With illegal poaching at all-time highs, conservationists are searching for new methods that can be used to combat this growing issue. One unorthodox solution that has been gaining traction is the employment of unmanned drones. Although the drones can be costly and tough to navigate, a new international competition called the Unmanned Aerial Vehcle (UAV) Challenge encourages people from around the world to develop and fly their own affordable drones at Kruger National Park in South Africa, in an attempt to bolster the park’s conservationist efforts.

While the competition marks a historic moment in the history of conservationist drone use, these vessels have been helping environmentalists in numerous ways for some time now. The WWF recently accepted a $5 million dollar grant from Google for the purposes of aerial surveillance using drones in Asia and Africa, in addition to the fact that some companies have used the devices to monitor illegal fishing along coastlines.

Drones are also excellent at collecting data on animals by way of taking up-close images as well as providing park managers with numbers on population and food supply. The devices, however, focus not only on animals, but also their surrounding environment, as ecologists survey changes in land and climate with the drones. According to researchers, drones expedite the process of surveying climate by obtaining a larger picture of the environment at a much faster rate.

Conservationists prefer the drones because they offer a low-risk alternative to manned surveillance, which can be risky, especially in parks where poaching is a problem. As engineers, hobbyists, students, and other scientists develop drones that are increasingly durable, easy to fly, and cheap to make, the devices should continue to be a mainstay in national parks across the world.

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/11/141114-drones-wildlife-poaching-animals-conservation/

The development of a battery that can store enough energy to power automobiles and other large machinery even when the wind and sun are not viable resources, has been an ongoing struggle for scientists. Now, that struggle may be alleviated by a new form of nanotechnology with the ability to revolutionize the way researchers approach energy storage.

“Nanopores” are holes in a ceramic sheet that are smaller than grains of salt, and contain enough components to produce an electric current. By connecting a billion of these holes in a “honeycomb fashion,” scientists are able to harness enough energy to create a tiny battery that has the ability to recharge thousands of times over. Their microscopic size allows researchers to pack many batteries into a small space, while the battery itself performs quickly by transferring energy across a short distance, again, thanks to its size.
In recent years, the limitations of the lithium ion battery that grew to prominence in the 90s and 2000s has become apparent, and companies continue to strive for a better alternative. The U.S. Department of Energy has even committed funding toward new ways to create energy through chemical reactions. A battery that can charge quickly and last for long periods of time would be a significant step for the Green movement, which has struggled for years to end the oil industry’s stranglehold on global energy.

While nanotechnologies offer a solution to several of the problems inherent in green energy storage, the methods and materials used in this area of science are not yet cost-effective. Developers are close to bringing new cell phone batteries to the market that will have the capability of charging phones within a few minutes, however, the commercialization of similar types of batteries for automobiles is still quite some time away. Once researchers find ways to bring these new technologies to the market affordably, the sky is the limit.

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/11/141117-nanotechnology-for-better-batteries/

Last week, LEGO decided to take a stand against Big Oil when the company severed its long-standing ties with Shell. The two companies have partnered together since the 1960s, with LEGO featuring the Shell logo on many of its building blocks. Both companies also signed a recent contract (active since 2011) to partner together in ad campaigns.

Recently, however, Greenpeace began urging the toy company to act in the interest of the environment and walk away from its relationship with Shell. A few weeks ago, Shell released new plans for drilling in the Arctic next year, at a time when the melting ice in the region will make drilling even easier for the company. The move comes after a series of mishaps plagued the company over the last couple years, including losing control of one of its drill ships in 2012 and the failure of its spill containment equipment in undersea trials that left it crushed and destroyed.

Greenpeace recognized that Shell’s plans to continue drilling in the Arctic reflect a complete disregard for the current state of the environment. Last month, the earth experienced its warmest September on record. Additionally, a seemingly never-ending drought rages in California, the Great Lakes remained frozen into the summer, and new data reveals coastal cities are drowning from rising sea levels at the fastest pace ever. Yet Shell continues to capitalize on the dire condition of the environment.

LEGO isn’t the only company to recently distance itself from Big Oil. Microsoft, Google, and Facebook all announced an impending end to their involvement with the American Legislative Exchange Council, a lobbyist group funded by Koch that manufactures anti-climate change legislation. Even the Rockefeller Foundation is backing away from its ties to fossil fuels.

These companies should be commended for realizing that the tired ways of the major oil companies are no longer sustainable. In its current state, the Earth’s climate balances shakily upon a precipice, while legions of scientists, activists, and eco-conscious citizens do everything in their power to pull it back onto safe ground. Meanwhile, companies like Shell are content to reach out and topple it from the edge. Their work should be repudiated.

Let us applaud LEGO for taking up the good fight against Big Oil.

Source:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/travis-nichols/lego-quits-shell_b_5958500.html
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/01/greenpeace-lego-shell-partnership-toys-oil-arctic
http://kuow.org/post/sea-trial-leaves-shells-arctic-oil-spill-gear-crushed-beer-can

Alternative energy production took another small progressive step recently when the first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant made its debut during a grand opening in Iowa this month. Dubbed Project Liberty, the plant, which costs roughly $275 million, is backed by South Dakota ethanol giant POET, as well as a Dutch group called DSM. Cellulosic ethanol derives from biomass like corn stalks and leaves, as well as other forms of organic waste, much of which is collected after a corn harvest.

The cellulosic ethanol initiative holds a great deal of environmental promise, as it can reduce emissions by up to 86% compared to regular gasoline. In fact, Project Liberty is only the first of three separate, major cellulosic ethanol projects in the U.S. planned for 2014. Industry giant Dupont is even scheduled to enter the fray with a new plant expected to produce 30 million gallons per year. While supporters of biomass-based ethanol hail Project Liberty as a triumph, numerous obstacles stand in the way of cellulosic ethanol’s success.

For one, a great deal of expense has gone into the development of new technologies needed to derive ethanol from the collected waste and other materials. Another problem is that the gasoline pumped by consumers only contains up to 10% ethanol, which means that there is a finite, and potentially small amount of cellulosic ethanol that can actually be sold and used on the U.S. market.

Yet another issue concerns the value of the corn stover (the term applied to the stalks and leaves left over after a harvest) to farmers and their land. A study showed that the removal of all of the stover after a harvest can actually be destructive to the soil, decreasing a farmer’s ability to grow corn there. Therefore, harvesters of biomass are limited to removing only about 25% of the stover and storing it, not to mention that special baling equipment must be used to accomplish this, meaning many farmers are unwilling to take on the risks of the whole process.

On top of all the concerns regarding cellulosic ethanol listed above, oil lobbyists convinced the EPA to lower its targeted gallon amount of the ethanol from a robust 1 billion gallons to a paltry 1 million in 2013. Although 2014’s target was raised to 17 million gallons, the powers that be have manufactured low expectations for the new fuel source. Despite the odds stacked against them, POET hopes to produce 14 million gallons out of Project Liberty in 2014. With more projects sprouting up later in the year, cellulosic ethanol may still prove to be a somewhat common, viable source of fuel production in the very near future.

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/09/140911-project-liberty-cellulosic-ethanol-us-test/

Sad news emerged in the environmental world this week as a new study revealed that poachers have been responsible for approximately 100,000 elephant deaths in Africa from 2010 to 2012. The elephant death rate has gone up dramatically in recent years, primarily due to rising demands for ivory in Asia.

Before this study, no other scientific research has been used to quantify the number of elephant deaths in African nations. Alarmingly, the study also concluded that 65% of all elephant deaths in the continent resulted from illegal killings, a number that rose from only 25% a decade prior. Experts predict that if that rate of increase continues, it will spell certain extinction for the African elephant.

Indeed, some of the death toll numbers are absolutely staggering. The Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania has lost roughly 27,000 elephants in just the last three years. Central Africa leads the continent in elephant killings, while Tanzania and Kenya are also near the top. In rare places, such as Botswana, the elephant population has somehow managed to increase during that time span.

Most experts blame a surge in China’s middle class for the increase in both ivory demand and street value. Each time ivory demand rises, new poachers are borne out of impoverished Africans who turn to this horrific criminal act for the steep financial gains.

During an event at which the Chinese embassy to Kenya donated anti-poaching equipment to several conservancies, the Chinese ambassador announced that the country has amplified its efforts to educate the populace about the ivory trade, and hopes to alter public perception of ivory in the country.

While some experts are hopeful that elephants – a resilient animal that persisted through a poaching crisis in the 70s and 80s – will survive and eventually flourish, as of right now, the situation grows more dire by the day.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/18/100000-elephants-killed_n_5688893.html?utm_hp_ref=green

For the first time, a scientific study has been able to quantify the man-made effect on melting glaciers, and the results are alarming. Since 1991, nearly 70% of glacier melt can be attributed to greenhouse gases caused by humans.

The scientists researched glacial melt dating back to 1851. Their observations showed that humans did not begin to affect glacial melt until about midway through the 20th century, when humans accounted for roughly 25% of melting glaciers. Not only have humans bore much more responsibility in the past couple of decades, but the overall rate of glacier melt has also rapidly increased. Each year during that time has seen 295 billion tons of ice melt as a result of human causes, as opposed to only 130 billion tons that have melted naturally.

Since the middle of the 19th century, an abundant number of glaciers have been melting. While scientists are unable to pinpoint the exact natural causes of the melt, the human reasons include soot, climate change (a result of burning oil, coal, and gas), and alterations in land use.

Although this study features an exceptional margin of error, the lowest possible percentage of melt caused by humans is still 45%, whereas the actual number could also be as high as 93%, a frightening prospect.

Glacier melt accounts for sea level rise in the amount of 4/10ths of an inch per decade, but melting ice sheets and water expansion due to higher temperatures also add to that figure. The areas of the world with glaciers that are more greatly affected by man-made greenhouse gases include Alaska and the Alps.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/14/humans-melting-glaciers_n_5679235.html?utm_hp_ref=green

Confronting a difficult decision, the Chilean government recently opted to cancel a longstanding plan to build five dams in the country, which would have affected rivers in Patagonia. Developers of the HidroAysen project, as the proposed dams were called, were faced with years of opposition both within the country and from environmentalist groups all over the world. The project would have flooded nearly 6,000 hectares of land.

In June of this year, permits for the project were overturned due to a fervent opposition from the Chilean public, even though the documents had previously been approved in 2011.

Critics of the dams argue that flooding the lands of Patagonia would jeopardize many aspects of Chilean life in the area, including the culture, tourism, and the natural wilderness, merely for the sake of hydroelectric power. Environmentalists in the country view the triumph against the dams as a turning point in their ability to sway public opinion and exact social and environmental change.

While the decision does represent a victory for the people of Chile on the environmental front, supporters of the dams point out that the 2,750 megawatts of energy produced from the dams would have accounted for up to 20 percent of energy needs in all of Chile, and at a time when energy resources like fossil fuels have begun to dry up.

In order to compensate, the Chilean government plans to reduce energy consumption over the next decade, while also investing in resources to aid in energy efficiency, including terminals for receiving imported liquid natural gas.

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/06/140610-chile-hidroaysen-dam-patagonia-energy-environment/

A controversy involving toxic lead fuel has come to an end with the arrest of executives who formerly worked at the Associated Octel Corporation. Paul Jennings and his associates bribed officials mostly located in Indonesia—with a few in Iraq—to continue importing its tetraethyl fuel additive, a substance already banned throughout much of the world.

Millions of dollars in payouts changed hands during Octel’s scheme, and these actions prevented Indonesia and Iraq from converting to lead-free fuel sooner. Lead is particularly harmful to children, who exhibit lower IQ levels and a greater propensity for violence when exposed to the chemical.

Unfortunately, many Middle Eastern countries can still legally burn leaded fuels despite these health risks. This is primarily because companies can sell leaded fuel at a lucrative profit and do so legally in regions where there are little-to-no restrictions on the products. In Indonesia, even pesticides and paints banned in most other countries due to lead content can still be sold legally.

Amazingly, tetraethyl lead additives, which were eliminated in the United States approximately 40 years ago because of health risks that have been known since around that time, are still being sold by the company formerly known as Associated Octel Corporation, now known as Innospec. Algeria still uses the additive, although executives for Innospec claim it will be phased out next year.

Between the years of 2000 and 2006, Associated Octel Corp. generated over $277 million dollars in revenue thanks to the bribery that initiated the prolonged sale of its toxic lead fuel. Over 28,000 tons of the product were sold during that time.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/09/leaded-gas-corruption-innospec_n_5662418.html?utm_hp_ref=green

A state of emergency was declared over the weekend in three Ohio and Michigan counties where approximately 400,000 people were warned not to drink their tap water due to an algae contamination. Soldiers from the Ohio National Guard delivered bottled water to the area and introduced a purification system so that residents could have access to drinkable water. Officials even set up and operated water stations for over 30,000 residents in southeast Michigan

The city of Toledo, which was one of the main affected areas, declared its water safe to drink again on Monday, ending a two-day ban that many believe resulted from pollution that fosters the presence of algae in Lake Erie. Toxins found in the lake were treated with chemicals that worked to bring algae levels back down to normal, thus closing out the water scare.

Thankfully, the area reported no serious illnesses resulting from the water, despite the fact that the potential symptoms from drinking the contaminated tap water included cramps, vomiting, and rashes. Denizens of the area were instructed to avoid the water altogether, with local governments discouraging boiling the water or using it for cooking or hygienic purposes like teeth-brushing. When the ban first lifted, the affected areas were told to flush out their systems by running water, and to refrain from heavy water use all at once. Many people remained skittish about drinking the water even after the ban.

After the ordeal, Ohio governor John Kasich announced that the state would be examining Toledo’s water system and reviewing the possible causes for the contamination. Toledo’s mayor, D. Michael Collins, brought closure to the scare by gulping down a drink of local water and announcing an official end to the ban, declaring that the water tasted great.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/04/ohio-water-ban_n_5646766.html?utm_hp_ref=green

The United States Department of Transportation has proposed a new set of rules regarding the transport of oil via train, due to the fact that several accidents have taken place in the last few months – including a derailment in Virginia that caused a large spill  which have called into question certain safety concerns about the trains.

One of the new rules singles out a specific type of rail car, DOT-111, as a safety hazard because of a high potential risk of leaks and explosions, intending to gradually phase out that particular railcar. Also included in the proposition are restrictions regarding the speed of oil trains, as well as more stringent guidelines for testing mined gases and liquids that find there way onto the cars.

One of the more controversial concerns is the composition of some of the crude oil that is being shipped out of the North Dakota Bakken shale, which has seen a flurry of activity in the past two to three years. The Department of Transportation deemed the Bakken oil to possess a “higher degree of volatility” because of higher gas content, vapor pressure, and its ability to boil. People in the oil industry claim, however, that the crude which is being shipped from North Dakota has a similar composition to other crudes, and that there is no evidence of greater risk.

Either way, the new rules arrive at a time when estimates put the increase of rail carloads shipping oil at 4300 percent, which is an astronomical climb. The jump in freighted oil results primarily from the large quantities of oil produced recently at the Bakken shale, in addition to the fact that pipeline capacity is too scarce to handle the amount of oil in need of transport.

Although the proposal of new rules represents a step forward, many of the proposed standards may not apply to trains hauling a small number of oil carloads, which may present an easy loophole to an industry always eager to capitalize on one.

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/07/140723-united-states-oil-train-rules-proposed/