The power of green goo

Germany debuts the first-ever algae-powered building. A residential complex in Hamburg, Germany, known as the BIQ House, has made its debut with algae as the main power source. It is a net-zero structure. Surprisingly, it only took three years to be completed.

Like fermented grapes? Like public lands and wildlife? You may have to choose…

Changing temperatures have cascading effects. Growing areas for wine-producing regions are in jeopardy as temperatures rise. Wine-producers from around the world explore alternate lands for vineyards. Not surprisingly, prime vineyard lands happen to fall in primo regions like the already densely inhabited Mediterranean or wildlife corridors of the Yellowstone to Yukon ranch land.

Why go hybrid when methane is cheaper?

Russia deals with “pain at the gas pump” by adopting natural gas cars which run on methane. Despite fears that cars will explode while using natural gas in tanks on cars, the savings is enough for people to install aftermarket conversion kits. One user reportedly gets 140 miles on about a gallon of gas, which costs him the equivalent of $3.80 in Russian rubles.

Honeybee in peril

Dramatic decreases in honeybee populations across Spain and the United States have prompted evaluation of the die-offs. Many signs point to the use of neonics, a class of pesticide that is widely used. However, disparities exist as honeybee populations in Canada and Australia – both countries that use pesticides – seem to be unaffected. Recently, a new Harvard Study was released and links widespread colony collapse disorder to a specific pesticide called imidacloprid.

 The Baltimore Tree Trust has designed the TreeKeepers program to train and certify interested city residents in certain aspects of tree care. After completion of a series of classes, hands-on training, and tree planting workdays, TreeKeepers will be permitted to do minor pruning of street trees on their own block and lead small groups of volunteers for tree plantings in their neighborhoods.

Image courtesy of TreeBaltimore

Baltimore averages one tree for every six residents, which is about half the number of trees per capita as in most other large cities. About 4% of our trees are lost annually to destruction, natural decline, and removal. In order to reach the goals of Tree Baltimore, the City’s plan for increasing the tree canopy from 27% to 40% by the year 2040, at least 25,000 trees must be established annually. In reality, actual planting rates fall short– the combined efforts of organizations working towards this goal within the city limits plant less than 10,000 trees per year. They need help and they’re turning towards citizens that are passionate about trees, empowering them to be partners through the TreeKeepers program.

TreeKeepers 101 provided a broad overview of trees in Baltimore’s urban landscape. As a shameless tree-hugger with a deep appreciation for the value of education, I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to learn about my city and the agencies and organizations that are working to make it greener, and how I can help. Maybe most important, it was energizing to be in a room filled with people who are passionate about the same issues that resonate with me.

TreeKeepers 101 will be offered again this summer, dates TBD. For more information on the TreeKeepers program, check out the Baltimore Tree Trust website.  Washington, DC has a similar program (Citizen Forester) run by Casey Trees. Stay tuned for my report on TreeKeepers 102: Science of Trees – coming soon to a blog near you!

Graphic from HarperCollins Publishers

The monarchs have never come to these parts, but a natural disaster has destroyed their winter habitat in Mexico, and the butterflies appear in November in the Volunteer State — the implication being it’s warm enough there to host them, even though it’s almost winter.

The butterflies disrupt life in the quiet town. Dellarobia’s in-debt father-in-law wants to sell the mountain land to a logging company, but others want to preserve it and charge money to tourists to see the monarch colony. Media outlets interview Dellarobia, who becomes a reluctant mini-celebrity for having her butterfly “vision” — but some feel it goes to her head.

Then a lepidopterist from a New Mexico university comes to study the butterflies. Soon, the Turnbow barn gets converted to a lab and Dellarobia works part-time for the scientist, along with his graduate students, in an effort to uncover what’s going on with the monarchs.

Kingsolver calls “Flight Behavior,” which was published in fall 2012, “a fictional story within a plausible biological framework.” It’s an enjoyable tale with a witty, worrying main character who elicits our sympathy. Kingsolver’s vivid prose and ease at weaving this tale make it a fun, compelling read, one that provides insight to the worlds of science and rural America.

Those interested in science will enjoy the detailed scenes in the field counting and observing butterflies, or in the lab conducting lipid extraction experiments and parasite counts. Some parts are like “CSI” or “Bones,” but with butterflies rather than dead bodies and poetic passages rather than worn clichés.

Back in the real world, the New York Times recently reported monarch numbers in their Mexican wintering grounds have declined for the last seven or eight years. The amount of territory they cover in winter shrunk 59 percent from 2011 to 2012, due to the impacts of drought and record-breaking heat. (The Yale Environmental 360 blog recently published an interview with University of Kansas insect ecologist Orley Taylor, too.) It seems “Flight Behavior” is a case of fiction underscoring truth.

Dan Kulpinski will graduate with an M.S. Environmental Sciences and Policy degree in May 2013.

(Creative Commons image “Monarch Butterfly [Norristown Farm Park],” courtesy of stinkenroboter via Flickr. Video from HarperCollins Publishers.)

Popular Insecticides a Threat to Bees?

Popular pesticides called neonicotinoids or neonics have been linked to massive bee-kills in the Midwest.  Neonics are used in a dust form and often buried with the seed. Yet the exhaust from the planters spreads the dust to nearby flowers, leading to the bee die-offs.  These die-offs are believed to occur both instantly and over-time depending on the type of exposure.  Bayer CropScience, the largest seller of the insecticide, is currently developing a waxy substitute that won’t spread as easily.

Green Walls Cut Pollution in Urban Areas.

Scientists in Germany have created a computer model based on a green wall located in a Western European City.  In addition to the other well-known benefits, the simulation revealed that green walls absorb large amounts of both Nitrogen Dioxide and particulate matter in what are called “street canyons”, or the space between two tall buildings.  This study could help governments make implementations to improve air quality especially in large urban hotspots in ways other than simply reducing emissions.

Scientists: Icy Spring linked to Dramatic Loss of Ice

Scientists have linked the exposure of large parts of the ocean to the extreme weather being experienced in Europe and North America.  According to the National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) there has been a dramatic loss of Arctic sea ice, which fell to almost “the minimum recorded for this time of year”.  Thus the lack of existing ice enables the cold Arctic air to flow further south for longer periods of time.

Extinct Species Revival and the “New Hybrid”

Source: Report of the Smithsonian Institution. 1904

Synthetic Biologists and de-extinction scientists are blurring the defining lines “species”.  While evolution makes precise changes over time based on survival, humanity’s hand is far less refined.  Methods such as cloning and genetic engineering are utilized in an effort to improve or salvage a species for survival.  If species revival or de-extinction is to be successful other species will have to be integrated, whether physically or behaviorally, resulting in hybrid “species”.

Lead Based Paint found on the Shelves in Developing Nations

Lead was commonly utilized in paint to decrease drying time, while since banned in the U.S. and other Western Countries due to the toxic health effects, it was discovered on the shelves of many developing countries during a recent study.  In some cases levels of the heavy metal were determined to “exceed the US standard by 300 times or more.”  Additionally, one of the producers of the lead-based paint was found to be a subsidiary of the world’s “second largest” paint producer, headquartered in the U.S.