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Global Threats: Soil and Topsoil Erosion and Degradation
By Roberta Attanasio “Soil anaemia also breeds human anaemia. Micronutrient deficiency in the soil results in micronutrient malnutrition in people, since crops grown on such soils tend to be deficient in the nutrients needed to fight hidden hunger. (…) Managing our soil and water resources in a sustainable and equitable manner needs a new political vision.” M.S. Swaminathan — the “Indian Father of Green Revolution”. Soil, the earth’s skin, is one of our most valuable resources — it’s a dynamic and complex ecosystem that acts as a growing medium. Plant and animal life depend on the recycling of primary nutrients through soil processes. It plays a major role in determining the composition of the…
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Nuisance Flooding: Climate Change and Increasing Sea Levels on U.S. Coasts
By Roberta Attanasio According to a new report released yesterday (July 28, 2014) by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), nuisance flooding — which causes public inconveniences such as frequent road closures, overwhelmed storm drains and compromised infrastructure — is a growing problem along the U.S. coasts. Indeed, nuisance flooding has increased between 300 and 925 percent since the 1960s. The report (Sea level rise and nuisance flood frequency changes around the United States) points out that eight of the top ten U.S. cities that have seen the increase in nuisance flooding, which is caused by rising sea levels, are on the East Coast, one is in Texas and the other…
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Climate Change: Influence on the Spread of Lyme Disease
By Roberta Attanasio Blacklegged ticks feed on blood — they attach to the skin of humans and many animals and, slowly, suck for several days. To get there, they patiently wait on the tip of grasses and shrubs using their lower legs to hold on, until a human or an animal passes by. Ticks can’t jump or fly, so they keep their upper pair of legs outstretched, ready to climb aboard. Once there, they insert their feeding tube into the skin and start to suck the blood — this is how they become infected by or transmit Borrelia burgdorferi, the micro-organism that causes Lyme disease. Lyme disease is one of the most common infectious diseases in…
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Arsenic Contamination of Drinking Water in India Impairs Kala-Azar Treatment
By Roberta Attanasio Visceral leishmaniasis, known in India as kala-azar or black fever, is a parasitic disease that kills an estimated 500,000 people a year, 90 percent of them in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Brazil and Sudan. In India, the disease is endemic in the northeastern Indian State of Bihar – the epicenter of kala-azar in the region – and in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. It manifests with irregular bouts of fever, substantial weight loss, swelling of the spleen and liver, and anemia. Left untreated, kala-azar is almost always fatal, especially in children, According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Leishmaniasis is a poverty-related disease. It affects the poorest…
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Fine Particulate Matter: The Global Toll
By The Editors Particulate matter, also known as particle pollution or PM, is a complex mixture of very tiny solid and liquid particles made up of several components, including acids (such as nitrates and sulfates), organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles. Fine particles (PM2.5) are found in smoke and haze and are 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller. Sources of fine particles include all types of combustion — motor vehicles, power plants, residential wood burning, forest fires, agricultural burning, and some industrial processes. Fine particles cause serious health problems such as heart disease, lung cancer and asthma attacks as they can get deep into the lungs — some may even get into the…
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Change of Mind: The Influence of Hurricanes
By The Editors Traumatic weather events, such as hurricanes, may lead people to think more seriously about climate change, express a greater belief that climate change is caused by human activity, and become more supportive of environmentally sustainable policies – all together, these are the findings and implications of a study recently published in the journal Psychological Science. The study, entitled “When Truth Is Personally Inconvenient, Attitudes Change: The Impact of Extreme Weather on Implicit Support for Green Politicians and Explicit Climate-Change Beliefs” examined the support of New Jersey residents for politicians committed or opposed to policies designed to combat climate change — before and after residents experienced Hurricanes Irene…
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Global Threats: The Spread of Crop Pests
By Roberta Attanasio One of the major global threats to food security is the current spread of crop pests, unintentionally moved by human activity across world regions at unprecedented rates. Crop pests include viroids, viruses, bacteria, oomycetes, fungi, nematodes, and insects. In the past, this spread was limited by physical barriers such as mountains, seas and deserts. However, such natural limits are now bypassed because of the rapid increase in international and intercontinental agricultural trade. To date, more than 12,000 alien species have been documented in Europe by DAISIE (Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventory for Europe), a unique three-year research project involving more than 100 European scientists and funded by…
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What is Carbon Farming?
By Roberta Attanasio Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases, and ozone) work like the glass walls of a greenhouse and are responsible for the greenhouse effect. What is the greenhouse effect? It’s a process in which greenhouse gases let the radiation from the sun onto the Earth’s surface. At the same time, they trap the heat that reflects back up into the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect keeps our planet at an average 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius). However, if the greenhouse effect is too strong, our planet gets warmer and warmer. This is what is happening now — the greenhouse effect is becoming stronger because of increased release of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.…
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Ozone, Plants and Heat Waves: Team Players in Adverse Health Effects
By The Editors Ozone, the principal component of the mixture of air pollutants known as “smog“, is produced from the action of sunlight on air contaminants from automobile exhausts and other sources. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “Ozone in the air we breathe can harm our health—typically on hot, sunny days when ozone can reach unhealthy levels. Even relatively low levels of ozone can cause health effects. Breathing ozone can trigger a variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and congestion. It can worsen bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. Ground level ozone also can reduce lung function and inflame the linings of the lungs. Repeated…
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Carbon Dioxide Fertilization Effect and Greening of Deserts
By The Editors Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels (CO2) are greening our deserts — in other words, many of the planet’s arid environments are greener than they would otherwise be if CO2 had remained constant. The greening of our deserts is due to the so-called CO2 fertilization effect, which can be defined as the enhancement of photosynthesis caused by rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Photosynthesis is the driving force behind most of the life on our planet. It’s a set of chemical reactions used by many plants and some other organisms to build carbohydrates (sugars) from carbon dioxide and water, using light as source of energy. Most forms of photosynthesis release…
