Dispatches

The numbers are in – unlike many oceans around the globe, the Barents Sea receives high marks in 2011 for being generally clean and highly productive, with Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) stocks at a historical high, according to a report “Barents Sea: State of the Environment, Annual Assessment” (in Norwegian) issued by the Institute of Marine Research (IMR; Bergen, Norway). “The situation is quite positive for large commercial stocks”, particularly cod, haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), and capelin (Mallotus villosus), says Knut Sunnanå, senior scientist at IMR, a report editor and participant in the annual fisheries commission meetings between Russia and Norway. Sunnanå attributes these high numbers partly to the effectiveness of the 40-year-old fisheries management agreement between the Norway and Russia and its predecessor, the USSR. “Our management regime is able to reduce [cod] quotas if the numbers go down, to prevent overfishing. We are also able to inspect vessels coming from the Barents Sea.” The Barents Sea is bordered by the Svalbard Islands to the northwest, and northern Norway and Russia to the south. Warmer ocean temperatures and reduced winter sea ice cover are equally important in boosting cod numbers, according to Sunnanå. Historically, water temperatures in the Barents Sea have varied widely from year to year, but scientists noted an overall trend toward warmer temperatures over the past 30 years. Cod, which are territorial bottom dwellers, thrive when waters are warmer and winter ice cover is low, because they do not overwinter under the ice. “When there is a lot of ice-free habitat, those bottom areas are freely available for new age classes”, explains Sunnanå. The warming trend is also reflected in the presence, in early October, of cod at 82°N – the farthest north they have ever been observed. Zooplankton abundance in the Barents Sea is slightly lower than in the past, raising the question of how long the halcyon times can continue. “Several people have raised concerns about carrying capacity, and some think we will see a decline in cod stocks because the stocks are too large”, Sunnanå continues. But because long-term data on plankton production in the Barents Sea are unavailable, scientists can't tell if zooplankton levels are low because of lower productivity or if the plankton are simply being eaten by large numbers of hungry fish. The report also describes downturns in some populations of seabirds, such as kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and guillemots (Uria aalge), for unknown reasons. The Barents Sea is home to one of the largest concentrations of seabirds in the world, with about 20 million individuals. In September, California lawmakers passed a bill aimed at tapping a surprising source of green energy: traffic on the state's busy freeways. Cars and trucks compress asphalt, and piezoelectric generators installed under road surfaces convert this compression into electricity. “The heavier the load, the better the electricity returns”, explains Randy Copperman of Channel Technologies (Santa Barbara, CA), which manufactures piezoelectrics. These subsurface generators can power lights along the road or plug into the existing electrical grids that power most neighborhoods in the state. Piezoelectrics are not new – the underlying principles are the same as those in touchscreens on mobile devices – but using this technology to harvest energy from traffic is a novel application. To see how piezoelectric generators compare with other renewable energy sources, the bill (AB 306) requires pilot research to assess the output and cost of energy from such road installations. The energy output is considerable: a 1-km stretch of a two-lane highway could generate enough power for 140 homes, according to a 2011 report that Copperman prepared for the city of San Francisco. “The payback period for highway installations is about 7–10 years, and the generators would work for 25 years or more”, Copperman estimates. Moreover, the cost of installing piezoelectrics under roads is small compared to that of building a new power plant. Road tests of piezoelectric generators are already underway in other parts of the world. Israel, where the technology was developed, has several demonstration projects, and Italy plans to retrofit part of the Autostrada – the national roadway system – with piezoelectrics. The generators can also be embedded in rubber mats to produce electricity from foot traffic. A Tokyo train station uses this “pedestrian power” to illuminate its display boards, while a piezoelectric floor powers the lights of a San Francisco dance club. A major benefit of this technology is that it eliminates the need for new transmission lines. Wind and solar power are often generated in remote places, complicating electricity transmission to urban areas. But because traffic is concentrated in the same places as people, piezoelectrics can create energy right where it is needed. Encapsulating drugs in nanoparticles to improve their bioavailability in the body is a rapidly growing biomedical strategy. However, the disposal of nanomedicine waste is largely unregulated, and our understanding of the environmental effects is limited. Now, a study (Langmuir 2011; doi:10.1021/ la202287k) suggests that some nanomedicines adhere to cellulose, the common building block of plant cells and the planet's most ubiquitous organic compound. Nearly two dozen nanomedicines are currently on the market, and some 250 others are either undergoing human trials or soon will be. Although the amount and form of nanomedicine excreted by humans taking these prescribed drugs is an ongoing subject of research, studies on nanomedicine-treated mice have shown that some nanoparticles are expelled in their urine. Scientists also found that non-medical nanoparticles can bioaccumulate as they move up the food chain. “The effectiveness of nanomedicines is partly due to their stability in aqueous conditions within the body”, explains chemical engineer and coauthor Mustafa Akbulut (Texas A&M University, College Station). “But this also means they can travel for prolonged periods in the external environment.” If these compounds enter soils and sediments – for example, via sewage or accidental spills –they may eventually migrate into groundwater and river systems, and from there into food chains. According to Akbulut, nanomedicines could also accumulate on plant roots, which may be consumed by animals, or affect symbiotic relationships between fungi and bacteria. To understand how plants might adsorb nanomedicines, the researchers treated surfaces of pure cellulose with a mixture of variously sized nanoparticles (up to 271 nanometers [nm] in diameter) of the painkiller ibuprofen packaged in polyethylene glycol, a common ingredient in nanodrugs (the size limit for human absorption of many nanodrugs is roughly 300 nm). Then they rinsed the surfaces with a steady stream of water, which only partially removed the compounds. “We observed that larger particles dropped off more easily, whereas smaller ones couldn't be washed off”, Akbulut says. In a similar study using roots of the rye plant, Akbulut's preliminary results showed comparable effects. Funded by the US National Institutes of Health, researchers unveiled draft recommendations for government oversight of nanomedical research in September. However, these guidelines focus primarily on potential risks to humans. “We recognize that nanomedicine research can have environmental implications, because of lab waste and excretion from test animals and humans, but we're just considering this in the research context”, admits team leader Susan Wolf (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). Although this year's severe drought in Texas brought domestic attention to the topic of water conservation, many in the US have long been seeking ways to save municipal water. Car washes are one part of the American business sector where the opportunities for conserving water have seemed very promising, even when drivers insist on always having a shiny vehicle. In San Antonio, Texas, for example, community officials realized that rewarding high-efficiency car washes might be one way to conserve water. Working with industry representatives, they instituted voluntary water-saving measures that car wash operators could adopt to gain green certification for their businesses. The city now saves about 58 million gallons (almost 220 million liters) of water per year, according to Brandon Leister, the San Antonio Water System Conservation Planner. Some of the most mechanized US car washes have the smallest environmental impact. The International Carwash Association (ICA) went national with a similar “Watersavers” certification program 2 years ago, hoping to keep their members' businesses open during both dry spells and lean economic times. Participating companies must use no more than 40 gallons (~150 liters) of water per vehicle washed at their facility. Although it's hard to gauge what the average homeowner uses per wash, some garden hoses discharge that amount of water in as little as 6 minutes. The push to use the more industrialized option may seem counterintuitive to green consumers, who might assume that anything done by old-fashioned methods would be more environmentally sound. Many advocacy groups and local municipalities, however, encourage the use of professional car washes; the ability of such facilities to reduce or prevent non-point source pollution is well known. The Natural Resources Defense Council, for example, reminds its website visitors that “the [US] Clean Water Act requires that commercial car washes send their wastewater to a treatment plant”. In the future, car washes may include even more high-tech mechanization aimed at preventing waste, says Eric Wulf, ICA's Chief Executive Officer (Chicago, IL). The industry's cutting-edge trend includes systems that can reclaim and treat run-off onsite for immediate reuse. “It's almost a closed loop, and 10 years from now it won't be uncommon”, he concludes. Researchers have analyzed the genomes of two thermophilic fungi, Myceliophthora thermophila and Thielavia terrestris. Both organisms, they report, can efficiently hydrolyze all the major polysaccharides found in biomass at high temperatures and, more surprisingly, at moderate temperatures. “These organisms grow on compost”, explains Igor Grigoriev (US Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute [JGI], Walnut Creek, CA), “so we expected them to be good biomass degraders. Notably, however, compared with the well-established industrial fungus Trichoderma reesei, these two fungi have a greatly expanded glycoside hydrolase 61 (GH61) gene family.” GH61 proteins enhance the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass by cellulases, continues Grigoriev, so these fungi could be very useful for large-scale biofuel production. Myceliophthora thermophila. Although biofuels have the potential to provide much of the world's requirements for transport fuel, finding a way to degrade biomass-derived polysaccharides rapidly and efficiently remains a major challenge. Currently, the hydrolysis of biomass polysaccharides to fermentable sugars takes a long time, and hydrolysis reactors are prone to contamination. “If we could run biomass degradation at higher temperatures”, continues Grigoriev, “we could both speed up hydrolysis and avoid contamination.” Most of the cellulases used in biofuel production are derived from organisms that thrive at 20–35°C, so the JGI scientists, in collaboration with Randy Berka (Novozymes Inc, Davis, CA) and Adrian Tsang (Concordia University, Montreal, Canada), turned to M thermophila and T terrestris, which thrive at temperatures above 45°C, as a potential source of enzymes to accelerate biofuel production (Nat Biotechnol 2011; doi:10.1038/nbt.1976). Says Grigoriev, “I think there is a great opportunity now to use these organisms as a new industry standard for biomass degradation and as a source of thermostable enzymes, to ‘plug into’ other organisms”. Plant and fungal scientist Richard Murphy (Imperial College London, UK) comments, “This interesting research gives us new insights into the use of thermophilic fungi from a biotechnological perspective and may help in the development of more efficient lignocellulose conversion systems, thus enabling improved use to be made of these desirable feedstocks for biofuels.” Energy companies poised to exploit vast natural gas reserves in New York State are encountering a vexing problem: how to dispose of waste-water from drilling operations. In a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) on gas drilling, the state's Department of Environmental Conservation suggested that the toxic wastewater be sent to sewage treatment plants, but many experts say this won't work. The draft EIS estimates that gas drillers could generate over 11 billion liters of wastewater annually. Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” –a drilling process used to extract natural gas from deep within shale rock formations – involves the injection of water laced with chemicals, including petroleum distillates and sometimes diesel fuel. While underground, the water also picks up natural contaminants in the rock, such as metals and salts, before it returns to the surface along with the gas. “The industry is making a lot of moves toward recycling wastewater, but that remains a big technological challenge”, says Katherine Nadeau, a Natural Resources Associate for Environmental Advocates of New York (Albany, NY). Deep-well injection of wastewater is not an option because the geological formations in New York are not suited to that technology, she explains. Energy companies have turned to sewage treatment plants, some as far as ~600 kilometers from the well sites, to treat the wastewater produced by fracking. But “municipal sewage treatment plants are simply not designed to handle the types of materials in frack-return fluids, which contain toxic organic substances, heavy metals, and radioactive materials”, says Bob Howarth, an ecologist at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY). Not only are these facilities ineffective at handling the wastes, but the toxic materials and high salt levels kill the beneficial bacteria necessary to treat the sewage, he warns. In April, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection asked drillers to stop sending their wastewater to sewage treatment plants in the Monongahela River watershed after salt levels in the river soared. “US EPA Region 3 pushed the state to ban the process as of this past summer”, says Howarth, adding that the frack contaminants discharged to the Monongahela reacted with organic matter to form brominated hydrocarbons during chlorination at municipal drinking water plants downstream of the sewage plants. Pennsylvania hasn't banned the treatment of frack water at sewage treatment plants, but is trying to phase it out, Nadeau explains. “Here in New York, we need to make sure that no frack wastes end up in sewage treatment plants”, says Howarth. Although there is wide agreement in the insurance industry that climate change will cause an increase in severe weather events and, consequently, financial losses, most insurance policies fail to address this threat, according to a report released in September by the non-profit organization Ceres, using data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The report, Climate Risk Disclosure by Insurers: Evaluating Insurer Responses to the NAIC Climate Disclosure Survey (www.ceres.org/resources/reports/naic-climate-disclosure), presented survey responses from 88 insurance companies in six states (CA, NJ, NY, OR, PA, and WA) and found that only 11 of those companies have policies in place that address climate change. The myriad of natural disasters that have occurred in 2011 have already made it one of the costliest years in recorded history for the US. The insurance industry needs to evolve to cover this increasing damage or those affected could be in trouble, warns Sharlene Leurig, Senior Manager of the Ceres Insurance Program (Boston, MA) and author of the report. “Climate change is changing the statistics of extremes. If we don't make ourselves more resilient as extremes become more common, insurance will no longer be a viable solution. That would mean businesses and taxpayers would bear the full cost of extreme losses – a very expensive proposition”, she continues. In addition to covering damage, insurers could help mitigate future climate change. The insurance industry influences the investment of trillions of dollars throughout the global economy and has a substantial impact on how society behaves. Insurance is based on the science of assessing risk, and savvy insurers are realizing that activities that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions can also reduce risk. Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, Chair of the NAIC Climate Change and Global Warming Working Group (Olympia, WA), says “Helping consumers plan for the future – using insurance and encouraging smart, sustainable practices – is a key role that insurers can play. We continue to pay for damage from more frequent and catastrophic tornadoes, hurricanes, hail, extreme temperatures, and wildfires. The connection is inescapable, and I am confident insurers will become part of our societal solution to climate change.” The Chesapeake Bay is suffering the effects of a storm season that saw Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee batter the eastern US with heavy rainfall. A massive plume of associated sediment flowing into the Chesapeake from tributaries is slowly snaking its way southward from the upper Bay toward the Atlantic. “The storms have sent a lot of sediment into the Bay and, with it, a lot of nutrients”, says Mike Naylor, Assistant Director of the Chesapeake Shellfish Program (Maryland Department of Natural Resources [DNR], Annapolis). “These will cycle in the system for a very long time.” The high sediment and nutrient levels pose a threat to a number of aquatic species by blocking sunlight, causing algal blooms that deplete dissolved oxygen, and potentially burying benthic organisms such as Researchers from the Institute of Marine and the are a on the plume and conditions with data on the water and aquatic – including species – to effects. us understand the of which to extreme events such as those just explains of the sediment plume in the upper Chesapeake Bay Bob a of science has been of in the Chesapeake Bay team its on the of populations throughout the We use to a report on where the are and how they may have that it could to the of the storms on plants, we have not been able to as the sediment plume is in the upper Bay and we the plants the water. 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