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News Archives
Week of March 21, 2004
News of the Day
Great Barrier Reef to be protected
Later this year, Australia's Great Barrier Reef will become the world's largest marine preserve, when a ban on fishing in large portions of the reef goes into effect. This extension will more almost 40,000 sq. miles into the highest-protection "green zone".
Considering that coral reefs are one of the most endangered ecosystems worldwide, this is very welcome news!
Deadly Riptides
Down in Florida, a series of deadly riptides have killed four beachgoers, and forced spring break revelers out of the water. The tides are so strong that one woman was dragged into the water and killed when a wave knocked her down as she walked along the edge of the water.
Rip currents are more dangerous to swimmers than either sharks or hurricanes, and cannot always be detected by the untrained because they move beneath the smooth ocean surface.
Mekong River flows damaged by Chinese dams
A series of large dams constructed in China over the past decade have reduced water flows in the Mekong River to the point where the lower parts of the river have become into little more than sandbars. The Mekong supplies water nad livelihood for much of Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Smaller regional dams on the Mekong itself have also impacted the countries furthest downstream, and more large dams are planned for the future.
Posted by Jennifer on Friday, March 26 2004, 5:42 PM
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If you have a comment, leave it in the thread, and feel free to use the forums for other conversation if you like. I'm still working on the decorations in the back room, so it's a bit untidy still, but the forum software is fully functional (in fact, vBulletin is my favorite of the forum software available today).
Posted by Jennifer on Friday, March 26 2004, 10:56 AM
It's not all about greenhouse gases
Science Daily covers a NASA press release about changing vegetation cover in the United States, and how vegetation contributes to warming or cooling the landscape. They find that when large swathes of trees or irrigated croplands are part of the landscape, not only does local precipitation increase, but global warming is somewhat mitigated in that area. Using a computer model called Ecosystem Demography, NASA, in conjunction with NOAA, modelled changes in vegetation cover, precipitation, and temperature across the U.S. from 1710 to 1990.
Posted by Jennifer on Friday, March 26 2004, 10:43 AM
If you care about the health of our environment
...then you have to care about the upcoming election. Regardless of your political opinions, the environment and issues around managing our natural resources will have a strong effect on the election this year, particularly among swing voters. The Christian Science Monitor has an important article on voter attitudes towards the environment, and a discussion of the different approaches Bush and Kerry have towards environmental regulation and environmental politics. Any concerned voter will want to understand both sides of this subject.
Posted by Jennifer on Thursday, March 25 2004, 2:39 PM
Need to monitor water quality? Try fish
Wired News has a great story on the use of bluegills to monitor water for toxic chemicals. The method was devised by the U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research, and it involves monitoring the gill movements of the fish, which move more rapidly when the fish become distressed by the presence of toxins. Bluegills are used because they like to stay still in the water, which is necessary for precise monitoring. It's interesting stuff, and I think you'll enjoy it.
Posted by Jennifer on Thursday, March 25 2004, 2:32 PM
News of the Day
More old-growth logging ahead
The Bush Administration plans to ease restrictions on logging in some Pacific Northwest old growth forests. Environmentalists claim the changes will double logging in these areas, and say the changes were made without regard for environmental science.
Genetically engineered salmon may be approved
Aqua Bounty, a Canadian bio-engineering firm, wants regulatory approval to bring trangenic salmon to market. The fish are designed to grow to harvest size much faster than normal salmon do. Environmentalists are concerned that the fish might escape from the fish farms (a common occurence in salmon farm fishing), and decimate wild salmon populations. Studies have shown that hybrids between escaped farm fish and wild salmon are less fit than their parents. Aqua Bounty intends to sterilize the fish and claims there is no danger.
U.S. pushes to increase use of methyl bromide
There is a three-day meeting this week to discuss the Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer. Several countries are asking for exemptions allowing further use of methyl bromide, a fumigant once widely used in agriculture, but now being phased out due to its role in ozone depletion. The United States is asking for the largest number of exemptions. Under the Montreal Protocol, ozone levels seem to be stabilizing. The proposed exemptions are controversial because it isn't clear what impact the changes might have on regaining the health of this stratospheric zone.
Posted by Jennifer on Thursday, March 25 2004, 10:37 AM
Losing the Great Apes
The BBC reports on a study from Nature magazine, which shows that both gorillas and chimpanzees in western Africa are on the verge of extinction (articles in Nature are available by subscription only). In two countries, Gabon and Republic of Congo, there are still patches of dense jungle that were thought to be refuges for the last large populations of these great apes. Unfortunately, this recent population survey shows rapidly declining numbers. About 80% of the world's gorillas and chimpanzees live in western Africa, so a loss of these populations would mean near-extinction for our closest genetic ancestors.
The researchers cite the bush meat trade, Ebola, and loss of habitat as the main issues driving the population decline. If you're interested in learning more or helping with conservation efforts, you might visit the UN Great Apes Survival Project, the International Conservation Union (IUCN), or Diane Fossey's organization Gorilla Fund International.
Posted by Jennifer on Tuesday, March 23 2004, 12:31 PM
Global warming isn't as simple as most people think
You know, I watched on and off all winter as various newspeople covered the Democratic primaries up in the northeast during some record cold snaps. And everytime they were outside, it seemed I'd hear some dumb joke about the cold weather and ha, ha, they say the globe is heating up?
I shouldn't be annoyed by silly people making jokes, but I was, really. Because global warming is real, and it's happened before, and the effect greenhouse gases have on weather is not simple or straightforward, as anyone who studies these things can tell you. While the ice at the poles is melting, and ocean levels will probably rise, changes in the direction and strength of the Jet Stream and the Gulf Stream mean that while some areas will get warmer weather, others (such as Europe) will likely become distinctly colder, and overall weather may become more variable.
Anyway, with that little rant out of the way, I wanted to point you to some interesting climate information, both new and old. First, for an example of how intricately weather processes are intertwined, see this study at NASA, which finds that the 1930s Dust Bowl in the US was generated by changes in the temperature of tropical oceans. This is a nice example of climate modelling, if you're interested in that sort of thing, and even has some animations to help you understand the model.
All that reminded me of a 1998 article in the Atlantic, by William Calvin, called "The Great Climate Flip-Flop". This contains a remarkably clear explanation of why global warming is likely to lead to new ice age, at least for parts of the globe. The article is in two parts, by the way. Part Two is here.
And as long as I'm rambling on about climate change, I may as well mention another item that has been in the news lately, a scenario funded by the Pentagon and created by the Global Business Network, describing the worst situations possible that might arise from global warming as we currently understand it. GBN describes this possibility as "not likely, but plausible" and emphasises the way national security might be threatened if it came about. This paper also features the interactions of global warming and then cooling, and describes the possible effects.
Now, the next time you hear people laugh about global warming while they're in the middle of a snowstorm, you can be irritated too!
Posted by Jennifer on Monday, March 22 2004, 3:28 PM
Sierra Club faces difficult choice
The Sierra Club is one of the best-known and most beloved American conservation organizations, and has earned enormous respect for its work in educating and entertaining members while also working on many fronts to see that our land, waters, and air are preserved intact.
But the Sierra Club is facing some difficult choices as its chooses new directors over the next few months. At the heart of the struggle is a profound disagreement over whether reform of U.S. immigration policy should be a centerpiece of the Sierra Club's future agenda. The battle surrounding immigration is so fierce that outside groups such as Moveon.org and the Southern Poverty Law Center have gotten involved in the struggle, and the possible spoils — an organizational budget of $83 million/year and a membership list of over 750,000 — are so rich that the campaign has already spawned three lawsuits.
The details are more than I have time to discuss this morning, but if you care about the direction of this large and influential conservation organization, you'll want to read up on it yourself. In addition to the Washington Post article linked above, Grist Magazine has a couple of articles on the subject from earlier this month: Que Sierra, Sierra: Immigration controversy engulfs Sierra Club board election; and Supersize America: Does it make sense for environmentalists to want to limit immigration? Also, here's a local article on former Colorado governor Dick Lamm and his campaign for a director's seat (he wants the Sierra Club to take on the immigration issue).
I poked around the Sierra Club site itself, but didn't see a mention of the immigration discussion. By looking at the official site you'd never dream so much controversy is raging.
Posted by Jennifer on Monday, March 22 2004, 11:21 AM
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