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A group of Maryland high school students has engineered an inexpensive, biodegradable faucet attachment that eliminates lead from drinking water and warns users when it’s expired by turning the water yellow.
The students from Barrie Middle and Upper School and their instructor unveiled the invention at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society on Wednesday.
“A few years ago, I saw a video of a woman in Michigan turn on her tap water, and it came out brown,” Rebecca Bushway, a science teacher and the project’s principal investigator, said in a statement.
“That made me think — because there’s really no safe level of lead in drinking water, wouldn’t it be nice to have a water filter that could tell you that your water is contaminated, well before it turns brown because of lead?” she asked.
While plenty of filtration systems do exist, their high price point and large size can deter many prospective buyers. In addition, few of the filters provide any indication of when they should be changed, those involved in the project noted.
The high school team’s filtration system works to solve that problem. The young scientists engineered a filtration cartridge whose chemical mix binds to dissolved lead but whose reaction byproduct turns water yellow when lead is still present.
“Ultimately, this experience has shown students that they can make a difference to somebody, and there are problems that they can fix with science,” Bushway said.
Today we’ll look at another toxin affecting humans and potential long-term effects. Then we’ll explore unconventional plants and grains and the possibility of using them to deal with global hunger.
For Equilibrium, we’re Saul Elbein and Sharon Udasin. Please send us tips or comments: selbein@thehill.com and sudasin@thehill.com.
Let’s get to it.
Native Americans benefitting less from pollution drop
Declines in pollution levels from a pervasive air contaminant have been much weaker in counties where American Indian communities reside, a new study has found.
Exposure to fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5 — particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less — can have both short-term respiratory impacts and long-term effects on lung function, increasing the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory disease.
Not everyone breathes the same air: While concentrations of these dangerous particles are generally dropping, the same trend does not hold for counties with Native American populations, according to research published in the American Journal of Public Health.
“Our results underscore the need to strengthen air pollution regulations and prevention implementation in tribal territories and areas where [American Indian] populations live,” Maggie Li, first author of the study and a PhD candidate at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, said in a statement.
What did the authors look at? To draw their conclusions, the scientists compared air samples from counties with American Indian populations and those without across the contiguous U.S. from 2000 to 2018.
They then cross-referenced the air pollution information with population data and household income from the 2010 U.S. Census.
Turning the tables: In 2000 — the first year included in the study — average PM2.5 concentrations in counties where Native Americans lived was 1.46 micrograms per cubic meter lower than those in counties where they do not reside.
However, the authors found that at the end of the study period, the tables had turned. By 2018, the levels of PM2.5 were 0.66 micrograms per cubic meter higher in counties with American Indian populations than in those without, the report found.
Concentrations of the pollutant were generally below federal standards. The Environmental Protection Agency’s threshold is 12 micrograms per cubic meter.
MITIGATING RISKS FROM POLLUTION
Authors noted that exposure to PM2.5 is a “risk factor for cardiovascular disorders and other adverse health outcomes even at levels below the current national ambient air quality standards.”
To help mitigate that risk, they stressed the importance of tracking exposure to air pollutants — particularly in areas with socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.
Authors stated that displacement of tribes and “forced acculturation” of Native American children to Western systems has “exacerbated levels of poverty, poor health, and chronic diseases in this population.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in American Indian populations, occurring at significantly higher rates in these communities than in white populations, according to the report.
Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou, senior co-author and an assistant professor at the Columbia Mailman School, said the findings build upon existing studies that demonstrate how disadvantaged communities endure “disproportionate burdens of environmental hazards.”
Knowledge is lacking: “Native Americans may be particularly susceptible to the adverse health effects of PM2.5 and air pollution, but research quantifying air pollution exposures and impacts on health among this population is lacking,” Kioumourtzoglou said in a statement.
“These communities already face a large disease burden attributable to environmental pollution due, for instance, to extensive mining and water contamination on Tribal Lands,” she added.
To read the full story, please click here.
‘Underutilized crops’ key to head off global hunger?
Time is running out for scientists to expand the range of climate-resistant food crops that humans can use to adapt to the temperature extremes posed by climate change, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal New Phytologist.
The world holds a broad array of what researchers call “underutilized crops” — traditional, locally-grown and wild plants that are little consumed outside their region.
These crops have genomes that contain powerful tools for adapting to harsh conditions like drought and climate stress. And wider cultivation of these crops could help alleviate global hunger, the study found.
The big idea: The looming wheat shortages following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlight the world’s dependence on just a few cereal crops: wheat, rice, soybeans and maize.
All of these crops face significant reductions in yield and range because of climate change, according to NASA. However, these crops are just a tiny sliver of the wealth of species that humans have at their disposal.
Like what? Quinoa and chickpeas are good examples of once-underutilized dryland crops that, over the past 20 years, have achieved mainstream acceptance far beyond their home regions, the scientists noted.
But there are plenty of other crops, too, such as foxtail millet, a grain variety grown across dry regions of Asia; teff, an ancient grain native to the Horn of Africa; and amaranth, a heat-tolerant, protein-rich “pseudocereal” native to Central America.
And even these are the tip of the iceberg: The world has an estimated 50,000 edible plant species — but the global population gets 60 percent of its calories from wheat, rice and maize.
Why so few? This is due to factors like taste, difficulties with cultivation and the presence of “anti-nutrients” that have to be washed out — like the soap-like saponin chemicals in quinoa or the cyanide compounds in cassava.
But a more important reason is often neglected: Few local varietals can compete in a market dominated by the three main cereals — which have also benefited from decades of intense genetic study and modification aimed at increasing their yields.
A classic example in the push for more climate-resilient food crops is the ongoing attempt to transform current staples like wheat and rice from what’s known as C3 photosynthesis to C4 photosynthesis.
This metric describes the number of atoms of carbon produced when the plant binds sunlight into sugar.
C4 plants — which genetic research suggests wheat and rice once were, and perhaps could be changed back into — produce higher yields with better root growth and less need for nitrogen, according Carleton University.
Lack of genetics: That’s how the scientists want to modify underutilized crops. But genetic scientists attempting to adapt these species to wider use are hobbled by the lack of broad genetic surveys, according to the study.
Time is of the essence: The human ability to use many of these species — and to even identify them for further testing — is under significant risk, both from climate change and through the loss of local and indigenous knowledge.
Such insight can provide a key window into how to find, care for, cook and cultivate these crops — particularly as globalization accelerates the move of rural populations to cities.
A global call to action: Across the broad array of underutilized species, researchers propose that “efforts should be made not only to generate a reference genome but also to carry out population-level sequencing.”
In doing so, they write, researchers should make their data “free to use” and focus on “collaborations between institutes worldwide” to avoid duplicating work and to produce results quickly.
To read the full story, please click here.
Newsom seeks more money to deal with gas prices
As Californians continue to contend with the highest gas prices in the country, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) proposed an $11 billion package on Wednesday aimed at providing residents with significant relief.
What he’s saying: “We’re taking immediate action to get money directly into the pockets of Californians who are facing higher gas prices as a direct result of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” Newsom said in a statement, noting the package aims to protect residents from volatile gas prices.
The details: The governor’s proposal calls for $9 billion in tax refunds to Californians in the form of $400 direct payments per vehicle, limited to two vehicles. The package also includes an additional $2 billion in broader relief mechanisms.
The tax refunds would come to registered vehicle owners in the form of $400 debit cards. The average Californian driver spends about $300 in gas excise taxes over the course of a year, Newsom’s office said.
Where prices stand: As of Wednesday afternoon, the American Automobile Association showed average gas prices of $5.875 per gallon statewide, with the highest prices rising to $6.605 per gallon in Mono County, the eastern gateway to Yosemite National Park.
California’s gas prices tend to be greater than those of the rest of the country due to a number of factors, including higher taxes and stricter emissions laws.
A Tesla factory opens in Berlin; war as climate hazard; and China has big plans for green hydrogen.
Elon Musk opens Tesla’s first European plant
Ukraine conflict another reminder that war is bad for climate goals
China aims to create massive hydrogen industry powered by renewables
Please visit The Hill’s sustainability section online for the web version of this newsletter and more stories. We’ll see you on Thursday.
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