More than 80 percent of the world is affected by light pollution. Humans have become so accustomed to not seeing stars in the city that, following a blackout caused by a 1984 earthquake in Los Angeles, people reported seeing a “giant silvery cloud,” which was in fact our own Milky Way galaxy showing up in the absence of artificial light.

It is well known that artificial light at night (ALAN) affects terrestrial lifeforms, from birds and moths to humans and their sleeping patterns. Now, a new study explores how light pollution affects entire coastal marine ecosystems, from corals and fish to whales and the plankton they eat.

“[L]ittle is known about effects of light on broad groups of marine taxa such as cetaceans, ecosystem-level effects, or interactive impacts of light and other anthropogenic stressors. Light is a key structuring factor of the marine environment and can therefore elicit immense downstream effects on marine organisms individually, at the population- or ecosystem-level,” the study said.

The study highlights important knowledge gaps in marine light pollution ecology and makes recommendations for management and research going forward.

“Sea creatures have evolved over millions of years to adapt to natural light intensity and patterns,” said lead author of the study Colleen Miller, who conducted the research as a doctoral student working in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, reported the Cornell Chronicle. “But now they face an ever-increasing flood of light from human development along the coasts and, except for a few case studies, we have a limited understanding about how it affects many species and entire ecosystems.”

The study, “A synthesis of the risks of marine light pollution across organismal and ecological scales,” was published in the journal Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems.

Natural light from the moon and stars, which is important to marine creatures and affects their behavior, feeding, hormonal cycles and reproduction, is easily obscured or even entirely blocked by artificial light.

“Artificial light at night is harmful to sea turtles in two ways,” Miller said, as the Cornell Chronicle reported. “Females trying to find a quiet dark spot to lay their eggs avoid light and may end up not coming ashore at all. Hatchlings head toward inland lights instead of moonlight on the water and then die of dehydration or starvation.”

LED lights make matters worse. Their usually shorter light wavelengths penetrate the water more deeply than older types of lighting.

“The blue light can actually penetrate right down to the seafloor,” said professor Tim Smyth, head of science for marine biogeochemistry and observations at the UK’s Plymouth Marine Laboratory and lead author of another study on ALAN’s disruption of marine habitats, as reported by Mongabay. “Certainly, when I was growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, the cities were much more of an orange glow… I think if we go towards that kind of coloring of that spectrum again, that would be a positive step.”

Campaigns on the local state and regional levels to keep skies darker in order to help migrating birds have been helpful to coastal marine ecosystems near cities.

“We also need to look at artificial light at night on a broader scale,” Miller said, as the Cornell Chronicle reported. “We need much more data from a larger geographic area and over a broader range of organisms. We should be urgently concerned about how artificial light at night is affecting marine ecosystems.”

The use of more red light is another viable possibility, as it penetrates less deeply into the water. Barriers could also be placed along coastlines to block artificial light from cities.

“Light pollution is an urgent concern for marine ecosystems because marine organisms have tight relationships with their natural light environment. As the world moves deeper into the Anthropocene, assessing and mitigating the risks of this pollutant to key environmental and economic marine systems is critical to maintaining a healthy ocean,” the study said.

The post Light Pollution Threatens Entire Coastal Ecosystems, Study Suggests appeared first on EcoWatch.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced grants of more than $100 million to expand the country’s recycling and waste management infrastructure. It is the largest investment in recycling by the EPA in three decades.

Funding for the grants will come from President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda. Under the new funding opportunity, Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling, 25 communities have been selected by the EPA to receive grants of more than $73 million, a press release from the EPA said.

Approximately $32 million in additional funding will be made available for states and territories to upgrade their solid waste management planning, for the implementation of plans and for data collection.

“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda tackles our most pressing environmental challenges including climate change and lead in drinking water, and today we add another historic investment to better manage waste in communities across America,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan in the press release. “By investing in better recycling, EPA is deploying resources to provide recycling services across the country, including in disadvantaged communities, while preventing waste that contributes to the climate crisis, supporting local economies and creating good-paying jobs.”

The grants will support the implementation of the National Recycling Strategy, an EPA initiative to build a circular economy committed to keeping products, materials and services in circulation as long as possible.

“Recycling helps us protect our environment while creating jobs and promoting economic growth,” said Senator Tom Carper, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, in the press release. “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this unprecedented investment will provide communities across our country with the opportunity to improve their recycling programs and implement more sustainable waste-management practices. I applaud EPA for the hard work in getting this funding out the door, and I look forward to working together to advance policies that strengthen our nation’s recycling infrastructure.”

The Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grant Program is part of the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which has a goal of ensuring 40 percent of the benefits of certain federal investments go to disadvantaged communities that have been and continue to be overburdened by pollution, underserved and marginalized. About 76 percent — $56 of the $73 million — of the total community-allotted funding will be put toward projects benefitting disadvantaged communities.

The Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grants for Communities will provide support for waste management systems improvements throughout the country, with grants of $500,000 to $4 million each. Projects that have been selected include bins for curbside recycling in communities currently without access; new recycling collection vehicles; reduction of contamination through material recovery facility upgrades; enhancements to organic and composting infrastructure and programs; and construction of facilities that improve reuse infrastructure for materials like food waste and plastics and improve recycling and composting.

The Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grants for States and Territories will provide grants from $360,000 to $750,000 to all 56 territories, states and the District of Columbia. The biggest grant amounts will go to the states and territories with the most need. The grants will help achieve the EPA’s Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal, as well as its National Recycling Goal. Activities funded by these grants include the improvement of programs for managing post-consumer materials through updating or developing solid waste management plans, as well as bolstering data collection efforts.

Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, $275 million total will be provided from 2022 to 2026 in grants under the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, which is the biggest recycling investment in 30 years. Additional funding for the grants comes from EPA’s annual appropriations.

“Today’s announcement for states, territories, and communities is the first round of funding from this new grant program,” the press release said. “In the coming months, EPA will announce the selected recipients of the recycling grants for Tribes and intertribal consortia, as well as the recipients of EPA’s new Recycling Education and Outreach grant program.”

The post EPA Launches Recycling Initiative With $100+ Million in Grants appeared first on EcoWatch.

Over the last decade, nearly 2,000 land and environment defenders have been killed around the world, and in 2022, a land defender was killed every other day, according to a report released Tuesday. 

The study from Global Witness, a nonprofit human rights environmental watchdog, shows that the killings of Indigenous peoples defending their territories and resources represented nearly 34 percent of all lethal attacks despite making up about 5 percent of the world’s population.

“Governments where these violations are happening are not acting properly to create a safe environment for defenders and a civic space proper for them to thrive,” said Gabriella Bianchini, senior advisor for the land and environmental defenders team at Global Witness. “They are not reporting or investigating and seeking accountability for reprisals against defenders. And most importantly, they are not promoting legal accountability in the proper manner.”

Latin America has consistently ranked as the deadliest region for land defenders overall and saw almost 9 in every 10 recorded killings in 2022. More than a third of those fatal attacks took place in Colombia. In 2021, Brazil was named the deadliest country for land defenders by Global Witness and now sits at second; In July, activist Bruno Pereira and journalist Dom Phillips were murdered in the Brazilian Amazon.

Growing tensions from agribusiness, mining, and logging have led to consistent lethal attacks in the region. Between 2011 and 2021, for instance, more than 10,000 conflicts related to land rights and territories were recorded in Latin America alone. 

“The worsening climate crisis and the ever-increasing demand for agricultural commodities, fuel, and minerals will only intensify the pressure on the environment — and those who risk their lives to defend it,” wrote the authors.

Earlier this year, Frontline Defenders, an international human rights organization, released a similar report to Global Witness’ with corresponding findings — including that Colombia was the most dangerous country for land defenders. While Frontline Defenders reported that there were 186 land defender deaths in Colombia and Global Witness reported 60, Bianchini said differences in statistics are the result of different methodologies, which vary by organization. However, both organizations’ reports were united in findings: Indigenous people make up a disproportionate amount of the deaths among land and environment defenders, Latin America sees the highest rates of violence, and the number of killings is likely underreported.

“I am incredibly grateful and impressed to see the fight of all of these communities who are there living in these areas and who have been acting for thousands of years to protect the array of life,” said Bianchini. “I cannot believe that humanity right now is living in a moment where we are killing those who are protecting their own lands and civil rights.”

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline In 2022, a land defender was killed every two days on Sep 13, 2023.

A lost hiker in Alaska’s Katmai National Park was rescued after being spotted on a livestream camera that viewers were observing to catch glimpses of brown bears.

Viewers were tuning into Explore.org’s Dumpling Mountain livestream, which comes from one of many of the organization’s cameras placed within the park. During this time of year, many people tune into Explore.org’s Katmai National Park livestreams to watch brown bears as they prepare for hibernation.

But on Sept. 5, viewers spotted a man who appeared in distress and was speaking, appearing to mouth “help me” and “lost.” He then returned to face the camera and give a thumbs down, NPR reported. However, the camera didn’t capture the sound, so users deciphered what they could.

User Call_Me_Maeby called attention to the hiker, writing in the livestream comments, “There is someone distressed on the camera 3:30pm – 3:43.” 

Shortly after, a moderator for the livestream commented, “Thanks viewers for letting us know. Explore is aware and able to get in touch with Katmai. They are also reviewing the footage.”

Cynthia Hernandez, a spokesperson for the National Park Service, told BBC that the park sent a search and rescue team, which was able to rescue the hiker unharmed.

Later that evening, the moderator shared an update in the chat: “Good News – Two Rangers hiked up, have found the man and are escorting him back down the mountain!”

User Call_Me_Maeby responded, “Aaaand I’m crying because I’m so relieved. I first noticed that hiker about 3.5 hrs ago. Those rangers made it up there fast!”

While millions of people tune into the Katmai National Park livestreams in advance of Fat Bear Week, when users vote on which bear has grown the most in preparation of hibernation, the Dumpling Mountain camera doesn’t get as much attention as other livestreams, such as the Brooks Falls livestream.

Mike Fitz, a naturalist with Explore.org and former ranger at Katmai National Park, told NPR that the Dumpling Mountain camera isn’t as likely to capture wildlife and operates more as a scenery camera.

The Dumpling Mountain livestream camera is also a couple miles from any trail, in a particularly rough landscape and an area that can have low visibility from fog, wind and rain, as was the case on Sept. 5. The Explore.org team is still unsure how the hiker found the camera in the wilderness, but Fitz said, “Our webcam viewers, collectively, are very sharp-eyed and they don’t miss much.”

The post Nature Livestream Camera Leads to Lost Hiker, Rescue appeared first on EcoWatch.

The vision

“We know that there are actual real-life impacts between communities that don’t have access to the health benefits of trees and those that do.”

Benita Hussain, tree equity lead at American Forests

The spotlight

This summer, when the mercury surged in Seattle, I found myself constantly crossing over to the shadier side of the street on walks with my dog. The difference was noticeable, even on the same block.

Trees, which cool their surroundings by providing shade and by pulling heat from the air as they absorb and release water, can lower temperatures by around 10 degrees Fahrenheit in city neighborhoods. Research also suggests that being around trees reduces stress and can improve other health outcomes — plus, they store carbon, reduce runoff, act as wind and noise breaks, and increase property values. But the benefits of trees are not felt equally.

“We have the data and research showing that there are parts of cities — and 80 percent of America lives in cities — huge swaths of them don’t have trees. And that is generally correlated with areas that have underserved and disadvantaged communities,” says Benita Hussain, tree equity lead at American Forests, the oldest conservation organization in the U.S. “If we don’t actually tackle the equity issue that we are facing right now, we’re going to be dealing with far more death and disease related to climate.”

Tree equity, a term coined by American Forests, is the idea that all residents deserve the same access to tree cover and the health and infrastructure benefits it confers. That requires focusing on the areas that currently lack foliage, due to historic disinvestment and racist practices like redlining. “I have the data saying [there is] 38 percent less tree canopy in communities of color, leading those communities to have 13-degree-Fahrenheit hotter temperatures,” Hussain says. “These are real life-and-death issues, and the new data sets are allowing us to build that case for communities.”

American Forests recently launched a new version of the Tree Equity Score, its publicly available mapping tool that measures tree canopy along with other factors, like health, income, and surface temperatures, to determine the need for investment in trees in a given area. The scores range from 0 to 100, with lower numbers representing greater need. With the newest update, the tool now covers all urban areas in the country, going from 500 metro areas to 2,500, along with updated census data and improved heat mapping.

“The whole premise behind it is: Let’s provide you with the best and most exact data for cities to know where to invest in trees and how their investments will actually benefit people, down to the parcel level,” Hussain says. Originally launched in 2021, the Tree Equity Score has already been used to inform tree canopy goals in a number of cities, including those in the state of Washington, which we’ve covered in the past.

The city of Detroit has used the data as an advocacy tool, says Jenni Shockling, a senior manager of urban forestry for American Forests in Detroit. “We generally knew, or at least we felt that we were seeing disparities between the tree canopy coverage, and that it tended to be by race and income level,” she says. “And now we can actually show that.”

Last fall, Detroit launched a tree equity partnership along with American Forests, DTE Energy, and a local nonprofit called The Greening of Detroit, aimed at planting more than 75,000 trees in disadvantaged neighborhoods over a five-year pilot. Detroit is also currently working on building out a Tree Equity Score Analyzer, an additional layer to the tool that will enable the city to add local landmarks and model different scenarios for tree planting on a block-to-block level.

Prior to launching the tree equity partnership, the city and local organizations were planting largely to keep up with the removal of dead trees. “Historically, combined, that was about 2,000 trees a year, and we were losing about 4 to 5,000 trees a year,” says Shockling, who previously worked on The Greening of Detroit’s field crew. “We were never going to get ahead of that curve.” But since the tree equity partnership launched, Shockling says, their team, largely composed of individuals returning from incarceration, has increased tree planting in Detroit by nearly 500 percent.

The program also includes a maintenance plan for at least the first three growing seasons, something that helps to assuage some residents’ concerns about who is responsible for tending to newly planted trees, Shockling says. Though, in some cases, community members are excited about taking that work on themselves. In one of the program’s pilot areas, a resident volunteered to water newly planted trees near their home, and received a stipend for hoses and water to support their efforts.

So far, Shockling says, most Detroiters have welcomed the tree planting. “Our crew has had people pull up and clap for them,” she says. “Every time I’m out on-site, somebody comes by and wants to talk. They usually say, immediately, ‘I love this.’ And then they tell me who in their family has asthma.”

The air-cleaning benefits of trees are what originally got Shockling interested in this work. One of her children was born with special medical needs, which meant that Shockling spent a great amount of time in children’s hospitals, where she was struck by the prevalence of childhood asthma. “It just breaks my heart to see the asthma rate, and the fact that it’s by zip code and where you’re born in the city kind of indicates what your quality of health and life will be,” she says. With her son’s medical condition, there wasn’t an obvious prevention measure. But “I saw that there was something that could be done about asthma.”

Of course, planting new trees does take time, Hussain says. And in some neighborhoods, the level of canopy cover that can be achieved is limited by things like the density of housing and other buildings, as well as climatic conditions like rainfall. The Tree Equity Score map includes different canopy goals for different areas based on these kinds of factors.

And while trees alone won’t solve the increasing problem of heat, or a city’s air quality, Shockling, Hussain, and other advocates view trees as crucial infrastructure for healthy cities. “The tree is the thing that you see, but the impact is so much greater,” Shockling says. “In addition to what they do for the air, they benefit the soil and the water and in my opinion, every living thing in between. So it’s almost like an obvious solution to me — why wouldn’t you plant a tree?”

— Claire Elise Thompson

More exposure

• Read: more about the Detroit Tree Equity Partnership (Planet Detroit)
• Read: about incoming IRA funding for urban forestry (Frontier Group)
• Read (or listen t0): a recent story about tree equity efforts in Boston (WGBH)
• Explore: an analysis of tree equity maps (NYT)

A parting shot

Another part of American Forests’ work is maintaining a national registry of “champion trees” — the largest known trees of a native or naturalized species in the U.S. — like this Southern catalpa tree in Baltimore County.

IMAGE CREDITS

Vision: Grist

Parting Shot: Courtesy of American Forests

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline How cities are working to improve ‘tree equity’ on Sep 13, 2023.

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