Andrew Brennan – Science Forward

The Looming Threat of Heat Waves on Insect Populations

November 22, 2018November 22, 2018 Andrew Brennan 1 Comment Media posts climate change, Heat Waves, Population Decline

World insect populations have been on a decline, and one of the factors contributing to this may be the result of increasing temperatures around the world. Temperatures warmer than what certain male insect species are used to can result in reduced sperm production, and as a result decreases their fertility. Researchers from England’s University of East Anglia simulated heat wave conditions within a lab and found not only that male flour beetles produced vastly less sperm, but that the sperm within the reproductive tracts of female flour beetles were less viable to produce offspring. These findings were surprising since flour beetles are used to living in environments with temperatures reaching 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and it only took an increase in temperature typical of that which occurred in England last summer to nearly sterilize the flour beetles after two simulated heat waves.

The effects of high temperatures on insect fertility does not seem to be limited to those individuals alive during a heat wave, but seems to have a trans-generational effect. The sons of the males that experienced the heat wave conditions produced 20 percent fewer offspring than male flour beetles who had not been exposed to the heat wave conditions. If these findings are applicable to other insect species as well, it would help provide some explanation for why some insect populations have been declining. A study in 2017 found that flying insect populations have decreased by 75 percent over a 27 year period in German nature preserves. Despite the possibility that climate change can be regarded as a factor for the decreases in insect populations, it may not be correct to attribute global warming as being the primary cause. A professor at Paul Smith’s College in New York is more convinced that global use of insecticides is the primary cause for widespread insect population decline since heat waves have not occurred universally enough to cause similar decline.

The implications of these findings from researching how possible heat waves can impact insect populations shows the importance of taking action to reduce climate change. Though it could be beneficial for certain insect populations to be sterilized, such as mosquitoes, global climate change would affect all insect populations by decreasing male insect fertility and compromising the optimal conditions for offspring being produced. The effects of rapid decrease in insects population would impact food chains world wide and possibly could lead to other species of animals struggling to thrive. However, it is also important to be aware of the heavy reliance on insecticides, which may be the more prominent factor for decreases in insect populations around the world. Despite knowing this, the effects of possible heat wave temperatures on insect species should all the more be a warning sign as to the impact climate change can have in the near future, and these findings should motivate us to be more proactive towards reducing climate change by means of reducing the factors that are known to possibly cause global warming.

<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/13/science/sperm-infertility-insects-heat.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftrilobites>

The Challenge of Implementing Electric School Buses in Hopes of Fighting Climate Change

November 13, 2018November 13, 2018 Andrew Brennan 0 Comment Media posts Air Pollution, climate change, Electric Vehicles

New York State has begun use of five new battery-powered buses in White Plains, which is part of an initiative to limit children’s exposure to harmful exhaust from buses that run on diesel fuel. Each bus costs $365,000, which is more than three times the price of a new diesel bus, and only a few hundred electric buses are being used throughout the United States. As it concerns the Earth, state officials look to electric buses as a factor toward decreasing the carbon emissions which drive global warming. Though electric buses may still be more expensive than modern diesel buses, improvements in technology are decreasing the costs to implement the use of electric buses within school districts. Besides New York, California, and Massachusetts have also funded projects to help school districts purchase new electric buses.

The biggest deterrent from using electric buses as opposed to current diesel buses is the cost of implementing electric buses and making their use widespread throughout the country’s school districts. Critics have argued that spending millions on a small number of expensive buses is an inefficient solution to the problem of air pollution. Instead, it is suggested that states could more cheaply reduce pollution by using cleaner diesel technology for currently existing buses, trucks, locomotives, and tugboats. However, by investing more money into the electric bus market, manufacturers can be prompted to increase electric bus production, which would in turn lower prices and allow for a cost-effective solution for combating climate change. A statistic from Bloomberg New Energy Finance states that the cost of lithium-ion batteries has fallen 19 percent every time production doubles, which means electric buses will drop in price as well.

Although there exists limitations to the use of electric buses due to their costly implementation, the benefits of their future use are well worth the initial cost of funding. With a lack of charging stations present, electric buses are limited to short routes in order to conserve power despite the buses batteries being able to last a whole day without charging. As charging stations become more commonplace within respective states, the worries with range could disappear and no longer pose an issue. The use of electric buses in California has shown that they cost about 75 percent less to fuel and 60 percent less to maintain. However, the cost of electric buses still needs to drop considerably before school districts can begin to buy them without outside funding. The good news, according to chief executive of Lion Electric Marc Bédard, is that an estimated seven years remains before electric school buses get to a similar price as diesel. Considering the progress that has already been made in spite of the skepticism of the feasibility of implementing the use of electric buses, the widespread adoption of electric school buses is now just a matter of making the business case work and lowering the costs of electric buses. Electric buses can ultimately provided a long term solution to reducing the effects that air pollution has on climate change.

Reference: <https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/12/climate/electric-school-buses.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=sectionfront>

Flooding Contaminates the Cape Fear River With Coal Ash

September 24, 2018September 24, 2018 Andrew Brennan 0 Comment Media posts Flooding, Hurricane, Water Pollution

Floodwaters that continued to rise in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence have breached a dam, causing hazardous coal ash to contaminate the Cape Fear River. The Duke Energy power plant, which contained two basins full of arsenic-laced ash, was consequently shut down as a result of flooding. Environmentalists were previously alerted of the risks of Duke Energy’s coal ash landfill after rains from Hurricane Florence cause waste to spill onto a local roadway. What makes coal ash so dangerous is that it can cause cancer and problems relating to reproduction and the nervous system. To prevent future issues related to the contamination coal ash can cause, sites that frequently use coal should develop a protocol for disposing of coal ash in locations that are not vulnerable to weather conditions displacing the waste.

With the presence of multiple breaches of the dam, it is unknown how much coal ash has leaked into the Cape Fear River. However, it is known that the breach leaves the river vulnerable to two coal ash ponds that contain a combined 2.1 million cubic yards of coal ash, which is equivalent to filling a large sports stadium. A 2008 coal ash spill in Harriman Tennessee, which cost more than $1 billion dollars to cleanup, shows that more measures should be taken to ensure that unexpected, inclement weather will not spread harmful substances into the environment. As a result of the damages caused by Duke Energy’s coal ash contamination of the Cape Fear River, the company was given a $102 million fine. Duke Energy’s coal ash landfill was supposed to be a secure storage site of coal ash, but with the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, the overall design of the site should be reevaluated and fine-tuned to ensure future coal ash spills are avoided entirely.

Reference:

<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/21/climate/florences-floodwaters-breach-defenses-at-power-plant-prompting-shutdown.html>

The Dangers of Thirdhand Smoke to Adolescents

September 18, 2018September 18, 2018 Andrew Brennan 1 Comment Media posts Adolescents, Air Pollution, Cancer, Smoking

Despite less than 20 percent of Americans being reported as smokers, up to 50 percent of children are exposed to secondhand and thirdhand smoke, which can cause health problems for them now and in the future. Thirdhand smoke, toxicants from smoking that linger on clothes, furniture, and skin, has caused growing concern for parents because of nicotine and tobacco toxicants that linger long after smoking has occurred. In the BMJ journal Tobacco Control, the University of Cincinnati found that children carry tobacco smoke toxicants on their hands, even when there are no people around them who are smoking. Residue from secondhand smoke can easily collect within the home, on clothing, and on skin, and these environmental tobacco toxicants can be transferred from children’s hands to their mouths and bodies. Though both the presence of secondhand smoke and thirdhand smoke pose a threat to the health of children, thirdhand smoke is more dangerous because it contains pollutants not found in secondhand smoke and will remain in environments longer, which makes children more susceptible to toxicants.

A study done with a group of 7,389 nonsmoking adolescents by the University of Cincinnati that was published in Pediatrics found that those who lived with a smoker and had thirdhand smoke exposure at home had short breath, had difficulty exercising, and were prone to wheezing during or after exercise. Even children who live with smokers who do not smoke at home are still potentially exposed to tobacco toxicants from thirdhand smoke. In response to this knowledge regarding secondhand and thirdhand smoke, society should not tolerate adolescents being exposed to tobacco smoke since it is careful to prevent children from being exposed to other harmful substances such as asbestos, alcohol, arsenic, and lead. With the understanding that breathing in secondhand smoke cause many deaths as a result of lung cancer and heart disease, as well as knowing that many chemicals in tobacco smoke are cancer causing, there should be better ways to protect both children and adults from the dangers of secondhand and thirdhand smoke. People can only do so much to avoid coming in contact and being in the presence of other smokers, and it seems that simply living in an environment where smoking is allowed to occur is all it takes to be susceptible to all sorts of health problems. With the rise of electronic cigarettes that provide nicotine to smokers and release no smoke containing harmful chemicals, it would be helpful if more people started using those as opposed to normal cigarettes. This would not only help protect others from secondhand and thirdhand smoke, but it would also reduce the health risks that smokers currently expose themselves to.

<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/17/well/live/the-risks-to-children-from-adults-who-smoke.html?action=click&module=Discovery&pgtype=Homepage>

Progressing Toward Cleaner Waters: Trapping Plastic in the Pacific

September 10, 2018September 10, 2018 Andrew Brennan 0 Comment Media posts

Non-profit organization Ocean Cleanup has designed a 2,000 foot floating boom, a barrier used to contain ocean pollution, that will be used to collect plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean starting September 15, 2018. This near $20 million device will hopefully reduce up to 150,000 pounds of plastic litter during its first year, and eventually the organization hopes to clean up half of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (about 87,000 tons worth of plastic and other waste) with the help of more booms. Some concern revolves around how the trash will be transferred from the ocean to land without removing marine life along with the waste, as well as other environmental challenges that may jeopardize the project. With such an expensive, but hopeful and practical solution to the issue of ocean pollution, the largest and deepest ocean in the world will be made a safer and cleaner environment for all marine life that call it home. Protecting such an expansive source of resources is important not only for the health of those animals living in the ocean, but also for the health of all other animals and humans. It is a shame that conditions in the oceans have become so dangerous as a result of unmindful dumping of human waste. Other measures should be taken to ensure that after successfully cleaning the oceans history will not repeat itself. Just because we are developing and have the means to clean up after our messes, it does not mean we can continue to be unmindful of the potential damage that can be caused by littering.

Reference: <https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/09/science/ocean-cleanup-great-pacific-garbage-patch.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront>

Response to “In Quake-Prone California, Alarm at Scant Insurance Coverage”

September 4, 2018September 4, 2018 Andrew Brennan 0 Comment Media posts Earthquakes, Economics

There is an increase in worry over the consequences of inevitable future earthquakes in California due to many residents and companies not having insurance for such a disaster. The state promoted advertising of earthquake insurance for Californians since only about a tenth of homeowners and commercial buildings have it. This is a result of earthquake insurance not being required by homeowners and being expensive for some companies to afford. With one-fifth of America’s trillions of dollars in mortgage debt held by California, an earthquake presents a serious risk to America’s economy as a whole. Even if all buildings in California were insured, a large earthquake can still have a huge impact on the economy regardless. FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, can only provide at most $33,000 to individuals, which would not be enough to reimburse those who have homes ranging well above $1,000,000. For the well-being of both residents of California and the American economy as a whole, it is important to brainstorm and implement ideas that can prevent future earthquakes from causing such an economic disaster. Since simply getting earthquake insurance alone will not solve all the issues presented by future earthquakes in California, other options must be explored in order to circumvent problems that can have a huge negative impact on the American economy.

Reference:

<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/31/us/california-earthquake-insurance.html>