land for crops. One of the major benefits of the system is improved animal health. By including trees into the landscape, cattle have access to shelter and shade, and more space to graze. This reduces the stress of the animals, and allows them to spend less of their energy on temperature maintenance and more on growth—research suggests it can increase animal weight by up to 10%. This results in improved lifestyle for the animals, and healthier profits for the ranchers. In the United States, many farmers are introducing silvopasturing systems on their land. On Early Boots Farm in Minnesota, farmer Tyler Carlson took up silvopasturing in 2012. He now sees many benefits to the system, notably the expanded grazing area for his livestock. Carlson thinned out several acres of dense forests, where previously no forage grew underneath. Now the silvopasture grasslands compete with open grasslands and are even more productive in times of extreme heat and drought. The introduction of native tree species also adds a range of ecological benefits to an agricultural landscape, boosting local wildlife and biodiversity by offering new habitats and sources of food. Strengthening biodiversity improves a landscape’s resilience to adverse weather events, including those brought on by climate change. The plant life also helps the spread of fungi that are essential to healthy soil function. Financial and Climatic Benefits Silvopasture also brings a range of economic incentives for farmers aside from healthier animals. Economic analyses have shown that these systems can be more profitable than forestry or simple grazing. In traditional silvopasture systems, the trees are productive: Their fruits or nuts can be exported to generate profit; other trees can be sustainably harvested for their timber. Trees also mitigate flood damage by opening up soils with their roots and allowing water to seep in. In the face of increasing weather events over the next century, this could prevent huge losses from flooded agricultural land. Estimates suggest a pasture with trees can sequester up to ten times more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than treeless land. Adding more trees into the landscape—or removing fewer—has clear positive effects on both local and global environments. Estimates suggest a pasture with trees can sequester up to ten times more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than treeless land. Through a process known as evapotranspiration, intact forests also soak up water from the ground and emit it as water vapor, which evaporates and cools the surrounding environment. Conversely, removing trees breaks this cycle. One recent study found that deforestation can boost temperatures in local areas, on top of the rising temperatures due to global climate breakdown. On the flip side, another study found that adding trees into pasture could lower local temperatures (by up to 2.4°C = 4.32°F). Researchers in Brazil and around the world are studying silvopasture to understand and quantify the benefits it can bring. In one study, carried out at the University of New Hampshire, scientists compared plots of silvopasture, regular pasture, and forest. They removed 50% to 60% of trees from silvopasture plots, then seeded foraging plants before introducing cows. Then, they set up meteorological stations to measure microclimatic variables in the air and soil. They found silvopasture plots emitted less carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere from the soil, while carbon storage stayed the same. “Our results suggest that silvopasture may offer a biogeochemical ‘middle ground’ between intact secondary forests and managed open fields, retaining the climate benefits of forests while enabling expansion of the agricultural land base,” the researchers write. Silvopasture in Brazil In Brazil, agroforestry has been practiced by indigenous communities for thousands of years. In the Amazon, the combination of forestry and crop-growing has long been used to produce cacao, açai, coffee, and nuts. Silvopasture is growing in popularity in both the Cerrado, a tropical woodland savanna, and the Gran Chaco, a forest region over twice the size of California that spreads over Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina. A recent study reviewed the scientific impacts of silvopasture in the Caatinga, a dryland ecosystem in Brazil’s northeast home to around twenty-five million people. As far back as the 1860s, residents realized the negative impact of livestock on the local biome and started growing trees in pasture to improve livestock productivity. There are now many books and reports describing best practices. As far back as the 1860s, residents realized the negative impact of livestock on the local biome and started growing trees in pasture to improve livestock productivity. Most of the Caatinga dryland is located in a climatic depression, which blocks rainfall from reaching the area. Rainfall varies hugely between years, and every few decades, the region faces a severe drought lasting as long as five years. A team of scientists from the University of Florida found that maintaining 40% tree cover would produce a sustainable silvopastoral system in this region to help alleviate some of the climate issues. The results could benefit similar drylands, 90% of which exists in developing countries. Another two-year study examined cattle growth in legume silvopasture plots compared to grass monoculture. The researchers investigated the impact of the introduction of two tree legumes—gliricidia and mimosa—into a landscape in the sub-tropical state of Pernambuco. They found that the introduction of gliricidia increased animal productivity more than the monoculture or mimosa, indicating that the type of legume introduced is key to success. Silvopasture systems including tree legumes could therefore provide numerous ecosystem services and reduce the carbon footprint in livestock systems in the tropics. In Brazil, this new growth could help to regenerate deserted land, restoring nutrients to the soil. Challenges Of course, there are barriers to the adoption of silvopasturing in Brazil. Ultimately, whether silvopasture or similar agroforestry projects can have any tangible impact depends on the political discourse within the country. The Amazon rainforest will remain under tremendous threat from deforestation and forest fires unless long-term environmental protections are implemented across all administrations. Cost is also an issue. To establish effective silvopasture requires high up-front costs, and long-term maintenance fees. Each element of silvopasture comes with its own associated needs and costs. Another potential hurdle is culture. Owning cattle offers a level of respect within certain parts of Brazilian society, meaning some ranchers could be averse to changing their ways. However, according to the research of Rachael Garrett at Boston University, this could also help to spread the idea. Garret visited a Brazilian silvopasture farm in 2017. The cattle rancher had swapped his cattle from those raised for beef to dairy cows; he had planted rows of eucalyptus trees to shade the cows and provide an additional income source, and regularly rotates his crops to renew the soil. The amount of integrated agroforestry land in the Brazil jumped more than seven-fold between 2010 and 2016, reaching 11.5 million hectares. Her research suggests that if higher-status members of society successfully run silvopasture farms like this, others could follow. “Status counts. Somebody needs to prove that it works,” she said in a statement. And it could be working: data from Embrapa, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, suggests the amount of integrated agroforestry land in the country jumped more than seven-fold between 2010 and 2016, reaching 11.5 million hectares (44,401 square miles). Farmers across Brazil are showing increased interest in silvopasture. In Pará, for example, farmers are experimenting with planting commercially important trees such as eucalyptus and African mahogany. If Brazilians can find the political and financial will to promote silvopasture across the country, it would be a win-win for Brazil and the global climate. *Richard Kemeny writes about archaeology, marine biology, oceanography, ecology, technology, and the environment.

By Richard Kemeny* During the holiday period of December 2022, Americans who were dreaming of a white Christmas got more than they bargained for. Sudden, intense, heavy snowfall, and freezing temperatures swiftly grounded parts of North America to a halt. In Casper, Wyoming, temperatures plummeted as low as –72.2°F (–41°C), a level not seen since 1931. Many climate scientists believe this kind of extreme, unpredictable weather—known as climate volatility, but sometimes called “climate whiplash”—is expected to become more common as global warming transforms the climate system. The speed with which temperatures fell in the United States may be an example: Between December 21–25, a powerful arctic front swept into the northern US. Some 200 million people came under a winter storm advisory or warning, and a million people lost electrical power, according to a 2023 climate report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). What’s causing the whiplash? While scientists have a good idea about the interaction between climate change and extreme weather events, there are some key puzzles yet to be solved. The Polar Vortex Much of the discussion swirling around the cold weather that struck North America involved the polar vortex. This mass of cold wind surrounds the North Pole and intensifies during the winter as the sun’s heat moves away. Scientists think that fluctuations in the polar vortex (due to a warming climate) may be a principal cause of increasing extreme weather events. Contrary to many news reports, the polar vortex itself doesn’t descend to bring down cold air. It is situated in the stratosphere on both poles, roughly fifteen to fifty kilometers (nine to thirty-one miles) above the Earth’s surface—far from the weather experienced on the ground. Yet as the vortex becomes unstable, it affects the jet stream below, causing fluctuations that can open a route for cold polar air to move into. Climate volatility has increased significantly over the last six decades. For instance, in Europe, tree ring data show the jet stream has become more variable and extreme. “The timing of the changes suggests that it’s anthropogenic,” Valerie Trouet, a climate scientist at the University of Arizona, told Yale 360. The relationship between the vortex and the jet stream appears to be reciprocal, too. The Earth’s atmosphere flows around the planet like a fluid, meaning weather changes at lower altitudes—and variations in the jet stream—can have knock-on effects to the vortex, too. The Earth’s atmosphere flows around the planet like a fluid, meaning weather changes at lower altitudes can have knock-on effects to the polar vortex, too. “Like an elastic band, the vortex usually rebounds back to its normal shape and size, maintaining its strong winds and low temperatures,” writes Zachary Lawrence, a Research Scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Amy Butler, Chemistry & Climate Processes Research Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in The Conversation. But occasionally these variations knock the vortex off balance, leading to structural breakdown. This is thought to have happened over the 2022 holiday period: a sudden violent warming tore the polar vortex apart, releasing weather chaos. Extreme Warm Weather Meanwhile, in Europe, climate whiplash presented itself in the form of unseasonably warm weather. Eight European countries experienced the hottest January day on record (January 1, 2023), according to data analyzed by professional climatologist Maximiliano Herrera. “We can regard this as the most extreme [climate] event in European history,” Herrera told The Guardian. While North America was paralyzed by a cold chill, Budapest experienced its warmest-ever Christmas Eve, according to Reuters. In Bilbao, Spain, temperatures rose to 25.1°C (about 77.1°F) in early January, over 10°C (or 18°F) above the average for this time of year. The causes of this abnormally warm period are unknown, though scientists suggest warming sea surface temperatures could be to blame. One possible cause for the unusually warm weather was a mass of hot air passing over from Africa—something that has been attributed to the weakening polar vortex. “In December, we saw an elongation and weakening of the stratospheric polar vortex in the Arctic,” said Judah Cohen, a visiting scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cohen's research suggests that stretches in the polar vortex have grown increasingly common over the last four decades. A Confluence of Tornadoes It’s not just temperatures that are experiencing abnormal swings. Another phenomenon is happening in the center of North America, in a region stretching from Texas to Wisconsin known as Tornado Alley. This well-known tornado hotspot appears to be moving. Locals in this valley are familiar with destruction, but it appears to be spreading to their neighboring states in the Southeast: Tornadoes are hitting states like Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky. On December 10, 2021, tornadoes, at least one twisting at speeds up to 190 mph, rampaged through several Midwestern and Southern states. Many of the 93 people killed that day were in Mayfield, Kentucky. This apparent shift in tornado activity could be due to climate change, which is expected to bring more frequent and severe extreme weather. There were 1,329 preliminary tornado reports across North America in 2022, above the average of 1,225.1 between 1991 and 2020. (NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Monthly Tornadoes Report for Annual 2022, published online January 2023). Scientists suspect that climate change raises the potential for thunderstorms in the Southeast, which could potentially increase tornado formation. Tornado Alley steals most of the limelight from Dixie Alley, a lesser-known tornado region stretching through Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Georgia. "It seems to me that there really is a perception that people think the tornadoes only happened in Tornado Alley," Harold Brooks, a senior scientist at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Oklahoma, told WFAA. Scientists suspect that climate change raises the potential for thunderstorms in the Southeast, which could potentially increase tornado formation. Scientists use a metric called the Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) to measure thunderstorm severity. Some parts of the United States have seen between ten and fifteen more days with high CAPE values than tracked before, in both spring and summer. This suggests the potential for thunderstorms—and therefore tornadoes—is rising. How to Predict, Prepare, and Survive Scientists around the world are working on further understanding extreme weather. But predicting extreme events, such as the sudden warming of the stratosphere this winter, is notoriously difficult. Even with a reduction—or immediate cessation—in carbon emissions, considered by scientists to be the main driver of climate change, extreme weather is still predicted to worsen. Future weather prediction differs depending on regions and at best is thought to last a maximum of two weeks or less. Even with a reduction—or immediate cessation—in carbon emissions, considered by scientists to be the main driver of climate change, extreme weather is still predicted to worsen. Many communities around the world are preparing to mitigate some of the more destructive impacts. Cities across North America are investing in new infrastructure capable of withstanding extreme weather. Baltimore and Minneapolis, for example, are investing in the idea of “Resilience Hubs,” which seek to use local networks to boost resources and services both before and after extreme floods, hurricanes, or tornadoes. Sadly, many of the hardest-hit countries from the effects of climate change are those without the resources to deal with the coming impacts. Afghanistan, for example, ravaged by decades of conflict and instability, is seeing soaring summer temperatures and increasingly bitter winters. Between 1950 and 2010, temperatures there rose by 3.24°F (1.8°C), and the worst-case scenarios suggest temperatures could rise by a further 10.8°F (6°C) by the end of the century. Coastal countries like Bangladesh are facing sea-level rise on an unprecedented scale. Between 2000 and 2019, extreme weather events cost Bangladesh $3.72 billion. Not all hope is lost. At COP27 in November 2022, a “Loss and Damage” fund was established for vulnerable communities. If this succeeds in transferring money to those countries who need it most, they can start preparing for the increasingly volatile weather the world is expected to face. But as the world continues to warm, the future climate is looking increasingly unstable. *Richard Kemeny writes about archaeology, marine biology, oceanography, ecology, technology, and the environment.

By Rattan Lal* A handful of healthy soil is teeming with life. The billions of organisms, bacteria, and fungi that live and work in soil are responsible for what can almost be considered the basis for life on earth. Put another way, these organisms decompose dead plants and animals to release nutrients for future uptake by plants— and a step further up the food chain— for uptake by animals and humans once they have eaten the plants. This natural process of cycling nutrients creates vital material known as soil organic matter (SOM), the origin of plant nutrition. Ultimately, healthy soil is crucial for maintaining Earth’s ecosystems. A working group established by the Soil Science Society of America defined soil health as “the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living system…to sustain biological productivity, maintain the quality of air and water, and promote plant, animal, and human health.” How Does Healthy Soil Impact Human Health? Today’s renewed interest in the soil-human health connection comes from the modern ‘One Health’ concept that links human health to the health of the soil. SOM is crucial in providing nutritious food to humans because it assists micronutrient uptake through what is called the chelation effects of SOM. Chelation is a process that increases the absorption of nutrients rather than allowing for nutrient loss through excretion. Unfortunately, the nutrient content in plant-based food is being reduced by the so-called dilution effect—where increases in fertilizer and water lead to higher yields but poorer nutritional quality of individual crops. In order to supplement traditional approaches to nutrition-enhancement—nitrogenous fertilizer, irrigation, and other energy-intensive inputs—emphasis is shifting now to the role of rhizospherical microbes that lurk near the root microbiome of plants. Scientists are studying the services that rhizosphere bacteria provide, such as the promotion of plant growth and the immobilization of heavy metals in the soil. Research has shown that long-term overuse of chemical inputs acidifies the soil and reduces the diversity of these important microbes. Can the Right Soil Provide More and Healthier Food—on Less Land? Our growing global population requires an increase in the quantity and nutritional quality of food. Rather than expanding agriculture’s share of finite global lands, increases in crop production can be better achieved by restoring soil functionality and reducing land area under cultivation. It is in this context that building up the SOM content of degraded and depleted agricultural land is an important strategy. Increasing SOM also grows soil organic carbon (SOC) stock. SOC—about 50% of the SOM—is depleted from agroecosystems by erosion, mineralization, and leaching. Accelerated erosion by water and wind transports SOC laterally along with clay and finer materials. The SOC removed by erosion is transferred to the hydrosphere (including oceans, rivers, and clouds) and atmosphere with adverse effects on ecosystem services. Improving soil health promotes consistent and nutritious yields while also aiding carbon sequestration and reducing erosion. Rather than focusing on the impact of SOM on maximizing crop yields, looking at its effects on maintaining a consistent yield—especially under stressed seasons of low rainfall—and nutritious food should provide a better framework for soil management. One important tool for achieving consistent, quality yields is site-specific SOM management. There are over 300,000 global soil series—areas with distinctly different soils—therefore, site-specific relations must be established between SOM content and crop yield. Positive effects of SOM content on crop yield have been reported by several researchers. Crop yield and SOM content are mutually reinforcing phenomena: increase in crop yield enhances SOM content and vice versa. Because of numerous and complex interacting factors, it is critical—and difficult—to establish a direct cause-effect relationship between crop yield and SOM content. Nonetheless, available data indicate that all other factors being equal, soils with high SOM content have high yields. Addressing Key Farming Challenges Now and for the Future Fertilizer use-efficiency: The overuse and inefficient use of fertilizer has severe impacts on soil and ecosystem health. Additionally, producing and applying excessive volumes of fertilizer wastes a tremendous amount of energy. In the US, fertilizer use-efficiency is only about forty percent. Attention and resources are needed to engage chemical engineers to develop better solutions that are not immediately soluble and will minimize degradation and pollution. Region-by-region yield gap: Across the world, there are significant discrepancies between regional crop yields caused by limited understandings of best practices. Knowledge-sharing initiatives with national-level support are one strategy to improve yields. Dr. Lal led a 1971 study in Nigeria that produced a five-fold yield increase by incorporating no-till methods and core residue mulching. Food for megacities: There are currently twenty-eight megacities in the world with the city of Lagos, Nigeria, projected to reach a population of ninety-three million by 2100. Producing food within city limits for the local people is a key need in these locations. Urban farming, home gardening, even growing a few tomato plants in pots, will help. Developing means to safely and hygienically recycle nutrients that enter the city and waste produced within will be an important advancement. Plant-based diet: It is important to consider responsible strategies for feeding a projected population of eleven billion people with a healthy diet. The nutrients, water, and land required for animal-based protein production are much higher than those required for plant-based protein. Relying on the prevalent animal-based diet requires careful reconsideration. Plant-based diets have notable health benefits and are more environmentally sustainable. Supporting farmers to promote soil health: Farmers and land managers are the front-line actors in charge of how soil is maintained. Incentive schemes are one possible policy that can be used to encourage investment in best practices to build SOM. To this end, it would be necessary to develop methods of monitoring and modeling soil health under field conditions that farmers and policy makers can relate to and understand. Harnessing Waste is Critical for Soil Health In nature, there is no such thing as waste. You can use what we call waste, whether it is animal or agricultural, to produce energy or to convert it into humus or compost for enhancing the soil. Soil dies when we take away the so-called waste (corn stalks or wheat chaff, for instance) that serves as food for soil-friendly organisms that convert it into SOM to feed healthy plants. Enhancing SOM content is the critical strategy for making soil and agriculture important solutions to the environmental problems of the twenty-first century. *Rattan Lal, Ph.D., is a distinguished professor of Soil Science in the School of Environment and Natural Resources and director of the CFAES Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration at The Ohio State University.

By Radwan A. Al-Weshah* As the twin disasters of flash flooding and persistent drought plague arid regions across the globe, The Earth & I reached out to esteemed hydrologist and educator, Dr. Radwan Al-Weshah, for his views on the situation in South Sinai, Egypt. What are science and tradition doing to address the crisis there? Sinai is Devastated by Flooding and Drought In most arid regions in the Middle East and North Africa, the problems of flash flooding and drought pose a serious threat to human life and livelihoods. Flash flooding—a surface water response to intense and sudden rainfall—can occur rapidly with almost no lead time, resulting in damage from high flow velocities and heavy sediment loads. Flash flooding can damage or destroy infrastructure, livestock, and local plants and animals while causing serious health impacts, including death, injury, contamination of drinking water, disease, and the displacement of people. South Sinai, Egypt, is no stranger to the devastation of natural disasters. The South Sinai region of the Sinai Peninsula is devoid of local freshwater sources and cannot transport water from the distant Nile River basin. The lack of sustainable surface water, limited shallow groundwater resources, and devastating and frequent cycles of flash flood incidents lead to exceptionally severe drought on the one hand and damage from flood water inundation on the other. Worse still, increased human activity and expanding human settlements in the region have exacerbated the impacts of flash floods, leading to greater loss of life and resultant socioeconomic problems. Harvesting Floodwater for Drought-Stricken Communities and Crops However, there is hope to reduce these negative impacts through the use of flood risk and disaster mitigation response tools. Particularly in areas where drought is also a problem, developing ways to collect flash flood water and store the excess in reservoirs or soil moisture can positively address both catastrophes. Recently, a number of studies were conducted for flood prediction and mitigation in different wadis—dry channels that carry water during the rainy season—in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. One study presented a method for predicting the floodwater runoff volume using geographic information system (GIS) mapping and hydrological models and discussed ways of mitigating flood hazards in Sinai using small dams and open channels. Another innovative study presented a comprehensive analysis of protection from flood risks, a rainwater harvesting process, and a way to link their system to the recharging of groundwater aquifers using different hydrological models—all designed as part of a flood mitigation plan for Wadi Watier in South Sinai, Egypt. New studies such as these can be used effectively by decision makers to integrate surface and groundwater hydrology to mitigate and harvest flash flood water. Large-Scale Dams Stop Flooding at a Price Generally speaking, flood mitigation and risk management studies focus on what are called hard or soft engineering projects. Hard engineering (structural) projects are ones that involve the construction of artificial structures that, through a combination of science, technology, and a bit of brute force, prevent a wadi from flooding. Hard engineering projects are generally very successful and have a large impact on wadis. Unfortunately, the effects of a hard engineering project can disrupt ecological systems in the drainage basin. The high cost, technological requirements, and ongoing maintenance of “hard-engineered” projects make them unfeasible in countries without significant economic resources. Hard engineering structures such as dams generally involve the containment of large volumes of water so if they were to fail for some reason, the impacts could be many times worse than if the wadi had been allowed to flood naturally. There is also the high cost and technological and maintenance requirements of hard engineering projects that make them unfeasible in countries without significant economic resources. The People of Sinai are Doing Their Best with Sustainable, Affordable Solutions Soft engineering projects—nonstructural, lower cost mechanisms that suit the region’s technical and socioeconomic conditions—use natural resources and local people’s knowledge of the wadi to reduce risks posed by flooding without trying to prevent flooding entirely. Soft engineering projects are significantly cheaper than hard engineering projects, making them more suitable for less developed countries. Their construction, maintenance, and technology requirements are such that they can be implemented by local people in remote parts of poorer countries. Soft engineering projects are also more sustainable than their hard engineering counterparts because they do not disturb the natural processes and ecological systems in wadi basins, choosing instead to integrate with natural structures and, in some cases, improve them. An underground concrete reservoir is one of the most appropriate water harvesting techniques for South Sinai, in part because it is easily maintained by the Bedouins who live there. Bedouins also capture floodwaters in hafirs—constructed earthen catchment ponds—and use cisterns to harvest rainwater for domestic and livestock uses. Low-cost gabion dams—consisting of wired-together mesh baskets filled with stones to form a flexible wall—used with underground reservoirs have been highly requested by local stakeholders. In addition, low earthen or stone dykes in the wadi beds (locally known as Oqum) are commonly used. Oqum are usually protected by remnants of vegetation. In some cases, the natural recharge of shallow groundwater aquifers can occur in the sediment deposits in wadi depressions. The total amount of rainfall and flash flood water that could be utilized annually in North and South Sinai is estimated to be around 1.3 billion cubic meters. The total amount of rainfall and flash flood water that could be utilized annually in North and South Sinai is estimated to be around 1.3 billion cubic meters. Some studies suggest that this quantity could even be increased to 1.5 billion cubic meters. In order to harvest and use the water from flash floods, it is necessary to identify the locations of potential water harvesting sites. GIS and remote sensing with distributed watershed models are being used by scientists and engineers as effective tools to identify these locations. Modern watershed modeling systems (WMS) have proven to be highly effective in mapping, investigating, and modeling the runoff processes and optimization of the rainwater harvesting. WMS use satellite imagery to determine a series of measurements including the water flow and drainage capacities of an area, maximum flow distance, overland flow distance, basin slope, basin area, the volume of the annual flood, and basin length. Armed with this data, hydrologists can calculate flashflood total discharges and identify storage capacity. The end product? WMS models can help in locating potential areas suitable for surface water harvesting and promote the percolation of trapped water into the alluvium (sand and gravel sediment) aquifers. Though scientists are armed with increasingly sophisticated technology and local traditions assist with addressing the hydrological issues in South Sinai, significant challenges remain for hydrological engineers and others to solve the flood and drought nexus there. Further study and political will are required to design and build sustainable water management systems that can put an end to frequent flash flooding and persistent drought in this and other arid regions of the world. *Radwan A. Al-Weshah is a Professor of Civil Engineering and former Dean of Scientific Research at the University of Jordan in Amman. Dr. Al-Weshah is a senior academic leader, professional technical consultant, and devoted educator in hydrology and water resource engineering. His leadership in engineering analysis, modelling in hydrological studies of floods and flood risk mapping, and design of major hydraulic structures extends throughout the Middle East and other parts of the globe.

By Peter Mullany* When we think about our municipal wastewater treatment plants, we usually do not imagine them as helping hospitals to save lives. However, because antibiotic resistance is such a growing threat to the effective treatment of bacterial infections, these water-detoxification facilities can actually play a role in reducing such resistance. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARBs) increase the risk of complications while patients recover from routine surgeries and other hospital procedures. Overuse of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture, as well as antibiotic pollution contaminating the environment, exacerbate the proliferation of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance can spread between humans and animals and across geographical borders. Therefore, effectively tackling the problem will require a “One Health” approach. As the World Health Organization describes it, this means taking into account the needs of humans, animals, and the environment in finding solutions that work for all. Wastewater is a notorious spreader of bacteria. That is why wastewater treatment plants are crucial to cleansing ARBs from our wastewater and for removing the antibiotic residues that wastewater contains. Once treated wastewater is released back into the environment, it must be safe. To this end, investigating the potential spread of ARBs and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in wastewater treatment plants is critical. Research conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles, has opened the door to understanding the fate of ARGs in our wastewater. Michael Stenstrom, the investigation’s lead researcher and wastewater treatment expert, notes, “Treatment plants are essentially connected to almost all the things in our daily lives. And so, we want to make sure that we’re not making antibiotic-resistant bacteria or releasing antibiotic resistance genes in our treatment plants.” Dr. Stenstrom’s preliminary data indicates that wastewater treatment may in fact be beneficial for removing ARGs from circulation, at least to an extent. The team looked at the concentration of three different ARGs before and after treatment. The outbound samples for all plants tested showed at least a fivefold decrease in ARGs. In particular, long solids retention time (SRT) plants, which rely on longer-lived bacteria trained to break down toxins in wastewater, showed the greatest reduction rates. This is good news, since long SRT plants are highly effective at removing noxious agents from wastewater. This is important and promising preliminary data that shows that water treatment plants can decrease ARGs. However, this is just the beginning of the possible research. More investigation is needed to understand what prevents the bacteria used in treatment plants from acquiring antibiotic resistance and if and how these plants can become more efficient in stripping ARGs and ARBs from the water supply. Another avenue of future research is the possible effects of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) on the spread of ARGs in wastewater treatment. HGT is the ability of bacteria to transmit genetic material from one organism to another. This can result in antibiotic resistance being transmitted from one bacterium to another. Thus, it must be asked: How much HGT occurs in wastewater treatment plants? Bacteria have a range of different mobile genetic elements (MGEs), all of which have differing abilities to spread in various environments. Some MGEs can move around within a genome, while others can be transferred from one organism to another. The question remains: Can some MGEs spread ARGs more efficiently than others in water treatment plants? The further investigation of other ARGs and any association with MGEs may give us a deeper understanding of the role that these treatment plants can provide in pushing back against the rising tide of antibiotic resistance. Understanding the mechanisms at play is the first crucial step. Once research has uncovered how bacteria and antibiotics work in waste treatment, the door opens to tackle any vulnerabilities. We will then be able to consider using the techniques of synthetic biology to remove some of the more problematic ARGs and MGEs from the bacteria in these plants, as needed. Advances in CRISPR-Cas gene targeting is one method to explore. Another frontier of research—one that I am currently investigating at University College London—is the construction of anti-ARG gene cassettes (pieces of genetic material transferred into bacteria) that would target and destroy ARGs. Water treatment plants are ideal locations to test these methods of combating ARGs. The bacteria used for detoxification can be armed with anti-ARG cassettes that could both stop them from becoming reservoirs of resistance and even spread anti-resistance. Nevertheless, as Dr. Stenstrom also advises in his research, these encouraging possibilities for future progress should not be seen as an excuse for continuing the inappropriate use of antibiotics in daily life. *Peter Mullany is a professor of molecular microbiology at University College London.