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News Archives
Week of March 28, 2004
Vampire bats kill 13!!!
...in Brazil. I kid you not.
Posted by Jennifer on Saturday, April 3 2004, 5:54 PM
Bush's Assault on Environmental Regulation
The New York Times has a a lengthy article in this week's Magazine that describes how how this administration has systematically dismantled and undermined environmental and pollution regulation in this country, mostly behind the scenes. I'm still reading it myself, but I wanted to point you there right away, since NYTimes articles slip into their archives pretty quickly. Go read it!
Comments? Click here.
Posted by Jennifer on Friday, April 2 2004, 5:33 PM
Researchers induce soil to hold more carbon
A report from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory describes a new way of removing carbon from the air, by encouraging carbon-starved soils to take up and hold the excess carbon. This is done by maintaining a high (alkaline) pH, and applying certain cycles of wetting and drying.
Many soils globally are carbon starved, because as they were tilled for agriculture they released much of their carbon dioxide into the air. Until the past few decades when the internal combustion engine became common, soil tillage was the major form of CO2 release. Carbon storage in these tilled soils is potentially enormous, and the researchers say that even a small increase in storage could have a large impact on how much CO2 remains in the atmosphere.
Posted by Jennifer on Friday, April 2 2004, 11:32 AM
How many earths will it take?
Last week a group called Redefining Progress released a report they call Ecological Footprint of Nations. Ecological footprint is a way of measuring what ecological area it takes to produce the resources and absorb the waste products of any given nation. Behind this concept is an attempt to define what kind of lifestyle the earth can provide for all the people who live here. If the earth's population continually uses a larger "footprint" than the earth provides, by taking up more resources than are being renewed, eventually that stream of resources will dry up, and lifestyles (or population sizes) will be forceably changed.
You may not be surprised to hear that this study finds that earth's resources are already being overused by about 15%. And the wealthiest, most developed nations consume a disproportionate share of resources. For example, the study finds that a sustainable footprint, per person, is about 4.6 acres. Compared to this, the United States' footprint is 23.7 acres/person, meaning that our lifestyle consumes nearly five times more resources than the earth can return. By comparison, developing countries such as Bangladesh and Mozambique have footprints that are about 1.3 acres per person, and are thus using about 1/3 of what the world could provide to support them.
As more countries move towards modern development and become economically competitive (witness the huge uproar over job outsourcing to China and India these days), we need to ask how long the earth can continue with an overuse of its capacity to generate resources? While the only populations with such a large ecological footprint were the United States, Europe, and parts of Asia, the earth could supply us because other populations did not use their share of the earth's bounty. But as people in developing nations begin to demand modern amenities and modern levels of consumption, we're going to run up against the limit of earth's ability to support us all. While I think there are several ways we can address this issue, ignoring it is not going to solve anything.
Here's an interesting quiz from the Earthday Network and Redefining Progress, the Ecological Footprint Quiz. This is an interactive map with a set of questions that let you describe your lifestyle, and then tells you how many earths it would take to allow everyone on the planet to live like you do. I live in an ordinary American suburb, in a moderately sized house with electricity and running water. My husband and I take some care with our land, water, and energy use, but not an enormous amount. And according to this quiz, it would take nearly six earths to allow everyone on the globe to live the way we do. It's quite enlightening to look at; you might want to try it out.
For those interested in following the state of the earth's resources and how the planet in general is holding up, I have to recommend the Worldwatch Institute. For 30 years their annual State of the World report has followed global use of energy, land, water, and much more. Free copies of some older SOW reports are available as PDF files here.
Comments? Click here.
Posted by Jennifer on Thursday, April 1 2004, 1:13 PM
News of the Day
What is the link between war and the environment?
At a meeting in South Korea, the United Nations Environment Programme adopted a resolution which examines the way environmental stress can lead to war. The resolution discusses such items as how competition for resources and environmental degradation can increase regional tensions, making war and other conflicts more likely.
Activists are calling for more funding for the UNEP, stating that their budget is not suffcient to tackle the many global environmental issues facing the world today.
From Grist Magazine - more on fuel standards
Can John Kerry convince Michigan auto workers that higher fuel standards are important?
Under a desert tree, a new wildlife conservancy is born
In the Erongo region of Namibia, more than 200 people have worked for several years to create a wildlife conservancy to help preserve their landscape and way of life for future generations. This week that dream came true. The community hopes that by preserving their local wildlife they can find a sustainable economic life even as they save their local environment, since tourism is emerging as a significant economic force in Namibia.
Comments? Click here.
Posted by Jennifer on Thursday, April 1 2004, 11:26 AM
News of the Day
Wangari Maathai wins award for tree-planting program
Wangari Maathai, the assistant environment minister of Kenya, won the Sophie Prize and $100,000 in recognition of her work in reversing deforestation in her country. This is not the first award Professor Maathai has won for this project, as she was previously recognized by WomenAid International and the Right Livehood Society. Prof. Maathai's Green Belt Movement has been responsible for planting 25 million trees in Kenya, a movement which has spread to 20 other African nations.
Increasing number of dust storms in Asia
The United National Environment Programme has reported that dust storms in north-east Asia are occurring five times as often now as they did in the 1950s. The impact on human health could be extreme. Levels of air-born dust particles in Seoul, for example, are reaching twice the level considered dangerous, and 30% of China's land mass is being affected by desertification. The UNEP is maintaining a network of monitoring stations in the area in order to standarize data collection.
Carbon dioxide levels soar
Two separate sets of researchers, one in Hawaii and another in Australia, have noticed that the amount of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere has reached record levels. Carbon dioxide is one of the primary greenhouse gases, and the increase in levels of CO2 in the atmosphere come mostly from humans burning fossil fuels.
Comments? Click here.
Posted by Jennifer on Wednesday, March 31 2004, 3:19 PM
What kind of cars would be best?
You've probably heard that last year President Bush put forth a recommendation that we move to hydrogen based cars by 2020. He suggested that we spend $1.5 billion to develop hydrogen fuel cells. Hydrogen is seen as a very clean fuel, without the carbon emissions that are so much trouble when we burn fossil fuels.
But this proposal proved controversial, as there are some downsides to hydrogen as a fuel. Scientists contend that the technology needed for hydrogen fuel cells does not exist and cannot be created in the time frame the President suggests. And environmental groups are concerned that the energy needed to extract hydrogen will come from "dirty" technologies such as coal and oil, rather than using cleaner technologies such as wind and solar.
A recent commentary in the Los Angeles Times argues that pursuing hybrid engines such as those now in use by the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius, are a better near-term solution, and already use a proven technology that offers both high gas mileage and partial zero emissions, both of which are very good for the environment.
Gas prices are on the rise early this year, and some say they may approach $3/gallon at some point. Here in the U.S., drivers have generally resisted a move to more fuel efficient cars. John Kerry wants to make fuel efficiency and increased mileage standards a cornerstone of his energy policy. If gas prices keep getting higher, perhaps consumers will be more open to his arguments.
Comments: What do you think?
Posted by Jennifer on Tuesday, March 30 2004, 2:06 PM
Dead Zones
"Dead zones" in the ocean are increasing
There are areas of the ocean where all oxygen has been depleted, and normal ocean flora and fauna cannot survive. These are called dead zones, and in recent years the zones have been slowly growing, especially in the tidal waters where polluted rivers, especially those carrying nitrogen runoff from fertilizers, reach the sea.
Recently the zones have started growing at a faster pace, raising the possibility that fish stocks could be depleted even more than they are already. 17% of the world's food supply comes from the ocean.
This nitrogen can be handled by better sewage treatment, and by planting of vegetation that will reabsorb the nitrogen before it reaches the ocean. Such an undertaking would of course require a large and coordinated effort by many countries around the world.
This information was part of a report from the United Nations Environmental Programme's Global Environmental Outlook 3, which was recently published. I'm still reading it, but will have more to tell you soon.
Posted by Jennifer on Monday, March 29 2004, 1:46 PM
News of the Day
Unprecedented Hurricane in the South Atlantic
Since humans started tracking hurricanes, we've never seen one in the South Atlantic. Nor is there any record of such a thing in old sea journals or other records. But now it seems like hurricanes are starting to form in the southern Atlantic ocean.
Harvesting trees from beneath the waters
When dams flood valleys to create reservoirs, there are often may trees which are left standing, drowned by the captured water. These trees, which stay in excellent condition underwater, have not been harvestable, at least until now. Triton Logging, a Canadian firm, has developed a robotic lumberjack that can travle underwater with a chainsaw to cut down and retrieve the trees. Since 200 million trees are estimated to exist underwater around the world, the potential harvest is quite large.
Posted by Jennifer on Monday, March 29 2004, 1:42 PM
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